THE DREAMER
I have always been a dreamer; I can remember being startled out of my daydreams as far back as my memories will go. I'd be completely aloof, jaw slack, eyes glazed over, and staring off into space. I loved to imagine myself living another life, full of sandy beaches and great comfort. What I didn’t understand at the time is that I had already begun to shape my future with those thoughts.
What if you could change your life by simply changing your thoughts? I believe that if we can throw ourselves into the power of positive self-talk, then we can change our lives.
I was definitely not lucky in the love department before I met my husband at age 27. I met mistake after mistake and had a very good idea of what I did not want in a partner after a few terrible relationships. I decided to take a year off from dating: no more looking for love. No more casual hook-ups with past lovers, no more men. Period.
This is when The Secret came into my life. A simple little book with a message that was easy for me to relate to. I firmly remember two life-changing tips that I used from this book. The first lesson that I took to heart was on relationships. The theory is that to make room in your life for a new partner, you needed to behave as if you already had that special someone. It gives suggestions like sleeping on one side of the bed, parking on one side of the driveway, having extra room in a few drawers or your closet, and making space for your future partner. It also advises to BELIEVE you are already with this person and honestly, I found this the most valuable. I set my mind to start believing that I was married and had a beautiful home out there. I could close my eyes and feel the love and warmth of a man I had yet to meet. I began talking about this husband of mine as if he truly did exist in my life, often saying all my dreams are coming true, I know it and I feel it. My mom thought I was a little nutty and blew me off with a little eye roll. I decided she needed a lesson in manifestation and asked her what was something that she really wanted. This was over 12 years ago, iPods had just come out and that’s what she chose. I asked her to close her eyes and imagine an iPod in her possession, to really believe that she would be the owner of one soon and she played along like a good sport, although highly sceptical. Later that day, my oldest (and only child at the time) came home from her dad’s mom’s with a huge garbage bag full of stuff. One of her grandmother’s clients was getting rid of decent belongings and was passing them down to Monika.
Guess what was in the bag? Not one, but two iPod’s! Even I, a strong believer in manifestation, was floored. I’m not sure that my mom ever fully got on board with it, I do know it definitely made her question her beliefs.
A few weeks after that, Jon (my husband) and I met at the gym. We started dating quickly, got engaged after 6 months, and now it’s 12 years later and we are continuing to make all of our dreams come true. I honestly give credit to that one chapter on relationships in The Secret.
...we dream, we believe, and the Universe has answered us every time.
The second life-changing tip from The Secret was regarding finances. Again, they were asking you to believe that you are rich, money is right around the corner, the book even suggested you write yourself a cheque. I thought that was easy enough and pulled out my chequebook to write myself a cheque for one million dollars, which at the time was a lot of money for me. I decided that I really wanted to test this out: let’s go big. I changed the amount to 100 million. I still have that cheque to this day. Our personal assets have not yet reached 100 million, but we are well over 1 million and I firmly believe that the power of thought has helped us tremendously.
Neither of us was lined up with an education to achieve these large goals. Jon just skimmed his way to his high school graduation and I never came close; no one gave us any handouts along the way. We have both worked very hard, taught ourselves financial discipline, and just as importantly we dream, we believe, and the Universe has answered us every time.
