Desire. A word that has a stronger meaning than ‘want’. Have you ever asked yourself this? Do not think about something small, like wanting the latest iPhone. Think bigger than that. Think beyond the superficial. Alright, let’s pause for a moment, and maybe take our journey one step at a time.
The law of what?
What we will be discussing here regards the law of attraction. This is not a law of physics, but a more spiritual one. The law of attraction implies that a person is able to attract opportunities to achieve what he/she truly desires. You can compare the application of this law to a magnet. Your mind is like a powerful magnet. However, instead of attracting metal, your mind attracts opportunities.
A classic example, which I believe we can all relate to, is the desire of owning a Rolls Royce Phantom and a house that is larger than we sensibly need. If your desire to own that type of car and that type of house has become of such importance in your life, you will be able to achieve it if your mind is focused on achieving just that. Your mind is a powerful tool to your disposal, and you can utilise it by setting your mind to it. Have you ever heard of the motto: “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”? It is exactly like that.
Your dreams.. your aspirations.. your desires, are what drive you, energise you, and mobilise you to get what you want. Your thoughts equip itself with your inner want. You begin to focus, and you notice and identify opportunities that will help you achieve just that. Everything else that does not add value to achieving what you want are omitted from your focus. This will help you stay on the right path of your very own journey.
What is the difference between the law of attraction and manifestation?
The law of manifestation goes beyond wanting something. This law implies that your dreams become reality by believing that you have already achieved it. Through the act of manifestation, you already play the role of the person who you dream to be.
You may be asking: “But is this not the same as ‘Fake it till you make it’?” and “Won’t I just be a fraud?”. To a certain extent, yes. The only difference is, you remain true to yourself. You remain honest about where you currently are in achieving your dreams.
Please do not get it the wrong way. We are not saying that you should lie about being able to perform surgery on a person when you have absolutely zero experience in surgery. No, this already indicates that you are not honest with yourself, and probably will kill someone when you find yourself at the operating table. What a recipe for disaster that would be.
The absolute best way for me to explain how you should view this, is the Marvel character Venom, an alien symbiote that manifests itself in its host on earth. If you have not watched this movie, may I suggest you watch it. Not necessarily for the entertainment, but for you to understand how manifestation works.. and, OK, maybe also for the action and kicking ass while you’re at it.
When Venom manifested itself in the main character, Eddy, as its host, it did not completely take full control. Instead, they worked together and become one synergised unit. Certainly, at first, it was a challenging for Eddy to believe of its new capabilities. However, the more they cooperated, and the more they showed their true potential, the more they manifested in one another, and ultimately becoming one being.
When you start to apply the law of manifestation in your life, you will notice that you are shifting from the ‘want’ to the ‘have’. The universe is, in a way, giving you everything you desire. Like a genie in a bottle, when you tell yourself that you want to become a millionaire, the universe will give you the thoughts to want just that. However, when you tell yourself that you already are a millionaire, the universe will give you all the opportunity to be that.
Don’t worry, your bank account might not reflect that way you believe it to be. But that is the whole point. You manifest your own thoughts with the belief that you already are. And slowly, but surely, you will make the right choices and show the right behaviours to be the person you vision yourself to be.
My story
You may be thinking “So, what’s your story?”. A valid question. After all, explaining how something as abstract as mental and spiritual laws work won’t be as relatable, or understandable, if I would not share my own experience with these concepts.
So, here is me opening up to you and the rest of the world.
Several years ago, I noticed that I was facing an obstruction in my life. At first, I was unable to identify what it exactly was. I was unable to pinpoint this strange force that was holding me back. And no, I am not talking about the Force from the Star Wars universe.
For those of you who do not know me yet, I am an experienced Hotelier with a focus on luxury and lifestyle hotels and resorts. My career journey started in the Front Office, providing the service with the highest level of hospitality and co-creating the most memorable guest experiences together with my guests. Though I was climbing up the corporate ladder, I did not feel like I was making the right progress in my life journey.
I knew that without knowing the root cause for my mental state, any effort to improve my situation would have been ineffective. Thus, I decided to talk with people who are within my closest circle. Those whom I trusted the most have helped me to open up and expose my vulnerability.
Where did I start my journey?
Eventually, I equipped myself with a tool called ‘Ikigai’. It is a Japanese concept to help you live a meaningful and purposeful life. This is something that I will discuss and share with you in a later article. But I would highly recommend you to do your own research to get yourself started as well.
Fast-forward several weeks, I discovered that the things that I was currently doing (personally and professionally) were not aligned with what I truly wanted to do.
I can confidently say that on a daily basis, we all are exposed to different messages from people telling us what we should do, who we should be, and what we should have. Subconsciously, these messages imprint a kind of trace telling us which direction to go with our lives.
All these messages lead to every one of us not having any focus, no clear sense of direction, including myself. It is like we are moving forward without a compass. It is ineffective, and does not lead you anywhere.
What I did was to take a step back, and remove myself from any messages coming from the rest of the world. You might ask “Is this even possible with everyone being so connected with one another online?”. I can tell you that it will not be easy, since we all are addicted to something called ‘instant gratification’. The notification of a new incoming message and receiving the next like on our latest Instagram post all hit us with a shot of dopamine in our brain. And this is what leads us to our addiction.
What else did I do?
So, I temporarily disabled my social media accounts, I put my phone in airplane-mode, and I got on my motorcycle to drive to more remote locations, and clear my mind.
I figured that if I wanted to move forward in my life, I needed to have more focus. And since my compass now showed me which direction to go, I started to fill my mind with thoughts that will help me live a meaningful and purposeful life.
I wanted to develop and utilise my creative potential to tell stories which help people become the best version of themselves. I also wanted to help tell and share the stories of the world. The world is full of history, culture, and inspiring people. However, their stories often remain untold. Therefore, using my photography and videography, along with my writing skills, I am able to help the world share its stories through this blog and social media.
How did I integrate my purpose in my profession?
Interestingly, how would I be able to integrate my passion in my profession? After thorough consideration, I knew exactly how to do that. And my answer to everything is “Marketing”. The amazing thing is that I can learn and grow my marketing skills in the hospitality industry, and transfer them to my own blog and social media channels to share all these amazing stories with you.
Ever since, I have been focusing on pursuing my career in marketing, and manifested my mindset to grow in that direction. It has given me direction and reignited my true purpose in life.
With everything being said, the age-old saying still applies, and is getting increasingly more important in present and future times. And that saying is this:
“You can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
Benjamin Franklin