Everyone might benefit from writing a manifesto... a public declaration of principals that guide your actions in the world, and create an authentic identity around who you are, what you do with your life and how it matters to people. For me, this is a public declaration of the most important principals that guide my participation in life. I run all my thinking and decision-making through this filter.

My manifesto is the result of everything I have learned about living so far. It is a clear statement of what guides me to the grandest expression of all I am capable of and all I desire. I share mine as a reference point for you to think about crafting your own manifesto. When you have completed it to your satisfaction, display it in a public place where you and others can read it on a regular basis.

Thomson Dawson:
A manifesto for living an extraordinary life.

1. as you think, so it is
2. know what you want, be open for something better.
3. what you do must matter to you and others
4. start with what’s at hand
5. as you live in your days, you craft your futue
6. embrace simplicity
7. the best idea is the one you think can’t be done
8. be differnet, make a difference
9. provide more use value than you get in cash value
10. create / design experiences people love
11. people are more important than money
12. really listen
13. intuition over conventional wisdom
14. daydream often
15. focus on the important, handle the urgent
16. forget what you know
17. beware of comfort
18. leadership is service in disguise
19. to thine own self be true, no exceptions
20. play on the edges
21. give thanks, give back.

What inspired me to share my own Manifesto here on the WHC, was the result of an encounter with a brilliant woman named Danielle Laporte. Check her out and I highly recommend you engaging in her Firestarter Sessions. You'll be glad that you did!

My friend and colleague Patrick Turner and I spend lots of time discussing ideas about starting anew. No matter where or in what circumstances, people seem to have an inherent knowledge about what is really important to them. They just don't trust it enough to take action on it because new beginnings don't start out in physical form. Most people need proof to trust an idea. Humans are not easily persuaded by ideas taken on faith.

In one of our recent idea sessions about having faith in new beginnings, Pat shared this poem with me, and I want to pass it on to you because it beautifully frames up this idea that there is a seed of knowledge within all of us about what really matters that awaits our conscious arrival. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

- John O'Donohue -

What are you waiting for?

I was watching some tropical fish in an aquarium the other day. I was sitting there, just watching them swim around bumping into the glass, peaking through the surface of the water, completely unaware of what they were swimming in.  Then I thought fish don’t even know they’re wet. That gave me an idea…

Much like fish, most people don’t know what they’re swimming in. People have little or no awareness to the truth of the stuff that makes up the physical reality we all swim in.  Like fish, we don’t know we’re wet.

We swim in a vast sea of thinking goo. All around us, yet unseen, is the stuff of possibility. In our rush to handle the urgency of our existence, we fail to see, and act on what is really important to us– what really matters. I would like to suggest if you are not involved with ideas and plans that really matter to you, then you are wasting valuable time. There is no better time than right now!  What you are doing right now is creating your future! Make sure it is in line with your passion, your greatest expression of all your unique gifts and talents. As you live in your days, you make your future. You have the power to make your life exactly as you desire. There is nothing in the outside world that can effect your future. Only you can do that. For the good, or not. The choice is always yours to make.

You can elevate your life by conscious endeavor, simply because you swim (live) in a thinking substance (potential manifestation) that is always favorable to your desires, infinite and abundant. The more you become aware of your creative nature and act on it, the more powerful you become and the richer your life experience will be.

I have got my eyes on the horizon and I am looking out on my bigger, better future. This year, 2007, has been a most challenging year. I can’t truthfully say that I have been the least bit comfortable, satisfied or especially happy this year. But I have been, and continue to be, grateful for everything that has happened in this past year

My gratitude gives me pause for reflection and a little quiet time to ponder my progress towards the goals I have set for myself, and to marvel at the process of creating them. Hopefully this will add a little value to your planning on what you would like to create for yourself in the year ahead.

I have heard it said the definition of success is the “on-going realization of a worthy ideal”.  As I think about this definition, the key phrase for me is “on-going”.  Which is the same as saying never give up on your good idea. This has been my year for planting good ideas in the quantum field… or, as I like to call it, “the goo of creation”.  I am delighted to report that I have new ideas that excite me to a level where I know I will not give up on them, no matter what!  At the beginning of this year, I made a decision to get off my ass and start crafting an exciting vision for where I want to take my life, and develop a plan of action that I believe in completely.

This year was my new start… my "do-over"... a defining moment in the course of my life. Now twelve months later, I can perceive that I am moving in a more harmonious vibration toward my goals, attracting to me all manner of people and circumstances that are in alignment with my getting what I want. I know for some, this sounds like re-hashed self-help mumbo-jumbo. But honestly, this was my year of awakening from years of embracing the bad habit of being too comfortable with the status quo. I realized I was not growing, my business had actually dried-up, my relationships were strained, my enthusiasm for anything evaporated in the drought of negativity I had so comfortably got in the habit of embracing.  Things in my life were beginning to die… including me. My state of depression was overwhelming at times. I was not happy about started over at the very bottom in mid-life. The challenge of looking up and out of the hole I found myself in towards a bigger, better future seemed quite impossible.

This year I planted new seeds in the field of possibility. And I have been rain dancing in that field all year in belief that the rains will come in abundance, and new results will grow from my new ideas.  Like all things in nature, the principals that guide creating what you want are simple and elegant:

• make an irrevocable decision to put all your life’s energy into something you really love.
• allow yourself to step away from your current considerations and results to craft a vision for living your life in alignment with what you love… and dream big!
• use your powerful creative imagination. Develop the habit of seeing yourself experiencing your dream in hand, right now.
• take a baby-step toward it, then another and another…every day.
• believe in your vision and have 100 per cent faith that it is on its way to you right now.
• pay no attention to your past results; keep your daily focus on your vision for a bigger future. What you focus your attention on grows in your life.
• start from where you stand and with what you have right now and then be grateful.

That is essentially the basic principal involved in creating what you desire in your life.  Nothing complicated about it. And it works for everyone, including me!  This year, I finally gained a deeper, practical understanding and awareness of how the results in my life get created. As a result, I am aligned with my purpose in life, I have a vision for what it looks like, and I have some exciting goals that are bites out of my vision. I am creating on purpose once again. This is fascinating and empowering for me.  This deeper awareness has changed the trajectory of my life.

Of course, there is no free lunch in the universe. This understanding came at a real price, both emotionally and financially. I had to be willing to be uncomfortable, to take greater risk and face head-on the challenges that come with growth and expansion.  This willingness, and my ability to take action, is in direct proportion to my faith and belief that I deserve to have what I desire in life, and the universe wants me to have it too. Nature is always for growth and expansion. I had to learn to trust in this on-going, creative process completely. When you let go of the rope, you no longer can be in a tug-of war with life. Things seem to come together on their own, without strain and tension. Things start happening in an easy and relaxed way. (I have talked about this subject in earlier posts). Nature conspires to bring you what ever is necessary for the realization of your heart’s desire.

I have some big goals for this coming year:

• To establish my new marketing and design consulting firm (www.pullinc.com) at profitable levels attracting clients who value our contribution to their business success.
• To continue to experiment with my own ideas and thought leadership in the areas of personal and professional success as a writer and teacher through this blog and grow its readership.
• To continue to use my talents and experience to inspire people to create a bigger, better future for their personal and professional  lives.
• To continue to write and record my music, paint and practice my artistic pursuits and interests on a high level od expression
• To continue to do all these things in an easy and relaxed way from my beautiful work / live environment in the middle of my orange grove here in Ojai, California.

So all in all, this has been the year of transformation, growth and expansion. Life has been challenging for sure. But I sense a greater inner strength and calling.  I have more energy and vitality for life. The seeds of my success are firmly planted in the “goo”… and I am fully engaged in the process of creating the life of my dreams. And even though I have no physical evidence as proof right now, I know my vision is already taking form and I will succeed.  I am grateful for everything in my life right now and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead in the coming new year.  I want to do remarkable things in life... I want to experience how remarkable I really am. I want to leave here knowing I made a difference.

I wish you all much happiness and success in every area of your life this coming year. Thank you all for reading my monthly posts on The White Hot Center. I really appreciate the support I have received from all of you.

Happy New Year!

Here’s a great story about a tribe of American Indians, who never failed to make it rain when they would do their rain dance.  Every time, 100%, when they danced, it rained!  The secret to their 100 percent success rate, when other tribes had far less success with the same dance, was simple– this particular tribe never stopped dancing.

Think about that…they never stopped dancing until it rained! That's faith in it's most compelling form... Faith strengthened their persistent action and expectation in knowing dancing creates rain. Rain is what they really want… so they danced!

Faith is vitally important to every result of being, doing and having.  We live by faith and not by sight. Faith is “knowing that you know” something you desire is going to happen.  It isn't a hunch, an educated guess, it is knowing with absolute certainty that no matter what it takes, it will happen. It's just a matter of time.

Everything in nature has a gestation or incubation period.  You commonly know this principal from the human pregnancy which has a gestation period of 280 days. This is the known period of time it takes for the gestation of a Human Being. It’s more or less set. A carrot is 11 weeks; an elephant is 15 months… to each its own time.

Unlike elephants or humans, ideas take their own sweet time to be born into the physical realm. Many people quit dancing for the fulfillment of their ideas before it is time, their faith and expectation of receiving it expired.

They give up too early and are not aware that the time necessary for manifestation simply hadn't past yet.  Would you ever see a husband come to his pregnant wife and during week 10 of her pregnancy say "Where’s the baby?!?!".  Of course not, that would be ridiculous.

Many of us, however, do just that with our ideas, dreams and desires. After some period of time has transpired, with no apparent progress, doubt sets in and we say "Where is the result?",  or perhaps, “Oh this is impossible, there’s no way it will rain, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, this is a waste of time!  Frequently, the gestation period on an big idea, dream or desire is longer than the anticipated time most people are willing to invest in it.  As a result, they give up… and “guarantee” a result– it’s just not the one they wanted, but it is the one they created.

Never give up on something you love and believe in!  The form of the desire may show up in unexpected ways, but it will always lead to a higher, richer experience... let it pour!

So, the story of the dancing tribe of Indians illustrates perfectly how faith, and belief will work for you in creating what you want in life. Results are guaranteed.  The Indian tribe didn't stop dancing until the rain came, and they were aware, while dancing, that it could take awhile, but the rains always, eventually come.

What are you dancing for and what does your rain look like?

Enjoy the dance!

We all hit them from time to time in our pursuit to achieve what we want. There is no way to avoid brick walls. And that is the good news! Because when you are staring at a brick wall, you are looking at the raw material for your success. You have two choices:  stop and give up, or bust through.

Most people stop and give up. Why? I think it is because they did not want it bad enough. Brick walls are necessary obstacles for growth and expansion. When we come to an obstacle in our pursuits, it's time to check in with ourselves and ask how badly do we desire what is on the other side of the obstacle. There is a saying "the only way out is through."  Breaking through is to grow and expand.  Growth and expansion is a natural state of everything in the universe.  We must grow and expand or we begin the process of dying.  It is just the way it is.

We often think of brick walls as external forces that we confront. But I think the biggest obstacles are within us. We can get in our own way. We impose obstacles to our growth and expansion simply through our beliefs about ourselves, our current attitudes, our level of awareness.  The truth is nothing on the outside of us can have any real effect  on our progress toward the good we desire. We create our own perception of reality by what we believe. If you believe there is not enough, or you do not now have in your possession  what is required or necessary, then you will experience that outcome in your life.  The brick walls we encounter are more or less of our own making.  The perceived obstacle in front of us is there to test our conviction, passion and belief that what we want is really worthy of us. Worthy of trading our "life time" in exchange for the attainment and experience of our heart's desires.

I know this can be a difficult idea to understand. But think about any important thing that has been achieved in your life thus far. Certainly there were  brick walls to bust through or go around in the process of your getting what you want. Obstacles are always in advance of  achievement. As your goals and desires grow ever larger, so will the challenges. Within the challenge, one finds the raw material of success. The greater the challenge, the greater the success. If you have brick walls in your life right now, consider them to be blessings. For that is exactly what they are.