The Laws of Attraction: Like Attracts Like
I received an email from a librarian who said she noticed I talked about the law of attraction years ago in Coach Yourself to Success, long before The Secret became so wildly popular. She asked that I write one of my weekly tips about it and also that I include some other recommended books for reading.
I’ve read The Secret and immediately noticed something: the book only mentions one of the laws of attraction—like attracts like. There are many more and I probably wouldn’t call them laws so much as principles. The person who taught me about effortlessly attracting what you want in life was the late Thomas J. Leonard who defined the 28 Principles of Attraction. If you want some immediate help you can get the audio program, Irresistible Attraction: A Way of Life, which is a simple 5-step program covering the process of becoming simply irresistible to the money, opportunities and love you want.
Let’s start with the law already discussed—like attracts like. The Secret talks about how important it is to eliminate negative thoughts, as you end up attracting what you don’t want as opposed to what you do want. This is the problem with affirmations—they work as long as you don’t have a negative sub-conversation going on at another level.
For example, if you say, “I’m increasingly magnetic to money. I have all the wealth I could ever want” and then what you are really thinking is, “Yeah, right, I’ll never get out of all this credit card debt.” Which thought carries more weight? The negative one, because your experience of it is true.
So how do you break the cycle of negative thinking?
You need to create a different experience so that your new reality is one of having savings instead of debt.
This is why it is so critical to start saving 10% of your income while you are also paying back your credit card debt.
If you put that 10% toward debt, you aren’t creating any savings and you’ll find that you will just keep attracting more debt.
The secret is to start creating some savings, however small, because like attracts like.
Savings attracts more savings like a magnet (not to mention interest) and debt attracts more debt. So to get out of debt you need to start saving 10% now. Do not make the mistake of trying to pay your debts off first. Not logical from an interest point of view, but it works because of the law of attraction. And, from a more practical, less airy-fairy, standpoint, it works because you now get into the habit of savings, which is probably not a habit you had in the first place. An excellent resource is the book, How to Get out of Debt, Stay out of Debt and Live Prosperously by Jerrold Mundis.
One couple hired me years ago and they were up to their ears in debt. We discussed down-sizing to a smaller home so they could regroup and get out from under. I asked them to write down a detailed description of their ideal home and then they went looking for something more affordable. The first week out house hunting they discovered their dream home and—to their complete and utter amazement—it cost exactly the same as their current house.
In the end, they didn’t downsize, but moved into their dream home. They decided they would cut back in other areas and were thrilled!
Instead of focusing on the money you need to buy something, focus on what it is that you want.
This is a basic rule of life coaching—always go directly for what you want first. Then, if that doesn’t work, try Plan B. We spend way too much time focusing on getting more money when money is only one way to acquire what you want. You could attract something for free or very little money, or as with my clients above, the same amount they were already paying. Writing down what you want helps clarify your thoughts and your focus, making it much more likely you’ll attract what you want.
Try it and see!
Talane
Learn more about financial freedom in the FIRE course.
