Secret Number 1 - Be Aware

The first secret to success and prosperity is BE AWARE.

Be aware of your creative power, as you are a creative being.

Be aware of your choices, because they do affect your results.

Be aware of your conscious thoughts, as they are just like seeds that you plant in the ground. They are the starting point to all things.

Be aware of opportunities, because they are everywhere.

Be aware of your beliefs, because they will determine what you are willing to look at and what you will refuse to look at.

I first became aware twelve years ago when I was in prison. No, I wasn’t in a physical prison, but I WAS in a psychological prison. What’s worse, I had put myself there and didn’t even know it. You see, 12 years ago I attended my first thirty week spiritual retreat, I met a delightful old nun who was a wise and an inspiring teacher. Her name was Sister Barbara.

On one of the nights, I shared with the group of retreat participants I was struck by one of the passages I had read in the bible. It is the passage where Jesus spoke to Peter and asked if Peter loved him. Peter would reply, “yes Lord, I do love you?” Then Jesus said, “feed my sheep.” Jesus continued to probe Peter and asked him again, “do you love me?” and Peter would again reply, “yes Lord, I do love you.” Then Jesus said, “take care of my lambs.” Jesus asks Peter a third time, “do you love me?” Peter now getting a bit annoyed and frustrated answered, “of course Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus finally says, “take care of my sheep.” I shared with the group as I read and contemplated this passage, I would begin to cry. feel overwhelmed and distraught. This had never happened to me before. Sr. Barbara recommended I stay with the passage and continue to contemplate it during the following week.

To make a long story short, I continued to read the passage for the next three days and each time I was led to tears. What I later learned was I had not been taking good care of myself and my purpose in life was to serve others. I had become much more aware of the psychological imprisonment and the emotional shackles, which kept me confined and fearful of the future. I was finally free to be who I was truly meant to be and to let go of trying to meet other people’s expectations.

This was the point that the light went on. You know what I mean…the light bulb went on above my head and my eyes opened wide, just like in the cartoons. But that was no cartoon. It was a defining moment. I became aware of my own potential. I became aware of possibilities. I became aware of my inner passion, which was finally ignited. From that point on was it smooth sailing? As much as I’d like to tell you it was, it was not.

Here’s what happened. On that life-changing night, I made a commitment to myself —to passionately study self development and to finally get myself out of my personal pain. I read books from Depak Chopra, Robert Bly, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Sarah Banh Breathnach, Dr. Stephen Covey, John Gray and others – I bought and read all of them. I began to put into action what I read and my life started to slowly change.

Breaking Through

What did that do? Basically, it helped to remove any of the negative thoughts that were planted in my mind. I became aware of my own ability to create my results, but what I wasn’t aware of was how I was also destroying some of the good that I was putting in.

Just imagine, if you will, two water glasses on a table in front of you. One glass is full of water and the other glass is full of coffee. Imagine that the glass that is full of water represents a mind that is extremely positive and full of goodness. Imagine the other glass, the one filled with coffee, as a very dark mind that is completely negative.

Imagine what happens when you take a teaspoon of the nice clear water and put a teaspoon of water into the glass that contains the dark coffee. Nothing . . . at least, it appears that nothing is happening. But the fact is, the clear water did go into the glass. We just didn’t see any visible result, even though the water was in there. Basically, the dark coffee was my mind several years ago . . . full of negativity. I needed to put in the good (the clear water), and I did just that by feeding my mind with positive material. If I continue to put teaspoon after teaspoon of water into the glass with the coffee, it will take a long time before you see any measurable difference.

If, on the other hand, you imagine we are starting again with two fresh glasses (one with coffee and one with water) and I took a teaspoon of the coffee and poured it into the glass with the water, would you see a difference? You bet you would. Immediately you would see the impact of placing one teaspoon of coffee into the glass of clear water. What does this have to do with anything?

It illustrates the point that when we put good into a mind that is full of negativity, there is a period of time that will elapse before we start to see or experience any change, even though the change is slowly occurring.

On the other hand, when we place just one teaspoon of coffee into the glass of water, the change is instant. This demonstrates the power and velocity of negativity and confirms how fast negativity can contaminate.

Therefore, it is vitally important to be aware of what we are doing when we put good into a negative mind, and to be patient. And it is vitally important to be aware of the negativity (or, as I like to call it, the poison) that we may be putting into our mind, and eliminate it.

Awareness will open your consciousness. Awareness opens your heart and your eyes. You’ll see things that you didn’t see before . . . things that were right in front of you.

Let me explain further why awareness is so powerful, and so important.

There are two more incentives to become aware:

1. We need to become aware of the things that we do, or have done, that sabotage our own results, so that we can do something about it!

Not so that we can judge ourselves, but so that we can make a decision moving forward to make some positive direction choices. Judgment destroys and accomplishes nothing. Observation (awareness) builds and creates new opportunities. Do not judge your past results; instead, learn from them and move forward. Your future is in front of you . . . look in that direction. Judgment will only hold you back . . . it will make you feel bad . . . it will not support you.

Being aware of the things that have held you back is like recognizing that there is an anchor weighing you down, keeping you from going forward and experiencing success . . . even when you are on the right course. You’ve got to cut the anchor rope and let go of these weakening behaviors.

We human beings are habitual creatures, and we tend to do the same things over and over again. I’m certain you’ve heard the definition of insanity . . . which is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” These results come from a place of “unaware.” Awareness will give the answers.

2. You also need to be aware of the things you are doing that ARE contributing to your success. Why? So you can repeat them if you choose to re-create again or to improve upon your results and continue to enjoy life at a higher level.

Once you achieve great success, it is easy to repeat it because you are now aware of what is required to CREATE success.

Make the choice to be aware and continue to heighten your awareness, not only for today, but from this day forward. Increase your level of awareness as you go through this book. Develop the ability to be acutely aware of all of your creative power and embrace it, utilize it and engage it to create the success that you have previously dreamed of.