Around a decade ago, I was gifted The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

A client, let’s call him John, walked into the hair salon I was working in at the time. John sat down in my chair and I started the conversation with some basic “How’s your day going?” type of banter, hoping it might go beyond that question.
*Slightly off-topic side note; talking to people is one of my favorite parts of the career I’m currently in. I very much enjoy meeting people for the first time and asking certain questions that require going in deep within oneself. In the 35 minutes they spend with me, I want to be able to see thru a small window to the way their mind works and how they see themselves. Human beings are so endlessly fascinating. Also, an entire haircut in silence is just awkward.
Luckily on this night, John was quite receptive to talking. We quickly got to a level of conversation that brought us to a discussion over the power of the human mind and how we, as humans, are able to literally create our own realities. We bonded over a mutual understanding of manifestation, the power of thoughts, and how each day is a new opportunity to level up to be a better, smarter, more in-tune version of yourself than you were yesterday. He taught me so much in that 35 minute haircut that my little 21 year old brain was absolutely buzzing with excitement. I continued to see John at the hair salon every 4 weeks for almost a year until he and his family decided to relocate down south. At his last haircut appointment, he handed me a book titled “The Secret”.

Having now read this book 4 times over, thinking back and remembering how little I really knew about all of this at the time is astounding. And I’ll be honest here, that book sat on my shelf for at least 3 years after it was gifted to me. Only when I was completely broken down mentally did I feel an intense pull to grab the book, open it up, and absorb. Absorb everything, take it in, expand my knowledge through understanding, and change… change everything.

I believe I needed that ‘blank slate’ mentality in order allow enough space for the monumental awakening that was about to take place for me. Much like the author/director of The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, who starts off the book by saying “Little did I know at the time, out of my greatest despair was to come the greatest gift” The Secret was magnetized to me. It was meant to find me. During my time of reprogramming, I learned about affirmations, and that what you put out into the universe will ultimately come back to you tenfold. I learned that if you focus on all the negative things in your life, they will appear amplified as opposed to if you focus on the positive, opportunities may present themselves and open new doors to new horizons for your life. I learned to say “YES!” I learned to stop waiting for people to go do fun things with me and instead just go do fun things alone, and that like-minded people will be drawn to me automatically. I learned to raise my frequency by focusing on positive things and positive things only. I learned how to control my thoughts and limiting beliefs. I had so much faith in this “Great Secret to Life” even before I saw any evidence that anything I was doing was working. I was grateful for a partner I didn’t have, money I didn’t have, and a home that wasn’t mine. I thanked source energy every single day for everything I didn’t have… yet.

I believe at that point is when things really began to shift in my life. When I express gratitude, like really express gratitude… I’m talking high vibe music, tears streaming, emotions free, on my god damn knees thanking the universe for things that don’t exist in my reality yet… that is when shit starts to get real.

One example always comes to mind when I think about my little “emotional gratitude ceremonies”, and that is the story of how I manifested my fiancé. To make a long story short, I had been single for a while, dating around on and off tinder, you know. Until one night I go out with this tinder guy, it goes well, I get home, turn on my record player to the tune of “This Must Be The Place” by The Talking Heads, and let myself go. I cried so hard, I sang, I screamed “thank you!! thank you!!!” as if I had just met my future husband/Prince Charming/Johnny Depp. Don’t really know why, just had a good night and felt a pull to just express how happy I was. One week and 2 more dates later, I realize tinder guy is a psycho. I go home after what could have been one of the worst dates of my life, and open tinder to delete my account and later delete the entire app. I was done. Content being single, grateful for my life and what I did have at the time, and then BOOM whose face do I see on my tinder? The handsome barber from the shop across the driveway that I had a crush on for literal years. After messaging back and fourth & dating for a while, Handsome barber would go on to become my boyfriend. 2 and a half years after that, he’d be my fiancé, and I’ve always thought about how crazy that is. Out of all the men in the entire world, he’s who I saw. The universe led me to him. The man I’d been Instagram stalking since 2018 with my friends. The last person I would have expected to end up with. This all happened one week after I realized how great my life was as is. Only after I expressed so much gratitude that my chest ached. Sometimes I look at my fiancé and laugh because I truly believe I magnetized him in to my life, one week before we met, with my gratitude ceremony. 3 years later, here I am planning our dream wedding. Manifesting every detail, including the most incredible venue – I could have drawn it up from a fairy tale.
Things like this are just attracted to my life now… and it feels effortless and magical.

Another example is how I manifested purchasing my first home. Or my ever-changing wardrobe and bag collection that would make my high-school self absolutely pee her pants. Or when I manifested working my dream – being my own boss with a 4 day work week. Most recently I manifested my dream car. (Read my last blog post for more details on that!) There are so many things I can look at and say “Oh I manifested that when…” and over the years I’ve gotten better and faster at manifesting. And I want to be clear, I am not rich, I do not have a trust fund or inheritance, I can only attribute my abundance in life to this practice. Depending on how hard I focus and how much energy I put towards manifesting a certain thing, as well as the magnitude of the desired reality and how much has to shift in order to allow that reality to exist here and now. It’s also about taking action, because without action there isn’t a definite certainty that your desired reality will manifest. Gratitude, focus, patience.

I like to use this affirmation when I’m feeling less motivated:
I align my actions with my goals.
It’s a soft reminder to stay on track, and think about each decision you’re presented with.
Think about whether or not your highest self would appreciate such decision.

All I’m trying to say is, as much as the words “manifest” or “manifestation” are thrown around in today’s ‘woke’ age, with great understanding comes great results. If you want to practice manifestation because it’s “trending”, don’t expect much out of it. BUT, if you really want to hone in on The Secret to life, outside the realm of what’s popular on twitter, I highly encourage you to read the book, watch the film, or better yet, do both. If more people took the time to become familiar with true manifestation, mostly pure love and happiness would exist in our reality. There wouldn’t be space for anything else because everyone would be living their ultimate best reality of what is ‘their perfect life’.

For me, I’m aware that mountains move when I express gratitude and focus my mind on a clear, desired reality. Whether it takes days, weeks, months, or years to attain a certain level of abundance, the first step is to open the door to that possibility, say thank you for what isn’t yet yours (but will be soon), believe, trust, and let it all go. You’ll be shocked at how quickly your life will start to shift and take shape. Be ready for challenges, but be open to any outcome, and STAY POSITIVE!
Once you’ve started to notice the shift, be sure to give back!
Remember all the people who helped you attain your new reality, your new level of abundance, and thank them! Spoil them, treat them, treat yourself!
Thank your mom and your dad, let them know how grateful you are for them and everything else in your life. Thank your teachers, thank your spirit guides.
Thank your sister or your business partner.
Thank your puppy dog who stayed by your side thru it all.
And lastly, thank yourself for making the decision to paint a new life and trust that the universe will always have your back.

Your dream reality is waiting…

Thank you John