The language of success

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The Saipanpreneur Project
By WALT F.J. GOODRIDGE
Special to the Saipan Tribune

The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest—in other words, your passion!

Wouldn’t it Be Nice?

Wouldn’t it be nice, she said, to get my act in gear
I want to be a singer but the crowd’s my biggest fear

Perhaps she didn’t know right then the strength one can invoke
with nothing more than just those wishful wistful words she spoke

For life will rush to bring to you the content of your dreams
And dreams will find the light of day however dark it seems

I placed the mike before her and then gave her time to grow
what thoughts and fears did war within, perhaps we’ll never know

And just as life through soil is drawn to feed the planted seed
Your dreams and hopes attract the strength and courage that you need

And so it was by workshop’s end with just a little coax
she graced us with her dulcet tones…in front of all those folks!

Perhaps the gift she gave and got today will now suffice
to help her live her dream out loud…yes, wouldn’t that be nice?

A few weeks ago, thanks to director John Joyner, I conducted a special Turn Your Passion Into Profit workshop for the staff of the Department of Coastal Resources Management here on Saipan. It was a great experience with some very inspiring moments. Among them, we were able to get a chef-in-waiting her first paid gig from the very department she works for. We got a night spear fishing expert his first $20 in cash from a willing client who paid him right there and then. And we coaxed a stage-shy singer to face her greatest fear and actually sing in front of the entire group.

I had recently been reading Ask And It Is Given by Jerry and Esther Hicks and decided to use one of the exercises in their book to invoke the attractive power of the universe. Their “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” exercise is one step beyond visualization and just short of an affirmation. But, unlike an affirmation, which encourages one to speak as if one’s dream is already real (i.e. I am rich, I am successful), the “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” exercise allows one to dream of desired possibilities without the mental resistance one often encounters with affirming something that isn’t yet quite real.

I prompted this particular workshop participant to complete the following statement out loud as it related to pursuing her passion: “Wouldn’t it be nice if____________,” to which she responded: “….if I could actually sing a song in front of this group.”

I then moved on to the other participants and did nothing more than place a microphone in front of her on the desk and allow her dream to manifest in our magical room of possibilities. The topic was never mentioned for the rest of the workshop. But sure enough, as we were wrapping thing ups about two hours later, with just a little prompting, she actually sang a few bars from a Jessica Simpson song to the amazement and thunderous applause of all gathered!

This formerly shy singer’s experience is just one example of the creative power we all have access to through the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction is a universal law that says that like attracts like. You’ve heard the phrase “Birds of a feather flock together?” Well, in every aspect of your life, the people and experiences that flock to you are a direct result of the thoughts you think and the words you speak. Those thoughts and words, like everything in the universe, vibrate or resonate at certain frequencies. And like a radio tuned to a specific frequency, they attract the programs that are floating around at that same frequency.

Now, I have three basic rules for my workshops and coaching sessions:

1. Be willing to see and do things differently.

2. Don’t argue on behalf of your limitations.

3. Use empowering language (eliminate problem, try or can’t from your vocabulary).

We all have the power to create our realities. The basic rule of creation, therefore, is this: Never think or say anything that you don’t wish to be true. So saying things like: I’m not cut out to be an entrepreneur, I’m not good at business, I never have enough money, I’m unlucky, etc, simply reinforces that belief, keeps you resonating at that level of reality, and the universe, acting on the energy of what you send forth, attracts to you the people and circumstances that are in alignment with those thoughts.

“But what if it’s true?” you say. “What if I’m really not good in business?”

My answer to you is that truth is simply a habit. It’s merely a statement you’ve repeated enough times to believe in it, resonate at that frequency, and thus attract and create the reality of it. You can change what’s “true” for yourself by choosing to believe something different and adopting a new habit of belief. This is true for individuals as well as nations.

I’d like to suggest, therefore, that as a nation, we change the language we use to describe our situation. I’d like to encourage all reporters, business owners, government officials and everyone with a platform and a voice to be willing to see things differently, not argue on behalf of our limitations, and to use empowering language when referring to our situation.

We’re not ‘broke,’ we’re ‘overcoming some financial challenges.’ We’re not ‘failing,’ we’re going through a ‘rebuilding phase.’ We are not trying to recover, we’re committed to recovery or we’re in the process of recovering. We have no problems, just challenges, situations and perhaps even opportunities.

And no, it’s not just semantics. These words all resonate at unique frequencies. And language has the powerful ability to define our beliefs, which in turn shapes our expectations, and thus determines how we respond to them. Think about it, you respond quite differently to a problem than you do to a challenge, don’t you?

Remember: It takes as much energy to bemoan the failings or our past as it does to envision the potential of our future. One choice leaves us feeling beaten, while the other empowers us with hope. So which one does it make more sense for us to choose?

So here’s what I’m thinking: Wouldn’t it be nice if for the next 365 days, all writers, reporters, leaders, teachers, parents, business owners and average individuals all started using empowering language? Wouldn’t it be nice if the trend caught on and we developed a new language of success that put us in control of our situation rather than at its mercy? Wouldn’t it be nice if we all found the creativity, the commitment and, like our workshop singer, the courage to face our fears, pursue our passions and do our individual part to become the very change we wish to see in our lives? Hmmmm. Yes, wouldn’t that be nice?

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Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!—Walt

(Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 12 books including Turn Your Passion Into Profit. Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica, Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now makes his home here in Saipan. To learn more about the Saipanpreneur Project and Walt’s philosophy and formula visit www.saipanpreneur.com and www.passionprofit.com)