Following are notes from my presentation at the ListenU Speakers Series on June 7, 2018.
Providence Moves, Too
During a time when my husband and I suffered more than a decade of financial desperation, I became obsessed with trying to figure out how two people doing the same things can get very different results. Everything that worked for others, seemed to bomb for us, and we just couldn’t get in front of it.
It took us seven years and more than 100 seminars before the lights finally went on, but once they did, we tripled our income in less than 3 months.
Now, I could literally speak on this topic for hundreds of hours and never run out of things to say, so tonight, it’s my opportunity and challenge to give you some really useful information in less than one hour.
The good news is that if we can’t cover it all tonight, I’ll point you to my blog, where you can continue your study for free. Remind me to do that.
The Plan:
To share some stories that I hope will inspire and intrigue you, and then we’ll talk about the common thread that runs through each of them, so you can know how to intentionally initiate a success story of your own, as quickly as this week.
The Temple Tax
…They that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Does not your master pay tribute? He said, Yes. And …. Jesus said … lest we should offend them, go you to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give to them for me and you. (Matthew 17:24-27)
I think part of the message in the fish story is that money can come from unexpected places, so we don’t need to fear when we can’t see the money where we think it should be. Here are some modern-day examples:
Monopoly Money (Tina Bonelli)
When you sent out the podcast entitled “Belief Breakthrough,” I swear you put my name on it, personally. I have listened to it four times now. Belief in financial improvement, and a couple of other areas in my life, is a challenge for me. …
Once I listened to the podcast, every time I started stressing, even the tiniest bit, about any of the things I tend to worry about, I stated, “I choose to believe that all is being gathered so that _______.” Financial, health, personal things, relationships… I applied it to everything.
I divorced …after 30 years of marriage, and no full-time employment during most of those years, as I was a stay-at-home mother by choice. I had SOME residual income from my business, although I’d had a mass exodus from my team that reduced it significantly. I have no spousal support, and it took me 2 ½ years to find employment.
At age 60, I make $15 an hour… I have ZERO savings, retirement, own no property, and have a huge IRS debt… As of Saturday, I had about $100 to last me until my next check, 9 days later. … [Then] on Sunday, I got an email that I was overdrawn by $18. A yearly emergency road service renewal had been taken out…
I called, immediately and they said they were going to reverse it, but it would take until that next check to get it back.
I admit that for most of the day I was pretty grouchy about it…although later in the afternoon, I did finally start repeating the “I choose to believe” statements. When I knelt in prayer that night, I wept, but expressed gratitude for as much as I could possibly think of.
… At Christmas, a kind person had left me a surprise gift at my door: a Monopoly game. … I had set it up on end against my bookcase so that I could vacuum. … I noticed that the lid was … slightly exposing the contents inside. …
My daughter’s family … arrived for a birthday party, and my … grandson saw [the] box and asked if we could play …
My daughter happened to glance down at it. She remarked, “Wow. They are really making Monopoly money look so realistic these days.” [She] went over to the box and said, “Uh…Mom? This is real money.”
I stopped and gasped. … It was a lot of money. I immediately started sobbing… 20s, 10s, 5s…. I started counting… but I couldn’t focus for the tears. I handed it all to her. She counted: $300!!!!!!!!
Blessing in Disguise (car accident) $3000
It was December when I calculated that upcoming bills out-weighed upcoming income for the month by $3000 — without any consideration of Christmas expenses. … I knew money could come from anywhere … decided to not worry about it, but to expect a miracle. Can you guess where it came from?
[Shortly after] … my husband called … and explained he had just been hit … by a pickup truck that had spun out and lost control at the freeway exit. … He was ok, but was worried that the car might be totaled (which it was)… By Wednesday, we had money for [our] bills, a … down payment for a new truck … and a little money for Christmas two days later.
After Husband’s Stroke (Diana Johnson)
Back in 2006, I gave my sister my share of profits from the sale of our parents’ home (about $10,000, because she was in dire need). We were in need as well; but I felt her need was greater.
Ten years later, my husband suffered a massive stroke, and could no longer work. Miraculously, it happened when his … bus run was cancelled due to [the college] students leaving for Christmas. Otherwise, his stroke would have occurred while driving a busload of students!
And when our need was the greatest (after [his] stroke), the amount I gave my sister was returned to me, multiplied, in a miraculous, unexpected way:
I received a certified letter in the mail, which at first I ignored, thinking it was just another notice from the IRS. When I finally picked up the letter from the post office, I was informed that a previously unknown retirement was waiting for me… [at a University] where I had taught for 15 years. I had worked part-time, and had been told that part time and adjunct instructors receive no retirement. Yet, here was a certified letter informing me of a lump sum which had been held for me for years, and growing without my knowledge.
That unexpected retirement was close to $24,000, equivalent to one year’s salary that my husband made at a part-time job just before his stroke. And this has lasted us much longer than a year, due to other financial miracles: donations, an unexpected deposit from Social Security to our credit union account with a letter … informing us that they had not credited my husband properly for his military service!
While my husband was still in intensive care, I ordered some home medical equipment, and didn’t know how I would pay for it. [But then] I … received a call from … my retirement account, informing me that they had discovered another $5,000 plus that was owed me. This was exactly the extra amount I needed.
$80 in Tips (Jane on Forum)
I tried my first experiment on May 19th. I’m a waitress … and weeknights can be … slow. Typically, … I only bring home somewhere between $30-$45 for the night. … I wrote down how grateful I was to be going home from work on the night of the 19th with more than $80 in my pocket. I wrote about how that made me feel, and how well my night went.
The night went by, and my section of tables was unusually busy, but the tips still seemed a bit low. And as the night drew to an end, my vague mental calculations told me that I was about $20 short of my goal. Wouldn’t you know it … when I opened up the booklet containing my last tip of the night, … it was $20!! …$20 on a $52 dinner ticket. At the end of the night, after having to tip out the bartender and busser, I went home with $85 in my pocket.
* Kayli’s bookmark and one of her physicians
* Santa doorstep $100
* Trevan job loss severance
* Trevan 1700 bonus instead of 700
* PTG restaurant – then over $40K that month
As one of my students pointed out:
It can be tested (Carol Colvin)
I knew that my thoughts, positive or negative, had an effect on what happened to me, but I thought the universe was much more whimsical in its workings. [Learning how it works] … has made my trust in the principles of right thinking much more solid. This is scientific. It can be tested.
To achieve a big goal, two things need to happen:
- Resources and other people, and
- You knowing what to do and when
Two things need to happen, but it only takes doing ONE thing to initiate them both:
See it, feel it. (Lemon exercise)
Lots of people see it and feel it. So why doesn’t it always work?
IF you don’t fear, things WILL work out
If I can get you to stop being afraid, then I know everything is going to be okay. THAT is my work. It’s not about teaching you how to achieve goals or get money, it’s about teaching you why you can be at peace. Because when you’re at peace, you will achieve those goals, and receive the money you need. Ironically, we don’t DARE not fear. As though fear provides some kind of comfort. We must have the COURAGE to NOT FEAR.
“But what if it doesn’t work? What if I have to feel disappointed?”
Fear not. Dare to believe.
Rare Faith (Boyd K. Packer)
There are two kinds of faith. One of them functions ordinarily in the life of every soul. It is the kind of faith born by experience; it gives us certainty that a new day will dawn, that spring will come, that growth will take place. It is the kind of faith that relates us with confidence to that which is scheduled to happen. …
There is another kind of faith, rare indeed. This is the kind of faith that causes things to happen. It is the kind of faith that is worthy and prepared and unyielding, and it calls forth things that otherwise would not be. It is the kind of faith that moves people. It is the kind of faith that sometimes moves things. …
It comes by gradual growth. It is a marvelous, even a transcendent, power, a power as real and as invisible as electricity. Directed and channeled, it has great effect.
It’s Scalable! (Stephanie Lee)
I owed a $300 bill and I had no idea where I was going to get the money from. …I worked to promote my art courses … but as the time got closer and no sales were coming in, I felt the anxiety building in me. Every time I would feel that flutter of worry in my chest, I would take a deep breath and imagine getting up out of my office chair after paying the bill … and feeling REALLY good – giddy even – about having paid it on time.
The night before it was due, I prayed gratitude for all the past times God has provided exactly what we needed, exactly when we needed it. I imagined that being something that He would continue to do, and that even if I couldn’t pay this bill on time, He would provide a way for that to be okay, too.
The next morning, I woke up, showered, and was actively practicing the visualization of having paid the bill and feeling really good about it. I checked my PayPal account and saw that overnight I had made $325 in sales. Enough to pay the bill, cover the PayPal fees, and have a little extra.
That was for $300 – now get this. She continues:
After a long [and difficult] year … we filed our taxes to discover that the usual <$1500 we usually owe – IF we owe anything at all – had jumped to an early calculation of $15,000. How is she going to solve this one??
I experienced my first panic attack while sitting in my husband’s truck a few days after that news came. We had been wandering in a sort of deer-in-headlights stupor with the new reality and had not even an inkling for how to pay even half of that on time.
Because I was fresh out of your Genius Bootcamp, I knew that my mind was going to be my most valuable tool in this situation. …I adopted the mantra “Just keep your mind right,” which meant to keep my thoughts aligned with the laws.
A couple of months earlier, I had chatted with my friend, Erica – our dentist’s wife – and she sheepishly asked if I would be willing to allow them to commission a painting for their office reception area.
We parted ways and she said she’d get back with me. … [But] because it was only for one painting … I didn’t even think of it as a possible solution to the tax bill.
… About three weeks before the tax bill was due, Erica called and said, “Can we meet you at the gallery to talk to you about the painting?”
I rushed to the gallery and we all stood there looking at my pieces and chatting about my process. … [I submitted a proposal with the prices for each, from which she could choose a painting for their office].
A few days later, I received an email with a list of … over 20 paintings [they wanted] … at my proposal price [totaling] $15,000…
[Long story short, with a snafu in their funding they could only give me $13,000, but offered to do some expensive dental work we needed in exchange for the difference, which was a better deal for us, AND the $15,000 tax bill (once the math was fully completed) turned out to be less than $10,000.]
Providence Moves, Too (William Hutchison Murray)
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, … that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s (“ger-ta’s”) couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!
Learn more at:
JackrabbitFactor.com or RareFaith.org
(These were notes from my presentation at the ListenU Speakers Series on June 7, 2018.)
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One Response
Coming to the end of the summer it’s always a tight squeeze. I work on a ten month contract for the school and try to leave summer open so I can see my children in different states as I can work out finances. Just as I was ready to panic and melt down, the school called me. In July. To work a few days earlier this year. Thanks, my miracle came through again.