Dreams Still Need Action

This is an older piece from a time when I wrote more directly about the Law of Attraction. I would frame it more simply now: dreams still need action.

Vision Is Not a Substitute for Action

There has been a lot of debate about whether The Secret made it sound as if people could wish their way into the life they wanted. Just visualize what you want and it appears.

I have never found that useful.

Even if you believe deeply in intention, mindset, prayer, guidance, or the unseen parts of life, you still have to take practical steps. If you want to start a business, you have to make decisions, talk to people, create the offer, build the website, learn from the market, and do the work in front of you.

Vision can orient you.

Action moves you.

You Don’t Have to Figure Out Everything

The useful distinction is this: you need to take action, but you do not need to have the entire path figured out before you begin.

Just do what is in front of you to do. Pay attention. Ask what the next honest step is. Then take it.

If a teenager is starting an online business, for instance, she needs to decide what the product or service will be, do some research, get the hosting set up, choose a domain name, get the website built, and learn how to reach people. Like any entrepreneur, she will not have everything figured out at the beginning. That is normal.

The important thing is to get clear about the deeper aim. What is the ultimate goal? What is the real reason behind wanting to create this business?

Here are some examples:

• Make enough money to buy a new car
• Travel throughout Europe this summer
• Start investing in stocks and live a luxurious lifestyle
• Buy my parents a nice gift for their anniversary
• Travel to Africa with youth group to feed hungry children

Help your child or teen identify the desired result, take appropriate actions, and learn that not everything has to be solved before they begin.

Say your son wants to get into a certain college but his grades are low. Should he just close his eyes and visualize better grades? Yes, it will be most helpful for him to visualize, but there are also other logical, appropriate actions he needs to take.

Or perhaps your three-year old wants a new talking doll. If you wanted to take this opportunity to teach her how to attract what she wants, you could say something like this: What actions can we take to get the new doll? You could practice picturing what you want in your mind and then you could take some actions too. You could save up money in your piggy bank or ask Grandma to buy it for your birthday. Do you have any other ideas?

If I think back on how certain things have happened for me, I could not have orchestrated it better if I tried. I had no way of knowing that attending a seminar in Atlanta and meeting a person would lead me to another person which would lead me to an interview with person that would skyrocket my career.

Let’s face it. It is doubtful that we know everything there is to know about how life works. The point is to stay open, check in with yourself, and keep asking: What is the next right action?

Teach your children how to check in with themselves. Then teach them to trust their guidance enough to take the next practical step.

What’s the Best Way to Teach Kids The Law of Attraction?

If you want to share The Law of Attraction with your children, make your own spiritual growth your first priority. In fact, that is the most precious gift you can give to your children: a parent who is nurturing his or her own spirit.