Day One: Starting Over - Gratitude Journal Part 2

I wanted to take the time to apologize. I thought I was in a good place when I started "The Magic" 28 day program. I learned that I couldn't handle the slight changes due to the fact that I lost myself. It's easy to do out here in Los Angeles. It's easy to do anywhere but it's necessary to take the time to slow down and find oneself. So I took a few days off while the stress of life got to me. Well, now I'm in a better place and finally can voice what I want to do with my life.

Life is a bunch of trial and errors before finding what one truly wants out of life. It's all at our hands and some times it seems to be too much. I could have ANYTHING and all I have to do is live a life of gratitude, watch what I say/think, and enjoy the luscious fruits that I manifest. I have failed many times, I just failed again with the 28 day work book. Just because I have failed doesn't mean that I won't be successful. I fell and now it's time to pick myself back up.

What does that mean? I have found myself and I have found peace in the fact that I will be working towards a REAL foreseeable goal. I'm not going to announce it until I have put the first few rocks in place before climbing the mountain. It won't be terribly difficult and it's going to provide me with the life I've been craving.

I can tell you what I want out of life and the kind of lifestyle I want to live. I just won't tell you how I'm going to get there because I'm not going to worry about the how. I've been meditating with Deepak Chopra (his 21 day challenge) and have finally found my "ah-ha" idea! It's just moving forward with it.

What kind of lifestyle am I looking for? I thought I wanted tons of materialistic things. I do. I won't lie. I want to be able to dress nicely at reasonable prices but I want to be able to buy a $1300 coat and not worry about it breaking the bank if I really like the coat. I can barely buy a pair of socks right now without the constant worry. (I have to change that mindset though.)

I want to travel the world, spend time with my family and friends, make movies, and I want to enjoy my hobbies. I want to learn how to sail, I want to take a cooking class in different countries, and I want to work from home! I want to be able to fly to New York for a week without second guessing it. I want to go to Paris for a month and still be able to make money while on the road. I want to experience the all-inclusive resorts that are all over the world. I want to make money work for me instead of working for money.

I'm a leader. It's not as fun if I'm just a follower. I have an entrepreneur mindset and I am going to make money work for me. I promise you that. It's just putting everything into action.

So today, it's time to keep adding to the gratitude journal I used on the past eleven days. I have over 120 things written down about what I'm grateful for so by the end of this 28 days, I will have over 400 reasons why I'm grateful. I won't stop there, I will continuously write down 10 things I'm grateful for daily. It's a great way to start the morning and re-reading them at night to assure them while I'm dreaming is so powerful.

Light, love, and blessings.

Day 7: Gratitude Without Negativity

Good morning! I hope everyone is adjusted to the day light savings!

So I finally watched the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's SO GOOD! I truly enjoyed them and of course they had hidden messages/morals about staying in tune with your true self.

Anyway, today's day not only marked the first FULL week of focusing my energy on gratitude, it also marked day 1 of the 21 day mediation challenge. The mediation challenge focuses on ABUNDANCE. What a beautiful word. What does abundance mean to you? Unlimited wealth? Good health with a great family life? You name it, no matter what it is!

So I have so much reinforcement on keeping in line with intention and the universe. It's going to be amazing and speed up the process even more. Just wait and see! :)

After a weeks worth of focusing my energy, my life has truly changed. Nothing outer yet but more inner. I'm happier, filled with more joy, complain less, and don't feel as heavy. Day 7 is where the gratitude journal truly helps. After writing in my gratitude journal, I read today's chapter which says I have to write 10 things I'm grateful for over 1 subject in my life I want to change.

I want to be able to make money blogging and working on my two businesses I'm building. Yes, 2 businesses in similar industries. It isn't in the film industry either. I'm reevaluating a lot that's happening in my life right now and focusing on what I truly want, not just how I can make a lot of money. Since I'm unemployed, there's a lot I could complain about. Instead, I wrote down TEN things I am grateful for SINCE I'm unemployed. One of the reasons was so I could focus on my businesses and put the needed time into starting them.

Another thing I was grateful for was for helping out a friend with a headshot session and I was given $20. I was filled with so much gratitude which invites more of this kind of work towards me. I LOVE IT!

After doing that, I have to not complain at all today. I can't complain out loud or in my head. If I do complain, I have to say something I'm grateful for to cancel it out. Sounds funny, but it's surprising how negative a lot of thoughts are. Most things we say or think is phrased in a way that is negative, even though we may be trying to be positive.

So my challenge for YOU today is to go throughout the day being grateful for what you have. Write down 10 things you are grateful for and then try to go all day without complaining. If you find yourself with a negative thought or complaining, say something you are grateful for as well.

Light, Love, and Blessings!

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Day 6: Gratitude At Work

Happy day light savings!! Well today I'm feeling wonderful so far! I got up, put my gratitude rock in my pocket, grabbed my gratitude journal, repeated the magic words while walking to the living room, wrote down 10 things I was grateful for & why, and then went out to dance around the town. I cranked my music up and sang out loud, not caring who could hear me. I am just so in love with life right now, it's insane. 

Of course, I have every right to feel amazing after making $20 and watching Lord of the Rings for the first time! I can totally see the catch of it! SO GOOD! I'm watching the other 2 films in the trilogy today so I'll report back on everything but I'm getting more and more excited about "The Hobbit" now! 

Anyway, today's assignment is easy. It's to have your supervisor/manager write down every time you say you are grateful for something. I work at home so I am just going to be repeating what I'm grateful for all day. If I'm eating, I'll say thank you before I eat the meal. If I'm grabbing water, I'll say thank you. If I'm watching television, I'll say thank you for allowing me to watch tv in peace. The list is endless. I work at home anyway so I don't have weekends. If it falls on a weekend, then skip it and go back to it when the option of being at work is there.

So I'm just going to be going through my routine and proclaiming what I'm grateful for all day. Simple and easy. There's so much to be grateful for!

Light, Love, and Blessings!

Day Five: Gratitude for Money

Good afternoon! What a beautiful day this has turned out to be! My body feels so energized, my mind is super rejuvenated, and I just feel so grateful to be here! I love that I'm sharing my journey with everyone. I haven't felt this amazing since I first moved out to Los Angeles.

Day 5 deals with being grateful for the money I have. The assignment for the day is to grab a sticky, write "Thank You For All The Money I've Been Given Throughout My Life!" I put it in my wallet where I knew I would see it at least 3 times throughout the day.

The meaning of this assignment is to become grateful for all the money I have right now and everything I have been given. I've been working full time ever since I was legal to work in the United States so I've always had an income coming in. It's strange to me that I am unemployed now but I'm so grateful for the opportunity that being unemployed brings. I am grateful that I paid my rent today! It was a terrific feeling! THANK YOU!

So as I was saying the magic words, I was driving Malia to the studio so she can apply make-up on an actress for a headshot client. Malia gets a text from the photographer saying if I help, she'll pay me $20. Of course I could have said no and focused my energy on writing more blogs, thinking of ways to make money, or twiddling my thumbs but of course I said YES! I love my money, no matter what fashion it comes in. Coins, bills, checks, gift cards, etc. :)

So not only was I grateful for what I did have, I magically got $20 for helping out at something I didn't even plan to do! I felt AMAZING! I wanted to parade it around. $20 is a big deal. $1 is a big deal so I made sure to do a little dance for the random money I made today. I can't wait for the random checks I'll be getting in the mail soon! For doing what? Being grateful for the money I have! :)

Light, Love, and Blessings!

Day Four: Gratitude for Health

Today is a good day! I feel amazing! I just about hopped out of bed! Luckily I didn't wake M or else she probably wouldn't have been in the best mood. haha!

I grabbed my rock, journal, and headed out into the living room like I do every morning! Said the magic words as I walked down the hall to the couch, while I was pouring CLEAN water into a cup, and even when I was sipping it I kept feeling gratitude. I have had the largest smile on since I woke up and I love the fact that it isn't becoming wiped clean.

Day 4 is here! The assignment is simple. To write on a sticky, "The Gift of Health is Keeping Me Alive!" and place it somewhere where you'll see it at least 4 times today. I put mine above the toilet in the bathroom because I drink a lot of water and I know I'll see it at least 4 times there. Another place to put it is the wallet or just have it as the wallpaper on the phone!

Every time I see it; I have to close my eyes, repeat the words to myself, say thank you, and feel gratitude work in my life. What's the reasoning behind this? The body is a temple and the soul lives in it. So what better way than maintaining good health for a healthy, long life!

I also went for a walk, danced around the neighborhood while I was listening to my music, and enjoyed the world I live in. It's such a blessing to be in such an amazing mood when 4 days ago I wanted to just quit everything. Life seemed hard but now, I don't feel that way anymore. I'm ready to conquer the world and the new ideas that flow into my mind. Can't wait to see where I am after the full 28 days!

Light, Love, and Blessings.

Day Three: Picture of Three Relationships

This morning I felt a little off when I first woke up. I knew I had to shift my focus so I immediately grabbed my gratitude journal, put my gratitude rock from the nightstand in my pocket, and went out into the living room. Each step I took, I repeated to myself "thank you". As soon as I sat down, I wrote 10 things that I was grateful for and why. It definitely lifted my spirits and I was back in the right state of mind.

With day 3 here, I opened "The Magic" and re-read day three (since some times you have to read the next day right before you go to bed because you'll have a homework assignment). So today's assignment is to grab 3 pictures (photos or just put them on your computer), write on the back of them (or in a word document) why you are thankful and grateful for each person, and say thank you after each statement. I put them in a place (on my computer) where I knew I would see them at least 4 times that day. Every time I saw their picture, I repeated the statement with the magic words.

This exercise is to help maintain a healthy relationship or to improve the relationship. Who doesn't have a relationship they want improving? There's always something to improve on. Relationships can be anything between a significant other, a sibling/parent, or a friend.

I emptied my pockets, put my gratitude rock on my nightstand/thought about the best thing that happened today, and laid down to go to sleep. I feel insanely better than when I started on day 1 and can feel the power of gratitude slowly starting to build momentum.

Light, Love, and Blessings.

Day Two: Gratitude Rock

I woke up today feeling super energized! I had a smile on my face when I woke up and it only took me a couple minutes to wake up instead of 30-60 minutes!

I immediately grabbed my gratitude journal and wrote down the first 10 things that came to my mind that I had to be grateful for and why. I repeated them statement by statement and said the magic words after them.

Once my feet hit the ground, I said the magic words again. Brushing my teeth, I said the magic words in my head. Over and over I repeated this so I could feel gratitude in my every being. I started work like I usually do at home taking inbound calls for a company that is commission only. It was a success right away. 1 sale - $80 in my pocket next week. THANK YOU!

Today I have to go out in search of a rock (which was very difficult when I don't live by the ocean, have no gas to get to the ocean, and decided that I will go check out the park to see if there are any rocks there. I didn't want to get one with sharp edges because it has to be in my pocket all day. I don't want to reach into my pocket and cut my hand on it. I also wanted one that was smooth and felt good to hold in my hand.

Every time I reach into my pocket and feel the rock, I think of something that I'm grateful for. Since I apply chap stick on almost religiously (my lips dry out instantly) I say something I'm grateful for around 10-50 times in a day. At night, right when I empty my pockets, I make sure to put it on my night stand next to my bed. Before I fall asleep, I hold it in my hand and go through all of the good things that I enjoyed that day. Whether it was waking up next to my beautiful girlfriend, seeing the sunshine and feeling its warmth on my skin, having coffee with a friend, the ability to drink clean water/have a warm shower, etc. The list is ENDLESS! Then I focus on THE MOST incredible thing that happened to me today and say thank you. That way, I'm in a state of gratitude right before I fall asleep so I am going to sleep on a good note.

When I wake up the next day, I know that my rock will remind me to start listing things I'm grateful for! That way I start my day off on the right foot as well.

Remember, don't worry about the HOW. Don't ask yourself questions like "how am I going to become a working actor/actress?" or "how am I going to make a $100,000 by the end of 2013?". That is walking backwards. It's very easy to stop the flow of The Universe from helping you or stopping it all together. Focus on being grateful; all day every day.

What was the best thing that happened to me on day two? That I was able to be home and take care of my girlfriend who was too sick to get off the couch, to drive, or pretty much do anything. Whenever she shifted positions, she became too dizzy and nauseous. I had to go to the store to get medicine, to get food, to refill her water cup, etc. It was the best moment of my day because without me, she would have gone hungry and thirsty. Maybe she would have been sick for longer than 2.5 weeks.

Make sure to go find a gratitude rock for yourself! Live a life in full gratitude!

Light, Love, and Blessings.