That’s it. That’s the Law of Attraction in three words. That’s all you have to remember. Simple, huh? You might even find yourself saying something like, “No duh, Drew – I knew that before I shelled out the cash for this book. Do I still have the receipt for this thing?” Yes, while it’s true that the LOA is a very simple concept, one you are probably already familiar with, applying this concept into your everyday life tends to be more of a challenge.
If you’re reading this book, my guess is that this is not the first “self-help” or success oriented book you’ve purchased. While I’ve read my fair share of the genre, the vast majority sit on my shelves occupying space. Either I do not remember the content (too generic, too bland) and in many cases my attention drifted and I never finished it. Hell, I’ve got a few that I never even cracked the cover.
In other cases, the information was very good and I applied it for a while and then went back to my old habits. Self-improvement books are similar to diet books in that way. They work for a while, but usually we fall back to our old ways of doing things.
The books that have truly made a lasting impact on me are the ones that shifted my perspective and led me see the world in a different way. There was undeniable truth in the words I read and after reading them, I could not longer see as I had before. Of course, that’s the intention of this book – to forever change the way you understand the workings of the universe. What’s more, we will place you at the very center of this universe, where you have the power to attract all that you desire.
In order to shift your perspective, one of the prerequisites for you attracting all that you desire is for to begin to see yourself at the very center of this great universe. Psychologists refer to our point of perspective as our “locus of control.” Those with an internal locus of control believe that they control their own destiny.
Those with an external locus of control believe that outside forces or fate determine what happens in their lives. If your life was a movie, an external locus of control would make you the actor up on screen. You would mostly be following the script as it was written for you; there wouldn’t be much room for your artistic vision.
In contrast, using the same metaphor, if you operated from an internal locus of control, you would be the writer, the director, and the actor of the movie. In this case you would always get to choose what happens next in the story. And you get to choose exactly how that looks and sounds up on the screen. Whatever the scene, you are always in the place of choice in your life.
As you begin to read this book and digest the concepts, you need to begin from the place where you take responsibility for everything that is in your life right now. You will need to come from the place where you own both the good things and the bad things in your life. Where there is great responsibility, there is great power. If you choose not to own all that happens in your life, you will never see yourself as the causal agent for that which you do not want in your life. If you don’t own it, you cannot change it.
I will give you an example that’s fresh in my mind. As I was writing this today I decided to take my dogs for a walk. I loaded up the truck and we were headed to some wooded trails close to my home. It was snowing here in upstate New York, and there was an inch of accumulation on the roads. As I rounded a sharp turn, I saw a car in the opposite lane. As I tried to reduce my speed, my truck started sliding toward the car. I could not stop. The whole incident seemed like it was in slow motion. There was nothing either of us could do to prevent a collision. And my truck struck the car. (No one was injured).
Now I could easily attribute this incident to external factors. I could tell myself this happened due to the slippery roads. I could believe that my speed was too fast for the conditions. Or I could attribute the whole thing to bad luck for me to take that sharp turn just as another driver was coming the other way.
When I begin to attribute this incident to internal factors, the dynamic is completely changed. If instead I attracted this accident to me, I can learn what’s behind that. I can learn how to avoid such an incident in the future. And thus I have the power to create my future. I have the power to attract exactly what I want. And I have the power to no longer attracting that which I do not want.
So let’s begin this journey with you at the center of the universe, the creator of all your experiences. Perhaps you already see the world this way. Or perhaps this is something completely new for you, that you have lots of question about. For those of you in the latter group, I’m asking that you try on this lens. Experiment with how you see the world as you read this book. After all, you can always go back to your old ways later if you choose.
So, you with me?