The Magic of Believing

I find human beings fascinating. We go through life thinking that somehow the world is outside of us, that things just seem to happen to us, that there really is no way to get ahead in life so stop complaining...nobody will listen anyway, right? Most of us just settle for the leftovers...fighting over the scraps like scavenger dogs and yet within the heart and soul of each of us there lives a King...a Queen...that desires to come forth and lay claim to what is rightfully ours to express, extend, and experience. But how do we do this? How do we go from rags to riches? How do we step away from our past and into a glorious present?

By believing...

I see you smirking. I know, I know, you've heard that before. But did you really believe or did you just pretend to believe when in fact you did believe you just believed that you didn't believe even though you were still believing? Got it?

We cannot escape believing. We believe even when we don't believe. It's not a question of whether or not we are believing, it becomes a matter of what we are willing to believe. I once believed that God was out to get me. Everywhere I went I met with dissapointment, failure, and rejection. I believed that I was cursed and you could not talk me out of it no matter what. And then I got this book. I don't exactly know how it came into my experience, but there must have been a smidgen of optimism in my fog of despair to allow some clarity to shine through.

While reading this book I had an ephiphany. I am the writer, the director, the producer, and the star actor of my own show. My Life is my very own production. Let's just say that bad things really did happen in my life. Good things could've been happening at the same time but I believed in the "bad" more than the "good". And guess what? I expected bad things to happen. I literally looked forward to bad things to happen. I must've because they kept on happening! I focused on the negative, the tragic, the dissapointment, the discouraging and that is exactly what I got.

Focus = Reality.

So where is your focus right now? Are you focused on paying the lousy bills or are you focused that the universe is truly abundant and that you are entitled to a prosperous life? Do you pass a mirror and stick your tounge out at the reflection or do you look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself that you forgive yourself for anything that you may have done. The only time that it is ever too late is the time you are "no more". I don't care if you're 9...I don't care if you're 99...the time to create your life is NOW!

This book is a great read BUT you must be willing to apply its truths. You must be willing to put aside the self-imposed nonsense and accept for yourself a greater, more beautiful vision. You will become what you desire to be if you keep that vision in front of you and you keep, keep, keep believing.

Remember what Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are correct..."

May you believe in new possibilities...

Peace & Blessings.

I bought this book over 20 years ago by mistake at a used book store. I thought it was about something else, but once I started reading it, I was fascinated. It's very easy to understand and simply written, but the message is unmistakenly powerful ... you can have anything you desire if you put your mind to it. This book is a very early fore-runner of the Law of Attraction books that are so popular now -- same message, but a lot less fluff around it. The book is thin, but the author wastes no words. So how do I know it works?

Shortly after reading this book, I got the idea to give it a test. I needed a car and one day, out of the blue, my husband saw a sweepstakes advertised in which the prize was a brand new sports car. I had told him nothing about the book or my desire to test it, so it was kind of surprising when out of the blue, he said, "Hey, why don't you send your name in to this contest?" I did. Then, from that day until the day the winner was to be chosen, I did absolutely everything this book suggested. I followed the instructions to the T ... every single day. On the day the winner was to be chosen, I just knew I was going to win. I knew my name was going to be drawn as the winner. It sounds crazy, but there was just no way it could NOT happen. So when they called me to tell me I'd won, I wasn't even surprised. The contest guy said, "Well, you don't sound surprised." LOL! How could I? After following all the instructions in this book, I was absolutely sure I would win!

If you get this book, read it and then set a little test for yourself. Follow the instructions to the letter and don't let any doubts in your mind. See what happens. I bet you won't be surprised either!

If you are a fan of Claude M. Bristol's book THE MAGIC OF BELIEVING, then do yourself a favor. Get this tape and play it often, especially when you feel yourself surrounded by doubts and negativity. At once you will be reminded of all the simple but powerfully effective principles that are to be found in this timeless classic.

And if you are unfamiliar with the book? That's okay. The abridged audio tape version stands alone quite well. So even those who haven't got time to read the full text of the original book will still come away with all they need to know about this "science of setting your goal and then reaching it."

The audio tape, like the book, works best when you apply what you have learned consistently, on a daily basis. So what better way to do that than to listen to a section here and there: in the car, on your lunch break, or just as you are drifting off to sleep at night? Believe it or not (no pun intended), I think the shortened cassette version of Mr. Bristol's book is even more powerful than the book itself. It cuts to the essence of the book in a way that excites the listener's imagaination.

I first heard about "The Magic of Believing" in 1973,listening to Larry Glick's late-night talk show on WBZ Boston -- he was absolutely sold on it and kept bringing on celebrity guests who felt the same way, and I eventually bought a copy. I was skeptical going in, and for a while after - this was'nt the first self -help book I had read and not the most polished in style. But there was something about it -- the down-to-earth commonsense of the author I think (Bristol seems to have been above all a practical guy)-- that kept me reading it to the end. I started to do some of the mechanical things -- aids to visualization -- he suggested, figuring what the hell, what's to lose?. I decided the goal to set was to move up from my earnings at the time ($20k per year) to three times that amount -- virtually "impossible" where I was working. To cut to the chase. A year later I was making $80,000 per year, I kept doing better each year and I am still doing well. Things fell into place without any planning too many to relate. I gave up a salaried job I hated in order to free-lance but without any real prospects for doing well at it -- the idea was to tread water until I found something I liked better. But a first client appeared out of nowhere and referred me to another. Work kept coming in and did not stop. Every year I did better. I don't really know how it works, and I don't particularly care. I do know it worked for me -- and still does, and not just financially. So do I believe Bristol was on to something? You bet your life I do. I have also had a chance to observe other people for whom things seem to work out well, none of whom have read this book. They confirm one of its basic principles. People tend to get what they expect -- they fulfil their own prophecies. In general, optimists thrive, the pessimists don't. What this book shows is that these attitudes are not "givens" -- to an extent they can be self-generated.

Of all the self-help and self-improvement books I have read in my life, this one is best. Claude Bristol wrote "The Magic of Believing" in the late forties when the subconscious mind was less understood. He only knew that there was some kind of powerful psychic force that exists, that can be tapped for man's good. Intuitively, I think I have always known this. I first learned it in college, when I made an effort to change my beliefs about what is possible -- and made the Dean's List for the first time in my life.

The mind is like a thermostat, and once set at a level of accomplishment, it will not allow the individual to exceed that set level. The thermostat is really what you believe is possible for you. When "the area of the possible" expands for you, your accomplishments will expand as well.

This is not really "magic," it only seems that way. It is really natural forces at work that are not completely understood, yet may be used for your benefit.

I reread this book every few years. I am always amazed at the insights it contains.