How I Reached a 2016 Goal In 2 Days and How You Can Do The Same
dan masden
It's Been a Dream 7 Years in the Making
It started in 2009, when I was blogging about my other passion in life... theater. I was writing reviews for a reputable Broadway blog with a good, but not spectacular, audience reach. A family friend saw my work, was impressed with my writing, and gave me an email address for an editor at the Huffington Post to get my writing featured on their arts section.
Thinking an "in" was all I needed to get my work seen by millions of eyeballs, I submitted a piece to the editor, who did not respond. So I submitted another review, then another, and so on....
I figured perhaps they weren't getting my emails. Surely, THAT was the reason they weren't publishing my amazing, well articulated, theatre opinions, right?
So I sent one more email to the editor, simply asking to confirm if he was getting my submissions. His reply was pretty short and simple:
Dan-
Yes. I have received your submissions. Thank you for your interest in the Huffington Post.
I don't believe he ever bothered to sign the email.
That is what we call a "rejection letter".
At the time, I decided that it meant I just wasn't a very good writer and was unworthy of being read by a national audience. I continued to write for the smaller theatre blog, and shelved the bigger dream.
Fast forward to 2015, I had moved down my own spiritual development path, but had not yet committed to making it my career.
I started to write again, this time about life's "big questions". Something inside me told me that it was time to resubmit my work to HuffPost.
Having long lost the contact info for that editor, I started sending in through their submission page on their site, essentially just a google form where you cut and paste your writing, press send, and hope it stands out among the thousands of other bloggers that submit to them every day.
I didn't really anticipate that I would hear back from them. And that is exactly what happened. Another rejection.
Last Tuesday, in anticipation of the Powerball drawing, I wrote about how we can live like a lottery winner without buying a ticket. I was really proud of that piece, both for it's relevancy (everyone was talking about the billion dollars) and the message, the importance of feeling the abundance already around us.
Again, I submitted it through the google form on the HuffPost website.
But as I meditated that afternoon, my inner voice spoke to me. It told me to stop playing small and shoot higher. It told me to email the piece directly to Arianna Huffington.
As I wrote the email to her, my ego kicked in with all of the negativity. "What am I doing? This woman is a powerful voice in the media, a best selling author, and speaking all over the globe. Why would she read your email? And what if this isn't even her real address? You are wasting your time"
But I knew intuitively that I was somehow being guided to do this. I also felt that I had a great message to share with others...so I clicked send.
That night, as I fell asleep, I visualized Arianna Huffington reading my email, I visualized her responding, and I thought about what it would look and feel like to see my work on such a reputable website and how it might create new clients for my new business,
The next day, as I pulled into my yoga class, my phone buzzed. The email read:
Dan, many thanks for thinking of us and for sending me your post. We would love to feature your voice on HuffPost about how to live more abundantly. I'm ccing our blog editor to follow up. All the best,
Arianna
On Friday, the blog editor followed up to give me my login credentials and I am now officially a blogger for a major website.
I don't share this story to brag. I don't believe that I am the greatest blogger in the world. I don't believe that I am a sorcerer with some skill set that nobody else has. I share this with you this morning to prove three points.
- The things we focus our attention on expand in our life. When I submitted my work and tried to protect myself from rejection by saying "they probably won't email back", they didn't. When I focused my attention on what the goal would feel and look like, it happened.
- None of this would have happened if I kept playing small. I could have continued to submit work the same way as thousands of other writers, but I took a chance on eliminating the middle man and going straight to the top of the food chain.The biggest way to achieve your dream is to keep showing up in the world and looking for one way, each day, to move closer to your goal.
- I would not have found the power to make a bold move if I had not meditated and listened to my inner guidance.
I believe that you have the same power and resources within you the achieve your goal. Here is how:
- If you look at the world from a place of scarcity (There isn't enough money, there aren't enough jobs, I don't have enough time to ______), then expect the universe to show you more lack in your life. Instead, reframe your thoughts and give gratitude, every day, for the things you do have. Make a point each night to write 5 things that you are grateful for in a notebook. This is practiced by world leaders, CEO's, and people like Oprah. Gratitude and success go hand in hand.
- 20 minutes of meditation twice a day, will profoundly change your life. Deepak Chopra has said that "Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening to God". Don't get hung up on semantics here. If "God" isn't your thing, use my preferred phrase of "the universe". You can use Buddha, Source, Mother Earth... it doesn't matter. Ask the universe for what you want, then allow yourself to be guided. Look at every new person that you meet and every new experience that you have as being a key that is going to unlock your desires. That feeling of "being in the right place at the right time" is not a coincidence. It's a universal law called synchronicity. And it becomes a regular occurrence when we are aligned with our higher self.
- Make a vision board. I created one the night before I got the email from Arianna Huffington. Paste things that you want to bring into your life. What kind of person do you want to be? How do you want to feel? What do you want to accomplish? Place that vision board in a place where you will see it everyday. Remember, what we focus our attention on expands. This board is a tool to start shifting your focus.
- Have faith. I know it sounds easier than it is, but your dreams are just files sitting on a hard drive that you haven't downloaded yet. When you truly believe that you are worthy to receive them, the universe will agree.
I hope this blog serves you and inspires you to recommit to a goal this week. As always, please share this with anyone who might need it and let them know that they can sign up for more free weekly emails at www.creativesoulcoaching.net
Sending love,
Dan
