Q) I have a friend that wanted to be a rock star, but it never happened, yet he was quiet talented. He says he is happy, but somehow I notice people who achieve dreams have a different kind of happiness than people like him. What do I do so my dreams aren't defeated? -Jay

Life is a process. His (or her) dreams may develop later on. And, you could be right - your friend may carry some sadness about not achieving stardom. I can relate to that - I was in a rock band, and I wanted to make it big.

But there came a time in my life when I faced struggle. Out of my commitment to change, I discovered things about myself and about life that I perhaps would have never found had I become a rock star. Perhaps my tape series, derived from much personal learning has helped some person who I don't even know. Who knows - maybe that's a greater accomplishment for me than selling a million records.

You could say that your friend missed the mark, and maybe you're right. You could say that wealthy stars have more satisfaction in life, and you could be right. But I don't think that conclusions about people's success can be so sweeping and formulated. There is a tremendous amount of variety in our lives.

To increase your success, do what you think is best. If that doesn't work, re-think. Read on - I'll show you how your thinking maps out your course to success.

What are the spiritual rules to becoming as rich as fast as possible? It scares me that money can't be made by wanting it like I do.

This is a great question, and since you used the word "spiritual", I'm going to use the word "God", but you can substitute "Universe" or "Higher Power" or whatever you like - I'm not pushing religion here. My answer is: God says "Yes" to all our thoughts. If you "want" to be rich, God says "Yes! I'm behind your thoughts all the way. You now WANT to be rich even more than before." And then guess what? You WANT to be rich. God is not a bigot. God supports All people and All thoughts.

If you say "I want to be rich and I don't care who I step on to get there." God will say, "Yes! I'm behind you all the way. You now WANT to be rich even more and you CARE LESS EVEN THAN BEFORE!"

Now, the only problem with "less-caring" thinking is that there are some Universal principles that you cannot change which will always be going on. A biggie is "What goes around, comes around." So the less you care, the less caring will come back to you.

Catch: This law doesn't necessarily mean that if you cheat someone out of a deal, that someone is going to cheat *you* out of a deal at some point. The law never said that what comes back to you will be exactly the same. If you cause financial misery to someone, it is misery that will come back to you.... but not necessarily financial misery. You might be fabulously wealthy, but then one of your loved ones might die unexpectedly.... or your significant partner may leave you.... or whatever.

There also is no set time frame for when these occurrences happen. It could be sooner, it could be later. Connected to this law is the law that causing pain for one causes pain for all. Causing joy for one causes joy for all. We are all connected.

Key: Think the "Perfect End Result". If you want to change your thoughts so that you become wealthy, change them to "I provide a great service to many who benefit from what I provide." God will then say, "Yes! I'm behind your thoughts all the way. You provide a great service and many lives are benefiting." The financial reward will then happen automatically, without any "wanting" from you. What you think, you create. Observe what's so, and do what works.

I get what you're saying. One of my goals is to start a camp for children with disabilities. But I can't see how starting that camp will make me any money legally.

See how automatic self-defeating thinking is? You state your goal, and then you state that you can't see it happening! And then God says, "Yes! I'm behind your thoughts all the way. You now CAN'T see how starting that camp will make you any money... even more than before!" And then the camp continually doesn't happen. It's defeated even before it's begun.

Practice changing your thoughts. When you catch yourself in a "can't, won't, couldn't, shouldn't, it'll never.." pattern, simply add a solution-oriented idea to the previous thought. You'll find it's amazing what will change for you. Teach others to change their thoughts. What you share, you keep.

One of my friends has been working on his dream project for 3 years funded with spare cash. He's now negotiating with a major company for a World-Wide deal. He's had unstoppable intentions from the moment he began.

Important: Notice if your thoughts and your intentions differ. If you think positive but your intentions are connected to anger or resentment, God will support the stronger part of you. So if you think positive about your children's camp, but you have a stronger intention to be wealthy, God will support you in keeping your money.

But I will have to pay to start the camp,or someone will have to pay!

You see? Looks to me like you have a stronger intention to stay rich than to start the camp. Study your obstacles. They tell you a lot about your intentions. You can either BE a person who buys the obstacles, or you can BE a person who gets past them. The BEING creates better DOING, and the better doing creates better HAVING.

Thanks for your support.

Exciting note:
After a year or so, Jay wrote back in Jan. 2001 sharing about his success:

Out of nowhere I got a moderate role in a movie based on a long story despite having non acting experience, talent or future. It's a remake of "Rollerball" and it stars Chris Klein and LLCoolJ. I play Chris Klien's buddy till... [you'll have to find out].

That is terrific! Sounds like you're creating a "future."

It is interesting that somehow ultra ultra strange opportunities come out of nowhere!

Yep, I know what you mean.

I just ended up acting by a fluke. I never thought about serving the movie going public or selling anything or acting, but thanks to my SAG contract I will be getting paid at least a few k in residuals for the next few years.

I will wonder how I will find an opportunity to make a few million within ten years.

Sounds like you're on the right track, and the opportunities will continue to find you if you keep doing the job of putting yourself on the right track in the right place and following through with the right attitude.

John Vestman is committed to the protection
of all children everywhere.

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