True story. When I was about 8 years old, I taught myself how to draw. I started out by tracing the photographs in catalogs and fashion magazines and eventually learned to draw on my own. I got so good at it that, as a 10 year-old child, I was earning money as a freelance artist for a local community center. Everyone who knew me at the time, said I had a bright future as a graphic artist.
As I grew into reading comic books, I was inspired to develop and draw my own characters. After seeing my work, a doctor, family-friend, and self-published author at our church, offered to help me publish my comic books. That never materialized, but I continued to draw and write, and soon, I had a whole universe of super heroes with different powers, and story lines.
One of my favorites was a team of young adventurers that featured a young couple--a Jamaican man and a Latin woman--who were romantically involved. Every day, I would spend hours and hours fantasizing about their exploits and drawing story after story as I indulged my artistic passion. Drawing was a source of great satisfaction, sublimation and also escape for my youthful thoughts and energy.
As I evolved through high school, however, I started drawing less and less, and by the time I graduated, those days of creative fantasizing and escape were almost nil, and my collection of art work ended up in boxes in closets and basements, and faded into the forgotten.
Jump ahead a few years, and I'm now at Columbia University, where, during my junior year, I meet a young lady. We start dating. She's everything I want: good heart, adventurous, intelligent, good conversation, independent, and, oh yes, pretty feet. I propose to her on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and we move in together.
Now, even though we never did marry (things fell apart shortly afterwards, as I was still evolving), all told, we were together for seven years. It was the longest, and most impactful relationship I've had. Her name was Reina--Spanish for "queen."
Jump ahead a few more years, and after redefining myself, quitting my engineering job, writing a few books, escaping from New York, becoming a nomad adventurer, I found myself going through some old boxes and came across the old artwork and comics I had created as a child in elementary school. Reminiscing, I start reading the old stories to see if and how my pre-teen mind has evolved. What I discovered gave me a shock!
I rediscovered that the name of the lead female character, the Spanish girl I had conjured up for my lead male character, the girl who was his partner in adventure--her name--which I had completely forgotten in the intervening years--had been “Rina!” In other words, the name I had created for the significant female character in my fantasies, years before in elementary school, turned out to be almost exactly the same name of the one woman I almost married many years later! Coincidence? I think not.
Treasure-Mapping
Motivational speakers, self-help gurus and personal development coaches all speak about the power of treasure-mapping as a way of creating your desired reality. Treasure-mapping is the act of pasting or posting images of your desired reality in a place where you can view and visualize it on a daily basis. Your treasure map--an actual physical collage of images-- might include pictures of your dream car, dream house, perfect mate, boat, money, any visual representation of things, or experiences you'd like to create in your life. Treasure-mapping is based on the principle that anything you dwell upon continuously, visualize, and live in will eventually manifest in your reality. It works.
Get clear on what you want.
When I suggest the treasure-mapping concept to coaching clients and workshop attendees, I often get a little resistance. While they recognize the validity of the concept, they are often a little hesitant about it. In order to successfully use treasure-mapping, and what I call treasure-writing, you have to be clear about what you want. All creation starts with clarity of outcome.
Some people are reluctant to get really clear because they feel they are limiting their possibilities by asking for a specific outcome. Don't worry about that. If you're like most people, I'd be willing to bet that specificity is not the challenge here. If there is an area of your life that is lacking, the reason you are not getting what you want is because you are not being specific enough!
You see, many people are entirely too vague in their desires. They want "a lot" of money, or a "nice" partner, or a "good" job, but don't get specific enough to really be happy. Imagine walking up to an airline ticket counter and asking for a ticket.
"Where do you want to go, sir?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Somewhere nice. You decide."
At the same time, many people go the opposite direction and focus more on what they don't want rather than what they do want.
Imagine what a frustrating and fruitless time you'd have if someone gave you a supermarket shopping list of, say, fifty things they didn't want. That only leaves 10,000 other items to choose from, and absolutely no idea of what to actually bring home.
Getting clear on what you want is the first step in getting anything that even closely resembles what you believe would make you happy. Getting clear on what you want tunes your mind and thoughts and actions and expectations to the right frequency to attract that which is in harmony with you. Getting clear on what you want saves you the time and trouble of sorting through the “also-rans” and “runners-up.” Getting clear on what you want helps you to maintain your standards so you don’t settle for what you don’t want. There’s an abundance of what you seek just waiting for you. There’s no need to settle, provided you can convince yourself you deserve what you seek.
Your assignments for today.
1. Create a written treasure map for your any aspect of your life.
To “treasure-write” your passion-centered business and lifestyle, for example, answer the following questions in the form of a descriptive paragraph. What sort of product or service are you offering? Where exactly is your business located? Where are you living? Describe in detail what you do from the moment you rise to the moment you go to sleep. How much money are you making monthly? How many employees--if any--do you have? What sort of feedback are you getting from the world? What are people saying about you and your business?
Your written treasure map might go like this: "In my ideal scene, I am in business for myself selling my crafts via the internet. I work from my home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is a canary-yellow, two-story townhouse with....yadda, yadda, yadda….” Be as specific and detailed as possible.
To treasure-write your ideal partner(s), as another example, consider the following: What does he look like? How tall/short is she? Describe her personality. What things do you like about him? How do you feel when she's around? What age, nationality, religion, etc. are important to you? What activities do the two (or three) of you like to do together?
2. Create a visual treasure-map.
Find, cut, copy and paste together a collage of scenes of people, places and things that represent the accomplishments and experiences of your ideal life. Post it on your wall above your office desk or anywhere in your home where you’ll see it regularly. Create one for your computer screensaver/wallpaper using scanned images or photos from the internet.
Conclusion
The ability to pursue your passion, live true to yourself, create the life of your dreams and set an example for others to follow hinges on the ability to be clear on what you want, to hold that vision in your mind and in your mind's eye, to live constantly in the feeling of the dream and to take steps every day towards the desired reality.
Getting clear on what you want is the first step in getting anything that even closely resembles what you believe would make you happy. Getting clear on what you want tunes your mind and thoughts and actions and expectations to the right frequency to attract that which is in harmony with you. Getting clear on what you want saves you the time and trouble of sorting through the “also-rans” and “runners-up.” Getting clear on what you want helps you to maintain your standards so you don’t settle for what you don’t want. There’s an abundance of what you seek just waiting for you. There’s no need to settle, provided you can convince yourself you deserve what you seek.
Your assignments for today.
1. Create a written treasure map for your any aspect of your life.
To “treasure-write” your passion-centered business and lifestyle, for example, answer the following questions in the form of a descriptive paragraph. What sort of product or service are you offering? Where exactly is your business located? Where are you living? Describe in detail what you do from the moment you rise to the moment you go to sleep. How much money are you making monthly? How many employees--if any--do you have? What sort of feedback are you getting from the world? What are people saying about you and your business?
Your written treasure map might go like this: "In my ideal scene, I am in business for myself selling my crafts via the internet. I work from my home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is a canary-yellow, two-story townhouse with....yadda, yadda, yadda….” Be as specific and detailed as possible.
To treasure-write your ideal partner(s), as another example, consider the following: What does he look like? How tall/short is she? Describe her personality. What things do you like about him? How do you feel when she's around? What age, nationality, religion, etc. are important to you? What activities do the two (or three) of you like to do together?
2. Create a visual treasure-map.
Find, cut, copy and paste together a collage of scenes of people, places and things that represent the accomplishments and experiences of your ideal life. Post it on your wall above your office desk or anywhere in your home where you’ll see it regularly. Create one for your computer screensaver/wallpaper using scanned images or photos from the internet.
Conclusion
The ability to pursue your passion, live true to yourself, create the life of your dreams and set an example for others to follow hinges on the ability to be clear on what you want, to hold that vision in your mind and in your mind's eye, to live constantly in the feeling of the dream and to take steps every day towards the desired reality.
Yes, creating your ideal life is doable. Thoughts can become things. Words can create worlds. Dreams can come true. Fantasies can become real. Drawings can come to life. Trust me, it’s so easy, even a child could do it!
