Day 17

Finding Your Heart’s Desire

When we are happy, our energy shifts to a higher vibration. We start to attract more things that make us happy. So it makes sense for you to find out what will make you the happiest ... and then start from there. Today we’re going to explore how you can find your heart’s desire.

Don’t think “How?” think “Wow!”

Instead of asking yourself, “How can I earn money from this?” ask, “How can I make a real difference using my skill and passion?”

Finding out what you really want can be quite challenging if you haven’t done it for a while. Let’s start with the following exercise, which is based on one described by Jack Canfield in his book The Power of Focus.

Exercise: Finding Your Immediate Heart’s Desire

Write out a list of 101 things that you want to be, do, or have. Start with 40 things. Then add another 30, and then a final 30. Add a last item just to tip you over the 100 mark.

The first 40 items may be relatively easy to think up, but the secret to success in this exercise is to reach at least 101 items.

Only once you have your full list, select all the short-term items that you would like within the next year. Rewrite them onto a separate list, and write this new list on the far left-hand side of a blank piece of paper. Now in true “knock-out tournament” style, take two items at a time and, as fast as you can, select the one that you want most. It is important to complete this exercise at great speed. If possible, compete with a friend to see who finishes first.

Your first answer is likely to be your heart’s desire. If you take longer, it allows time for your brain to get engaged and the exercise won’t work. Continue the process to the bottom of the list and then start again with the chosen options, and again until eventually you reach the top eight, four, two and eventually your top number one priority for right now.

Phew! Now you can relax! The rest will be so easy ...

I remember the first time I did this exercise. My list was full of impressive ideals, and yet my number one priority was to lose weight! I was hugely disappointed. “How shallow,” I thought. Then I realized that if I were to take the necessary steps to slim down, it would mean that I would be showing more respect for myself. And yes, self-respect was a good number one for my list!

The second time I did this exercise I discovered a new desire: I wanted to have the chance to present a regular slot on radio where I could inspire others to think more positively and to take responsibility for their reality.

One of the main benefits of the 101 exercise is that it invites you to think outside of your normal comfort zone. The first 40, even 60, are likely to be familiar to you. When you complete the exercise to the full 101, or more, you may uncover heart’s desires that you were previously unaware of.

Enjoy the freedom of exploration as you create your list. Follow your heart, not your head.

Find Your Heart’s Desire and the Money Will Come

Katie came to me for Feng Shui coaching. She wanted to run her own interior design business—at least, that’s what she told me when we first met. When we ran through her 101 list, her heart’s desire turned out to be to own a camper van! Her face lit up with joy at the very mention of it.

I asked Katie, “What do you need to do next in order to own your own camper van?”

“Oh,” she said. “I need to get a job.” (I told you this was simple!)

“And do you have any particular job in mind?” I asked.

“Oh, yes,” Katie said. “I know of the perfect job that I can do. I just need to make one phone call and the job is mine.”

It was incredible. Katie already had the means to her end. She’d just been looking in the wrong direction! She hadn’t paid full attention to her true heart’s desire.

I enquired whether the job was something that she really wanted to do.

“Oh, yes,” she said again. “It’s with my favorite charity. I already donate money to them and it will be a real joy to spend my time getting other people to contribute to a cause that I believe in. I think I’ll be really good at it!”

Once you get clear on what you really want, everything starts to fall into place. Attracting what you need, including money, becomes easy.

The Challenge of Following Your Heart’s Desire

First of all you need to be clear of clutter so that you can feel your heart’s desire and know your true passion. We are often distracted by the expectations of others, or by “just getting on with it”.

You have to be prepared that what was your passion at one time might now have shifted to something else, and that’s completely OK.

You need to honor your heart’s desire by having the self-belief and focus to act upon it. Sometimes it is far less scary to fail at something when your heart just isn’t in it, than when it is a desire that goes to the very core of your being.

In the next chapter we’ll look at bringing together all the pieces of the puzzle in what I call the FAB process.

The money is already there. The only thing preventing you from being rich is you.