Okay, I know last time I said I was going to do a series based on those 5 Key Steps of Achieving Goals but you know what? I hate doing these series. I like to write what's on my heart each day and really, while it may be more haphazard, I know I'll produce a better piece if I'm writing about what's inspired instead of some pre-determined topic.

So without further ado:

Without Action Law of Attraction Has No Traction

By Preston Squire

This has always been one of my biggest pet peeves. People who want to just sit on their couches, visualizing away and expect the universe (God) to hand them whatever they want. And we are all guilty of it at some point, myself included. We simply don't want to do the work involved. We want the easy way out. In the sensational hit movie 'The Secret' it appears that all you have to do is 'Ask' and 'Recieve' but that's oversimplifying.

The Secret gurus Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield and Rev. Michael Beckwith write, "As you’re watching the movie, The Secret, you must remember that, while various speakers are talking about the Law of Attraction, what ALWAYS precedes that attraction is ACTION." - Lesson 7 of The Science of Getting Rich (program).

Wallace Wattles author of the original book that inspired The Secret and the entire Law of Attraction philosophy wrote, “Thinking in the certain way will bring riches to you, but you must not rely on thought alone, paying no attention to personal action. This is the rock upon which many otherwise scientific metaphysical thinkers meet shipwreck – the failure to connect thought with personal action.”

So what exactly is this 'Law of Attraction'?

Simply put, it's FAITH in action.

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe; It can achieve." - Napoleon Hill.

Law of Attraction states that whatever you consistantly think about, you will attract into your life. The problem with this is most people spend the bulk of their time thinking about what they DON'T want. So that's what they attract. Which gets them wishing for less of it, which attracts more of it and so on. We get entrapped in constructs of our own creation. But according to the Law of Attraction, we can leave those undesirable constructs behind simply by changing our way of thinking.

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein

It is true that all things begin first as thought. Every construct, every electronic device, every symphony, every political platform, anything to do with our modern world, first began as a thought in someone's mind. A thought that was followed up with action. Obviously, if there had been no action it wouldn't exist. Yet we still want to just visualize our goals, or just pray for our desires and expect badda boom badda bing they suddenly manifast. That's akin to praying for or visualizing winning the lottery but not buying a ticket.

We generally want to tend to skip taking action for two main reasons.

Because we are lazy and risk averse. Now that's just human nature of course.

Many creative minds have gotten rich off of creating devices that made our lives easier. Within the past 200 years we have gone from having to work from dawn 'til dusk, working the land, tending the animals, cooking, cleaning, watching kids, etc., etc., to a life where many of us have an over abundance of free time that they then waste watching television, playing video games, gossiping, gambling, etc., etc., We all want to make our lives easier.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison

You have got to find the fun in it. You must find the joy in the process of getting what you want. Only a driving passion to achieve the results you want will lift you above the sea of mediocrity and into consistent action. Without passion, you will quickly lose enthusiasm.

The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand - without growing weary. Because such thinking is often difficult, there seems to be no limit to which some people will go to avoid the effort and labor that is associated with it.... Thomas Edison

Nobody likes failure. People would rather not try than try and fail. So we always look for the sure thing. Wait and try to figure out exactly how we're going to accomplish something before we start. Hedge our bets. But when it comes to life, there is no failure. There are only positive results and negative results.

Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.... Thomas Edison

You need to accept that not every attempt will generate the results you want. Successful people aren't successful because they get more positive results than anyone else. They are successful because they aren't discouraged by achieving more negative results than anyone else. The legendary Babe Ruth had 714 home runs in his career but he also had 1330 strikeouts.

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. Sir Winston Churchill

The hardest thing to do, is to keep your passion burning brightly in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But it is at these times that we really show our character. It is at these times that God sees the depth of our faith.

When Jesus spoke of the parable of the seeds (Mark 4:13-20) he mentions many will land on rocky soil and not have deep roots. So when trouble comes they are easily uprooted. Those which land on fertile ground grow deep roots and produce a crop thirty, sixty, and hundred times what was sown. Having the deep roots, the lasting faith, helps them to survive adversity.

Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas Edison

It's always darkest before the dawn. Most people quit on the last lap in life. Why? Because in life you often can't see it's the last lap. All you know is you're tired and you can't see the end in sight, you only see more adversity. So they give up. And generally they do so just short of reaching their goal.

It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired. Strauss, Robert

So the cure for laziness and risk aversion are developing a burning passion and an enduring faith.

"You don't get what you want... You get what you ARE" James Allen

What you think and what you say and what you do MUST be congruent. You cannot think about achieving a goal but then speak of the problems preventing you from achieving it. You're defusing your own vibrational energy. Nor can you think and speak of accomplishing a task but take no action towards it. Actions speak louder than words.

"In any situation the best thing you can do it the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing" Theodore Roosevelt

The place most people get hung up on is they are unsure of what action to take.

To this I have two thoughts.

First, be cognizant of your feelings and be prepared to act on inspired thought.   When you are visualizing and praying for a goal, you will be provided with inspired ideas. However unless you act on them immediately they will not, and can not benefit you. Without action the Law of Attraction has no traction. It cannot work if you do not work it.

Secondly, if you do not have an inspired thought do something anyway. Do whatever seems to be the most right thing to do.   If you're really not sure, just do something. Take some step towards your goal.    It may be a misstep but even a misstep is better than no step at all.   The more steps you take, the more the path will become apparent.

If you sit there waiting for all the answers before you act you will either be waiting a very long time or you'll die waiting. Take action immediately.   Start every day with some action.   Don't worry, you don't have to do everything in a day but if each day you take a step forward, you will eventually reach your goal.

Now I strongly suggest you create a plan of action.   Write out your goals and then write out a progress goal, a line of attack towards achieving that goal.

Proper planning prevents poor performance.

Then work your plan. If your plan is not working, change your plan but don't change your goal.

Be prepared for adversity.

Everyone will hit there Jericho. There is always some challenge to overcome, that's how it works. If everything just came easily, then there would be no personal growth. It's in time of adversity that we grow. So just accept it upfront. Challenges will come. So what are you going to do about it?

Put Faith in Action.

When you come to your Jericho, declare victory over it. Be grateful for it, it'll make you grow and be grateful, in advance, that God/the universe is providing you with a way over, under, around or through, usually, through.   Again, be prepared for inspired thought and action. If you have no inspired thought, still take action, firm in the belief that a way to overcome will become apparent.

In the biblical story, God made Joshua march his army around the city of Jericho once a day for seven days.   Then on the seventh day, they marched around it seven times.   On the seventh time around on the seventh day God asked them to declare his name.   When they did, the walls came crumbling down.

That story seems a little fanciful but fundamentals are sound. They were given inspired thought, they took action, and they declared victory.   The result was they were given a way to overcome the obstacle. If they hadn't taken the action, no victory would have been obtained. If they took action but didn't declare victory, believe it was at hand, then the way wouldn't have become apparent either.

Now I can just hear the outcry. What if I do all that and it still doesn't work?   First off, stop thinking like that, remember, Law of Attraction will attract whatever you think about, good or bad. Remain positive.

Secondly, try again.

If you focus your mind on accomplishing your goals, Law of Attraction will bring the circumstances, opportunities and people into your life to bring those goals into fruition. But action is like grease on the wheel, it makes things happen sooner and faster. Furthermore without action all the circumstances, opportunities and people that the Law of Attraction brings into your life will be for naught. You have a part to play in the creative process.   Thought and action must be married if you hope to produce offspring.

Preston Squire is an author devoted to providing free positive thinking, inspirational, motivational and success materials. You can find more articles by Preston, Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and others at http://www.thecuphalffull.com/