Day Thirty: Are we millionaires yet?

I must confess that I feel as though I have spent the last 30 days panning for gold. Lots of little flashes in the pan. Plenty of work was done. I had to have my hip boots and my waders on most of the time ... LOL. I got my hands dirty and my feet wet. I'll even go so far as to say that I moved obstacles, and dumped plenty of little annoying rocks out of my shoes.

Do I have a million dollars yet? Not in my bank account, no. Do I think it's on the way? Actually, yes I do. I feel as if tons of energy has been moved. That the way is clearing... slowly and surely.

So what about you guys? Did you hit the mother lode? What did you learn in this 30 days of the Million Dollar Experiment? Is your million on it's way? Do you feel that it worked for you? Would you recommend it to others? What was the best part of this 30 day experiment? What part would you rather have left out? Do you have any suggestions as to how to improve our next experiment?

Day Twenty-Nine: Eye on the Prize

If the puppy in the picture represents you.. and if the cookie represents the million dollars we've been affirming all month... how will the scenario play out? What's your story about it?

Happy Easter

Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand — and melting like a snowflake. ~Marie Beyon Ray

Day Twenty-Seven: Steve Pavlina

This morning I have been surfing Steve Pavlina's website, and finding all sorts of stuff that relates to making money happen. And I am feeling somewhat disappointed in the way I organized this month's project.

Maybe, since this is the Steve Pavlina Million Dollar Experiment, it would have been better if I had taken information directly from his blog every day, instead of bouncing around all month from one thing to another in search of ... I don't know exactly what.

So, here are some links to posts that I found interesting this morning. There is a lot more there, and I may come back in the future and update this list so that at least it will be archived here for future reference.

• Five Wealth Lessons from 20% of a Millionaire
• Ten Business Lessons from a Snarky Entrepeneur
• The Best Place to Invest Your Money
• How to Make Money Without A Job
• Unclaimed Property That's Rightfully Yours

Day Twenty-Six: Your million!

What will you do with your million dollars? Do you really think you will get it? Can you "see" it happening? How does it feel to know there is that much money on its way to you? Is there an idea that you have to "deserve" the money? Why couldn't you just walk out of your front door and there it is? Have you really claimed it? When you say the million dollar affirmation, do your truly believe it? Does it make you feel excited? Would a million dollars make you happy? If someone walked up to you and said, "Here's a million dollars." What would your response be?

Day Twenty-Five: Twisted Thinking

Because we are using our thinking to manifest our millions, I thought it might be really helpful to make sure that our thinking is on track. Here is a list of ten forms of twisted thinking, all of which can lead to anxiety, depression, procrastination, and lack.

1. All or nothing thinking: You see things in black or white categories. If a sitaution falls short of perfect, you see it as a total failure.

2. Over-generalization: You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat by using words such as "always" or "never".

3. Mental filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively, so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that discolors a beaker of water.

4. Discounting the positive: You reject positive experiences by insisting they "don't count". Discounting the positive takes the joy out of life and makes you feel inadequate and unrewarded.

5. Jumping to conclusions: You interpret things negatively when there are no facts to support your conclusions. Mind reading: without checking it out, you arbitrarily conclude that someone is reacting negatively toward you. Fortune Telling: You predict things will turn out badly.

6. Magnification: You exaggerate the importance of your problems and shortcomings, or you minimize the importance of your desireable qualities.

7. Emotional reasoning: You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are. "I feel terrified about going on airplanes. It must be very dangerous to fly." or "I feel guilty, I must be a rotten person."

8. "Should" statements: Should statements that are directed toward yourself lead to guilt and frustration. Should statements directed at others lead to anger and frustration. "Shoulds" and "musts" make you feel rebellious and you get the urge to do just the opposite.

9. Labeling: Labeling is an extreme form of all or nothing thinking. Instead of saying "I made a mistake" you might label yourself as a "loser" or a "failure". Labeling is quite irrational because you are not the same as what you do. Labels are useless abstractions that lead to anger, anxiety, frustration, and low self esteem.

10. Personalization and blame: Personalization occurs when you hold yourself personally responsible for an event that isn't entirely under your control. Personalization leads to guilt, shame, and feelings of inadequacy.

from The Feeling Good Handbook
by David D. Burns

Day Twenty-Four: Procrastination

I was looking for something to post this morning, and happened onto a book called "Shaping Your Life" by Laurel Fuller. This is the page that I flipped open:

The greatest dreams of man often die in doubt, fear, hesitation, and passivity. A well-known manufacturer of shoes recently has run a series of advertisements showing people engaged in different sports activities with the caption, "Just do it" Easier said than done! Why is it difficult to act on the ideas you have? Why do people procrastinate and then berate themselves for wasting their lives?

Interestingly, procrastinating and then berating myself for wasting my life is exactly what I spent all day yesterday doing. As a matter of fact, I managed to procrastinate every single thing I had planned for the day, even to the point of being late to pick up my granddaughter. It was an orgy of self recrimination. Intrigued, I read further, looking for answers:

Oftentimes, when there is difficulty with physical activity to reach an ideal, it is because there has been insufficient mental activity to create the desired thought-form image. We are mental creatures first, and our physical bodies merely serve as residences for the activity of our minds. When there is hesitation physically, in all cases it is because there has been mental hesitation first.

This sounded true to me. I can feel the hesitation in me, the doubt, the not quite being sure of myself or my decisions. When I am sure, when I don't have any mental hesitation at all, I leap right in, seemingly fearless - probably foolhardy. So, I read on...

The secret of "follow through" is to create a complete mental image of the desired results. When you have completely formed the ideal with visualization, it is relatively easy to determine what steps of action to take to cause the ideal to manifest. when the thought form is incomplete, it is no wonder we hesitate to take a step.

And I'm not entirely sure I agree with this part of it. I think that I often hesitate because I have no confidence in my abilities to "pull it off", or I have lost faith in my ability to make good decisions, or I am unconvinced that the outcome will be beneficial to me.

What do you guys think? What causes you to hesitate? How can hesitation be overcome? Should it be overcome? What do you procrastinate? How do you get around the "procrastination problem"?

Day Twenty-Two: Fund Raising

I think we need to plan how we can give the universe a really good opportunity and lots of avenues for our million dollars to come to us. I am pretty sure that my "day job" employer is not going to suddenly give me a raise of a million dollars, and I don't know about you guys, but I am ready for my million. I'd like to have it BEFORE I'm incontinent and in a walker and driving the assisted living nurses insane.

So, when Melissa and I met for lunch the other day, one of the things we talked about was next month's project. Melissa has graciously offered to enter us all in a number of sweepstakes, and we both thought it might be good to use some Gypsy Magic spells, and anything else we can come up with to try to win the lottery.

The postage for the sweepstakes entries will come to about $8 per person. I had hoped that we could use revenues from the Prosperity Project ads and affiliates for stuff like this, but so far we do not have enough accumulated for me to even get a check. Our Spring Garage sale will put some money in the cookie jar, but that's not until May. And we need something for the first of April which is right around the corner!

What we came up with was an eBay fund raiser. If each of us donated an item to auction on eBay, we could send Melissa the profits and she could apply that money to postage for our sweepstakes entries.

What do you guys think? We could either put items up for auction separtately, and I could make a paypal button for Melissa and post it here, and as the items sell, we could forward the money to Melissa's pay pal account. Or, you could send me pictures and other pertinent details and I could put the items on eBay and forward the money to Melissa.

Or maybe there's another way to do this that I haven't thought of? An eBay evening where we all get together with our items and list them right then and there? Whatever we decide, keep in mind that the best time for an eBay auction to end is on a Sunday late afternoon and/or evening.

I thought that if we each put at least one item up for auction, we might be able to come up with enough to cover the cost of the postage for the sweepstakes entries. And if not, we can all chip in. And if someone didn't have anything for eBay, they could just send the $8 to Melissa...

So, we need feedback on this idea.. Lots of comments, suggestions, etc. And then we need to get started.

Day Twenty-One: Jack Kerouac

Offer them what they secretly want and they of course immediately become panic stricken.

~Jack Kerouac

Day Twenty - Are you willing to receive?

Here is an interesting anecdote from "Even Mystics Have Bills To Pay" by Jim Rosemergy.

Often when I speak about prosperity, I begin the lesson by holding up fifty dollars and saying, "Who deserves this fifty dollar bill?" It is amazing, but only a few hands go up. I invite the first person I see with a raised hand to come forward and take the money. Then I say: "Why wasn't everyone's hand up? How do you expect to receive the wonders and riches of the kingdom of heaven if you do not believe you deserve fifty dollars?"

I remember doing the same thing at a direct marketing sales meeting. These people planned to prosper and envisioned themselves becoming rich. Amazingly, when I offered the money no one raised their hand. After waiting in silence for someone to act, my wife, who accompanied me, raised her hand. She received the money.

The truth is that often we do not feel deserving. We think we are unworthy, and therefore, in subtle ways, we say no to God and to the most basic prosperity.

This is interesting isn't it? I wonder what I would have done had I been at that meeting. I wonder if I feel deserving of a million dollars. And if not, how much do I feel deserving of? And what does that mean anyway, to deserve?

Day Nineteen - Planting Seeds

Every idea is a seed, and will bring forth according to its character, modified somewhat by the kind of mind soil in which it is planted. There is a law of growth in mind parallel with that of earth. A thistle seed will always produce thistles, regardless of the character of the soil; a low ideal will likewise work out low conditions in a high type of mind.

You may be a giant in strength today, but if you get into your mind the thought of sickness it will bring you down as surely as if you were a weakling. So with every thought that finds lodgment and at the same time credence in your mind; it will produce fruit of its kind just as surely as will the material seed planted in the earth.

It goes through a similar process of growth also. It does not always spring forth at once and rapidly come to fruition, but it goes through a methodical series of changes, from inertness to tiny sprout, away deep down in the consciousness, where it is not observed by the exernal thinking mind.

In due course it sends out a shoot in the direction of external consciousness, which finally comes to the surface in some discord or some harmony. The time of planting is usually so remote that even he who knows the law of growth from thought to thing cannot remember when he sowed the seeds that are manifest in his consciousness as thistles.

from the Atom Smashing Power of the Mind
by Charles Filmore

Day Eighteen - How about this?

Day Seventeen - Receiving

In my inbox this morning was this little meditation about receiving. It felt particularly appropriate for me today, so I decided to share it.

Description:
Let-go of complaining.
Complaining is a desire-obsessed attitude.
Focus on what you receive.
Even if it is only the smallest thing, just a particle of bliss, pay attention.
Be mindful of it.
Isn't this what you would like to see grow? Nurture, keep remembering, rejoice in it again and again.

When and Where:
When you talk about the ray of happiness inside of you, you are also giving the other person an opportunity to search for the same in their life.
When you bring news of happiness it grows, and waves of joy will start rolling in the other person's heart too.

Benefits:
You will be surprised: the more you remember and rejoice, the more it will keep on growing.
And tell others about what you have received, because then your perceptions become more manifest and clearer to you too.

this was my weekly meditation from
http://www.pragito.com

Day Sixteen - Facing the Dragon

Scarcity is one of our deepest fears. It is the mind's experience of the limits that are a natural part of physical reality. No matter how enlightened or conscious - or rich - we may be, we encounter scarcity, naturally and repeatedly, every day.

The infinite pencil may be a great idea, but it's hard to wrap your hand around. Taking away its limits takes away its usefulness.

Limits are a fact of our lives. It could be said that one of the purposes of our lives is to learn how to be masterful with what we have - our limited amounts of time and energy - and to learn to appreciate and respond well to the limits in our lives.

The feelings of stress, distress, and even panic that arise as we encounter a limit are part of scarcity. That fear provokes : "Oh, God! I don't have enough," or even "I don't have enough, I'll never have enough, and I'm going to suffer or die."

Most of us begin to run when this happens, and many of us feel driven to fend off the imposing dragon of scarcity. Let's look at how to face - and learn from - that dragon. Remember that if you are willing to learn from your dragons, you transform them into allies. But you must first ask to see the lessons they bring.

We keep ourselves moving so we never have to stop and look, really look, at the question I'm going to ask you now:

What do you hate most about the thought of not having money in your life? What is the nightmare scenario that keeps you awake when you think about not having enough of that energy?

If you are willing to strip away any theories you have about how you experience scarcity, and if you allow yourself to feel it and look at it and tell the truth about it, you will take its fearsome power away.

Scarcity is a reality in the physical domain. As a minister friend of mine once told me, "It's as though we got bored living without limits. We decided to incarnate - which means, literally, to turn into meat. We further chose to work with the limits of form, time, and finite energy. This was to see how much of the divine we could bring into the mundane before it was time for us to leave."

We reach the infinite through living fully in the finite. The infinite is not reached by trying to ignore limits, as many of us try to do.

from The Energy of Money
by Maria Nemeth

Day Fifteen - Abundance Meditation

Sit in a comfortable position. Be aware of your feet or your buttocks touching the ground. Feel the strength and suppleness of your spinal column and begin to gently breathe in and breathe out.

Allow your breath to flow freely, smoothing out and relaxing your entire being. If you feel any tension or resistance, breathe into that place and gently invite release. You may voice a long "aah" on the exhalation, to assist with the release.

As you release the breath remain aware of all the places in your body where you are holding on, trying to maintain control out of scarcity. Gently release your energy into the ever-present current of life.

You are plugging in to a circulating electric current that fills you and enlivens you. With every breath, feel yourself more deeply in the current. You can now feel yourself being supported by the earth, as if your entire being is rooted and is receiving nourishment.

As the breath drops you down deeper and deeper into the earth, allow your body to be breathed by the rhythm of life itself. Your breath connects you with the flow of the tides and the seas and the movement of the stars.

Your rhythm is the rhythm of life - the changing seasons, the progression from dawn to dark to dawn again. The current is ever present and it fills you, energizes you, permeates your entire being.

You feel the flow of the unlimited life force, the energy that is ever available as you let go and align yourself with its beauty., it's power, it's presence. Feel your being harmonized in this moment. Allow the fullness of existence to enter you and work through you. Feel free, open, and easy in this flow of ever-abundant energy.

From this state affirm to yourself: "This abundance, this flow, is the natural energy of being itself, and I am ever supported by this flow of energy."

Breathing in and out, lightly and easily letting yourself expand to receive the fullness of the life force, allow an image of abundance to arise from deep within and enter your consciousness. Do not force it.

Just ask and it will form within - an image, literal or abstract - a gift from your inner wisdom that shows you a form of abundance. The image need not be understood. Just allow it to form and then hold it in mind, feeling it energizing you.

As you breathe in and out, slowly return and integrate within your physical form, keeping the image alive, knowing that you can return to it at any time to remember the reality of the life force. The image of abundance affirms regenerative trust from deep within.

from Creating the Work You Love by Rick Jarrow

art by Cathy Wood "Wealth"

Day Fourteen - Down time

Ok guys, I'm taking some much needed down time today... How about posting some progress reports. How are things going? Are you making progress? Not making progress? Anybody have unexpected income to report? Money coming in the mail? Money making ideas and opportunities?

Day Thirteen: Welcome your guests

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor....

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Prosperity Project, and can be found in its entirety here: Welcome Your Guests

Day Twelve: Do we want to be in debt?

One of the ways we tend to hide what we really want from ourselves, is in connection with our debts. Many of us have one or more debts that seem to remain unpaid or that we pay late each month. This is no accident.

If we have difficulty paying a particular debt, we must assume that we want the debt to be unpaid or to be paid late. Invariably, if we look at the person or company to whom we owe the money, we will notice less than positive feelings toward them. In order to change the result, we must change what we want....

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Prosperity Project, and can be found in its entirety here: Do we want to be in debt?

Day Eleven - What if?

What if it truly doesn't matter what you do but how you do whatever you do?

How would this change what you choose to do with your life?

What if you could be more present and open hearted with each person you met if you were working as a cashier in a corner store, or as a parking lot attendant, than you could if you were doing a job you think is more important?...

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Prosperity Project, and can be found in its entirety here: What If?

Day Ten: Internet resource sharing day

Here is a list of websites that we find useful.

Two Feathers recommends:


Art Deadline: I found lots of good ideas and opportunities here. It's a good jumping off place if you are looking to promote your original art.

Hoover Web Design: Lots of really good information about website design and how to optimize and tweak your web pages. This is a great resource that I use all the time.

Auction Supplies: This site has a cool color picker and some eBay auction templates.

ProBlogger: the Blog that helps bloggers to add income streams to their blogs. My name is Darren Rowse and I’m a full time Blogger making a living from this new and dynamic medium from blogs.

5 Star Affiliate Programs: represents a select group of high paying, high integrity affiliate programs. Some of 5 Star affiliates make over $10K per month. Most 5 Star programs offer *FREE datafeeds* and we also datafeed tools that help partners build custom, content-rich pages or complete sites filled with thousands of products quickly and easily.

John Chow dot Com: The Miscellaneous Ramblings of a Dot Com MogulThe following is a list of the Internet’s eight biggest Google AdSense publishers. The information was compiled from interviews and articles found on the Internet. Very interesting and intriguing.

The Inspiration Gallery: where you'll find thousands of unique and original borders, backgrounds, wallpaper patterns, buttons and more. If you are designing your own website or blog, this site is a huge resource. Awesome.

Zero Cash, A Little Talent and 30 Days: "The idea is to try to setup some type of business in my free time and see if I can start to turn a profit in a 30 day period. That shouldn't be too hard, since I'm also going to limit myself to spending zero cash out of pocket. That means that any sales at all will be profit." A very interesting blog, and the catalyst that propelled me into "The Prosperity Project" and my other blogs.

Firdamatic™: If you are looking to create your own customised template for your blog, this is a cool tool that is really easy to use.

I Work in My Pajamas: This is my favorite work at home website. I go here all the time to get ideas about affiliate marketing, websites, and how to make money in my spare time on my computer.

vflyer: "Post Classified Ads Quickly and Easily for FREE. Create "Virtual" Online Flyers - Now with Customizable Themes." A great little site, makes it really easy to make a professional looking flyer to advertise whatever it is that you want to sell.

Melissa recommends:

I subscribe to a sweepstakes newsletter at www.sweepsheet.com. I highly recommend it!

For writing tips, I like Jane Espenson's blog at www.janeespenson.com. She is a working writer and executive producer who gives great advice.

I also use www.inktip.com to find out what types of scripts are being sought currently. It's a great meeting place for producers to find writers and vice-versa. This site averages eight scripts optioned or sold EVERY WEEK!

Michelle recommends:

I used Bravenet for both my kids homeshool website and The Art of Being an Artist site which isn't up yet. (www.bravenet.com)

I used www.grsites.com for things such as buttons and graphics and textures.

For than email flyer I created, I used www.sendblaster.com, and downloaded their free software. All these things were simple and easy even for a blonde like me, and totally free. (which I have been accused of, but I swear it isn't true.)

Shirley recommends:

I have been checking out www.payperpost.com, where you can get paid for blogging about specific products.. this might be especially good for Melissa and Cindy who both have an interest in the travel biz.. you could blog about travel and get paid for posting at the same time and attract potential clients all at the same time..


What about you?

What are your favorite useful sites? Where do you go to find great information that is specific to your projects and goals? Are you looking for information or tools and don't know where to find it? Let's share our internet resources.