Thinking about Money and Being Rich

What you think and how you think determines a number of things – but specifically it determines how you act, your behaviour and your attitude.

Being confronted continuously with people complaining about battling, not having enough money and how unfair things are, I decided to do some reading about how financially successful people go about the one thing that does impact on all of us, money.

It is good practice to determine what work and what not, and if one then uses the same principles and practices, you should be able to achieve some degree of success.  Thus, determining how rich people think and go about their money should provide reasonably sound guidelines for how we should think and act regarding money.

Following is the result of my reading about the subject, differentiating between average and rich people’s thinking.

#	Average people …	Rich people ….
1	Think MONEY is the root of all evil	Believe POVERTY is the root of all evil
	Establish yourself first financially so that you’re in the position to help.  You cannot give what you don’t have.  You do not get rich and stay rich by helping everybody carelessly.
2	Have a lottery mentality	Have an action orientation.
	It’s picking the right numbers and praying for prosperity versus solving problems/focus on opportunities and focusing on the future.
3	Think the road to riches is paved with formal education	Believe in acquiring specific knowledge
	Education must serve a specific goal.  It should never be the objective. Stay focused on learning from others.
4	Long for the good old days	Dream of the future
	People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression.” The future is only the present waiting to happen. Be ambitious, think big.
5	See money through the eyes of emotion	Think about money logically
	"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably" versus money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities. A compelling vision will allow the rich to find other people’s money to invest. Don’t be afraid to invest. Emotions create dangerous business deals. Leave emotions out of this and turn to logic.
6	Earn money doing things they don't love	Follow their passion
	Do what you love and find a way to get paid for it. Be passionate about what you do.
7	Set low expectations so they're never disappointed	Are up for the challenge
	To achieve greatness you have to dream big. The middle class underestimate their potential, the rich set huge goals “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” Bo Jackson
8	Believe you have to DO something to get rich	Believe you have to BE something to get rich
	Becoming successful is a journey.
9	Believe you need money to make money	Use other people's money
	Ask the question; 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing? And then find funding.
10	Believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy	Know that markets are driven by emotion and greed
	Understand this in your trading decisions.
11	Live beyond their means	Live below their means
	Simple.
12	Teach their children how to survive	Teach their kids to get rich
	There is balance in everything.
13	Let money stress them out	Find peace of mind in wealth
	Money as never-ending necessary evil versus money as liberator.
14	Would rather be entertained than educated	Would rather be educated than entertained
	What do you watch on TV or what do you read?
15	Focus on saving	Focus on earning
	Being too frugal can let you miss major opportunities. “Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time.” Brian Tracy “If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.” Benjamin Franklin
16	Play it safe with money	Know when to take risks
	Every investor loses money on occasion. Act in spite of fear.
17	Believe they must choose between a great family and being rich	Know you can have it all
	Decide self if wealth must come at the expense of family time. Think both, not either/or
18	Focus on obstacles.	Focus on opportunities.
	How do you think about things? Are you bigger than your problems?
19	Believes promoting yourself is boastful.	Are excellent promoters, knowing how to promote themselves, their ideas and their products with enthusiasm.
	There is only one you, and only you can promote yourself the best.
20	Work for someone else, they have a job.	Tend to be self-employed, the “own” a job.
	“The richest people in the world look for and build networks; everyone else looks for work.”  Robert Kiyosaki
21	Work to earn	Work to learn
	If you want to be rich, you should be working to learn the skills you need to become rich (e.g. sales).
22	Have things	Have money
	“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”  Will Rogers
23	Believe in hard work	Believe in leverage
	Hard work is a necessity. Hard work alone will rarely make you rich. You can’t become rich by doing it all yourself. You have to use leverage.

What else do they do?

They choose the best employees to get the job done.

They don’t care about what you think of them.

They surround them with positive and successful people. “It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” -Warren Buffett

They choose to get paid based on results (e.g. own business or in a commission-based or bonus-based job)

They manage their money well.  Use spare money optimally, avoid credit and only spend on useful things.

Conclusion

Working well with you money and creating wealth is more about the right attitude than it is about money itself.  Consider why a large number of lottery winners go broke after a few years.

Some differences between the middle class and the rich are vast, while others may seem simple and minor. The fact is that if you want to become rich, you have to think like the rich and do the things the rich do. With the wrong mental attitude, it is impossible to become and stay wealthy. (K. Rawlinson)

What is my take on all of this?

I don’t think being rich is a sin.  It does, however, creates a couple of challenges.

You have to define “rich” for yourself.

I firmly believe that nothing great comes without giving something in return – you decide what you really want.

Sources:

Do you think like a wealthy person?  Keith Rawlinson. http://eclecticsite.com/wealthyminded.html

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently. Mandi Woodruff.  www.businessinsider.com

15 Surprising Ways Rich People Think Differently.  http://www.lifehack.org/

17 Things Rich People Do Differently.  Phil Drolet.  Personal Mastery.  Wealth Creation.

10 Differences Between Middle Class And Rich People.  Kalen Bruce.  www.lifehack.org

 

Die onderdrukkers weet ......

Het hierdie stelling noudiedag in 'n film gehoor, 'n film oor onderdrukkers en 'n man wat in daardie gemors as 'n gemartelde vasgevang is.

Hy het gese - "in hulle harte weet hulle hulle gaan verloor".  Later ook - "they can take our bodies but not our minds".

My vraag is: "hoekom leer die mensdom nie?"  

Die hele geskiedenis is 'n storie van mensegroepe wat onderdruk word, wat veg om bevry te word, net om te vergeet waar hulle vandaan kom - en dan in hulle oomblik van glorie en oorwinning die volgende onderdrukkers te word.

En so word die storielyn herhaal.

Die onderdruktes wat veg om hulle kinders in 'n vry wereld te laat grootword, word die onderdrukkers en skep so die volgende bevrydingsbeweging of "isme" waarin hulle kinders en kleinkinders die teikens gaan wees.

Daar is dus 'n nuwe konstante - die lesse van die geskiedenis sal geignoreer word tot nadeel van die volgende geslag(te).

Het jy al vantevore geweet jy is verkeerd, maar jy ignoreer daardie wete en gaan voort?  Jip, ons was al almal daar.

The hunger for power is the ultimate greed. Seg ek!

Wisdom from “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

Wisdom and/or quotes only have value when they are considered within the context it was created.  This requires from one the ability to read and understand what it was that the other person intended to say, so that one do not interpret and use outside of context – because then it becomes a lie.  For those of you who love to read, this is an excellent read with lots of pearls of wisdom.  For those who do not like to read, here are some thoughts to consider.  Have fun!

People from all over the world have passed through this village, son,” said his father.  “They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.  They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than we have now.”

Making a decision was only the beginning of things.  When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.

On dreams –

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

I’m afraid that if my dream (going to Mecca) is realised, I’ll have no reason to go on living.

Men dream more about coming home than about leaving.

If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry.  Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

“I’m like everyone else – I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.”

The world’s greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.

There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe.  It’s your mission on earth.

Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought.  He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have.

When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.

Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else.

Don’t forget to follow your destiny through to its conclusion.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you” said the wisest of wise men.  “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

He realised he had to choose between thinking of himself as a poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure.  (After all his money has been stolen.)

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.

There must be a language that doesn’t depend on words, the boy thought.  If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world.

There was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time he was trying to improve things at the shop.  It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.

“I’ve learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands the soul can also understand the language of things.”

The language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. (Said the camel driver to the boy.) I’m interested only in the present.  If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race.  Life will be a party for you, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.

The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it.

If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it.  And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil,” said the alchemist.  “It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny.

Anyone who interferes with the destiny of another thing never will discover his own.

One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.

“There is only one way to learn,” the Alchemist answered.  ”It’s through action.”

Listen to your heart.  It knows all things.

The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.

The darkest hour of the night come just before dawn.

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

Every search begins with beginner’s luck.  And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.

When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.

Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.

When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.

The boy began to pray.  It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas.

Everything that happens once can never happen again.  But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.  (Arab Proverb)

The Alchemist said, “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world.  And normally he doesn’t know it.”

Maktub – it is written.

Will the Real Leaders Please Stand Up!

There is an age-old debate regarding leadership, great leadership, what makes a great leader, how to distinguish between better and not so good, criteria, success factors, and more.  This will never end.

In the current state the world and our beloved South Africa is in, we know that we will not move forward, grow and improve if our leadership, at all levels, does not change what they do.  It will take brave leadership to change this country, to face the retaliation from inefficient and crooked leaders and their henchmen when change is demanded.  It will take brave leadership from all walks of life, all levels of business and all components of government.

Yes, we can develop leadership skills.  We can teach that there are different types of leadership roles – for example, leading from the front, being supportive of being interactive.  We can discuss that you have a natural tendency to be a directive, process orientated, creative of facilitative leader.  We can spend many hours developing your self-awareness, defining what you like, what your preferences are, what your goals are, how other people perceive you and your goals, how motivated you are to achieve them and how you communicate.  We can warn you not to emulate other leaders too closely because leadership behaviour comes from within.

However, what is it that we need?  This country needs leaders who can unite and inspire people to perform at their best.  We need leaders with clear values and principles – authentic people.  We need leaders who understand the complexity of our world and who are humble, serving the people and not their own pocket and/or inflated ego.  We need leaders who can communicate and sustain dialogue.  We need leaders who empower, share, transform, leaders who understand their responsibility, knowing that it is not about them.  We need leaders who are not scared to make the right decision, knowing that the right decision is not always the popular one; solving problems effectively.  We need leaders who understand that they do not know everything, that they should gather wise men around them (not yes-men), that they should seek various opinions/options/perspectives; and then take the responsibility to make a decision.  We need leaders who are “there”, who understand people and sense how the feel, and then lead them into the future.

We need leaders who are authentic and ethical.  We do not need more deployed people because they are loyal to a party or brotherhood or whatever.  Loyalty does not make you a leader; it most probably makes you a slave of a doctrine, an organisation and your raw self-interest.

Real leaders clearly define roles and responsibilities (including their own), they clarify expectations and priorities, they are clear about expected behaviour, they enforce expectations, they work hard, they share success and they accept accountability.

Great leaders are trusted and emotionally engaged with whoever they lead, they are appropriately competent, they are contextual and situational aware, they make decisions and implement solutions – they have behavioural integrity.

Will the real leaders please stand up, speak up and act!  We need you!

Sources:

Feser, C, Mayol, Fernanda and Srinivasan, R. (2015) Decoding Leadership: What Really Matters.  McKinsey Quarterly.

Kent, R.H. (2003) Executive Leadership.  www.mansis.com

Robinson, C. (2003) Six Traits of Effective Leadership. Feb 20013, Northwest Entrepreneur Network.  www.nwen.org/venturer/0203/fearture2.html

Rheeder, I.  (2012)  The neuroscience of Marketing Leadership.  Strategic Marketing, August 2012.

Simons, T.L. (1999) Behavioural Integrity as a Critical Ingredient for Transformational Leadership. Journal of Organisational Change Management, Vol 12, no2. 1999.

And other.

Delayed Morality?

Read the following in a news paper just recently ........
“The most significant moment came in September when the Rockefeller family announced they were divesting all their philanthropic holdings from the fossil fuel industry,” he said. “If the original oil fortune family now thinks it is both immoral and unwise to invest in fossil fuel, that sends a real signal.” (US climate activist Bill McKibben; co-receiver of 2014 Right Livelihood Award)

This is, according to me, someone who is desperate to get a "credible" source of reference to support his/her of view -  without really thinking about it.

So here are my questions:

1. Why is it now immoral and unwise after they made their fortune?  

2. Will they be giving that money to someone or some moral and wise cause?

3. What is it that they are doing with their money to clean up where they made a mess?

If you believe that you did wrong, you need to do something to prove that - lip service does not count.

Delayed morality - when you feel you have to reject what you have done without doing anything to to correct it, while holding onto the benefit created.  It is a lie!  Now that I have made my money, now it is wrong.

Veiligheid!

Ek is by die werk.  Dis 'n heerlike somersoggend met wolke in die lug en 'n belofte van reen later vanmiddag.  Ek kan nie anders as om my te verwonder oor hoe groot God se skepping is nie! Maar ek moet daarna kyk deur tralies, deur palisades met skerp punte op; om skelms uit te hou, om ons veilig te hou deur ons gevange te hou, deur ons toe te sluit.  

En die skelms, wat ons vreugde en vryheid steel, hulle loop los buite rond.  Hulle is vry om te maak soos hulle wil.  Hulle steel nie net ons vryheid nie, maar ook ons vrede en vreugde.  Hulle hou ons gevange in 'n kou.  

Ek kyk na buite - deur doringdraad en diefwering.  Ek is 'n gevangene vir my eie veiligheid; my maatreels om veilig te wees versmoor my siel.

LAWS of the UNIVERSE: INVESTIGATED

Introduction

As a coach, Industrial Psychologist, consultant, father and follower of Jesus Christ I’m constantly faced with various beliefs on aspects such as leadership, success, purpose and more, but also with belief systems contrary to what I belief.

When a close friend delved into the laws of the universe and started to change his believe system from what we previously shared, I decided to investigate to try and understand.

In my reading I came over various authors who identified and grouped various laws, for example 11 Forgotten Laws, 7 Universal Laws (Principles), 12 Universal Laws and 20 Universal Laws.  Collating these I came up with 39 laws which one needs to attuned to, to ensure success.

In many cases I tend to over simplify, forgive me for that.  However, as I do not judge other’s belief systems, please do not judge me.  We all have the privilege to believe as we decide, according to our own considerations. 

I’m not trying to make this an empirical study, thus a large amount of “copy and paste” took place from various sources.  I’m not trying to prove anything, I’m not trying to prove a point or to convert anyone; I’m just sharing my notes.  You will tend to agree or severely disagree with me – it is fine.

It was not my intention to defend the Bible or provide counter verses or provide contextual arguments.  This would be a very specific exercise and is not of importance here.  Important is that where Bible verses are provided, it comes from the reading matter (this is where your knowledge of the Bible and the context of those verses are important).

What follows is my understanding, limited I might say, and my reflection on what I believe.

I would like to start this exercise with two quotes from the material that I read:

All successful people are in harmony with the Laws of the universe – either consciously or unconsciously.

When the mind is attuned to the cosmic law, all the laws of nature are in perfect harmony with the aspirations of the mind. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Prominent Building Blocks

I identified a number of building blocks or recurrent themes throughout the reading of which the following few are continuously reiterated.

The first one is that you have access to unlimited power, which is within you.  In many cases this refers to the power to think and to choose. 

Live from the inside out; think about the life you want despite your current circumstances.  You can start to think about your DREAM JOB and about ABUNDANCE right NOW regardless of your circumstances.

A man is but the product of his thoughts - what he thinks, he becomes. Mahatma Gandhi

We become what we think about - Earl Nightingale

A man's life is what his thoughts make of it - Marcus Aurelius

The second one is the right to abundance”.  Abundance (it seems) mostly refers to material abundance.

The third refers to claims that these laws are not a religious program, but a science!  It is stated that these laws are based on the understanding of natural laws.  A proven step by step approach for you to follow in order for you to get what you want out of this life.

• For me an important starting point will then be to understand the definition of science and test these laws accordingly. 
• Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. 
• Medical Definition of science: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena.
• For me science relies heavily on scientific method, testability and repeatability. Unfortunately I cannot agree with the science statement. I found a number of contradictions and vague statements on application of these laws.

The fourth is the importance of being successful and as I experienced it, success measured in an abundance of “things”.  Prosperity or “welvaart’ in Afrikaans.

The fifth is continuous reference to “you can be whatever you want”.  Being reasonably open-minded; I tend to ask the question – “really”?

39 Laws

Following is a summary of the laws found and reference to a source.  I believe that this list is not exhaustive and there is also no specific sequence to it.  For those who are interested, there are a table with an explanation for each of these laws at the back of this document.

Law of Thinking (11 Forgotten Laws) The law of supply (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of Attraction (11 Forgotten Laws / 12 universal Laws / 20 Universal Laws) Law of Receiving (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of increase (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of Compensation (11 Forgotten Laws / 12 Universal Laws) Law of Forgiveness (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of Sacrifice (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of obedience (11 Forgotten Laws) Law of Success (11 Forgotten Laws) The Principle of Mentalism (7 Universal Laws) Law of Correspondence (7 Universal Laws) The Law of Vibration (7 Universal Laws / 12 Universal Laws / 20 Universal Laws) Law of Polarity (7 & 12 Universal Laws) Law of Rhythm (7 & 12 Universal Laws) Law of Cause and Effect (7 & 12 universal Laws) Law of Gender (7 & 12 universal Laws) Law of Divine Oneness / Law of One (12 & 20 Universal Laws)

Law of Action (12 Universal laws) Law of Correspondence (12 Universal Laws) Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy (12 Universal Laws) Law of Relativity (12 Universal Laws) Law of harmony (20 Universal Laws) Law of Reincarnation and Karma (20 Universal Laws) Law of Wisdom (wisdom erases Karma) (20 Universal Laws) Law of Grace (20 Universal Laws) Law of Soul Evolution (20 Universal Laws) Law of Bodhisattva (20 Universal Laws) Law of free will (20 Universal Laws) Law of Manifestation (20 Universal Laws) Law of Conscious Detachment (20 Universal Laws) Law of Gratitude (20 Universal Laws) Law of Fellowship (20 Universal Laws) Law of Resistance (11 forgotten & 20 Universal Laws) Law of Reflection (20 Universal Laws) Law of Unconditional Love (20 Universal Laws) Law of Magnetic Affinities (20 Universal Laws) Law of Abundance (20 Universal Laws) Law of Divine Order (20 Universal Laws)

Reference to a Divinity

In the reading I identified a number of references to what I will label “a divine power”, which are the following:

• The universe.
• The Divine Operation - is always for expansion and fuller expression and it wants to express itself through us. Hence, that desire, that urge inside you to reach our goals and dreams is the divine trying to express itself through you. Hence, we must never give up our dreams. "The All.
• Energy gestalt. We are all part of a great energy gestalt called God, and because we are part of God, we are God.
• Divine energy. This and all universes are made of Divine Energy. It is everywhere and in everything. Everything, including us, lives, moves and has its being in this divine energy. We are this divine energy.
• We are god. Our purpose is to become god.
• In certain instances you can deduct that there are space for more than one god.

When you are harmonious for a lifetime, you will have attained the highest vibrational rate - the God level.

Although references are made to Bible text, I did not find acknowledgement of the God that I, as a Christian, believe in.

So, What is my Conclusion?

After spending much time reading and contemplating, I came to a number of conclusions regarding these issues.  From here on it is Johan speaking and please remember, this is my understanding of the laws and their implications. 

The power of thinking.  Absolutely, there is no substitute for tuning your mind onto the positive things, focusing on the good, and all that.  Even the Bible in the Wisdom Book Proverbs (23:7) agrees that “as a man think, so is he”.  However, to claim you have unlimited power is by changing your thinking, in my mind, creating false expectations.  As humans, in our human form, I believe, we are limited.  Can we create anything out of nothing?

The Laws of the Universe as a science.  This is for me one of those claims that people use to “sell” something, to make it more credible.  If one wants to use science as a vantage point, then you must abide by the definition of science, and can you really proof this scientifically?  This also means that one needs to establish a clear (and accepted) definition of “success and abundance”, which then should be one of the criteria for measurement.  Science and religion is not necessarily room mates.  How do you prove that there are millions of states before getting to “god level”?  (Aka Law of Vibration)

The use of Bible verses.  Without going into detail the utilisation of Bible verses to support specific laws are close to some of the religious uses of verses, i.e. a specific verse are used out of context or just off context, to support a law or argument.  One of these are constant references to “abundance”, while (in my view) the focus should be on “abundant life” and not “abundant goods and things”.  Nowhere could I, in the Bible, read that we have a right to material abundance – I’m not saying that we should not have abundance or that no-one in the Bible had abundance, I say I could not find the right to abundance.

You can be whatever you want to be.  Really?  I don’t know.  The whole universe is built on eco systems and hierarchies. 

Rather encourage people to be the best they can be than to teach that you can be a super rich, super human, super something; actually creating more pain and frustration.  For not one moment do I say you must not have dreams and ambitions, you should, you must have otherwise you are spiritually dead, however, there are boundaries to everything. 

A goldfish will never be a shark, but it can be the best goldfish there can be; thus being true to itself, finding peace within and living a fruitful, happy and content life.  And, if you believe that you can be and want to be “X” and does not realise it – then you did not “believe” good enough or you did not adhere to some of the laws; what else are you doing than most of the religions today.  You are not healed because you did not believe enough; really? 

The power of the mind is incredible, with the power of a believe system it is almost unstoppable, but it does not give anyone an open cheque book.

Becoming god?!  The “Law of Thinking” directly indicates that “our purpose is to become god”.  Although God is in us and we are in God – we can never become God.  God created us for Him.  Enough said.

Attitude.  A number of these laws (e.g. vibration, attraction, increase, etc) are about sending out positive vibrations into the universe and then you will receive more of the same. 

A positive attitude goes far and will attract positive people and maybe convert negative people – but I find it difficult to believe that you can be sure (science?) that you will receive more of what you are grateful for because the universe will respond accordingly.  Good things happen to good and bad people, and vice versa.

Once again, if you believe this and it works for you – excellent.

Success.  Some of the authors claim that these laws are a recipe for success, a proven step by step process; meaning that if you follow the recipe closely, you will achieve success. 

If you’re not successful you are not adhering to one or more of these laws – thus, you’re rejected; not good enough.   I could not find the step-by-step recipe!

What better is this then than all the “Christians’” who let people believe they are sick or failing due to not having enough faith?  So what about a lack of opportunity that is effectively hampering the achievement of success?

From my reading it is clear that the laws of vibration and attraction are the most commonly sited by authors as the most important laws that you have to obey to be successful.  This opens the next question; how do you define success – but I’m not going there.

There are a lot of truths in these laws, but we are not God, and we cannot call on God as a “servant” to attend to our every wish.

Believing and Wants vs Needs and Reprogramming via Affirmations.  I found that there is a primary drive throughout the reading that we need to believe that anything is possible. We just need to believe it. Believing is seeing. Note:  And if you are not seeing what you believe; did you then not believe enough?

The Law of Attraction states that you can start to alter your life just by altering your thoughts and emotions, and by doing just that you will be able to attract into your life what you truly want.

In order to change your belief system you can start applying affirmations, doing so you will "reprogram" your subconscious mind with a new belief system.  And then things will start to happen to you, as you belief.

Consider This^[1].  Affirmations in New Thought and New Age terminology refer primarily to the practice of positive thinking and self-empowerment—fostering a belief that "a positive mental attitude supported by affirmations will achieve success in anything." More specifically, an affirmation is a carefully formatted statement that should be repeated to one's self and written down frequently. For an affirmation to be effective, it needs to be present tense, positive, personal and specific.

According to Rhonda Britten, affirmations work best when combined with acknowledgements because the acknowledgements build up a backlog of results in one's mind to prove that one can do what one is affirming.  So, for example, the acknowledgement "I bought a good pair of sneakers and some gym clothes" could complement the affirmation "I can reach my goal of losing 20 pounds." The goal is to focus on steps one has taken toward accomplishing one's goals rather than criticizing oneself for what one hasn't yet accomplished, or could theoretically have accomplished but didn't.

Once again, everything has its limits.

Positive affirmation has been found to have a detrimental effect on those who need it the most, because people with low self-esteem will perceive the affirmation as so unbelievable that it strengthens their negative mindset. Those who already have high self-esteem feel slightly better, and those who don't will feel worse than if they had been allowed negative thoughts. When people with high self-esteem uses positive affirmation, it acts as a buffer for constructive criticism that goes against the self-perception, and when people with low self-esteem uses positive affirmation, it rings untrue and therefore brings to mind exactly how they are not successful, loved, etc.

Final Thoughts

As an intellectual I strive to evaluate according to value, always considering the “flip side”, and even after I made a decision on what I believe, I still allow space for others’ believes.

I’m of the opinion that all people need something to believe in, I believe it is part of our design or DNA (if you wish).  We can thus choose to believe in a range of things, from believing in ourselves to believing in some god or divine power; even those who believe there is nothing, still believe something.

The question is: “what do you believe?”  Having read about the Laws of the Universe, the Forgotten Laws, the most important Laws, and more, I’m absolutely convinced that the answer lies in myself; I choose in what I believe; the answer lies in my hands.

One must carefully consider what you believe in, as this forms the basis of your believe system, which forms the basis of your behaviour.  For me a lot of these laws are part of the bigger design and cut easily to both sides; to those who believe in these laws and the role of the universe as the alpha and omega, or those who believe in intelligent design and a divine creator.  Consider the following:

If you believe in yourself and you fail, then your whole universe fails. 

If you believe in a god of sorts, and things are not going as you want it, then your god failed you. 

If you believe in God and things are not coming your way, you still fit into the scheme of things, God is still there, He is still listening, guiding, proving.  If you find success, you see God’s hand in it – and you grow to the point where everything is not about you, it’s about the creator!

I found “contradictions” that are interesting - some of the laws are focused on success and abundance, while a number thereof is focused on giving grace, mercy and love (doing good); and then there are laws that states everything is relative and we must accept that there are some things we can do nothing about?  Just the next law states you can achieve anything by changing the way you think and feel?

I found that these 39 Laws is opposing to the Law of Love, as explained in the Bible, where the focus is on loving God, loving your neighbour and loving yourself – not things.  I believe that the moment you made peace with who you are and what you have, you will experience abundance – abundant life.  The contradiction is that a number of these laws explicitly focus on achieving on what you want.

After careful consideration I conclude that it is up to you to decide if you believe in God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit or not.  A number of these laws are in my mind part of the masterfully designed universe, but it is not about the laws.  I’m of the contention that some of these laws “makes” you god, which you are not.  Thus, the larger part of the laws is (in my view) good advice, but it should not take your attention off God!

What is interesting to me is that a large number of the thinkers who’s thoughts are used to explain or justify arguments and laws, really lead a very simplistic life!

For me it takes a whole lot more "faith" to believe in evolution, the big bang, the universe as creator of plans for you due to your thinking and the power of these laws than it does to believe in intelligent design by a divine Creator (who is also the creator of most of these laws). 

Zig Ziglar wrote that according to legend, it was reputed that a very wise old man who lived on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, could answer any question anyone might ask him. Two local boys figured they could trick him, so they caught a bird and took it to the wise sage.

"Tell us," they asked, "is the bird in our hand dead or alive?"

The wise man replied, "Son, if I say the bird is alive, you will close your hands and crush it to death. Or, if I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and it will fly away. The answer is in your hands."

I’m quite sure that there will a number of aspects that I’ve missed or maybe miss interpreted.  I therefore confirm why I did this – I needed to gain an understanding of these so called laws, the laws that give so much power to the human and (almost) makes him god.  As I was confronted with these laws and “losing” a friend to it, I needed to understand and decide where I stand; I chose.  I chose to keep on believing in my God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I believe in the God who calls Himself “I Am” (Ex 3:14).

If I offended anyone, I do apologise sincerely, it was not the intention.  We are all on our own journey to spiritual maturity – no judgement, be accommodating.

Bottom line – it’s all about what you choose to believe!  The answer is in your hands!

Note: If you are interested I do have a tabled summary of these laws.

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[1] Kline, K. (n.d.). Association for Psychological Science. Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved April 13, 2014, fromhttps://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2009/wood.cfm