Bruce Kasanoff* says a combination of New Age thinking and old-fashioned work ethic can produce magical results.
You probably know the New Age concept that if you want to be rich and successful, you should spend your time thinking about being rich and successful.
Then — poof — you will be rich and successful. It’s known as the Law of Attraction.
I’m sure you also know the tried and true advice that the path to success involves keeping your nose to the grindstone.
This is another way of saying that you need grit to succeed.
Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Angela Duckworth calls grit exhibiting sustained perseverance and passion for long-term goals.
The problem with the Law of Attraction — as millions have learned by now — is that you can’t just sit on your sofa and grow rich.
The problem with the grindstone adage is that it’s all too easy to waste grit behind a poorly thought-out plan or working like a dog at a dead-end organisation.
What happens when you combine these two principles?
Time and again, I’ve seen the energy you bring into your life attracts like energy.
If you are kind and loving, you tend to attract kind and loving people. If you are rude and offensive, you tend to attract other nasty people.
For this reason, I am extraordinarily careful about the way I move through the world.
For example, years ago I decided to always be positive online.
I simply don’t want to attract negative people from all around the world, but I love attracting positive, curious and optimistic people.
Imagine that you take the proactive, positive and aspirational elements from the Law of Attraction and combine them with the tenacious work ethic of the grindstone.
I’d like to suggest that this combination is magical, and that it is highly likely to produce the life you want.
Keep your mind and energy positive; dream big; make sure the people around you are good souls.
Envision a future that makes you proud.
Then develop a plan, pay attention to it each week, and work hard to make it happen.
If this sounds like overly simplistic advice, please stop and ask yourself: Am I doing this already?
Most people I know mean to have a plan. They intend to be positive and proactive, but the reality is something different.
If you combine these two principles, and you live this way week after week, I suspect you will be delighted with the results.
There’s just one catch: You actually have to keep doing this — forever.
*Bruce Kasanoff is an executive coach and social media ghostwriter for entrepreneurs. He can be contacted at kasanoff.com.
This article first appeared at kasanoff.com.
