For example, let’s say you’re feeling exasperated and deflated about the massive island of plastic floating in the middle of ocean poisoning all the fish, but then you habitually use a plastic straw at every restaurant—never considering where it ends up—simply because you feel overwhelmed and powerless. You feel like the problem is so darn huge, so what could you possible do about it? Sigh…sip, sip, sip.
On the other hand, perhaps you look around and see the pain and suffering of the growing number of people who have found themselves homeless. However, you might choose to feel overwhelmed and powerless and do nothing to help. Or you could make a different choice. You could choose to feel empathetic, curious, and excited to find solutions. You could choose to ask yourself, What can I do about this? That’s exactly what two amazing women—Steph Johnson and Nina Leilani Deering—chose to do. These women co-founded Voices of Our City, a weekly choir that meets in a church in downtown San Diego. The chorus is comprised of some fine folks who are sleeping on the streets and gather to sing their hearts out every Friday at noon. This choir has given dozens of homeless men and women a safe space to connect, make art, express themselves, and be perceived by the community in a new light. So beautiful! A creative solution that has led to advocacy, awareness, hope, and transformation.
Two dire situations. Two different responses. Two different outcomes.
To connect all of this back to wishing…
Often, the only difference between a wish that comes true and a wish that doesn’t is how you choose to feel about the situation.
Will you choose to feel overwhelmed and powerless? Or will you choose to feel curious, optimistic, and hopeful? Your feelings determine your actions, and your actions determine your results.
How Wishing Works
When you know what you want, it’s a heck of a lot easier to go and get it, right?
Let’s say you’re hungry. You’ve got that gnawing sensation in your stomach and, though you have no intention of cooking, all you can think about is enjoying a delicious meal.
You then head out to a local restaurant, grab a seat and wait for the waiter to arrive.
When he does, he smiles at you, pen and paper at the ready, and asks, “What can I get for you today?”
“Food,” you manage to blurt out because you’re too hungry to think straight.
So the waiter says, “What are you in the mood for?”
Your eyes get big, imagining the taste of various cuisines. Instantly you remember, “Italian! I love Italian.”
“Great…sounds good,” he continues, “are you in the mood for pasta?”
“Yes, pasta!” Your mouth is watering now.
“Wonderful, we have spaghetti, linguini, penne, ravioli, and farfalle.”
You mind races at all these possible options and then WHAM—you remember how much you love ravioli.
“Ravioli, please.”
“Sounds great. Would you like spinach and ricotta ravioli with cream sauce or butternut squash ravioli in a light brown butter sage sauce?”
“Oh, the butternut squash ravioli, please.” You can practically taste it as the words roll off your tongue. A short while later, you are in pasta heaven. Perfection! Big grin, happy belly.
Let’s break this scenario down.
At first, you know you’re starving, but you don’t know what you want. If you simply told the waiter that you wanted food, without any additional details, you may or may not have been pleased with what he served you. Without being told—or given any hint whatsoever—chances are you would have been given a dish that would have satisfied your hunger, but not necessarily thrilled or delighted you.
A hamburger can be ho-hum if you really wanted Italian instead! And it’s not just any type of Italian food, it was a specific dish that tickled your fancy. Oh, that butter sage sauce! Delicious.
Now imagine that the “Universe” is the waiter.
(Please note: The “Universe” that I am referring to can be called many things, but I like to think of it as divine energy or source energy—the place from which we all came from and where we will likely return. I welcome you to substitute whatever language feels most appropriate to you, like God, Goddess, Love, or whatever term feels right.)
So, the idea here is that the Universe wants to bring you whatever your heart desires. It’s there, every moment of every day, listening for the details of exactly what you want—listening for the things that will make your heart sing and your soul be satisfied. Listening with a pen and paper in hand, ready to jot down what you desire so it can support you in delivering it into your life experience—exactly as you wish.
This is the basis of the Law of Attraction, which states that what you focus on, you attract to you. So, the more specific details you can provide, the better.
If you’re vague about what you want, you will get vague results.
Let’s say you want to be…happy. What does that look like for you?
Lounging in a room full of Golden Retriever puppies who are licking your face?
Cruising down Mulholland Drive in LA in a flashy red Lamborghini?
Receiving a humanitarian award in front of a supportive crowd?
If you just said “I want to be happy” and left it at that, you could get the Lamborghini when you really wanted the award!
So, what are you hungry for? Specifically?
Spend some time contemplating that question. See what comes up for you. We’ll circle back to that question very soon. In a few pages, I’ll invite you to do a guided visualization so you can get really, really clear about what you’re wishing for.
Before we get there, here’s a little interlude…it’s the story of how I made one of the biggest wishes of my life: the wish to build a brand new company, called Wishbeads.
The Download: How Wishbeads Was Born
Have you ever experienced that magic moment when everything comes in a flash—the big idea, the insight, the answer you’ve been waiting for. Boom! You’re strolling through the park, or stuck in traffic, and suddenly an idea strikes you like lightning. It all pours into your brain. It’s almost like you’re downloading information from a mystical Wi-Fi signal in the sky—a giant file zipping straight into your heart from a master computer.
My company, Wishbeads, got downloaded just like that.
One morning, on a day that started out just like any other day, I was taking a shower. Between shampoo and conditioner, I heard the name “Wishbeads” and out of nowhere I could see the first product: a bracelet created from wishes written on paper, worn daily as a reminder to take action toward your deepest desires. In that same moment, I knew this piece of jewelry would become a vehicle to empower people across the globe. This little bracelet would help to make wishes come true. Even though I was in the middle of a hot, steamy shower, I got
