How "Manifestation" Could Work

TL; DR: A strange phone call brought me an unexpected fortune. This got me thinking about “scientific” ways you might be able to attract the things you want. I’m sharing three principles and I’ll show you how to apply them in the Tool of the Week.

This week’s is going to get a little bit woo-woo.

Early in my copywriting career, I got a mysterious phone call from a woman who ran a private, high-ticket, bespoke insurance company.

Her clients were wealthy families who bought Universal Life Insurance policies from her to take advantage of the tax and other benefits.

She wanted me to write email campaigns and direct mail to her warm prospects. This was one of the first high-paying gigs I ever got, and after I wrote for her, several similar clients came my way, many from her referrals.

Now for the mysterious part: I have no idea how this person found me.

She wasn’t following me on social media. She wasn’t involved in the local chamber of commerce.

When I asked her how she got my name and info, she said, “I don’t know. I just heard somewhere that you were a great copywriter.”

This happened after I had spent a few months cold-calling businesses to drum up work. She wasn’t on my list, and I hadn’t called her.

But after having dozens of experiences like this, I’m starting to believe that when you work hard towards a goal, you set up a process that brings you what you want from another source.

When your thoughts and actions are aligned with a purpose, some weirdly magical things start to happen. You usually get some form or version of the thing you want. It almost never comes directly from the action you’re taking.

A few examples:

• After I felt like I had maxed out all the possibilities on a dating app, I physically ran into the woman who is now my wife. (She almost hit me with her car!)

• When I’m hustling to generate more business/income, the money always shows up… but rarely from where I was seeking it.

• About a week after I passed an exam to become a biology teacher, the principal of a charter school overheard me talking about it. His biology teacher was going on maternity leave, and within a month I was teaching full time without a full credential.

• The day after my wife and I finished our third fruitless road trip in search of farm property, our REALTOR called to tell us that the perfect place had just fallen out of contract. We immediately made an offer that was accepted with excellent terms. Every morning when I walk around the property, I still can’t believe it’s ours.

• After 3 months in Italy, when I had almost burned through my savings and couldn’t find a job that would enable me to stay, I randomly ran into the director of a local Berlitz school. After a short meeting he hired me as an English teacher.

The Science of Manifestation

I was formally educated in science. In the past I never had respect for people who talked about how you can “set up vibrations” or use the Law of Attraction to “manifest” what you want.

But I’ve seen enough of this in my life to believe there might be a law as certain as thermodynamics that can explain the power of Manifestation.

Here are a few principles that could explain Manifestation with a little bit of a stretch. I’ll also give you a few specific ways to make each of these principles work for you.

The Reticular Activating System (RAS)

If you’re thinking about buying a Prius, and you do the research, you’ll start to see them on the road all the time.

This happens because of your brain’s filter, the Reticular Activating System (RAS). Your thoughts and actions tell the RAS what is important, and these important items get your attention.

When you’re working hard to achieve something, the RAS will cause you to notice the people, details, and resources that can help you succeed.

One of the first things I teach in Changing the WIND is how to become absolutely clear about what you really want. This aims the RAS in the right direction.

The Sugar Crystal

You can make rock candy by filling a jar with sugar water. Tie a string around a sugar cube and suspend it in the middle of the jar.

In a few days, the sugar in the water will collect around the sugar cube, forming a beautiful (and tasty) crystal.

Maybe when you concentrate your energy by focusing on a specific goal, that’s your sugar cube. The people, resources, and energy dispersed in the world around you will start to “crystalize” because you’ve provided the means for a crystal to form. Your focused energy may literally attract what you want.

The Law of the Inverse Square

If I’m 50 feet from the stage and you’re only 25 feet from it, you’re half the distance.

You’d think the music would be twice as loud in your ears, but actually it’s 4 times as loud. If you were only a quarter of the distance, the music would be 16 times as loud.

This principle is the Law of the Inverse Square, and it works for sound, heat, light… and also magnetic attraction and gravity.

The inverse square is a literally physical explanation of the saying. “When you take a step towards God, God takes 2 steps towards you.”

My students follow a system to clarify specific, concrete steps that will bring them through the adventure they choose.

Often you don’t even need to complete every single step. Because of the inverse square, even tiny steps towards your goal can bring exponential results.

As these steps compound, the thing you want begins to move into your reality at increasing speeds.

Tool of the Week: Using Possible Laws to Manifest Your Wishes

1. Make a wish. Write it down at least once every day. Keep it top of mind in order to engage your Reticular Activating System (RAS). The RAS will be working in the background to find people and resources that can help you with your goals while you go about your day.

2. Concentrate your energy. Dedicate time each day to focus 100% on your vision or goal. Even if you only do this for 10 minutes, you’ll create a “sugar cube” of concentrated energy and focus. Any relevant resources, opportunities, or energy around you will gravitate and crystalize around the sugar cube you have created. This is how you activate the “Sugar Crystal” principle.

3. Take action. The inverse square says that as you move closer towards your goal, it moves closer to you. This means that if you can do one tiny step that gets you 1% of the way towards your goal, the forces of nature will bring you an additional 2% closer. That’s a total of 3%, and as you repeatedly carry out small actions, your speed and the attraction between you and your goal will increase exponentially.

That wraps it up for this week.

If you’re enjoying these rants, lessons, and tools, I would love to hear from you.

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Jacob