It's the human condition. All of us look to things outside ourselves to make us happy. How often have you said to yourself, "I'll be so happy when I get that job!" or "I'll be happy when I have my own business." or "I'll be happy when I'm married to him." or so on. Another version of this is the "if only" version. If only I was rich, I'd be happy. If only I had a boyfriend, I'd be happy. If only I looked like her, I'd be happy. What's your version of this story?

Spend a few minutes right now writing down all the things that would make you happy.

Have you ever noticed how often we use the word "work"? The dictionary defines work as : "exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil; task or undertaking; productive or operative activity and so on. But in real life, it has acquired a somewhat negative connotation. When a friend was recently complaining about his work, another friend said "that's why they call it work!"

We talk about "working" on our relationships, "working" on our personal growth, "working a goal", "working" on our spirituality, "working" on issues, "working" on planning a vacation, etc. We work in all areas of our lives, we apply ourselves, we toil.

Back in 1979 a group of researchers decided to study the effect of goal setting. They interviewed Harvard MBA graduates, asking a simple question, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” It turned out that only 3% of graduates had written goals and plans. 13% had goals, but they weren’t in writing. 84% had no specific goals at all.

I recently had the chance to talk candidly with several small business and solo entrepreneurs. One mentioned she was going to have a booth to show her wares at a community festival in the next few weeks. I mentioned that I had not gotten a notice or an invitation to that. She looked puzzled. She said something like "it's only a booth at a festival, who would want to come to that?" From that I figured she did not use her mailing list with any frequency or marketing plan and that turned out to be true.

I'm busy creating my workshop schedule for the winter and spring schedule. It will be available in a week or two. You'll get an extra mailing from me about the workshops. Please plan to join me in one of the exciting workshops I have planned!

Watch your email for upcoming workshops.

I teach the law of attraction in my workshops. The law of attraction is that like attracts like; you attract what you think and feel about. The one change that most people desire is more prosperity. Typically they want to have more money, be financially independent, to stop struggling with finances. Many of us have been practicing the steps to attract more prosperity into our lives. We try to think less about the lack of money and more about what we already have and is coming our way. We practicing feeling more positive about money. We practice receiving and having gratitude for everything that comes our way.

"Nothing happens unless something moves." -- Albert Einstein

“Scarcity speaks in terms of never enough, emptiness, fear, envy, greed, hoarding, competition, fragmentation, separateness, judgment, striving, entitlement, control, busy, survival, outer riches. We judge, compare, criticize. We celebrate increasing quantity and excess; we center ourselves in yearning, expectation and dissatisfaction. We define ourselves as better than and worse than. We let money define us rather than defining ourselves in a deeper way, letting money express that." “Sufficiency speaks in terms of gratitude, fulfillment, love, trust, respect, contributing, faith, compassion, integration, wholeness, commitment, acceptance, partnership, responsibility, resilience, inner riches. We acknowledge what is, appreciate its value and envision how to make a difference with it. We recognize, affirm, embrace, celebrate quality over quantity, center ourselves in integrity, possibility and resourcefulness. We define our money with our energy and intention.” -- Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money

Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the largest single factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes with others and what happens to him in the world about him. -- Virginia Satir

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want. All that is left is a compromise.” -- Robert Fritz

"Work and play are the same. When you're following your energy and doing what you want all the time, the distinction between work and play dissolves." -- Shakti Gawain

Read more articles and get more fr*ee resources in both my blogs:

Mid-Life Unfolds Blog

Solo Biz Buzz Blog .

And my newest blog for those of you in the Houston area,

Houston Nature Walks Blog

As always, I would love to hear from you. Send me a note at maf@lifeunfolds to tell me what you think about the newsletter, my services, my website, my blogs or just to say hello.