Your Heroic Journey: Becoming the Creator of Your Own Life Story

I have always been attracted to the idea that one's life is a story, one in which you are both author and protagonist. What I have learned is that this perspective is more than a literary fancy. It actually provides a perspective and a set of tools that can greatly facilitate personal transformation at any stage of life, and especially so at midlife.

Let's look at this a little more closely.

First of all, if you are the author of your own life, then the narrative is always and only in your hands. You may, of course, be influenced by others, just as one author often inadvertently echoes the theme and style of another. But ultimately, the creative decisions are yours; you decide what gets in and what stays out, you decide how any particular event is to be portrayed or understood.

Second, a narrative approach to one's own life gives you the chance to re-evaluate the role played by the inevitable difficulties life entails. No author would ever attempt to write a story without conflict. Who would read it? What would keep the story going? As author of your life-story, you are free to take the position that things don't "happen to you." They are "written in" as a plot device to keep the action moving toward its final resolution.

And third, the resolution remains in your hands as well. This is as true of any episode in the unfolding story as is of the story as a whole. Aristotle said that no life can be pronounced good or bad until it has reached its end. This is because until the very last line is written, the possibility of transformation or redemption remains.

Let's say you are struggling through midlife. Perhaps you have a string of so-called "failures" behind you: perhaps a career that never got under way, or a string of failed relationships. What will you, as the consummate novelist you are, do with this material? How will your hero (that's you, remember) finally respond? Think about it. This is the stuff of great drama! No one becomes a hero without slaying a few dragons, and your life has graciously supplied all the challenges you need to now demonstrate your true heroic nature.

In fact, the moment when you feel the most thoroughly beaten down is precisely the moment of greatest dramatic and transformational potential. Here is the crisis, the point of greatest emotional tension (that's a literary definition, by the way), when your hero, propelled by narrative energy, experiences breakthrough and transformation.

Now this transformation can take many forms. So you need to ask yourself: What kind of story are you writing yourself into? A comedy, which in the classical sense means a story where the world after crisis and transformation is a happy one? Or a tragedy, where the transformed world is sad, broken but still noble and ennobling?

It's up to you...and only you. Which will you choose? But remember, where there's life, there's hope. While you're still writing, you can still write a happy ending.

Here are some books that will help you write your saga:

• The Story of Your Life: Becoming the Author of Your Experience, by Mandy Aftel
• The Story of Your Life, by Dan Wakefield
• The Hero's Journey, A Guide to Literature and Life, by Reg Harris

Two other resources that have been very helpful to me and may be to you as well include the following:

• The first is the DVD series The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Bill Moyers interviews with mythologist Joseph Campbell (or read Campbell's book by the same name if you're up for a project).
• My final recommendation is personal and probably pretty idiosyncratic. This is J.R.R. Tolkien's essay entitled "On Faerie Tales." Not only is this the first and greatest essay on what has sadly come to be regarded as children's literature, but, in his epilogue, Tolkien makes the connection between story, happy endings and his own deeply held religious faith. This is not for everyone, but some will some will find it pure Elven healing magic.

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A Late Starter's Guide to Building Wealth

Let's get right down to business.

You've had a full life. You've done many of the things you wanted. You are rich in experiences, friends and wisdom. But you're in your fifties (give or take a decade) and you're just scraping by financially.

If this picture is even close, read on.

The good news is that even starting late in life, you CAN transform your financial situation, build wealth, and create for yourself a secure, even abundant, future. It will take work, and it will take time. So don't be tempted by any "get rich quick," schemes. Focus on the basics, get started, stay positive, and enjoy the ride.

Here are three things you can do right away.

1, Find your personal finance guru and study everything he or she has to say. In this case. I would strongly recommend David Bach's "Start Late, Finish Rich." It presents a clear, program for taking action to turn your financial situation around. Furthermore, and perhaps even more important,the author is completely positive about your chances of success and includes examples and case studies of other who have done what you are trying to do.

Another good author on the topic is Robert Kiyosaki, whose own story exemplifies the late start turnaround phenomenon. Start with "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," and then check out his "Cash Flow Quadrant."

2. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify! Your campaign for financial transformation is going to require your focused attention. Clear personal space from any distractions (and here I mean both your physical and mental space). Set up a working office. Deal with whatever financial problems you can and put them behind you. Contact creditors to let them know you intend to honor your commitments (assuming you can!). Insulate yourself from all negative influences including friends and family who, while meaning to express their care and concern for you, actually make you more anxious not less.

Coach yourself and support yourself with positive self-talk. If you have to, take more direct action to dispel fear and maintain a positive attitude. Self-hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) can be very helpful here. If you need extra help in this area, find yourself a personal coach. Try www.coachville.com for leads and references.

Finally, build a supportive community. Find others who are working toward the same goal. These may be networks of friends, or those you meet in Internet forums or chat rooms. There is great power in a group. If you can't find such a community, start one! It's that important.

3. Explore Non-Traditional Business Models. If you are starting late, you're going to need to adopt a non-conventional strategy for building wealth and achieving financial freedom. Fortunately, there are many, now proven, techniques. They're no easier than the traditional 9-5, and some may require you to expand the perimeter of your comfort zone, but they do work.

If you're reading this article, you are at least somewhat familiar with the Internet. Many of these new models harness the power the Internet and its virtually limitless scale and diversity, to make opportunities available at little or no cost. You don't have to go any further than the "Dummies" e-business and e-commerce books, to learn more than you will probably ever need.

Many people cringe at the idea of Network Marketing (or MLM), but there are thousands of millionaires out there with no more brains than you, and who started with as little as you have now, who are cringing no more. There's a story that David Letterman once asked Donald Trump what he would do if he had to begin over again. He said "I would find myself a good MLM company and get to work." The secret here is find a product or service you are passionate about, one that you would want to tell your friends about anyway. Your passion and enthusiasm will not only sell product, it will build you a million dollar sales organization as well.

But whatever strategy you choose, don't delay. Get started now. Starting late does not have to mean finishing broke.

Here's your big chance to have the last laugh!

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Get Motivated!...But Learn How First

Psychologists have been telling us for years that there are two ways we can motivate ourselves. The first is called "motivation toward." The second is "motivation away." These describe a general orientation. In other words, we all use a combination of these "motivation strategies," but each of has a preference, a default strategy, and either, we are told, can be made to work. But when we think about these two types of motivation in the context of the Law of Attraction, there is a critical difference...a difference which makes ALL the difference.

"Motivation toward" is a strategy used by folks who know what they want and who go after it. This is most effective when combined with techniques such as visualization, goal setting and affirmation. Coaches and authors of self-help books going all the way back to the early 1900s agree that having a clear objective is essential to obtaining the things we desire, whether these be material wealth, a fantastic relationship, a new house, a new career...whatever we desire. A clear objective, passionately held, provides both the direction and the energy needed to sustain us over the rough spots. This is "motivation toward."

Those who habitually prefer the other strategy, "motivation away," focus their attention on avoiding the things they DON'T want. Their energy is aroused in response to a perceived threat: a notice of foreclosure, the electric company shutting off the lights, a "serious talk" with the boss. When such things occur, they spring into action and remain active until they have somehow eliminated or reduced the circumstances that threaten them. I know all about "motivation away." For fifty years, it was my usual way of dealing with life. Not acting but reacting. But no more! Here's why.

The Law of Attraction states clearly that "what we think about, we bring about." If you are thinking with focus and passion about the things you want, you draw them to you. BUT...If, instead, you are thinking, worrying, obsessing about the things you DON'T want, you draw them to you as well.

Stop and consider that for a moment.

If, for example, you are worried about no having enough money, if that perhaps is why you're hear reading this, then you are asking for more "no money." Your anxiety about insufficiency is drawing more insufficiency toward you. You will get more of what you don't want, especially if your anxiety is acute, if you're REALLY worried. That extra extra (negative) just makes the process more rapid, more dramatic.

So what do you do?

First, understand the principles of The Law of Attraction. Watching the movie "The Secret" is a simple and user-friendly way to get started. The thinkers, authors and coaches included in the presentation each have their own websites and most have published books or released audios or DVDs. Do an Internet search on The Law of Attraction. In seconds, you will have an abundance of resources. Check the user ratings. There's gold out there!

Second, practice techniques that help you observe and change your habitual "self-talk." I recommend techniques such as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) of self-hypnosis. Or start a journal or a blog. Get your thoughts out there where you can see them, and then begin to make difference choices. Focus on the positive. I've never met anyone who didn't have something to be happy about, to be grateful for. Shift your attention to these things, and you will find the clouds of stress and anxiety begin to lift.

Study motivation. Here's some titles to get you started.

• The Portable Coach, by Thomas Leonard
• The 7 Hidden Secrets of Motivation: Unlocking the Genius Within (Your Coach in a Box), audiobook by Todd Beeler
• 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever, by Steve Chander
• Awaken the giant Within, by Antony Robbins

Here's another tip. Work on your environment. Create a personal space which helps you remain calm and focused. This applies to both your physical space (make your bed!) and your emotional space: stay away from people who bring you down. And don't spend the day watching the news. It's nearly always bad.

To those of you who are blessed with a habitual "motivation toward" strategy, keep up the good work. You are an example. As for the rest of us, we need to stand guard "at the gate of thought," and shift our attention away from what we fear to the abundance we desire.

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