To be clear, I don’t subscribe to the paradigm put forth in books like The Secret, and skirted around in this book; that simply wanting a thing badly enough will magically bring it to you. What I do believe is that you manage what you monitor, and that the things we accomplish are the things that we remind ourselves to do. The parts of Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser that stick to the practical are the parts I find useful.
If you want a job in a certain field, you search the want ads for those types of jobs, right? If you want a particular car, or collectible, not only do you actively look for it, you train yourself to passively look for it. You notice things that you might not ordinarily see, because you’re attuned to see them. The example in the book is that you never see blue honda on the road, until you buy one and suddenly they’re everywhere. So it is with writing down, and thinking about, your hopes, dreams, and aspirations. If you know what you want, define it, and spend time thinking about it, you’ll start to notice the opportunities and pathways to achieve it. It’s a simple as that.
The book contains a number of anecdotes about people who achieved their goals by defining them and keeping them in focus. They’re meant to be inspirational. I do like hearing that I’m not the only crazy person tilting at windmills, and they sometimes they success in spite of the craziness of their cause. A lot of the stories involve focus. Some involve overcoming fear, and telling yourself you can. Some are a matter of networking; by telling other people what I’[m trying to do, they might be able to help (I told someone I wanted to read this book, and they happened to have a copy they were willing to loan me). Each chapter ends with exercises that you can do, to help you get the kinds of results the person in the preceding story achieved.
As with all self-help/productivity/business books, you should cherry-pick out the bits that work for you and skip the parts that don’t. Klauser says as much in the beginning. In the spirit of the book, I got value from reading it because I sought value going into it. Your mileage may vary.
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