Attention K-Life Shoppers
Sitting in Einstein Bros.’ bagel shop, I’m intrigued by the marketing messages surrounding me. Above the coffee urns, a beautifully designed sign proclaims, “Darn good coffee!” Another sign suggests that a salad is “back by popular demand.” Temptation at the bottom of their wall menu reads: “Delicious! Try one…” All the while happy music floats out from the stereo speakers, designed to put me in a good mood. Happy consumers open their wallets.
What would it be like if we had advertising experts selling us on our lives?
In the morning, you’d wake up to the happy lyrics of a song telling you about the great day that has been especially prepared for your enjoyment. Your shower would be presented as a warm, tropical rain. Brushing your teeth is a nearly orgasmic experience. The drive to work is a beautiful excursion.
Stealing a page from Disney, the sign above your work station proclaims, “The Happiest Desk on Earth” and, as you inhale the aroma of freshly brewed “darn good” coffee, you can’t help but agree. When your boss assigns you a project, she entices you by mentioning that it is highly valued and sought after. Everyone wants this project but only a few, lucky individuals will get the assignment. If you get this project, you will be happier and sexier and you will finally have “arrived.” The more she talks, the more you want the assignment. Smiling, she notifies you that you’ve been chosen! Sold!
When you turn your computer on, a voice is activated, that gives you a laundry list of features and benefits—all the incredible things you can do with it. You can write reports, balance your checkbook, hear music, and watch videos. But wait! There’s more! You can even go on the Internet and conduct research that, fifty years ago would have taken you months in a dark library. If this were an infomercial, you’d have your credit card out, ready to buy. And yet, there it is right in front of you—your very own computer! Sold!
After work, you go out into the parking lot for your car. The parking attendant (who looks suspiciously like a game show host) goes through a list of what you want in the vehicle you’ll drive away in: four doors, a steering wheel, mirrors so you can see what’s going on around you, a comfortable and adjustable seat, a stereo to play music, and let’s not forget heat for when it’s cold and air conditioning if it’s hot. Once he’s completed your “wish list,” he retrieves your car! And it has all the features you requested. Sold!
If advertisers could sell you on your life, it would look a lot better to you than your current experience of it. Given the choice, would you repurchase the life you’re living? After all, everything you have today is the result of what was sold to you yesterday, by you or someone you listened to. You were persuaded that this is what you deserve.
The Law of Attraction says that you get what you ask for. It is absolute. If you have something you are certain you wouldn’t have asked for, then you are probably confused about how we ask. It is not through our words that we put in our requests. It is through what we pay attention to. Whatever you have that you don’t currently want is something you paid a LOT of attention to—either through your complaints or your worry or other means of trying to push it away. The whole time you’re trying to get rid of something, your full attention is on it! This is how we end up with undesirable circumstances.
If you are sold on your life and want to keep it as it is, it’s time to start appreciating it anew. On the other hand, if something has popped into your mind that you don’t want, then it’s time to start envisioning what you want to take its place.
Be your own advertising agency. Re-sell yourself on what you want to keep by recognizing its value. The more you enjoy what you have that you do want, the more other things you want will show up for you. This is Law of Attraction 101.
Happy shopping!
