From "to do" to "Ta Da!"
How does the Law of Attraction impact our productivity?
The simplest explanation is to say that, when we focus on the multitude of tasks we need to accomplish in a day, week, month or year we become overwhelmed, maybe even discouraged. Because it’s true that you “get more of what you focus on” the tasks seem to multiply because you are focused on them.
If, instead we focus on the outcome we want to produce, the tasks fade into the background even as we gain enthusiasm for doing them. And, if we add a third component— why we want to produce this outcome, then projects get very fun indeed.
Magicians amaze and delight the young and old. As we watch them perform their wizardry, we may find ourselves trying to spot the sequence of tasks that lead up to the finale of the trick but it is not how they did something that makes us gasp with pleasure. When they flourish their capes and loudly proclaim, “Ta Da!” we clap enthusiastically for the mind-boggling outcome they have just produced before our very eyes.
The best magicians are very clear about the outcome they want (the trick itself) and why they want to do it.
Some are driven by a desire to do what seems impossible. The famous magician Houdini, for example, performed feats that got more and more complex as he gained fame and fortune. He would master one amazing trick and immediately want to do an even more difficult one.
Other magicians are driven by applause. The more amazing their tricks, the louder the applause and the more their fame grows.
And I’m certain there are magicians who are driven by money. You don’t make much money if your best trick is pulling a quarter out of a child’s ear but if you can make a tiger appear out of thin air…your bank account grows in direct proportion.
Imagine if each magician spent their time focused on the tedium of their practice sessions. If they made a “to do” list like so many of us do, it would have the same steps on it for weeks (sometimes years) as they learned how to do a trick flawlessly. Same old thing, day in and day out.
Instead (and I am surmising here) they are completely focused on the VISION of what will happen when they unleash their new trick on the world, one audience at a time. They see the looks of envy from fellow magicians; they hear the gasps of delight from the audience followed by thunderous applause; and they envision the dollars flowing into their bank accounts.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed it is because I have shifted from focusing on the outcome I want to produce to the tedium of the steps it will take to get from here to there. I have forgotten (or I never knew) why I am doing whatever it is I am doing at that moment.
If you want to produce your own “Ta Da!” it is important to know:
1. What the “Ta Da” is (what’s your vision?);
2. Why you want to (or have to) do it
3. What it will take to get you there.
Let’s say you want to land a new job, a task many people today are facing. You could go out and get a job mowing people’s lawns in your neighborhood That would be sufficient to enable you to look at your to do list and check off “get a job.” But if you had a very different job in mind, then you haven’t produced a “Ta Da!” You have completed a “to do.”
By following the three steps outlined above, you significantly increase your ability to flourish your own cape and proclaim, “Ta Da!”
The most important steps are #1 and #2. When you create a compelling vision and take the time to understand why you want to realize this vision, then step #3 will take care of itself. You will be inspired to action and the tasks on the “to do” list related to this vision will get done.
Those around you will begin to think you are a magician as you accomplish more than you ever have. Just don’t forget to say, “Ta Da!”
