A few years back, Bill and I attended a Treasure Mapping workshop. This class involved creating a vision board—a creative and fun way to set the intention for what you desire in life. And this new and softer method of goal-setting was a breath of fresh air for me.

Putting together a vision board encouraged me to connect with my heart, while randomly pulling pictures, headlines, words, images, and phrases out of magazines that matched my vision, or, what I wanted in life. The task was simple in looking through magazines: Go for what grabbed my attention, what resonated with me, what beckoned my spirit.

Noticing what was “calling” to me

In paging through the magazines I brought to class, I was particularly drawn to a photo of my favorite guitar hero, Pete Townshend of The Who, in action. I knew I had to have him on my vision board. For me, he represented living life out loud and giving life all you’ve got. I love that!

Then, the word “backstage” jumped out at me. I had to have that word on my board, too. What that meant to me was being involved in life; not in the crowd, not on the sidelines, but being as up-close and personal as one can be in the game in life.

There were a bunch of other phrases and words I tacked on to my vision board that reached for the stars in speaking to my dreams, my fitness level, my business goals, embracing confidence, and being a bit of a rebel (okay, I still have a bit of work to do on that one).

So I framed my new creative expression of art and put it up on the wall in my office. I smiled when I saw it but didn’t give much thought to the details in it. I just knew that it reflected a fun side of me and made me feel happy.

Fast forward a few months later

My favorite band, The Who, extended their U.S. tour. Cool, I thought, and Bill and I looked into some of the west coast dates to see if we could plan a spring vacation around a few of the shows.

Things moved quickly and we booked a flight. We combined a trip to see family, visit the wine country, explore the Redwoods, and of course, pay homage to our favorite rockers. The first show was in Reno, Nevada.

We made our way to this mini Las Vegas, and the night before the show, Bill and I searched for a bar to celebrate our first night of vacation. Within minutes of ordering a drink, we struck up a conversation with the guys next to us.

They ended up being part of the road crew for The Who!

We were shocked that we just happened to be at the bar where they chose to go (after all, there are plenty of bars in Reno to choose from!). We hung out with them for the evening, laughing, sharing stories, and becoming friends.

At the end of the night we exchanged cell phone numbers. The guys said they didn’t have any extra tickets for the show the following night, but we should call them before we head to the next show in Fresno, California, and they’d get us great seats. I told them I appreciated it but we already had tickets. “Get rid of them,” one of the guys said. “These will be better.”

The Reno show was great, of course. A night of rocking with true legends! And then we made our way over the mountains the next day on our trek to Fresno. A scary snowstorm and white-knuckle driving the whole way. The Who’s opening band didn’t even make it out for the next show.

But we did. Whew!

The magic continues to unfold

Once in Fresno, we made our way up to the ticket counter and gave our names, saying that we were on the guest list. In exchange, we were handed an envelope.

Inside, we saw that the guys had given us complimentary second row-center tickets. Amazing!

We had a blast whooping it up before the show with the locals and even got the attention and interest of the local news crew; they were intrigued with us Midwesterners traveling “all this way.”

The concert was phenomenal and the band was on-fire. We had a blast up on our feet, singing, shouting, and dancing throughout the whole night.

Then after the show, one of our new buddies who had gotten us the tickets motioned us over from the side of the stage. Before we knew it, we were whisked backstage! Got a quick tour and then straight to the band’s luxurious tour bus for an after-party.

Who would have ever thought?!

What a fun night with all kinds of unexpected surprises. Our time on the tour bus was quiet and low-key, and I’m sure you’re wondering so I’ll tell you now: No, we didn’t get to meet the band. That’s okay, though—that might have put us over the edge!

When Bill and I were ready to head back to the hotel, we made our traditional run to the In-N-Out drive-through and continued to soak in all the excitement.

The next morning as I awoke in our comfy hotel bed, my eyes shot open wide and I think I stopped breathing for a moment. As I was grinning and reflecting on all the fun from the night before, it had just hit me.

Soaking in the synchronicity

Everything that had just unfolded was a manifestation of the vision board that hung on my wall back home.

Seeing Pete Townshend…going backstage…and what I didn’t mention earlier is that on the joint vision board Bill and I created together was a cut-out headline that said “FRONT AND CENTER” in big, bold lettering. When I added those individual pieces to my vision board, I wasn’t implying that I wanted to be up front at The Who or go backstage. In fact, that idea had never even crossed my mind.

All I did was put together a few seemingly random things that resonated with me.

Look what happens when you remain open to where life’s road takes you!

The Law of Attraction states that it is up to each of us to determine the “what” and the “why”—what it is that we want and why it’s important to us. The “how” of it (as in, how it all unfolds) is up to the universe. There’s no reason for us to fret over the details.

There are more fun stories about subsequent shows on The Who tour later that year, including up-front experiences in Little Rock, Arkansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma…and ending up with Pete’s guitar pick landing right at my feet!

These last several years, I’ve learned that when you put an intention out there—and stay true to following your joy—anything is possible. Literally! Need some more examples? Here are a few additional mind-blowing synchronicities and Law of Attraction principles in action!

–How Synchronicity Led To A Front-Row Kiss
–Rockin’ With The Who
–Is Front Row Asking Too Much?
–Neil Diamond, CEO’s, and Magic

My professional background and training involves a more concrete style of goal-setting. And while I still work with that method of planning to set myself up for success, I now balance it out and enhance it with a bit of creativity and more of a heart-focus, often using a vision board to help me set my intention. What a powerful process!

Interested in making your own vision board? Be sure to check out our friend Barb Laporte’s book, Goal Achievement Through Treasure Mapping, in the Resources section which launched this exciting new perspective for us!

Have you ever created a vision board? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience!

There’s a lot of buzz out there about the Law of Attraction. The bottom-line of this universal law is that the thoughts you have create your reality.

For example, if you’re constantly thinking about how bad your day is going…you just might be “attracting” more of that bad stuff to you. On the flip side, if you’re consciously being grateful for all the good things in your life, it’s almost guaranteed that more of those good things are going to show up.

Even though I intellectually get this concept and witness its magic throughout my life, I still appreciate the little reminders here and there that this universal principle is alive and well in my world! And just a couple weeks ago, one more affirmation came in the form of a beautiful, bright and cheery goldfinch (see Exhibit A above).

A goldfinch and the Law of Attraction

We have a lot of birds flying around outside the big windows of our townhouse, and we have fun watching their habits as they play around and go about their life, doing whatever it is that they do. Bill and I have particularly been drawn to the goldfinches—the way they fly, somewhat erratically, almost mimicking a bright yellow highlighter streak on a roller coaster ride past our window.

How could we see more of them in our area, we wondered? Neither of us had ever owned a birdfeeder and didn’t know anything about them. So during our Saturday afternoon errands, we swung by a garden shop. We could have just picked up any old feeder that looked good to us, but I wanted to be completely sure that we were getting the “right” one and find out what type of food to buy. So I got in the line behind the information desk counter.

When it was my turn, a woman escorted me over to the bird section and said, “How about this one?” as she rattled off the various types of birds it would attract. I replied, “No, I’d really like a birdfeeder that will attract goldfinches, so can you tell me what would work best for them?”

Bill and I were eager customers and quickly learned about all the various feeders and food. Just like any other purchasing decision, there were a myriad of options! But we were clear on what we wanted and left the store with a cute teal feeder that even had a picture of a happy goldfinch on the label.

Doing our part

We got home and it was fun to watch Bill take such special care with the new feeder–cleaning it, filling it with food, and finding just the right spot on the tree outside our big living room window. So he hung it, and within minutes I found him inside planted on the couch, resting on his knees and looking out the window, watching and waiting. It reminded me of what I must have looked like as a kid, watching and waiting for my dad to pick me up on Saturday mornings, which was the biggest and most exciting highlight of my weekend!

Together, Bill and I patiently waited to see one of the neighborhood goldfinches find their way to the new feeding station we had created and hung with care.

Thankfully, we did have other things going on in our lives that weekend, so we both left the viewing spot at the window and got on with our day. Then on Monday morning, we finished breakfast, got dressed, and just as Bill was walking out the door for work I yelled: “WAIT!!! Come and check out what’s at our feeder!”

So of course he bolted back up the stairs and together we watched a beautiful little goldfinch enjoy the food we picked out for him as he perched himself on one of the rungs of the feeder. It was almost as if we were proud parents, watching the fruits of our labor.

The Law of Attraction, simplified:

1) Feel the gratefulness for what you already have (each day we smiled and chuckled at the cute yellow neon birds as they flew past our window).

2) Be clear on what you want and ask for it (I asked the sales person to specifically show me the feeders that attract goldfinches and what type of food they would like).

3) Do your part (we cleaned the feeder, filled it with food, and hung it in a good spot).

4) Let it go (we went about our lives, trusting that “If we build it, they will come”).

5) Smile and give thanks when what you ask for shows up (our little aviary friend was the perfect reminder of a universal principle that guides all of us through life each and every day; we actually did say “Thanks, little guy, for coming!” when he showed up). :)

Of course there is so much more to the Law of Attraction and this is an oversimplified explanation of how it plays out in life. But this story of this goldfinch seemed to be a perfect illustration of “the basics” of this law in practice.

For other good stories on the Law of Attraction, you may want to check out:

–Winning Tickets To The Caribbean
–Rockin’ With The Who
–Neil Diamond, CEO’s, and Magic

Do you have a story about how the Law of Attraction has played out in your life?

Leave a comment here and let the rest of us know!

I love The Who. And although I’m a new fan, in a short amount of time I’ve developed some pretty good stories. Sitting in the front row, hanging with the road crew, and even going backstage! You’ll hear more about that later, but for now I want to share what I think is the most powerful story of them all.

A trip to L.A. but no concert tickets in-hand

Bill and I had made plans to see the band on back-to-back nights at a smaller theater in L.A. We like to make a big deal out of our concert trips by exploring the city and doing some touristy things as well. So while the concerts were the catalyst for the trip, we also planned to hang out in Hollywood, drive up to Malibu, stay a night on the beach, and visit the Getty Museum. We also managed to sneak in a last-minute taping of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

Most importantly, though, we were on a mission to see The Who! The two shows had sold out immediately, and we didn’t have tickets. But we already had our flight and hotel reservations in place, so we decided to plan on some great seats opening up at the last minute. And while it felt a little risky, we trusted that it would all work out.

I looked at the theater seating chart and hand-selected what I thought were the best two seats in the house: Front row, center aisle, right in front of guitar legend, Pete Townshend. I playfully and intentionally mocked up two concert tickets as a visual reminder of what I wanted with the exact section, row, and seat numbers. Then Bill and I each tacked one up on the bulletin boards above our desks.

Does the Law of Attraction work?

After several weeks of checking, still nothing was available (although, there were a few ticket brokers out there who did have some pretty good seats, but at a price comparable to taking a family of four on vacation!).

Time went on and it was the day before our flight left for L.A.—still no tickets in-hand! I gave in and ended up making the executive decision to purchase some pretty pricey seats through a broker, at least for one of the shows. I had the guy on the phone and the credit card in my hand. I remember Bill calmly saying earlier, “Don’t worry, there are perfect seats at the theater with our names on them, waiting for us.” I can always count on Bill to help me remember to trust in the process. So with my headset on, about to give this guy my credit card number, I checked Ticketmaster one more time.

And just then, the exact seats that I had wished for popped up on my screen in that split second: front row, center aisle, right in front of Pete.

Unbelievable. And for face value, too! There had been no seats available before that…or mysteriously, after that. And when I printed the tickets after the transaction was completed, my full name was printed on the tickets just as Bill said it would be.

When I told the broker what happened while I was on the phone with him (as he was simultaneously losing out on a big purchase from me), he paused and said, “Wow, someone is really watching out for you!” And in that moment I couldn’t have been more speechless, humbled, and awed. I accidentally dropped the phone, spilled my glass of water, and knocked a bunch of files off my desk, all in one move! My heart was racing, because I knew that something big was happening. Something much bigger than me or anything I am in charge of.

The gift of a support team

Once again, I was reminded of the sheer power of intention and a universal support team who is always there, cheering us on. How blessed we all are to have this available to us. What a true gift!

When you are following your joy and trusting in it, things become easy. And when you are clear on what you want and have pure and good intentions, the magic unfolds…and you are in for quite a ride.

The concerts in L.A. were phenomenal, and we were up on our feet rocking the entire time, sharing the music and enthusiastic high-fives with everyone around us…from the 13 year-old boy next to me feeling it in his blood, to the couple in their 60’s behind us who shared tales from their psychedelic experience at Woodstock. It was magical. And yeah, those seats were meant for us.

Here’s another great Law of Attraction story with The Who: A Vision Board and A Backstage Pass. How about another fun front row concert story? Check it out!

Note: Just after writing this post, I went online to check for Fleetwood Mac concert tickets; we were thinking about venturing on a Midwest road-trip next week to see the show. We decided if we could get front row seats at face value, that would be the green light we needed to take the vacation time and make plans. So, within minutes of writing this, I got front row center seats for the show in Omaha, Nebraska. Amazing! There are definitely no coincidences. My takeaway? The more you are following your joy and sharing it with the world, the more those experiences multiply. There’s no way I’m stopping now!