The key is to LIVE in the present moment, but know that you are creating your future in this moment. What you are looking for is balance in your thinking. In other words, living in the present moment while giving thought to something you desire and expecting it.

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
We discussed throughout this book the idea of choosing what we desire and following our dreams. What stops many people from following their joy is that they are afraid that their way of doing something it will not be good enough or accepted. They compare what comes from them naturally with what is considered the norm. That whole process of conformity starts in school. They ask you to write a poem and then it is compared to another poem and if it is in the same form then it gets an “A”. If it is different and has a form of its own then it gets a “D.” When I was in first grade the teacher asked us to draw a picture of a cat. When I was finished my picture was considered so poor that I was told I have no talent as far as art is concerned. I never drew or participated in any art form after that.

Perhaps you decided that you couldn't paint because you are comparing your form to another form. But the truth is you could no more paint like Van Gogh then Van Gogh could paint like you. The difference is that Van Gogh believed in himself and in his style of painting. That's the magic.

No one can do what you do exactly the way you do it. This includes business, the arts or any area of life. A person's self expression cannot be judged other then by a total fool. What you do, whatever makes you feel alive and joyful, is your unique expression. And it is probably the only thing that will bring you true joy and excitement.

THE UNHAPPY MAJORITY
Unfortunately, for many of us, we spend much of our days following and doing what we have come to believe we need to do, rather than what truly excites us and what would, for that very reason, end up bringing us the joy we seek.

Can we truly expect to experience enormous joy and happiness in our lives if the first concern we have in the morning upon wakening is to be on time to a job that does not bring us joy and excitement? If seventy percent of our days are filled with activities that do not bring us joy, excitement and love, then the remaining thirty- percent cannot compensate for that. All the seminars, books, meditation, and affirmations are not going to help.

Yet the more time we spend doing things that do not truly bring us joy and excitement, the more money we spend on other things trying to compensate for our growing unhappiness, and this ends up bringing us more debt. So the end result is that we are tied even more into working at what we dislike. It is a self-defeating circle.

Have you ever been in a room with many unhappy people? How did it feel in there? Now imagine what billions of unhappy people are doing to the world. Unfortunately we have become so accustomed to this energy that we don't even notice it anymore. It's as thick as molasses everywhere with the exception of a few pockets of joy now and then.

What we fail to understand is when we have billions of people doing things that they do not want to do, it creates unhappiness, That unhappiness creates a collective energy that goes into the environment and causes more damage to the environment than everything else combined. It is like anger causing an ulcer. The anger created the ulcer and people's sadness creates the negative result in the environment.

There are many people concerned about the environment of the planet. They want to save the rivers, oceans and the forest. While that may be commendable, I can tell you that the energy from so many unhappy people on this planet is what is poisoning the environment more than everything else combined.

We will not solve our environmental problems until we solve the sad energy problem. What we don't realize is that our physical environmental problems are created from the negative energy that comes from billions of unhappy people. Instead of trying to clean up the environment, we need to clean up the thinking and unhappiness of the people who are cause of our environmental problems.

OTHERS MAY NOT LIKE IT
You have read over and over throughout this book that all change comes from the inside. Trying to change things using the outside-in approach is always doomed to failure. On the surface this looks selfish, but you know by now that we can only change the planet one person at a time.

As you begin to search for and follow your joy and excitement you may feel this process appears a bit selfish. There may be other people around you that feel you are being selfish, but that is only because they cannot understand that by allowing you the freedom to find your joy and excitement that this will in turn make it easier for them to find and follow their joy also.

In the beginning having family around you and also having children can at times make following your joy and excitement more challenging. Sometimes following your joy may feel like you are not being practical or looking after your responsibilities. You could subconsciously be afraid that you will end up playing away your time, or indulging yourself, rather than looking after your family. In the beginning it can be a delicate balance, but as time goes on you will be much happier and the quality of time you spend together will improve considerably. Also, other things that need to be done will seem more enjoyable when you allow yourself to do them when it feels right rather than when you thought you should be doing them.

As you follow your joy and excitement people will automatically see how much happier you are and how much more you are enjoying life. This gets their attention and will slowly rub off on others around you. So in the beginning you could possibly receive some resistance from those close to you, even some resistance and fear from yourself. This will pass as you become happier and more excited to live each day. Joy is very addictive and draws people towards you. As people see that it is okay to follow your joy and excitement and that it is creative rather than destructive, they will very quickly attempt to bring this process into their own lives.

A STEP AT A TIME
Following our joy is not one large step, like quitting our job and spending our days sitting under a tree. That is not following our joy - that is escaping. There is a big difference between following the things that truly excite us and doing things to escape from a life that does not bring us joy.

The trick is to find, in the present moment, the things that would bring us the most excitement, and then do whatever we can to follow that excitement, even in the smallest way. This causes a chain reaction that brings us more opportunities to do what we love to do.

I think that the hardest time people have with following their joy is trying to make a living and at the same time trying to follow their joy. I have noticed that one of the very first things we fear is our financial concerns. That's why we start off slowly following the path little by little and letting things build upon themselves slowly.

However, I will tell you this, whenever I followed my joy it always turned out to be the most financial rewarding thing at the end. When you follow you true joy, wherever that leads you, and even if it changes from time to time, then the details will work themselves out on their own. If you try to work out all the details and debate them to death, you will go insane before you find the right answer. But if you just follow your joy and what brings you excitement then you will end up doing what is best for you and everyone.

Whatever we desire is waiting for us to claim it. You have already learned you do not have to know the details or how do anything. All you have to do is focus on what you want. I can't take away your fears and doubts no matter how many pages I write. You will just need to trust yourself and the Power within you that you can truly follow your joy and do things in a way that bring you joy and have it all work out.

The greatest obstacle to happiness is not living in the present moment and not following your joy. The solution is to do just the opposite. If you find yourself focusing on the past or the future, remind yourself that the present moment is all there is, and then surrender to what is and see how life suddenly starts working for you.

If you put the same amount of effort into finding what gives you joy as you put into going to work at a job you dislike, you will end up with results that will make you think, “Why did I wait so long to do this?”

FINAL THOUGHT
I have come to understand that when we enter this world we all do so with two wings. One is the Wing of Infinite Power. This is your connection with the Universe. And whether you know it or not, that wing is flapping by your side supporting you twenty-four hours a day 365 days a year from now to eternity. The other wing is that which you have consciously activated. This is the Wing of Self-Effort. This wing has to fly equally as hard as the Wing of Infinite Power. When it does you will have flight into the world of unlimited possibilities where anything and everything is possible for you. Then and only then will you understand how truly powerful you are and that you have all it takes within you to create what you desire.

So follow your joy whatever it may be; in whatever form it may come; let it come forth as it may; to be as it may. Let your joy, excitement and uncensored creativity carve you into the image of the Creator. For the crevasses and lines on our faces show not our age but how much we have dared to be true to ourselves.

Copyright 2003 by Dr. Robert Anthony. Reprinted with permission from the Advanced Formula For Total Success.

Think of your present moment as your Point of Power, because it is the only point where you can exercise your full power. For most of us the present moment exists only as mental concept. If there is such a place where all the creative forces of the universe come together, how do we know it is the present moment? What evidence is there that this is true? Consider this; all your hopes for the future and even your memories of the past can happen only in the present moment. The present moment is that one point where everything comes together.

When does life start? When does it end? When do cause and effect take place? When is it that we meet every challenge? When are problems born and when are they resolved? When do we feel pain? When are we healed? This all happens in the present moment.

We have been taught that those moments are separate from each other, but in truth, they all take place in the now. No matter what happens in life, it is always now, then now, then now - always in the present moment.

Nothing exist outside of the NOW. Nothing ever happened in the past. - It happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future - It will happen in the Now. When you think of the past it is stored in the mind as a former now. And, when you think about the past, when do you do it? - You do it now! When the futures comes - it comes in the now. And, when you think about the future, when do you do it? - You do it now!

The past and the future have no realities of their own. Their realities are “borrowed” from the now.