That was a long time ago, but through the years it hasn’t really gotten much easier. To this day it’s still challenging for me to order off a restaurant menu. When I’m faced with choices that I view as being “even bigger” though, it can take weeks or even months to make a final decision.

Two weeks ago, my 1997 Mazda Miata overheated and started running really rough. I pulled over and saw water streaming out of the engine and right there I decided I was going to drop the car off at the first auto repair shop I came to: “Dad and Me Auto”. I dropped the keys and my phone number in their mail slot and took the bus home. I got a call the next day from Eugene, the shop owner, with the news: “You’ve got a busted head gasket and maybe a cracked head. It will cost at least $1,100.” Unsure of what to do, I decided to sleep on it.

That same day I started asking everyone who knows anything about cars their opinion. Each time I thought I had made a final decision about what to do, something else I hadn’t thought of would come up and change my mind. I created cost estimate estimate spreadsheets, meditated on it, prayed about it and finally, today, I decided to act on it. I jumped on the bus and headed back over to “Dad and Me,” determined to pay for the diagnostic work on my car and to take it to my friend’s mechanic who quoted me $2,600 to install a used engine. Was I completely convinced that this was the best decision? Not really, but I was completely convinced that it was time to do something.

And then I was hit with another curve ball. When I arrived at the shop and told Eugene what I had decided to do, he offered me an even better deal: $2,500 to install a brand-new engine! My intuition had always told me that Eugene was a good guy, and so, my decision was final.

I can’t wait to be cruising to the beach with the top down in my ‘new’ car! This whole situation has been really enlightening. The next time I’m confronted with a “really big” decision I’m going to try to remember:

1. Consider all the options; know there are more.
   No matter what the circumstances, there are always, always, always, always possibilities that we will never consider. As unlikely as it may seem, the options really are always limitless.
2. Open up; communicate.
   Rather than confronting the situation head-on, I avoided certain phone calls and delayed returning others while I gave myself more time to decide. Two weeks could have been shortened to two days if I had been open to communication from the start.
3. Don’t try to “figure it all out.”
   In the end, the best solution to my problem was something I had never even considered — and that’s how it usually is.
4. Do something…
   … even if you’re not 100% convinced that it’s the “right” something. A moment or two of reflection is always appropriate, but then, it’s time to move. I got on the bus.

As for my problem with ordering at restaurants, I still don’t have a solution for that, but if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!

Ryan

In September of 2006 I sent an email to the producers of Oprah’s show through Oprah.com introducing them to “The Secret” and urging them to check it out and do a show about it. After a little searching I saw a posting on a message board where a group of people were using the “Law of Attraction” to manifest an appearance of “The Secret” on Oprah.

Months and months went by without any word or reply from anyone at Oprah.com until one day I heard the news. An entire show about “The Secret” was set to air on Oprah on February 8th, 2007.

For years I’ve often wondered if my email to Oprah had any effect on the outcome of this story. Energetically, I have no doubt that everyone’s emails, thoughts, visualizations and affirmations absolutely had everything to do with this show being produced. However, just today, while searching for something unrelated on Google, I discovered the true catalyst to this manifestation at SuzanneWhang.com — and it’s inspiring! Enjoy!

BREAKING NEWS, 2/5/07!

I’ve got an amazing story to tell you, but the first thing you should know is to tape or Tivo “Oprah” this Thursday, February 8th!

Here’s the cliff notes version of my story:

1)  I watched an amazing film called “The Secret,” which is a documentary about the Law of Attraction in quantum physics.  I loved it so much, that I spent $3,000 on 100 copies of the DVD to distribute to my family and friends.  On October 19th, I also sent the DVD to Oprah Winfrey along with a passionate letter about the film.  (If you haven’t seen it or have no idea what I’m talking about, go to www.thesecret.tv to learn more.)

2)  On December 4th, Libby Moore, Oprah’s chief executive, called me to tell me that she got my package.  She had just seen the film over the weekend and loved it so much, she had to call me.  She said she never ever calls people who send mail to Oprah because of the sheer volume of mail that Oprah receives every day.  She also said that I’m the first person to send Oprah “The Secret,” and that Oprah hadn’t seen the film yet.  She said they were leaving for South Africa for 6 weeks, and she would bring the DVD along and make sure that Oprah watched it.

3)  Just over six weeks later, I found out that Oprah was going to be taping a show all about “The Secret” on January 31st.  Wow!  I called Libby Moore and left messages for her, asking to come and be in the audience for that show.  As of January 29th I hadn’t heard back from her, so I booked a flight and a hotel in Chicago for the next day, with total faith that there would be a seat in the audience with my name on it.  (I found out later that Oprah gets 6,000 requests per day for audience tickets.)

4)  Not only did I get a 2nd row center seat in the audience, I also ended up having dinner with all the panelists from “The Secret” the night before the taping!  The show was amazing, and then there was a taping of “Oprah After The Show” for the Oxygen network.  During the after-show taping, I got to tell Oprah my whole story, and she confirmed that I was the first person to send her “The Secret”!  I also got to have my photo taken with Oprah on stage after the taping was over!

5)  Several months ago I scotch taped a photo of myself next to a photo of Oprah and put it in my magical creation box (one of the techniques of consciously using the Law of Attraction), and now I’m going to have an actual photo to replace it!

6)  To me, this story is evidence of the power of the Law of Attraction.  I’m so glad that I sent this film to Oprah!  Television is the most powerful medium in the world, Oprah is the most powerful person on television, and The Secret is the most powerful DVD I’ve seen.  It’s so exciting to me that the consciousness of this entire planet is going to raise exponentially on February 8th!!!

7)  I have never in my life booked a flight and a hotel across the country with absolutely no invitation in place.  But I was absolutely sure that there would be a seat in the audience with my name on it.  I had unshakeable faith in that.   My intention was pure and clear.  I knew what a momentous occasion it was going to be, and I had to be there for it!

8)  One of the quotes from “The Secret” is, “When you have inspired thought, you have to trust it and act on it.”  That’s what my whole story with Oprah has been!”

Reposted from: http://suzannewhang.com/html/bio.asp

Our Mission

Wake UP! TV is a producer of content specifically designed to inspire people to think outside the box and focus on what brings them joy. This opportunity is specifically intended to:

1. entertain and inspire audiences to explore their passion for the performing arts and
2. provide a low-cost, high-quality service to help artists promote and market their talent.

Our Audience and Reach

The potential number of views for a performance on Wake UP! TV exceeds 7 million total views.

• Wake UP! TV
  Performances will be viewable LIVE on the day of taping via the wakeupTV.com web portal where it will also be archived in high quality and promoted virally via Wake UP! TV’s social networks.

• Stickam.com
  We’ve partnered with Stickam.com to feature all LIVE performances on their community homepage during the day of taping. LIVE tapings can easily exceed 60,000 total web views.
• Charter Cable CH 32
  Performances will all be aired on Television as part of the daily program line-up of Charter Cable Channel 32 in Pasadena, CA.

• Transit TV
  Finally, pending final network approval, performances may air for one-week on Transit TV to over 1.2 million riders per day on the LA Metro system.

What to Expect

Performers will be given a call time and upon arrival provided with the services of a professional makeup artist for TV. Just prior to taping approximately 10 minutes will be allotted for setup and sound check. Four camera operators will capture footage which will be mixed in real-time by our director and technical director from the control room. The host of Wake UP! TV, Ryan Ray will introduce and briefly interview performers on the set in front of a very small LIVE studio audience. Performances must be less than 5 minutes in length. Within 30 days of the shoot each performer will receive a master DVD of their appearance for non-commercial use.

Important Dates and Disclosures

To be eligible applicants must be available for taping on Saturday, July 10, 2010 for a 2-hour block of time between the hours of 10am and 3pm. A release form must be signed giving the producers full rights to all recorded material. Any musical accompaniments or tracks must be the original work of the artist or be accompanied by a written copyright release. Those applicants accepted for appearance on Wake UP! TV will be contacted with further instructions and asked to submit a non-refundable, one-time administrative fee of $39.95 to secure their appearance. No other fees or monies will be solicited at any time.

To Apply

For immediate consideration please forward the following to info@wakeupTV.com:

• your name and, if part of a group, the names of ALL the people in your group,
• any instruments that will be played,
• the details about any special setup required,
• your email and contact phone number and
• a recent headshot and other supporting media (mp3 demos, etc.) or links (youTube, personal website, etc.).

Materials will be reviewed and applicants will only be contacted if there is an interest. The deadline for all submissions is Midnight (12:00am) PST Thursday, July 1, 2010.

We sincerely appreciate your interest in Wake UP! TV and look forward to reviewing your submission!

The Producers
Wake UP! TV
http://www.wakeupTV.com

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Here I’ve listed some of the best, and worst, deals I’ve negotiated this week (converted to appx. USD for ease of reading).

One Night’s Hotel Stay, w/ private bathroom
Asking Price: $9.50
Final Price: $5.30

One Day Motor Scooter Rental, helmet included
Asking Price: $4.12
Final Price: $2.20

One Small Pineapple, peeled & quartered
Asking Price: $2.12
Final Price: $0.79 (w/ 1 free banana included!)

One Hour, 25km Bus Ride
Asking Price: $2.60
Final Price: $0.53

Spring Rolls on Restaurant Menu
Asking Price: $1.32
Final Price: $1.06

TOTAL savings negotiated this week: $9.78

There’s a cool ocean-breeze blowing inland today. As I sit here in the shade of a fig tree next to one of the canals that pass through the old part of town, a fisherman just now came over next to me and cast his line into the water. As it flew by, glimmering in the mid-day sunlight, I caught a glimpse of the tiny minnow dangling from it’s hook.

This little minnow got me thinking. While in the western world we’d just buy our fishing bait in a store, since I didn’t see a shopping bag in his hand, I assumed he had caught it himself. Of course, he could have just eaten the little fish right away but instead he chose to use it as bait, casting it back into the water and waiting for a bigger fish to bite. When he catches the next fish he’ll have another decision to make, eat the fish, or cast it in, yet again, and wait for a bigger fish.

Since I love analogies so much, I couldn’t help but apply the principles of catching fish to the principles of catching dreams. It’s perfectly fine to go after the small fish, what you do with them once you catch them, however, is what determines your level of greatness.

But what is money, really? According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, money is “an accepted or authorized medium of exchange.” It’s a modern-day replacement of the barter system where two people would enter into an agreement to exchange goods or services of a similar perceived value.

Breaking the Cycle

Employers who are successful in keeping worker morale high give raises on a regular basis. At first it might seem like a fair exchange but, inevitably, inflation sets in and the perceived value of our hard-earned dollar starts to diminish. When the ends no longer justify the means, we find ourselves sifting through the want ads once again.

The truth is, most of us are accustomed to accepting money in return for doing tasks we don’t enjoy. For some people, this pattern might continue throughout their entire lifetime, for me however, I was able to break the cycle early on. It’s only now, though, that I’m beginning to understand some of its long-term side-effects.

May Cause Drowsiness, Nausea…

As job dissatisfaction increases, over time we start to see our bi-weekly paychecks not as compensation for our time and effort, but as a deserved payoff for the frustration or discomfort we experience in the daily grind. Even industry standard terms like “shift differentials” and “hazard pay” have been coined to support this common expectation. The more terrible the job, the better the pay.

The old cliché ”do what you love and the money will follow” sounds great, and many times it’s completely true. The disconnect, however, is that at its very core, this statement is completely contradictory to the pattern of exchange that most of us have identified with our entire working lives.

For those of us fortunate enough to do what we love on a daily basis, accepting money in return for following our heart might even seem wrong or exploitative. Shouldn’t the satisfaction we derive from expressing our creative gifts be payment enough? Isn’t it selfish or overindulgent to accept money in addition to the pleasure we already receive from investing our time and effort?

Energy Exchange

If you struggle, as I do, with these concepts, consider the following example:

1. Farmer John loves the outdoors. He spends every day with his family where they tend to a large garden. This year his garden produced a huge crop of corn. John takes one bushel of corn to market and exchanges it for $10.
2. Harry’s Hardware is just down the lane. Harry, Jr. took over the store from his dad a few years back. It’s hard work but Harry really enjoys seeing the family business grow.
3. John wants a new shovel for his garden and so he pays a visit to Harry’s Hardware. Harry is happy to sell John a shovel.
4. In exchange, John gives Harry $10.

In this example both Harry and John:

• derive satisfaction and pleasure from their work, and also
• accept money in return for their time and effort.

Financial Healing

Are you stifling your own financial success with subconscious feelings of guilt for accepting money in exchange for Exploring your Passion? It’s perfectly healthy and completely natural to both love your work and be paid to do it. Old habits may die hard but they do eventually die. Just by acknowledging our self-sabotaging beliefs we can begin to loosen their grip on our subconscious and improve our financial health.

As difficult as this was becoming, I was determined to give away every last quarter. I had something to prove. And just when I thought I was getting the hang of it: enter mall security. I was informed that it is strictly against Westfield Shopping Town policy to distribute free money on mall property. Of course, being the obedient citizen that I am, I smiled, nodded in agreement and then nonchalantly slipped a quarter into the security guard’s vest. She was not amused. She immediately gave the coin back and I was asked to leave.

With dampened spirits and mixed emotions, I decided to continue my exercise, but this time on ‘public’ property. Thankfully, nobody called the police and, with my typical persistence (AKA, stubbornness) I finished the job. Mission Accomplished.

As I drove home, thinking about what I had encountered in my humble attempt to give selflessly, without agenda or expectation, I began to get a little emotional and decided to journal my conclusions here:

1. People are sheep. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. Those I encountered were always much more willing to accept my gift when they saw others first accepting for themselves. Why must we need to feel the validation of others before we are willing to accept the kindness of a stranger? Are we too proud? Too independent? Too disconnected?
2. Dealing with rejection is hard. Especially for me. Strangely enough, it even hurt when complete strangers wouldn’t accept my generosity. I suppose I still have a thing or two to learn about myself.
3. Being ignored is harder. Many people didn’t even give me the respect of a fellow human being. I’m not sure if they were offended that I would offer them a simple quarter (how DARE I!) or if they thought it was a new sales tactic, but to completely ignore me, as if I didn’t even exist was, honestly, quite painful. It made me angry, actually, as I walked beside them with my arm extended, not wanting to take, but rather wanting to give. And to be treated as if I were invisible? Rather than getting upset, I chose to tell everyone I spoke to (or spoke “at”, as the case may be) “have a great day!” and to mean it as much as I possibly could.

While there were indeed a lot of uncomfortable moments during this exercise, there were also some very positive, pleasant experiences as well. Several people accepted my gift, no questions asked. Some even said thank you and smiled warmly. Those who accepted but said nothing were immediately given a “thank you” to which I was usually told “you’re welcome” in return. Believe me, by quarter number 96 I truly was thankful when someone would take one of the damn things off my hands!

If the tables were turned, I’m not so sure I would have acted differently than the 35% who didn’t accept my generosity. What about you, would you have have taken the quarter?

Crossing the street in Cairo (even when not wearing high-heels and balancing a package on your head) can be a challenge.  For the less adventurous, it may even be impossible. There are no crosswalks, no traffic lights, and a never ending stream of moving objects in between you and your destination.

1. Be Confident; Be Brave.
   Courage is obviously vitally important. You have to believe in yourself and your destination has to be important enough to warrant the risk you’re about to take.
2. Don’t Hesitate to Take the First Step.
   If you hesitate to take your first step, you’ll miss a narrow window of opportunity. The more times you hesitate, the harder it becomes to take that first step and eventually you may find yourself paralyzed by fear.
3. Focus on your Goal and on the Present.
   What would happen if you just bolted straight toward your goal without taking into account your current surroundings? Yeah, disaster! Though you’re always aware of your final destination, your life literally depends on your staying focused on the present moment.
4. Plan your Route One Step at a Time.
   Though the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, as unpredictable as human behavior is, there is no possible way to calculate your exact route in advance. You’ll have to rely on your intuition and level-headed decision making to arrive safely.
5. Keep Moving!
   Newton’s first law of physics tells us that a body in motion tends to stay in motion. If you can’t go forward, go sideways. The angle of your approach may change but as long as you just keep moving you will always reach your destination.

Eventually, I figured out how to get around Cairo on my own. That’s not to say the first time I crossed the street it was a piece of cake, it absolutely wasn’t. To learn, I actually had to begin by crossing with a local guide — or rather, a human shield! But the more times I did cross, the easier and easier it became.

With the help of your own guide, or mentor, and the steps above, even the biggest most difficult ’streets’ of life will become manageable. Now all you have to do is choose your destination.

(Photo Credit: FreeFoto.com)

For almost an entire year now, unemployment rates around the world have been rising. If you’re not already unemployed yourself, you probably know someone else who is. Yes, it may seem like we’re in ‘economic purgatory’ but don’t let that stop you from reaching for your goals!

When circumstances beyond your control leave you feeling helpless and hopeless, break the cycle! Instead of wasting away in front of the computer, get back on track by taking care of your body and making the most of your time. If you’re looking for work, spend an hour or so each day searching and then, disconnect. Your most important mission, should you choose to accept it, is: Find Joy. Here are some tips to help you along your way.

1. Don’t Obsess. If you are on the hunt for a job, you’ll almost always be more productive searching for work for a short time, than if you obsess over it all day long. In a frenzied state you’ll no doubt make more spelling errors and bad judgement calls than you would have if you were calm and centered.
2. Eat Healthier. With all that extra time on your hands, why not take a break from your fast-food diet and cook yourself a healthy lunch? Especially when we’re stressed out, our immune system deserves to be pampered! Getting into the kitchen will help take your mind off your worries and bring you back into the present moment.
3. Get Out. Take advantage of your free time to do everything you always dreamed of doing when you were stuck behind a desk or punching a time card. Take the dog for a walk, have a picnic at the beach or toss in a Frisbee and some new friends and do both! Not only is it great exercise but it could turn out to be a great way to network too.

So, tell me, what brings you joy?