There are those who are simply in denial, to be sure, and who hope that the problems will go away if they just ignore them. However, there are others who feel happy even when things are going down because they know a secret. They understand the 7 Laws of Success. Let me explain…

These people feel happy during a downturn because they know the ride never goes downhill forever. By law, it always turns upward again at the bottom – just like on a roller coaster.

They smile now because they’re focused on the longer term; and they’re already thinking about the joy of the heights that life will take them to next.

Now, while we’re on this “roller coaster theme,” imagine you’ve saved for years to take your family to an exciting theme park on the other side of the country. You’ve pictured the laughter, the fun, the memories you plan to create: the joy of being together, the food, the free time… it’s all so very wonderful!

Now it’s finally time to take that trip. You enjoy a relaxing plane ride, settle in at the hotel, spend the night, and in the morning you have a full day to take in all of the theme park attractions.

After entering the gate, you notice that just inside the entrance there are two roller coaster rides to choose from. The first one is called “Straight-Shot to Success” and goes like this:

You get on, and it pulls the line of cars all the way to the top of a twenty-story tower where it ….

… lets you off so you can climb down the stairs to do it again.

Look at the level of enthusiasm the people in this picture are demonstrating, just before unloading to climb down and repeat the experience!

Actually, that would make for a pretty boring roller coaster ride. But in life, isn’t that what we often think we want: A steady, predictable, safe and easy climb to success? In truth, if that’s what we ended up with, we’d be pretty dissatisfied with the whole experience.

So, let’s take a look at the second roller coaster ride called “Joy in the Journey,” which instead goes something like this:

You get on, and it pulls you to the top of a big hill and then turns you loose into a series of ups and downs, loops and turns. Everyone is terrified and laughing, all at the same time.

Even when the people plummet at break-neck speeds straight toward the ground, they have a smile on their face.

Now, is that twisted, or what? Are they in denial?

No. They are genuinely enjoying themselves, because they know that the terror is temporary, that it is an illusion, and that it will come to an end. They know that in truth, they are in a controlled, safe environment that is simply giving them the appearance of danger. Deep down, they know everything is going to be okay in the long run.

Which roller coaster ride do you think would have the longest waiting line? “Straight-Shot to Success,” or “Joy in the Journey?”

I choose the latter. Here’s what helps me endure the scary parts:

Believe it or not, like a roller coaster ride, Life itself is a safe environment, even with all its dangers. Contrary to appearances, it truly is a safe place to be. From God’s vantage point, the things we fear are nothing to Him, including death itself.

Do you realize that the life you live is precisely the life you would have chosen all along? THIS is the life that brings you the greatest joy: the life with all the ups and aggravating downs. Be grateful for your downs… and as you allow your heart to swell with gratitude, you’re putting yourself into the right mindset to receive the best “ups” that God has to offer.

In reality, the ups and downs we experience are provided in order to help us feel. The change from up to down (or down to up) is precisely what makes it possible for us to recognize the difference from one emotion to the other. Without the downs, the ups would be meaningless. The lows help us feel and appreciate the highs.

Bob Proctor says, “Most people tiptoe through life, trying to make it safely to death.” Do you see the irony in that? Instead, we should have courage and press on toward our dreams with full, fearless intention.

Fear not!

As Mark Twain said, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

You have a choice of what to think about. So think on the expected highs that put a smile on your face, instead of worrying about the imagined train wreck at the bottom of the hill that hasn’t even happened yet.

It is only when your heart is at peace that it is prepared to receive inspired solutions to your problems.

So, if you’re headed in a downward direction, be at peace. The tracks are bent and will surely guide your rollercoaster car up to the top again in time. It’s going to be thrilling! And in fact, by the Law of Rhythm, you’re already on your way.

But constant optimism isn’t necessary – it actually isn’t really even possible.  Without an emotional dip now and then, you’d never know a good day when you had one.

Even tough times contain benefits.  Families across the world are scaling back on unnecessary purchases and focusing on things that matter most like:

Family, faith, hope…

And if the economy has necessitated this change, then even a bad economy is something to be grateful for.

The world is full of illusions.  Many people are being tested right now to see if they will seek and cling to truth (there is abundance) and make choices that lead them to greater personal freedom, or whether they will let the ‘evidence’ of disaster overwhelm them and lead them to discouragement, and ultimately an even tighter feeling of bondage.

So, with that in mind, how goes YOUR battle?

Everyone goes through periods of discouragement, or there could be no real victory.

Everyone. Even people you look up to.

Even people who are doing well right now.

Discouragement is simply a natural part of the package called LIFE.

But what separates those who conquer the battle from those who are crushed under the weight of it, is just one thing.

The only thing that separates the victor from the vanquished is his or her thoughts in the heat of the battle.

It’s easy to think optimistically when things are going well.

It’s when things are TOUGH beyond belief that the real winners emerge. How do they do it? What do they know that perhaps you don’t know?

Keep reading…

The hardest part is thinking optimistically when things are NOT going well. A person might try, but if there isn’t enough knowledge and understanding to support that optimism, the optimism is fake at best, and can even become destructive at worst.

Don’t let your optimism destroy you.

You can’t just hope and pray that everything will work out. You can’t just affirm it superficially. You need to have the knowledge that gives you REASON to know that everything is going to turn out okay for you. There is a way to know for sure, and it isn’t just from making a decision that you’ll make it so.

The good news is that in hard times like these, for some, the greatest personal victories of all time will be won. No victory will ever be so great as the ones that come out of the most disastrous of conditions. So if you have it REALLY bad right now, you are among the most fortunate – IF – you make your daily decisions based on the knowledge I have to share with you.

If you’re ready to get on top of those bills and begin living the life you and your family were meant to live, order the FTMF program. I’ve got something special I am going to throw in, so keep reading…

“I can’t even describe what an amazing miracle this course has been in my life. Everything has changed and I am a completely different person from when I started this journey in January. I went from a happy, but blah, letting-life-take-me-where-it-will-and-be-happy-with-it person, to a vigorous and excited, let-me-partner-with-God-in-creating-miracles person. My husband is overwhelmingly excited to see this change in me and seriously awesome things are happening. I never would have imagined 8 months ago when I was sitting in my dingy apartment that I would be in a house on an amazing adventure with so many exciting dreams and achievable goals! TAKE THIS COURSE, it will change your life. I tell everyone that I can about it. Thank you Leslie and Trevan!” Katiev16

There is no greater gift you can give your family than the gift of HOPE. It begins with you.

You’ve got to take the lead on this and learn to live according to the principles so you can show your family how.

You might be the only person you know who is interested in this information. Don’t wait for anyone else to make the decision for you – you may be your family’s only hope.

There’s a reason why YOU are the one who has been drawn to this material – the one who bothered reading this message – and it could be because your nature is the most inclined to naturally influencing those around you for good by your example. Let them see how it changes your life.

You don’t even have to say a word – they’ll see it, they’ll sense it, and they’ll naturally become curious and hungry to discover your new found wisdom and knack for profiting from your setbacks.

What is the FTMF program?

The Family Time & Money Freedom (FTMF) program is a 12-week course that walks you step-by-step through two very important phases. In the first phase, I help you experience documentable success with an inconsequential goal – something that creates no inner conflict with old paradigms. This phase gives you the confidence to set a second goal – a bigger one – the kind that right now might blow your mind. Then during phase 2, I help you choose that bigger goal and then systematically help you achieve it.

Together, we build the neuro-pathways you need to have confidence and a pattern for accomplishing every goal you set for the rest of your life. This is why so many of our students get the FTMF program and go through it more than once, because after achieving their first big goal, they’re excited to see it work again for an even bigger goal.

The process doesn’t change – you simply use it time and again for increasingly difficult objectives. You’ll be a different person the next time through, and have a completely different experience with it. You’ll notice ideas and concepts in the material that you didn’t notice the first time through, because frankly, you weren’t ready for it.

This is how it is with everyone. We all notice and absorb the principles we’re ready to learn, only when we’re ready to learn them.

(Thank heavens for that, because if it all was understandable the first time around, you’d be overwhelmed. Your mind would shut down because physically you could not handle it all in one flood of enlightenment. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever been so enlightened that you get physically drained and need to sleep?)

Anyway, think about giving your family the gift of HOPE right now. I don’t mean: buy THEM the FTMF program, although I wouldn’t discourage that; but if YOU are the one who is hungry for the information, buy it for YOU, and SHOW them your transformation.

Inspire them by your example.

Hope is contagious, and as your hope grows, theirs will, too.

Order this week and you’ll get one free membership in the School of Life Mastery for one year ($359 value) at no additional charge.

Remember, you’ll have the online version available to you immediately – so you can get started even before your box arrives in the mail.

When money is tight, you can either stretch it as far as it will go and hope it doesn’t run out, or you can invest it in learning how to multiply the little resources you may have left.

Have faith in yourself. You have everything you need to win this battle.

When you can’t rely on anything or anyone else to give you what you need, rely on PRINCIPLES. You’ll feel a greater sense of peace immediately as you immerse yourself in understanding what they are and how they really work.

When you live according to the laws, you naturally enjoy greater confidence and clearer guidance on what your next step needs to be. Peace of mind is within your reach.

Let me help you find it.

All the best,

Leslie Householder

I recently had a conversation with one of our Family Time & Money Freedom (FTMF) participants and I thought I’d let you in on it…

Hi Leslie,

…I am just really bummed out right now. I am currently attending a University course to get my psychology degree. I am taking a philosophy class which I thought I would love, but it turns out the instructor is very picky so I am not enjoying or doing well in this class.

I read once that if something is a struggle, then it is not the right thing to be doing. If I am meant to be doing something, then it should be inspired and easy flowing.

I want to be a life coach and thought that with a degree in pyschology, it might make things better.

I am worried too because I am getting financial aid and if I fail this class I may have to end up paying for the class or pay loans back or something which will put me further in the hole. I am just sitting here wondering what I am doing and really very upset. I didn’t know who to turn to or even what to do right now, So I guess I just needed to vent. I am scared, lets just say that. I am at work right now, if I wasn’t I would be crying.

Here’s how I replied:

First of all, take a deep, deep breath.

Second of all, let me add my perspective on the comment, “if something is a struggle, then it is not the right thing to be doing.” I think there is some truth to that, but it’s been twisted.

I gave birth to a few kids, and every one of those labors was a TREMENDOUS struggle.  That doesn’t mean in the least that it wasn’t the right thing to do.  The truth is that ANYthing worth having is worth struggling for.  The key is to keep your “WHY” vivid and alive.  When you lose sight of why you’re putting yourself through something tough, then the pain is only magnified.  When you remember the people whose lives you’ll change forever, the passion and the dream of that expectation is anesthesia that dulls the pain.

I can’t tell you how many times my husband and I thought, “We can do anything, as long as it gets us closer to our goal, and as long as we know it’s temporary.”  We always said that about the un-fun things we had to do along the way.

Furthermore, if you give up now just because it isn’t fun anymore, then how will you ever be qualified to coach someone else through their struggles?

If I were you, I’d do what I could to remember the law of Polarity and the law of Rhythm, especially now.  As horrible as this is, is how wonderful the reward will be on the other side.  If it’s only a little bit bad, then the reward will only be a little bit good.  If things are bad today, you can expect an upturn in your mood soon enough.  Look forward to it, expect it.  Be grateful for the pain today, because it is only through that pain that there could possibly be meaning in the victory.

As for the “flow” concept, yes, things can go smoothly and you can have that peace of mind being in the flow.  But it is an internal thing.  Life will always deliver challenges.  ALWAYS.  Life mastery means finding peace of mind and assurance that everything is going to be okay no matter what.  When you live in that kind of a state of being, then the resources you need begin to flow your way more naturally.  But remember, you’ve got to achieve that mindset before it flows, and that mindset can only be achieved in the middle of hardship.  (Anyone can find peace of mind when life is going smoothly; the best rewards come from finding it when life is NOT going smoothly.  That’s what separates the winners from the crowd.)

So, in reality, your hardship right now is a tremendous gift to you – you’re being given the opportunity to prove your mental toughness and demonstrate right thinking in spite of it.  Pass the test and you leap to a new level of life success.  Without the hardship, you would have no opportunity to prove yourself, and no corresponding reward would be waiting.

Anyway, I know this probably isn’t what you wanted to hear, but I hope you find it helpful.

Hang in there – a better day is coming if you respond to this the right way.  Think, how would a champion handle this?  How would a highly successful success coach handle this?  You’ve got it inside of you to conquer this – be kind to yourself.  Do your best and let God handle the rest.  Whatever the outcome is, chalk it up to your experience that adds to the value you’ll have to offer your future clients.

Warmest regards,

Leslie

This young woman quickly replied:

Thank you so so much Leslie! It means so much to me that you took time out to write me back! I love every bit of your reply. It all makes perfect sense! Again thank you so much! Just what I needed.

Now, what about you?  I’d like to help you get through those ’stuck places’.

How? Join me in the FTMF program – if you get involved before our current manuals run out, your version will automatically include my personal assistance on your goal at the midterm ($199 value).

(Future editions of the manual will be modified to exclude that bonus service; I’m getting spread a little too thin to keep it in there!)

Procrastination is your biggest enemy – if you know you need to do this, do it now.  Your transformation awaits you!

http://www.prosperyourfamily.com

Heck, it’s hard enough just having certain expectations of what YOU are supposed to be doing!

Recently I came to terms with the fact that I’m in another one of those “temporary seasons of imbalance” and decided to just hunker down and get through it. My husband agreed, and has been there to support me, filling in gaps wherever he can, rather than get frustrated that there are gaps to be filled.

What an example he is to me.

I thought about this, and remembered all the times when I’ve been up and he’s been down, or I’ve been down and he’s been up. That’s life. In your marriage, even if you’re both working hard to learn and understand the laws of success, you’ll learn them and apply them at different paces and in different ways.

When you’re in the groove, your spouse may struggle. When you’re spouse is on a roll, you may struggle. How, then, can you succeed financially as a couple if you can’t seem to get it right at the same time?

Count your blessings if the above description describes your relationship. The Law of Rhythm states that everything in life is cyclical. We will have up days and we’ll have down days. When you’re on an up, go ahead and get a whole bunch of stuff done! Take advantage.

When you’re down, go with it and let it serve its purpose (as described in Hidden Treasures), with an expectation that your turn for an up day is on its way.

So, now, about your relationship. Don’t allow yourself to feel frustrated when the two of you can’t seem to make quantum leaps forward together. It is GOOD that you’re on different tracks because if you both were to crash at the same time, who’d be there to pick up the pieces? Allow yourself to feel the joy that is available when you say, “it’s okay, you can have a down day, and I’ll carry the torch until you come around.”

Imagine how that would make your partner feel. You have just turned a frustration into a benefit, which is a key skill for building prosperity. The goals you strive for will continue to move toward you as you show compassion and refuse to keep score.

Take responsibility. The minute you begin to fume and fuss over what someone else is doing or not doing, you lose power. Instead of passing judgment, be grateful for his/her companionship and the opportunity you have to grow through the experience. Move forward with faith, and when the obstacle that shows up happens to be conflict with a spouse, count it as a blessing and put forth a little extra effort to serve him/her.

Marriage is not a 50/50 proposition. You don’t ‘divi’ up the responsibilities and then constantly critique your partner’s performance on his/her share.

You do what you can do, even if it means sharing the other person’s load. How you feel about doing that will determine your ultimate success. If you begrudge sharing the load, you are robbing yourself of the joy AND the prosperity that is available to you on the other side of that challenge. Remember, through natural law, the universe responds to the feelings you emit. Be grateful that you are able to help.

No, marriage isn’t 50/50… it’s 100/100.

Don’t keep score. Inevitably there will come a day when you are the one needing to be carried. Serve with joy, and you’ll both reap great benefits soon enough. Nag not. Be patient. Allow those you love to grow at their own pace.

And if your spouse isn’t on board at all, you can still prosper; you can still succeed. Have faith in God’s ability to help you achieve your dreams, even if you’re the only one who believes in them.

As Wendell Phillips said, “One, on God’s side, is a majority.”  It only takes one.

For several days in a row I was plagued by questions such as “what if it doesn’t work out?” “what if you miss your goals?” “what will you do if the resources you need in order to reach your goals don’t come through after all?” Each time a thought like that came into my head, I rejected it. But just rejecting it wasn’t enough to leave me with burning faith, either. I was losing sight of my objectives, and felt weak in my ability to apply the very principles of prosperity I teach.

“Oh, give yourself a break, Leslie… you’re just pregnant.” I’m acutely aware of my emotional state when hormones are all wacky, and I’ve learned to trust in God’s mercy in spite of myself. I believe He can bless me even when I’m not perfect (thank heavens)… and I’ve learned that because I choose that way of thinking over the more typical “I’m not worthy of His blessings” mentality, He is then able to send the blessings, by law…

Still, even though I have, in the past, been able to believe in my goals in spite of myself, last week was especially tough. Hope was fading, and I struggled not to just give up.

So I turned to two of my closest friends for support, and to help me fix my thinking. I knew that it was my thinking that needed fixing, even more than the circumstances around me (the lack of evidence that I would succeed). It was my thinking that needed fixing, because my success depended on it.

Let me share with you what they told me:

Marnie’s advice – “Dig into gratitude for what you have and what you know is coming. Also… depression isn’t such a bad thing because it makes you willing to change, helps you see contrast…also the whole [law of] rhythm thing… something great’s around the corner …refocus spiritually… D&C 6:33-37 really helped me get through [a similar slump]”

This is part of the reference she was talking about: “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail… Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”

My husband’s comment – “God hasn’t brought us this far to fail…” That comment struck me like a ton of bricks. It made me think back to all of the miracles He has performed for us, and it would be absurd to think that He would bring us this far, only for us to give up on our dreams of prosperity and fail to accomplish the worthy things we’ve set out to do.

Suddenly, the struggle seemed like a waste of time and energy. No longer did I feel like I was IN the struggle; I felt like I had just set it aside as something I chose to have nothing to do with.

I found a quiet place and took Marnie’s advice to think on all the things I have to be grateful for. And you know what? It wasn’t just a nice exercise, it was literally an action step taken to get me back on track. Because I understand the laws of success, I knew that to take a half hour or an hour to allow myself to feel gratitude to God for all He has done, maybe even to the point of tears, was to put myself in harmony with Him again, and prepare myself to receive the very blessings He wants to send me.

No matter how far we come in learning these principles, we will be challenged our entire life to continue exercising those “muscles”. They can atrophy if we let them. Once again, I am excited about my dreams. I also watched the movie “The Secret” again and was overcome with gratitude for the knowledge I have.

It is true: we can make of our life anything we want it to be!

Above all, the only thing that really needs fixing when things look bleak are our thoughts. Get our thinking right, and everything else falls into place.

Prosper on!