Transformative Action and the Law of Attraction
Taking Action to Become a Better Writer
Yesterday I wrote a short article using the template TRANSFORM, but something was missing — ATTITUDE, so I added the letter “A” and made it TRANSFORMA.
Rasheed Hooda saw TRANSFORMA and thought maybe I was aiming at TRANSFORMATION and just didn’t finish. He asked if I wanted to finish it.
I’ve run into that word TRANSFORM and its noun TRANSFORMATION, four times in the last two days, not counting this article. When that happens I know I need to stop and pay attention. Should I now write an addendum for -ATION?
As I pondered this, two thoughts came to mind.
1) First came the word “ACTION” which is really ATION with a “C” thrown in.
2) The second thought was the LAW OF ATTRACTION (LOA). I’ll confess right off that I am not a big believer in LOA. In fact, you could classify me as a skeptic. Oh, I do believe in the importance of imagination and that, if you can get a clear image of a goal and hold it in your mind, you can usually achieve it. But I don’t believe in wish fulfillment.
But what is the LOA?
Simply put, the Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. It is believed that regardless of age, nationality or religious belief, we are all susceptible to the laws which govern the Universe, including the Law of Attraction. It is the Law of Attraction which uses the power of the mind to translate whatever is in our thoughts and materialize them into reality. In basic terms, all thoughts turn into things eventually.[I would disagree on this point…thankfully ALL thoughts do not turn into real things.] If you focus on negative doom and gloom you will remain under that cloud. If you focus on positive thoughts and have goals that you aim to achieve you will find a way to achieve them with massive action [I would definitely agree on this point, but see below]. This is why the universe is such an infinitely beautiful place. The Law of Attraction dictates that whatever can be imagined and held in the mind’s eye is achievable if you take action on a plan to get to where you want to be.
https://www.thelawofattraction.com/what-is-the-law-of-attraction/
The part of the LOA that I resonate with is in that last sentence: “…if you take action on a plan to get where you want to be.” Earlier the quote spoke of “massive action.” That, to me, is where the rubber hits the road: ACTION. We have to take action. That is what makes thoughts become a reality.
I composed the acronym ACTION to extend what I wrote earlier about TRANSFORM. You might call it Transformative Action.
Agenda — Have an agenda. Know what you want to accomplish. Have a clear idea of it. Visualize it in detail. Think about it long and hard and often.
For many years I was a product development engineer in a company that made and sold large format reader/printers. In Product Development we called this the Concept Phase. During the Concept Phase the development team wrote the specifications that the product would have to meet to satisfy the market requirements. Your agenda needs to be written and carefully considered.
Then you must become a change agent. What does that mean? Be one who facilitates change, who initiates change and makes things happen. Don’t just sit back and observe, but take action to bring about the change you desire. Become the change you wish to see in the world around you. What steps can you take today to make progress toward your goal? Take them!
Dr. Robert H. Schuller who founded Crystal Cathedral Ministries and aired the Hour of Power radio and TV programs for several decades arrived in California to start his ministry with an electric organ, a few dollars and no church building. He had nothing but hope and a fearless optimism based on his faith that God would show him the way. He exhausted all the places he’d listed as possible places to preach from except one, the roof of the concession stand in a drive-in theater in Garden Grove. His ministry started from such a humble beginning and grew into a mega-church that reached millions around the world every week.
Don’t worry if your idea is small and you have to make a humble beginning. As Dr. Schuller often said:
Beginning is half done
Coordinate and cooperate with others to improve your chances of success. Look at what others are doing and see how your efforts may dovetail with theirs or build upon them. Reach out and help. Give what you wish to receive. Support one another; it will pay great dividends. In most cases, in the world of human endeavor, 1 + 1 equals more than 2. You often get back far more than you give.
Timing is everything. You may be inspired to write a Christmas story at Christmas time, but if you want to sell it, you better start writing in June so you can shop it around and sell it before the publications put their Christmas issue to bed. Or, better still, write the Christmas story this year for next Christmas! Find out what the lead times are well ahead of time. If you come late to the table, you will miss dinner.
Another aspect of timing for me involves my own cycles of creativity. I am brightest and most productive early in the morning. Thus, I try to do my writing then. (Ironically, as I’m writing this in late afternoon after running errands and taking care of commitments. But I came back and re-read and edited it early the next morning.) So, my advice is to write when you are most productive.
Innovation — How can you make yourself and your story stand out from the crowd? What makes your story unique? Give it a unique title and a captivating lead-in sentence, something that will draw the reader in and make them want to read the story.
One of my favorite “Innovation” stories is that of 3M’s Post-It® Notes. Dr. Spencer Silver and Art Fry developed them during the late 70s and early 80s in a lab at the 3M Research Center in St. Paul, Minnesota where I was working at the time. However, it took several tries before a suitable application was found.
One of the first “products” using the peelable adhesive Dr. Silver had discovered was an artificial cork bulletin board. They coated a thick paper that looked like a cork surface on one side with the adhesive. The idea was that you could attach bulletins to it and peel them off later. It attracted dust and lost its tackiness after a while.
Art Fry, another 3M researcher, sang in a church choir. He became frustrated when slips of paper he used to mark the hymns he’d be singing kept slipping out of the hymnal. He had a “Eureka!” moment when he remembered a seminar he’d attended in which Dr. Silver talked about his peelable adhesive. They got together, scrounged up some yellow paper and coated it with Dr. Silver’s adhesive. It stuck beautifully and left no mark when peeled off. The rest, as they say, is history. More of the story can be found here.
Opportunities to write exist everywhere. If you are just starting out, look for contests and writing challenges. They will help you hone your skills and may bring in a few dollars. Identify publications you’d like to write for, ones that seem to provide a good fit with what you like to write. Read them and read their submission guidelines.
Network — No man is an island. We need each other. It may help to join a writers group. They can be a good source of ideas and provide helpful support. Reading and sharing ideas on a site like Medium or social media can lead to opportunities. But remember, networking is always a two-way street. Take what you need but give what you can. Your network is a mutual aid society.
I hope this ACTION plan helps guide you in your quest to become a published writer. I welcome your comments in the responses below.
Happy Reading, Writing, and Connecting!