If we could run a scientific experiment with every variable perfectly controlled—two people with the same upbringing, DNA, experiences, and environment—and gave them the exact same challenge, their outcomes from that point forward would still be different. Why? Because of their thoughts.

Now, I can’t prove that… but I know it’s true. I've seen it over and over again in my own life: a real, powerful connection between the thoughts I choose and the results I get.

So, knowing this, I try—imperfectly, but intentionally—to choose thoughts that empower me. I believe that even the hard stuff (yes, even the messy, ugly stuff) is here for me, not against me. I choose to believe there's a lesson in it. I choose to believe that something phenomenal can rise from tragedy. And without fail, when I do, things go better than when I don’t.

Sure, what I’m describing doesn’t meet the strict standards of the scientific method—but after seeing this pattern hold for more than twenty years, I can say confidently that life just works better when we live by faith.

Science has been working to explain how our thoughts impact the world around us (hello, Quantum Physics), but until they crack the code and it ends up in elementary school textbooks, we’re left to experiment in the best lab available: our own lives.

Am I always successful at this?

Absolutely not. Honestly, most of the time I don’t feel like choosing better thoughts. But here’s the kicker: the consequences are just as real when I violate the laws of thought as when I obey them.

Learning the laws has just given me a reason to be more intentional. Because whether the outcome is good or bad, it always—always—starts with my thinking.

Related: What if it’s impossible to always think perfectly right?

One thing I’ve learned is this: if I can imagine it, it’s possible. Not just as a fluffy motivational idea, but because of a law. A law that says: nothing is created without first being thought. If it can be imagined, it can be done. (That doesn’t mean we always get it figured out in this lifetime, but it’s still true.)

Let me give you an example.

Two years before I released my books, I didn’t believe I could be a best-selling author. But just to test the principles, I decided to try. I applied the laws of thought—not fully believing, but at least willing to see what might happen.

Choosing the goal was hard. Really hard. Writing it down felt ridiculous. But I did it anyway. My goal statement turned into an eight-page document. (Side note: if you want help crafting your own, check out my Mindset Fundamentals™ Ecourse.)

Each day before I worked on the manuscript, I read that goal statement. I even placed it at the top of the document so I’d have to read it before picking up where I left off. And interestingly, the best story details didn’t come to me until after I made the decision to write a best-seller.

You get what you ask for out of life, so ask largely. We don't do something remarkable because we already have all we need to do it; the things we need often only come to us AFTER we've decided to do something remarkable. It's just how it works.

Most people write a book and then hope it gets discovered. But I learned that whether or not a publisher is involved, it's typically still your responsibility to make it succeed. So I decided up front to create a best-seller. I figured, when you expect to create something remarkable, you’re more likely to notice the remarkable ideas when they show up.

After two months of reading that goal statement nearly every day, something shifted. I began to believe. I still didn’t know how, but the “maybe” crept in—and that’s all it took.

How many people are willing to read something absurd over and over until it doesn’t feel absurd anymore? That’s part of what makes goal-setting work. You reprogram your belief.

Then things started to happen.

People I didn’t expect came into my life with exactly the information or help I needed—just when I needed it. These weren’t chance encounters. They felt serendipitous, even divinely orchestrated. Like my needs had been shouted through a megaphone… even though they hadn’t.

I’m convinced it was my thoughts that did the shouting.

It was like tuning into a radio station: as my mind focused and belief grew, I got “in range” to receive the support and insight I needed. And all because I had finally believed. That belief is magnetic.

You don’t have to go the whole distance. You just have to meet success halfway. Take a step—it takes a step. Every time.

Shortly after that shift, a Jewish man from New York reached out after reading Hidden Treasures. He told me he thought it might be a best-seller. I was surprised (the book was originally written for people of my faith), and his praise meant a lot.

I told him, “Actually, it’s the book I’m writing now that I hope will be a best-seller.”

Turns out, he was working with a team helping Jack Canfield launch The Success Principles, and he asked if I wanted to join them. I said yes—having no clue what they would ask me to do.

But as I volunteered with the campaign, I learned exactly what I needed to know to launch a best-seller.

So when The Jackrabbit Factor was finished, I followed the steps I had learned—and on August 30, 2005, it hit the BarnesAndNoble.com best-seller list, even briefly outranking the latest Harry Potter release. It was enough to claim best-seller status, and more importantly, to prove to myself that the process works.

Since then, the book has won awards, ranked on other best-seller lists, been picked up internationally, and translated into several languages.

So was that first moment a huge rush?

Honestly? No.

Was I disappointed?

Not at all.

Why?

Because I’d already lived it. Dozens of times. In my mind. The excitement and celebration? I’d rehearsed it so many times that when it happened, it was more like, “Awesome. Now I can check that one off and start on the next goal.”

It was just more proof that the process works.

Ironically, the same mental process described in the story of The Jackrabbit Factor is exactly the process I used to make it a best-seller.

So if you’re wondering how to get what you want in life, I can show you the way. Just decide what it is—and then read The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can.

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•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
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