The remarkable Helen Keller once said, "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." Those are profound words from a woman who embraced her limitations and truly lived in abundance. She chose abundance, but she could have easily lived in darkness and taken none of the enormous leaps of faith it took to trust that the world would embrace her.

Most of us have much smaller summits to conquer. It is said that the journey is always toughest right before the summit. One must infer that if that is true, the journey has begun; it is sad, but often the journey is never begun. There is no summit; no starting gun; no base camp…there is only wishing and hoping.

Scarcity is marked by prolonged periods of longing. Envy pervades the thoughts of those who are living in scarcity. It becomes the most normal thing for them to assume that anyone who is achieving their goals had some advantage or break withheld from them. Success is, after all, just luck; ask any failure.

Moving from the shadows into the sunlight requires changed thinking and perception. It will not happen overnight. Great shifts in beliefs often start with nearly imperceptible steps. Research shows that people, who lets say have hated one race or another, are able to shift the intensity of their position in a matter of days when they are placed in a common situation with representatives of that race.

It is often said that you have to decide what it is that you want and then insist upon it. Figuring out what you want is a good place to start the journey to the summit. Here are a few questions to consider: (Write down your thoughts for further consideration. Take time in pondering these as new, expanded awareness will come clear each time you consider the questions.)

1. If there were no limitations (imagined or real,) what would I be doing in my career today?

2. What is it that I love doing: work, family, recreation, etc?

3. When I dream of things that seem unattainable, what are those things?

4. What are the thoughts/beliefs that limit your ability to have those dreams be unattainable?

5. Where/when did those thoughts/beliefs first surface?

6. Can you prove with certainty that your thoughts/beliefs are true? Would others agree with you?

7. If/when I feel envy, what is it that I am envying?

8. What is it I say to myself relative to why the person/thing I am envying is not mine?

9. To move closer to the things that I want, I have to stop________.

10. I have denied myself_________________ for far too long.

11. What change/shift/adjustment can I make today that would be an excellent first step toward a goal?

12. If I were in a place of abundance, what would I say about myself then that I cannot say now?

13. What would others say about me?

The next step, after devoting quiet time to pondering and answering the above questions, would be to choose some small steps toward achieving your desired end. You will never reach a goal by charging forward and forgetting that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Let’s say you have always wanted to attain a college degree. It will not happen tomorrow, but consider this. What if you spent one hour a day researching curricula (if not already known) of area colleges and decided upon a degree program that fits your objectives. Next step might be to make an appointment with the admissions department(s) to discuss your options, tour the campus, find out what they offer in the way of flexibility for adult students, learn about financing programs, etc.

Once you’re sure of your choice of school, you have to decide upon how much time and when to devote to taking classes and completing assignments. If you have a career and/or family, balancing those will be challenging.

Even if you took two classes a semester, think of this. In a matter of 6-8 years, you will have earned a four-year degree. If that sounds like a long time, think in abundance. You’ll probably be in this life in 6-8 years from now, and when you get there and had pursued your education, you’ll be mad at yourself. Can you hear it now? "If I had just gone to school like I wanted to, I would be graduating now. It really went so fast!" It always does go fast. Eleven years have gone by since I earned my masters degree. It seems impossible to accept, but that is how abundance-thinking works.

Moving to a heightened level of self and enhancing your success works much like the building of a piece of fine custom-made furniture. It begins as a concept in the mind of the craftsperson. The image is translated from the imagination to the drawing board where it is articulated and perfected. Then the craftsperson lovingly chooses the woods that will best bring his/her vision to life. The wood is cut, planed, sanded, carved, sanded anew and assembled. It goes from a disparate group of boards to the living embodiment of a vision that took place in the imagination of the craftsperson. Imagine the future, and then be the craftsperson of your imagined life!

Published: February 5, 2007

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Marylyn B. Schwartz, CSP, is a noted expert in real estate and corporate sales training, team development, customer care and diversity issues. She is president of TEAMWEAVERS and a trainer for Leader's Choice, the number one real estate sales training program in North America. Marylyn is also an author and Business/Life Coach. Contact her at , or visit her website at teamweavers.com.