When I was a kid I wanted to play the guitar. I told my parents. They listened and bought me a Roy Rogers cowboy guitar — made out of cardboard.

Being a smart kid, I knew the guitar was a symbol. It meant my parents didn’t believe in me. They never thought I would amount to anything as a guitar player. After all, if they had faith in me and my potential, they’d have bought me a really nice guitar.

I held that memory in my head for almost fifty years.

Fifty years!

That’s a long time to hold a grudge.

When I hooked up with Daniel Barrett, my music producer for my forthcoming album, and told him my sad Roy Rogers guitar story, he suggested I make peace with it.

1960s Roy Rogers Toy Guitar

He suggested I find an old Roy Rogers cardboard guitar and buy it. He thought there might be a lesson in it for me.

I didn’t think so.

But I trust Daniel and did what he asked. I searched, found a nice 1960s Roy Rogers toy guitar on eBay, and bought it.

When it arrived, I felt sick.

When I opened the box, I felt depressed.

There was that damn guitar again.

But I walked off my sadness, sat with the guitar, glanced at it every now and then, played it a little, and relaxed.

I started to remember all the warm fuzzies I had about Roy Rogers, the man, the singer, the actor, the legend.

Who didn’t like Roy Rogers?

Roy Rogers, the Singing Cowboy

He stood for good in the world.

He was the superman of the wild west.

It then occurred to me to get the background story on my parents giving me that guitar. After all, there might be more to what I remembered. So I called my 85-year-old father and asked him about it.

“Dad, do you remember that Roy Rogers guitar you gave me as a kid?”

“You mean that cheapee?” he quickly replied. “I drove to Pennsylvania in a blizzard to get that thing.”

“Why did you get me that particular guitar?”

“We were broke but we wanted to get you what you wanted,” he said. “We got you the best guitar we could afford at the time.”

And there it was.

The truth.

I felt tears well up in my eyes.

My father and me eating garlic and peanut butter (his idea not mine)

My parents did believe in me.

They simply struggled with money. My father was the bread winner in the family. He had an entire platoon of kids to raise. I wanted a guitar. He got me one, doing the best he could at the time.

And for almost fifty years I thought he didn’t believe in me!

My entire story was wrong.

Most likely you have stories from your childhood like this. When we’re too young to know how the world works, we make conclusions that simply aren’t true. (Actually, we do this as adults, too, but that’s a different blog post.)

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he’d learned in seven years.” – Mark Twain

Maybe it’s time to reexamine some of the childhood stories you still carry.

Maybe it’s time to revisit, understand or reinterpret, and forgive.

Maybe it’s time to dig out that Roy Rogers guitar and play a tune.

Pull up a chair…

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Now that I’ve decoded my childhood, the first song I wrote is a tribute to Roy Rogers. He was a cool guy. And if you’re a guitar collector like me, you might like to know that Roy’s own Martin OM-45 guitar sold for $460,000. You read it right. Almost half a million dollars. Roy bought it for $30 used in 1933 and never knew it was a rare guitar to begin with. It sold for more than Roy’s 1964 Bonneville convertible or his stuffed legendary horse, Trigger. You just never know the value of a guitar —  emotionally or otherwise — even if it’s made out of cardboard.

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Recently singer Sarah Marie kidnapped me.

If you’re going to be kidnapped, she’s the way to go.

We sometimes meet for coffee, and talk about everything from guitars and music to movies and dreams. We also “Nevillize” each others’ goals. She’s part of my support team for creating my own music, and I’m helping her produce a CD of ho’oponopono inspired, Opera-influenced healing music. I love spending time with her.

But this time Sarah said we would be going on a mysterious little trip. She didn’t offer any clues and my normal psychic powers couldn’t see in the dark.

I surrendered.

We met, got in my car, and I started driving.

And driving.

And driving.

We were going through remote wooded hilly areas that seemed perfect for UFO landings.

No sign of life.

No billboards.

No other cars.

Where was this woman taking me?

Sarah and husband JJ

Eventually we ended up at a hidden hilltop estate. As we passed through the front gate, Sarah told me this was the home of Martin Jacobvitz, a reclusive wood worker and luthier (guitar maker), and the jolly man was going to give me a private tour of his shop and guitar collection.

Now anyone who knows me knows I love guitars. I’ve met several luthiers and always learn a lot. The fact that Sarah arranged this private meeting was a thoughtful and priceless gift to me.

But the reason I’m sharing this story with you is this: the man who makes guitars in the seclusion of his home learned how from books.

From books!

Stop and think about this.

He didn’t take courses.

He didn’t do an apprenticeship.

He didn’t worry and fret about education and experience.

He didn’t let anyone talk him out of his wild desire and dream.

Instead, he simply read books and took action.

This is a huge secret to success:

You need very little to actually go for your dreams. Most of what you say you need are excuses for not taking action right now.

Let me give you a couple more examples:

Will Arntz (pictured above) is the man behind the hit movie What the Bleep!? I recently spent an evening with him. During it he told me he had no movie making experience at all. He hired people to help him. But when the editor he hired flaked out, Will simply took over the job. He learned movie editing on the fly and edited the now famous movie.

Nick Ortner (above) is the man behind the great EFT movie The Tapping Solution. When I interviewed him, I asked what experience he had in creating movies. He said, “I had a membership card to Blockbuster.”

How could these people create globally recognized movies with no experience?

What these people have in common is desire.

And desire is all you need to get moving on your dreams.

Yes, money, resources, talent and a long list of other things would be nice to have, too.

But what do you really need?

What’s really stopping you?

I suggest the only thing in your way is lack of action.

And you are in control of that.

If you focused on your desire, and let your passion lead the way, you’d attract what you need as you need it.

Knowing this, what are you going to do today?

What’s really stopping you, anyway?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – I met Sarah Marie over a year ago, when she came to my local book signing for Attract Money Now and spontaneously sang for me. I expected her to sing some folk song. She didn’t. What she sang was so much more, and it fried everyone in the room, especially me. I wrote about her as “The Woman Who Sang Past Fear” here: http://blog.mrfire.com/the-woman-who-sang-past-fear/ Expect great things from her. If you missed her singing to me the first time, here it is:

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The Universe gives clues to you all the time.

You have to notice them.

What you do with them is up to you.

That’s free will.

Here’s an example:

Recently I was talking to Pat O’Bryan about this and that when he mentioned he visited famed luthier Tony Nobles. Tony showed him his latest creation, a shiny black electric guitar made by hand, with all the perks and magic Tony wanted in a guitar of his dreams. Pat played it and said it was “perfect.”

Perfect?

Pat doesn’t toss around that word often or easily. I instantly asked if the guitar was for sale. Pat didn’t know. I just as instantly sent en email to Tony — I sent it right then and there, while Pat was sitting watching me type it on my mobile phone — and asked about the perfect guitar.

Tony wrote back the next day, saying the guitar was the best he had ever made. He said he was out of town but sent me the link to his blog* where he described everything about what he nicknamed The Snake.

I read the post and drooled.

I wanted that guitar.

Pat said it was perfect.

Tony said it was the best one he had ever made.

Two clues.

While waiting, I sent the blog post link* to my guitar teacher, guitar monk Mathew Dixon. He read it and wrote back, “OMG!!!”

Third clue.

By now I had my checkbook out.

But I had to wait for Tony’s return.

When he returned, he let me know I could come and see the guitar.

I still didn’t know what it cost.

I didn’t care.

The Universe sent me three clues that this was the next step for me.

I could have ignored them. I could have said I already have guitars. I could have turned my back on the opportunity before me.

I have free will and could use it to say no.

But I’ve found saying yes is the wiser choice.

I got Pat and we went to Tony’s shop. When I finally got to see The Snake, I loved it. When I played it, it was light, smooth, and easy. It felt like it had supernatural powers. It had mojo. It felt mystical and magical. And powerful. And full of untapped secrets.

Pat played the guitar for me. He’s Clapton. He made it walk, talk, run, sprint, sing, growl, soothe and stimulate.

I finally asked Tony what he wanted for it. He thought about the six months it took him to make it, and gave me a fair number. I pulled out my checkbook and wrote a check for five hundred dollars more than what he asked.

Why?

I was practicing prosperous purchasing.

And I wanted to acknowledge Tony for his passion, skill, and love for making it. When you do what you love, things tend to work in the world. Tony does what he loves. I wanted to encourage it, and him.

The lesson: When you get clues from the Universe, act on them.

Don’t second guess. Don’t doubt. Don’t argue.

Act!

When you act on the inspirations you receive, you stay in alignment with the flow of life.

Everything works.

It may not be a guitar for you. The above clues were for me, not you. Yours may be a business idea. Or an urge to make a call, buy a book, attend an event, write, sing, dance, play, bake, or who knows what.

Follow the clues.

They lead to miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Need a clue? Get your free sample of Miracles Coaching by clicking right here.

* Tony’s blog post about The Snake electric guitar is at: http://www.devilsbackboneguitarco.blogspot.com/2010/10/snakes.html

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Here’s another great lesson on how the Law of Attraction (combined with the Law of Creation) actually works in the real world:

As you may recall from a previous post, I have taken the Rubicon Challenge. I am going to record my own music in 2011, with me playing guitar, singing, and more. I’ve gone past the doubts and into the passion.

Once I made the decision to allow passion to lead the way, magic began to happen.

My singing lessons with Guy Monroe and guitar lessons with Mathew Dixon took on more focus. And my practice outside of the lessons became longer and more intentional.

And my lessons with Daniel Barrett are playful yet disciplined; always balanced with a sense of the moment and what it calls from us and gives to us.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Daniel came to my home last Friday. It was his first visit, so we spent time touring the place, seeing guitars and cars and such. We then did the lesson, playing some spontaneous Jason Mraz-influenced chords that really moved me.

I then felt inspired to ask Dan to stay for dinner. We grabbed Nerissa and the three of us went to get the greatest pizza of all time, at Brewster’s.

And here’s where things got interesting.

As we pulled into the parking lot in my screaming Spyker car, watching jaws drop as we parked my exotic beauty, Daniel noticed Ray Wylie Hubbard getting out of his vehicle. I had never met the legendary singer songwriter, and of course wanted to.

We went inside, met Ray and his wife, Judy, and instantly clicked. Judy said she read several of my books and often waved at me as she saw me around town, knowing I had no clue who she was.

We all ended up eating our pizzas in the Vitale Cigar Lounge upstairs. It was a three hour spontaneous meeting where Ray told me how he wrote a couple of his songs, including the famous song Snake Farm. I was riveted.

Turns out he simply passed a famous Snake Farm in Texas — one he had passed hundreds of times while driving — but this time inspiration struck. He then whittled a song from that initial spark.

Ray said he took finger picking guitar lessons when he was 42 years old. He said he had to face his fears and doubts to do so at that age, but once he did, there was no turning back.

Judy compared songwriting to how I write my books. I saw the comparisons and learned a lot. For example, my blog post from the other day, titled Attract $175,000 Today, came from inspiration but still had to be crafted and rewritten. Songs are often the same way.

Ray quoted novelist Flannery O’Connor, saying (I don’t recall the exact quote so I may be paraphrasing here), “Inspiration can’t be second guessed, but it can be rewritten.”

Here’s Ray’s song Snake Farm:

Daniel and I looked at each other, smiling.

We knew that meeting Ray and his wife was no accident.

We knew that if we were looking for a sign that we are on the right path, we just got it.

And that’s how miracles get created:

You decide on something you passionately want, you take action, and you pay attention to the signs in each moment about what to do next.

Easy, isn’t it?

When you combine the Law of Attraction with the Law of Creation, magic happens.

Miracles await you.

It’s your move.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – If you noticed, I hired coaches to help me manifest my next miracle. We all need them. Claim your free sample of Miracles Coaching.

Note: My new audio CD program is The Abundance Paradigm: Moving from the Law of Attraction to the Law of Creation.  Comes out November 9th. You will soooo love it.

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Guy Monroe is my singing coach. I love working with him. He’s plugged in, tapped in, turned on, and a wizard at teaching vocal mastery.

Recently we were enjoying his magic coffee before my singing lesson began when he asked about my activities. I rattled off a few things I was doing that week —

– released my 51st book 1,800 Conversion Secrets

– appeared in my 15th movie The Meta-Secret

– did back to back radio shows

– negotiated deals for new audio products

– set up a radio campaign for Attract Money Now

– did a two hour photo shoot with my new car

– prepared for Unseminar 8.

– prepped for overseas travel to speak in Poland

– continued guitar lessons with Mathew Dixon

– found time to read new books

– found time to write new blog posts

– did Miracles Coaching call

– dealt with my mom going in the hospital, an elderly kitty slowly dying, etc.

That’s just some of the things I was doing that week.

Of course, I added that I made time for meditation, reflection, cigar smoking, hot tubbing, masterminding, and more.

Guy’s eyes looked HUGE as he took in my inventory of activities.

“What’s the secret to getting all these results?” he asked.

“I don’t do all of this at the same time,” I explained.

“Right now I’m talking to you and having coffee,” I added. “That’s what this moment calls for. In the next moment I’ll be in your sound booth and singing. After that I’ll drive my space-ship Spyker home. When I get home, there will be something in that moment to do. By living in each moment, things get done.”

Guy nodded. He’s a brilliant teacher and a high-energy dynamo, so I knew he understood.

I added, “It’s when you think about all the stuff you want to do that it gets overwhelming. When you stop and breathe and relax and just do what’s in this moment to do, all is well.”

What’s in this moment for you to do?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – If you really want to know my Secret of Productivity click right here.