How I got a Book Deal using the Law of Attraction

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Have you seen the movie The Secret? By now, everyone has watched it, it’s old news and the “Law of Attraction” has already come and gone as a passing fad. But wait! It actually does work and I’m going to share an amazing story which will hopefully lift your spirits and keep you thinking about setting your goals and intentions for this life.

Power of Positive Thinking, Affirmations, Manifestation – that’s The Secret!

The Law of Attraction works like this: Focus your mind on what you want instead of what you don’t want, and watch the universe actually start to fill your mental orders. Suddenly it’s easier to meet the people you need to meet and to be at the right place at the right time to find what you were looking for and on and on it goes…creating the life that you want with the very power of your thoughts. Manifesting, setting goals and intentions, visualization and guided meditation all are ways to use the Law of Attraction. Since most people are too busy thinking about what they don’t want in life, they simply attract more of what they don’t want: bad relationships, money problems, dead-end jobs, and daily struggles. As Esther Hicks says in the film, “what you put your mind to becomes a reality.” Change the way you think, and your life will change.

The Secret DVD

How did it work for me? I first watched The Secret 7 years ago when I was living in a bungalow on the beach in Thailand. Someone brought me the original movie from the USA before it become mainstream and said, “Jennifer, you have to watch this…it’s amazing!” I looked at the cover with this special writing and I was excited to find out what was the secret! I watched the stories of creating vision boards and seeing years later as things came true, and I thought, “Wow, I want to try that!” It sounded so cool, and after all, I had nothing to lose!

The next step was to decide, well what do I want? That can be a hard question actually! Do you focus on small things, big things…where do you begin? And I remembered the story from the Chicken Soup for the Soul guy and he dreamed of getting his first big paycheck. I think he even wrote a fake check to himself just to hang on the wall. So I thought ok, I can do something like that. And this is what I did:

After watching The Secret, I created this Best Seller List for my vision board

Yes, this New York Times Bestseller list is FAKE. I made it for my vision board! I decided to put myself at the #1 spot on the chart as a way to motivate myself to write a book, and of course become a successful author too! I simply went online and found a current bestseller list, and with a quick print screen and change in photoshop, I instantly got to the top of the book charts. Well, in my mind! I have to laugh at myself because I even put a fake date on it – I decided to hit the bestseller list on the day before my birthday as a gift to myself…I gave myself a few years to complete the project and picked the year 2011.

Remember: According to The Secret, you don’t have to know how you are going to do something or when you are going to get something, you just have to know that it will happen.

So here’s the amazing thing. I printed this bestseller jpg and I hung it on my wall in my office/bungalow/house. Every day when I sat at my desk I would see my name and my book with the red circle around it and take a minute to visualize my success. Clients and friends who came to my house would sometimes notice it and say, “Wow, Jennifer I didn’t know you wrote a book!” I used to laugh and say, “Well…not yet. That’s part of my vision board.”

Over time, the paper started to get dirty and worn. I lived right on the beach so it was hard to keep things looking clean. About 2 years later I took the picture down, but I kept it in my files. And honestly, I totally and completely forgot about it.

Fast-forward to present day, another 5 years later, and my best friend is now totally into The Secret, watching it all the time. She’s putting signs in her house that say “We got another check!” and “We made another sale!” and her online sales have been going through the roof (she sells stuff on ebay and amazon). Every few days, she tells me another success story from her positive affirmations. And I laugh.. It’s fun! But still, I had totally forgotten my little vision board that I created years before.

Then, the unexpected happened. Or the expected…depending on which camp you are in! I arrived to Israel after many months of traveling through Central and South America with no real plan for work besides my Skype consultations and eBook sales, moving to one of the most expensive cities in the world – Tel Aviv – thinking “what am I going to do here?” Yeah, I know…I am an existential stream-of-consciousness type of being. Not many people can live like me!

Within 5 days of arriving to Israel, I received an email from a publisher in New York, USA. Out of the blue! The email said: “We want to talk to you about writing a book on Green Smoothies. Let’s meet ASAP.” Well, Ok! We had a phone meeting and several emails went back and forth, then I proposed a Table of Contents and a Partial Sample Chapter, and 3 months later I received the contracts in the mail to sign with Wiley Publishers for my first book deal ever, with an advance!

A book on the same exact subject I entered in that New Your Times Bestseller list: Green Smoothies!!!!

What you focus your mind on becomes reality…that’s the power of the Secret!

Even at that point, I still had forgotten about my old vision board. It wasn’t until I was in the middle of a conversation with my friend about all of her manifested ebay sales when I thought, “WAIT!” I think I made something about writing a book! I had to dig through my old computer backup files since the computer I used had long since passed away, but sure enough, I found the New York Times jpg! What you see is exactly what I made 7 years ago.

I hadn’t seen that jpg in years, but there it was….and I really had to say “Thank You!” to myself for creating such a clear and strong vision and for having the faith to take a leap and put the power of creating in my mind. Wow!

So, do I fail if I do not make it to #1 on the NYT bestseller list? I don’t think so and I hope you don’t think so either! It’s like the Chicken Soup guy…I think his first check was a few thousand below what he visualized, but was he upset? No way! He was over the moon to see his dreams realized! And I am too! The only way to explain what and why this happened is from that original seed that I planted in my mind. And if not, well, it’s a good story to tell and share!

I’ve now gotta write a 288 page book and I’m nervous and excited but I know that my mind is the key to get this job completed on time and to write something that will help others in their journey to enjoying Green Smoothies and better health and well-being as a result.

And yes, I am now working on a new vision board to create some new and exciting manifestations ahead!!

You can create your own vision board at home. First, think about what you want to achieve or how you want to feel. Really allow yourself to feel that you have already achieved that goal. Start by cutting out pictures or printing out sayings and add them to your board. Put the board in a place that you can see it for at least a few minutes every day. When you look at your board, align your thoughts with the images or words and allow yourself to feel the feeling of accomplishment. Soon, you will be celebrating your success too!

And here’s the book: Green Smoothie for Dummies

Literally, I "wrote the book" on Green Smoothies!

I “wrote the book” on Green Smoothies, literally!

Sip your way to ultimate nutrition and feel better than ever!

Whether you’re looking to detox, lose weight, or just add more veggies to your diet, green smoothies are the way to go. Easy to prepare, portable, and endlessly customizable, green smoothies are the trendy new beverage in everyone’s cup. Green smoothies are the easiest, most painless way to add more nutrients to your diet, so you can feel better than ever before.

Green Smoothies For Dummies is your beginner’s guide to the world of drinkable greens. Author and international smoothie guru Jennifer Thompson explains the benefits of green smoothies, and provides over 100 recipes that will make you start craving your vegetables. You’ll get to know the flavors and properties of each ingredient, and how to combine ingredients for complete nutrition. Available on amazon.com or the iTunes store.

Other good books on the Law of Attraction are by Napoleon Hill, Wallace Wattles and Esther Hicks:

Do you have a good Law of Attraction success story? I look forward to reading your comments below!

More on Manifestation:

Loni Jane Anthony pregnant and eating 10 bananas a day: She says “80:10:10 diet saved my life”

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A pregnant woman eating 10 bananas a day in Australia is making world-wide news and stirring a lot more than raw cacao and acai bowls… Loni Jane Anthony is a 25-year old pregnant blogger and instagram sensation, famously known as “10-bananas-a-day” Loni Jane.

Loni Jane was recently featured on news.com.au in Australia where she discussed her the details of her “extreme diet,” considered even more extreme to many because she is now 26 weeks pregnant.

“It all started about three years ago. I started getting skin infections, acne and putting on weight which was weird because I’d always been so slim. I wanted to sleep all the time and ended up with a whole range of health problems including candida overgrowth, hormone imbalance, irregular periods and hair loss,” she said.

She says that years of a party-hard lifestyle with excessive partying, drinking and alcohol left her sick and desperate for a solution. She turned to the 80-10-10 diet, a diet created by Dr. Doug Graham consisting of low-fat, whole, fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables after her health hit rock bottom.

“It wasn’t for weight loss or for a quick fix. I was internally really sick; I was killing myself slowly. If I’d kept living that lifestyle I would’ve ended up with a disease like cancer or early ageing. So giving up that food was really quite simple for me,” Loni said.

“I came across the 80:10:10 Diet from an extreme fruitarian. She really taught me that you can live and thrive on this lifestyle by just eating higher carbohydrate vegetables, fruits and juices, and keeping your diet low fat. You even keep good fats low to keep your blood sugar stable. It’s been amazing.”

Loni also tried the Paleo Diet and Gerson Therapy before converting to 80-10-10 or “811,” a low-fat, plant-based diet – which is 80% carbs, 10% fat and 10% protein.

Now 26 weeks pregnant with her first child, Loni Jane says The 80:10:10 Diet ‘saved her life.’

“I usually wake up about 4.30am-5am and have up to two litres of warm water with lemon. I let that go down for two or three hours. In summer I like to eat half a watermelon to get hydrated,” she said.

“If I don’t have watermelon I’ll have a big smoothie with at least five bananas, but usually more than five because organic bananas are smaller, and about a litre of filtered water. I also always have oranges in the morning being pregnant. I’m obsessed with eating oranges.

“At lunch I usually like to have a mono meal, meaning one type of fruit, which is really good for digestion and goes straight through you. At the moment it’s mangoes I’m hooked on so my meal for lunch will be at least five or six mangoes. I might then have a salad later depending on how active I am that day.

“Dinner is always a huge salad with a tahini dressing. If I decide to have something cooked I’ll have it on the side like at the moment my crispy no-fat potatoes are divine.”

“I feel like now I can share who I really am and I’m not trying to hide behind alcohol and partying. I don’t need to alter my state and get drunk to feel like myself or to have fun. I didn’t quit alcohol altogether but it’s no longer five days a week, it’s more like once every five months.”

“If you live your passion people will see that. I’m just living it, and living exactly what you see, and that’s what inspires people I think. Because I’m at an age where most people are out getting super-drunk and taking heaps of drugs and having no self-respect, so I like to inspire girls because I was once in that position as well.”

So, the big question… is this ok? Is it safe for a woman to be eating 10 bananas a day while pregnant? First I should say that I’m happy to hear of any story that gets us talking more about fruits and vegetables! Loni Jane is a very pretty girl. It sounds like she’s feeling great during her pregnancy and I hope she’s getting her iron levels tested and regular health check-ups to make sure the baby is ok.

From my own point of view, I personally think Loni Jane is a bit too thin and she looks very thin in her pregnancy photos, but just that’s my opinion. Of course, some woman can be very thin and healthy while pregnant. The most important thing to do while pregnant is have regular doctor visits and make sure the baby is developing at the right rate, that the heart rate is ok and that the mother is not anemic or mineral deficient.

When I see photos like this, I worry more about the implications of what kind of image this puts out to young girls and women. I’ve worked with many women with eating disorders and I’ve seen the obsession with flat-belly “selfie photos” all too often… I’ve also worked with many women who had drug and alcohol addictions, and went straight from that addiction into a strict and regimented 100% raw food diet. Replacing one addiction for another keeps an obsessive-like behavior, it isolates a person from family and friends, and keeps them locked into a “perfection-seeking” lifestyle. Often these women will binge and purge between raw food and junk food, desperately trying to find a stable middle-ground. Underneath that can be a real lack of self-value, self-worth and self-love. Some women will even combine their 100% fruitarian diet with getting breast implants, cheek fillers, lip fillers and botox but then profess their love of raw food and living a “natural life.” When young girls see an image of a size 0 women with size D silicon gravity-defying breasts drinking a green juice or holding a handful of bananas, it just doesn’t give plant-based diets or raw food a good name. How do we find a balance, when it’s clear that sex and beauty sell? In truth, there is no easy solution.

It’s definitely important for pregnant and breast-feeding mothers to get enough fat, protein and calcium in their diet. If a pregnant women is vegan, vegetarian, fruitarian or raw foodist, she should be extra attentive to her nutritional needs. Eating 10 bananas a day while pregnant is perfectly fine. (How many women eat 2 bagels, a bag of cookies, ice cream and cake while pregnant…and no one bats an eye?) However, in the early stages of pregnancy, it’s especially important to avoid too many high Vitamin C foods. High doses of Vitamin C can stop the body from making progesterone, the main pregnancy hormone. It could be dangerous for young pregnant women to follow Loni’s diet if they eat too many mangoes and oranges thinking they are doing the right thing, when in fact the high amounts of Vitamin C could trigger a miscarriage. It’s also not a good idea to go straight from a SAD or meat-eating diet into a 100% raw food diet at the onset of pregnancy and this can stir up a lot of toxins from the natural detox effect and that’s not good for a growing baby.

In Loni’s case, she seems to be doing well at 26 weeks and I wish her all the best. She’s got a creative eye and her photos of raw food are great! I’m happy that she is bringing a lot of attention to eating a more plant-based diet and she sounds like she’s pretty grounded in her approach to dealing with her new-found fame.

What do you think? I look forward to reading your comments below!

Related Article: Is it safe to detox while pregnant or breastfeeding?

Raw Food Diet Articles:

How to Ferment Cabbage and Make Raw Sauerkraut

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If you think that eating more fresh, natural raw food in your diet is too expensive, then this recipe is definitely for you! Making fermented foods at home is one of the most inexpensive ways to enjoy raw food. For optimal digestive health, we need to get good bacteria in gut on a regular basis. Antibiotics destroy all the bacteria in our system, both good and bad. Over time, this can lead to more imbalance in digestion function, absorption and elimination. Some experts even say that food allergies, autism and ADHD may be related to an imbalance of bacteria in the colon. Certainly many digestive diseases like colitis, diverticulitis and Crohn’s disease are caused in part by lack of good bacteria in the gut. Having the right balance of good bacteria helps to strengthen immune system, improve digestive health and long-term, can even prevent dis-ease. Probiotic, or good bacteria, literally means “for life.”

All information in this article is for educational purposes only.
It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

How to Make Raw Sauerkraut at home, a healthy naturally fermented food

How can we get good bacteria or “probiotics” back in the gut? The Western diet has virtually eliminated all traditionally fermented foods out of the diet, with the exception of yogurt. Store-bought yogurt is pasteurized, and usually contains added sugar, flavor and colorings. It’s also not a suitable option for vegans, and it’s expensive! Nowadays you will see Kombucha drink as a fermented raw food vegan option. Kombucha is fantastic, but it is also expensive at $6.00 per bottle. You may see sauerkraut for sale in supermarkets, but it’s already been pasteurized, so virtually all of the good bacteria has already been destroyed.

Not to worry! If you have just a few heads of cabbage, some salt and a few jars, you can easily make your own raw sauerkraut at home! It’s so easy to make that you will be wondering why you didn’t make it sooner! Cabbage is not expensive, and once the sauerkraut is made, you only need to add about 2 Tbsp. per day to your salad or veggies to get the good bacteria that your body needs. At that rate, 2 heads of cabbage could easily last up to 2 weeks for a family of 4. That’s some healthy savings!

What You Need: Raw cabbage, salt, a grater and jars

How to Make Homemade Raw Sauerkraut

Raw Sauerkraut: Ingredients

  • 2 medium-large organic green cabbage heads (or purple cabbage)
  • 1-1.5 Tablespoons Himalayan Salt or Pure Sea Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon caraway and/or mustard seeds (optional)
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh dill (optional)
  • 2 organic carrots (optional)

Raw Sauerkraut: Equipment

  • Grater or Mandolin
  • Cutting Board and Knife
  • Large Mixing bowl
  • Wooden Mallet (optional)
  • Large widemouth canning jar (or extra large mason jars)
  • Small glass baby-food jar or small glass cup to fit inside the larger jar
  • Clean rock or other weights to fit inside the small jar (to weigh down the cabbage)
  • Old t-shirt or towel for covering the jar
  • Large plate to catch any overspill

Instructions

Clean all materials before starting. Fermentation can be a sensitive process, and if there is any soap residue in your jars or hand cream chemicals on your hands, the fermenting might not work. I prefer to wash everything with a 50/50 mix of tap water and boiled water. For safety reasons, I do not recommend using 100% boiled water. Be careful not to rinse your jars with only boiling water because the glass can crack. Add tap water first, then some boiled water. Swish everything around and rinse. Wash your hands well with clean water and no soap.

Shred the Cabbage. Peel off the leaves of the cabbage and set them aside for later. Grate the cabbage on the large grate side of the grater or use a mandolin to shred the cabbage. Be sure to use the safety mechanism on the mandolin!

Combine Cabbage and Salt. Place the shredded cabbage to a large bowl and sprinkle some of the salt over top. If you have a wooden mallet, then start pounding the cabbage. If using only hands, then begin massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. In just a few minutes, you should start to see the cabbage becoming watery and limp – this is a good sign! You can add some shredded carrot at this stage too (optional).

Making Raw Sauerkraut: Use a wooden mallet and pound away!

Add the salt. Then start squeezing by hand…

As you squeeze the cabbage, it will start to soften and you should see liquid/water. Put the liquid and cabbage in a glass jar for fermenting, pushing out any air bubbles. You can also add fresh dill, whole mustard seeds or caraway seeds for flavor.

Pack Cabbage and Liquid into Jar. Use your hands to pack the cabbage into the jar, pressing out any air bubbles each time you add more. At this stage, you can add some fresh dill, caraway seeds or mustard seeds for flavor. Pour any excess liquid from the cabbage into the jar. When the jar is nearly full, place a few of the larger outer leaves to cover the surface of the sauerkraut. This helps keep the cabbage submerged.

Gently press out air bubbles. Place some large cabbage leaves on top and be sure that your cabbage is all covered by the liquid. If necessary, add a small amount of water to cover the cabbage.

Cover the Jar. Place your filled jar on a dish, cover it with an old t-shirt or towel and put it in a quiet place to happily start fermenting. Ideally, your jar will be on top on a cabinet or on a table where it will not be disturbed. The best place is away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F.

Place your sauerkraut on a dish or in a large bowl. Usually there will be liquid coming out of the jar as it ferments; this way any liquid escaping is caught and will not make a mess.

Finally, cover your sauerkraut with a towel or old t-shirt and keep it undisturbed. Check once a day, pushing out air bubbles and adding more water if needed. It should be ready in about 4 days.

Check Daily. Once a day, be sure to check your cabbage. Open the lid and push down the cabbage to release any air bubbles. If necessary, add a small amount of additional water and salt. By the 2nd day, the cabbage has usually been pressed down enough that there is some extra space in the jar. At that point, add the small baby-food jar or glass cup with rock inside to keep the cabbage submerged under water.

Taste after 4 days. Small batches of sauerkraut like this can be finished in as little as 4 days. On the 4th day, taste your cabbage. If you’re happy with the results, you can transfer your sauerkraut to the fridge where it will continue to ferment, although much more slowly. You can also keep it out to ferment for up to another 10 days, but you must check it every day, press out any air bubbles and add additional water and salt if necessary.

Note: It’s normal to see air bubbles coming through the cabbage during fermentation. When you press them down daily, you are eliminating the air space between the cabbage. In some cases if you forget a day, you may start to see mold, dark scum or smell a bad odor from the cabbage. If the scum can be skimmed off, then it’s ok to do so. If there is a bad smell or visible mold, I recommend to throw out the batch and start over.

When your sauerkraut is ready, put the large container in the fridge or transfer the sauerkraut to smaller jars and then refrigerate. Raw sauerkraut is a fermented product and will stay fresh for a few months. Once you open a jar and start eating it, it’s best to consume the sauerkraut within 30 days.

After 4 days, start tasting your batch. When you like the taste, you can transfer to smaller jars to put in fridge…or share with family and friends!

Making Large Batches of Sauerkraut

You can make much larger batches of sauerkraut in a ceramic fermentation crock, but the crocks are very expensive. It’s probably a good idea to try fermenting in glass mason jars first and see if you actually enjoy eating sauerkraut before making the investment in a crock. (One benefit of the large crock is that you don’t have to check it daily. The weights in the crock keep the air bubbles out.) Over time, if you find you want to make larger batches, then definitely consider making the leap.

How is Sauerkraut Fermented?

Raw sauerkraut is made by a process called lacto-fermentation. We can ferment cabbage thanks to the good bacteria that naturally exist on the surface of the cabbage leaves (and many other veggies too). Food becomes fermented when the “good” lactobacilli bacteria convert their sugars and starches into lactic acid. This is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. The lactic acid also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine. Sauerkraut contains high levels of glucosinolates. These compounds have been shown to have anti-cancer activity.

The diets of every traditional culture have included some kind of lacto-fermented food. Kimchi from Korea and cortido from Latin America are 2 examples of traditionally fermented vegetables made from lacto-fermentation. In Europe, people fermented sauerkraut, grape leaves, herbs, and root vegetables. Lacto-fermented veggies are nutrient-dense, enzyme rich, a raw food, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. And they taste yummy too! Fermented cabbage is one of my favorite foods for a mini-daily detox and a balanced raw food diet!

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