Whoa.. I am so thrilled about this interview that I don’t even know where to begin. Tut.com? Meeting Mike Dooley? Infinite Possibilities? The daily Notes from the Universe? Many of you already know about Mike and TUT but for those of you who don’t, TUT stands for Totally Unique Thoughts and is based on the premise that Thoughts Become Things.
I met Mike at the Vancouver Playing the Matrix tour and blogged about Manifesting in the Matrix, an event that changed my manifesting game.
Instead of focusing on specific things and insisting on them happening, he talks about focusing on the end FEELING result of what you want and allowing it to unfold in ways you may not have foreseen. Why limit the Universe to your imagination?!
Infinite Possibilities, Mike’s last book is about about simple, practical ways to change your thoughts and your life. I’m loving this book so much that I wanna give a copy of it to one of you.
Or if you prefer, the brand new Manifesting Change book that’s currently at #3 on Amazon. Read on, comment & be in to win.
1. Hi Mike, what does Your Life YOUR Way mean to you? When did you realise you were living life your way and how did that make you feel?
It means “I decide everything.” Yet ironically, everyone does this any way (decides everything in their own life), just as everyone is now, already, living the life of their dreams, or living their life, their way.
It’s just that people need to change what they’re primarily dreaming about in the areas of their life where they would like to see change.
But to get to the point as you mean it, “Life YOUR Way,” to me, means having creative freedom, spending freedom, vacationing freedom, choice in friends and associates freedom, work freedom (I don’t mean “not working,” but, “doing work I love”), etc.
I realized I was living my life my way, in this sense, when I was once helping someone with their perspectives about 8 years ago, and as they were asking, “when is my life going to take off,” “why is it taking so long,” and “am I doing this right?”, I had this strange dejavu feeling…
As I paused and let the sensation overcome me, I suddenly realized why these questions sounded so familiar: They had been my own questions, questions that I asked repeatedly, all the time, not so long before helping this friend!
And in the most bizarre way, since by that time they were no longer questions I was asking (because I was living my life my way), I had to stop and question:
When was it that I was talking like that? And when did I stop? That old me seemed like a stranger to the new me, and the weirdest thing was that I could not pinpoint when the transformation took place!
There was never one night when I went to bed asking those questions, and the next morning I had the answers. Most life changes happen like this, as we hold on to our dreams, and take lots of unending action, daily, weekly, monthly, AND YEARLY, our lives literally, almost unnoticeably, being morphing into the dreams we held onto.
It happens invisibly and seemingly slowly when we are waiting and “watching the pot that is to boil,” but once the morphing has “completed,” and we catch ourselves comparing our new life with the old one, it seems to have happened VERY FAST!
And one of the morals of this “story” is to therefore not judge the progress you’re making with your physical senses alone, because at best it will seem slow and weird, and at worst, you might think you have not made any progress and be inclined to quit.
2. Many people fail to get going because they have so many passions that they can’t decide which one to pick. How did YOU discover and pick (if you had more than 1) a passion you could turn into a business / career you love?
My situation was different 10 years ago when my life was at a crossroads and it was time to make something happen.
While I had a lot of interests, I had no idea of what my passion was.
So, as I tell my audiences now, back then, metaphorically, I had maybe 3 paths to try out. One of those paths “sucked,” the other was “suckier,” and the third was the “suckiest.”
If that’s all you’ve got, you still have to choose, and GO!
Do not wait. Take action. Do anything. The only place the ship of your dreams will never find you, is when you are at home waiting for it.
After defining our dreams, we MUST go out into the world, hoist our sails (take action), so that the magical winds of the Universe can fill them.
3. A common refrain amongst people who are stuck between wanting to follow their passion & their many responsibilities is the very ‘real’ fear of “I don’t have money / time / don’t know how to make it work / what if it doesn’t work out, how will I survive?!”.
What was the biggest challenge / fear YOU faced in turning your passion into a living and how did you take the first step in getting past it?
The hardest step is the first one. It was for me. But when you get to a point when the risk of failure (for trying something new), is more bearable than the status quo, it becomes easier. Yet until that time comes, I suggest readers stay where they are!
Wait until you know when it’s time to leap, and then leap… you will know when. And if you don’t know yet whether or not that time has come, it hasn’t.
Alternatively, you can always play both ends to the middle. Keep your “day job,” and moonlight too. There is no shame here. See your “day job” as a stepping stone that will buy you time to ready yourself for change.
Remember, Mariah Carey, who has as many #1 hits as the Beatles (less 1, I think), was a waitress while launching her singing career!
4. Knowing what you know now and seeing how successful you are, what ONE most important piece of advice would you have given yourself when you were first starting out & is there anything you would have done differently?
I wouldn’t do a thing differently. And I’d tell myself, “Mike, you’re doing everything right. Just because you can’t yet see the miracles that are now happening on your behalf, doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Relax. Enjoy the ride.
The day will soon come when you’ll look back on these formative years of your “career” with sublime fondness, and you deserve to enjoy them now as much as you will later, in hindsight.”
5. Being an entrepreneur requires commitment and discipline in both mindset and marketing. What are your best daily / weekly habits & practices that help you stay inspired, productive & making progress especially when it gets “tough” to keep going?
Keeping busy solves almost all problems and challenges, and it keeps you inspired and on track. How do you get yourself to keep busy? By remembering that nothing new can come your way, unless you are.
# Any last words?
Thoughts become things and dreams do come true.
Wasn’t that such a fantastic, inspiring and empowering interview ya’ll? I don’t think I’ll get over the excitement of featuring MD on Your Life YOUR Way anytime soon 😀
THANK YOU Mike, you world adventurer & legend, you. ps: I love that you’re a fellow ! mark ab-user, lol.
And just cos I’m such an unashamed #fangirl, here’s a picture of me giving Mike a kiss for Jeannette & me. That’s a story for another day..
Go on now, leave a comment telling me what you liked in this interview & which book you want to win. One of you will be getting an Amazon delivery soon, yay!
Want More? Mike Dooley is an Adventurer who loves spicy hummus, Casablanca (me too!), Ingrid Bergman and Snoop Dog. Please stalk him on facebook and twitter and should you see him anywhere, grab him and plant a kiss on his other cheek for me.
Would love for you to share the Dooley wisdom around if it moves you. Just hit the “recommend” button below and tweet it so your peeps can be inspired too. Gracias!
Tia,
What a completely delicious interview!!
I’ve just got Mike’s latest book (Manifesting Change) a few days ago – such great, great stuff!!
I loved your second question, and Mike’s answer about going for it. I’m there right now, and these are words that reach me at my core today.
And…nice work…givin’ the man a kiss!! By the smile on his face…I’m positive you made his day!!!
Btw, what does Manifesting Change have that’s different from Infinite Possibilites? I haven’t got MC yet so curious to hear your take on it. Thanks!
Hey Tia,
I have not read Infinite Possibilities, so not sure. I’m only about 30 pages into MC – what I’ve read so far, though – is deeply inspiring to what IS possible. And…how much our thoughts can become reality…
Lance, I have a picture of Mike giving ME a kiss but decided not to post that or I’d lose half my readers to envy 😉 Haha. Yep, this interview has me feeling really inspired too, I’ve already read it 3 times! You GO Lance, you GO!
Hi Tia,
Really enjoyed this (not as much as you by the looks of it haha)
It was good to be reminded that miracles are taking place right now on our behalf even though we can’t see it yet and to stop watching for the pot to boil.
Also good to remember to keep busy. I find that if I’m keeping busy and enjoying what I’m doing then I completely forget about watching for the pot to boil !!
Here’s looking forward to the next interview.
Susan.
Hey Susan, that pot watching analogy is so bang on. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve waited for something, turned around or ‘given up’ and wham.
It happened to me in New Zealand around Xmas one year – I wanted to spend Christmas at a friend’s farm and acted as if it was going to happen, packed my bags etc and waited for the invite. Didn’t happen and my friend left on the 23rd. On the 24th I unpacked and got busy planning what to do, and literally 15 min later, I got a call being invited after all! It turned out to be an awesome time. So the trick is to decide what you want, intend it and detach from the end result.
Has anything like that happened to you? Would love to hear! Oh, and have you read either of these books? Thanks for dropping by, really great to ‘see’ you here.
Oh Tia, I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times this has happened to me,with situations, people and things.
It’s only now that I know about the LOA that I can look back on my life and realise all the times that it has happened.
The very first time I am aware of , I was just a young girl probably about 9 or 10. I knew my parents didn’t have much money and they were struggling to pay the electric bill. I remember going to bed every night and praying so hard to win some money from my Premium Bond. I don’t know if you are aware of what that is but it’s like a government thing where you buy bonds and there is a draw (I don’t know how often) and if your bond is picked out you win some money. I had one premium bond which my uncle had bought for me when I was born, and that’s all I had ! Some people have hundreds because they invest their money in them. Anyways, I suppose the electric bill was paid somehow and being so young I forgot all about it, until one day I came home from school and I was handed a letter that had come for me (that in itself was exciting) and guess what was in with the letter ???? That’s right a cheque from my winning Premium bond. So not only did I get the money I was asking for , it came exactly as I asked for it to come.
Of course being so young not only had I forgotten about asking for the money,but I didn’t have to think about or worry about money at all.
You know just telling you about this has given me such a feeling of excitement,knowing that everything I want is done and on it’s way. Isn’t life grand ?
Oh and I have just ordered Manifesting Change. Really looking forward to reading it.
Thanks for the opportunity to share this here.
Your story gave me goosebumps Susan, and dare I say, a little mist in the eyes. As children our desires are so strong and clear, without reservations – there’s never a question of worth involved. As adults, a lack of innate self worth seems to be one of the biggest obstacles to manifesting what we want.
Asking and then forgetting / letting go was probably a big factor as well. Abe say the way to get what you want is decide, ask, take inspired action and let go of the outcome. Perfectly demonstrated here. Thanks for sharing this delightful story and do let me know what you think of Manifesting Change!
“i decide everything” love love love that. see it, hear it, use it. have said it to numerous folks since yesterday, so thank you for this article!
p.s. send infinite possibilities my way?
xo
You’re welcome, but really, thank Mike 🙂 I’m going to use random.org this time to pick the book winnah – it could well be you my friend!
Thank you, thank you Tia. This is so awesome. I can’t believe you got an in-person interview with Mike Dooley. Fantastic. I loved this:
“When you get to a point when the risk of failure (for trying something new), is more bearable than the status quo, it becomes easier.”
Yaay. I’ve arrived! 🙂
Close – in person via email. Although I did get to exchange hugs and kisses in person-person, woohoo. It’s a fantastic place to be for growth, movement and freedom – when the voice in you wants to be heard over the gremlin saying you’re going to fail and fall.
Have you read any of Mike’s books or heard his CD’s btw?
I’ve been listening to “Leveraging the Universe and Engaging the Magic”, and one thing he said really stood out for me. He says that he spent 2 years sending daily notes to his list without any idea of how it was going to make him any money. It was in the 3rd year that it all came together and since then, unstoppable!
Of course, this isn’t to say it’s going to take that long for us, just that if we keep hitting one pitch a day, one’s bound to be knocked out of the park 🙂 We just don’t know WHICH one. You sure have arrived with a bang, keep trail blazing Lach!
Hi Tia,
I loved this, and am very envious! I’ve been to see Mike speak twice in Ireland, but didn’t get any kiss!!
I love his notes, and even have them as my screensaver. My favourite is “the secret to living the life of your dreams, is to start living it now, to any degree that you possibly can.”
Hi Hilda, welcome to the blog, love seeing a new face here 🙂 The next time you see Mike, definitely get your kisses. Wait.. you’re in Ireland!? Oh my .. here’s a wee confession – Irish accents melt me. They are my absolute fave accent in the world, followed by Scottish, Kiwi and Aussie. Yay, an Irish friend, please come visit again!
ps: That link to your post gave a 404 error message when I clicked on it, just letting you know, not sure why that happened?
Hi Tia,
I am going through some really bad phase with my business.. and being motivated towards it is a daily challenge that I need to face.. but somewhere I know that things will turn around its just a matter of time, which gives me reason to come to office daily.
You would understand why this interview is a source of encouragement for me.. specially when Mike dooley says “I wouldn’t do a thing differently. And I’d tell myself, “Mike, you’re doing everything right. Just because you can’t yet see the miracles that are now happening on your behalf, doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Relax. Enjoy the ride.”
I would love to read his book Infinite possibilities.. Thanks so much for posting this article.
Anshu
Exactly Anshu – when things get rough, it’s inspiring to know that the most successful people we know have been through the same experience. I am SO glad that this post came at the right time for you, to encourage and inspire you.
Are you still passionate about your business Anshu? Is the lack of motivation coming from internal or external factors? Sometimes things change and it can be time to move on, and sometimes it’s just a matter of hanging on while letting go. I know, what a paradox ay?
Think of it as holding on to your faith that no matter what happens, you will be fine and letting go of the notion that you need to know what’s going to happen.
Hope this helps & thanks for sharing. I’ll be doing a random selection next Wed for the book drawing – heck I might even give away 2 copies!
Am just passionate about what I do.. I love what I do from all my heart… The lack of motivation is only the financial part? But I am still not ready to give up.. Have just decided to give it some more time, let see where things take me..
My life has taught me one thing that no matter how bad or unfair the situation seems at this moment but there is a bigger plan which we are completely unaware of and things just turns out right… So with this believe in my heart I am just giving it my best shot 🙂 and yes in between dosage of inspiration just makes it easier to hang on
Hey Anshu, congrats! You’re the winner of Infinite Possibilities – send me your address details at tia at coachtia.com and I’ll shoot it over your way via amazon.com.
Keep on believing and trusting in the bigger plan my friend, you know it’s gonna happen 🙂
Loved the interview Tia 🙂 [almost as much as I love receiving my daily note from the universe via Tut.com!] We are on the right track to be busy and doing what we love… and allowing the rest to just happen. I mean… what’s the worst that can happen [if nothing happens]? At least we get to spend our life doing something we love. And I guess it pretty much doesn’t get better than that. I stumbled on your blog… and so glad I did. Thanks! Best wishes. Jean.
Another new friend, woohoo! So fantastic to meet you Jean – that pink in your profile pic just makes me smile 🙂 I’m glad you stumbled across my blog too, curious.. how did you find it?
I love your Q – what’s the worst that can happen if nothing happens! Well, nothing never happens so we’re safe there cos something always does. You have no idea how much fun it was to write that last sentence, LOL.
ps: I LOVE the purple in your website – I almost made this blog purple too, then my love of white space won out. And now you’re making me want purple again..
pps: love shoalwater and the horse has bolted – wicked artwork, you’re tres talented.
Thanks Tia 🙂 I appreciate you saying those nice things! really makes me smile. Purple’s my favorite color too… especially paint. Lance from Jungle of Life sent me here from a comment made on the right hand side of his blog. Funny how things go round and around eh?
Point taken too about “the worst that can happen” [I loved your sentence btw – grin] But what about in relation to what we “want” to happen. Something always happens yes… but isn’t it absolutely great when the something we wanted to happen happens and in the happening happens to change everything! [if that [happens] to make any sense at all]… (((chuckles)))
Great to meet you Tia! [ Subscribe for a walk on the purple side if you like. Let’s stay in touch!] 🙂
Indeed, it IS great when something we wanted happens! Like – if my PR card had come thru like I wanted and I was on my way to Argentina on Dec 7th as I wanted, I’d be pretty happy. And yet, after the initial disappointment that it wasn’t happening till January, I chose to see it as a sign that something else exciting it about to happen and that the right time for Argentina, is when it happens.
And whatever happens now AND then, will be so great that I’m going to be glad I didn’t get what I wanted, when I wanted for something even better to come my way. Hehe >:)
Lance is so awesome, a great friend and so supportive. And yes, I’d love to stay in touch! Walk on the purple side .. LOL!
Tia and Jean,
YOU are both AWESOME!!!! Big smiles from me tonight…as I peruse through these comments!!
Where is the LOVE button on this!? Mwah!
(((chuckles))) a LOVE button… what a great idea. I mean “what’s not to love!” LOL Hi Lance 🙂 Thanks Tia:-) Talk again soon you two.
This thread is my fave comment thread EVER!! Ever ever ever!! Thanks for the love & light you two!
Tia,
This was great! I could feel the inspiring energy….just what I needed to read one day post T-Giving! Thanks!
~Sandy
Thanks for popping by over from GVU Sandy! Loving all the new faces here today. You look pretty in pink 😉
Great Interview, Tia, You asked such insightful questions..Not the usual run-of-the-mill stuff..Great post..Looking forward to more!
Anybody with Goddess in her website url and says “Hello Goddess” has a fan in me right away. Lovely to meet you Jess, welcome, welcome!
Stoked that you enjoyed the interview. Have you been getting TUT notes or been to any of the tours? TuT notes are the best part of my mornings (and sometimes, late nights cos I’ll stay up till 1am just to read mine before I sleep. I know, I’m silly and I love it 🙂
Look forward to hearing from you again!
What a great big world 24 hour a day world we live in. Tia… my TUT note comes in at 6pm sharp and I look forward to that little ping that says it’s here. Now THAT’S silly… but I love it too. So fun to be silly sometimes.
So fun to be silly a LOT of the time if you ask me 🙂 I bless Mike Dooley and his decision to follow his joy instead of letting the how-to’s stop him. For nothing makes me happier than a TUT note to end my night & start my day. I love you MD!
Visualize, show up, happy dance.
Just one of my many beloved messages from the Universe – I save them all and read through them for an extra boost.
Thanks for blogging that interview – it reminded me of how amazed happy thrilled I am with me NOW as opposed to that person I sometimes don’t even recognize from another time… I LOVE my life!
And it would be great fun to find Infinite Possibilities in my mailbox. That’s why I LOVE checking the mail – knowing that right up to the moment I turn my key and open that box, there are Infinite Possibilities of what can be inside! I ADORE anticipation!
Happy Dance!
Reading your first line & the first thing that comes to me is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lu81z2E6pE Anna!
I love checking my mail too. I even love getting bills in the mail (although most of them are online now) 😀 You make the simplest things so much fun and are making me want to buy everyone a copy of Infinite possibilities now Ms Diehl!
Hmm …
Oh Tia – you always put a bigger smile on my face!
Listening to KC & The Sunshine Band now – I had this!
Y’know – music was my best friend for many years. Not that it isn’t anymore – I’m just saying that I related and lived it perhaps a little more than some at the time…
Music is the soul of life!
At least, it’s a major chunk of mine!
And that’s the way, u-huh u-huh, I like it! U-huh u-huh!
That’s the way Uh HUH uh HUH I likeee it Uh HUh uh HUH!
Annakin Skywalker, are you a Woodstocker at heart? I know I am. Did you play music too? I am totally curious to know what “little more than some” implies. I smell stories, Wunnerful Stories!
(yes, I changed my author name to Tia Sparkles!)
I wore a dent in the carpet in my father’s living room. Exactly where the two speakers converged.
Those were some incredible concerts…
What blows me away is that what stifled, muffled, dragged and hid me in the closet, has continued to evaporate into the ether of love, courtesy the arrival of My Best Guy in the Whole Wide World, my Best Surprise Ever… WOman – these kids are GREAT!
I’d call them LifeSavers, but for the fact that THEY are the ones filling the holes in US!
I LOVE THIS LIFE!
Thank you, Tia, for your smile.
And your smile, and your smile, and your totally all the time sincere joyous SMILE!
Your spirit always comes through – YAY!
Lil Lifesavers huh 🙂 I just spent 4 days with my rellies in Surrey – a 3 week old I cuddled in my arms as I typed with one finger, and 3 under 6. What a riot. Makes me kinda want a peanut!
I can’t wait to come dance with you in Halfmoon Bay one day. Let’s make it happen in 2011 Annakin. I don’t think anyone can make me smile on this blog like you do (oh perhaps Debra – but that’s it, you two, your energies, your souls … MWAH!)
Hi Tia,
I totally agree with the notion that keeping busy is encouraging. When we are taking action to make our dreams come true we get even more inspired and feel good about ourselves. Many times guilt stops us in our tracks and if we can focus on what we have accomplished instead of all that still needs to be done, it helps us move forward.
Al the best,
Eren
Hey Eren! So nice to see you here 🙂 true, taking action is often misunderstood when we talk about the Law of Attraction.
LOA doesn’t say don’t take action, just that get aligned with what you want and then take inspired action, the kind that sometimes doesn’t even make sense but you do it anyways cos it feels right. Esp when someone’s been struggling or trying too hard without results, it’s a clear sign that the action needs to change.
Law of Attr-action, now that makes a lot of sense ay. And that’s what Mike talks about, which is why I love his approach so much. Thanks for commenting, Eren, have a fantastic day xo