"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." That's an ancient proverb which made its way into the biblical New Testament, and then in the 19th century CE partly became the title of one of the first self-help and abundance-manifestation books: 'As a Man Thinketh'. Needless to say, it goes for women, too!

But what does it mean? It means that your life is the way it is because of the streams of consciousness that you allow to flow through your mind and cut meanders into your subconscious mind (the "heart"). Yes, you are responsible for your life. Now, this fact makes some people feel overjoyed with new-found liberty when they learn of it; but for most people, at first there is incredulity or even resentment, anger, and fear. If their lives are not where they want them to be, or even presently tragic, they don't want to hear that they're basically responsible for it. They want to hear that they are victims, or they weren't fated to have what they want, or life is unfair and they got the short end of the stick from birth.

Now, this is not to be taken to mean that every single bad thing that has happened to you was "caused" by you. If someone is cruel to you, they choose to be cruel to you, and you cannot help but to feel their cruelty. This is not your fault. However, if someone is cruel to you and you allow that to wreck your self-esteem or become an obstacle to your personal journey, progress, success, and dream fulfillment, then that IS your fault--even if you never knew it before now.

It's a simple "cosmic law" called Like Attracts Like. Successful people throughout time have used this law to their advantage, even if they didn't realize they were doing so. The ways in which you habitually feel and think inevitably create your reality for you. Champion athletes are not people who never lose--they are people who NEVER IMAGINE losing, even if they just did lose. They are champions because of more than their talents and training, for the losers have that, too.

How can you make this law work for you? Well, one of the best ways is by using affirmations--these are commands passed down from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind to bring about a desired result. However, many people nowadays have heard about affirmations, tried to use them, and failed. This is because most people who try them don't use affirmations correctly, and this is because they are not taught correctly.

1. No affirmations can be lies. The subconscious mind demands evidence--it won't accept lies. If you are broke and want to be wealthy, but you state an affirmation of "I am abundantly wealthy", you can forget about having that money. It's a lie! So how could you make it so that the subconscious mind accepts the reality of you having wealth? Try this: every time you go to make a purchase, as you are preparing to pay say to yourself, "I always have more than enough money." As long as you have at least $1 left over after your purchase, you have told the truth. Once you've done this just a few times, your subconscious mind will begin reaching out into the universal energy to get you more and more money to spend.

2. All of your affirmations must be open-ended. You aren't living outside of time and place, and you cannot box in the universe. You have to let yourself be taken by surprise with how your desires and needs are met. Never demand that the universe bring you your result in such-and-such a way and don't give it a time frame (you can assume that the delivery of your desire will be timely).

3. Make some of your affirmations comparative. Say, "I am growing wealthier and wealthier." After all, you don't want any cosmically imposed ceiling on how wealthy you can get, do you?

4. All affirmations must be personal. Even if you are seeking the love of someone, an affirmation is not a magic love potion. You only have control over you; everyone else is just as free as you are. But, you can choose to affirm, "I choose to feel that Angela loves me." You can also use the phrase that you choose to do or have or feel something to avoid telling lies about what you "already have" that you don't already have.

So, these are some of the effective ways that you can make the Law of Attraction work for you and realize your dreams.