If you're familiar with my work, you know I'm a huge believer inthe Law of Attraction.

After all, I was featured in the ground-breakingmovie, The Secret, which introduced the world to theLaw of Attraction in a massive way. I've also written several booksabout it and it features prominently in The SuccessPrinciples and other programs I've created.

But over the years, I've come to realize that many people havemisunderstood what the Law of Attraction is all about.

They think that all they have to do to create the life of theirdreams is visualize what they want — and everything theydesire will just naturally flow to them. That's not exactlyhow it works…

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There's something missing from this equation — and withoutit, no matter how much time and effort you put into visualizingyour success, all you'll ever be is a person with a dream.

In order to unleash the full power of the Law of Attraction andmake your dreams come true, there's one key ingredient youabsolutely must integrate into your life: ACTION.

That's right – once you have done the important inner worknecessary to get clear on what you really want in life, you have totake ACTION — and take all of the steps required to make yourvision a reality.

I'm not saying that all of your visualization and internal workisn't integral to your success — in fact, Law of Attractionteachers Esther and Jerry Hicks often talk about how one hour spenton your inner journey has the same impact as seven hours of takingaction in the outer world.

But that doesn't mean you can ignore the action stepaltogether!

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And yet, I find that many people get so caught up doing theinner work, they fail to spend enough time taking the kind ofaction required to create the forward momentum they need to maketheir dreams a reality. If you want to achieve real and lastingsuccess, creating balance between your inner and outer journey isessential.

The good news is, once you've done the inner work, the “actionwork” comes far more easily.

As soon as you start taking concrete steps towards your goals,you will activate the Law of Attraction — and gain moretraction and go much further, much faster than if you didn't havethat clear vision in your head.

To help you on your journey, here are five concrete steps youcan take to move into action — starting today:

1. Develop a strategic action plan

By creating a detailed list of every step you'll need to take toachieve your goals, you'll find it easier to move into action. Youwon't waste time wondering what to do — because it will beclearly laid out before you.

Be sure to identify the steps you'll need to take to overcomeevery one of the obstacles you may encounter, as well — bothinner and outer. This will help you deal with them much fastershould they appear on your path.

2. Follow the trail

If you're not sure which steps you need to take to achieve yourgoals, follow the breadcrumbs that others have left in their wake!After all, other people have already blazed the trail ahead of youand achieved the exact same goals that you want to achieve.

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So if you want to shorten your learning curve, do some researchand discover who these people are. Read their books and stories,watch their videos, listen to their webinars, and talk to thempersonally, if you can to find out what steps they took to achievesuccess.

Then follow their lead — it's that simple.

3. Use the “Rule of 5″

When Mark Victor Hansen and I published ourfirst Chicken Soup for the Soul book, we were sooverwhelmed with possibilities for making the book a bestseller, weweren't sure which ideas to pursue first. A wonderful teacher, RonScolastico, shared a powerful piece of wisdom with us: “If youwould go every day to a very large tree and take five swings at itwith a very sharp axe, no matter how large the tree, it would haveto come down!”

That's how we came up with the “Rule of 5,” which simply meansthat every day, you must do five specific things to move your goaltoward completion. By committing to take meaningful daily actionsto achieve your goals, you will accomplish more than you thoughtpossible in a surprisingly short amount of time.

4. Involve others

If you've developed a habit of spending too much time on yourinner journey, a great way to pull yourself back into the outerworld is to enlist an accountability partner. Sharing your specificcommitments with another person is a powerful way to ensure thatyou follow through on the actions you need to take.

You and your accountability partner can chat daily on the phoneto share your commitments with each other and report on yoursuccess in achieving the previous day's commitments. Or you can dothis by e-mail.

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Or, if you feel a need for even greater accountability, youmight want to enlist the services of a professional coach. A goodcoach can also help you explore what might be fuelling youractions when you don't keep your commitments, so you can overcomethe limiting behaviors that are holding you back.

5. Check your beliefs

Many of us have beliefs that limit our success — includingbeliefs about our ability to take action, our capabilities, andwhat it takes to succeed. Take time to identify any negativebeliefs that might be impeding your desire or ability to takeaction.

If you find yourself running up against limiting beliefs suchas, “I'm not smart enough,” “I'm too busy,” “I don't have theproper training,” or “It is going to take too long and be toochallenging,” I encourage you to check out chapter 33 of mybook, The Success Principles. Itincludes powerful exercises to help you shift your limiting beliefsinto empowering ones.

In addition, I'll offer you something that I use myself: A smallsign on my computer that says, “So what? Do it anyway.”

So what if you're afraid? So what if it's expensive? So what ifyou've never done it before? So what if you don't have all theinformation? Do it anyway, because once you take action, you'll getfeedback, and feedback tells you how to do it better.

Remember, the last six letters in the word “attraction” are“action.”

If you want to achieve results, you cannot only work on yourinternal world. You must also take action!

What actions have you taken this week to achieve your goals anddreams?

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