Welcome back to Alchemy for Authors!
This is part one of a conversation with Writing Coach and Fantasy Author, Monica Hay.
In this episode, Monica shares the power behind the Law of Attraction to bring you closer to your writing goals, why it might feel like your manifestations aren’t happening, and how you can transform the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from living the author-life of your dreams.
Next week we continue our conversation, but focus in on tools and strategies that can help writers with ADHD, or anyone who struggles with focus, get their butts on their chair and words on the page.
You’re not going to want to miss these episodes!
To connect with Monica or book a coaching session with her, follow her on Instagram: @monicahayauthor, or visit her website at: https://monicahay.com/ – and make sure you mention you listened to this episode!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Secret – By Ronda Byrne
Insight Timer App – ‘Soul Gardening: Cultivate a Life You Love’ meditation by Jennifer Cray
If you enjoyed this show, please rate, review, and subscribe so you never miss an episode.
You can follow me on Instagram: @jobuerauthor
Join the Alchemy for Authors Facebook Group here.
Download your FREE copy of Manifestation for Authors: Tips & Tricks to Supercharge Your Author Life With The Law Of Attraction here.
Find the full transcript of this episode below.
Episode 13: Manifestation & Mindset For Authors with Monica Hay
Jo: Hello, my writerly friends! I hope you’ve had a wonderful, productive writing week. Most of all, though, I hope you’ve been enjoying the process because that’s really what it’s all about: doing what you love.
So in this week’s episode, I chat with writing coach and fantasy author, Monica Hay. Now, I really love this woman. Not only is she an expert on using Manifestation and the Law of Attraction to bring you closer to your writing goals, but she also helps writers with ADHD get their butts in their chair and their words written. So this episode is a little bit different. I’m calling it part one of our epic conversation. So in this episode, Monica and I delve deep into the power of the Law of Attraction to bring you closer to your writing goals, why it might feel like your manifestations aren’t happening, and how you can transform the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from living the author life of your dreams. Next week, I’ll share with you part two of our conversation. If you’re a writer who struggles with ADHD or staying focused and on track when it comes to writing, then you’re not going to want to miss that episode. So make sure you listen through to the end of this episode for ways you can connect with Monica or sign up for her coaching. Now, if you’re as excited as I am, go grab yourself a cuppa, find a comfy chair, and let’s get on with the show.
Hello, my lovelies, and welcome back to another episode of Alchemy for Authors. So today I’m speaking with author and writing coach Monica Hay. Monica is a writer of fantasy fiction living in Portland, Oregon. She’s also a writing coach who infuses spirituality into her work with folks to help them create their dream lives. Monica plans to launch Law of Attraction and ADHD coaching in 2022, and she’s unapologetically woo woo. So Monica loves reading, traveling animals, writing, collecting too many houseplants and cuddling her cats.
So this is the first time I’ve chatted with Monica, but with her bio alone, I know she has a kindred soul. So welcome, Monica, to the show.
Monica: Thank you so much. I’m excited to be here.
Jo: Yeah. Just wow. Just everything in your bio just totally speaks to me. So, yeah, we’ve got so much that I’m going to be picking your brain with today.
Monica: Yes. Go for it.
Jo: Awesome. Just to begin, though, if you just want to share a little bit of how you began your writing journey and what drew you to the writing life.
Monica: Yeah. So I actually, when I was a child, wanted to be an actress. Funny enough, I loved acting. And then one summer I started reading a lot, and I read Harry Potter. I feel like I hear this a lot from my people, my age, millennials, and everything else fell away. I just realized I loved to write. And so I think I wrote a book that summer. I think it was like my first novel, and it was obviously like a trash fire because that’s how it always is with the first book. But I think it was like 250,000 words of just like adolescent creativity, and I fell in love then. It’s funny. I kind of took a detour. I feel like a lot of people also say this. I was focusing on College. In College, I didn’t really write very much, but I knew I always wanted to be a writer. So in College I studied English lit, and I didn’t even realize that I probably wouldn’t be writing a lot of creative work in English lit, which is kind of how it happens. And then after College, I have thought, how am I going to make money? How am I going to earn a living while supporting my writing? And so I became a social worker for a while, and then I ended up going back to get my Masters in publishing because I loved books so much. But then when I was kind of living in New York and doing the publishing thing, Covid happened and everything changed. And I feel like I just realized that life was too short to spend trying to fit into this mold. My ADHD brain couldn’t fit into, like, the typical mold of what society had told me to do, which is work nine to five, do this, do that. And it just didn’t work for me. So I decided to start my own business. And I started last year, and it’s been so fun. And with writing, I like to call myself a poet who became a fantasy writer because I used to love writing poetry. And then I started writing fiction and fantasy, and I’ve never looked back. I’m a slow writer, though. I know a lot of my writer friends are like, oh, I wrote like three novels this year, and I’m like I have been working on the same novel for a long time, but essentially I just really learned to just love my brain the way it is and to write the way that I can. I really struggle with sitting down to write often. I have the hyperactivity of the ADHD, and I like to be walking around and cleaning and doing things that make because I can’t really sit still very easily. And so it takes work for me to sit down and write, but it’s so worth it.
Jo: I just love that. I can relate to so much of that. But I find it so interesting that this has been quite a short time that you’ve actually been on this journey at this point where you actually got your own business. And I know you do coaching and that for other writers and authors and everything, too, but it’s only been a very short time. Can you talk a little bit about what you do in regards to the coaching and that for other writers.
Monica: Yeah. I feel like it’s different with every person. So originally my coaching was very much about I wanted to work with writers, but also Manifestation and Law of Attraction are, like, massive parts of my life, and I could not have done a business without that. It just would not have worked. My spiritual side is just so strong, and it’s just so confused with the way I work with people and the way I give people pep talks, even I just couldn’t not have a lot of attraction in my business. And so when I started, I was actually kind of scared. I was like, wow, I’m like this woo woo writer. It’s weird because some people think manifestation is so silly and that’s their prerogative. That’s fine. But I love it and I love my life with manifestation. And so I said I’m going to put manifestation in my coaching. And within just a couple of months, I was, like, fully booked with clients. I actually closed down for a couple of weeks, like, last month, because I was like, I have too many things. But it was just interesting to see how many people kind of, like, came out of the woodwork who also love spirituality and the Law of Attraction, Manifestation are also writers. I have a lot of clients who also have ADHD or think they probably have it. And honestly, a lot of my work with them is helping them transform their limiting beliefs and helping them unlearn them. I feel like so many of us, we just end up hearing what society does every day and think like, oh, we can’t make a living off this. We can’t live our wildest dreams. Why am I doing this? This is blah, blah, blah. And it’s all bullshit. That’s true. You can literally just be a best-selling author. That is possible. That is like a perfectly possible future for you. And I’m just so sick of the different dialogue around how creativity is not a thing you can pursue, because you can. And so my clients, we talk a lot about, like, what self doubt they deal with. And I basically give them a lot of pep talks on, like, they’re feeling like, oh, I told my family I was writing a book, and they kind of just like, okay, whatever. And I’m just like, yeah, in five years, they’re going to be shocked when you’re in a best seller list. Whatever. I love it. It’s like I have so much faith in all of my clients and their ability to make their dreams come true. It’s very tricky, I think, for clients who live lives every day with their families or their naysayers and people around them, and they just need a sounding board to remind them to stay on track. That’s a lot of it.
Jo: I absolutely love that, because I saw on your website that you said that your mission is to help other writers live their fullest most authentic creative lives. I wrote that down here and I just love that because that so embodies what I really want this podcast, Alchemy for Authors, to be. That reminder that if you are drawn to the writing life in whatever form that is, that you don’t need to be limited by those beliefs. That like you said, the starving artist mentality, that you can’t make a living from this, that you can’t be a bestseller. We need to scrap that and we need to get over that. So what tips do you have to help people move through those really negative blocks and thoughts that they self imposed?
Monica: Honestly, it’s a daily thing. Every single day you have to work at it because I might be a Law of Attraction coach, but I struggle every day even to put myself in that space because of the constant messaging that I get everywhere. The media that we consume, the people we’re around. Like all those things affect us. And my biggest recommendation is to consume media that fills you up. When you go on Instagram, you unfollow people who affect you in negative ways. You unfollow people that if you see their content, it brings you down. It’s almost like you have to be very careful about what you consume and what you allow into your life. And it’s also like, I like to call them daily rituals. I meditate every day. I really work on my mindset and putting myself in the manifestation mindset in the morning. Like before I sit down to write, I have my vision boards in front of me and I get a meditation on YouTube and I repeat my affirmations and I basically center myself and I say, this is possible, this is my life, this is my future. Like having that undeniable deep faith that this is mine. Like, I am a bestselling author. I might not have it on today like, April 2022, but probably in five years I am. And knowing that and not letting other people’s negative beliefs get into you. But it takes work. It takes daily reminders. You literally have to do this work a lot in order to basically keep the faith. And I like to say go back to basics. That’s what my old coach used to say. And with basics it’s like, how do you feed yourself not just with media but like making sure you’re not eating just like chunks all the time? Which as someone with ADHD, eating the most, like, convenient thing has always been my first, always my first thing. I’m like, no Monica, meat and vegetables. And I try to make sure I do yoga or some kind of exercise and move my body because ultimately I feel a lot better when I move. And feeling good is really what manifestation is about. It’s about putting yourself in the feel good state and also matching the vibration of what you’re wanting to manifest. Sometimes when I write, I just tell myself I am a bestselling author. I literally act like I am at that moment and think, what do my readers want right now? I put myself in that space, in that head space.
Jo: I love that.
Monica: That was a very long answer.
Jo: No, I totally love that. I am totally on board with everything that you’re saying, because that’s how I tend to work, too. And my advice for anybody who’s wanting to be an author or write their first book has always been to call yourself an author first. That’s what I did. I always dreamed of being an author and publishing a book and everything else. But it wasn’t until I decided that I was an author that I got to the point of actually writing the book. So it’s a little bit kind of back to front, but it’s what worked because you embody that energy that surrounds it.
Monica: That’s why I called myself MonicaHayAuthor on my Instagram. I did that because I said, I am an author, even though I don’t have a published book yet. I am an author. And I was like my way of embodying that.
Jo: Which is so funny, because that’s exactly what I did, because I am JoBuerAuthor, and that’s exactly what I did at the very beginning. And now I’ve got four books. So it works.
Monica: Okay, great to know.
Jo: It works. And I interviewed somebody not long ago, actually, who is in the process of writing her first book. And she said, it’s just absolutely life changing since she began calling herself an author. It’s really kind of got her butt in the chair and made it real to her. It’s kept her accountable.
Monica: Yeah.
Jo: So there is some power in the words that we speak about ourselves. Now, what would you say, because I have come across this a lot, but people who are like, I tried law of attraction, I tried manifestation, and it didn’t work for me? Do you have any tips or what would you say to somebody who’s, like, I tried it and it didn’t work and fobs it off?
Monica: Yes. It’s funny. I have a friend who tried to manifest her ex back, and I told her, you can’t do that. You have to believe that the universe has someone better for you or that if that person is the right person, they will come to you. To me, everything I try to manifest hasn’t worked out every time because the universe or even our ancestors, whoever is looking after me, knows better sometimes than even I do. So I like to use the example of many years ago, back when I started to get my Masters in publishing, I thought that getting a job in publishing was going to be like, the end, all be all. And when I tried to get a job, it was very difficult. And I thought, I’m trying to manifest what’s going on? Why can’t I get this job? And then I ended up getting a position in publishing and my boss was extremely abusive, very mean. Scream at me every single day, call me names, all the issues. She was just very mean, very abusive. And then Covid happen. And I decided to start my own business. And the universe knew at the time that my starting my business was more important and was going to be a better fit, you know? And so to me, I look back and I’m like, wow, all this pain that I went through, it led me to being where I am. And so I just don’t trust the universe, Law of Attraction doesn’t work unless you work too. Like, some people are like, oh, I just want to be an author. I’m going to imagine myself as an author. And I’m like, you have to write the book. You have to write the book. You can’t just be like, I’m going to do this and then just like sit back and watch TV all day. You have to actually do it. And you have to allow yourself to listen to the universe’s guidance every day when you’re asking the universe, oh, I want this, and I want this. Listen to those nudges from the universe of like, oh, this is the direction that you should take. Like, listen to your gut because that guy is telling you which direction you should go so that you can have your dreams. I also think a lot of people just think it’s so woo woo and so silly. It never was hard for me. I don’t know if you follow Human Design. I don’t know a ton about Human Design, I’ll admit. But I’m a Manifesting Generator.
Jo: Me too.
Monica: And I’m so quick when I manifest. Like, I’m manifesting so fast. I manifested my husband in a week. It’s amazing. So I think it’s harder for maybe Projectors or people who aren’t as quick to see the results as quick. And so they get discouraged because I am really quick at manifesting. That’s just the way I am. Whereas some people it might take months or years to find a partner but keep the faith. It’s not that it’s not coming, it’s that it’s not the right person or the right person hasn’t left this other country to be here yet or whatever. There’s so many factors.
Jo: Absolutely.
Monica: And also, I just love to tell people if you don’t believe in it, like you don’t have to because I have learned not to explain myself to people anymore.
Jo: Yeah, I think that’s important. I completely agree with you with all of what you said there. Manifesting can be incredibly easy, but it’s not always going to work out how we envision because we can’t always see the bigger picture. And so, whoever’s behind the scenes doing the things, whether we believe in God or the universe or spirit guides or whatever, they can see the bigger picture and what’s most needed for us. Yeah, I went through something a little bit similar to you, I was in a very toxic work environment for a while. And it was horrible. And all I wanted was to get out. But it wasn’t until things got really, really bad that it was the kick in the pants that I needed to actually get my butt in the chair and write the book to create the writing life, and the real life, that I actually wanted. I needed things to get really bad because I’m such a stubborn person and I’m always hopeful, oh, it’s going to turn around. It’s going to be okay. So I really need things to go pear shaped. And I don’t recommend that as a strategy for people, but to get that motivation to do that thing that you kind of know in your heart that you should be doing.
Monica: Yeah.
Jo: So I don’t recommend people wait until they kind of hit rock bottom to be the catalyst to live their dreams. But it worked for me. And so there was a reason that I had to go through that. So you can only look back really with a bit of gratitude for what you went through.
Monica: Yeah. I’m grateful for everything I’ve gone through, like the good and the bad.
Jo: Yeah.
Monica: Gratitude will change your life. Gratitude is a huge part of Manifesting because the more grateful you are for every part of your life, the more you’re going to get.
Jo: It’s the easiest way, I think, to change your energy, to really pull in the good things. And I say that because I feel like I’ve always leaned towards the side of pessimism. Gratitude is that thing that can really quickly change your energy to that positive so that you’re starting to bring in all that good stuff. Because whether you believe in manifestation or not, it’s still going on. Working behind the scenes.
Monica: Yes. It doesn’t stop working.
Jo: No. And like you said, I’m pretty fast, actually at Manifesting. I also don’t know too much about human design, but when I did it, I came out Manifesting Generator as well. So there might be something in that. But that also means that because I lean towards the pessimistic side just naturally and I try and change that I can manifest negative things really easily.
Monica: Yeah.
Jo: Just like if I’m really worried that something’s going to go sideways and I can feel that energy building, I can feel that anxiety building, and it’s going to happen. So I catch myself now. So it’s being aware and knowing I don’t want to be choosing that energy and how can we change it? And gratitude is a great thing to fall back on to do that.
Monica: Yes. It’s so funny you mentioned that, because a couple of years ago I was with a friend and we were just having dinner late at night, and we’re talking about spiders. And I was talking about how much they scare me. And I was like, oh, God, spiders. And then I go into my car and there’s a massive spider. And I was like, I cannot and I just thought it was just so ironic because I’m like, I manifested that I was talking about spiders and a spider showed up in my car. That’s what happened. And I knew at the time about Law of Attraction, but I hadn’t really let it sink into my daily life yet. And at that moment, I was like, I have to not talk about spiders, apparently. And like, you know, I just have to be really, really careful or not just careful is not the right word. I have to be intentional about what I talk about. Yeah. What I give energy to.
Jo: Now I have wondered this, and I’m just going to throw it out there to you because it’s been on my mind lately. Do you think that people who are drawn to, like, writing or really creativity in any form but as this is a podcast specifically for writers and whatnot, do you think that we have almost like extra superpowers with the way that we can manifest? Do you think that that creativity, that way that we can visualize scenes and that in our heads actually could make it easier for us? Do you think there’s an indication?
Monica: I’ve never even thought about that because this is going to be a controversial answer, but I don’t think so. I think every single person can manifest the same way. I just think that we maybe have a leg up in the visualization part. When I have clients who struggle with visualization, I usually tell them to go Pinterest. Yes. But with me, obviously, I can see things in my head because I’m a writer and I know some writers don’t see that necessarily. They think more in words, but I can visualize really easily in my head. But some people don’t, and they can still manifest however they want. I don’t think there’s any issue there. I think every single one of us is creative. I just think that the world has beat it out of us truly perfect. I don’t think anybody is not creative. I think literally every single human on this planet in some ways is creative. They just haven’t embraced it.
Jo: Yeah, I do agree with that. I think everybody is creative. I think so many people have pushed that down, whether it’s through just their life experience or that self doubt, and that I think a lot of people have it just pushed aside. And so that’s kind of where I guess in a way, I feel that as writers or artists or creatives in any form, we’re actually embracing that creativity in our life. We’ve got that leg up because we’re open to that creativity. And I feel that manifestation is such a creative thing. So we’re tuning into that same energy of creation, right? Yeah. So I totally agree with you. Everybody is creative. I just feel that those people who recognize it more strongly in themselves might have that leg up at this point.
Monica: Yeah, it probably feels easier to do it. It just might take people, non creatives or people who are not embracing their creativity yet, more time to get there.
Jo: Yes, I do agree. We all have the ability. I think it’s our innate right that we were born with this, that we can manifest. I also believe that we don’t all manifest in the same way. Like, some of us are more visual. I know one of the things that I’m pretty good at is the visualizing in my head, what I want. Some people are more they can get the emotion. They might not see the actual picture, but they can get the real strong emotion of it. Yeah. So do you think along those lines as well that we can all manifest differently?
Monica: I do. My manifestation tends to be emotional and visual. I definitely imagine a lot of energy around me when I manifest. I almost feel like I’m pushing energy out of my body and into the universe when I’m manifesting, which sounds super woo woo, but that’s how it is. That’s what I own that. And I also think about when I’m writing journaling or something like that. I’m also thinking in a lot of emotion. There was a recent astrology transit that was quite a big deal. It was Jupiter and Neptune came together in Pisces, which is like something that has not happened since, like 1850s. And my friend, who’s very witchy, was like, we have to take advantage of this transit. We have to do some manifestations. And I remember just journaling what I wanted, and it was just the feeling of just like, almost as if I’m like, pushing out like a rainbow from my body into the world. That’s kind of how it feels sometimes.
Jo: I love that. I love that. Yes. Oh, I love that. So for somebody who might be starting on the manifestation journey or just starting to dip their toes in and considering something to work alongside what they want to create for their writing life and that what would you suggest to them? How do you think they should begin or the first steps or books or what do you recommend for them to really start to learn a bit more and give manifesting a go?
Monica: Yeah. So when I first heard about manifestation, it was with The Secret, which of course, that’s a very common answer. A friend of mine just sent the movie over and I watched it and I was like, oh, my God. So my first recommendation is to start with something small because what I did when I first learned was I was like, okay, I’m just going to ask for a cup of coffee. I’m going to go out to a coffee shop and I’m going to somehow get a free cup of coffee. And the next morning my friend messaged me and said, do you want to go get some coffee? I have a Starbucks gift card. And I was like, oh, my God. And I hadn’t seen this friend in, like, years. Okay. It was, like, totally out of the blue. So I knew then that it worked. And my biggest recommendation is to start with things like that. Just start with something small, like ask for a feather, ask for a certain color of rock that you can see these very small pieces. You can just ask for that and just have a deep belief that you’ll see it. And my favorite books are usually The Secret books because they’re very accessible. I’m all about accessibility as an ADHD folk person. But you know what I mean?
Jo: I love that.
Monica: Yeah, I love The Secret books because anybody can read them. It does not matter what education level you have, who you are. You will be able to understand it. And it’s a very easy way to learn about it if you don’t really know a lot about it. Yeah, I do enjoy some of the other more intense, maybe harder to read books, but I personally just the classics for me is like The Secret. And I also really enjoy The Magic, which is by Rhonda, that is actually a gratitude course of like a 30 day course. It’s just so beautiful because you sit down every day and you work on some new part of your life with this gratitude lens and just basically like a 30 day course book on gratitude and changing your life. And I remember when I did that the first time. That was right before I met my husband. Actually, it did. I also am very into listening to a lot of meditations that are more Law of Attraction based. For anybody listening, if you like to meditate, you can use Insight Timer, which is totally free. Insight Timer is based, I believe, in Australia, but they are available everywhere, and they’re amazing. I actually listen to a meditation all the time on there. That’s a Law of Attraction, and I just have to talk about it. Her name is Jennifer Cray, and it’s called Soul Gardening: Creating the Life of Your Dreams with almost choosing in your soul what you want to bring forth as a garden. It’s like a very lovely visualization.
Jo: Yeah. I’ll make sure they go in the show notes, too, because I’ve written them down for myself, because I’ll be checking that out. Yeah, that’s cool. Well, I just love talking about law of attraction.
Monica: Same. I don’t have a lot of friends in my regular life who are into it. It’s weird. I have friends who are into it, who I met during the pandemic and met online. And they don’t live here. They don’t live where I live. And I can’t really call them up and say, let’s go get a coffee and talk about manifesting. It can be a little lonely, but I also just know the universe, like, always has my back and will send me people that when I need it.
Jo: Well, so that’s it. I just randomly stumbled across you on Instagram. I’m like, oh, my gosh, you’re just perfect for my podcast because you really embody what I want this podcast to be about, which is just so cool. So I’m so yeah, grateful to be chatting with you today.
Monica: I’m grateful to be chatting with you. It’s so funny. My husband, I could just say his name John. I’m always like ‘my husband’. I just really love him, and I’m just so grateful for him. I’m always talking about him, but he loves podcasting and he wishes I would get into it. And I’m always like, oh, that’s a lot of work. And it does seem like a lot of work, like watching you do your podcast and listening to your podcast. You just do such a good job.
Jo: Thank you. Thank you. I’m learning. I’m at the very beginning of this podcasting journey, and I’m getting to the point where it’s like, this has been a dream of mine for a while, but you’ve just got to take that first step and do it and do it messy sometimes and work it out as you go along. And that’s kind of how you got to do life or anything creative.
Monica: That’s how you do life. I just thought about that yesterday when I just started drafting a new book just two days ago. And it’s drafting, so it’s just very like, oh, this is messy. And I was like, you know what? I got to have the courage to make bad art, whatever. I have to have the courage to start something because literally every single amazing author out there, their first draft was shit. Like, every single author that you could ever meet, their first draft was probably awful. Like all the books that you have on your shelf, every author, you think they’re so amazing. How did they get there? They started with shit.
Jo: Yeah, exactly. I totally agree. And I think it’s also keeping in mind that writing our books, the things we create, they’re not going to be for everybody.
Monica: Yes, so much. Yes. Sorry. I think about this all the time because of Instagram and the book community. And I love the book community in so many ways. I also see a lot of posts about like, oh, I hate this book. This book is trash. And I’m like, one person’s trash, another person’s treasure.
Jo: Yeah, exactly. You just got to move on. And so this kind of spirals back a little bit, but with that gratitude, that’s something that I’ve always held onto as I’ve begun my author career, because I’m only a couple of years into even writing books and being out there as an author, it’s the one area of my life where I really try and be grateful and celebrate everything. So even those two star, one star reviews and the people kind of that, hate my work. That’s okay. Because somehow I made an impact on them enough for them to go and spend the time to write a review. Because anybody that’s been writing or has a book out there knows that it’s incredibly hard to get anybody, even people who love your books, to give you a review. Right? So to spend that time, everyone is so busy. Yeah. I’m just always grateful that somebody went to the effort of reading my book. Yeah. It wasn’t for them, but on some level, it impacted them enough that even if it’s a crappy review, they gave me a review. You got to celebrate all of that. Your first sale. Yeah. Maybe you’re not making a million bucks on your first book, but that first sale, that counts. Somebody paid money because they wanted to read your work or they wanted to support you.
Monica: I celebrated my first rejection. I was like, yes, I put myself out there. Yeah, I did it. Yes. We’ve got to do that. We’ve got to celebrate every one of those milestones for good or bad, because it’s all part of the journey. There’s nobody out there who has been living the life that they love and created a wonderful life for themselves without being rejected somewhere along the line. Right? Without some failure.
Jo: Yeah.
Monica: Success doesn’t exist without failure. Failure is like literally just part of the process. And we don’t talk about that a lot, I think, on social media. And so it’s very easy to see people who are successful. And we thank God, I want that. How do I get that? And it was through a lot of failure.
Jo: Yeah, absolutely. So that’s it. So every failure is one step closer to your success. I used to have that mentality, so I’m married now, but I used to have that mentality when I was dating and things like that. And it was always how I don’t know if it worked at all, but it was always how I tried to comfort my friends and they were going through a breakup. And that because it’s always like, well, we’ve eliminated one person and we’re one step closer to finding that right person. Yeah. Every dating failure or relationship failure, we get clearer about what we want and what we deserve. And we’re one step closer to finding that person.
Monica: Absolutely.
Jo: And that goes for everything beyond relationships. I just bring it up because you said that you manifested your husband, and I very much feel the same way. Like, I was very intentional about, I don’t want to say the type of person, but what that person’s energy was and them coming into my life, I didn’t know who that person was going to be. And I think this translates even into writing in that you’ve got to make room for whatever you’re trying to manifest. You’ve got to make room in your life. And so when I was trying to manifest this person, my husband into my life, I would do things like I bought a really beautiful, what I thought was beautiful, bed sheets and duvet and all the rest of it, and two pillows. And I’d sleep on one side because I was like, I’m going to sleep on one side because my husband’s going to be on that side.
Monica: Yeah, it works.
Jo: It totally works. And we can use these little tools and these things to manifest in any aspect of our life. So when we’re trying to create this amazing writing career or author career or just life for ourselves, we just need to be aware of we’ve got to make space for it. We’ve got to allow that.
Monica: Yeah. It’s allowing. I think I hear people say Law of Allowing as well. I like that, too, because you are allowing the universe to basically give you your dreams.
Jo: Absolutely what it is. And then I really, really want to stress for anybody who’s listening to this, and you did say it before with the Law of Attraction, a big part of it is taking action. You can’t have attraction without action. Right? You’ve got to take those steps. It’s visualizing and affirmations and meditating and all that is really, really core, good, amazing stuff for lifting your energy. But if you’re not going to put yourself out there and take those steps and that, then, yeah.
Monica: I also want to say that you have to do a lot of healing sometimes. And I say that because I come from a background of, like, my father had his demons, and through a lot of healing, I was able to unlearn a lot of my limiting beliefs. Because you talked about, you think in pessimism. And that’s how I was taught to think, because my dad was very pessimistic, and I love my dad. He’s passed now, but I loved him, but he was very negative, and he was an abuser for much of my life. And I look back and I think that feeling my limiting belief, getting therapy and putting my mental health first and my wellness first really helps me get in a better space for manifestation, because unless you heal what’s hurting, you’re going to have a lot of limiting beliefs that keep you from manifesting. If you say to universe, like, I am a bestselling author, but deep down, you have this really trauma facing situation in the past that really hurt and you haven’t dealt with it. You won’t be able to manifest what you want. You have to heal yourself. And I think anybody can heal themselves. I think it just requires a lot of crying. I like to call it shadow work as well. People think shadow work is a very strange term, but basically it just means facing the darkest parts of yourself. I love therapy. I’ve seen the same therapist for like three years, and she’s just incredible. She might actually end up listening to this podcast, but I feel like through her and through the healing process, I have been able to manifest so much more because I don’t have the same limiting beliefs that I face every day. Like, those things. I have unlearned them, basically.
Jo: Yeah. That’s so amazing. I think we all do. We all carry that baggage with us, and we can’t believe in ourselves and our sense of self worth, and without that, manifesting is going to be incredibly hard.
Monica: Because we have to believe that we deserve it, that we’re deserving of it, and you all are deserving of it. By the way, every single one of you listening, you’re all deserving of your dreams!
Jo: Yes. Listen to Monica. She knows what she’s talking about. Honestly, this is so good.
So I think you can tell that Monica and I had a lot of fun chatting. Now, remember, this is only part one of our conversation. You can listen to part two next week, where we discuss more about being a writer with ADHD and how we can get ourselves to the page, stay focused and write. But for the moment, let’s review some of today’s takeaways:
- We all have the ability to manifest. Manifestation is all about feeling good, matching your vibration to that of what you want to manifest, and then most importantly, taking action.
- When starting out with the law of attraction, start with manifesting something small, a free coffee, a specific car park, things that can serve as proof and gradually build your confidence in your abilities.
- Every single day, make sure you’re working on your limiting beliefs. You deserve the future you envision for yourself.
- Put daily rituals in place like meditating, using affirmations and setting up a gratitude practice.
- Because manifestation is all about feeling good, go back to the basics. Pay attention to what you consume and bring into your life. Monitor those you allow on your social media feed. Eat good food and move your body and exercise.
- Gratitude is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to supercharge your manifesting ability.
- When it feels like your manifestations aren’t working, remember to keep the faith. It might just be that the timing is not right or there’s something even better for you on the horizon.
So I really hope you enjoyed today’s show. And if you’re wanting to connect with Monica or find out more about her coaching packages, you can connect with her on Instagram @monicahayauthor or visit her website at monikahay.com. And if you do reach out to her, make sure you mentioned you listen to her on Alchemy for Authors.
On a final note, if you haven’t already, go download your free copy of Manifestation for Authors: Tips and Tricks to Supercharge Your Author Life Using The Law of Attraction. An awesome PDF that I put together for you and you can find that at subscribepage.com/manifestationforauthors.
So I’m wishing you a wonderful writing week ahead. Until next time.