I had a few moments to spare today before a meeting and stopped in at a magazine shop. And there was Oprah staring out at me (her magazine, not her!). Oprah epitomizes trendy. She creates trends. She recommends books and they immediately become best sellers. She invites experts from The Secret on her show and they become huge stars. Tom Cruise freaks out on her show and everyone starts to wonder about him. Oprah = Trend.
So, I figured, might as well see what she has to say. The biggest headline on the front cover was about finding your life purpose. Huh! Those of you who are familiar with the book I am writing will remember that this will be the topic of my next chapter summary (due to come out this week). Ok, I say, interesting coincidence. Then I leaf through the first few pages (skipping the fashion ads) and notice that one of the contributors on this same subject is Alain de Botton, which normally would mean nothing to me, except that I happen to be reading one of his books (the Architecture of Happiness), which I bought for recreational reading and not reading associated with my book. Go figure!
I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that everything happens for a reason, in fact a good reason. All the events in our lives occur to either inspire us, to move us into action or to reward us. So, these references to my book and my reading are not just random. They mean something. The tricky part is that we don't always figure out what they mean, but we are still supposed to use them. So, this could be encouraging me to continue writing; it could be a sign that once my book is finished, I may indeed get that spot on Oprah's TV show; it could suggest that the way I have changed my thinking is starting to line up with a trend; it could simply be reinforcement that I am supposed to trust, to believe that the universe is working along with me to help me accomplish my goals.
It actually doesn't matter what it means. What matters is that I use these "coincidences" as inspiration to keep on doing what I am doing, to learn from people who also think the way I think, and to profit from the great exposure Oprah has to move my message forward.
Have you noticed any interesting coincidences today? Are there messages that you have received that are inspiring, motivating you to act on your goals, rewarding you for doing "the right thing"? Once you start looking, trust me, these messages are everywhere!
