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In her debut book Ask & Act, British entrepreneur Jo Macfarlane shares funny, helpful and cringe worthy life stories from her 16 years flying long haul for British Airways. All mixed in with foundation top tips for building a business from your kitchen table. Here, we share an extract from her book, which looks at the power of manifesting, and the role it has played in Jo’s life.

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for” -  Oprah Winfrey. How many times have you heard that phrase throughout your lifetime? It’s something that is taught to us from an early age and is especially ingrained in those of us who run our own businesses. While it can sometimes feel daunting and embarrassing to ask for what we want, it is a vital skill. In Scotland, we have a phrase ‘A gawin fit aye gets’ (translated to “A going foot always gets”) which conjured up images of people who are proactive and things happen for them. The phrase means if you are prepared, you will be presented with opportunity. If you are ready for something, you’ll receive it. For me, one of the most powerful ways to ask for what you want is to use manifesting to ask for what you desire out of your life or work. Manifesting works by asking and visualising what you desire and being grateful for it before it happens. Manifesting is when you believe something to have happened before the event has occurred. People manifest in different ways, but many will decide what they want to have, be or do and then visualise it as if it has already happened. I am not sure when my relationship and love affair with manifesting started. As a small child, I adopted beachcombing. I would trawl the pebbled beaches near my home with my mother and seek out washed out items that could be transformed and loved. My childhood was like a permanent treasure hunt, and I’d often set out on my sandy adventures with a heart full of hope to find something sparkly or exciting. I would regularly seek out lost jewellery, discarded money or beautiful pearlescent shells on the sandy shores. I would find marbles, tiny porcelain dolls and fill my old printer’s tray full of small treasures - usually after wishing and hoping and praying that something would turn up on my scavenger hunts. I made a connection early on that if I asked for it, what I desired would often turn up. Years later, in my adulthood, I have become an avid devotee of manifesting. I believe if you ask for what you want that The Universe delivers. I know this is a hard concept for some people to fathom. I was once at a business event, sharing a space with a woman who was an artist and an academic. We got onto the topic of manifesting, and she looked at me with a furrowed brow as if I was completely insane. I could see she wasn’t getting it and so the conversation went something like this; “To test it out, pick something small at random. Ask for it, and over the next week, see if that thing comes into your life. Go on, pick something specific to look out for.” “A yellow butterfly”. She replied, obviously humouring me because the chances of this appearing in a Scottish seaside village were slim to none. Alas, there is always hope. I told her to believe it would appear and had a little moment myself where I visualised a yellow butterfly. Later in the day, the owner of the venue where we were displaying our crafts popped in with afternoon tea for us. She handed the cups of tea out, and on the mug, she handed to my academic artist companion was none other than a yellow butterfly! She was shocked, still very sceptical but agreed to look into it more. I have so many stories of asking for certain items and them turning up on my lap or doorstep. It has got to the point now, where I laugh about the weird and wonderful ways my wishes are delivered to me. I have also got my young son Archie involved in my requests to The Universe. If you indulge me a moment, I’ll tell you some amazing manifestation stories and encourage you to participate yourself, making it like a game.

The Million Pounds that Turned Up On my Doorstep

I was having a particularly challenging day in the candle business that I run. I am usually unflappable, positive, and I can always find a way out of a challenge or a problem, but on this particular day, I felt like the world was conspiring against me. What I did next is not normally part of my daily routine, I was stressed and getting anxious and in a moment of desperation looked upwards as if I were asking the angels directly and shouted at the top of my voice “Please PLEASE if it is within your power, PLEASE can you give me £1 million? This would solve all my daily problems!”  I immediately felt a little better at having released my frustration and set about trying to work myself out of my challenging day. I kid you not, a mere 15 minutes later my doorbell rang. I was still in my semi, angry rage and was straining to put a smile on my face for whoever was at the door. It was a friend returning some of the guide books that I had loaned her for a recent trip to New York. Also, to say thank you for the loan of the books, she handed me a gift from her travels.  The gift was a bar of chocolate in the shape and style of a £1m dollar note and not only that the company that made the chocolate was Bartons (Barton is my married name). I didn’t share with her what had happened in the previous 15 minutes as I’m sure she would have thought I was complete bonkers. But I laughed so hard after she left, I thought that’s what I deserve, I didn’t ask specifically for monetary £1m, so they delivered what they saw fit. So be very specific what you ask for!

Exercise: Ask & Act

Pick something from this chapter to help you strengthen your manifesting practice:  Visit www.jomacfarlane.com  

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