3 Ways To Brainwash Yourself for Success & A More Meaningful Life

3 Ways To Brainwash Yourself for Success & A More Meaningful Life

The Mel Robbins PodcastApr 1, 20241h 0m

Mel Robbins (host)

Definition and science of synchronicity as a path to life satisfactionThree-step framework for “positive brainwashing”Skill 1: Stating what you want and claiming synchronicitiesSkill 2: Aligning your energy and emotional state with desired outcomesSkill 3: Assigning larger, guiding meaning to signs and coincidencesUsing synchronicity to build resilience during setbacks and failureEveryday practical applications: shopping, networking, big decisions and grief

In this episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, featuring Mel Robbins, 3 Ways To Brainwash Yourself for Success & A More Meaningful Life explores mel Robbins’ Three-Step Mental Reboot To Manufacture Meaningful Success Daily Mel Robbins explains how to deliberately “brainwash” yourself for success and a more meaningful life by harnessing synchronicity—those seemingly magical, perfectly timed moments. Drawing on research from Dr. Bernard Beitman and a study in Frontiers in Psychology, she argues that noticing and assigning personal meaning to these moments increases life satisfaction and resilience. She translates the science into three practical skills: state and claim what you want, align your energy with it, and intentionally look for bigger meaning in daily events. Through personal stories about a quilt, a dress, and her book launch disaster, she shows how these practices can shift perception, behavior, and outcomes.

Mel Robbins’ Three-Step Mental Reboot To Manufacture Meaningful Success Daily

Mel Robbins explains how to deliberately “brainwash” yourself for success and a more meaningful life by harnessing synchronicity—those seemingly magical, perfectly timed moments. Drawing on research from Dr. Bernard Beitman and a study in Frontiers in Psychology, she argues that noticing and assigning personal meaning to these moments increases life satisfaction and resilience. She translates the science into three practical skills: state and claim what you want, align your energy with it, and intentionally look for bigger meaning in daily events. Through personal stories about a quilt, a dress, and her book launch disaster, she shows how these practices can shift perception, behavior, and outcomes.

Key Takeaways

Deliberately state what you want before events unfold.

Before entering a store, a networking event, or facing a challenge, clearly declare what you intend to find or experience; this primes your brain to notice opportunities and starts to “set things in motion.”

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Claim ownership when synchronicities appear instead of dismissing them as coincidences.

When something lines up—a new checkout lane opens, the right dress appears, a perfect contact shows up—internally say, “I made that happen,” to reinforce your sense of agency and strengthen referential thinking.

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Match your emotional energy to the outcome you desire.

After stating your intention, consciously shift into the emotional state you’ll feel when it actually happens (excited, grateful, confident); this energy alignment makes you more open, observant, and proactive.

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Use tools like music to quickly shift your state.

Create a “mood-shifting” playlist that reliably elevates your mood; use it before or during situations where you’ve set an intention so your energy stays aligned instead of frustrated, fearful, or cynical.

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Assign bigger meaning to signs, especially linked to loved ones or milestones.

Treat recurring symbols (like a hummingbird for your mom or an eagle for a parent-in-law) as winks from the universe or loved ones, reinforcing the feeling that you’re supported and guided rather than alone.

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Reinterpret past events as connected steps instead of random accidents.

Looking backward at breakups, rejections, or sudden “just knew” moments as part of a guided path helps you see synchronicity in your history and strengthens trust that current challenges may also serve a larger purpose.

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Use this framework to stay resilient when everything appears to be failing.

In crises (like Mel’s botched book launch), keep stating the desired outcome, maintain aligned energy, and insist there is a bigger reason; this mindset helps you persist long enough for hidden opportunities to emerge.

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Notable Quotes

You will never tap into the success that you desire or the deeper meaning in your life if you don't learn how to see the deeply personal meaning in things that are happening around you.

Mel Robbins

Simply saying, 'Meh, it's a coincidence,' is you declaring, 'That means nothing. There's no magic in my life.'

Mel Robbins

The point here is to brainwash your mind to believe that something good is going to happen before it does.

Mel Robbins

Move through your life setting things in motion and then match your energy to be aligned with it.

Mel Robbins

There’s a totally different way to go through life… and it begins with three simple steps: state it, master your energy, and keep finding the bigger meaning.

Mel Robbins

Questions Answered in This Episode

How can I balance seeing meaning in synchronicities without slipping into magical thinking or ignoring hard data and risks?

Mel Robbins explains how to deliberately “brainwash” yourself for success and a more meaningful life by harnessing synchronicity—those seemingly magical, perfectly timed moments. ...

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What are some concrete daily habits I can adopt to build the ‘state it and claim it’ muscle if I’m naturally skeptical?

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How do I differentiate between a genuine intuitive ‘just know’ moment and wishful thinking or confirmation bias?

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In situations of repeated failure, how do I know whether to keep “finding bigger meaning” and persisting versus changing direction entirely?

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How might this synchronicity framework apply differently to people dealing with grief, trauma, or mental health challenges?

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Transcript Preview

Mel Robbins

You've experienced these moments, right? You know, where you're like, "Oh, my God. Can you believe that that just happened?" Is that a coincidence, or is that life telling you something? You get to decide what you call it. And what you call that kind of moment matters. It's a superpower, and that's exactly what you're going to learn to do today. I'm going to teach you three steps to create more synchronicity, to tap into this extraordinary power that you have. And so let's just start with, what is synchronicity? Hey, it's Mel. I'm so glad you tuned in today, 'cause you're gonna learn three ways to brainwash yourself for greater success and a more meaningful life. And I use the word brainwash on purpose, because I'm gonna teach you a system that will help you unlock the power of your mind. I consider this a superpower. I use it in my business. I use it in my personal life. I have taught these three steps to tens of thousands of people. You want more success. You deserve to live a meaningful life, and today it's your turn to learn three simple steps to brainwash yourself in a positive way. Did you know it's possible to change your life while you're sitting on the couch? Yup, because while you're sitting on the couch, you could be taking my brand new free two-part video training series called Make It Happen. That's right. I do this once a year as a big thank you for being here on social media and listening to the Mel Robbins Podcast. This year's training, all about execution. Last year's training, half a million people took it. This year's training, even better, 'cause it's about action. So, while you sit on the couch, how about you go to melrobbins.com/makeithappen? Download your free workbook. I'll send you a link when the videos are live. You're gonna love it, because you're gonna see yourself from sitting on your butt to getting in gear and taking the actions that'll change your life. Mwah! Hey, it's your friend Mel. I am so glad you are here and ready to learn how to brainwash yourself for success and more meaning in life, and it is such an honor to spend time with you and teach this to you. Welcome to the Mel Robbins family. I love that you're interested in this topic and that you're taking time for yourself to learn how to bring more success and more meaning into your life. That's incredibly cool? And I can't wait to teach you these three steps to brainwash yourself in a very positive way and unlock the power of your mind and your spirit, and we're gonna be tapping into really cool research from the University of Virginia, as well as my own deeply personal and professional experience using the three steps in my own life and business to unlock more success, more meaning. And I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but I find that the more that I'm learning about science and philosophy and human behavior and neuroscience and psychology, and learning so many amazing things from the experts that we have on the Mel Robbins podcast, the more certain I am that there is something profound that is available to you and me, that there's this, like, deeper experience to feel in the remarkable thing we call life. You know, the fact is, you do have the ability to tap into things that you can't see. You have the ability to create things and feel things that you can't explain. Wouldn't it be amazing if every day you just had this sense that life or the universe, that it was all conspiring to help you, that there are signs that, yes, you are on the right path, things are working out? Well, the research says that it is possible to go through your life and have a much more meaningful experience. In fact, there is this brand new study, I was so excited when I saw this, that was published in Frontiers in Psychology, and the study is titled, I mean, check out this title, An Underexplored Pathway to Life Satisfaction. And do you want to know what that study looked at? It dug into the topic of synchronicity and how creating more synchronicities in your life is a pathway to life satisfaction, and that's exactly what you're gonna learn to do today. I'm gonna teach you three steps to create more synchronicity, to tap into this extraordinary power that you have, to create more success, to experience more meaning. And so let's just start with, what is synchronicity? Well, synchronicity is basically one of those moments that you just can't explain. They're kind of magical, but you immediately have a moment of synchronicity, and it gives you this sense that, "Wow, I'm being guided, like the universe has got its hand on my back." And, you know, I kind of describe these moments like a holy shit moment, where you're thinking of your friend from 20 years ago, and a minute later, oh my gosh, there they are, they're texting or calling you, or you're in a business meeting. Have you ever had this happen? You're pitching a new client and you find out that they're from your same hometown. Don't you love that stuff? In fact, that actually happened to me recently too.There's a caterer that I use all the time up here in Southern Vermont. His name is Paul. He works with his wife Julia. They're absolutely amazing, and he was setting up lunch for our team on a production day. And my sister-in-law, who happens to be my chief operating officer for One Four Three Studios, she had flown in from the week, and so we were here in Southern Vermont. We're filming a bunch of stuff for you. We are all together. Paul and Julie are catering the lunch, and we're all downstairs in the kitchen. And Paul and Christine start chatting. It turns out, check this out, that Paul and Christine and Julia, they all went to Naperville High School in Illinois and graduated (laughs) the same year. What are the odds? And it's such a huge high school that they didn't know each other, but now they're standing here in Southern Vermont, and we're all, like, kinda working and vibing together. I mean, is that a coincidence, or is that life telling you something? See, I say it's not a coincidence. It's not a coincidence at all. I say it's happening for a reason, that there is deep meaning in the fact that Christine and Julia and Paul all went to high school together, and they just figured it out while they were standing in the kitchen on a work day while we were producing, like, amazing content. Now, if you're someone who's kinda cynical, you might hear this example about Christine and Julia and Paul, and you might shrug your shoulders and say, "Ah, it's just a coincidence." Well, after today, you're not gonna do that, and the reason why you're not gonna do that is because I'm going to teach you something using research. And it's this, that you will never tap into the success that you desire or the deeper meaning in your life if you don't learn how to see the deeply personal meaning in things that are happening around you. Simply saying, "Meh, it's a coincidence," is you declaring, "That means nothing. There's no magic in my life. There's no reason for this." But calling it a sign of something greater is what gives your life meaning, and these moments matter. And they happen in your life all the time, and when you start to see deeply personal reasons for random things happening in your life, you begin to unlock the power of your mind. And you tap into something deeper that is available to you right now. See, I could see that Christine, Julia, and Paul as a sign that even the caterer is supporting this decision that we're not just sister-in-laws, that we're supposed to work together. And here's the cool thing about learning this superpower of seeing life working for you, of brainwashing yourself for success and for deeper meaning, is that you get to choose what things mean when they're happening in your life. Why wouldn't you want that for yourself? Why go through life questioning whether or not you've made the right decision? Why go through life just shrugging off things as a coincidence? "Ah, just, just a coincidence, I'm just going through the motions in my life, there's nothing here to see." Why not see the fact that it stopped raining, and all of a sudden, the sun came out right before your first Zoom interview for this job that you really want? Why not see that as a really good sign that it's gonna go well, that you're on the right track, that you're doing the right thing by putting yourself out there? Why not see the fact that the song playing in the restaurant, which happened to be the song that your parents danced to, the first dance song at their wedding, why not see the fact that the song is playing in the restaurant as a sign that the person that you're dating right now is actually a good person? When the house that you really wanna buy has an address, 508, and that just happens to be the same area code as the state you're moving from, how is that not a sign that this is your new home, that even if it's not, that things are working out for you, and just looking at this house is a marker on the right path of you finding the right home? Imagine. Imagine how different it would feel if you brainwashed yourself to believe that life is supporting you, guiding you, that you're not alone at all, that you can see signs that you're on the right path or on the wrong path. I mean, you've felt this sense at moments in your life, right? That there's something larger for you to experience, some deeper dimension of life that you could tap into. I'm here to tell you there is. There's this new study that I love that has proven that simply just having the awareness that synchronicities exist increases your life satisfaction. The study I'm talking about was published in Frontiers in Psychology, and just check out the title of this research, An Unexplored Pathway to Life Satisfaction. I freaking love that, An Unexplored Pathway to Life Satisfaction, and here is how this superpower is going to help you. Number one, when things are really challenging, you can tap into this ability to see synchronicities as, as a way to bolster your resilience and keep you moving forward when you feel like giving up. I do it all the time. Being able to spot signs and synchronicities and meaning in life when life is really hard, it's like the ultimate hack to continue the fight.... to continue believing that things will work out for you. I mean, even the example that's kind of dumb of Paul and Julia and Christine standing in my kitchen. When I moved here, and I freaking hated it, everywhere I looked I saw reasons for why this was a dumb decision. Brainwashing yourself in a positive way allows you to see the positive signs. Even something as crazy as three people standing in your kitchen that went to the same high school. Why not call that out as a sign that you're on the right path? It helps you keep going. It helps you stay optimistic. It helps you with your resilience. And the second reason why you're going to want to know how to use this, and this is a way that it's made a huge difference in my life, is that everything that I experience is so much more profound, because I know that it wasn't just hard work or luck that got me the results that I wanted or the moments of magic that I've had. I know that there is something deeper going on that I'm tapping into in my day-to-day life, because I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that things are happening for a reason, and when you tap into that and you find evidence in your day-to-day life, I- I- I don't even know how to describe it. I just want it for you. Do you know that there are 150 million podcast episodes that have been published and you chose this one? And I'm going to tell you why. Because you were meant to. And if someone that you love sent you this episode and you made the decision to just click on it and listen to it, it's because you were meant to. So from this point forward, I want you to listen with a level of intention. Listen knowing that there is something that you're going to hear that is exactly what you need to hear at this exact moment in your life. There are no coincidences. Let my voice be the sign that you needed, because I'm on a mission to empower and inspire you, to open your heart and your mind so that you can achieve all the success that you deserve and experience a much more meaningful life, and there are three steps that I'm going to teach you that you can start doing as soon as I teach them to you. And these three steps are based on the research of Dr. Bernard Beitman. He is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He's a medical doctor who's trained at Yale and Stanford, and he is the number one researcher in the science of synchronicities, which, you know, is the pathway to a more meaningful life, according to research. And in his research, he has looked at the patterns of people who experience a tremendous number of synchronicities, and I consider myself to be somebody who experiences synchronicities every single day. So I've translated his research into three specific actions that you can start practicing, because I'm- I- I'm serious. I want you to brainwash yourself in a positive way, because this is so freaking cool. And number one, the first skill that I want you to master is state it and claim it. The second skill we're going to talk about is mastering your energy and how to use it to your advantage. And the third skill we're going to talk about is finding a bigger meaning. And, look, I know these three don't quite make a whole lot of sense right now, but when I unpack them in detail and I give you specific examples of how you're going to use it and then I tell you stories from my life about the crazy success and even the miracles that I've been creating by using these three skills, huh, you are going to be unstoppable. So here's what we're going to do. Let's take a brief break. And while you do, think about something for me, okay? I want you to think to yourself, "If Mel is right, and if what she's about to teach me actually works, if I could tap into greater success and more meaning in my life, and if I could see a sign, some sort of confirmation today that I'm on the right track or that I've made the right decision, what would that sign be?" And begin to open up the space for something more meaningful to happen to you today, okay? So I want you to think about that over the break, and I'll be waiting for you when we come back. Stay with me. Hey, it's your friend, Mel, and, you know, I've been thinking, it's time that you and I take our relationship to the next level, that we get off social media and do something a little bit more serious together. I have this gift that I've been wanting to get you. May be a little forward, but whatever. I'm gonna shoot my shot. I have created a brand new free two-part training called Make It Happen just for you. It is a video training. It's got two different lectures in it. It is so freaking cool. I made this for you, because I want you to stop wasting so much time on social media. I want you to stop thinking about what you want to do, and I want to support you in taking action and making something amazing happen. The next six months of your life could be extraordinary, but it's not going to happen by accident. It'll happen because you decide to make it happen. And because I want to take our relationship to the next level, I thought I'd invite you to jump in this training. Just go to melrobbins.com/makeithappen to get this free gift from me, and let's take our relationship and your life to the next level. (upbeat music) Welcome back. It's your friend, Mel, and today, I'm teaching you three ways to brainwash yourself for greater success and a more meaningful life, and I'm using the research from Dr. Bernard Beitman at the University of Virginia, who is the number one researcher on the science of synchronicities. And I'm using that research to teach you three skills that you can master. These are skills I use every single day, and you better believe I also use this to build momentum and to create massive success. Now, before we went to the break, I asked you to think about some area of your life where you would love to see a sign, some sort of confirmation that you're on the right track, or about a decision that you're making, okay, that it's the right decision. And as we continue talking, I want you to hold onto that, okay, so that you can make what you're learning today deeply personal and relevant to something that matters to you, okay? Awesome. So let's start with the first skill, and the first skill is, you have to state it and then claim it when it happens. You gotta state it and then claim it when it happens. And as simple as it sounds to state something that you want, it's not that simple, because you also have to claim it when it happens, and by claim it, I mean you have to be able to silently say to yourself, "Check that out. I made that happen. Mm-hmm. Yes, maybe I do have a superpower. This is pretty cool." Based on the research, let's go to the research, the reason why this is the important skill, to state it and claim it, is because people who experience synchronicities are higher in what is called referential thinking, which means you have a belief that things happening around you have to do with you, meaning you're responsible for it. And I wanna give you a super simple example of what I'm talking about. This is something you can start practicing today, to state it and claim it, okay? So let's just take an example that you can relate to. Let's say that you're at the store, you're at the supermarket, and holy cow, it's a long line. I mean, really long line, and you're standing at this supermarket in line, and boy, you wish another line would just open up. Here's how you're gonna use this first skill. You're going to state what you want. So as you're standing in this long line, and I want you to just put yourself there. I mean, you got a cart full of stuff. There are probably seven people in front of you. You're thinking to yourself, "Oh, my gosh, why are they have so few people working? When are they go-" Hey, now, hey, now, hey, stop. You have a superpower. State what you want. Stand there and say to yourself, "I want a line to open up." It's really that simple. "I want a line to open up." And then when it happens, don't just shrug your shoulders and go, "Ah, that's a coincidence. I guess I'm lucky." No, claim it. Put a smirk on your face and say to yourself, "And check that out, I made that happen. That's pretty cool. That's not a coincidence." Claim ownership for creating the energy shift and creating that magic. And this is hard, but here's what I want you to understand about the unexplainable or quantum nature of all this. See, when you're standing there with your cart full of stuff, and there's seven people in front of you, and the line is snaking all the way back down into the aisles, and everybody else around you is getting agitated and starting to complain, and you have the guts and the clarity and the confidence to state with intention, "I want a line to open up," you set something in motion. See, right now, you're not using this power correctly. I want you to start stating what you want before it happens. I have this story to share with you. So, 24 years ago, my mom and I went to the world's largest antique market. It's in western Massachusetts. It's called Brimfield Antique Market. It is so fricking cool. It happens, I think, the second Tuesday through Sunday of every May, July, and September, okay? It's like six football fields of stuff. And so my mom and I go to this, and our daughter, Sawyer, was a baby, and I had her in the Baby Bjorn, and before we walked into Brimfield, I stated what I wanted. I said, "I wanna find a red-and-white quilt in the traditional Shaker style, like an antique quilt." And if you don't know what a Shaker-style quilt is, it's like one of those old-fashioned traditional quilts that, you know, are in big white squares and triangles, very geometric. And, you know, as I stated it, "I want to find a red-and-white quilt in the traditional Shaker style," I could picture it in my mind. I knew exactly where I wanted it to go in my house. And as I started to walk toward the market, I kept stating to myself, "I'm gonna find that quilt today." Not, "I want it. I'm gonna find a red-and-white antique Shaker-style quilt," and by stating it, I am setting something powerful in motion. Now, I looked all day. I mean, we must have walked 40,000 steps. I looked at vendor after vendor, and quilt after quilt, and there were lots of Shaker quilts, lots of red-and-white ones, but nothing really hit me. But I kept saying, "I am going to find the perfect red-and-white antique Shaker quilt." I just knew it. I stated it, I kept stating it, and we were getting near the end of the day, and we're heading back to the car.And we're passing some of the final stalls as people are packing things up, and all of a sudden, I notice, "Wait a minute. There's a quilt. I see it folded up underneath those cutting boards over there. Let's go check that out." So we walk over, we remove the cutting boards off the top of this thing, and my mom and I start to unfold it. And it was really cool, but here's the thing, it had some stains on it, it was kind of tattered, like, you know, some of the squares were pulling off, and the person that was working the booth walks up and said, "Now, this is a very rare antique quilt, because this is considered a wedding quilt." And I said, "Well, what is that?" And they said, "Well, in this town, it was the tradition that everybody in the town, when somebody got married, would sign the names of all the people that were attending the wedding for the young couple that was getting married." And so here I am, my mom and I, we've got the quilt all unfolded and we're looking at it, and you know, I'm kind of ch- looking past the stains and the tears, and you could notice all this handwriting on the white squares. And it literally, I'm not kidding, looked like, you know that handwriting from, like, the Declaration of Independence, that, like, super scripty thing that looks like somebody wrote it with a feather? And my mom's going, "Oh, my God, look at this old-fashioned cursive. This is just so cool." And I'm like, "Yeah, look at some of the names." And all of a sudden, as I started looking closer, holy cow, the last names on the quilt, over and over and over, Sawyer, Sawyer, Joseph Sawyer, Emily Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer, Frederick Sawyer. The hair on my arms stood straight up. My mom was like, " (gasps) Oh, my gosh, Sawyer's name is all over this quilt, we have to buy this thing. This is unbelievable." You know, I'm sure the quilt dealer doubled the price in his mind in that moment, but there is zero doubt that I was meant to find that quilt. I mean, here's the thing, is it a coincidence that I look all day, and underneath cutting boards, heading to the car, I spot a quilt out of the corner of my eye, we unfold it, and I look past the tears and the stains after rejecting quilts all day long only to find out that my daughter's name, Sawyer, is the last name of half the people who have signed this quilt as a wedding gift 200 years ago for somebody? That is not a coincidence. I made that happen. I stated what I wanted when I got out of that car eight hours before. I kept stating what I wanted all day long, even though it wasn't happening. I kept stating what I wanted even when the quilt was in my hands, and I believed with every ounce in my body that it was going to happen, and I made it happen. I was meant to find this exact quilt at this exact time while I was with my mom visiting from Michigan, wearing my daughter, whose name is Sawyer, which is half of the names that were on this 200-year-old quilt. That stating it set this in motion. And here is how you can start to apply step one. Before you go shopping anywhere and you're pulling up to some place and you don't know exactly what they have in stock, so let's say you're pulling up to, like, a Marshalls or a TJ Maxx or a flea market or garage sale, I want you to take a beat and create a little scavenger hunt for yourself. This is how you tap into the superpower, okay? First, you're going to state to yourself, without knowing what's actually in there, what are you gonna find? What are you gonna find? Are you in front of a garage sale and you want to find an antique compass? Are you sitting at a flea market and you want to find an old, I don't know, ladder? Are you sitting in front of TJ Maxx, and there's a particular something you would love to find? I want you to play this game where you start to state it to yourself, "I'm going to find X," and then I want you to visualize this moment where you do. In fact, my colleague Amy just did this, I kid you not, with her daughter, Jane, last night. So last night, they pulled into TJ Maxx, and Amy was already stating what she wanted. She wanted her daughter, Jane, to find a dress for this dance that's coming up at the high school. So she turns to her daughter, Jane, and says, "So, what do you want to find?" And Jane says, "Well, I need a dress for the winter formal, and I love the dress that I have, but it's a summer dress, so I would love a dress just like that one, but only in a different material so that I have something for the winter formal." Amy's like, "Great." She starts stating it to herself, "We are gonna find that dress. The perfect dress is gonna be in there." So they walk into the store, she has set this in motion, and they can't find anything. You know how sometimes TJ Maxx, it's hit or miss, right? Like, that's the fun of going in there, you don't know what you're gonna get. It was like they had stopped selling dresses. But Amy was doubling down, and she is saying to herself, "We're gonna find a dress. We're gonna find the perfect dress. We're gonna find the perfect dress." And then all of a sudden, Jane calls to her from clear across the store and says, "Mom, Mom, I found the rack." Amy heads over to her, she gets there, it's, like, a pathetic, sad rack, but Amy...... was setting things in motion, "We are s- we are going to find this dress. I just have this feeling this is gonna happen. We're gonna do this." They go through the whole rack. Absolutely nothing. Amy was even trying to sell Jane on a few of them. Jane's like, "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." Amy's not giving up. "We're gonna find that dress." And all of a sudden, she looks out of the corner of her eye, couple racks over, there's a bunch of pajamas. Guess what she spots in the middle of the pajamas? That's right, there was a dress there that someone had randomly stuck on the pajama rack. So Amy darts on over and it was as if the dress that Jane had at home, the one that she loved, it was as if all of the little birds and mice and Cinderella came in with their bows and their ribbons and made it even better. Just like that. It's this halter dress with a circle at the top, and it was black. And Jane was like, "Oh, I don't know." And Amy said, "We gotta try it on," and now Amy's like, "We found the dress. We found the dress." The dressing room was closed. Coincidence? I don't think so. Not when you set something in motion. She can't try it on, which means what? The universe is telling her, "This is your dress. Trust. Take it home and try it on." And sure enough, when they got home and Jane put on the dress, it was exactly what she had wanted. So did Amy create all that? Of course she did. She set that in motion, and this is way more than a story about buying a dress. This is way more than a story about how you create a successful shopping trip. Did you hear the meaning in this story? Like, how much richer that scavenger hunt became when you walk in with this spirit that everything is working out for you? Without the skill of stating what you want and then knowing that you're setting something powerful in motion, not only would this not have happened, because they wouldn't have seen the dress over on the PJ rack, but it opens you up to experience life at a completely different way. And right now, you're walking by opportunities that you're not even open to seeing, and they're all around you. That's why this is so cool. Here's another way that you can start practicing using it. So, any time you go to a networking event or a party or any place where you're gonna meet new people, I want you to practice stating what you want before you walk in. "I'm gonna meet somebody really cool tonight. I'm gonna meet somebody that can help me with this job search. I'm gonna meet somebody who can help me raise money for this company I'm starting. I'm going to meet somebody that needs to buy a house, and I'm a real estate agent who is looking for customers." Set it in motion. Set it in motion by stating what's gonna happen before it happens, and then when it happens, claim it. "I made that happen. I made that happen." The point here is to brainwash your mind to believe that something good is going to happen before it does. Because when you do that, your mind conspires to help you. That's how you unlock the power of it. Your mind spots the dress on the pajama rack. It spots the quilt underneath the cutting boards. It zeroes in on the one person standing in the corner who has this interesting vibe about them, and you don't know why it is, but for some reason, you feel pulled to walk over to them, and you've said you're gonna meet the person that you need to meet, and they turn out to be the exact person that you needed to meet, and you sell them the house, or they introduce you to the person at the company that you've always wanted to interview at. And look. Do you always find the dress? No. Do you always meet somebody who happens to know somebody that you needed to... Maybe not. But going into these situations believing that something good is gonna happen, it changes your entire experience of it. And let me tell you this. How does expecting the worst help you? How does expecting, "I'm never gonna find anything. They never have a lot of dresses," how does that help you find a dress? How does walking into some sort of event saying, "This is a waste of time. I'm shy, I'm introverted. I've never met anybody," or this kind of thing, how is that gonna help you meet people that could change the course of your career or your business or your life? See, I think you're so afraid to want something and not have it turn out that you stop yourself from setting it in motion. You won't even allow yourself to state and declare that it's gonna happen. And when you don't do that, you close yourself off to everything that's possible. See, I'm teaching you right now how to stand in the present moment and start to connect dots forward, to see the path, to see that the world and the universe and the powers that be have your back and are conspiring to guide you. Another cool thing about learning how to do this is you can also do this in reverse. If you really look back on your past, with an honest look, you will see how all the dots of your life connect you to this moment. For example, you can see now, in this moment, why that painful breakup had to happen, why that school you got rejected from had to happen. If that breakup hadn't happened-You would never have met the love of your life, you would never have face the things that you needed to heal in yourself if that relationship had not ended. And you can also look backwards and find these moments where you now realize, "Oh, my God, even back then, even back then, my life was trying to guide me, because I just knew that that relationship had to end six months before it did. I just knew I was making the right decision." You know those moments where you can look in the past and you're like, "Oh, my God, I just know it in my bones." That's a moment of synchronicity. Because when you just know it's true, you are finding meaning in something where nobody else does. Like that moment you just knew it was the right school. Do you know it was a just-know-it moment that brought us to southern Vermont? Our son, Oakley, didn't want to go to the public high school outside of Boston where his sisters went, and he just campaigned and campaigned to tour the public high school up here in southern Vermont where his grandmother lived. And when he stepped on that campus, he just knew this was where he was supposed to be. He knew it. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was true and he stated it, "I'm going to school here," and by doing that, he set something in motion. He did that at the beginning of eighth grade, and for an entire year, his father and I were like, "No, you're not. No, you're not. No, you're not." But guess what? The universe had other plans, because Oakley Robbins had set this sucker in motion and he was willing it to happen, and we find ourselves here trying it out freshman year, giving it a whirl. He set that in motion without him stating it, without him having that just knew. He felt something and he gave the feeling he felt when he walked on that campus meaning. "This is the place for me." You have had those experiences in your life. Maybe you just knew that a certain person was the right person, they were your person, or you just knew, "Oh, my God, I gotta get out of this situation." You left and found another job, and next thing you know, the company folds. You didn't get on the train and everybody got sick on the train, and you didn't know why, you couldn't explain why but you just knew. See, when you stand in this moment and you look backwards and you see these just-know moments, that's also evidence of deep synchronicity happening in your life, that your life is telling you something, that things aren't a coincidence. And when you state it and then you claim it, that's skill number one. Whether you're practicing this before you walk into a store or a meeting or you're just going through your day-to-day life saying, "I'm gonna get confirmation today about this decision. I'm gonna see a sign, whether it's a number or an animal or a song, or I'm gonna see a tattoo or somebody's gonna say something. Something's gonna happen." And the reason why it happens is because you set it in motion by saying, "I'm gonna get confirmation." Now, the second skill of this positive brainwashing, now that you understand that you gotta state it and then you gotta claim it when it happens, is mastering your energy and using it to your advantage. And I am going to explain exactly what I mean by that, because this exponentially increases your success with this skill. You set it in motion, and holy cow, what I'm about to teach you with your energy creates a tidal wave. So don't you dare go anywhere because I'm gonna teach you how to create one in your own life when we return. Hey, it's Mel. And you know what? I want you to stop thinking about what you want and watching videos on YouTube and actually go out in your life and do something about it, because action is the answer. And the first action you should take is jump into my brand new free training. It's called Make It Happen. This training gives you the tools to go from thinking to doing. It's packed with science. It comes with a free workbook, and it's exactly what you need right now. More than half a million people are taking it, and the fact is, you do have the power to change your life and I wanna help you. All you have to do is click in the link in the caption or go to melrobbins.com/makeithappen. It's free. You jump right in. I'm gonna be your coach. I created it for you. Why wouldn't you take this opportunity to make your life better? Go, do it. Do not miss out on the life you could be living. Let's make it happen together. Welcome back. It's your friend, Mel. I am so happy you are here. I love this topic so much and I love all of the stuff that you experience when you learn the three skills that help you brainwash yourself in a positive way so you can experience greater success and deeper meaning in your life. You deserve this. Please make sure you share this with people. Like, the other thing that's really cool about this topic is that the more that you're around people that also do this, the more you amplify each other. So this is a great thing to share with people that you love. Now, you and I have already covered skill number one, which is this idea of state it and then claim it, that you need to state what you want as if it's happening....so that you set it in motion. Now let's talk about the second skill, which is you've got to be able to then align your energy with what you want. And in order to teach you how to do this, I wanna go back to the example that we started with, which is, let's go back to the grocery store, where you're standing in this long line. There's seven people in front of you. You got your cart full of stuff. The line is, like, winding down and back the aisle, and you're starting to feel what, you know, normal people feel. You're getting angry. You're getting frustrated. You're starting to look at your phone. You're starting to gripe to yourself, "Oh, yeah, why don't they have more people up here? Can't they see how many people are here? It's gonna take forever. I got, I got things I gotta, need to do." (babbles) Sure, you can do step one when you're in that state, grumbling and looking at your phone. You can state, "A line is gonna open up." But if you keep looking at your phone and you allow yourself to stay angry and frustrated, uh, it's not gonna happen, because your energy doesn't match what you just set in motion. See, you can state, "A line's gonna open up," but if your energy is frustration, it blocks it from happening. So you not only have to be able to stand in that line and state that, "A line is gonna open up, this is gonna get moving," but then you have to align how you feel in that moment with it actually happening. This is what I mean by mastering your energy. Researchers call this high vitality. But I want you to think about it in a common sense way, okay? So let me ask you a question. Does the energy that you're feeling right now, is it consistent with the thing that you stated actually happening? Because if it isn't consistent with the line opening up, or you finding the dress, or the quilt magically appearing, or you getting the job interview, if it's not consistent with that happening, you gotta change it. And here's how you can hack it, okay? Now, just imagine that it's happening, right? The line opens up. You find the dress. You meet someone at the event who literally works at the place that you want to have a job interview at. How are you gonna feel? How are you gonna feel when you spot that dress, the perfect Cinderella dress over on the pajama rack, like you won the lottery? How are you gonna feel when the line right next door to you opens up and three people pull out of your line, and then you scoot up in your line and magically everything's moving again? You're gonna feel freaking great. Awesome. Bring that energy to how you feel right now. I'm dead serious about this. Before you walk into the store, I want you to not only state that you're gonna find the perfect dress, I want you to feel the energy of what it's gonna feel like when you do. Before you go into the networking event, I want you to not only state that you're gonna meet the perfect person tonight that is going to help you, I want you to feel the energy of what it feels like to meet somebody who has the perfect connection for your job search. And as you're standing at the grocery store, in this line a mile long with a cart full of stuff that you need in order to get home to make for dinner, and you state that that line next door is gonna open up, I want you to summon the energy of what it will feel like when the other lane opens and things start moving again like magic. And you wanna know what's super cool, is the more that you practice this and the more that you master your energy, the faster you start going through your day-to-day life in alignment with everything that you want. See, there's a reason why so many cool and meaningful things happen in my life. I'll tell you why. Because I've figured out the secret. The secret is move through your life setting things in motion and then match your energy to be aligned with it. Act as if it's already happened. Bring that energy to it. It's not faking confidence. You're in alignment. And it takes time and it takes a little bit of practice, and I've been doing this for years. This is a superpower, and so I wanna give you a little hack that I used in the very beginning to start to build the skill of quickly mastering your energy and learning how to shift it. Very, very simple. Just listen to music, okay? Seriously, I'm, I'm... This really works like a charm. When you're done listening to this, go create a playlist that puts you in a fantastic mood. Like, I'm talking the kind of songs that no matter what is going on in the world, if this song comes on, you can't help but put a little pep in your step, you find yourself swaying. That's the kind of playlist I want. It is a mood-shifting playlist. And I want you to find about a dozen songs, and if you can't find a... Even one, even one is good enough. But if you can create a playlist that as soon as these songs come on, you can't help but feel happier, you can use this playlist to your advantage. There you are standing in line at the grocery store, pop in the earbuds, put on the playlist, shift your energy, state what you want, boom, you're in alignment. Superpowers engaged. You can play it as you're driving to the store, thinking about the dress that you are going to find. You can play it as you're going to the networking meeting, thinking about how cool it's gonna be when you meet that person who's gonna introduce you to that person and all this stuff is gonna fall in your lap. This is gonna be incredible. And as you're listening to the music and you feel your energy shift, pay attention to that shift. It feels a certain way. Because if you can create it while you're listening to the music, you can then teach yourself how to create it even if you're not listening to it.And that's what I do all the time. When I state something and I put it in motion, (snaps fingers) I master my energy, and I set that tidal wave in its direction. An energy alignment is what amplifies your success and the meaning that you're gonna feel as you're doing it. And that brings me to the third skill that pulls it all together. And the third skill is find a bigger meaning. This means that you believe that the synchronicities around you, the things that you're setting in motion are a means of guidance from something that's much bigger than you, that literally when the line at the supermarket opens up, that it's a little wink from the universe, "I see you. I'm here for you." And here's the fastest way for you to start to practice this skill of find a bigger meaning. I want you to think about somebody that you love who's no longer with us. Okay? Is there some kind of sign or confirmation that always makes you believe when you see it that they're here with you, that they are, in fact, watching over you? I'm gonna give you an example. Let's say that a hummingbird always reminds you of your mom. When a hummingbird shows up on a really important day, I want you to see that as a sign that your mom is, in fact, here. And you may have had this experience. I know a lot of people write in about this, that a loved one shows up for them in the form of an animal, or a number, or a certain song, or a flower. In fact, this just happened to me yesterday. It was our daughter Sawyer's 25th birthday, and that same colleague, Amy, she pulled her a card, and the card that she pulled had an eagle on the front of it. And an eagle has always symbolized my father-in-law, Ken. How cool. Is it a coincidence? Absolutely not. How cool that he showed up on her 25th birthday. How fricking cool. And I also want you to start practicing this on days that are not important, because that will take this skill of find a bigger meaning to a much more profound level. So let's go back to the example of your mom and a hummingbird so that I can explain this to you. I want you to say that you're gonna see a sign from your mom today, so that you set it in motion. And that brainwashes you in a positive way. It unlocks the power of your brain to help you look for it. The second thing you're gonna do is align your energy. What does that mean? That means I want you to master an energetic shift and go through the day today expecting to see it. Like, how cool is it gonna be when you see that hummingbird? Maybe you're gonna see the hummingbird in real life. Maybe you'll see one on social media. Maybe you'll see it in a magazine, or it'll be on a tattoo on the person that is working in the restaurant tonight, or maybe the restaurant tonight, their special dessert is hummingbird cake, which happens to be my father's favorite cake, which means, in my mind, he must be thinking about me right now. Hi, Dad. And when it happens, allow it to be a sign of something bigger, of a bigger meaning in your life, that a force is guiding you, whether that force is your higher self and intuition, or there's a religious connotation or a spiritual one, or a person in your life who's passed on, because this force is there, and it is guiding you. And using these three tools, you can strengthen your connection to it, not just on important days, but you can make every day feel more important because you do. And that will create more success and more meaning in your day-to-day life. You know, I can give you another example of how I have used these three skills. In 2017, when I, uh, first published my book, The 5 Second Rule, I did it as a self-published author. And there were a series of things that happened because I just didn't know. I mean, this was the first time I'd ever self-published a book. I was brand new to the publishing game. And so, you know, I had worked really hard on this, but for the first month that the book was published, (laughs) it was a complete and utter failure. I mean, like, a total disaster. I'll spare you the backstory, but basically, there was some sort of glitch in the inventory software with Amazon, and so when the hardcover book launched, it was listed, I'm not kidding, as out of stock for the first 30 days of the book launch. Just think about that. You have spent 18 months writing this book. You've spent almost a year putting together a marketing plan. You go live. You tell everybody to buy the book, and because of a glitch in Amazon's system when it goes on sale, no one can buy it. I wanted to give up. I wanted to just fold it in right there. I, I just could not believe it. But let me tell you what I did. I used the three steps that I just taught you to tap into something bigger, to brainwash myself in this moment when there was nothing but evidence around me that this was a disaster.And the first thing that I did is I kept stating what I wanted. "This is going to be a bestseller. This is going to be a bestseller. This is going to be a bestseller. This is going to be a bestseller." And then, I kept every single day, oh my God, I kept trying to master my energy to align with that goal. "Okay, let's just fast-forward a year when this is a bestseller. How are you gonna feel? Okay." And I kept tapping into it, and I would wake up every single day, and I would do step number three, "There must be something bigger going on. There has to be something bigger going on that I cannot see. There is no way that I worked this hard. I'm a good person. There's no way that this doesn't work out." I refused to believe that, and I just kept stating it. I kept stating, "'The Five Second Rule' is going to be a bestseller. Even though you can't buy the hardcover right now, 'The Five Second Rule' is going to be a bestseller. Even though I screwed up all the marketing, 'The Five Second Rule' is going to be a bestseller." For that month, I just kept on marketing the book, even though you couldn't buy it. I kept delivering my speeches. I would wake up every day, and the feelings of failure and depression and anxiety and embarrassment would be there, and I would flip on the music, and I would shake that off, and I would turn on the energy to match this belief that this book, somehow, someway, was going to be a bestseller, and I kept reminding myself, "Something bigger must be happening," and these three skills kept me going. There were no signs for 30 days straight, no hummingbirds, no eagles, no angel numbers, no nothing. But I believed something bigger must be happening, and sure enough, 30 days later, something bigger revealed itself. See, because my traditional book launch had failed, and nobody could buy the hardcover, everyone had bought the audiobook from Audible. (laughs) And a month into my book launch, using the three skills that I just explained to you to brainwash myself in the middle of a professional crisis and business disaster, I kept going. I kept waking up and moving forward. I kept acting consistently with what I had set in motion, and I learned that my audiobook had become a bestseller on Audible. And not only that, The Five Second Rule has gone on to become the most successful self-published audiobook in the history of Audible, and it also led to an unprecedented partnership that my production company, 143 Studios, has with Audible. In fact, we're in the middle of our seventh original production with Audible in less than four years, none of which would have happened had that computer system at Amazon been working properly, all of which, by the way, was meant to happen, and I set in motion. I set in motion because I stated, "It would be a bestseller." I mastered my energy and aligned it with the belief that it would, and by relentlessly reminding myself that something bigger was happening for me, and that's what kept me going. And because I kept going, it kept people going to Amazon, which kept people buying the audiobook, which I didn't even know was happening, and the rest is history. There's a totally different way to go through life, to approach your business and your career, and it begins with these three simple steps: state it, state what's going to happen and then claim it when it does, master your energy, align it with what you want and it creates a tidal wave that makes it happen, and keep finding the bigger meaning, because it's there, just waiting for you to tap into it. Your life and your mind and your spirit is conspiring to help you, and using these three steps, you can unlock all of that power inside of you to create it. And in case no one else has told you today, let me be the first person to say that I love you, and I believe in you, and I believe in your ability to not only create a better life, but to tap into this superpower and experience greater success and a much more meaningful life, too. I cannot wait to hear what you do with this one. Alrighty, I'll talk to you in a few days. And thank you so much for being here on YouTube. You know what I'm gonna set in motion right now? Please subscribe. Just take a second and subscribe. I will take that as a sign that you like what I'm doing and that you appreciate the fact that I show up here every single day with free videos to empower and inspire you, and that supports me in giving you even more incredible content to create more success and live a more meaningful life. Thank you also for sharing this with absolutely everybody that you know, because you know that this will help somebody tap into something deeper. And after you subscribe, I know you're like, "Okay, I need more, Mel," and I got something fabulous. I want you to check out Kim Russo. She is a world-famous psychic medium who personally gave me the advice that made me sell my house and move after Oakley put all this in motion. I am so grateful for her. I am grateful for this episode. I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you, how to live a life of purpose according to world-renowned psychic medium Kim Russo.

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