“The first English coffeehouse, named Angel, was established in Oxford, by a certain Jewish entrepreneur named Jacob, in 1650. Brian Cowan argues that Oxford coffeehouses developed into “penny universities“, offering a locus of learning that was less formal than structured institutions. These penny universities occupied a significant position in Oxford academic life, as they were frequented by virtuosi, who conducted their research on the premises. According to Cowan, “the coffeehouse was a place for like-minded scholars to congregate, to read, as well as learn from and to debate with each other, but was emphatically not a university institution, and the discourse there was of a far different order than any university tutorial.”^[59]

“Although coffee had been known in France since the 1640s, it was Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli – François Procope – who established the first café in Paris, the Café Procope, in 1686. Although it took coffee a while to become popular, by the 1720s there were around 400 cafés in the city. The Café Procope in particular became a centre of Enlightenment, welcoming such names as Voltaire and Rousseau, and later on,Marat, Hébert and Camille Desmoulins during the Revolution. The Café Procope was also where Diderot and D’Alembert decided to create the Encyclopédie.^[60]

“Like the coffeehouse in England, the café in France was a varied affaire. If the Café Procope represented a high class institution, on the end of the spectrum, Louis Sebastien Mercier described an affiliation between cafés and prostitution: using prostitutes, army recruiters would lure young unsuspecting men into cafés, where they would then be forced or otherwise tricked into joining up.^[61] The general trend in Parisian cafés across the 18th century was popularization, helped by lower coffee prices.^[62] Indeed, Mercier wrote towards the end of the 18th century that “it is no longer decent to stay in a café, because it announces a dearth of acquaintances and an absolute void of good society”, although he was probably referring to the majority of cafés rather than every café.^[63]

“The cafés earned their place in the public sphere due to the conversation that took place within them. Robert Darnton in particular has studied Parisian café conversation in great detail. He describes how the cafés were one of the various “nerve centers” for bruits publics, public noise or rumour. These bruits were allegedly a much better source of information than were the actual newspapers available at the time.^{[
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment#cite_note-63">64] “}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment

Since The Secret many people have become familiar with The Law of Attraction - whatever is broadcast out into the universe is joined by (or attracted to) energies of an equal frequency, resonance, or vibration.  The Law of Attraction alerts us to the importance of raising our vibration and keeping a positive minset.  However, it is The  Law of Deliberate Creation that will enable us to attain the things we desire.

 The Law of Deliberate Creation: That which I give thought to, I begin to attract. What I give thought to with emotion, I attract more quickly.  This is where visualization comes in.  Running mental movies of your goals and dreams and bringing in the thoughts and feelings you will feel once you are experiencing their manifestation.

How does this differ from the Law of Attraction?

The difference between the Law of Attraction and the Law of Deliberate Creation is that, The Law of Attraction works whether we want it to or not. It’s like a boomerang. Whatever we give out  (feelings and thoughts, etc) we will receive back to us.  The Law of Deliberate Creation, on the other hand is the conscious offering of a thought or vibration.  It’s a deliberate act rather than one that occurs without you realizing what you’re sending out.

For example, if you are witnessing something that makes you happy, you are raising your vibration and you will then vibrate happiness. On the other hand, if you witness something that makes you angry, you will offer that same negative vibration.

The Law of Attraction responds to whatever you are sending out and gives you more of the same.  For example, when you are happy, your vibration is raised.  If you are angry, your vibration will be low.  That’s why when one thing goes wrong and you react with anger, a chain of like events is set in motion and things go from bad to worse until you send out a different signal.  This is how some people seem to lead lives of quiet desperation.   They have never learned how to change their emotional response to external events.

Some people, when they owe money see their situation as impossible.  They focus on their bills, they worry and live in fear.  The result?   More bills. 

 This is because The Law of Attraction is responding to the “I am in debt” vibration and can only respond by delivering  more of the same.

When you use The Law of Deliberate Creation to raise your vibration and send out the thoughts and feelings that match the reality you wish to create the Law of Attraction has no other recourse than to do your bidding.

So you see, the Law of Attraction can work for you and against you. Once you understand the Law Of Deliberate Creation and you become aware of how  these laws work together and affect each other you can really become the architect of your own magnificent life.

What would you do if a stranger offered you an opportunity that promised a big return on a tiny investment?

Two years ago Debbie Loughnane received such an offer from a stranger in the USA.  Today she is so grateful that she had the courage to accept it.

At the time Debbie was doing her best to create a dream lifestyle for her family.  She had combined her love of fashion with her skills as a makeup artist and image consultant and was operating two boutiques in country Victoria.

Frankly, she was struggling.  Opening a second shop had just doubled the stress and the operating expenses.  She felt boxed in by the retail environment and missed the buzz of meeting people she had loved so much in her former work as an aerobics instructor.

But she never lost hope and was always on the lookout for a great opportunity.

Deb understood the concept of Leverage and knew she needed to find a more effective vehicle that would enable her to maximize her efforts to be able to manifest her dream lifestyle.

So when she received an unsolicited email from Christy Dreilling, an unknown woman from a small town in the United States, telling her about a company she had never heard of that was about to launch an anti-ageing skincare range in Australia, she had a decision to make.  She could either dismiss it as an offer too-good-to-be-true that would probably amount to nothing or she could seize the opportunity and run with it.

It was an easy decision.  Debbie had recognized that the Universe was responding to her search for something that could leverage her time and reward her for her drive and dedication.  The beautifully packaged products ticked all the boxes – premium Swiss skincare, made with botanical, vegan ingredients, free from animal products and not tested on animals.  And the Company’s success was built on rewarding consultants with roses, jewellery, exotic vacations and white Mercedes.

So, without wasting any time, she chose to run with the offer and become the first consultant in Australia – a scary choice considering she did not have anyone close by to turn to for help.  On her intrepid journey she was grateful to have such a dynamic leader in Christy and copied everything Christy had done to get the same results.

Even though she didn’t have the kind of support that her own team now benefits from every day, Debbie had real determination.  And while at times it was like she was hacking a path through the jungle with a machete, within four months her new business was turning over more than her boutiques, and within 12 months she was presented with her very own brand new white Mercedes – a gift for qualifying as a Regional Vice-President.

Along with this recognition, her monthly cheques grew exponentially and today she makes more money in one month than many top executives – with a lot less stress.

From her home office Debbie now has an organization of XXX consultants.  Two of her team are already driving their own white Mercedes, one will qualify this month and XX others are on course to get theirs by the end of this year.

When asked to describe the opportunity in a nutshell, Debbie says “What could be better than sharing these amazing products with beautiful women every day?  You can choose to work part-time hours and get paid like a full-timer or work full-time hours to get paid like a CEO.”

Debbie said now is the perfect time to run with this opportunity.  “There are so many more benefits today than there were just two years ago.  Qualification levels have been reduced by 20% for a short time, a brand new range of cosmetics has just been released and the new RE9 Advanced skincare is returning visible results within 24 hours.

The makeup is getting rave reviews.  Vogue and other top tier Fashion & Beauty magazines have written unpaid editorials in praise of the light-reflective cosmetics.  Celebrity makeup artist Chris King is blown away by the products, calling them “the most comprehensive range of cosmetics I have seen in my 30-year career.”  Chris, whose clients include Nicole Kidman, Sarah Murdoch and Naomi Watts, said the products should appear on A Current Affair so that every woman in Australia could learn about them.

When the range was introduced in April 2010, Debbie could hardly contain her enthusiasm, “I am so delighted with these cosmetics.  The packaging resembles Channel and every preference is covered with foundation, mineral makeup, tinted moisturizer, translucent powder and bronzer.  Everyone loves the makeup primer and the lipsticks and polishes are stunning

“With the launch of these cosmetics we offer the complete package – awesome skincare with clinically proven results and beautiful colours that go on that flawless canvas to make every woman look like a cover girl.”

This month, Debbie is in qualification for National Vice-President, which means a bigger car allowance, a greater monthly override cheque and the beginning of scaling down her hours to spend more time with her family.  Residual income every month means she will be paid even when she stops working.  “My pension fund is growing every day.”

Not bad for two years hard work.  And, a million miles away from where she would have been today had she not said “YES!” when Life offered her a magical opportunity that has enabled her to make more money than she had dreamed of, holiday in exotic locations four times a year and help transform the lives of hundreds of women throughout Australia.

Are you new to internet marketing and wondering why there’s no traffic coming to your websites? You’ve set up a great shopfront yet until you complete your marketing, the reality will be no different to having a brochure in the sky.  When someone goes to Google and types in your keywords, Google’s search engines will look for links to sites with those keywords and then rate them in order of popularity.  So a site’s Google rating depends partly on the number of links leading to it.

How do you get backlinks?  Anytime somebody makes a link to one of your products, services or articles that counts as a backlink to your site.  You can also create your own backlinks through articles, forums, blogs and social media sites.  This is why having a fan page on your Facebook account is a great idea.  Through your fan page you can send people to your website(s) and it’s a great way to get a lot of traffic in a short time.

However, not all backlinks are equal.  The bigger, more reputable the site that links back to yours, the more clout the link carries.  So if you can get your product mentioned on highly-ranked sites, your Google rating will improve.

Put some real effort into creating some good strong backlinks and you will find your online presence and your reputation will grow.  Not only that, you’ll attract more prospects and be more likely to convert them into repeat clients.

We can help you with backlinks to your site.  Contact me directly for more details.

These last few weeks I’ve been fortunate indeed to spend time with Arbonne Executive Regional Vice President, Debbie Loughnane.  Debbie was one of the very first Arbonne consultants in Australia.

Less than three years ago Christy Dreilling, US-based Executive National Vice-President with Arbonne contacted Deb, who was then an Image Consultant, and showed her the benefits of building an Arbonne business.  Deb immediately saw the big picture and seized the opportunity.

But it wasn’t easy.  After Christy’s initial visit to launch Deb’s business, Deb struggled to find her way, as she set up her own systems to teach her team, organized and conducted team trainings and pretty much flew blind.  Incredibly, she managed to duplicate Christy’s success, earning comparable monthly cheques and being the first Regional Vice-President in Australia to be presented with her white Mercedes –  all in less than 12-months!

And, most impressively, she managed to grow into the leader she needed to become to be equipped to help others do the same. She succeeded in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  The image that comes to mind is forging a pathway through the Amazon jungle with a machete.  But forge a path, she did, pioneering the way for those who followed.

Now Deb has the strongest team in Australia, attracting beautiful women (and amazing men) with big hearts whose focus is on helping others achieve the same success that she now has.  Oh – almost forgot to mention –  who are creating massive organizations with mind-blowing multiple streams of income.

What has impressed me so much about Debbie’s amazing team is this – everyone expects and achieves success.  At the end of the month when there are targets to reach in order to progress to the next level, all teams get behind their leaders to lift them up.  Support goes both ways in Deb’s organization.  And she is a shining example of self-less leadership, taking all those who are prepared to do the work on a journey to become the best they can be.

To learn how YOU can share in the incredible Arbonne success,  please visit my Arbonne website or jot me a line – susancharlton@arbonne.com.au

You know you really do have control over your life.  Your thoughts create your reality.  If you want to change your life, just change your mind.

Even apparently insurmountable obstacles like illness can be overcome.  In the movie “The Secret” a woman with cancer was told by her physician that she would need a mastectomy. She did not immediately go into surgery, instead she chose to focus on her healing, mentally saying “Thank you for my healing” over and over.  She watched movies that made her laugh, and filled her life with the vibration of love and hope.  Her doctor was astounded during her next appointment to discover that the cancer was completely gone.

What if the illness is not your own? Perhaps you have a sick child or parent?  You can help them too, by changing the way you feel about them.

Dr Ihaleakala Hew Len, working at the Hawaii State Hospital with the criminally insane, managed to effect change in apparently hopeless cases simply by taking the files of patients and saying over and over again “I’m sorry, please forgive me, I love you.  Thank You.”  He did this for three years and the entire culture of the hospital changed.  Dr Hew Len teaches that we are all 100% responsible for everything that happens in our life.  He doesn’t mean it’s our fault, just that if it has come into our reality it’s our responsibility.  This is a good thing, because we have the ability to “clean” whatever it is in us that has caused this thing to come into our reality.  Read my earlier post Guilt – The Silent Killer for more information on this case.

I love this.  It means I have 100% responsibility for my life.  I can attract good things by having good thoughts and I can transmute challenges by cleaning on my fears, doubts and beliefs.  Check out this amazing video, which beautifully illustrates what I mean.

There is a lot of information around about the importance of mindset.  If you want to make a million you need  to think like a millionaire.   One thing we don’t see a lot about is the absolute importance of diet in relation to health and success.  There is so much conflicting information out there about what to eat that it’s difficult to be confident about whether you have it right or not.

It’s really not that difficult.  For a really healthy diet that creates a strong sense of wellbeing you will need to ensure that your system is more alkaline than acid.  Alkaline-rich foods are mostly the things we’ve been taught are good for us, although there are some surprises in the list.

Just know this – cancer and other degenerative diseases survive best in an acidic environment.  And health, vitality and positive mental attitude thrive in an alkaline environment.  Click on the chart left for your own resource.

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Thank you so much for your support.  It’s always great to get feedback and we’ve been getting some heartening comments lately.  If you have any doubts at all that the Law of Abundance is real, then put them out of your mind forever and remember what Shakespeare has to say on the subject:

Well he should know.  I’m so familiar with this quote – my Mum has been telling me this for years

Here’s someone else who knows, Albert Grande wrote from his dream home in Hawaii yesterday commenting on my post Your Thoughts Create Your World – Think Happy Thoughts .  Thank you for your feedback Albert.

Great post. I firmly believe that you create your own reality. What you think becomes reality for you. I know this works. I have had magic in my own life as a result of this kind of thinking. For example a number of years ago I started thinking about wanting to live in Hawaii. Well here I am in Hawaii. Then I started to think about getting a house on the beach. Before long I was living on a beach house on the north Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. Since then I have had other amazing events which continue to become part of my life. Live it. Know it. Believe it.

Thanks for this great post. With infinite abundance, in Hawaii,
albert grande

So put away your doubts and have faith that your dreams WILL come true if you believe in them.

We all know the old addage – If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always had.  After I did the Money & You seminar back in 1989 they sent me a postcard of one of their flipcharts:  ”For things to change, 1st I must change”.  I still have this on my desk today and it’s the mantra I’ve lived by since.

I’m currently in training for the Mount Beauty Half Marathon which will take place in Mount Beauty on 23 May. I set the goal on 4 January and started right away. Since I haven’t actually run for years I had to begin with tiny baby steps. A neighbour of ours and former Olympian told me to start with an easy shuffle to protect my joints in the early days.  So I walked 400 steps and then shuffled 50 steps on my first outing, gradually increasing the running steps and decreasing the walking steps.  By the end of that first week I was shuffling 400 steps and walking 50 steps.  After six weeks I felt really great.  I’d dropped a few kilos, was increasing my longest run each week to the point I was up to about 60 minutes of shuffling.  The problem was I was moving at snail’s pace and even though I was feeling fit, my legs just wouldn’t go any faster.

If something didn’t change, my half-marathon might take me three hours!

Then we had a visitor – Barry Cook – a lovely old-fashioned gentleman and a former professional runner. Barry was interested to hear my story and gave me a tip.  He said it was a simple thing to increase my speed. All I had to do was add one speed session every week and make sure I had three days rest before race day. For the speed session I had to warm up for 1km, then run 2km as fast as I could, then recover the next 1km, increase for the next one, and finish  the last 1km as fast as I could.  I did as he said and then rested for the remainder of the week.

Today I competed in the Nail Can Hill Run and after doing only one speed session I noticed a great increase in my pace.  Barry’s advice took me from a long hard slog jogger to finishing 12th in my age group and 119th female in a mixed race with 1700+ starters.

So what’s my point? A few words from a mentor who has done what you are endeavouring to do will have a big impact on your results if you take the time to incorporate their suggestions into your business strategy.