I had just gone through a painful divorce and was living in a space of lack, loss and grief. I had lost everything, my partner, my home, my pets, my financial security and even my identity. For months all I could focus on was everything that I had lost.

I was living in Johannesburg at the time and needed to travel for work to a coastal city a short flight away. I decided to stop by the beach one day and stood looking out at the ocean just enjoying the view. I was thinking about how nice it would be to live by the sea, when it suddenly occurred to me. Why don’t I live by the sea? I had been focussing so much on loss, I hadn’t realized how much I had gained. Namely, complete freedom. I didn’t need to pay a mortgage, I wasn’t stuck living where I was, I had no obligations to any person or pet. I was completely free.

So the next question I asked myself was, “If you’re completely free then what is it that you really want?” I had known and worked with The Secret for years so I knew exactly where to turn for some inspiration. I watched the film again and again until I could generate that happy feeling. I designed a digital vision board of all the things I could think of that made me feel really happy and excited about my life.

The next Monday I went into work and met with my manager. I was honest and I said that I had realized I wanted at least one of three things out of my work, namely:

1. To work in a bigger and more challenging role that I could be proud of;
2. To live near the ocean; and
3. That would allow me to travel internationally.

I asked her if she thought my current job or company could give me any of these things, and she politely said no. I said, “That’s okay, just know I’m out looking for them.”

I put my resume out there while continuing to put my best in at my current job. At first, it wasn’t so easy. In fact, many good opportunities seemed to slip right through my fingers. One of them I was really disappointed about, they said they could no longer consider me because they had to look at local candidates and I was too far away in another city.

After two months I was feeling discouraged, so I went within and asked myself  “Do you really believe you deserve this?” I had to admit I wondered if I was powerful enough to manifest it. So I turned to my inspiration again, and I reminded myself that I am bigger than my job, bigger than my circumstances, and I deserved to have whatever it is that I am wanting. Then I went back out there, more confident than before.

Within two weeks I got a call from the company who had withdrawn before, the one that I was so disappointed about losing. They said that they had been thinking about my application and although I was living in a different city, I seemed so perfect for the job that they still wanted to interview me. The interview process wasn’t easy but I felt good about it. Then just a few months after I set my intention out there, my whole life changed.

When the company contacted me, they not only told me that I had gotten the job, they also offered me more than what I had asked for and that was my stretch number. They informed me that they would be offering me a relocation package so that I could move to their offices near the coast in the city of Cape Town. The relocation package was more than I could have dreamed of! Not only did it cover an amazing road trip with my best friend down to my new city, it included all the packing, removal, and assistance I needed. It even left me with plenty leftover to refurnish my new apartment and start saving in an investment account at the exact same time that I had paid off all my debt from my divorce.

One week after starting my new job in a bigger and more challenging role at a large international company, I got an email from my new manager to ask if I can travel to the United States the very next month. That was just one of the four international trips I took over the next year! On one of them, I got upgraded to business class, another wish ticked off the list.

When I made my wish, I was just asking for one of those three things. I never expected to get all three, let alone so easily and simply. And I got so much more than I had ever bargained for. It made me realize that not only can your dreams come true, but that if you believe you deserve it, sometimes what comes true is bigger than you could have ever dreamed of.

I say this two years into living in Cape Town and just months before my marriage to the most wonderful man. He is even more than I asked for on my list I wrote of all the qualities that I wanted in a partner. Of course, I used The Secret to attract that too!

Every time I’m not feeling good, or out of alignment, I go back to The Secret because I know it works. Every. Single. Time. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!