This all happened before I knew about The Secret, but it is an excellent example of manifesting your dreams.

Several years ago I participated in a summer music festival in Italy, and I was immediately enamored with the beauty and charm of this country. I felt like I had come home in some ways. I was able to return a second year, but had to leave early because my father fell ill. The third year, I wanted to get there anyway possible, so I asked the festival director if she needed help in the office. She said yes, and I was provided with a small stipend to help cover my travel expenses. That summer that I worked in the festival office, it became apparent to me that being the director of the festival would be my dream job. But I figured that it must have also been the director’s dream job, and who would ever quit a dream job. Nevertheless, I decided to continue an intense study of Italian, eventually becoming fluent. I got a job in PR that I really enjoyed, but I continued to think about my dream job. I had a giant poster from the festival in my office that I would look at everyday. People would see the poster and ask me about it, and I enthusiastically told them about my love of that festival and my experience there. I continued my Italian studies, and periodically people within my organization would ask me for help with translations or communication with Italian-speaking clients.

My job started to become stressful, partly because my boss was manipulative and mean, and partly because I wasn’t making very much money. My boss, by the way, was fired eventually. That could be another Secret story.

One day I came home from work, and I was thinking about how much I wanted my dream job, and how I wished the director of the festival would quit. I put on one of my favorite CDs and was lying on the floor, thinking about my dream job, when my phone rang. It was one of my friends who had been at the festival with me. She was calling to tell me that my dream job was up for grabs, and that she was going to forward me the information. She had received it in an email.

I held off until the last day possible to send in my resume, because I knew that I was going to get the job, and I was having a hard time absorbing what was happening. I had a fabulous portfolio to present, showcasing all of the talents necessary to do the job. When I interviewed, I was told that it’s almost as if you were born to do this job. A few days later, they offered me the job, and I accepted.

I have had the job for three years now. I’m at the point where I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things, though I’m not 100% sure what that would mean. I watched The Secret for the first time last weekend, and a picture of what I want is slowly starting to emerge. After watching The Secret, I realized that I have instinctively used many of the techniques outlined in various areas of my life. It is so useful to have it all put into a collection of “tools” that I can use to shape my life. I am currently taking inventories of my life, work, and relationships, and I’m collecting images for my visualization board. I just wanted to share with everyone that your thoughts and intentions are indeed powerful, and if you truly want something and are willing to put in the effort to make it happen, you will get what you want. When I look back on it now, I realize that my job in PR and Italian studies all prepared me for this dream job, and when the opportunity presented itself, I was ready.