Sean Rasmussen

A few days ago a reader of this blog questioned my authority on the law of attraction. There was a statement about me “building a financial empire”. Wow! Thanks for the Manifestation! All help is appreciated. Seriously, I’m an Aussie and laugh more than I frown. That’s a quality in the part of the world I’m from. I expect that the rest of the world is the same.

My motto is:
If you beleive you will think back and laugh at it 1 year from now - You Might As Well Laugh Now !

After watching a great video on my friend Ange’s blog, I thought about this post. So, I have decided to share a part of my precious childhood with you and the influence the 2 greatest people in my life had on me. This is what I have attracted in my life so far:

Pay extra attention to the word “Expect”

When I was in my late childhood and early-mid teens, I didn’t have a lot of the “stuff” that other kids had. I’m talking materialisticly. I had a great childhood and I wouldn’t swap for the world. My parents gave me the best possible upbringing I could possibly ask for. They grew their own veggies and only bought spices, sugar, milk, soft drink, flour and (very occasionally) some mince. Dad made his own red wine and port from our own cherries and berries. I bred rabbits and that was our primary meat source. Minced rabbit, rabbit stew, roast rabbit, you name it.

OK guys! Get off the floor. Stop rolling around from laughter and start reading the post. I’m getting to a point…

When I was a teenager, my dad started to get ill. The activities and exposures a man endures working in many industries are outright criminal. His lungs were giving in and exposure to lead, heavy metals, chemicals etc took their toll. My decision to get out of the workforce was very influenced by watching the man I loved, admired and called my father slowly die over 20 years from emphysemia. I was not going to go through that.

You Want - You Earn It

My mum worked about 2 months a year and my dad stayed at home doing the other work such as the gardening, being mainly vegetables. We lived on mum’s income. We had a lifestyle that required very little money. We didn’t go without, or at least it didn’t seem that way to me. I didn’t expect any more than what I had. Most of the other kids had the toys, bikes and gadgets that I ended up getting (some of) when I had earned the money. My dad installed a work ethic in me that meant: you want something, you work for it.

We didn’t have a bathroom. The bathtub was a “tub”. Our WC was a long drop. To get hot water we had to fire up the stove and run water through copper coils in the stove (that dad built). Our heating was firewood which dad and I spent weeks on end every year collecting and chopping. We got water out of a well in the back yard. When the pump eventually died, we did it with a bucket and a rope until we had money to fix the pump. 90% of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my cousins. School excursions were normally not something I could do. Even in high school. If it had a cost attached to it, I didn’t even tell mum & dad about it. I knew they would spend the money but I knew it was needed elsewhere. The things that people take for granted as living essentials were not things that we expected.

100% Matter Of Perception

I don’t even recall other kids giving me a hard time for these things. I had some very good friends and they took me for who I was. I suppose (actually, now I know), it is 100% a matter of perception. I didn’t perceive it as something bad. Therefore no one gave me a hard time about it. If they did, I certainly didn’t notice.

As a matter of fact, it was good. Very Good! My success today very much related to what my Mum and Dad gave me: Integrity and Ethics

I never recall mum or dad ever complaining about (lack of) money or going without anything. They were very happy with their lifestyle. One of the happiest (material) moments I recall is when my dad brought home a new TV. The old black & white model had lost its picture and only had sound. All the other kids would talk about last nights TV programs on the school bus and for the 40 minute ride to school, it was the big event; talking about the TV from last night. The going joke was to ask me if I had “listened” to TV last night. It seemed like 6 – 9 months until we finally got the new TV. I knew mum & dad were getting the old one fixed. They took it away and I waited at home until they got back. Dad took it into the lounge and switched it on. I sat for about ½ an hour watching it, glued to the screen (literally).

That’s when dad turned on the colour. He had deliberately turned it down to black and white to tease me. He turned the colour on and that was definitely a Kodak Moment for my parents. My jaw dropped and I was the happiest kid in the universe at that time!

My Dad literally had to peel me off the TV that night.

It was such a happy moment for me I have tears in my eyes from thinking about it. The thing is that I didn’t expect a colour TV. All the other kids had one and still I didn’t even contemplate getting one. That would have been a big chunk of their savings at that time. And the look on my face would have made that a worthwhile investment for them. Having kids myself, I know what a parent feels like on occasions like that.

Don’t Talk About Money

Money was something we didn’t talk about in public. Mum and Dad bought a house and paid it off in about 6 - 7 years. They were never totally comfortable until the bank had no hold over house. They both grew up during the 2nd world war in occupied territory. They had seen some pretty bad stuff (from both sides). There were good and bad guys on both sides. They had seen the government reset mortgages and people dying from malnutrition. They grew up with recent history of entire families of children wiped out from disease such as the flu. (My great grandmother was the sole survivor of 5 kids when the flu hit Copenhagen. She was sent to the country being the youngest and weakest of 5 kids. She returned home later that year an only child)

Mind you. I only know these stories because they have been told once or twice. The bad things are rarely told in public. Money was definitely kept quiet.

Don’t Expect? - Don’t Get!

Many of us are brought up to be modest about any success we have. Money is (perceived as) bad. “Keep your financial situation to your self” – people say. “Don’t tell anyone you’ve got money, else they might take it away” – seems to be the story. These stories originate from several generations of our forefathers (and foremothers) that experienced these things in the past and have passed on their beliefs to us.

I had to break that mould. I know, in life you only get what you expect. Don’t expect – don’t get. It’s as simple as that.

I went totally against everything my upbringing (school and society) had taught me when I posted my personal success story in a public forum in 2005 and made it publicly available online. It scared the **** out of me. I still did it. Now I get emails almost every week from someone that was inspired by those few words.

Success stories are important. My story wasn’t a great deal. It was simply the words of someone inspired at the time. That was the day I changed my Expectations of Life. The story means more to me than anyone possibly can expect. I now know what is possible and what I deserve out of life. The same as everyone else. I hope to make as many people realise this as possible.

If you don’t expect (i.e. you don’t believe) then surely you won’t be getting it because you won’t be actively chasing it or making any effort to achieve it.

That’s why I expect to live a much longer life that anyone that expects to live a normal lifespan. I know I have to expect it to truly get it. I’m not planning to switch off my Life-Clock at 70 - 80 or 90. No way! I expect to go to 100 and beyond! I owe it to the world to give as much as I can and that can only be done in MANY years!

Expect and you shall receive

1000 quiet achievers won’t inspire anyone. 1 public one will. Imagine what would happen if 10% share their spiritual success, the growth of their confidence, their renewed outlook on life…. The list of success stories is endless. Money is just one success and it’s also only a tool to achieve success with.

So, The Law Of Attraction does work. But don’t expect it to do the work for you. You use it like a tool - a tool that is used through Taking Action and loving life!

I was brought into this life by 2 beautiful people. I’m sure I would have expected that. My parents are everything to me and without them I would’ve been nothing…

Appreciate the people around you and most of all: Tell Your Parents You Love Them

It’s (almost) Biblical: Expect and you shall receive

Have a most outstanding day!

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 - 2008

Niels Rasmussen 1930 - 2001 R.I.P.  I love you Dad