A few weeks ago, I updated the inspirational-message board that hangs on the inside of my front door. It now reads:
Happiness
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Manifestations
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Intentions
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Desires
The brief outline serves as a reminder to invert my expectations about achieving or getting happiness. We almost always think of happiness as existing at a distant point beyond initial desires, intentions, and finally - manifestations. The irony, of course, is that such a model really prevents you from ever becoming happy since happiness is forever connected to some outcome or goal. (Even once you've reached the goal, another replaces it.)
I decided to really start implementing the "Happiness First" model of living life after a strange but uplifting encounter with an old friend. I was visiting my hometown about one month ago and decided to stop in at a café. Inside, I ran into the friend. We had a brief conversation before parting ways. On his way out the door, quite unexpectedly, he looked at me with a sense of directness and said,
"Remember: If you want to be happy, just be happy."
Seems obvious enough, right? Most of us would agree that this simple statement contains profound truth. Yet, in this moment, I reached a new level of understanding about the meaning of "accept happiness now." There are likely many more similar realizations to come. 
Happiness and The Law of Attraction
Much of my writing in the last few weeks has attempted to explain and interpret The Law of Attraction and the intention-manifestation model. These are great tools for inviting positive change into your life partly because they help clarify dreams and partly because they offer a taste or preview of those dreams today. This last component, I believe, is essential.
As a recent visitor expressed in his comment, we must improve our lives and situations from a position of strength. In other words, we must be happy now if we expect to be happy later after achieving a goal or reaching an objective.
I've titled this article "Manifest Your Dreams Today" to point out the real power each of us has to create what we want right now - to be happy right now. This is what The Law of Attraction and intention-manifestation is really about: creating a link between the present moment and our future desires.
The classic example for intention-manifestation is a new car. Let's suppose you want to manifest a new car into your life. That is your dream. If you want to manifest your dream today, you can do so at anytime. Of course, there's always visualization: Sit back and visualize the car you really want to have. See yourself driving it, feeling good, and looking good. Really focus on the feeling the new car brings into your life.
You may very well wish to have a new car. That can be part of your dream(s). But, in my view, the thing you really want is the feeling the new car will bring - the happiness it will deliver into your life. A big part of this is also having a sense of control. By getting the new car and experiencing the positive feelings, you will feel a sense of control in your life - a satisfying and empowering place to be.
My question is:
· Why wait until the new car arrives to start feeling good?
· Why put yourself in a position where you're always living at Point A and only allowing happiness to exist at Point B?
In a discussion about this concept last night, my girlfriend made an excellent point: Why not conceive of a path in terms of Point A, B, and C - where A is your point of departure, B your current position, and C your destination. At least that model illustrates some process or consistent growth.
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