The 10 Commandments of Prosperity

By Cary Bayer
May 29, 2009

The 10 Commandments of Prosperity

By Cary Bayer
May 29, 2009

When asked by massage therapists how to attract prosperity, I give them the 10 Commandments of Prosperity:

  1. Thou shalt do work thou lovest, letting others prosper thee.
  2. Thou shalt awaken prosperity consciousness.
  3. Thou shalt save a tenth of thy net income.
  4. Thou shalt keep a Success Journal.
  5. Thou shalt enliven enthusiasm.
  6. Thou shalt financially support God's work.
  7. Thou shalt get out of debt quickly.
  8. Thou shalt invest in well-managed companies whose products and services thou likest, then hold long term.
  9. Thou shalt forgive everyone.
  10. Thou shalt pay bills promptly.

1. Thou shalt do work thou lovest, letting others prosper thee. As a massage therapist, you've mastered half of this commandment. You focus on filling your appointment book, but why not fill other massage therapists' books, too, by allowing one or more to work for you? Expansive thinking invites prosperity.

2. Thou shalt awaken prosperity consciousness. Gandhi said, "Everyone who will, can hear the Voice. It is within everyone, but like everything else, it requires previous and definite preparation." Believing consciously that if you do what you love, money will follow is different from believing unconsciously that when you do what you love, bankruptcy will follow. One excellent preparation uses affirmations. One for massage therapists is:

"As a massage therapist, I revitalize the world and prosper." Write the affirmation, the negative response that emerges from the unconscious, and a new affirmation to overcome that response. Suppose the resistance is, "I may revitalize people, but my bank account needs revitalization;" counter with, "I'm now willing to have my bank account revitalized while I revitalize others."

Writing your doubts releases them. The new affirmation creates an expanded viewpoint. Write affirmations 10 times daily for a month, then say them 10 times daily, with feeling, until their truths manifest.

3. Thou shalt save a tenth of thy net income. Deposit at least 10 percent of your net income into various savings accounts linked to your checking account. I once had 13 savings accounts: for home improvement, consumer electronics, vacation, house down payment, investing, etc. Open one for advanced massage training.

4. Thou shalt keep a Success Journal. Olympic champs visualize winning performances, as do business leaders. Massage therapists can empower consciousness by recording daily successes - a client gained, a present received, etc. On days where "everything went wrong," look harder. Do this before bed for two minutes.

5. Thou shalt enliven enthusiasm. Many successful leaders have had more adventures with the mirror than Alice in Wonderland. Speak energetically to your reflection in the mirror; say the word "enthusiasm." Don't mind feeling foolish; self-consciousness gives way to excited consciousness and higher vibrations that attract clients. The English word enthusiasm comes from the Greek word, entheos, meaning a god within.

6. Thou shalt financially support God's work. Tithing, or giving 10 percent of your income to your Higher Power or Universe, is among the most powerful prospering practices around. It began with Old Testament patriarchs and has been used by millions to attract millions. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were extremely wealthy, knowing God as their financial sources. The Bible says: "Thou shalt remember Jehovah, thy God, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth," (Deuteronomy, 8:18); Jacob said of tithing: "Of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee," (Genesis, 28:20); If giving away 10 percent terrifies you so that you're afraid to try it, start with one percent and work your way up. Tithe to your church or spiritual organization; if you do not have one, tithe to a charitable organization of your choosing.

7. Thou shalt get out of debt quickly. Since debt debilitates the human spirit, get out of it as fast as possible, and before investing. Stock markets yield 10 percent averages yearly, while debt costs are much higher - sometimes as much as 22 percent. Recording cash expenditures for 30 days is the start of a spending plan, which gives clear pictures of how you want to allocate financial resources. It helps see the relationship between money coming in and going out, which lets you know when you can be free of debt. If you spend more than you bring in, you have three choices: increase income, decrease spending, or both.

8. Thou shalt buy shares in well-managed companies whose products and services thou likest, then hold for the long term. Why settle for receiving income only from massages when you can make money by letting your money work? That's the principle behind letting your principal earn interest. Unfortunately, interest today isn't too interesting. Stock markets have averaged annual 10 percent returns.

9. Thou shalt forgive everyone. For all its excellence, the Wall Street Journal fails to inform readers that forgiveness is among one of the fastest ways to prosper. The following three-part completion letter "completes" you with someone you hold strong unresolved emotions toward.

a) Write the person a letter you will never send. Communicate how you feel about the horrible things the person did or said. Don't censor your language. Release toxic feelings in your body that damage your health. You'll lift a great weight from your shoulders and a heavy burden from your heart.

b) In a second letter (also not sent), look for the silver lining in the cruelty, and discover what you learned and how you grew from what this person - the "villain" - did.

c) The third letter integrates the earlier letters, and should be sent because you'll have released venom in the first letter and realized what you learned or how you grew from the pain described in letter two. This leaves you healthy, wise and detached to express pain in a way that can be heard. Describe the pain and how you feel about it. (Avoid saying, "You hurt me.") Then describe what you learned from what happened, and how you grew from it; this frees you to express your gratitude for the person's role in inspiring your growth. Have a therapist or coach look at the letter before sending. Then, watch as new clients and unexpected income flow.

10. Thou shalt pay thy bills promptly. Do this, and you don't have any bills to pay - a liberating feeling. The longer you procrastinate, the longer you worry about bills. Go for freedom, not struggle.