I admit it. I talked to myself.

Luckily I was alone when I did it, or I'm sure they'd have thrown old net over me.

I wasn't even sure it would work, but I did it anyway.

It was nothing fancy, just two sentences I repeated, day in and day out.

The first sentence was, "I am a lot more creative than I ever imagined."

The second was, "I have an unlimited number of creative ideas in my subconscious."

Two simple sentences.

So what happened?

At 50 years old I've been given a second chance.

I've gone from throwing in towel and preparing to lead what Walden called a life of quiet desperation, to making my living as a writer.

I can work from anywhere.

I make money doing something I love.

If autosuggestion isn't powerful, I don't know what is.

It's changed my life.

Down in that treasure chest also lurks some of your lost potential from childhood, things you could have done; ways you could have developed if only things had been different. Those are ones that need to be rubbed and polished. They look dingy in bottom of treasure chest. Take them out and buff them with a cloth. Then you can begin to see how you can reinvent yourself. It may be too late to become an Olympic Athlete or a movie star or even President of United States, but it isn't too late to get that body in shape, lift some weights or ride a bicycle. It's not too late to get active in local politics or to join a theatrical group, or rent fine old movies. Maybe you will have to hold up some of those jewels to light and look at them from different angles. Finding what is precious about our selves takes time and effort. We don't always see at first glance how we can reintegrate and develop our strengths, talents, and lost potential into a person who is able to achieve positive states of being again and again.

Recognizing that your own treasure chest of positive memories and capacities are more precious to you than any winnings is what THE ENCHANTED SELF is all about. When we begin to acknowledge that we ourselves are our own messengers of enchantment, then we can begin to brighten our lives and lives around us.