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I recently had a conversation with my mum and brother which got me thinking about the big old concept of manifestation, a.k.a. making things happen.

It was lottery day.

Twice a week, for almost 20 years, my mum has gone out and bought a lottery ticket.

And not once has she ever won anything more than about £80. Forget the multi-million pound jackpot. She hasn’t even had a sniff of it.

And yet, she’s been sucked in. She continues to go to the shop, twice a week, and purchase a ticket for the next lottery draw. She’s bought into the fantasy, and now she’s trapped. She believes that she must buy a ticket for every draw, because (isn’t it obvious?) her numbers are bound to come out the day she doesn’t.

So, we were talking about what we’d do if we won the jackpot. What we’d buy, where we’d live, who we’d share our money with, and so on. Then my mum said something like this: “But we’ll never win. People like us never win the jackpot.”

Woah, hold the phone.

How do you expect to ever achieve anything with such a defeatist attitude?

My brother was quick to jump in, claiming that we couldn’t win the lottery simply by being hopeful, because it’s all based on luck. That may be the case, but it doesn’t mean a negative mindset is the only way to go. By thinking positively, I thought, maybe we could manifest our millions in some other way.

But how does that really work?

I’m a self-development junkie, addicted to books, blogs and podcasts. Manifestation is something I’ve heard a lot about recently. The idea is that you can attract anything you want in your life, as long as you stay positive. It’s called the Law of Attraction. In case you’ve never come across this before, it’s basically the idea that you get what you give. Like attracts like.

In other words, if you’re pessimistic, bad things will come your way.

But if you remain upbeat, you’ll be swimming in abundance.

…So what’s the catch?

It sounds intriguing, but also highly unbelievable.

Don’t get me wrong. I totally get how powerful the mind can be. After all, one of my key messages is that we can think ourselves happy. No need to stress about external circumstances. Your mind is where happiness lives.

But the concept of luring whatever we want into our lives just by thinking about it has always seemed a little too ‘out there’, even for me.

It just seems totally unrealistic to believe that wads of cash will start raining down on us if we simply wish for it to happen. Or that someone will knock on the door and offer us our dream job without us even having to send in an application.

See where I’m coming from?

Past experience tells me that wishing doesn’t always work. And I’ve made countless wishes in the past. Blowing out birthday candles. Tossing pennies into wishing wells. Searching for the night’s first star. Rubbing Budai’s belly for luck. As a child, I never doubted for a second that I could have anything I ever wanted, as long as I wished for it hard enough.

But did any of those wishes actually come true?

I’ll give you three guesses… And you’ll probably be right with the first one.

So you’ll understand why I thought for a long time that this manifesting lark was a load of baloney.

Well, all I can say is thank goodness for Robert MacPhee.

He wrote ‘Manifesting for Non-Gurus’ and I listened to an interview with him recently that made the whole manifestation thing crystal clear for me. I’m dying to share what I learnt with you so that you can put it into practice and make manifesting look easy.

(I’m afraid I can’t give you a cast-iron guarantee on winning the lottery though. You can think about it as hard as you want, but I reckon my brother was right on that score. And you’ll see why in a second.)

So how does manifestation really work?

1. Figure out what you want, beyond question (and why it’s so important).

   Before you start seeing riches and goodness ‘magically’ appear in your life, you need to know what kinds of riches and goodness you want in the first place. And to get clear on that, you need to have a good idea of who you are, what you believe in and what you value above all else.

   What are your goals, your intentions? What are your non-negotiables?

   Once you get clear on what’s important to you, you’ll know what you want and why you want it.

   And the why is just as important as the what.

   Think about that million you want in your bank account. What would it mean to you? Why do you want it?

   Is it because your dad always dreamt of becoming a millionaire?

   Is it because you grew up alongside rich kids who were always flaunting their wares and making out that they had it easy?

   Is it because you love to gawk at magazines that show pictures of Beyoncé kicking back on her private yacht and living the high life?

   Is it because being financially stable would allow you to give back (whatever that means to you)?Whatever it is, get clear on it. There’s no point reaching for a random star in the sky because someone else told you it’s the brightest. Go for the one that’s shining for you.

   Danielle LaPorte asks, “Are you trying to impress your dead ancestors, or leave your mark on the world? If your goals aren’t synced with the substance of your heart, then achieving them won’t matter much.”

   Clarity is powerful. Once you know what you want and why you want it (and you’re determined – and I mean downright, boldly determined – that it’s gonna be yours), nothing can stop you from getting it.

2. Feel the way you want to feel NOW.

   How will it feel when you see the numbers stacking up in your bank account? When that sports car’s parked in your driveway? When the man of your dreams whisks you off your feet, eyes shining and rose gripped between his teeth?

   Work out why you want that to happen. Will it make you satisfied? Relaxed? Excited?

   Start to make those feelings present in your life now.

   I’ve talked about the power of being grateful before. No matter what’s kicking off in your world, you can make the choice to dwell on the decent stuff (even if it’s utterly simple and seemingly meaningless in the grand scheme of things). Start to appreciate the things you have instead of feeling blue about the stuff that’s still out of reach.

3. Think like a winner.

   Before you can achieve anything, you need to believe that you can do it.

4. Let go.

   Say “Thanks, but no thanks” to all opinions (other people’s and your own), no matter how well-meaning.

   This is your dream and nobody else’s. Do it your way. Regardless of what anyone else might say or think, do what feels right to you.

   And stop telling yourself that you can’t do it. Remember step 3? Think like a winner. You can do anything you put your mind and heart to. You don’t have to know when it’s going to happen, or even how. Just know that it will. Let go of those stories about yourself that are holding you back and be confident that you’ll figure it out, one step at a time.

5. This is the biggie. You need to take action.

   Take tiny steps towards your dream every day. Be consistent. There’s a whole lot of truth in the stories told by successful people who claim that they spent years ‘chipping away’ with their ‘noses to the grindstone’.

   The saying ‘Good things come to those who wait’ is only partly true. You do need patience. But you also need persistence. It should be, ‘Good things come to those who do’.

   This is why the lottery thing won’t happen if you simply send positive vibes into the universe. That really is down to the luck of the draw.

   If you want something, you need the yearning and the drive to take consistent action and get it.

So there you have it. My mum might not be getting a visit from someone with a huge cheque anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get what she wants some other way.

Manifesting your desires isn’t about wishes coming true all by themselves. Desire is powerful, but the universe needs a helping hand.

So don’t just sit there, chanting the right chant, dreaming wild dreams, waiting for magic to happen.

Get out there.

Take action.

Do the best you can.

Show up in your life.

Over to you… What’s your take on manifestation? Ever had any wishes come true?