Thank you for visiting Baloani, which I hope will prove to be a great point of reference for your personal philosophical
and spiritual journey.
My name is Paul Becque. When I first dated my wife, she called me Beqster, and the name has stuck! Now my friends and work colleagues use it too.
Since I was a child I wanted to know what life is all about. Consequently, I’ve studied many different beliefs and kept an open mind.
Buddhism and Taoism have been very inspirational for me. And, more recently, “The Secret” and our growing knowledge of quantum physics has taken me to an even deeper level of commitment to my discoveries. “Baloani” is simply a video diary of my journey and a reference point for anyone that resonates with my exploration.
Blog week 14 -
Pretending that you are already where you want to be, “acting as if” you couldn’t fail is a very powerful tool for filling your brain with emotions and images of the life you expect to live.
There are loads of examples in Jack Canfield’s “Success Principles” and Mike Dooley’s “Infinite Possibilities” on how to do this, and both authors share their own experiences too... ideas about having parties where everyone pretends that they are living the life they expect to be enjoying in five years time, talking with friends and family about the car they are driving, the house they are living in, the helicopter they have just bought, the movie they made with Steven Spielberg, the new book they have just written, the job that they “currently” have. And it should be fun, not hard work, not embarrassing, but fun, a good laugh. Really imagine how this dream life would feel if you were living it now.
Each week I talk to more and more friends and work colleagues about this project
and there are now more people around me that are relating to the “Law of Attraction”
than ever before... so it’s going to be easy for me to have a dinner party with four
friends, that want to “pretend” with me. And remember, this exercise, this living-
There are also ways of “pretending” that you are already where you want to be, which you can buy. For example, when we flew to Spain a couple of weeks ago to visit my Mum, we used a budget airline, but we paid for the wider seats, a meal, a bottle of champagne each and for use of the airport lounge... this gave us the feeling of travelling First Class without the great expense.
And when we returned, because of the problems with the Icelandic ash cloud, we were forced to make alternative arrangements, and travelled on the train to Madrid, First Class. Again we enjoyed wine and a meal, much wider seats, and use of the station lounge. Not only was it fun, it felt great and it was far more comfortable... ooooh, to be able to do that whenever we travel!
I’m gonna put a warning here though! Yes, a WARNING!!! As I shared with you in week 12, whilst I was attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, I lived like I was a movie star... but I wasn’t! And I couldn’t sustain the expenditure of champagne, helicopters and limousines. Within a few months, I was broke! So remember, this is a fun exercise, and now and again, it’s great to “splurge”... go First Class, buy champagne, take your partner for dinner, get those expensive shoes... but don’t do it every day, don’t go beyond your current financial limitations... find a balance!
Hey, if it’s a pair of shoes you’re desperate to buy and you think it’ll make you “feel” closer to your success, put a picture on the wall, save for a few weeks, then buy ‘em... and you’ll be getting your money’s worth, because you will have been visualising as well as living “as if” you’d already arrived. But when it comes to spending money, will that make a difference? Could you do it for FREE? Dress up, FEEL different, but don’t necessarily spend a fortune... That will come in time!
Here’s a good word of advice from Mike Dooley regarding the “splurge”!
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Because this blog is about sharing my journey, rather than teaching, I’d like to relate a couple more examples with you, of my experiences of “pretending” to already be enjoying the life of my dreams.
My wife and I both love the idea of living in the quintessentially British village of Amersham, we frequently live “as if” by visiting it, shopping there and enjoying lunch or dinner at a restaurant. More recently, we found that the nearby DeVere hotel, offers subscribers to it’s newsletter, rooms for as little as £19 per night, when they are quiet. Sweeeeet!
On our most recent visit, not only did we learn about upgrades to the posh suites for an additional £15 a night, but we found that we could check out at 2pm for just another £5. What a great deal! Feel free to sign up.
The day we left the hotel, it was a beautiful snowy-
Whilst having lunch, more snow fell, and we thought it would be smart to enjoy a
long walk, take a look at the houses, explore some more of the village and let the
traffic melt the snow on the roads. Well, the snow didn’t stop falling. And it got
worse! When we tried to got home, it took more than an hour to go a mile! So we decided
the “splurge” and enjoy our dream life. We booked into a beautiful Tudor-
Here’s another good example of what you can do, and what you don’t want to do! On my list of wants is the Porsche Cayenne, a very sexy car in my eyes. If I went out a bought it today, I’d be broke! If I went out and leased one, I’d struggle to make the repayments... so I don’t. But what I can do, is cut out pictures, join the Facebook page for updates, visit a showroom, organise a test drive, rent one for the day, or even a week. All affordable options, as opposed to buying one today. Be cool!
Understandably, we signed up for the newsletter, and we’ve already been to the hotel on a number of occasions. It’s great for several reasons...
1) It’s only a few miles from Amersham so we can drive into the village and
pretend we already live there, and find our favourite restaurants.
2) We can enjoy a weekend away from home at a very reasonable price, which
includes use of the pool and spa facilities.
3) It’s making our dream life a reality, today!
Here are a couple of cheeky ideas I use to “pretend” I’m already living the dream life, and they are really affordable.
We enjoy a bottle of wine, and from time to time, champagne. So if it’s a special occasion, a birthday, an anniversary, friends are visiting, we splash out, we splurge, on a nice bottle that costs more than we would like to spend on a regular basis, at least, at the moment. And after we’ve enjoyed the wine or champagne, we keep the bottle, wash it out, and next time fill it with our cheap stuff! To date, nobody has had any idea that we’ve poured a bottle of Cava sparkling wine into a Champagne bottle! Give it a go!
Here’s another idea we have fun with. Shopping! No matter what it’s for... I’m talking everything from clothing to houses. We are already keeping an eye on the houses that become available in Amersham, and we are already making appointments to visit them “as if” we had the money already... believe me, we don’t! But we really expect to have it within the next few years, and when it does arrive, we’ll know exactly what we’re looking for.
I’ve got a great example of clothing... I have to wear a suit and tie for work and
some of my colleagues looooove to buy designer wear. Don’t get me wrong, I’d enjoy
it to, but I can’t justify spending thousands of pounds on a suit when I’ve got a
mortgage to pay and two kids to feed and educate... so at the moment, it’s out of
the question. So I visit, second-
Photo by Christopher Phillips
You don’t have to see the whole staircase.
Just take the first step.
that what you know is more important
than what you have been taught to believe,
you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance.
Success comes from within, not from without.
This is a fun project, and I’ve been doing it for some time, and I gotta tell ya... get the right balance. It’s about “pretending” you’ve got what you want... and if that’s abundance, a pile of money, don’t go and blow your savings away, or rack up a pile of debt... there are plenty of ideas here,
for free!
I’m hoping that I’ve given you some great examples here, and you’re getting the message. By all means, live “as if” you’ve already arrived. Play, pretend, splurge sometimes... but don’t go over the top and rack up debt... just get the “feeling” of the success, the dream you’re after, for a fraction of the cost, and when your day arrives, the dream is in your hands... enjoy every second of it, coz you will have earned it!
Since writing the blog at my Mum’s house in Spain, I have had several emails requesting information about the area, the cost of the house, the name of the builder and so on... so I have added a link for anyone that is considering retiring to Spain, moving there permanently, or just buying a winter home in the sun. I can personally recommend Quantum Villas because they have been absolutely brilliant to my Mum and have helped her with the local Spanish Administration, which can be difficult if you don’t speak the lingo. Quantum said they can arrange a trip to Spain to visit the houses available near Almeria, for as little as €90 (including flights)... that could work out to be a great way of acting “as if” you already lived there!
And before I go, a couple of updates. After appealing my parking ticket (week 6) I was asked to pay a £50 penalty. Yup, I was bummed out, but I gotta say, I didn’t spend any time focusing on it, dreaming about it being dropped, or visualising a letter of dismissal. What I did do, was pay it off instantly, and thought about all the good things my local authority has done... which fortunately, includes the construction of two new sports complexes and they did not increase the property tax for a second year running... so I showed an attitude of gratitude.
My weight has dropped, to 11 stone but I still haven’t hit my target of 10 stone
7lbs which I set myself on week 7. And I do know why... I’m eating well, really well.
But I haven’t embraced exercise. It’s something I’ve got to work to work on. I’ve
had plenty of excuses... it’s raining, I’m too busy... but none of them are valid.
I’ve got to make being thinner, sexier to myself. I need to feel how good it will
be to have lost the weight and look great at work, in tight t-
I’m really enjoying the “Holosync” programme by Bill Harris, and meditation is something that I would like to address and share with you, but I don’t believe that I’ve had sufficient time with the material to share my experiences yet... so it’s something that I’ll write about in a few weeks... but I can tell you this much, I am sleeping like a baby, and I feel rested beyond belief... I’m loving it!
Next weeks blog will be about the “Hour of Power” that Jack Canfield mentions at the end of chapter 11 of his book, “The Success Principles”. It’s an idea created by Azim Jamal (a prominent motivational speaker from Canada), who suggests 20 minutes of visualisation, 20 minutes of exercise and 20 minutes of reading each day... I’m gonna try it this week and let you know how it goes.
Sondra Birdsong Achimon 10 May 2010, 17:48:21
This was fabulous! Thank you so much for taking time to write this! Hugs!
Nick Shephard 10 May 2010, 19:44:07
Super and brill’ paul... like usual. Thank you! x
I’m working on passing my driving test... never really passed any sort of test in my life! But don’t think that way now... website is taking a back burner for a while... See more, still studying and trying my best to applying too! Keeps me going in life this amazin’ info! X
Karyn Krause Amore 11 May 2010, 06:32:11
Beqster, love the Baloani! Pass the mustard. Hugs, Karyn
Joana Andrea Mina 11 May 2010, 14:56:19
Dear Beqster, it is nice to meet people who shares the law of attraction. Sharing positive thoughts with others really enlightens my soul. I hope I can learn more from your blogs and posts, and I hope I can share something with you. My warmest regards to you and your family. Joana
Sohan Gokarn 12 May 2010, 05:51:49
I love your thoughts! It's called living a simple life. Simplicity defined individually can lead to another conversation, however I agree with you Beqster. One doesn't need a whole lot of money to enjoy abundance... instead one needs to be willing to have abundant choices to live their desired lifestyles.
Debbie Wells 12 May 2010, 14:32:11
hiya paul, I cannot believe it's week 14 already! wow... know what you mean regarding having a sample so to speak of your dreams/goals... unfortunately mine wont be a porsche, unless I get that lotto win... but got a nice summer dress and my goal is to get in it haha, so positive attitude to motivate myself to make sure I DO get in it lol... I’m like you, exercise GRRR!! you've done so well with the blogs hun, lots of encouraging positive advice... Cheers :) X
Sabra Kay 12 May 2010, 22:45:34
Hey, just wanted to let you know I enjoy your posts... I had thought of doing something similar to this but was too chicken. I look forward to seeing your progress, keep up the good work!
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