Reality Bites

In the continuing James Ray saga, today's news reports that Mr. Ray is "broke." He can't afford his $5 million bail, his finances have been "shaken" by withdrawals to pay for his legal defense, among other things, and apparently, he's not worth the millions he himself bragged about during numerous interviews. But let's remember: This was the sleek, sexy, self-styled "guru" of the new "let's get rich" Law of Attraction crowd, and he had to look good to keep attracting those followers.

"As you think, so shall you be"

Proponents of LOA have basically always underscored the adage, "As you think, so shall you be." Nothing is truer, in my opinion, as far as Mr. Ray's situation is concerned. If you focus on appearance rather than substance, that is of course what you are going to attract. In other words, you look good on the surface, like Mr. Ray did, but when you scratch underneath that surface, what do you find? Not much.

This is a guy who bragged to Fortune Magazine in April of 2008 that his financial yearly goal was $21 million and that while he was sure there were limits, his attitude was, "I'm not aware of them."

Welcome to reality, Mr. Ray. You do have limits, and here they are, in stark relief. By the way, they have nothing to do with how much money you can earn, but how you actually earn that money -- and how you spend it. In other words, reality is going to bite you in the butt if you earn that money through pretense and callous disregard for others except for what they can give you in terms of a paycheck and a bloated bank account. By not being aware of those limits (by your own admission), you find yourself in this situation.

Being responsible and paying attention

LOA is about personal responsibility and paying attention, above all. In addition to his continuing legal troubles, Ray has also got a net worth of *negative* $4.2 million, because, apparently (and again), he didn't pay attention to his own actions in terms of finances, either. Overspending and living far above your means is just another example of the type of reckless disregard Ray so embodies.

Again, a good wake-up call for we folks who believe in the Law of Attraction. You do absolutely get back what you put out. Reckless disregard, or responsible, aware, thoughtful behavior? It's our choice.