Cool Prosperity Peeps Series: Marc Allen

This summer I had a craving for reading money books – well, I guess that isn’t unusual for this money and work coach. It was just that my book pile was a bit over the top – I ended up paying fines even! One author I loved was Marc Allen. Let me count the ways…

There are many authors in the Manifesting field, and many different points of views and energies – even if they might say the same thing or have the same influences. Humans being diverse and wonderful creatures, some authors may resonate with you, while others will not. Sometimes it’s a timing thing, and a book that is a turnoff at one time, jumps off the shelf another time.

Sometimes it’s just overload – there is soooo much going on, and so much information available. I think that’s what was happening when Marc Allen’s latest book crossed my path last winter – The Type-Z Guide to Success:A Lazy Person’s Manifesto for Wealth and Fulfillment. At any rate, this summer was the time I ended up doing a crash course on several of Marc’s books: The Millionaire Course, Visionary Business, The Greatest Secret of All: Moving Beyond Abundance to a Life of True Fulfillment, …. and maybe another one or two. They tend to repeat the same message in different ways – and that is a great teaching in itself perhaps.

I thought I might highlight some of his teachings by sharing some key reasons I think he is so cool, and that I personally resonate with his methods. First, a bit of background – Marc and Shakti Gawain were partners early on – and at age 30 they created the publishing company New World Library. Shakti’s landmark book, “Creative Visualization” was one of the first big bestsellers for this company, launched with no capital. Today New World Library is a major independent publisher – a more recent big seller of theirs is The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.

So here is my list of why Marc Allen is my kind of abundance guy.

1) HE KEEPS IT SIMPLE (the old acronym KISS – which I change from ‘keep it simple stupid’ to ‘keep it simple sweetheart’ or sonny or…) In Marc’s teaching, intention is key. Doubts and fears come up, yes, and that’s the work. You can tell he has developed great faith through experience, but it all started out pretty simple with the story of his 30th birthday, waking up shocked that he was now an adult, and a poverty case scrounging to make rent with a really bad work history. Also simple is his energy, which seems authentic and joyful to me.

2) HE INCLUDES EASE – Marc adds this prefix to his affirmations, taken from Catherine Ponder in her book The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity. “In an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way….”and also, “In its own perfect time, for the highest good of all….” This was a key reminder for me this summer, as I worked to shift the energy of how I work, and the thinking that you have to work hard to succeed. That Puritan ethic is pretty hard core for our culture. Though again, the concept of Ease isn’t original, it’s great to hear it repeated, like in hypnosis… You are getting relaxed … Your work is accomplished with ease and laughter … when I snap my fingers … you will breathe so deeply that you bless everyone in a three mile radius … Ahhhhh … blessings blessings blessings …

3) HE USED THESE PRINCIPLES BEFORE GETTING RICH – Sometimes it’s easy to be cynical when a rich person is telling you how to get rich. Once you have some capital, and work that feeds you, abundance is a whole new game – similar principles perhaps, yet different sense of need. (It’s that spiral thing I mentioned recently.) This different level changes the energy of it. It helps me to know that Marc started his experiment with wealth, and his use of these principles, when he was broke at 30. Within a year, he had enough going well, it was clear he could continue his experiment. I love that about his beginning.

4) LAZY MAYBE; WORKING SMART DEFINITELY – Marc jokes about being lazy and always having been lazy – and this being a motivation for him to fashion a life that supports that. But what does he do with his time away from work? He takes time for himself, for his spiritual practice, for friends and family, for doing what he loves/his creativity. Most of us assume we can’t have it all. He started out assuming he would have time for all of the important things, and do work and the things he loved. He breaks it into thirds – work, family/friends, self time. Pretty smart in my book.

5) HUMILITY – Marc shocks me sometimes with how humble yet honest he is. He’ll say, I’m not the sharpest or smartest person – I’m a little thick. I’m not a morning person. I’m didn’t know a thing about business or have any capital. And on and on with these little truths about himself that defy all the identifications and defenses people usually have – often in compensation for fears about these very things. He does it with humor, and I find it very refreshing and humanizing of him to be willing to play the fool in this way.

6) GREAT STORIES – Stories are a venerable and ancient teaching method. It makes everything click when you have a good story that highlights the message. Marc’s are colorful and clear. When he tells you about his bad work history as part of his 30th Year Wake Up story – that he was fired as a busboy for being too slow, or that he was kicked out of a Zen center for breaking the rules – you instantly see that this boy had some troubles to overcome. Perhaps he was worse off than you were or are (let’s hope!!) And even so – look at where he is now. Wow. More stories, please!

Have an abundance person you resonate with; concepts you have loved? Someone you want me to cover? Would love your comments…