The Power of Manifestation

In this episode of 'Go Coach Yourself,' hosts Vic and Ryan explore the concept of manifestation, a practice grounded in quantum physics. They discuss how clearly identifying what you want, articulating it to others, and maintaining an open and patient mindset can create a powerful synergy between your thoughts, actions, and the universe. They explore how manifestation is not just about wishful thinking but focused effort and positive attitude. They provide concrete examples from their own lives—Ryan's creation of a new role at Nike and Vic's journey through multiple cities to ultimately settle in New York City—demonstrating how intentionality and persistence lead to achieving significant life goals.

References

• Oprah Daily on Manifestation
• Rhonda Byrne - The Secret
• Research on Manifestation by Dixon, et al
• Psychology Today: The Resonating Dance of Intention and Synchronicity
• Oprah and Trevor Noah Clip

Related Episodes

• Go Coach Yourself: Why is "What Do You Want?" Such a Tough Question?

Hosts:

Ryan Reichert-Estes, StackRise Coaching | LinkedIn | Insta: @stackrisecoaching

Vic Smith, WhistleSmith.co | LinkedIn | Insta: @vic_bk

Transcript

Vic: 0:00

Hey Ryan, did you ever see the film Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner?

Ryan: 0:04

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like that was a VHS that my grandma had. She was a huge Kevin Costner fan.

Vic: 0:12

My dad was too. I think that film is a great example of manifestation. If you build it, they will come.

Ryan: 0:21

I totally can see that, but hold on. Didn't Kevin Costner have some help from ghosts?

Vic: 0:28

A bit of supernatural. Come on, when did that ever stop us?

Ryan: 0:36

Fair enough. Fair enough. Manifesting with ghosts and all.

Vic: 0:40

Ghosts and all.

Ryan: 0:42

Welcome to Go Coach Yourself, a podcast to help you get unfucked and build the incredible life you deserve. We're Vic and Ryan, two certified coaches trying to change the world one conversation at a time. So Vic, what are we talking about today?

Vic: 0:59

Today we're talking about the power of manifesting what you want.

Ryan: 1:04

Oh, finally, like, I feel like this topic has come up in several of our other episodes and that you've wanted to talk about this for so long. So I'm really excited to, to finally have this one up now.

Vic: 1:18

Oh my God. Yeah. I love this. And anyone who spent any time with me will know that I'm nuts about this topic. I love the idea that you can work out like what you want. And if you keep that to yourself, you work super hard. You're like plug away at it and you make a little bit of progress. However, if you work out what you want and get like super clear on it and then you put it out into the world, amazing things happen. It's like the universe conspires to make that thing happen for you in the most random and unexpected ways. I absolutely cannot wait to discuss this topic. Can you tell how excited I am?

Ryan: 2:00

Yes. Yes. I absolutely can tell that. I can totally tell you're excited about this. And it's a topic that actually I've got some interesting connections with later this week too. So I'm excited to share some more as well. All right. So tell us a little bit more about manifestation.

Vic: 2:16

Okay, so there's this concept called manifestation and it's grounded in quantum physics. And it's this idea that the universe is energy. And when you know what you want and you say it out loud, you focus your energy on it. And the universe has a way of using that energy and bring in what you want to life. So it's, it's a power of positive attitude of positive thought and a deep belief that what you want is going to happen. And we saw some really cool stuff in the research for this one.

Ryan: 2:53

Absolutely. Yeah. And I like that idea of the law of attraction. Um, I think this is also called dominant thought that came up. Uh, so this is the concept that when you're really clear on what you want and think about it in a positive, creative way. You'll actually attract it. And I want to like add in here, like if you're having trouble believing like, Oh, if I think about this, it'll just come true. There's actually also like some science behind this that talks about the, it's called the reticular activation system. And it's that thing that you have that happens when you're like, okay, I'm going to get a new car and it's going to be this color. And then you start seeing that car in that color all over the place. So this is actually something that your brain does. So this dates back to 1889. A guy called Prentice Mulford wrote positive thoughts attract positive things and negative thoughts attract negative things. And while this seems like a really simple concept, what you think about, you focus more on, and when you focus on it, you're drawn to it. And that ultimately shapes the reality that you've got. So, like I said, uh, earlier with like thinking about a car, you know, when we were ready to get a new car a few years ago, we wanted a Subaru Forester. Like we just knew that that was the car that we were going to get. And again, like, even though we lived in Oregon and everyone seems to have a Subaru in Oregon, it was like, Oh my God, there's another Subaru Forester, just like the one that we've talked about. So it's, uh, it's really amazing how this can happen.

Vic: 4:25

I remember you getting that car and I remember those, um, little decals you had of the Frenchies in the, in the back window. And whenever I would see a car like that, I would immediately look for that to know whether it was you or not. By the way, it very rarely was you. Yeah, I love this concept. Um, however, just want to be clear here at the top of this, um, episode that this is not about toxic positivity and being positive at all costs. You know, not being realistic when you suffer a setback. It's about remaining true to what you're looking for, even when there are setbacks. And I also love how it can be completely random. You know, the universe conspires to give you these signposts along the way. And one of the things I loved in the research was the combination of your energy going towards the thing you want and what happens when you put it out in the world. And this ties, I've mentioned this in another episode, to this study by Dr. Gail Matthews out of Dominican University and she focuses on goal setting and how important goals are and what makes them more likely to come to fruition, what makes it more likely for you to achieve a goal. And she found that you're 40 percent more likely to achieve a goal if you've shared it with someone. And so this is that power of saying it out loud and then watching what happens. For me, this is just magical.

Ryan: 6:03

I couldn't agree more with that. And it's like, we'll talk about this a little bit, a little bit later, but like just that idea of sharing it as then, uh, as then kind of almost like primed the rest of the world to, you know, to think about that as well. So yeah, it's like train people for the things that you, you want more of in your life.

Vic: 6:23

Yes. Yeah.

Ryan: 6:28

On piece that stuck out for me in the research is this idea that, you know, this isn't just about luck or wishful thinking, similar to like what you were saying about positive, toxic positivity, it's, you know, it's getting really, really clear on what it is that you want and always working towards that because if you're not clear, you know, your decision making is going to be, is going to be fuzzy, it's going to be random. So when you are clear. It's going to sharpen your decision making and really it's going to allow you to see everything around you that supports you to getting what it is that you want to see those opportunities in a different way to keep yourself open in ways that you might not if you weren't really clear about that for yourself. Yep.

Vic: 7:09

And some of the stuff that obviously we know about, but we, you know, we research each episode and we take, you know, kind of our, our own experience and then we, we dig a little deeper and, you know, there's some really great research on this. And so Oprah is a big believer in the power of manifestation and she's got a whole series on her website with some really great resources. There was a great research project done by Dixon et al in 2023 about manifestation and the kind of science behind it and there's some really great findings in there. And then the other thing that I'd point to is Rhonda Byrne's book, The Secret, um, that's about manifestation and I think that was released kind of way back in like 2009 or something and then was redone again in, in 2016 and we'll link to all of these in the, um, in the show notes. Mm

Ryan: 8:01

I remember when that came out everyone was reading it. It was the one that was like, it's long enough to read on a plane trip. So

Vic: 8:08

Yeah,

Ryan: 8:09

everyone had it. And that was one of those, one of those experiences where it's like you saw people leaning into this idea. And then I think you started seeing people get really skeptical because I think there was this perception of like, well, I've thought of the thing that I want and it's just going to magically appear like, and I just get to sit back, but we're going to talk about like. How it's not necessarily just something appearing in front of you. Um, but yeah, that is a, that is good stuff. So, and there was lots of research, uh, you know, surprisingly or amazingly for us in this, in this episode that was pretty aligned to this approach though, of manifestation, how to do it and ultimately what to expect from it when you really lean into it.

Vic: 8:50

Yeah, let's unpack some of those components here. Hmm.

Ryan: 8:55

So the first thing is being really really clear on what you want And so we talked a little bit about this, but to get to get really sharp on it. You have to be incredibly clear So this can't be wishy washy It's not like oh this might be nice Like if you if you want a certain role if you want a certain thing Get clear about what it is, what it looks like and how it's going to feel. Cause otherwise, if you can't think of those things, you're not going to be able to focus on it. So with manifestation, then you, you can't just imagine wanting a bicycle. Uh, you know, you have to be really clear about like, okay, it's a red bicycle. That's got this number of speeds and it's like this comfortable. And here's how I'm going to feel when I'm riding it. Uh, cause no, one's just going to give you a red bicycle. If you just think about it, it actually takes some effort. First thing then here is to, to know what you want out of it. Um, so why do you want that specific thing? What is it going to feel like to have it? Like put yourself in that place, like pretending you already have what you want. And if you can't imagine what it's going to feel like in your body when you've reached your goal, then it's not clear enough. Like that's a really good check to say, okay, is this something that I have a level of clarity on? If it's hard for you to imagine, then check in again. Um, if you struggle to put it into words. Do some more work. Uh, and ultimately if you're scared that it's never going to happen, I think that's one of those self fulfilling prophecies that it very likely isn't. Okay, so this is another way to think about it. When you're making a decision about something, you're gonna ask for opinions on it, get different perspectives, you might go back and forth on the options, but then when you make a decision, you put it out there and you use that to then inform how you move forward. You find yourself moving towards those things ultimately that align with that decision and away from the things that don't. Recently, you mentioned Oprah, she was actually being interviewed by Trevor Noah. And I like, we need to link to this clip because it was such a, such a good one. And he asks her, Of all the people that you've met, what's the most common characteristic that gets people to where they want to go? And like, this is so good. She said, she said, quote, people get to where they want to go because they know where they want to go.

Vic: 11:18

Oh my God. Yeah, I know. I just love that. You know, this idea that, um, when you know what it is you want, like what you're aiming for, you can clear the noise and focus solely on that. But if you don't know what that thing is, like, I don't know what's going to happen, you know, yeah, so hard. Um, all right, so the second component is putting it out into the universe. So you have to give voice to what you want. Write it down. Practice saying it out loud. Share it with others. Talk about it. Look for opportunities to share it and talk about it. Research it. Live it. Breathe it. Like, really kind of take that on. That, that, with your whole being. You know, think about what happens when a friend tells you they want to start a new thing. Right, so for instance, I'm going to start ceramics. Because of how you feel about them, you're invested in that too. And so, your awareness is heightened. You find yourself looking more closely at restaurant dinnerware. Your ear tunes in when a co worker's chatting about it. In case you, you know, you hear a nugget that you can share. You read an article or you see something on social media and you send it to them. Now, the same thing happens for you. You have more intention around something when you've told others about it. And there's this like dissonance that happens in our brains when we've imagined something. Really gotten clear on it, you know what we want and we've made the decision to go for it. Our brain then wants that to be true and therefore it rewires itself to get us there. And that likelihood goes up, the likelihood of us, of us getting there and realizing that dream goes up when we tell others about it. Because that dissonance then starts to happen in their brains too.

Ryan: 13:20

Yeah, I like the idea that you're surrounded by other people that want the best for you.

Vic: 13:26

Yes.

Ryan: 13:27

Like, it's so good. So the next piece that we talk about is the It's the idea of being curious and creative and this is, this is an aspect of this that just lights me up because it, it is, I feel one of those like unlocks to so many things. Um, I remember realizing at a certain point, like this idea of, okay, creativity means that there's more than one answer to every single problem out there. So. If you open up your own creativity, you're going to see all those new paths and different ways to help you achieve or to find the thing that you're striving for. Uh, as an example, if you want to live in Europe, maybe you're going to move to Spain, like someone, for a more leisurely lifestyle. Uh, you

Vic: 14:14

Someone we know

Ryan: 14:16

Yeah, sun in your life and you know, you realize though that maybe Spain isn't in your six month plan. Like it's not quite achievable in that amount of time, but there are different things that you could do. You could move someplace sunnier in the interim. You know, you might move to a more dry location or to someplace that's going to help you practice your Spanish. coming back to that idea that I shared at the start of this section, like there are many routes that can get you where you want to be. So really, you know, why not be open to the journey?

Vic: 14:47

Hmm. I love that. And I think that, um, you know, often we get fixed on, we want it to happen this way. And, you know, we're closed to these opportunities that come our way that, you know, get us there. Yeah. Like. With an off route or, you know, whatever that might be. Hmm.

Ryan: 15:10

Yeah, for sure. There's, I, I think you and I have talked about this before, but like, there's this idea of like holding what you want in your hands. And for those that maybe can't imagine, I'm going to say what I'm doing. I'm holding my hands up apart from each other. Like I'm holding a ball, but holding it like lightly and not squeezing it or clenching it so hard that it can only be one thing. Um, because yeah, to your point, then if it can only be one thing, then there's just one chance for it to come

Vic: 15:37

Yeah. Oh God, I love that. And I think that really links well to this last one, which is have patience. And so, you know, manifestation takes time and hard work, but it's about remaining focused on the goal and not wavering. And I, I find here that it helps to keep a journal, to kind of capture progress, to capture struggles, your wins, your successes, it can sometimes feel like we aren't moving yet when we look back, we've come a really long way. And, you know, the other thing I'd say is that sometimes progress isn't measured in the money or the, the kind of status or the things that we have, it can be measured in how we think about something, how we see ourselves, how we talk to ourselves. And my advice here would be stay strong and stay focused. Now there might be people who are sitting there saying, yeah, this all just sounds like having a goal and moving towards it. And yeah, this is what it sounds like. And in some instances, that's what it is. However, manifestation is typically used for changing big things in your life, life changing events. It's used when something feels impossible or insurmountable. Manifestation is the power of your thoughts, the people around you, and the universe conspiring to make your dreams come true. And I'm not sure that it gets much better than that.

Ryan: 17:14

Yeah, yeah, I mean, if that's like, if that's goal setting for you, as long as it's working to make your life better, like, okay, great. Get more of that.

Vic: 17:24

Yes, yes. Okay. Ryan, do you have an example of how this has come to life for you?

Ryan: 17:32

Yeah, I do. I've got, um, one that immediately came to mind. Uh, so it was about 10 years ago. I was pretty brand new at my role at Nike. Um, I don't think we had quite met each other at that point. Um, I was going through a development experience called Ignite the Spark, which I know we've mentioned is actually something that I'm teaching now. Uh, so shameless plug. If you want to join an Ignite the Spark, uh, cohort, you can check out my website and love to have you. And.

Vic: 18:02

Check out the website. It's life changing.

Ryan: 18:05

It is. Thank you. Like, and that's part of the reason I'm so in love with the fact that I get to share it with people is because I've, I've felt how it's changed my life and I've seen it happen for others. So, but so through that process, you know, I worked on getting really clear on what I wanted and built strength in this space of positive thinking and putting it out there and sharing it with other people. And so for me, my focus at that time was imagining and creating this new role. That hadn't existed and didn't really have any, um, like, I don't think anybody was thinking about this job in particular. Um, and so through that process, I talked to other people, uh, family, peers at work, friends about this job and what it looked like and why I cared about it. And it was, it wasn't like I was obsessing over it. It wasn't the only thing that I had going on, but it was actually really fun to imagine and craft that experience and, you know, figure out what it could look like. And. So fast forward, I think it was maybe six, six, nine months or so. Um, I think we had met at that point then by, by this point, uh, I had an opportunity where I was able to connect with one of our senior leaders and I remember this moment really clearly because they were asking like, what do you want out of your future here? And without hesitation, After I shared what I wanted, they were like, absolutely. This would be an amazing role for you. And what would you think about doing this for like the entire talent organization at Nike, which hadn't even crossed my mind. I mean, it was something

Vic: 19:42

what you wish for.

Ryan: 19:42

yeah, yeah. And it's like, I was really excited about it in one respect. And then they, they like. Blew it up in a way that was just so much more amazing than what I was even expecting. And so, you know, this opportunity ultimately was shaped out of nothing. Cause like I said, it didn't exist, but in large part, I had other people thinking about it. Um, I was focused on, on it. Uh, and therefore I was showing up in ways that would help me be successful in that role and to show the value of what it would look like. And ultimately, uh, you know, like I said, I got even more than I asked for, because I was so clear about what it, what it was that I wanted. It, it was one of those moments where I'm like, okay, this, this is something I want for everybody. It was so cool. And. Absolutely made me a believer in the power of getting really clear like that. Manifesting, letting the world know what it is you're trying to achieve, and then looking for the opportunities to get there.

Vic: 20:40

God. So the first thing I'd say is you kicked ass in that job. That was, I mean, I remember that. I remember the moment where this role just appeared out of nowhere and people were like, what the heck? And then you just, you just delivered. It was so good.

Ryan: 20:56

Thank you.

Vic: 20:57

and you know, I also love this idea that, you know, you had the, you had the idea for what this would be and then socialized it, you know, here, here's what I'm thinking. Other people are thinking about it. You're actually just doing it. You're kind of showing up, like doing this role. So that when the, when the kind of conversation comes, it's almost just like a given. You know, I love, I love that part of it. Oh, so good. So good.

Ryan: 21:27

So, and what about you? Do you have any examples of this, uh, on how this has happened for you?

Vic: 21:32

Yeah, so I think what I'd share is that, you know, when Jacq and I first got together, we've been together for, you know, for quite some time now, but when we first got together, we lived in So many UK towns and cities, we would move like every six months for my job. We had these really big dreams of traveling the world and living outside the UK. And in 2001, we visited New York city for, for me, it was the first time Jacq had been there before. And I was just like totally blown away. Like I remember thinking, um, This place is so vibrant, it's got this aliveness that I've never, I've never experienced before and it's dirty and gritty and bustling and, you know, full of all these, of all these possibilities. And I remember quite distinctly having a conversation on that trip where we decided that, um, We had to stop moving all the time. It wasn't financially viable. It was really hard to build community. Um, you know, I would come home from work and I'd be like, Hey, I just got a new job when we're moving to Birmingham or, Hey, I just got a new job when we're moving to wherever, you know, and Jacq would just be like, uh, okay then, you know, we'd be like packing up and I'm moving and, um, you know, so we came to this agreement that, you I was no longer allowed to do that. Like we were in this together. This was a partnership and we came up with, there are five cities that if I'm offered a job in, I can say yes to without having to come home and ask. And so those five cities were London, San Francisco, Tokyo, Berlin, and New York. And of course, at the time, this just seemed like a pipe dream, you know, fast forward to 2003 where we moved to London for a job that I had that was a timed and planned move. And then in 2005, my. A really good friend, Louise, who, um, lives in Amsterdam and was working for Nike. She still works for Nike now, uh, kind of called me up and was like, Hey, I think there's this job that you should look at. And, uh, it was a job that was based in Amsterdam and I got the job and we moved to Amsterdam and then we moved to Portland, Oregon, and then I got a job in San Francisco and now we live in New York City. Now we held fast, by the way, for anyone listening, Ryan is just doing that kind of wide eyed thing, which I imagine some of you listening are as well. Like what the heck? Um, but we held fast to those five cities and I told everyone about them. And so, you know, if you, if you have spent a decent amount of time with me and we've got into the, you know, life stories, you'll know about these five cities. I remember when we first moved to Portland, our leader at the time, Andre, kept asking me if I, if we will buy in a house, you know, because for him buying a house meant we were settling, we were putting down roots and I was like, likely not, we're going to save our money for the big five. You know, and he was like, what do you, you know, like, what do you mean the big five? it's, it's unbelievable, but each step we talk moved us closer to one of those five cities. Now, you know, don't, don't get me wrong. It was really hard work. I started out on a council estate in the Northwest of England. That would be affordable housing here. I think, I didn't go to college. I started working a record store when I was 16 and I worked really hard. For everything I've got, both Jacq and I did, we just had this really clear vision of what we wanted our life to be, what we wanted our community to look like, what we wanted access to, um, you know, and it's been 20 plus years and this is the patience thing here. Right. It's, you know, it's, it's 20 years and now we live in New York city. We're living the life that we imagined and I believe that's because I've manifested it and I've been super clear on what I wanted. And, you know, we've, you know, We've had a blast along the way. It's been amazing. We've lived in some amazing places. We've traveled to some fantastic destinations. We've got this amazing kind of global community around us that, you know, provides amazing support. I mean, I think we're done now. This is our place. We've put our roots down and, we're building an amazing life here. Uh, but you know, that for me is the power of manifestation.

Ryan: 26:19

yeah. Like, and what a beautiful, what a beautiful example like you mentioned about like how this comes to life and requires patience sometimes. I mean, cause as you told that story, I didn't hear you say, okay, it's New York or bust. And everything that comes up, if it's not New York, it's no good. Like you were open, but had clarity. And the fact that clarity of this case looked like five cities. Is super cool because then it's like, okay, you know, it can really be a variety of things Um, I just I love that and like I I love knowing Who both of you are and like what you both want out of the place that you live in? Uh, I just like I love that. This is where you are now because we were just chatting hanging out yesterday And like every time we get together, um Virtually, which this tells you something too about, you know, it's not in person necessarily You The both of you just like always have these really cool stories to share and just seem to be brimming with energy of like, Oh, like you can just tell, like, this is exactly where you're meant to be and is because of all that work that you put in. It's, it's really cool.

Vic: 27:35

When we travel, I, both Jacq and I, we always do travel journals, you know, where you kind of, you talk about what you did during the day, but also like, you know, kind of how it feels, reflections, that kind of thing. Um, and recently I found the travel journal from. The first time we visited New York City back in, in 2001. And on the day that we visited the Empire State Building, I've got this note in the journal that says, I wish I was one of the people down on the ground, living their life, not a tourist looking down on them. And I'm just like, Oh my God talk about knowing what you want, here I am 20 years later, I'm that person down on the ground going about my life, you know.

Ryan: 28:22

I love that. That's so cool. So cool. Thank you. Uh, thank you for sharing that.

Vic: 28:27

Hmm. Thank you for sharing yours too.

Ryan: 28:37

Alrighty. Uh, let's wrap things up, but, uh, first summarize all of the things that we just talked about for everyone.

Vic: 28:46

All right. So let's start with step one. Get clear. What do you want and will it feel like when you've got it?

Ryan: 28:58

Step two, put it out there in the universe. The more that you're able to talk and share about what you're doing, multiple things happen. You're making it both clearer for yourself and you're training other people to be on the lookout on your behalf.

Vic: 29:14

Hmm. Step three. Be ready. Open mind, open heart. It might not look how you think it will. There's many roads to get you where you want to be, and

Ryan: 29:30

And step four, be patient. It may take time, but track your progress, and celebrate your wins along the way.

Vic: 29:41

that's it. There you have it. Our view on manifestation. We are Vic and Ryan and this is Go Coach Yourself. Join us next time.

Ryan: 29:53

Later everybody.