“If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for.” – Florence Scovel Shinn
Let me tell you a story about two women: one who knew about The Ditch Formula and used it for success, and one who knew about The Ditch Formula and used it for failure.
The first woman had big, big dreams and wanted to experience all that life had to offer. She had heard that she was the creator of her own life. All she had to do was decide what she wanted and she could create it. Her heart was full of excitement and couldn’t wait to see what would happen with her newfound knowledge.
After some thought, she decided she wanted to create two things: she wanted to move house and she wanted to travel the world.
She was an avid reader and had studied numerous spiritual and metaphysical books. One book told her that if she used The Ditch Formula then she could have what she wanted.
So she went about applying this formula to her desires. She decided that if she was going to move home there was a lot of work to be done first. She would have to clear the attic of all the junk that had been stored there over the years. She would have to get things clean and tidy, arrange for unwanted things to be disposed of, and she would have to make some repairs to the house for the next person who would live there.
Then she decided that if she was going to travel the world she had better get a passport, one for her and one for her child so that they would be ready to set off whenever an opportunity arose.
In no time at all things started to happen. This woman was offered a new house in the location she wanted, and she and her child were taken on an all-expenses-paid holiday – not once, but several times.
This first woman was so happy to have learned The Ditch Formula, and for all her good fortune.
The second woman also had big, big dreams and wanted to experience all that life had to offer. She had heard that she was the creator of her own life. All she had to do was decide what she wanted and she could create it. Her heart was full of excitement and couldn’t wait to see what would happen with her newfound knowledge.
After some thought she decided she wanted to create two things: she wanted a certain amount of money, and she wanted to leave her job and become her own boss.
She was also an avid reader and had studied numerous spiritual and metaphysical books. One book told her that if she used The Ditch Formula then she could have what she wanted.
So she went about applying this formula, but not to her desires as the first woman had done. Instead, this second woman started applying The Ditch Formula to the things she didn’t want.
She started by thinking of all the people she could ask for money in an emergency, just in case the certain amount of money she was creating didn’t show up.
Then she left her job and started her own business, but spent all her time looking for job vacancies just in case her business didn’t work out.
Needless to say, this woman failed to get what she wanted. Yet curiously, she did end up getting what she didn’t want. In no time at all, she found herself in a financial emergency and had to call on all the people she had thought of previously to help her.
Also, this woman’s business didn’t succeed and she ended up closing it and becoming an employee – not just once, but several times.
This second woman was so unhappy – even though she had learned The Ditch Formula – and cursed all her bad fortune.
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Which woman are you right now? Are you getting ready for your desires or are you preparing for the opposite?
I’ll let you into a little secret: both those women are me. These are my stories. I have used The Ditch Formula for success, and I have also used it for failure.
The Ditch Formula is very simple: your actions must be in alignment with the thing you say you want. If not, you will get the thing you are preparing for, not what you have asked for.
After you decide what you want, start preparing for its arrival. In metaphysical teachings, it is often known as the “act as if” principle, yet the formula appears in spiritual teachings from all over the world and is often tucked away inside stories and parables.
One such story is told in the Bible – the story from which I gave this formula its name.
Once there were three kings who found themselves in the desert without water. They consulted the Prophet Elisha to ask for help, and he told them the action they must take to align with their request:
“Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.”
And so it must be with you. After you have prayed, asked, decided what you want, you must start digging your ditches – even if there is no sign of the thing you want in sight. Decide what your equivalent of a ditch is, and get to work.
Here are some other examples of successful use of The Ditch Formula:
Rhonda Byrne’s sister wanted to move from Australia to America. After a while, she noticed that nothing was happening. So she started clearing out her house, packing, getting rid of unwanted things, and generally getting ready for her move. Within a short while, she had accomplished her goal.
A woman wanted an apartment during a housing shortage. She went shopping for the bedding she would need when she got her place to stay – which was not long afterwards.
A woman decided she wanted to marry a rich man. She had an accent associated with a poor area of her country so she decided to take elocution lessons. In time she was able to talk like she came from a wealthy background. She also saved money to purchase a few expensive items of clothing. Sure enough, she met and married a rich man.
How to use The Ditch Formula in your own life:
- Decide what you want. Pray for it. Make up you mind to get it.
- Dig your ditches. Act ask though the thing you’ve asked for is on its way.
Louise x
