I hope you enjoyed your New Years' celebrations. I attended a great party with wonderful friends and we all participated in a fire ceremony to cement our intentions for 2010.

My intentions were very simple. I've heard before that I should focus on being the CEO of my life rather than the Manager. While I understood at some level what that meant, I also find it infinitely difficult to let go of 'how' something needs to look, or 'how' it should show up. I don't know if I'm just a little slow on the uptake and that's why it has taken me so long to wrap my head around this concept, or if I simply wasn't ready (I'm going for the latter - I'm not partial to seeing myself as slow, I still have some ego in tact!).

So I started by scripting a contract with the Universe, agreeing to do X in exchange for Y. Now, before I share that contract with you, I need to clarify a few things so that the wording makes sense to you.

Per my previous postings regarding the Martyr Archetype that I discovered within myself (uh-huh), I found a definition in Carolyne Myss' book, "Sacred Contracts" that said, "The Martyr is...a person who has learned to utilize a combination of service and suffering for others as the primary means of controlling and manipulating her environment."

Well, isn't that cute - NOT! However, cute or not, it was true. I wasn't a Martyr with respect to how I interacted with others, but with how I interacted with money. Sure, I'll take that job for less money and the promise of bonuses that never arrive just so I can do the work I love to do. I'd love to have your stock options, going out of business? Guess those stocks won't be worth much will they, oh well, poor me! What I was doing was controlling my environment to maintain my internal financial set point. I was not to exceed $X a year and each time I'd come close, I would find a way to sabotage it. Why? Because I knew how to live within my current financial set point, by changing it, I would have to change everything, and you know how keen we are to do that!

Now I'll share the contract and hopefully it will make sense to you.

Here's the essence of the contract:
"Dear Universe, I open myself up to the  unknown reality of what it will mean when I bypass my current financial set point. I know I created it as a form of control and I hereby relinquish this control and formally request a new, significantly higher, base annual salary. I no longer have a need for a financial set point, as I intend to grow my finances exponentially.

I formally request $X per year with 60% coming as residual income and 40% from earned income. Earned income will come via work I am meant to do, that I love to do and that serves my divine purpose.

I am in service to the Universe, and given my level of skill, experience and commitment, I will not settle for less than the salary requested. Nor am I willing to accept a deal, bonuses in lieu of cash designed for me to prove myself (although bonuses in addition to will be welcome with open arms and heartfelt gratitude), nor will I accept future stock options or any other form of payment outside of the indicated cashflow requirements.

I am willing to relocate or travel to fulfill my obligations. I offer these terms, and upon acceptance, this contract will be in effect for the next 5 years."

Based on this contract, which took out the 'hows', I was then easily able to identify my intentions (my 'what'):

I am...

• Clear and focused 
• Grounded
• Financially Free
• In Service

Enjoying the Journey! ~Trish