How to Manifest Money (or Whatever You Want, Really)
I want to disclose the discomfort I feel while writing this, knowing I plan to share it with the world. These feelings remind me of a sensation I experienced often at the beginning of my spiritual journey. The questions that would pop up then are subtly reappearing now. If you’ve been through or are currently in a spiritual awakening of your own, you may be familiar with these (I’ll explain why another time):
“Will other people think I’m crazy?”
“Am I going crazy?”
“Did this stuff REALLY happen to me?”
The questions are quieter this time, and I’m entertaining them less. Especially the last two. I learned not to try to answer those. Ok, I’ll check in with a therapist on the 2nd one every now and then. (The answer, so far, has always been no.) I highly recommend not asking the third. It is really hard to answer and can send you down a very disturbing rabbit hole.
Thank you for joining me down that avoidant rabbit hole.
What inspired this post was a discussion that took place in a group mentoring program I love called Mind Your Business. During “office hours”, someone brought up some money mindset issues they’d been struggling with. I was asked to weigh in.
I shared my belief that money mindset/financial abundance creation should follow the same steps as any other mindset shift/abundance work (aka manifestation).
I follow a 4-step process for abundance work and manifestation:
1. Get clear on how having the thing you want (comfort with money and having more than enough, in this case) will make you feel
2. Look for where in your life you have that feeling now, and soak those moments in
3. Figure out how you can create more of that feeling in your life, even if it’s in small doses
4. Create that feeling, as much as possible, and soak it in when you do
Other folks gave some great specific examples of how to bring this into real life with money. One that I particularly loved was to start making responsible purchases that feel spendy. Like going for the more expensive lip gloss, if that will make you happy and won’t break the bank.
It was a great discussion that inspired me. I wanted to focus on bringing in more money! Especially through my coaching business, which has yet to pay the bulk of my bills.
I know how to manifest, so I could just focus on that… but first I decided to reflect. Was I holding myself back in any way? The answer came in quick–I was. With the three $100 bills hidden away in my closet.
The Universe had gifted me them a few months ago, but I had yet to fully receive them.
I get that this might sound a little weird, which is why I was hesitant to write this blog in the first place. I remember a friend telling me similar stories about his own experience several years ago. I was incapable of believing that this stuff was possible back then. I believed that he believed it… but thought the Colorado banana bread distorted his perception. Now I believe him fully, and I believe myself too. Because I was there, and my therapist says I have zero red flags for losing my mind.
Ok, back to the story and that $$$.
Back in May, I decided that I wanted to focus on bringing in more money. I wanted to release anything blocking me from receiving it, and then focus on manifesting it. I had a Reiki session planned, and asked the practitioner to focus on that for me. They did. I felt a shift during the session and was excited to learn how it would impact me.
Something changed the very next day, but it wasn’t what I wanted. My rent increased… a lot. Which really freaked me out.
While I do believe coincidences exist, I don’t believe they are common. So I decided to take a closer look at what this could mean about me or for me. I asked myself: what was the lesson here? Did I manifest this rent increase by accident?
Often, when stuff happens that we don’t want, it’s the product of manifestation gone wrong.
Looking at our intentions and energy leading up to it can help us understand why we received that undesirable situation. Which can allow us to course correct.
I arrived at the lesson pretty quickly. Continuing to pay the increased rent wasn’t a real problem for me. It was a reminder that I already had financial abundance. I clearly hadn’t done a great job with Step 2 of my abundance creation process.
So I thanked the Universe for this lesson/sign and clarified my intention. “I understand that I have a very abundant life. Thank you for that. I don’t need more reminders. I want more money.”
The very NEXT day (2 days after the healing session) I found a wallet with three $100 bills hidden in the folds.
I was a little shocked/excited/freaked out. Manifestation doesn’t usually happen that quickly or literally. It has for me before, but it still excites me every time.
I did pause to receive it, thank the Universe for it, and ask for more of it, but not fully. My attitude, personified, was “omg, how cute… but give me something real now.” It wasn’t MY wallet, after all. I take a lot of pride in my ability to get lost belongings back to their owners. I knew that I’d be able to find this one; there was a ton of identifying information along with all of that cash. If I couldn’t, though, in 3 weeks I’d claim it as mine and I’d “do something special with it”. (There are multiple “manifestation mistakes” in this paragraph. I’ll come back to them later in this article.)
I started working my finders’ magic right then and there. Before I even got to my destination I had scoured Facebook for the owner. Within 20 minutes I posted it on the local residents’ forum. And over the next couple of days, I called multiple police stations, asked Costco and AAA for their help, phoned all the numbers on reverse lookup… etc., etc. I did everything short of turning the wallet over to the police, because, well… the police.
Over the next couple of days, I received several more gifts of financial abundance. Paid parking on the meter I picked randomly, quarters on the street, etc. I thanked the universe and asked for more of it every time. Until like two days later when I forgot about this project and moved on to something else.
I didn’t forget about the wallet, though. After three weeks of being unable to find the owner, I was very grateful that the $300 clearly showed up for me. I kept it in a safe place, ready for me to spend when “something special” came up.
$300 was there, ready for me to spend on “something special”. But nothing was ever special enough, so it sat there. It’s not like I didn’t do anything nice for myself. Over those three months, I got an expensive massage, invested a lot into healing neck pain, and bought a ticket to a bougie 3-day country music festival. But “I would have done those things anyway… they weren’t worthy of this special gift”.
Ok, let’s fast forward to September (a couple of weeks before I wrote this blog).
It’s just after the office hours session during which I was reminded of the importance of money mindset. Reminded that I have the power to shift my energy to bring more money in.
I remember how well this worked for me in May when I focused on bringing more money in. I asked the Universe for money (in no particular form, for no particular purpose) and it gave it to me.
But I didn’t receive it.
I’m not talking about my decision to look for the owner and wait three weeks to spend it. That was the ethical thing to do, and I feel good about it. Where I messed up was deciding that I had to “use it for something special”. Especially since part of my manifestation process had been visualizing my bank account balance increasing. By hanging on to this money I was denying a gift that would do exactly that.
I decided, immediately, that I was going to deposit the cash straight into my bank account. It would be used for everyday things like groceries. I’d receive this gift and the bank account rise and “thank you, Universe, please keep it coming”.
Shortly after making this decision, I ran into a casual friend. They inquired about my energy healing rates (not something I usually offer standalone, but love to provide for friends & family).
This was a turning point for me. I had yet to become fully comfortable charging for the work I love doing. And I knew this person was dealing with health issues and not currently working. I felt a strong desire to offer them a discount, but that office hours discussion was fresh in my mind. I felt the accountability of that group. And I knew that going out of my way to give a discount would set me back on my money mindset journey. If they needed a discount, they could ask.
So I gave them my rate, and they told me they’d like to book a session.
Summarizing the above: I finally received the money the universe had gifted me, and within two hours it brought me an unexpected opportunity for more.
Then it brought me another: I discovered that my former employer deposited around $180 in my old 401(k) account. I hadn’t received any money from them (for anything) in over a year. I thought that account was closed. Remembering what I’d just learned from my wallet experience, I deposited it directly into my IRA.
Taking in the magic that was unfolding, I decided to get extra symbolic when depositing the wallet money into my bank account. I took it to the credit union at the office from my former corporate career. I also asked them to deposit the whole thing before I took out a separate withdrawal.
After making that deposit even more started to unfold.
My neighbor contacted me to book their session, which they loved. They tipped me over 30% (30% more than I expected). I’ve had other money come in from unexpected sources and have been gifted several things I thought I’d have to buy. And I’ve thanked the universe, every time.
Sounds pretty awesome, right? Are you ready to up your abundance/manifestation game? Keep this 5 things in mind.
Some notes on manifesting:
(Warning, unpopular opinion): You don’t have to get specific.
Getting specific is great, and it can be very helpful to know specifically what you want. I don’t though. I’m still in a discovery phase, both in my business and personal life. So "financial abundance" felt specific enough for me. I was cool with it appearing on the street instead of through a new client.
You DO NOT have to receive everything that comes to you.
Even if you specifically asked for it and believe it was a gift you manifested. As an autonomous human being, you get to change your mind :)
If you discover that you have changed your mind or your intent, clarify that. With yourself and anyone else involved in your manifestation practice… like your journal, the Universe, or any higher power you bring into your practice.
Today I decided to get more specific with my desires after being asked if I could do a standalone coaching session. I got clear with myself that that’s not how I want my money to be coming in. I don’t want to be finding it on the street, either. I want it to come in through long-term coaching clients and speaking opportunities.
It helps to speak your desires aloud.
In my experience, this is one of the best things you can do. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the office hours discussion contributed just as much to all of the money stuff that has been unfolding for me as depositing that $300 did. Writing works as well, whether it’s on your Facebook page on or a blog (thanks for reading #2). Claim it out in the world!
Sometimes we inadvertently manifest things we don’t want.
Sometimes we can inadvertently manifest things we don’t want. If undesirable stuff keeps happening to you, take a step back and ask if there’s anything you’re doing to create it. Take my rent example. I set myself up to manifest security when I actually wanted to manifest money.
I’ve experienced this in other ways too. When I was driving for Uber last year I went through a streak of horrible interactions. It ended when someone reflected to me: “instead of focusing on how you’re disconnected from everybody, why don’t you focus on how you are connected?” My facepalm was almost painful when I realized what I’d inadvertently done. I changed my focus and suddenly my “bad luck” was over.
Make sure your practice is enjoyable!
Manifestation works through vibration matching. If your vibration is “hard work” or “super serious” you’re going to get more of that. I've spent plenty of time in these modes… and I do not recommend them.
If you have any cool manifestation or abundance stories, I’d love to hear them! Share them in the comments, send me an email, or shoot me a DM.
If you read all of this and thought “wow I am blocking myself but I don’t know how to fix that” don’t worry. You’re not alone, and you can turn it around. If you’d like help with that, my transformational life coaching program may be a great fit. Over 3 months we’ll get clear on your desires, release the beliefs and emotions blocking you from having them, and build you up tools to achieve the life of your dreams. You can learn more here or book a discovery call today!
