It was 3am when we loaded up the “chiva” for the six hour journey. Chiva means goat in Spanish. A “chiva” is the name of a special truck they use in Colombia, South America. They are very old trucks with bright colors, lots of disco lights, and they are used for everything. And I mean everything. It’s main purpose is to carry people, but they may carry animals, food, supplies, or anything else. They are the ultimate utility vehicle with a flashy fun style. 

I am writing this as the sun is rising, we just crossed over the Andes mountains and we are driving past miles of banana farms that seem to go on forever. The bananas you eat, probably came from the farms I am looking at right now.

I am with my Colombian “family.” They have adopted me as their gringo relative. There are twenty of us heading to the beach for a couple of days after doing volunteer work in the mountians. Three of the girls and their mom have never seen the ocean.

I am in awe that I get the experience being with a family in the open air antique truck with music blasting like a night club and experience their authentic Colombian vacation. I am thrilled to observe and be part of their culture which in so many ways is so different than mine. 

You might be wondering how I got here. As we are driving, I am thinking about the same thing. The reality is that I manifested it. Not specifically a Colombian vacation, but the adventure of a lifetime experiencing something that few outsiders get to see or do. 

I love adventure and it has a way of finding me because it I literally dream of it, research it, talk about it, prepare for it, and then the universe presents the opportunities and I say yes, like a five year old boy saying yes to ice cream. Thats because I have a child like fascination with experiencing world and the people in it. I often hear jokingly, “Eres un niño” which means, “you are a little boy.” That’s one of the best compliments to me. 

I never leave home without my passport because I know that an incredible opportunity can find me at any time. This is because I am totally aligned and 100% willing to let the universe take me where it wants me to go. And so I find myself with my feet on a wood floor antique truck bouncing down the road and pondering about life for hours as I watch banana trees go by with the mountains in the background. It is truly as spectacular at anything you have seen on NatGeo documentaries.  

You may not want adventures like me of writing on a laptop in a “chiva” bouncing down the road or going into the mountains to bring clothes to people who live in dirt floor shacks. I share this with to share my excitement for living my dreams and adventures. And I want the same for you. 

So what is it that you want? 

What are your dreams? 

What is your adventure that call to you? 

When you are aligned with the thing you want, it will show up in your life in magnificent ways. Often in ways that are far better than you imagined. 

Your dreams don’t have to be dramatic or adventurous. But they have to be your dreams and they must excite you. Maybe you dream of owning a home, starting a business, or to start dating again after a divorce. Maybe it is to pay off your debt, get a university degree or maybe escape a mundane life. 

What matters is that you are moving towards a life that you truly love. Be bold in your dreams. Ask the universe for spectacularly absurd things. And then do your part to make it a reality. 

The universe never rewards lazy people without dreams. I didn’t get here overnight. I stepped far outside of comfort zone, I did the work, I did the preparation, and the universe takes care of the rest. This is what I mean by being aligned with the universe. It’s the combination of you doing your part and the universe doing it’s part. 

Oh, and the girls and mom that had never seen the ocean before, they cried when they could see it in the ocean distance. These are the same girls I’ve written about before. I sponsored their expenses so they didn’t miss out on their dream. To see their expressions when they saw “El mar” (the ocean) was worth the thousands of miles and days of traveling to see that moment. 

To living your amazing life, 

… Croix

PS,

The universe is waiting for you to step up and live the life you want. 

It seems cliche to say that we attract what we think about. But this is a law that works whether you realize it or not. Whether you believe it or not. It’s a law that never fails. 

Buddha said, “We become what we think.” 

Many will say it that’s not true because they wished for something once and it didn’t happen. But that is like eating one salad and expecting to be healthy for the rest of your life. If you eat fatty food all the time then you are going to “attract” or become fat. 

If you have mostly negative thoughts, then you are going to attract negative things. Even if you try to be positive for a day or a week, you may not immediately attract the things you want because the universe doesn’t believe you … not yet. 

There is a part to what Buddha said that is missing in the quote because we like sound bite. The other part to the law that we become what we think about, is that we become what we think AND FEEL. 

Thinking is one part of a magical recipe. The other ingredient is emotion because what feel puts what you think into a vibration that the universe can easily detect. So thinking alone will not bring you what you want. 

Belief is a feeling that transcends the thoughts and affirmations. Feel is what gives things power and energy. Add in purposeful action in alignment with what you want, and anything becomes possible. 

It works like this. Something bad happens to you, like a fender bender. “You get out and look at your car and immediately blurt out, “Crap, why does this always happen to me?” 

What just happened? You gave the universe a direct command with intense emotion to make bad things happen to you. Immediately after something bad happened to you, you said that it ALWAYS happens to you. So the universe is going to bring more accidents, problems, and misfortune because that is what you feel and believe. 

If instead you got out of your and immediately thought with gratitude that nobody was hurt and how amazing it is that it wasn’t worse, and you actually felt that and meant it, then the universe is going to reward you more blessings. 

Yes, something like an accident, death of a loved one, loss of a job, or any other intense experience is difficult to be grateful, but how you respond after the initial moments is up to you. You get to choose how fell about it after and you get to choose how you retell the story to your friends. You can transcend the experience and choose an empowering interpretation of the event. 

For life to get better, we must get better. That is a matter of choice in your thoughts, beliefs and feelings. Align yourself with the things you want, instead of responding to what happens and your life will dramatically improve in amazing ways. 

To your amazing transcendence, 

… Croix

PS, 

Like learning any new skill, practice and consistency creates the most dramatic improvements. And anyone can master it.