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The Gym Lesson That Unlocked My Manifestations (And How To Do It Yourself)
My coach called me out on my biggest limiting assumption. What happened next taught me the real secret behind Neville Goddard’s “Truth That Sets You Free.”
Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash
I stood in front of the pull-up bar, feeling a familiar knot of fear and shame in my stomach.
My coach had just asked me to see how far I’d come. My mind instantly screamed the old story: “No, I can’t really do any pull-ups yet.”
I was about to retreat, to shrink back into the identity of “someone who can’t do a pull-up.” It was a comfortable, if painful, story. It was my assumption, and I was its slave.
But my coach saw a different story. He looked at me and said, “From what I’ve seen you do, you are much closer. Just try to get as far as you can.”
His words were a key. They didn’t give me new strength; they unlocked a strength that was already there, buried under a pile of limiting assumptions.
I grabbed the bar. I pulled. And for the first time, my chin moved almost halfway to the bar. It wasn’t the full pull-up, but it was a quantum leap. In that moment, I wasn’t “trying.” I was being — an athlete who was capable, powerful, and on the verge of a breakthrough.
That day at the gym was a perfect, physical demonstration of a psychological truth I’d been studying for years. It was a living example of chapter 5 from Neville Goddard’s book The Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book) Sophia had been teaching on a TikTok Live just days before.
Neville writes,
“Since your life is determined by your assumptions, you are forced to recognize the fact that you are either a slave to your assumptions or their master.”
In that moment of fear, I was a slave. But my coach’s words reminded me of the identity I had the power to master.
The Identity I Practice in the Dark
You see, for three months, I had been doing a very specific mental practice. While my physical body couldn’t do a pull-up or a handstand, my mind was already an athlete who could.
Every night before bed, I would close my eyes and say the affirmation:
“I am an athlete who can do pull-ups and walk on hands.”
I wouldn’t just say the words. I would let the visual form naturally in my mind’s eye — seeing my hands grip the bar, feeling the muscle engagement, experiencing the triumph of the full motion. And then, most crucially, I would tap into the feeling: the confidence, the pride, the pure joy of having that skill.
Sometimes, I used the 369 method: saying the affirmation with feeling three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon, and nine times before sleep. This wasn’t about begging the universe; it was about impressing my own subconscious with a new, dominant story.
The result? The 3D reality is catching up. I can now hold a handstand against the wall for over 20 seconds. And that “halfway pull-up” was a direct download from the identity I’d been practicing in my mind.
From the Gym to Your Greatest Goals
This isn’t just about pull-ups. This is the master key to manifesting anything.
I’ve applied this exact same formula to my work as a writer. For a long time, the identity of the “wanna-be writer” came with baggage: overthinking, fear of publishing, and playing small.
So, I started practicing a new identity:
“I am a financially abundant author.”
When I say this affirmation, I feel a wave of peace and joy in my head and chest. It’s not a feeling of frantic desire, but of a satisfied state of wish fulfilled.
This new identity inspired tangible actions the “wanna-be writer” would never have taken:
Writing and publishing consistently, without overthinking. The abundant author knows their voice has value and doesn’t get bogged down in perfectionism.
Submitting articles to bigger publications. The abundant author plays a bigger game because they know they belong there.
The 3D hasn’t caught up to the full vision of financial abundance yet. But it is responding. Our Medium channel just hit 100 followers — a milestone worth celebrating! Our income from the platform has noticeably increased. These are the “halfway pull-ups” in my author journey, proving the technique is working.
Your Practical Takeaway: Feel It First
The most important takeaway from all of this is simple, yet profound:
To have what you want, you must first become the person who has it.
And the key to that shift isn’t just thinking or visualizing — it’s feeling.
We don’t want the new car, the perfect relationship, or the thriving business for the object itself. We want it for the feeling we believe it will give us: security, love, freedom, joy, peace.
The revolutionary secret is this: you don’t have to wait. You can generate that feeling now.
Want financial abundance? Don’t just visualize stacks of cash. Step into the feeling of peace and security that abundance brings. Feel it in your body. Let it calm your mind.
Want a loving relationship? Don’t just imagine a person. Generate the feeling of being cherished and understood right now, in your heart.
Want better health? Connect with the feeling of vitality and gratitude for a body that is whole and well.
When you live from the feeling of the wish fulfilled, you naturally start to think, act, and make decisions as that person. The 3D world has no choice but to rearrange itself to match your inner state.
This is Neville’s “Truth That Sets You Free.” You are not a passive victim of your circumstances. You are the author of your assumptions, and the master of your identity. Your only limit is your uncontrolled imagination.
So, what’s the “pull-up” in your life? What story have you been a slave to?
It’s time to become its master.
Ready to master your assumptions and shift your identity alongside a supportive community? We dive deeper into these practices daily in our free Skool community, “Shift Your Identity” (SYI). Join us and others who are consciously creating their reality. Click here to join Shift Your Identity for free.
The One Sentence That Fixed My Broken Chair (& Rewired My Reality)
Neville Goddard was right: “An assumption, though false, if persisted in, will harden into fact.” Here’s how we proved it in a movie theater.
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
It was supposed to be a perfect, cozy afternoon.
We were at a fancy theater, the kind with big, electric recliners and seat warmers. It was Sophia’s birthday treat. She kicked back her chair, turned on the heat, and sighed with contentment.
I pressed the button on my chair. Nothing.
I tried again. Still nothing. No recline, no warmth.
The old me would have felt a flash of frustration. Of course my chair is broken. Typical. This always happens to me. That narrative was ready to roll, an automatic script written by a lifetime of conditioning.
But the new me — the one who has been immersed in Neville Goddard’s teachings and the power of assumption — paused.
This wasn’t just a broken chair. It was a test. And it was about to become one of the clearest, most mundane-yet-magical proofs of a life-changing principle we’ve ever experienced.
The Secret Ingredient Your Manifestation is Missing
In his book The Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book), Neville Goddard delivers a line so potent it can feel like a secret code for the universe:
“An assumption, though false, if persisted in, will harden into fact.”
Let’s look at that in detail, starting with the dictionary: an assumption is something you accept as true without proof. Most of us are constantly assuming based on the “proof” our senses provide — the broken chair, the empty bank account, the silent phone. We are, as Neville teaches, merely reflecting our current, often unexamined, assumptions.
The radical work is to assume the wish fulfilled without any external evidence.
But here’s the part we often gloss over: it’s not about the wish. It’s about the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
Meaning: feeling as if we already have what we want; not to be confused with “fake it until you make it” or other forms of “day-dreaming”.
This is where most of us get stuck. We visualize the new car, we affirm the perfect partner, but we’re still feeling the anxiety of not having it. We’re putting lipstick on the mirror and wondering why our own face doesn’t change.
The 3D world is the mirror. We are the source. To change the reflection, we must change the source first.
As Michael Jackson sang:
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
How I Applied This to a Cold, Upright Chair
So, back in the theater. The “proof” was clear: a broken chair.
My desire was also clear: a wonderfully relaxing and connected afternoon with my wife.
The old story would have been to fixate on the broken mechanism, letting it sour the entire experience. The new story? I chose to accept my desire as already fulfilled.
I didn’t try to “believe” the chair was fixed. That would have felt like a lie. Instead, I focused on the feeling of my wish fulfilled.
What does a “wonderful, relaxing afternoon” feel like?
It feels like peace. It feels like joy. It feels like ease and lightness.
So, I let go. I leaned back as best I could, propped my feet up on our bag, and turned my attention to the love-of-my-life company I was with and the movie we were about to see. I consciously dwelled in the feelings of peace and joy. I accepted that, regardless of the chair’s mechanics, my afternoon was already perfect. I persisted in that feeling-state.
Sophia, radiating the same energy, didn’t try to “fix” me or the situation. She was in her own state of fulfillment.
I had completely let go of the how. The “how” was the universe’s department. My department was to stay in the feeling.
The Word That Bridged the Realities
A little while later, toward the end of the previews and just before the movie started, I got up to use the restroom. When I returned, Sophia, without a second thought, intuitively said:
“Try it again. It is working now.”
She hadn’t touched the controls. She hadn’t flagged down a manager. She simply spoke from that place of aligned intuition, from the state of the wish fulfilled.
The old me would have scoffed. “I already tried, it’s broken.” But the new me, the one bathing in the feeling of a perfect afternoon, was open. I was in a state of allowing.
I smiled. “Okay, I’ll try.”
I pressed the button. The chair whirred to life, reclining smoothly. I pressed the heat button. A comforting warmth spread through the seat.
To my utmost, gleeful sense of wonder, the 3D reality had caught up. The assumption — the feeling of a perfect, relaxed afternoon — had hardened into fact.
A Practical Takeaway: The Feeling-First Framework
This isn’t about magic movie theater chairs (although the movie we saw was all about magic). It’s about the fundamental blueprint of creation.
Identify the Core Feeling: What do you really want? Strip away the object or situation. If you want a new car, is it for the feeling of freedom? Security? Success? If you want a partner, is it for the feeling of connection? Love? Belonging? Start with the feeling. For us, it’s a deep sense of ease and peace. What is it for you?
Assume the Feeling Now: The moment a contradictory “3D fact” arises (a broken chair, a rejected pitch, a negative bank statement), pause. Don’t argue with the fact, don’t deny it either. Instead, drop into your body and summon the feeling of your wish fulfilled. Breathe into it. For just 10 seconds, let the feeling of peace, or joy, or abundance be more real than the external circumstance. This is the “work.”
Let Go of the “How”: Your job is to be the person who is already experiencing that feeling. The universe’s job is to arrange the details. Trust that intuitive nudges — like Sophia’s words — will arrive at the perfect time, guiding your actions.
Mind Your Inner (and Outer) Speech: Your internal monologue must support your new feeling-state. Then, when you speak, let it come from that aligned place. Your words are the first vibrations of your new reality. Make them count.
The world will tell you to change your circumstances to change your feelings. We’re here to suggest the opposite, more powerful path: Change your feeling to change your circumstances.
Don’t get me wrong — sometimes a broken chair is just a broken chair, and you should call a technician. But the feeling of frustration and powerlessness? That’s the real glitch in the system. And the repair for that doesn’t require a tool belt; it requires a conscious return to the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
The ultimate fix wasn’t for the chair’s wiring, but for my state of being.
If this concept resonated with you and you’d like to go deeper with a community of like-minded people, you are welcome to join our free Skool community, Shift Your Identity (SYI). We continue these conversations there every day.
Your Circumstances Are The Echo, Not The Voice
How a broken movie theater chair taught me to stop fixing the reflection and start changing the source.
Photo by Elisa Photography on Unsplash
Let’s get straight to the point.
Most of us use manifestation like a remote control, pointed at the universe, desperately clicking the button and wondering why nothing changes.
We think the power is in the clicking. In the effort.
But what if you’ve been focusing on the wrong thing entirely?
I had a moment of pure clarity about this recently, in a movie theater of all places.
My electric recliner was broken. No recline, no heat.
The old me would have spiraled into frustration (or pretended that I didn’t need recline or heat anyway). But I’ve learned that the “3D world” — the broken chair, the empty bank account — is just a mirror. It’s the last place to look for solutions.
The real work happens before the mirror changes.
Neville Goddard, in his book The Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book) called it the ultimate secret:
“An assumption, though false, if persisted in, will harden into fact.”
This means your most important job is to feel the wish fulfilled now, not later.
In that theater, I gave up trying to “fix” the chair in my mind. Instead, I focused on the feeling of my wish fulfilled: a perfectly relaxed, joyful afternoon with my wife.
I soaked in the feelings of peace and connection as if it were already true.
I let go of the how.
And then, my wife Sophia, from a place of pure, aligned intuition, turned to me and spoke seven words that shifted reality:
“Try it again. It is working now.”
I pressed the button. The chair came to life and moved into the desired recline.
The 3D reality had simply caught up.
The chair was never broken. My connection to my own power was.
This is the shift. Moving from trying to make something happen to allowing yourself to be the person it has already happened for.
Your circumstances don’t need your attention. Your state of being does.
When you make the shift inwardly, the mirror of life is bound to conform.
In alignment,
Cristof
The 3 Stages of Spiritual Stuckness (And How to Get Unstuck)
How a rotting mattress and an unsustainable paycheck taught me where our reality is truly created — and it’s not where you think.
Photo by Tomas Tuma on Unsplash
Let’s get straight to the heart of the matter.
The path of true creation — the kind that brings peace instead of burnout, and flow instead of force — is often misunderstood.
And that’s why so many people get stuck trying to “manifest” their way to a better life.
But my guess is…
You’re someone who senses a deeper power within you, but your external reality hasn’t quite caught up yet.
If that’s true, you’re likely facing one of three core challenges I know all too well.
See which one resonates with where you are right now.
Challenge 1: You see problems as “out there,” and it makes you feel powerless.
A difficult client. A slow-paying customer. A neighbor who leaves a rotting mattress on their lawn for five weeks (true story here).
Your frustration grows because you feel at the mercy of their actions. You’re stuck in a story you hate, and you’ve cast everyone else as the villain.
What you need isn’t a better strategy for dealing with them.
You need to realize you are the one holding the mirror.
Challenge 2: You’re “manifesting,” but it feels like a struggle.
You’ve visualized. You’ve affirmed. Maybe you even manifested a big win, like the $22,000 month I once had.
But the how was a nightmare. It came with burnout, stress, and anxiety. You got the what, but you lost your peace. You were still the same person, hustling for your worth.
This happens because you’re trying to change the reflection without changing the face in the mirror.
What you need is to shift who you are being instead of staying busy doing.
Challenge 3: You understand the concept, but you lack the “how.”
You’ve heard “change your identity,” but it feels abstract. How do you actually do that? How do you move from knowing you should be the person who already has what you want naturally, to truly feeling it as your reality?
What’s missing isn’t the theory.
It’s a simple, daily practice that bridges the gap between your future self and your present moment.
Wherever you see yourself, the solution is the same: Stop trying to rearrange the furniture in a burning house.
The liberating truth I discovered — first with a mattress, and then with my income — is from Neville Goddard’s book Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book):
“Man is actually the arbiter of his own fate.”
This means the cause is never truly “out there.” It’s within. Your concept of yourself determines the world you live in.
When I cleaned my internal clutter, the external mattress disappeared. When I shifted my identity from a hustler to someone in harmonious financial flow, my business transformed.
The simplest way to start this shift? Anchor yourself in a new state for just five minutes a day.
Sit. Close your eyes. Choose one feeling: love, peace, or joy. Generate the sensation in your chest. Let it warm you. For those five minutes, you are that peace. You are not wanting it; you are it.
This is how you make the shift inwardly. And the mirror of life is bound to conform.
If you’re ready to move from theory to practice alongside a community of like-minded people, we created our Skool community, Shift Your Identity, for you.
It’s where we support each other in doing this real, daily work.
→ Join the FREE Shift Your Identity (SYI) Community Here
In alignment,
Sophia (& Cristof)
I Was Stuck in “Manifestation Mode.” This 3-Stage Wake-Up Call Changed Everything
A frustrating $113 yoga charge taught me the real difference between begging the universe and commanding your reality
Let’s get straight to it.
Most people who learn about manifestation hit a wall.
They visualize. They affirm. They try to think positive.
But deep down, it feels like begging the universe for a result. And when it doesn’t work, they feel frustrated. Inauthentic. Stuck.
I know, because I (Sophia) was there just last month.
I was three weeks into a “1-Month Trial” at a yoga studio when I needed to cancel. I sent a polite email, and their reply felt like a gut punch.
They said I needed to give 30 days’ notice to cancel a one-month trial.
I felt cheated. Disrespected. My story was, “They are so unfair!”
So, I did what any good manifestor would do: I visualized a refund. I affirmed their generosity.
And… nothing happened. They charged my card.
My manifestation was a dud.
That’s when I remembered the real secret I’d been teaching all along. It’s not about manifesting what you want. It’s about becoming who you are.
The shift happens when you move through these three stages:
Stage 1: You believe the cause of your problem is “out there.”
You’re focused on the external circumstance — the difficult person, the lack of money, the unfair policy.
You think changing that is the key to your peace. So you fight, you plead, you try to manifest it away.
But this keeps you powerless.
Stage 2: You learn the concept of “assumption,” but you keep it in your head.
You understand that your state of consciousness matters. You start saying “I am” statements.
But if it’s just a thought, it’s fragile. The moment your 3D reality pushes back (like a charge on your bank statement), the old story of injustice comes roaring back.
The mind is convinced, but the body and your actions aren’t.
Stage 3: You realize “assumption” is a verb. It’s the act of taking power.
This was my breakthrough.
I stopped trying to get a refund and became a person who commands integrity — by first embodying it myself.
I asked one simple, powerful question:
“Where have I not kept my own promises?”
The answer was immediate and humbling. I had failed to deliver a bonus video to my own students months ago. I was guilty of my own “fine print.”
I didn’t meditate more. I took action. I created the missing video and sent it out.
The moment I did, a feeling of lightness washed over me. The internal conflict was gone. The work was done.
The next day, the yoga studio refunded my money, unprompted.
This is the core of it: Stop manifesting, start embodying.
The world doesn’t respond to your wishes. It responds to your state of being. And your state of being is proven to you — and the universe — through your actions.
If you’re ready to move from theory to practice, we built a space for that.
In our free Skool community, Shift Your Identity, we do the “mirror work” together. We help each other find those hidden places where we’re out of integrity and give you the support to align them.
It’s where you learn to stop begging the universe and start commanding your reality.
Click here to join Shift Your Identity (SYI) for free.
As always, remember:
Make the shift inwardly, the mirror of life is bound to conform.
Sophia & Cristof
If you want to read the deeper, full story behind my yoga studio realization, you can find it here:
The 3 Stages of Getting Unstuck (And How to Move Through Them)
If you’ve tried manifesting but nothing changed, you’re likely in one of these phases. Here’s the map to find your way out.
Let’s get straight to the heart of it.
You’ve tried visualizing. You’ve tried the affirmations. Maybe you’ve even built a vision board.
But the results you want still feel just out of reach.
What if the problem isn’t your effort, but your entire approach?
For years, I believed the same story you probably did: Work hard, do the things, and then you’ll become the person with the results.
It’s the “Action-First” model. And it’s a trap that keeps you in a cycle of striving and imposter syndrome.
But something shifted for us.
We discovered that real transformation — the kind that brings opportunities to your doorstep — doesn’t start with action.
It starts with identity.
And from my own journey, I see most people get stuck in one of three places on this path. See which one feels familiar.
Stage 1: You’re stuck in the “doing” loop.
You’re hustling. You’re putting in the hours. You’re following all the “how-to” advice.
But you’re doing it from the identity of someone who doesn’t have the results. It feels like pushing a boulder uphill.
What you need isn’t another action plan. It’s a new identity from which inspired action can naturally flow.
Stage 2: You’re “faking it,” but you don’t “feel it.”
You’re saying the words, but your inner self is screaming, “This isn’t true!”
It feels like a lie because your subconscious is highly integral. It rejects what it sees as false.
What you need isn’t better affirmations. You need a way to genuinely feel the state of the wish fulfilled, so your mind accepts it as a new truth.
Stage 3: You have moments of clarity, but they don’t last.
You get a glimpse of what’s possible, but the old story, the old feelings, creep back in.
Your growth feels fragile. The 3D world’s evidence is still too loud.
What you need isn’t more motivation. You need a structured practice to continually abide in your new identity, until the outside world has no choice but to conform.
Wherever you are, the shift is the same: You must stop ‘faking it until you make it’, and start feeling it before you make it.
This isn’t a theory. It’s how we landed a teaching gig in a 5-minute state of flow, without hustling for it.
We simply abided in the identity of “being teachers” for a couple of weeks. We connected with the feeling of ease, authority, and service. Then, the opportunity appeared. It was a natural, almost expected next step.
The action was a joyful effect, not a strenuous cause.
This is the core of what we teach.
By the way, we created our Shift Your Identity community and the Power of Awareness course (for Premium community members) specifically for someone like you.
I don’t just say that to be inspiring.
I say it because we were right where you are, not long ago. We built the system we needed.
As always, remember:
Make the shift inwardly, the mirror of life is bound to conform.
Sophia & Cristof
Stop Hustling, Start Abiding: The Easiest Path to What You Want
How a simple change in our daily mental practice led to a real-world opportunity in just two weeks
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash
I clicked ‘submit’ on the teaching application in a state of pure, light-filled flow.
It had only taken five minutes. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing, no imposter syndrome. Just two days later, Cristof and I were in a meeting with the community center program director, not to plead our case, but to decide on dates and pricing for our class.
This wasn’t the result of grinding out ridiculous work hours. It was the natural outcome of a practice we’d been doing for weeks: we stopped faking it until we made it, and started feeling it before we made it.
The Trap of the “Action-First” Model
We’re all taught the same script from childhood: work hard, study hard, do the things, and then — maybe — you’ll become the person who has the results.
Want to be a successful writer? Write for 100 days straight.
Want to be financially abundant? Work 80-hour weeks and save 50% of your income.
Want to be a teacher? Get the education, then the degree, then the position.
The actions come first, the identity follows. It’s a life of striving, and for many, a life of perpetual struggle. The imposter syndrome thrives here because you’re always reaching for an identity that feels outside of you.
But what if we have it backward?
The Download That Changed Everything
Less than a week before the kickoff call for our community, we had a moment of clarity. The real, transformational work isn’t in the action. The action is a byproduct. The first step is the identity.
You don’t just get good grades; you are an excellent student.
You don’t just earn a lot of money; you are a financially abundant person.
You don’t just teach a class; you are a teacher.
For us, the desired identity was clear: “I AM a person who knows identity shifting inside out, applies it in his/her own life with ease, and teaches it successfully to others so they can transform their lives.”
This wasn’t a lie we told ourselves. It was a state we chose to inhabit.
The Practice: “Abiding” in the Wish Fulfilled
So how do you move from “doing until you are” to being the excellent student, financially abundant person, or confident teacher? You don’t just affirm it once. You abide in it.
For a couple of weeks, several times a day, we would consciously drop into the “state of the wish fulfilled.” We used the “I AM” mantra above not as a desperate plea, but as a gentle reminder of our true, chosen state.
We weren’t visualizing a specific classroom or students. We were simply connecting with the feeling of already being the capable, knowledgeable, generous teachers we knew we were. The feeling of ease. The feeling of natural authority. The feeling of service.
This is the crucial difference. Manifesting isn’t about craving a future thing. It’s about experiencing the ultimate result of that thing — the feeling — right now, in your mind. Because even when you get the Lamborghini, the experience of joy and abundance still happens in your mind. Why wait?
When the 3D World Catches Up
This is where the magic happens. When you are truly abiding in that new identity, inspired action finds you. It feels like flow, not force.
The email from the community center? It didn’t feel like a shocking coincidence. It felt like a natural, almost expected invitation from a universe that had simply matched our internal frequency. Seeing the “Program Instructor Application” link wasn’t a surprise; it was an obvious next step. The energy was divine, intuitive, and effortless. No thinking, only doing from a state of being.
The action was a joyful effect, not a strenuous cause.
Your Turn: How to Find Your “I AM”
If you’re feeling stuck in an identity that no longer serves you, here is the simple, practical first step:
Identify the “Stuck” Identity: Get brutally honest. “I am a struggling freelancer.” “I am an unpublished writer.” “I am someone who is always broke.”
Define the Desired Identity: What is the opposite, fulfilled version? Not just having something, but being someone. “I am a sought-after expert in my field.” “I am an author whose words impact thousands.” “I am a financially abundant person.”
It might take a few iterations to get it right. That’s okay. The key is to find the identity that, if you truly felt it was your reality, would make the craving for the external thing simply… dissolve.
The Beautiful Paradox of Non-Attachment
Now, you might be wondering: “Isn’t this just creating a new form of craving?” This is where the Buddha’s teachings beautifully align.
The practice isn’t to cling to the specific outcome nor the feeling. We didn’t need to teach at that specific community center. We just dwelled in the identity of being teachers and left the specifics up to the universe.
Feel the feeling, but be unattached to the form it takes. The feeling itself is also a tool. Use it, and let it go when it no longer serves you. This is the path of true freedom — shaping your reality without being enslaved by your desires.
The more you practice dwelling in this state, the more natural it feels. And the more natural it feels, the faster your outside reality will catch up, often in ways more creative and wonderful than you could have planned.
If this resonated with you and you’re tired of the hustle, we invite you to join our free Shift Your Identity (SYI) community. It’s a space where we explore these concepts daily, share wins, and support each other in moving from struggle to flow. For those ready to go deeper, our Premium membership includes our Power of Awareness course and, most importantly, weekly live “I AM” calls where we practice getting into and abiding in the “state of the wish fulfilled” together.
Your new identity is waiting for you to claim it.
The Yoga Studio That Overcharged Me Taught Me Neville Goddard’s Real Secret
I was trying to “manifest” a refund. What I got instead was a masterclass in the one law that changes everything.
Photo by Ginny Rose Stewart on Unsplash
You know that feeling when you get caught by a fine print you never saw coming?
I (Sophia) was three weeks into a “1-Month Trial” at a local yoga studio. Life happened — I got sick, my fitness goals shifted — so I politely emailed them. “Hey, can you cancel my renewal for next month? Thanks for the great classes!”
Their reply was a gut punch.
“Per our policy, we require a 30-day written notice to cancel.”
I read it twice. A 30-day notice for a one-month trial? To cancel a subscription I didn’t even want to continue, I would have had to notify them on day one.
I felt that hot rush of injustice. Disrespected. Cheated. It wasn’t even about the hundred-ish dollars; it was the principle. The “how dare they” story lit up in my mind like a neon sign.
My first instinct was to fight. My second, as a teacher of manifestation and the power of the mind, was to manifest. I visualized the refund. I affirmed “the studio is generous and understanding.” I tried to bend reality to my will.
And nothing happened.
The renewal date came, and the charge hit my account. My manifestation felt like a dud.
That’s when I remembered a line from Neville Goddard’s The Power of Awareness that I’d been teaching just days before:
“Man’s chief delusion is his conviction that there are causes other than his own state of consciousness.”
Ouch.
I had been seeing the yoga studio as the “cause” of my problem. But Neville states, bluntly, that this is a delusion. The real cause was my own state of consciousness. I was the common denominator in this story.
This is where I learned the critical difference between manifesting and identity shifting.
Manifesting (the way I was doing it) was like sending out a wishlist to the universe: “I want them to be fair.” It comes from a place of lack.
Identity Shifting, as Neville teaches, is becoming the person for whom the solution is already true. It comes from a place of assumption.
Neville defines assumption as “a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.”
So, I stopped trying to get a refund.
I became the person who was already treated with fairness and respect by the businesses they engage with.
But here’s the part I never understood until that moment. This isn’t just a mental exercise. This new state of consciousness requires integrating the second meaning of the word, “assumption” which is the “act of taking on power or responsibility.”
And responsibility, I realized, isn’t about blame. It’s about response-ability. The ability to respond to your reality by first looking within.
A question surfaced from a place of deep knowing, one that changed everything:
“Where have I not kept my own promises?”
The answer came instantly, clear and cringe-worthy.
Months prior, I had launched a digital course. I had delivered all the core content, but one promotional bonus — a juicy, hour-long video — had fallen through the cracks. I’d never sent it. It was a “small” thing, not critical to the course, but a promise was a promise. I had, in essence, hidden my own “fine print” from my students.
The yoga studio was holding up a mirror, and I finally had the courage to look.
I didn’t meditate harder on the refund. I didn’t do another visualization. I sat down at my computer and spent the next two hours creating that forgotten bonus video. I finished it, uploaded it, and sent a heartfelt email to every student who had purchased that course, apologizing for the delay and granting them lifetime access.
The moment I hit “send,” a profound feeling of lightness washed over me. The internal knot of conflict was gone. The work was done. I had cleaned up my side of the street. I had aligned my 3D reality with my new assumption of integrity. I completely forgot about the yoga studio.
The next day, I checked my messages on autopilot. There it was. A new email from the studio.
They apologized for the “confusion,” stated they valued me as a potential future member, and had processed a full refund.
My jaw dropped. “Oh my god, it actually happened?”
This wasn’t the Universe rewarding me for being “good.” It was the natural, inevitable result of a change in consciousness. As Neville says:
“If this assumption is persisted in until it becomes your dominant feeling, the attainment of your ideal is inevitable.”
I had shifted my dominant feeling from “aggrieved customer” to “integrity-driven business owner,” and the 3D world had no choice but to reflect it back.
The One Practical Takeaway You Can Use Today
The secret isn’t just thinking “I am” thoughts. It’s taking 100% responsibility for the reality those thoughts create.
If you’re facing a recurring problem — a lack of clients, difficult relationships, financial strain — ask yourself this powerful question:
“What have I done in the past that is the essence of what is happening to me now?”
Then, go fix it.
Can you deliver on that forgotten promise?
Can you pay that small, overlooked debt?
Can you offer a genuine apology where one is due?
If you can’t reach the original person, perform a symbolic act. Find someone else in a similar situation and help them. Dedicate the deed to healing the original karmic seed.
This is how you “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” You become the person of integrity, and the world of integrity finds you.
This path of Identity Shifting is the most powerful thing you will ever do, but let’s be real: it can also be the most challenging. The concept of 100% responsibility is a massive pill to swallow, especially when you’re just starting out.
You don’t have to do it alone.
If this story resonated with you, if you’re ready to be encouraged and held accountable as you step into your most powerful self, come and join our free Skool community, Shift Your Identity (SYI).
It’s a supportive space where we move beyond theory and into practice, helping each other clean up our 3D realities and consciously create the lives we’re meant to live. No prior knowledge or understanding required.
Click here to join Shift Your Identity (SYI) for free.
The power to assume a new life is your birthright. Let’s claim it, together.
I “Tricked” Myself Into Winning 3 Prizes in a Single Raffle
Here’s the simple identity shift I used — rooted in Neville Goddard’s teachings — that you can apply to manifest anything.
Photo by Jake Ingle on Unsplash
I (Cristof) sat on a hard gym bench, watching my chances of winning a raffle slip away.
The first prize was called. Not my number.
The second. Not my number.
The third and fourth. Nothing.
My shoulders began to slump. A familiar, apologetic story started playing in my mind: “It’s okay, you never win these things anyway. Just be happy for the others. Don’t get your hopes up.”
I was, in that moment, perfectly embodying the identity of Someone Who Doesn’t Win.
And the universe was complying.
But I’ve been doing this inner work for a while. I recognized the old story as it was happening. This wasn’t who I am anymore. So, right there in the noisy gym, I initiated a deliberate identity shift. I decided to step out of “Someone Who Doesn’t Win” and into “A Winner.”
I sat up straight. I put a genuine smile on my face. I started applauding the other winners with sincere joy, as if I were a champion who knew my turn was coming. I didn’t just act like a winner; I felt like one. I allowed myself to feel the satisfaction and excitement of having already won.
The very next drawing? My number was called.
I won a gift card. I was thrilled, but an old pattern emerged. When my number was called again in the next round, I felt a pang of hesitation. “Should I really be this happy? People might think I’m greedy.” The old identity was fighting to pull me back.
I consciously reaffirmed my new state. “I have shifted. I am a winner. Winners get to celebrate.” I stood up, raised my arms, and joyfully accepted my second prize.
By the end of the night, I had won three times.
Now, in the grand scheme, a few ice cream gift cards are trivial. But the lesson was profound: Your external world is nothing more than a lagging indicator of your internal identity. When I identified as a loser, I got loss. The moment I shifted to identifying as a winner, I started winning. It worked immediately.
This experience cemented a truth I knew from Neville Goddard. In his book, The Power of Awareness (affiliate link to book), he taught that:
“The truth that sets you free is that you can experience in imagination what you desire to experience in reality. And by maintaining this experience in imagination, your desire will become an actuality.”
But it was just yesterday that the final piece clicked into place. We were relaxing at home and watching the movie Coach Carter (affiliate link to movie). Samuel L. Jackson, as the coach, tells his team:
“The losing stops now. Starting today, you will play like winners, act like winners, and most importantly, you will be winners… winning in here is the key to winning out there.”
It hit me. That’s it. That’s the entire philosophy in one powerful, cinematic statement.
Most people hear that and think “in here” means the basketball court. But I finally saw it with perfect clarity.
“Winning in here” isn’t about a court. It’s about the inner court of your mind. It’s the identity you assume before the external result shows up. My gym story was a tiny, perfect example of winning in here (my mind) to win out there (the raffle).
The Simple Method for Shifting Your Identity
We spend so much time rearranging the furniture in a burning house — trying to fix external circumstances without addressing the internal fire of our own self-concept. The real work is within. If you want to create a lasting change, start by consciously shifting your identity. Here’s the practical, two-step method, that Sophia explains like this:
Step 1: Get Absurdly Clear on What You Want & Who You Must Be to Have It
You can’t build a house without a blueprint. Most people are vague. “I want more money.” “I want a better relationship.” This is useless to your subconscious mind.
Get specific. “I want to earn $10,000 per month from my creative work, with ease and joy.”
Now, here’s the crucial pivot most people miss: What is the identity of the person who already has that?
The person earning $10k/month with ease isn’t frantic or desperate. They are confident, focused, and see themselves as a high-value creator. They are a winner in their field.
Your desire isn’t just for the thing; it’s for the state of being that the thing implies. Define that state. Is it “a winner,” “a bestselling author,” “a magnetic partner,” “a debt-free person”?
Step 2: Make Your Future Dream a Present Fact Through Feeling
This is where you move from theory to practice. You must “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled,” as Neville says.
The word “assumption” is key. The dictionary gives two definitions that are perfectly aligned for our purpose:
A thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.
The action of taking on power or responsibility.
You must accept as true, without any proof from the 3D world, that you are already that person. And in doing so, you take on the power and responsibility of that new identity.
How do you do this? In your imagination.
Let’s say your desire is to be a bestselling author. Don’t just visualize holding the book. That’s a step, but it’s not the pinnacle.
Instead, enter a scene that would imply your desire is fulfilled. Imagine reading a heartfelt email from a reader, telling you how your book changed their life. Feel the warmth in your chest. See the words on the screen. Hear your own grateful, happy sigh. Live in that feeling.
Do this not as a daydream of the future, but as a reliving of a present fact. This isn’t “someday.” This is now.
As Neville puts it:
“By desiring to be other than what you are, you can create an ideal of the person you want to be and assume that you are already that person. If this assumption is persisted in until it becomes your dominant feeling, the attainment of your ideal is inevitable.”
Your only job is to persist. When the old reality (the “losing streak”) shows up, ignore it. It’s just echo. When doubt creeps in, gently return to the feeling of your wish fulfilled.
Stop trying to build a new you from the outside in. It’s exhausting. Instead, make the shift. Decide who you are now, and let your outer world catch up to that truth. “Win in here,” and watch, almost as a passive observer, as your reality has no choice but to reflect your new identity back to you.
Ready to make your shift? This is exactly what we explore in our free Skool community, Shift Your Identity (SYI). It’s a space where we dive deeper into these principles, support each other’s journeys, and practice the art of conscious creation together. If this article resonated with you, you already belong. Click here to join our free SYI community today.
The Two Blocks that Keep Money from Finding You
The struggle to attract more money, clients, and opportunities… it’s rarely about the strategy.
Let’s get straight to the heart of it.
The struggle to attract more money, clients, and opportunities… it’s rarely about the strategy.
It’s almost always about your identity.
You can hustle, you can manifest, you can visualize — but if your identity is rooted in lack, reality will conform to that.
Something tells me you know this already.
You’re someone who creates, who has a vision, but feels an invisible ceiling on your income and impact.
If that’s true, you’re likely facing one of two hidden blocks.
We built both of these walls ourselves. And it took a simple conversation on a drive to the grocery store to see them clearly.
See which one feels more familiar.
Block 1: The Comparison Trap (Cristof’s Story)
You see other creators, solopreneurs, and authors succeeding, and instead of feeling inspired, you feel a gut-punch of self-doubt.
“Why them and not me?”
“What’s their secret?”
“I’ll never get there.”
You’re measuring your Chapter 1 against their Chapter 20.
This isn’t just jealousy. It’s a form of energetic repulsion.
By focusing on your lack, you broadcast a signal of scarcity. You become un-coachable, closed off to the very inspiration that could move you forward.
What you need isn’t another tactic.
You need to dissolve the identity that feels “behind.”
Block 2: The Imposter Syndrome Freeze (Sophia’s Story)
You get a nudge to create something, reach out for a collaboration, or raise your prices… and a voice freezes you.
“Who am I to do this?”
“I’m not an expert yet.”
“I need to be more ready.”
You hold yourself back, believing you need a perfect result before you can even begin.
This isn’t humility. It’s a cleverly disguised form of self-sabotage.
By refusing to put yourself out there, you ensure you’ll never become the person you want to be. You repel opportunity by refusing to open the door.
What you need isn’t more credentials.
You need the identity of a “contributor,” not a “guru.”
The shift out of these blocks isn’t another technique.
It’s a single, powerful question that we now live by. It’s the bridge between your current self and your money magnet self.
“What would the version of me who is already a money magnet do right now?”
This question bypasses the logic of your current circumstances. It pulls the energy, decisions, and actions of your future self into the present.
Would that version of you scroll mindlessly, or write 500 words?
Would they gossip about a competitor, or send a congratulatory message?
Would they hide their work, or hit “publish”?
This is the core of the work we do at Simple and Aligned.
We guide you through these precise identity shifts. We give you the mindsets and the simple, aligned actions to stop chasing and start being the person money, clients, and opportunities are naturally drawn to.
If you’re ready to move from manifesting to embodying, this is your space.
Click here to join the Simple and Aligned newsletter.
We don’t just teach this because it’s a philosophy.
We teach it because we’ve lived it. We were right where you are, building those same walls.
As always, remember:
Stop chasing. Start being.
— Sophia & Cristof
Remove These Two Blocks and Become a Money Magnet
How a simple grocery run conversation revealed why we were repelling abundance (and the identity shift that changed everything).
Photo by Greg Willson on Unsplash
It was just a drive to pick up our grocery order.
The radio was off. The hum of the road was the only sound, until one of us started talking about love.
“You know,” one of us said, “when you’re desperately looking for love, you often don’t find it. Or you make compromises. But when you stop looking, when you’re just ready and open… that’s when you find your person.”
A pause. Then the spark.
“That’s how money works.”
The words hung in the air between us, Cristof and Sophia. It was one of those moments where a truth you’ve been circling for years suddenly lands, clear and simple.
You have to be ready for money, and the money has to be ready for you.
Stop chasing money. Let money chase you.
It sounds beautiful, almost too simple. But as we talked, we realized we’d spent years building invisible walls that repelled the very abundance we wanted. We were the ones who weren’t “ready.” And we discovered we weren’t alone.
The Two Biggest Blocks That Keep Money from Finding You
For this “letting money chase you” idea to work, you have to be open to receiving. We found two major ways we were slamming the door shut.
Block #1: The Comparison Trap (Cristof’s Story)
For the longest time, my reaction to other people’s success was a gut punch of self-doubt. I’d see a fellow writer hit the Staff Picks, or a solopreneur launch a successful course, and my mind would immediately spiral: Why them and not me? What’s wrong with me? Why am I not there yet?
This wasn’t just jealousy; it was a form of energetic repulsion. By focusing on my lack, I was broadcasting a signal of scarcity. I was essentially telling the universe, “See? I don’t have what it takes. Those people are the lucky ones.” I was so busy measuring my chapter 1 against someone else’s chapter 20 that I’d become completely un-coachable, closed off to the very inspiration and strategies that could have moved me forward.
Block #2: The Imposter Syndrome Freeze (Sophia’s Story)
My block was more internal, but just as damaging. It was the voice that whispered, “Who are you to talk about this? Your own life isn’t perfectly ‘fixed’ yet. You’re not a certified expert.”
This hesitation showed up as not taking inspired action. I’d get a nudge to write an article, reach out for a collaboration, or create a new offering, and the imposter syndrome would freeze me. “I’m not ready,” I’d tell myself. This wasn’t humility; it was a cleverly disguised form of self-sabotage. By refusing to put myself out there, I was ensuring I’d never become the person I wanted to be. I was repelling opportunity by refusing to open the door.
The Shift: How We Finally Opened the Door
Realizing the blocks was one thing. Dismantling them was another. It didn’t happen overnight, but through a conscious practice of identity work.
For me, Cristof, the breakthrough came from a concept we now live by:
imagine what the person who already has what you want feels like, and then hold that feeling in your heart.
I’m a beginner in CrossFit. In the past, seeing someone do a handstand walk would have triggered my comparison monster. Now, I consciously step into the identity of a “fit, healthy athlete.” From that place, I don’t feel jealousy; I feel pure awe and inspiration. I see a roadmap, not a reminder of my failure. I became coachable, embracing Ray Dalio’s principle of radical open-mindedness that I had read in his book Principles (Affiliate Link). The person I am becoming is eager to learn from those ahead of him, because he knows their success doesn’t diminish his own — it lights the path.
For me, Sophia, the shift was deciding to
be a contributor, not a guru.
In 2023, I started a YouTube channel despite feeling completely unqualified. The pivotal moment was a piece of advice from my money mindset mentor, Denise Duffield-Thomas, author of Chill and Prosper (Affiliate Link), that I paraphrase like so: “You don’t have to be the ultimate expert. You just have to be a contributor to the conversation.”
That freed me. A five-year-old can contribute a beautiful, naive drawing to the world of art. A 105-year-old can contribute a lifetime of wisdom. I realized that in the doing, I would become. By creating the content, I was embodying the teacher. I was stepping into the identity of “someone who shares valuable insights,” and through that action, I was becoming her.
Your Practical Takeaway: The “Magnet Mindset” Question
So, how do you start removing these blocks today? It starts with one simple, powerful question. Whenever you feel stuck, hesitant, or compare yourself, ask:
“What would the version of me who is already a money magnet do right now?”
Would that version of you scroll mindlessly, or would they write 500 words?
Would they gossip about a competitor’s success, or would they send a congratulatory message?
Would they hide their work because it’s not “perfect,” or would they hit “publish”?
This question bypasses the faulty logic of your current circumstances and pulls you into the energy of your future self. This is the energy that money — like a happy dog — recognizes and runs toward.
And remember the most liberating idea from our car conversation, inspired by the book Dollars Want Me (Affiliate Link):
Dollars want you.
Money is not a scarce resource to be hoarded. It’s a form of energy that wants to circulate. It is drawn to people who will use it for good, for creation, for benefit to their families and communities. When you align your identity with that benevolent, creative force, you stop being a desperate chaser and start being a joyful receiver. You become a magnet.
Your journey to becoming a money magnet starts with a single decision who you want to become.
Before You Go…
If this resonated with you, you’re our kind of person. We explore these kinds of mind-shifts and practical identity upgrades every week in our Simple and Aligned Newsletter. Click here to get our weekly insights delivered directly to your inbox. Let’s become the people our future selves are already proud of.
— Sophia & Cristof