By David Magallanes / Guest columnist
I’ve always enjoyed walking through a bookstore, perusing the books on the shelves, just as I used to do as a child when my father would take me with him to the Los Angeles Public Library, or to the many bookstores we would visit in downtown L.A., or in Long Beach or Santa Monica. Several of the books that I’ve selected to read over the decades were veritably and profoundly life-changing.
For example, one day, as a pre-teen, I rode my bicycle to the local city library and chose a book with strange symbols on the cover that—for some peculiar reason—caught my attention. It was a book about electronics, a relatively new field at the time. I was drawn into the technical details and, to make a very long story very short, I ended up working in electronics for many years as a young professional.
Similarly, some thirty years ago, as I wandered alone through a bookstore (I seem to do that a lot…) one day, a strange and unusual book title almost literally grabbed me. At first glance, it seemed magical, and even forbidding. It appeared to be a book about witchcraft. I almost kept walking, since I had no particular interest in the topic. But something forced my eyes back to it.
Then it dawned on me. It wasn’t Witchcraft, but rather Wishcraft—How To Get What You Really Want, by Barbara Sher.* It was a magical book after all!
The timing was premature, as I was just starting a traditional career for which I had spent many years preparing, and facing the usual challenges of a young professional trying to find his way in the world.
But I read the book anyway. It fascinated me. It got me to realize how entrenched we become in society’s expectations of us—expectations that often repress us and prohibit us from allowing our natural talents and skills to flourish and subsequently letting the world reward us accordingly.
I’ve kept this book with me all this time. I’ve referred back to it many times throughout the decades. Now that I have an opportunity, from a more secure base and with more time, to create something lucrative and satisfying, I find myself discovering, with Ms. Sher’s guidance, who I really am as I slowly peel away decades of conformity that I felt were necessary to work in the conservative fields that I had chosen.
In the introduction pages, the author lays out one of the very first steps of this journey toward enlightenment: “But first, of course, you have to know what you want” (xiv)—which is not necessarily a slam-dunk when we often don’t even have the luxury of time to know, first of all, ourselves—let alone what we want.
Ms. Sher gently starts by guiding the reader to meet him- or herself, the vital step without which setting meaningful goals for oneself is impossible. Once we’ve become reacquainted with our authentic selves for the first time since our infancy, then the labor (as in “birthing”) associated with discovering what we truly want begins. After which we hammer out and cobble together a plan to get what we want, all of which, of course, takes us to the doorstep of the process itself.
Toward the end of her book, one of Ms. Sher’s final hard-hitting admonishments waxes Churchillian: “Never, never give up or change your goal when you’re feeling scared, discouraged or depressed” (235).
Amen.
* Sher, Barbara. Wishcraft. New York: Ballantine Books, 1979.
— David Magallanes is the creator of his own enterprise, Real World Projects, a business primarily dedicated to building marketing business networks for the creation of affluence. In this pursuit, Real World Projects constructs distribution outlets for highly reputable products that offer a healthier life and a more vibrant lifestyle, as well as free training and guidance for those who wish to create their own similar enterprise. David may be available for speaking opportunities. To contact him and for more information, you are invited to visit and explore the Real World Projects web site at www.realworldprojects.info