Putting It Out There

On meaning, mystery, and the law of attraction

Recently, I met a debut memoirist at a coffee shop. Our shared bond of writing a memoir and having it published initiated our connection put together by our publicist. It was one of those meetings that quickly went beyond the sharing of our journeys of publishing our books, the marketing, the PR, and all the required self-promotion they never tell you about.

Writing a memoir takes a lot of you and sometimes you ask yourself if it was worth it. The constant reflecting and the peeling of layers to make meaning is a difficult and tiring journey, but one that is felt with triumphs with every step, as it did for Sally . . . and for me. It lives with the memoirist on many levels, on the inside, as it is much like a coffee pot, percolating and working its way through to a smooth finish, and on the outside as memoirists will forever be sharing their stories together. It’s their common bond.

But this meet-up with a fellow writer wasn’t just about discovering what we shared. It was about the timing of it all. It was about the conversation that stirred something in me, an awareness about my own memoir after all these years. And this led to something I couldn’t explain.

Throughout my life, there have been some things I couldn’t explain.

Maybe you’ve experienced the feeling, too?

Like when you may have felt you hit a low point, as if nothing is going well. And then you may disregard it for a while. But then surprisingly something happens, out of the blue, to make you feel better. Or maybe suddenly the thought of an old friend pops into your mind for no reason. Then some time later the friend calls. Or maybe another time when you’ve hoped and wished and prayed, so much so that you visualize it happening—that that new job comes through. And if it didn’t? No worries because something better had presented itself later to you.

A personal trajectory of the unexplained started when I was a young woman.

It was during my college exit interview at Marquette when my advisor asked how I planned to find a job after graduation. I told him I’d be sending out my résumé, using the Red Book—an advertising agency directory—as my guide. “And I’ll start with Leo Burnett, of course,” I said confidently, as if the job were already mine. Burnett had always been my dream agency. I had focused on it, visualized it, and believed it would happen.

But eighteen months after graduation, I was still unemployed. I had no plan B. But I felt strongly that something would come through. Then, unexpectedly, I received a phone call from an employment agency. The woman wouldn’t tell me the employer’s name until we had a qualifying chat. I qualified. She told me I’d be interviewing with Leo Burnett.

I got the job.

During my twenties, I faced unemployment at ad agencies three times, each a result of agency cutbacks after losing major accounts. It happens. What I couldn’t explain, though, was how each time, just as my unemployment benefits were about to run out, a new job came through. When I considered I could lose my apartment, the manager agreed to let me stay one more month. And just when I desperately needed money, I managed to sell my bike and guitar.

For a writer who makes meaning, I couldn’t explain how my dream job happened, how another job came through just at the right time, and how when I needed money, I found it.

However, I did have a mindset—a determination to find a job before I lost unemployment insurance, a strong belief that the threat of losing my apartment would blow over, and confidence that I’d find desperately needed money. I was convinced that all would work out for me.

a reflection of the above

I considered that “law of attraction” idea.

The thought of putting things out into the universe and all will come back to you goes back thousands of years. Buddhism and Hinduism teach karma and manifestation—intention and focus. And some of you may have heard of Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking, published in 1952. His central message is that faith, confidence, and optimism can reshape your life.

And we can’t forget Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret, where she made the law of attraction a global wonder. “Ask, believe, receive,” was framed as a “universal law.

And vision boards. Remember those? A collage of images, words, and phrases that represent your goals, dreams, intentions, and desires? They became popular in the early 2000’s, after The Secret came out.

It’s about the idea of the law of attraction—thinking about and visualizing what you want can bring them into being.

Putting It Out There

Perhaps my seemingly mystical experiences were the result of putting it out there. I put the resolution to my adversity out into the universe. It was like scribbling a message on a small piece of paper, rolling it up and stuffing it into a bottle. I’d toss the bottle into the proverbial cosmic sea with a hope, and belief and trust, that an answer will come back to me.

Until I met Sally, I had been thinking about my memoir and how long it has been out in the world. I always wondered why my story had taken a metaphorical, thematic shape—rather than focusing on a single traumatic event as memoir is defined. Was it meant all along to be told in an unconventional way?

While Sally and I talked about our memoirs, I thought about the story I had written. I saw that my story also had a broader meaning—about hope and belief. This had given me a sense of closure.

Perhaps all these years, post publication of “putting it out there,” of wondering what the real purpose was for me writing a memoir, had returned back to me. I wrote a book that helped me along the way in finding my place in life then, and I continue to use my story as a frame of reference now. And perhaps the law of attraction will guide me for the future in explaining the unexplained.

Shortly after meeting with Sally, my publisher told me that only eight copies of my memoir in inventory. The final chapter of the book had closed. With a few copies remaining, I had uncovered the final lesson I was meant to learn.

All because of meeting a fellow memoirist at just the right time.

Sometimes, putting it out there—through karma, positive thinking, or even a vision board—may appear to offer a path toward explanations for those head-scratching moments of the unexplained.

And yet, there are some things that will remain unexplained. And perhaps in due time, and putting out into the universe, their meanings will be revealed.

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What do you think of the law of attraction. Have you “put it out there” when you needed something to happen or needed an understanding? Please share your “unexplained” experiences.

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“Intention is the starting point of every dream.” -Deepak Chopra

“You’ll see it when you believe it.” -Wayne Dyer, author of The Power of Intention.

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COMING SEPTEMBER 16

Mercy Town

“With the language of a poet and the precision of a journalist, Chadwick artfully unfolds an unforgettable tale of family, unspeakable grief, and the glory of the human capacity for forgiveness. Great storytelling is what she does, and we are the beneficiaries.” —David W. Berner, author of the The Islander

Preorder is available now. Links to your favorite bookstore here.