I want you to succeed, I want your lives to improve, I want you to attract more money into your life, I want you to attract more love, or whatever it is that you most desire. All these things are possible when you practice positive thinking and much, much more.

So why is it then that so many people fail to embrace positive thinking and quickly give up? They buy all the right self-help books, they do all the right recommended exercises, they make dozens if not hundreds of affirmations with the intensity of a long distance runner – and they achieve nothing.

I have seen mood boards that would grace an art gallery. You can download a massive cheque from bank of the Universe and put it over your bed, or PC or on the fridge and still nothing happens – the overdraft stays the same and the credit card bills are still a struggle.

Many embrace positive thinking with such intensity that they manage to produce the exact opposite of what they originally intended and that really is a worrying phenomenon because it means their lives get worse, they blame the universe for the situation and so the downward cycle continues.

I have no doubt that the people who write self-help books are sincere and probably have well documented evidence that everything they say has worked for them. They give the best possible advice and while it may succeed for some, the majority of people will read the books, quickly forget what was discussed or find the solutions suggested too arduous or time consuming.

If you think I am wrong tell me what you really remember from the last self-help book you read? If it helps I can tell you a few common themes. Most of these authors will tell you that they lived at the side of the road, had not had a meal for six months, all their friends and lovers have deserted them but today they are multi-millionaires, happily married etc because they discovered a secret formula. I am obviously exaggerating and of course it doesn’t apply to every author – but you get the picture.

The real secret to positive thinking is common sense. If you think you will get a jackpot lottery win then you will probably be disappointed because a little voice will always be telling you it is impossible and undoing all your good work. Positive thinking succeeds if you believe it is possible.

This applies to everything you are trying to focus on. If you believe it is possible and doable then as sure as night follows day, it will happen for you, so if it is money you need start with something a little more modest, something you can really believe in – the bigger stuff can wait. Once you start attracting the smaller stuff, the rest will get easier.

Most self-help books also like the idea of repetition, regular affirmations particularly as you go to sleep or wake up. If this works for you then great, but in reality the more you focus on something the more you keep telling the universe that you don’t have it – and the universe in turn responds by ensuring it will never come your way.

Want a simple example of this working. Just think back to when you were trying to attract a boyfriend/girlfriend and the more you concentrated on that person, the further away they seemed to be, but the ones you hardly thought about were always there – that’s a small example of focussed positive thinking in reverse – and it’s happened to us all. You really got to relax if you want to make the right things happen.

The universe wants to help, but it can only do so if you are willing to help yourself. You have to decide what it is you want – it helps if you can write it down, even better, make it a target that is achievable such as a new job, a wage rise, bonus company car – let’s get the basics right first.

As you write this down, try and visualise how this is going to happen and what action you are going to take to move things along. Then, like everything to do with Powerful Positive Thinking, you must destroy that piece of paper and try never to think about it again.

The universe has really got your message. You don’t call Amazon every day and ask if they got your order so why do it with the universe. Concentrate instead on the action you intend to take and don’t give the order a second thought – it is on its way.

So let’s go over it one more time. Whatever you want to attract make sure that you have used plenty of common sense. Why concentrate on the lottery win when it would be a big help to get the credit cards paid off, why concentrate on being Prime Minister when you might be able to make an impact first in local Government – you get the idea.

Once you have set your goals then assume that the universe is now working with you and totally forget about them. Concentrate instead on a bit of positive action to make things better in your life. You are now on the right road to a better future – and all it took was a bit of common sense – how easy is that.