Melody Fletcher - Deliberate Receiving: Finally, the Universe Makes Some Freakin Sense!

First published and distributed in the United Kingdom by:
Hay House UK Ltd, Astley House, 33 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 3675 2450; Fax: +44 (0)20 3675 2451
www.hayhouse.co.uk

Published and distributed in the United States of America by:
Hay House Inc., PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
Tel: (1) 760 431 7695 or (800) 654 5126; Fax: (1) 760 431 6948 or (800) 650 5115
www.hayhouse.com

Published and distributed in Australia by:
Hay House Australia Ltd, 18/36 Ralph St, Alexandria NSW 2015
Tel: (61) 2 9669 4299; Fax: (61) 2 9669 4144; www.hayhouse.com.au

Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by:
Hay House SA (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 990, Witkoppen 2068
info@hayhouse.co.za; www.hayhouse.co.za

Published and distributed in India by:
Hay House Publishers India, Muskaan Complex, Plot No.3, B-2,
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070
Tel: (91) 11 4176 1620; Fax: (91) 11 4176 1630; www.hayhouse.co.in

Distributed in Canada by:
Raincoast Books, 2440 Viking Way, Richmond, B.C. V6V 1N2
Tel: (1) 604 448 7100; Fax: (1) 604 270 7161; www.raincoast.com

Text Melody Fletcher, 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise be copied for public or private use, other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher.

The information given in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice; always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damage arising out of the use, or misuse, of the suggestions made, the failure to take medical advice or for any material on third party websites.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-78180-494-0 in print
ISBN 978-1-78180-512-1 in ePub format
ISBN 978-1-78180-513-8 in Mobipocket format

Interior illustrations James Steidl/Thinkstock

For my mom.

If Im the apple, youre the tree.

Im glad I didnt fall that far.

Contents

This book didnt happen in a vacuum. Its the culmination of a lifetime of lessons learned, and something many people contributed to directly or indirectly.

First and foremost, I want to thank my clients and readers, the Happy Shiny Puppy Army. Without your loyalty, dedication and awesome feedback over the years, this book would not have happened. Without your questions, and ability to hear the answers Im able to access, Id really just be a weirdo with a megaphone shouting into an oblivious crowd. You are the reason this book exists. You are the reason I do what I do. Thank you for letting me slap you with enlightenment and love, and for always laughing at my juvenile and ridiculous metaphors. And poop jokes. Lets not forget the poop jokes.

Id also like to thank my sister and Business Manager (Happy Shiny Puppy Wrangler), Tina Fletcher. As kids, I never wouldve imagined that wed be working together some day and yet, here we are. Holy crap, right? Your support, dedication and friendship mean so much to me. Without you, Deliberate Receiving wouldnt be where it is today! I honestly couldnt do what I do without you. I cant wait to see where we go next! And yes, Im fully aware that this acknowledgement (in writing!) will make you cry. This means I win. Your move, sis.

A huge shout out must go to Amy Kiberd, my commissioning editor at Hay House, for not only recognizing something in me and my blog, and talking me into publishing my book, but also babysitting me through my embarrassing first time author freak outs with such humor and grace. You do know that this book is just the first, right? I hope you realize what youve gotten yourself into.

Another special thanks to my excellent editor Sandy Draper, whose enormous skill and happy shiny attitude were a perfect match to my style. Thank you for making this process so easy on me. Your feedback was invaluable as we found metaphors and analogies that worked for both UK and US audiences (thank God poop metaphors are universally understood!). And also a special thanks to your hubby for confirming that people across the pond do know who MacGyver is.

Id also like to acknowledge the entire Hay House team: Reid Tracy, Michelle Pilley, Jo Burgess, Tom Cole, and Jessica Gibson (and anyone I missed! Sorry! Youre all awesome!), for basically being the best publishing team ever. I really feel like Ive been welcomed into a family of highly skilled publishing ninjas. Thank you.

And finally, Id like to thank my mom, best friend and mentor, Helen Fletcher. Youre the original coach, whether you want to believe it or not. Yes. You are. Thank you for always believing in me and being willing to see who I really was all along. Not to mention the whole giving birth to me thing. You got me started in writing all those years ago at six years old, when youd give me one sentence to start me off and Id go and write a story. I suspect this was a great tactic to get me to be quiet for a while, but it still worked. In other words, this is really all your fault.

Im so looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us all. This is just the beginning people. Dont you forget it.

Well hey there, stranger! Welcome to Deliberate Receiving! If youre reading this book, it likely means that youve been searching for answers to lifes biggest questions: Who are we? Why are we here? How do I win the lottery? How do I get my ass to fit into my skinny jeans, and like Mick Jagger why have I so far been unable to get any satisfaction? Youve been taught to work hard, play only once youve gotten your homework done, eat dessert last, keep your head down, do what youre told and play by rules that often dont make sense to you. You were also taught that if you did all these things like a good little human being, youd get rewarded with security, stability and possibly even a teensy-weensy bit of happiness (it really isnt a big goal in our society, no matter what the beer commercials say).

Only now, having done everything right, having played by the rules, you find yourself lacking a certain something. Call it passion, call it joy, call it awesomeness, call it a job that doesnt suck and a boss who isnt a total douchebag. No matter what is missing, youve likely tried all the conventional methods of bringing about change: working really hard, bitching about it to everyone you know, finding others online who will agree that your situation is totally sucky and tell you about their even suckier lives, playing the numbers game (applying for a ton of jobs, trying online dating because even a blind chicken finds corn every once in a while, am I right?) but, alas, nothing has worked.

Well, my Happy Shiny Puppy in training, thats all about to change.

Let me assure you that youre in the right place. Actually, to be completely honest, youve always been in the right place. Its just that now (the manifestation of this book into your reality is the sign that youre ready!), youre about to be in the really fun place the place where your life actually begins to work the way you want it to. Youre about to head from Dissatisfactionville (or Suckytown, Fearton, Crapolaville, take your pick) to Awesometown. This is where your questions finally get answered. This is where you finally understand how the Universe works, who you really are, what you truly want, why you havent gotten it so far and, most importantly, exactly what you need to do to get it.