e headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on

I very often see rants, complaints, wishes and dreams that have a similar theme, and that theme goes something like this:

"Here is my dream and here is what I have been able to do, but I can't seem to get any further and it feels like I've hit a brick wall. No matter what I do, I can't seem to bring more (customers, gigs, sales, days, money, friends, etc.) in to support this dream. I don't want to drop it but I feel I might have to in order to make ends meet (or, conversely, the ends aren't meeting and I can't drop this because this is all I have/know/want to do) and so on. Help!"

This is a wicked bad situation to be in, I know, but I think I may have at least a partial idea on how to move forward. Basically you are hitting a spiritual and emotional brick wall, a very real one, and it is what I call the "Gratitude Toll".

Huh? Yeah, the Gratitude Toll. Read on.

Too many of us set out on a dream and start to do the things we need to do to achieve it. But our first successes, being the anemic weaklings they usually are (and cannot actually be expected not to be, given our inexperienced nature), often do more to antagonize us and torture us when held up to the light of their brilliantly glowing parent-dreams, than to persuade us that we are on our way. We see what little we have accomplished, and how far we have yet to go - not only to make our dreams come true but even just to make the whole process self-supporting and us-supporting. We wail and despair and fling ourselves into the work with desperate abandon - but to no avail. We've hit a wall. Despite our most determined efforts, our most energetic marketing, our perfectly engineered whatzit, our professionally designed website (not to mention our blood, sweat and tears), nothing progresses. We get no further than we already have. WHY????

Simple - because we haven't paid the Gratitude Toll. The universe will give us anything we want (in some measure or another), but it reserves the headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on t

't meeting and I can't drop this because this is all I have/know/want to do) and so on. Help!"

This is a wicked bad situation to be in, I know, but I think I may have at least a partial idea on how to move forward. Basically you are hitting a spiritual and emotional brick wall, a very real one, and it is what I call the "Gratitude Toll".

Huh? Yeah, the Gratitude Toll. Read on.

Too many of us set out on a dream and start to do the things we need to do to achieve it. But our first successes, being the anemic weaklings they usually are (and cannot actually be expected not to be, given our inexperienced nature), often do more to antagonize us and torture us when held up to the light of their brilliantly glowing parent-dreams, than to persuade us that we are on our way. We see what little we have accomplished, and how far we have yet to go - not only to make our dreams come true but even just to make the whole process self-supporting and us-supporting. We wail and despair and fling ourselves into the work with desperate abandon - but to no avail. We've hit a wall. Despite our most determined efforts, our most energetic marketing, our perfectly engineered whatzit, our professionally designed website (not to mention our blood, sweat and tears), nothing progresses. We get no further than we already have. WHY????

Simple - because we haven't paid the Gratitude Toll. The universe will give us anything we want (in some measure or another), but it reserves the headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on

ur first successes, being the anemic weaklings they usually are (and cannot actually be expected not to be, given our inexperienced nature), often do more to antagonize us and torture us when held up to the light of their brilliantly glowing parent-dreams, than to persuade us that we are on our way. We see what little we have accomplished, and how far we have yet to go - not only to make our dreams come true but even just to make the whole process self-supporting and us-supporting. We wail and despair and fling ourselves into the work with desperate abandon - but to no avail. We've hit a wall. Despite our most determined efforts, our most energetic marketing, our perfectly engineered whatzit, our professionally designed website (not to mention our blood, sweat and tears), nothing progresses. We get no further than we already have. WHY????

Simple - because we haven't paid the Gratitude Toll. The universe will give us anything we want (in some measure or another), but it reserves the headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on

pair and fling ourselves into the work with desperate abandon - but to no avail. We've hit a wall. Despite our most determined efforts, our most energetic marketing, our perfectly engineered whatzit, our professionally designed website (not to mention our blood, sweat and tears), nothing progresses. We get no further than we already have. WHY????

Simple - because we haven't paid the Gratitude Toll. The universe will give us anything we want (in some measure or another), but it reserves the headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on

e headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can't sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on the vine - is hardly worth cheering over. But we must! We must express our thanks for any little bit we have gotten, and we must learn to willingly adopt the attitude that whatever the universe sends our way, however small in our eyes, deserves thanks and celebration. And (this is very important) we must learn to accept the fact that not only may this be all we get, but that we must learn to be happy with it should that be the case.

Oooh. Dead silence. "But, I don't want to be happy with just this," you say. "How can I be? It's not even paying the bill for the brochures I printed to advertise it! It's barely more than nothing!" And that may be true, but you must be grateful for what you have been given and prepared to accept it as your gift, en toto, before the universe will give you more!

You see, like a child who complains about a not-quite-perfect Christmas gift, our Divine Parent is often loathe to squander the Universe's blessings on those who are not capable of being happy with what they already have. I don't blame Him/Her. Do you?

If you offer someone an inch, and they are so unhappy that they bitch and whine about not getting a mile, how likely are you to give them more? NOT! So pay your toll. Be grateful and satisfied with what you have. And it has to be real, too - you can't just go through the motions. Trust me on this folks, if anyone can catch you faking it, God can!

But do it right and before you know it the Universe (being well pleased with your attitude of gratitude) will deem you worthy of even more blessings. And more. And more. And even more, far beyond your wildest dreams of more. Those who get the greatest blessings out of life, if you pay close enough attention to see, are often those who would be - and have been - just as happy with far, far less.