I’m a sucker for e-books, especially when they’re free. I’ll trade my name and e-mail for knowledge any day of the week, especially knowing I can opt out if the subsequent stream of e-mails becomes too annoying.

So I downloaded my latest e-book today and it’s really got me thinking. You can check it out at the Success Enterprises website, which I was happy to see is connected to a Sarpy County business.

This e-book is longer than most I take the time to tackle, but its story keeps replaying in my head, and the moral resonates with what I really need to be doing.

While the premise is a fairy tale about three brothers, the lesson involves how our perspective and attitude determines our level of success. Each of the brothers was blocked by various obstacles from achieving happiness, and it wasn’t until they began asking four critical questions (over and over and over) that their paths began to dramatically change.

Question #1: What do you want?

What’s the life you envision for you and your family? What specific elements comprise that vision? What emotions are connected?

Question #2: What will that do for you?

When you achieve the goals you’ve set, what does your life look like? What benefits do you enjoy that you couldn’t before? How are you better off by getting what you want?

Question #3: How will you know when you have it?

What has to happen to demonstrate that you’ve reached your goal? What are the specific, descriptive characteristics of the newly defined situation that prove you’ve arrived at your destination?

Question #4: What’s stopping you from getting what you want, and what do you need to do to overcome those obstacles?

What are your road blocks, and how do you bypass them? And if you don’t know, how could you find out?

A friend told me yesterday that each time we encounter information that resonates with us, it’s just another opportunity to reinforce what we already know. These questions may seem like common sense, but as the story demonstrates, they’re deceptively simple, and their answers continue to change.

However, by staying focused on what you want, how having that will improve your life, and what opportunities exist for you to achieve what you want, you train your brain to notice those opportunities, and find information and people that complement your journey.

Yes, it’s another version of the popular Law of Attraction, but it makes sense, especially about telling your brain what to notice. If you’re afraid of wasps, as my 9-year-old is, you’ll see every wasp in a 10-mile radius and be certain that they’re out for your blood. If you make friends easily, then you see friendly people everywhere you go. If you’re lonely and wishing you had a significant other, you’ll see loving couples everywhere. If you’re unhappy in your relationship, you’ll run into lots of other people who are also unhappy in their relationships. Our brain notices what’s foremost in our thoughts, and contributes additional evidence to affirm our current train of thought.

So by asking these questions, we stay focused on what we can have, and what we can achieve, and what blessings we enjoy, and thus we continue to find joy and rewarding opportunities. And like anything, the more we practice shaping our focus, the more natural it becomes.

Go check out this e-book, and then leave me a comment about what you thought. And in the meantime, start focusing on what that perfect parking place looks like. It works for me, I swear!