Chapter 1: The Power of Energy
Download a Sample from Monergy as a PDF
Have you ever noticed that when your energy changes, it affects everything that you do, including the ability to make money? You probably thought these shifts in your life were entirely random, and that you were never able to connect them in a meaningful way. You can now. This book will explain how your own energy either makes you rich or keeps you poor.
I discovered these connections by working as a lawyer and as a real estate developer in New York City. My first big example of this happened when I was a twenty-five year-old lawyer in a will contest. My client, Ruth, was a beneficiary under a will where the estate was worth several million dollars. She was a good friend of the decedent, Sally, a rich and eccentric old Swedish woman who had lived in an East Side Manhattan townhouse. Ned was the trustee under the will, and also a beneficiary and high-powered establishment type. It soon became clear that Ned was trying to steal the entire estate for himself. Under the cloak of white glove civility, he had no intention of letting the other beneficiaries, including my client, have a thing. What is the “cloak of white glove civility?” It is a very particular combination of appearance, position, and so-called breeding, designed to intimidate and control others; it is sometimes used as a smokescreen to steal the whole pie.
The problem Ned and my client had was that the original will, which gave Ned so much control over the estate, was superseded by a later will that left everything to Sally’s maid, who had only worked for Sally during the last three months of her life—a very suspicious situation with Stephen King-like intrigue.
A will contest ensued in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court, which administers wills and estates. Ned’s high-powered lawyers were politically well connected. They attempted a two-pronged attack. First, they claimed the maid’s will was not valid based on incompetence, or undue influence. After that will was eliminated, they planned to destroy my client’s claim based upon a trumped-up technicality.
The will contest went into high gear. Over the next six months, through numerous conferences and depositions, I picked up various signals about the participants and the court, itself. Ned’s lawyer, who was about twice my age, treated me as though I were an undesirable element that had stuck to his shoe. He took every opportunity to belittle my client’s claim and myself. The maid’s lawyer was condescending too; he was also well known in Surrogate’s Court. Further, the attorney for New York State’s interest in the estate was an elder statesman type, well connected and polished, who I thought might be on my side, but I was later proved wrong. Additionally, the Surrogate Court and its staff were demeaning to me, which I attributed to my novice status.
The court was a club that wouldn’t let me in. An interesting thing happened whenever I appeared at a conference in Surrogate’s Court on this case. The surrogate would invite the other three participating attorneys into her chambers and would literally shut the door in my face. They appeared as greedy coconspirators carving up a pie that excluded me. Their collective energy was extremely negative.
Although the surrogate could bar me from her chambers, Ned’s lawyer had to make an actual motion to dismiss my client’s claim. I sensed he was going to do it soon, and sure enough he did. At the same time, he threw some money at the maid so she would release her claim to the whole estate.
Ned’s attorney invited me to his plush Park Avenue office before the hearing date for that motion. The attorney representing New York State’s interest in the estate was also present. I had sometimes thought the attorney for New York State admired my spunk, but he ultimately sided with Ned’s attorney to knock out my client’s claim. (This well respected elder attorney was forced to resign his official position several years later due to an embezzlement scandal.)
Ned’s lawyer sat behind his gigantic desk in the comfort of his white glove law firm. He offered a paltry sum for my client to withdraw her claim. The attorney for New York State urged me to accept the money, and insisted that my client had no real claim to any part of the estate. Of note: while Ned’s attorney was sitting behind his desk making his insulting offer, he deliberately picked his nose while looking at me—a sign of utter disrespect. I rejected his ungenerous offer, even though my client’s case was not that strong.
A few years earlier, I had begun to practice meditation. I would sit with my palms facing up, and would either make my mind go blank, or visualize things I wanted to happen. I would perform this exercise, which involved being completely motionless, for fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the evening. Even though I was only twenty-five, there was much that I wanted to happen. I was hopeful that a meditation practice would help.
The hearing date arrived, and I went to Surrogate’s Court, which is in an imposing old building filled with wood-paneled rooms. A typical court’s calendar is jammed with many cases, and that day was no exception. The oral argument for my motion was not to take place for two hours, so I needed something to do. I decided to sit in the courtroom, get into my upright position, and just meditate.
As mentioned above, the three opposing attorneys were on average twice my age. They were all high-priced, experienced, and well-respected people who thought of themselves as powerful; they were used to pushing others around.
During my wait, I sat by myself in a corner of the courtroom and never moved a muscle. I did not even go to the bathroom. Although this incident happened a while ago, I will never forget it. I noticed that the three opposing attorneys were unable to sit still. They seemed anxious for the case to be called, and for the nasty business of eliminating my client’s claim to be over. Meanwhile, I continued to sit there, literally doing nothing.
At one point, my eyes locked with those of Ned’s attorney as he paced nervously in the courtroom. I returned the kind gesture he had made in his office; I stuck my index finger in my nose and pointed it directly at him. It was the only significant movement I made during the entire two-hour wait.
When the case was finally called for oral argument, Ned’s attorney was required to present his case first, as he was the moving party in this motion. It was a fairly complicated case, and when he got up to speak, he mumbled incoherently, and confused the simplest facts. His disorientation was obvious to everyone. This appalling display from one of New York’s most powerful litigators was mind-boggling. He had been a skilled and eloquent speaker on every prior occasion. Something was seriously wrong—but what?
The other attorneys and the judge looked at one another, struggling to find an explanation. This motion was supposed to provide a routine way for the other parties and the judge to be rid of my client and to greedily divide up the spoils. Nobody had anticipated this development. After three or four minutes of this embarrassing presentation, the judge interrupted Ned’s attorney: “All counsel approach the bench.” Puzzled and not knowing what to expect, I moved toward the judge along with the three other attorneys. The judge had barely acknowledged my existence before, but now she turned to me and asked, “How much money do you want?”
I was completely nonplussed, but I quickly recovered and made a fair six-figure demand. She accepted it on the spot and ordered a settlement based on that amount. This was the end of that case. The other attorneys were completely stunned and not exactly happy. On the way back to my seat, the judge’s clerk rushed over to me and called me a genius. Even the other attorneys—except for Ned’s—came over to congratulate me. They were in a state of disbelief.
Was I a genius? No. I didn’t do a thing. I just sat there and never said a word. Was I even a great lawyer? I never liked the law and I was young, so I doubt it. Did I inadvertently tap into the energy that allowed me, as a novice, to bring down one of the most powerful attorneys in New York City? Absolutely! I’m sure you have experienced something like this before—a time when something great happened to you against all odds or prevailing logic, and you had no explanation for it.
As I did, I’m sure you wondered, What is going on here? Can I ever reproduce these results? Is this some random magic, or are there rules that might apply? I set out on a journey to discover the answer. I didn’t know it then, but I know now, that by not reacting and remaining calm, I allowed the full power of that lawyer’s predatory energy to boomerang right back at him, rendering him incoherent. This instant karma effect is fully described in chapter 9. In that energy void, I also converted my opponents’ negative energy into a financial bonanza for myself. Due to the intensity of the negative energy directed at me, my client’s not-so-great claim prevailed.
It didn’t matter that I never attended Harvard Law School, and it didn’t matter that I was inexperienced and in my early twenties. The process of converting other people’s negative energy into your financial gain is discussed at length in chapter 8.
This case was a huge epiphany for me, because I saw and felt firsthand that so-called powerful people could be brought to their knees by their own negative energy. My idea of what it means to be powerful in our society changed forever. Real power to create financial change is not about family background, the right schools, the right connections, or entrenched self-interest. It’s not even about intelligence in the traditional sense. Power in every moneymaking situation is available to anyone who connects to the right energy and uses that energy responsibly. Learning how to recognize and access that energy is what this book is about.
Since that incident, I have further refined the energy concepts that apply to making money. Definite laws of energy apply to making and spending money wisely, and life is really about energy management. If you apply those laws of energy with sincerity, miraculous results can become a more frequent part of your daily life, as they have for me.
Understanding my own and others’ energy empowered me to exert control over my time, create the financial world I wanted, and change my life for the better. These are fast moving times with many electronic distractions. Even if you have lots of money, control over your time, maintaining peace of mind, and experiencing joy, can be elusive, and are the ultimate luxuries today. This book will help you reach these goals, too.
If you guess that I no longer practice law, you are correct. Why am I writing this book? As I look around at friends and loved ones and at the times we live in, I see increasing pressure on people to behave in selfish and self-destructive ways. Movies like The Hunger Games portray a society where survival of the individual comes at the expense of others’ death. Bullying is on the rise, and not just in high schools; verbal bullying by the “haves” against the “have-nots” is tolerated more and more worldwide. Self-absorption is pervasive due in part to our celebrity-driven culture, and people’s addiction to their smartphones to the exclusion of who and what is around them. This myopic energy is part of the way many people go about making money. Many people have no idea how their actions and energy affect others, and they seldom care.
Monergy is about creating more than enough money for your needs and wants. You can reach that goal if you apply this book’s principles to develop your own prosperity consciousness while you tap into the energy to get what you really want in life. You will learn how to recognize, and transform other people’s negative energy to your own financial benefit.
But this book goes beyond that. You will appreciate how everything you say and do creates energy. You will see how all energy in your personal and business lives is related, and you will respect this knowledge, because it can spare you from many of life’s misfortunes. Monergy shows you how to create wealth while you benefit everyone you meet, and how to sustain wealth once it is created. Most of all, Monergy is about savoring the wealth you create.
A unique treasure exists in each of us. Understanding energy provides access to that creative gold. Monergy transports you to personal abundance in any economic cycle. It’s your moment-to-moment choice to create the financial world you want through your consistent and sincere efforts to apply this book’s principles. It all starts with you. The difference you can make in any situation is amazing.
- Energy controls every life process, including making money.
- The power to access money is available to everyone who taps into the right energy and uses it responsibly.
- You can identify and convert another person’s negative energy for your own financial well-being.
- Understand the energy connection between your business and personal life.
- Create a positive energy exchange with everyone, and observe the effects on your wealth.
