Leadership

Using the Law of Attraction for Small Business Success

As a small business owner, you want to use every tool available to you to stack the deck in your favor and give your business the highest chance of success. And sometimes, that means stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something that might seem a little out there.

The law of attraction is one of the most well-known, embraced, and celebrated concepts in the self-help world. People all over the world are using the law of attraction to manifest the things they most desire in their life—and that includes success in business.

But what, exactly, is the law of attraction? How does it work? Is it for real? And, if so, how can you use it to take your business (and your own life!) to the next level?

What Is the Law of Attraction?

At its core, the law of attraction is the belief that your thoughts create your experiences. If you focus on positive thoughts and positive emotions, you will effortlessly attract positive experiences—and, on the flip side, if you engage in negative thinking or negative thoughts, you will attract negative experiences. (Or as Oprah, one of the most well-known followers of the law of attraction, puts it, “The way you think creates reality for yourself.”)

The law of attraction has been around for hundreds of years and has been the subject of some of the most famous self-help books of all time, including Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, and You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.

However, the law of attraction’s popularity exploded in 2006 with the release of the film and book The Secret, which was picked up by major media outlets and brought the concepts of the law of attraction to the internet generation.

How Does It Work?

In theory, the law of attraction is simple: What you think and believe is what you attract. But in practice, it’s so much more than that. You can’t just think positive affirmations like, “I’m going to make a million dollars this year!” and BOOM—instant millionaire. The law of attraction (and life in general) just doesn’t work like that.

Instead, it’s about fully embodying what you’re trying to attract, believing that it’s already happening for you, and then allowing it to happen (even if it’s in an unexpected way). And then—and this is the important part—it’s taking action to create what it is you want in your life, whether that’s to attract money, achieve success (financial success), improve your physical health, or grow your business.

So, let’s say you want to use the law of attraction to start attracting a higher-paying clientele. You might start with the affirmative thought, “My business attracts lucrative clients who are willing and able to pay our fees and interested in building long-term relationships.”

The law of attraction is fully embodying what you’re trying to attract, believing that it’s already happening for you, and then allowing it to happen…

Then, you would allow yourself to fully embody and experience that thought (for example, by imagining how it would feel to have an increased level of cash flow from a smaller number of clients). You might even do things like write your new revenue numbers on your sales board. You would spend every day expressing gratitude for your new clients—truly believing that those clients are right around the corner.

And then, of course, you’d use those thoughts and beliefs to drive your actions. You would connect with potential clients, schedule sales demos, and put the word out with your network that you’re looking for referrals—knowing that, eventually, one of your actions will lead to your desired result—higher-paying clients, more success, and more money for your business.

So, in a nutshell, the law of attraction works by thinking positively and using positive energy to think about what you want to attract in your business (or life), fully embodying that thought, and then taking action to help transform that thought into your own reality.

How Can You Use the Law of Attraction to Take Your Business to the Next Level?

You know what the law of attraction is. You know how it works. Now, let’s talk about how you can use it to take your business to the next level.

There are a number of different law of attraction exercises you can use to attract success in your business, including:

Gratitude Lists

Appreciating the success you already have can put you in the mindset to attract and receive more. Every day, take a few minutes to jot down all the things you’re grateful for in your business. Let yourself fully feel the gratitude for each thing as you write it down.

By focusing on your existing success (and what you already have to be grateful for), you can shift your mood, perspective, and mindset—which will put you in a better place to attract the even higher level of success you desire.

Visualization

Again, a huge part of the law of attraction is not only thinking positive thoughts but fully embodying those thoughts. Visualization is the practice of picturing what it will be like to get what you want (including all the feelings, emotions, and experiences that go with it)—and it’s the one area of the law of attraction that has a clear basis in science.

When you visualize yourself hitting a goal, your brain actually interprets that visualization as a reality—and, as a result, creates new neural pathways to support that reality. Essentially, visualization “tricks” your brain into thinking your desired outcome (whether that’s successfully launching a new product or hitting the 6-figure mark in revenue) has already happened—which can make it easier for you to take the action necessary to make your desired outcome actually happen.

Sit down, close your eyes and visualize yourself reaching your goal. What will it feel like? What emotions will you experience? How will it impact your team? Allow yourself to fully embody the experience as if it were already happening. The more time you spend visualizing your goal as a reality, the more your brain will come to believe it is a reality—and the easier it will be to hit your goal.

Vision Boards

Visual cues can be a great way to reinforce your law of attraction practice. And a great way to give yourself regular visual cues that align with your goals and desires? Vision boards.

Vision boards are a collection of imagery (including words, graphics, and photos) that represent what you’re trying to attract into your life. The benefit of creating a vision board is twofold; not only does the finished product act as a visual reminder of what you’re trying to attract in your life, but the simple act of making it can actually reinforce your commitment to your desired outcome—and put you in the right mindset to make it a reality.

Look for images that resonate with your goals and what you’re trying to attract in your life and assemble them on a corkboard or poster board. Hang your vision board somewhere you’ll see it every day (like on the wall above your desk) and, every time you look at it, take a moment to remind yourself what you’re working towards.

Affirmations

Affirmations can be extremely powerful. By making statements that affirm you’ve already received what you’re trying to attract, you can align yourself with your goals—and increase the likelihood of transforming your goals into a reality.

For example, let’s say you want to attract new, higher-paying clients. You might use the affirmation, “I work with reputable clients who value what I do and are happy to pay me what I’m worth.” By repeating this to yourself every day, you’re affirming to yourself that you only do business with clients who truly value what you do—which will make it easier to go out there and find those clients.

The point is, affirming that you already have what you want will make it easier for you to take action and go out there and get what you want.

Be Careful—There’s a Dark Side

The law of attraction is, at its core, based around positivity—but that doesn’t mean it’s all positive!

The law of attraction isn’t a science; it’s a mental framework. And, like any other mental framework, it’s not going to work 100% of the time. But when the law of attraction doesn’t work, many people have a tendency to blame themselves: “I must not be thinking positively enough!”

It can be easy to get stuck in a vicious mental cycle. You try to think positively to attract something into your life or business, but it doesn’t work, so you blame yourself and end up getting trapped in negative thoughts—which can make it harder to achieve, succeed, and get things done.

If you’re banging your head against the wall with the law of attraction and it’s just not working for you, don’t blame yourself! Getting trapped in self-blame, negative thoughts, and a defeated attitude isn’t going to get you anywhere (or attract anything positive into your life).

Instead, reassess the situation. The truth is, what you’re trying to attract might not be the best fit for you, your life, or your business—and the best thing to do may be to change gears and move in another direction.

The Law of Attraction in Action

The concept behind the law of attraction makes sense, but does it actually work?

According to these entrepreneurs, the answer is a resounding yes.

Chiara Lofaro Used It to Build Her Speaking Career

Chiara Lofaro launched her business a year ago, and one of her biggest goals was to become a recognized speaker in her field. “I dreamt of having meaningful speaking engagements and recognitions,” says Lofaro.

Lofaro had heard people talking about the law of attraction and decided to give it a try by making a vision board. She posted the board next to her desk and made it a point to look at it regularly to remind herself of the direction she wanted to take. And the results? They speak for themselves.

“It has been one year now and I must say that most of what was included has indeed materialized,” says Lofaro. “I spoke at TEDx, was awarded by EICBI (Europe India Centre for Business and Industry) at the European Parliament, [and] had a front-page feature in one of South Italy’s main newspapers.”

Beth Lawrence Used It to Launch Her Own Business

A few years ago, Beth Lawrence was attending an industry event on behalf of the company she was working for. Her role was expanding and she had recently pitched a new role for herself in experiential marketing at the corporate level.

But at the conference, something changed. “I had an epiphany that the next step in my journey would be owning my own business,” says Lawrence. “Right then and there, I took out a small pocket calendar, opened up to a page, and wrote ‘My name is Beth Lawrence and I own my own event planning and experiential marketing company.’”

2 weeks later, Lawrence was laid off, which was the catalyst for her launching her business. After being in business for some time, she was digging through an old backpack and came across the pocket calendar she had at the conference—and was astonished by what she found.

“I flipped through it and saw what I had written. To my surprise, it was written on the November 2017 calendar page,” says Lawrence. “I had been laid off November 8, 2017. Now, I tell people I manifested my company.”

Use the Law of Attraction to Attract Success

You can use the law of attraction to attract anything in your life—and that includes financial and business success. And now that you understand how the law of attraction works, all that’s left to do? Get out there and start attracting the success you want, and deserve!

This post was updated in March 2022.