THE STORY BEHIND THE UNIVERSE TALKS

If ever there was proof of magic in my life, it’s that I now spend part of everyday writing for "the Universe."

Not so long ago, after we closed down the last of the TUT stores (TUT used to stand for Totally Unique T-shirts) and liquidated our remaining T-shirt inventory, I briefly hit the pavement with my accountant's resume in hand. Fortunately, no one was hiring (at least not me), and fortunately again, I had enough money from our retailing days to coast awhile. Even more fortunately, I still had a thousand or so people looking forward to receiving my "Monday Morning Motivators" via email each week.

So I decided that as long as I didn't have to work, yet, I'd keep doing the one thing that filled me with the greatest sense of accomplishment and purpose - write. And figure out how to make it pay, later.

Talk about scary. As the months rolled by, there were plenty of nights I tossed, literally in a sweat, thinking "what am I doing with my life? How did I get here? What went wrong? What if I don't make any money at this? What if I have to sell my home? What if I can't find a job, and no one will buy my home? What if? What if? What if...?" And day after day, week after week, month after month, my reserves dwindled and nothing came in.

But I knew a trick. I knew that figuring out "the how's," wasn't really my job, it was the Universe's. I also knew to focus on the end result, the kind of life I wanted, and to get busy turning over every stone, knocking on every door, following every impulse, so that theoretically, at least, the Universe could take care of the details.

Whaaaaa! Has it ever!!! Somehow, during all the knocking and turning and visualizing, I acted on enough hunches to keep buoyed with the necessary optimism to press on and not look back. And literally, the next thing I knew, TUT’s Adventurers Club was born, I embarked on a world tour speaking of life’s magic and our power, and the Universe began using email. (Many people ask what TUT stands for… it stands for “The Universe Talks”!) Fast forward to the present, Since the year 2,000, the NOTES have become a daily email and almost a billion have been sent. I’ve now spoken in 130 cities in 24 countries on each continent but Antarctica, was featured in The Secret, wrote 10 books (2 debuting as NY Times bestsellers), which have been translated into 25 languages, and I’m LOVING life in ways I could not have even dreamed of during those sweaty, sleepless nights.

I always knew it worked, but the thrill of experiencing it yet again, in spite of my worries, doubts, and frustrations, has been an awesome adventure; one I know everyone deserves and can experience for themselves. If nothing else, please remember, no matter how dark things get, no matter how difficult, if you continue to do your part, the Universe has to do its part - it's the law, and things will turn around.

To the life of your dreams,



Mike Dooley