Below is my ten-step program for putting this intention to appreciate and express the genius within you to work.

Step 1: Declare yourself to be a genius! This shouldn't be a public pronouncement, but a statement of intention between you and your Creator. Remind yourself that you're one of the masterpieces that emanated from the universal field of intention. You don't have to prove that you're a genius, nor do you need to compare any of your accomplishments to those of others. You have a unique gift to offer this world, and you are unique in the entire history of creation.

Step 2: Make a decision to listen more carefully to your inner insights, no matter how small or insignificant you may have previously judged them to be.These thoughts, which you may have viewed as silly or unworthy of attention, are your private connection to the field of intention. Thoughts that seem to persist, particularly if they relate to new activities and adventures, aren't in your mind accidentally. Those tenacious thoughts that don't go away should be viewed by you as intention talking to you, saying, You signed up to express your unique brilliance, so why do you keep ignoring the genius in favor of settling for less?

Step 3: Take constructive action toward implementing your inner intuitive inclinations. Any step in the direction of expressing your creative impulses is a step in the direction of actualizing the genius that resides within you-for example, writing and submitting a book outline, regardless of how you may have doubted yourself up until now; recording a CD of yourself reading poetry or singing the songs you've written; purchasing an easel and art paraphernalia and spending an afternoon painting; or visiting an expert in the field that interests you.

Step 4: Know that any and all thoughts that you have regarding your own skills, interests, and inclinations are valid. To reinforce the validity of your thoughts, keep them private. Tell yourself that they're between you and God. If you keep them in the spiritual domain, you don't have to introduce them to your ego or expose them to the egos of those around you. This means that you'll never have to compromise them by explaining and defending them to others.

Step 5: Remind yourself that aligning with spiritual energy is how you will find and convey the genius within you. In Power vs. Force, David Hawkins concluded: "From our studies it appears that the alignment of one's goals and values with high energy attractors is more closely associated with genius than anything else." This is completely in line with understanding and implementing the power of intention. Shift your energy to harmonize vibrationally with the energy of Source. Be an appreciator of life, and refuse to have thoughts of hatred, anxiety, anger, and judgment. Trust yourself as a piece of God and your genius will flourish.

Step 6: Practice radical humility. Take no credit for your talents, intellectual abilities, aptitudes, or proficiencies. Be in a state of awe and bewilderment. Practice radical humility, and give credit everywhere except to your ego.

Step 7: Remove resistance to actualizing your genius. Resistance always shows up in the form of your thoughts. Watch for thoughts that convey your inability to think of yourself in genius terms . . . thoughts of doubt about your abilities . . . or thoughts that reinforce what you've been taught about a lack of talent or lack of aptitude. All of these kinds of thoughts are a misalignment and don't allow you to be in vibrational harmony with the universal all-creating field of intention. Your Source knows that you're a genius. Any thought you have that challenges this notion is resistance, which will inhibit you from realizing your intention.

Step 8: Look for the genius in others. Pay attention to the greatness you observe in as many people as possible, and if you don't see it at first, then spend some mental energy looking for it. The more you're inclined to think in genius terms, the more natural it becomes for you to apply the same standards to yourself. Tell others about their genius. Be as complimentary and authentic as you can. In doing so, you'll radiate loving, kind, abundant, creative energy. In a universe that operates on energy and attraction, you'll find these same qualities returning to you.

Step 9: Simplify your life. Take the complications, rules, shoulds, musts, have tos, and so on out of your life. By uncomplicating your life and removing the trivial pursuits that occupy so much of it, you open a channel for the genius within you to emerge. One of the most effective techniques for simplifying life is to take time each day to spend 20 or so minutes in silence and meditation. The more conscious contact you make with your Source, the more you come to appreciate your own highest self. And it's from this highest self that your own genius will be manifested.

Step 10: Remain humble while staying in a state of gratitude. This genius that you are has nothing at all to do with your ego-mind. Be ever so grateful to the Source of intention for providing you with the life force to express the genius that resides within you. Those who attribute their inspiration and success to their ego soon lose this capacity, or they allow the approval and attention of others to destroy them. Remain humble and grateful, and more of your genius will surface as you remain in a constant state of expansion. Gratitude is a sacred space where you allow and know that a force greater than your ego is always at work and always available.