Never Underestimate the Power of Intention (A Personal Story)

I am writing this post today from an overwhelming state of joy and gratitude.

If you have been following me for some time, you are probably aware of a few of the times I have manifested some things into my life by using the power of intention.

Well. it just happened again. 🙂

I thought this story was worth sharing because it may help you if you have ever had any doubt about whether setting an intention actually makes a difference.

The Big Decision

After spending some time at the Jersey Shore (my home) last summer, my kids were begging me to move to the beach.

My ex-husband had been begging me to move out of Colorado for many years because he really wanted to move but didn’t want to be away from the kids.

So, after 2 1/2 weeks at the beach this past summer and not feeling like I wanted to leave, coupled by the kids begging me to move them somewhere where they could be near the beach, I became clear it was time to do it.

I decided it would be a great educational experience for the girls, and an adventure for all of us. I felt ready.

Carolina Beach

Shortly thereafter, I got a clear message from the Universe that I was supposed to check out a town in North Carolina called Carolina Beach.

I’m not even really sure how it showed up on my radar, it just did. And since I made a promise to myself that I would follow my guidance and intuition no matter what, I listened.

I started researching the island, and it looked great. But I knew I needed to go and see it first hand to know for sure how it felt, and whether we would make the big move.

I posted something on Facebook about the possibility that we would be moving there, and was immediately introduced to a woman (through a mutual Facebook friend) who was also from New Jersey and had moved to Carolina Beach 2 years ago.

I reached out to her and she invited me to come stay with her so she could show me around (after telling me about all of the things she loves about living there).

So, I booked a flight and off I went.

My Visit to Pleasure Island

My new friend, Karen, picked me up at the airport and the tour began. It turns out that her and her husband, Brian, are the best tour guides I could have possible ever asked for. They knew EVERYTHING about the island, and took me to see all kinds of things… not just the touristy things, but the things that would matter if I ended up living there.

I learned a ton about the community, too… and this was one of the biggest selling points for me.

The community on the island is awesome. Everyone knows each other and looks out for each other.

There is a group of women called the Island Women, and a group of men called the Island Men that locals can participate in, and they do all kinds of amazing fundraisers and events, and do fun things like decorate the island for Christmas, etc.

There’s also a senior center that has lots of fun community stuff to do for seniors, which is a huge draw for me because I’m also wanting my father to move there with us.

Anyway, after riding around in a golf cart (they are street legal there) and on a beach cruiser bike for a few days, I could totally picture me and the girls living this lifestyle.

When I got clear and finally made the decision, we celebrated!

Here are a few clips of my visit (including the golf cart and the beach cruiser) 🙂

Finding a Place to Live

Now that we were clear that we wanted to move, it was time to start looking for a place to live.

I was hoping to find a long-term rental with a minimum of a year lease, starting June 1st.

I quickly learned that finding a long-term lease on the island starting in the summer is easier said than done. Many of the homes become weekly vacation rentals in the summer since that’s the height of the tourist season, and the owners can charge weekly what they would normally charge monthly.

As I reached out to different property management companies, realtors and owners of homes, I was told over and over again that the chances of me finding what I was looking for were for that time frame were slim to none.

But, I didn’t give up.

I just knew in my heart that there’s someone out there that would love to have us as tenants, and that perfect situation would show up.

I decided that even if we didn’t find something on time, we would drive there with our moving truck and figure it out.

Off the Island

Many people suggested that I consider living off the island. They said it would be easier to find a place and that maybe I could live there in the city for a year while I continued my search.

I saw some places that seemed really nice, and even spoke to a few landlords that sounded like they would be great to rent from.

But, in my heart, I knew that living off of the island would not provide all of the things I was moving there for… the amazing community, being able to ride around everywhere in a golf cart and on our beach cruisers, surfing every day, being able to walk to the beach, etc.

So I remained hopeful, and held on to my intention.

My Favorite Neighborhood

When I went to visit the island, there was one neighborhood in particular that stood out for me. It’s an HOA neighborhood, right across the street from the beach, and there’s tons of kids and families there.

It also has a community pool, playground, and tennis court which was appealing.

Mostly, I just got a really good feeling about it and heard amazing things about it… and I just knew we would be happy there. My intuition was kicking in again. 🙂

The neighborhood is called Carolina Sands.

The Most Amazing Community I’ve Ever Experienced

After reaching out to TONS of different property management companies and landlords as I saw properties coming available, the main response I kept getting was that, although they’d love to have us and how we sound like ideal tenants, the property is available now, and they can’t hold onto it until June.

I posted in the Pleasure Island Long Term Rental Facebook group, and all kinds of people started helping me… sending me contact information for helpful realtors, sending me pictures of For Rent signs, etc.

A property became available in my favorite neighborhood, Carolina Sands, and I reached out to the owner.

We chatted back and forth and he said I sound like a perfect fit for his newly renovated home, but that he already has a lot of interest on it and wants to rent it for April 1st… he wouldn’t be able to hold on to it until June.

He was really nice and offered to keep an eye out for me.

I continued to be amazed at how helpful everyone in this community is, how many people offered to help even though they don’t even know me. It confirmed my decision to move to this amazing island.

Getting the Call

A few days later, the owner of the Carolina Sands property called me.

He said he had received 4 applications for the property over the last couple of days, and that he kept thinking about our conversation and has a feeling that me and my girls are supposed to be in that house.

He said he had spoken to his wife about it and she agreed. And then he offered to hold the house for me until June.

The Tour

The next day, my friend Karen met him at the property to give me the tour via Skype.

It’s a cute little beach house, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1 block from the beach… in my favorite neighborhood!

Enough said. I signed the lease!

The Power of Intention (My Manifesto)

One other thing I though might be worth mentioning is that right after I made the decision to move (back in December), I recorded a manifesto of my voice that I’ve been listening to every single day since.

I listen to it every day when I site down for my meditation.

It’s basically just a recording of my voice speaking in the present tense about my life.

It’s VERY specific…

I say things like:

• We live in an amazing community near the beach (check!)
• I can hear the sound of the waves from our house (check!)
• We have plenty of room to host guests and have friends staying with us all the time (check!)
• And more… but you get the picture. 🙂

This helped me to stay really focused every single day on what that felt like. I even had the sound of seagulls etc in the background on the recording, so I felt like I was sitting at my beach house every day when I listened to it.

I Hope This Helped

I just wanted to write this post today because it just goes to show that when we are REALLY clear about what we want, the Universe delivers it to us.

And I thought that maybe by sharing this story, someone might be inspired or encouraged to hold on to their intention and get exactly what they want, too.

I hope this has helped in some way… even if maybe it just brought a smile to your face today, or a glimpse of hope for what’s possible when you hold out for what you really want.

Please leave me a comment below and let me know if you enjoyed this story and if you got value from it.

And stay tuned for the tour of our new home… we move in June 1st. Yay!

Have an awesome day, and I’ll talk to you soon.

With Love,