Episode 576: Can You Really Manifest Your Way To Success?

What if manifestation is keeping you focused on the life you want while distracting you from the work required to build it? Manifestation has become one of the biggest trends in personal development. Visualize the outcome, believe it is coming, raise your vibration, and trust the universe to deliver. There can be value in believing in yourself and getting clear on what you want, but belief without action quickly becomes wishful thinking. Your thoughts can influence your focus, confidence, and behavior, but they cannot control every external outcome. Health challenges, financial circumstances, psychological struggles, timing, and access all play a role. When manifestation culture ignores those realities, people can end up blaming themselves for circumstances they were never fully able to control. It also creates an opportunity for self-help coaches to sell false hope, expensive programs, and promises they cannot realistically guarantee. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, I break down what manifestation gets right, where it becomes harmful, why mindset must be paired with a real plan, and the warning signs to look for when someone is selling you a fantasy instead of practical guidance. Because believing in yourself matters, but nothing replaces action, effort, and good old-fashioned hard work. What's Discussed: (00:39) Why manifestation has become one of the biggest and most controversial trends in self-help. (01:19) How belief, confidence, and positive self-talk can support the pursuit of a goal. (02:25) Why visualizing an outcome means very little without effort, action, and struggle. (03:50) How manifestation can make people overestimate their ability to control external circumstances. (05:18) Why the useful ideas behind manifestation cannot stand on their own without real work. (07:32) How social media and online coaches have distorted manifestation into a larger self-help subculture. (08:36) Why parts of the coaching industry prey on people's insecurities and vulnerable moments. (09:24) How misguided hope can become dangerous when it replaces practical tools and realistic guidance. (09:54) Why manifestation needs a clear plan and how it can lead to self-blame when outcomes do not go as expected. (11:23) How to identify coaching red flags, including constant upselling, expensive retreats, flashy lifestyles, and promises of material success. Thank You to Our Sponsors! Magic Mind: Head over to magicmind.com/jen http://www.magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout. Pique: Go to piquelife.com/jenniferrsd https://piquelife.com/jenniferrsd to get 20% off for life plus free gifts Momentous: Ready to try supplements that actually do what they claim? Head to livemomentous.com http://livemomentous.com and use code JEN for 35% off your first subscription. Therasage: Visit therasage.com http://therasage.com and use code JEN to get 15% off your order. Your skin Prolon: Prolon is offering listeners 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN https://prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN and use code JENNIFERCOHEN to claim your discount and your bonus gift. Find more from Jen Cohen: Website: jennifercohen.com https://jennifercohen.com Instagram: @therealjencohen http://instagram.com/therealjencohen Books: jennifercohen.com/books https://jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements https://jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

• 0:06Speaker 01

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• 2:02Speaker 01

  All right, welcome to another episode of Habits and Hustle Solo Edition. For those of you guys who have not yet subscribed to the podcast, please do so. And also, when you guys leave a review, it really helps the podcast. So it gets other people to know it exists. So if you could please review the podcast and tell your friends, I'd be so ever grateful. All right, so let's get into it. Ready? Today's topic could be maybe a little controversial, because we're going to be talking and exploring a topic that I think is probably the most popular self-help trend that I've ever seen. And that is manifestation. And the ideas behind manifestation, what my belief system is around it, and all the

• 2:47Speaker 01

  things. So A, what do you believe in manifestation? And just the idea of that whole trend?

• 2:58Speaker 02

  I like some aspects of manifestation, and I dislike some other aspects of them.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 3:04Speaker 02

  I think it's important to believe things and will them into existence to a certain degree. Like, you have to really have that belief system to back you up. But I don't think that it's... Yeah, I mean, I think that there's like a lot to discuss on the topic. But I do think that to an extent, having a strong set of beliefs and that confidence and sort of that self-talk is very important.

• 3:26Speaker 01

  So this is what I believe, if I do say so myself. I think that manifestation is a big, big umbrella lofty term. I don't think that it means it's not being pessimistic over optimistic. I think that people value manifestation way more than probably they should. This is my... By the way, this again is my opinion. You don't have to agree with it. You don't have to like it. It's just what I feel and believe. I believe this idea of... I'll say this, what I like about it. I like the fact that it gives... It puts the onus on the person a little bit, but not enough. So I guess that's not what I... I guess I like and dislike that. I think that when you only visualize something and not

• 4:11Speaker 01

  put it into practice by putting work into it, it means nothing. I think that too many people are thinking that if they think about something, that it's going to happen. So this idea of mind over matter, it is true in my opinion to an extent. But I think what it does do is it sometimes makes the person have feeling that if something doesn't work, like if they... They're not taking into account psychological issues, socioeconomic issues, lots of other things. So just willing something to happen is not enough. You have to put in the effort, the work, and like sometimes the struggle to get to what you want. And so I actually, I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan of how it's overtaken everything in personal

• 4:56Speaker 01

  development and self-help. And it's like the biggest thing since sliced bread.

• 5:00Speaker 02

  But I think a lot of the people who talk about manifestation do acknowledge that. Like, they say you have to actually go out and do all of these things. It's not just simply about like thinking about it. You can't... I mean, that's just so not realistic. But I mean, obviously, there are some woo-ha's out there who do just literally say that. But I think for the most part, the mass market and the people who really talk about it, like the coaches and those who... By the way, the coaching world is something that I'm not a crazy fan of either. But I do often see them saying like, you know, it's a balance. You have to manifest it. You have to work for it.

• 5:29Speaker 01

  I don't see most people talking about that. I think a lot of people overestimate our agency and how we can control the external world. I think we can control to a certain extent, but I don't think that we have the ability. We're not superhuman, and we're not superheroes. I think that, you know, what actually is realistic is we can try and put positive energy somewhere and positive belief and have a mind over matter, but not put all our eggs in that basket. Because I think that is actually quite harmful, right? And I don't see a lot of experts saying, oh, yeah, all you need to do is like visualize something and then also work on it. Because then, that's actually contrary to the whole

• 6:13Speaker 01

  overall idea of what manifestation is. Because manifestation's been around for many, many, many, many, many, many years. Like, I think, I don't know, a long time. I think the 19th century is what I read a long time ago. The idea, I guess, behind it is that your thoughts become things. And every thought has a vibration and a frequency, right?

• 6:34Speaker 02

  Right, like your thoughts become actions.

• 6:36Speaker 01

  Your thoughts become real, your thoughts have a frequency, and what you put out into the world kind of reverberates back to you. Now, I do like it in theory.

• 6:47Speaker 02

  Right.

• 6:48Speaker 01

  But I don't think it's enough to stand on its own. Because I'm a big, like, you know, kind of like grinder mentality, right?

• 6:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, 10% target.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Right. If you want an outcome, you got to put in true, actual effort. You got to like work for it. And I think my problem with overall manifestation is that I think it allows a big amount for just this idea of allowing the universe to kind of bring to you what you envisioned for yourself, whatever you deeply envisioned for yourself. So I think that there's like a major disconnect between what my overall idea, my idea is of how to get what you want, and that idea.

• 7:38Speaker 02

  Yeah. No, I understand. I agree with that also. I think that you have to have balance. But I just think that for the most part, the people that I... Because my sister, she's really in this world with like the Brene Browns and all of them. And she's constantly like following all these people who do these Instagram lives and stuff. And for the most part, what I hear is definitely that you need to attract things. Like, manifestation is all about attracting stuff, right?

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Well, it's the whole law of attraction. Like, that's Rhonda... Who's her name? Rhonda, who wrote the book, The Laws of Attraction.

• 8:05Speaker 02

  But they do, they do often discuss like the need for also actionable stuff. Like, you have to also balance it out. You can't just, you know what I mean? But a lot of people are so stuck in this mindset of they're full of anxiety, they're full of stress, they're full of negativity, that just the act of manifesting alone gets them out of that headspace, and then allows them to be able to go and do all of those things. So I think, yeah, I mean, someone should read like a book on manifestation, and then your book, and then together, they would have superpowers.

• 8:34Speaker 01

  Well, I find it interesting that you just said that, because there's other... Like, what's in that same world that you were just mentioning is this idea of like self-care, of like meditation.

• 8:45Speaker 02

  So important.

• 8:46Speaker 01

  Self-reflection, exercising.

• 8:50Speaker 01

  Therapy, all of these things are like kind of in the same bucket. And I like a lot of those things, obviously. I love a lot of those things. I talk about it all the time. But what I, what I, my concern and what I don't like about the idea of manifestation is putting way too much onus on your like visions and your will versus actual work.

• 9:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, just your thoughts.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  To get, yeah, to get to what it is. But then again, like, you know, I don't want to say that, like, I know what you think becomes like, what you do think actually does become reality, right? Like what you focus on.

• 9:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  Becomes your truth. So there's elements of it. This is the thing. I think there's elements, the, the raw materials of what it's about, maybe I like it. But I think over time and because of social media and all these like kooky coaches out there.

• 9:43Speaker 02

  Yes, which is really a problem, by the way.

• 9:45Speaker 01

  Which is really probably the problem. They've like butchered what it really means at its essence. And then added all these other things to become this entire subculture of self-help, which I'm not someone who definitely like doesn't like very much, doesn't agree with.

• 10:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, I, the coaching world is, I think the coaching world is actually quite dangerous. Like, I remember you and Mark Manson talking about this in terms of the self-help world and some of the issues there. I think that there are serious scammers out there who are constantly just prying on people's insecurities and their low points in life to be able to get a ton of money out of them. And I think that's a huge problem in the coaching world. I feel like it's, I mean, it's on stop, it's crazy.

• 10:26Speaker 01

  It's the number one job on social media, right? Is coaching. That's how people are making their living. They're like selling, they have funnels and sales funnels and they're preying, in my opinion, on people that are in a bad place in life, dark place in life, who are really struggling, who really have, uh, don't have the wherewithal to discern from one or the other. And not only they taking their money, but they're giving them misguided hope. And I know that I'm a big believer that if you don't have hope, you don't have anything. But misguided hope is really, really dangerous, in my opinion. So like, I'm all about giving people, as you can imagine, this is what my whole podcast is about,

• 11:08Speaker 01

  is giving people tactile, practical things that they can do to even make their life 1% better, 10% better, that they can actually take the ownership of themselves and create that. Now, if manifestation comes with, you know, not only are you supposed to visualize it, but then you also have actually like a plan to get from A to B to C to D, great. But if it's just like willing it and, and putting all the agency on yourself as you have all the control, what happens on the outside, because the other train of thought, and what is like, people are talking from both sides of their mouth, is that you don't have control of what goes on out there and all you can control is yourself.

• 11:50Speaker 01

  So if all that, what you control is yourself, how do you then have control of all these external forces that you are supposed to be manifesting to like work in your favor? So when it doesn't work in your favor, when it doesn't happen, it doesn't work in your favor, then you go down a really dark rabbit hole. Because the part, like I said, is that people don't take into account all sorts of other ancillary things that are happening, like the socioeconomic, like any kind of like psychological thing or sickness or health issues. I mean, I just think it's a topic that needs to be really dissected. I mean, this is not maybe the best, only time we're going to talk about it.

• 12:30Speaker 01

  It's just opening up this conversation a little bit to really to a conversation that's beyond just, yeah, like it's a vibration and mind over matter. And if you, you know, achieve it or believe it and it will happen or whatever, you know, all these, all these like nice cliches, you know?

• 12:52Speaker 02

  I feel like something that would be important is, because some people do like life coaches, like they really would like to have them and some of them are really great.

• 12:59Speaker 01

  Some are great, for sure.

• 13:00Speaker 02

  But I think what would be a really good tangible thing is like helping people understand how to discern between the good ones and the bad ones. Because there are so many of these people out there that are spewing BS, but then there are also like real treasures out there that can actually help you. And it's also individual. One person might work great for one person and not for another. And so I think that would be a really good actionable item to be able to help people see like, okay, well, that's something I should be weary of, you know? Someone who's always trying to upsell you on something is somebody that you should be cautious of. They're consistently trying to upsell you on various products or digital products or this, that and the other that they have, that's definitely of concern in my eyes. You know, anybody who's consistently trying to get you to come to like 10 different retreats

• 13:43Speaker 02

  and wants you to pay for the bonus and the gold and the VIP and the silver. It's like, I'm very weary of that sort of a scheme. I find this to be really, I just think that that's like a slippery road to go down with a lot of those people. And that's something that I always look out for as well. And I also think their social media presence is a really big factor too. Like, I really like to see what someone's social presence looks like, if it aligns with me, if it does not, if I think it's full of a bunch of BS, if it just looks like really generic content. There's just a lot of good red flags that you can take account for. And there's also some green flags that you can look for within a life coach.

• 14:19Speaker 01

  This is what I think too. I, I agree with you, definitely, I agree with that. But I think also, I find it curious when the people, okay, the first step is discernment. Look at who you're following. Again, we talk about this so often, watching who's telling you about manifestation. Key, right there, right there. And the content that they have is actually quite important because if they are being super flashy and braggadocious about all the material things they have, I think to me, that's a red flag.

• 14:52Speaker 02

  That's a good red flag.

• 14:53Speaker 01

  That's a huge red flag. I see a lot of people on social media who are talking so much about laws of attraction and manifestation, like talking from their private plane, which they probably don't own, and wearing, you know, Balmain and, or is that how you say Balmain?

• 15:10Speaker 02

  I don't know, but I've actually always wondered.

• 15:14Speaker 01

  I think it's Balmain, wearing Valentino, Balmain, wearing really expensive clothes and who are basically trying to sell you a life of material riches. To me, such a turnoff and a major red flag. Okay, so to me, if you're seeing these things, probably you shouldn't be taking their advice.

• 15:38Speaker 02

  They're offering you like crypto finance advice, definitely run.

• 15:41Speaker 01

  They're offering you crypto finance, exactly. Our NFT stuff, run for the hills. But, you know, again, this is really about just opening up a conversation that's beyond just taking things at face value. I'm a big, I really am about, and I really, I try to shed any type of light and, you know, pose a question that maybe, you know, you might be thinking but not sure of. Maybe it can be some, you can, you can glean some insight from the two, from the two, you know, yahoos on this podcast to think about something differently. But I really believe that manifestation has really taken over in terms of personal development and self-help and just really think about what that entails.

• 16:24Speaker 01

  And if you are somebody who is a big believer in it and it's something that's really helped you, I'd love to hear your story. I'd love to hear how it has. Please share in the comments, let me know and we can revisit the conversation.

• 16:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, definitely. And drop it in the Facebook group while you're at it. Tell us your story.

• 16:44Speaker 01

  Exactly. And nothing ever, I want to say this, I want to end with this, nothing ever replaces good old fashioned, hard work, period.