Forty years ago, my Dad taught me something about how to manifest that quietly changed the direction of my life: “What do you want to do with your life now, Marion? Because you can make anything happen just by thinking about it.” I was 21. I believed him. I wrote a list of the things I wanted to experience in my life — and then, one by one, I began watching them happen. Jobs I had imagined. Places I wanted to live. Travel. Love. My children. Even the caravan and white beach house I would one day call home. Back then I didn’t have a name for what I was doing. Today, we call it manifesting.
If you’ve ever wondered how to manifest without trying too hard or forcing it with your mind, this is what I have learned.
What Is Manifesting?
To me, manifesting is simply giving the Universe a clear picture of what you want, believing it is possible, and then being willing to recognise the opportunities that may bring it to you.
That last part matters.
If you ask for a new car, the car may not magically appear in your driveway. Instead, you may be offered extra hours at work, a better-paying job, an unexpected opportunity or another way of making the money you need to buy it.
Sometimes we are so busy looking for the finished result that we completely miss the path the Universe is putting in front of us.
Manifesting isn’t just about asking. It’s about recognising.
Think of It Like Ordering Drive-Through Takeaway
I often explain manifesting like ordering drive-through takeaway.
You drive up to the speaker and place your order. You don’t just say, “I’d like some food please.” You tell them what you want — the burger, the fries, the drink. You are clear and specific.
Then you drive to the next window expecting your order to be there.
You don’t spend the whole time thinking, I bet they won’t make it. What if they forget me? Maybe I don’t deserve the fries! You simply trust that you placed the order and it is being prepared.
For me, manifesting works in much the same way.
Be clear about what you want. Believe it is possible. Then TRUST.
Start Small — One Starfish at a Time
I always recommend starting small. That is how you build your TRUST.
A few years ago, while staying in a seaside town, I was collecting little treasures from the beaches and decorated a hanging basket for my frangipani tree. I decided my collection needed a starfish. The person I was with was a complete skeptic and assured me there were no starfish around as he had spent a lot of time walking this coast.
But in my mind, I could see one — on a beach I had never visited, more than 28 kilometres away.
We drove there, I even gave him the directions even though I had never ever been there before. I asked him to trust me and ‘see’ what happened. (I’ve done this before many times but he’d never seen me do it as usually it is in private). Smiling to myself, I told my friend which direction to walk while I headed the other way, still smiling to myself as I knew what he would find!
About five minutes later, I heard him call my name.
He was standing with his hands on his hips, looking at the ground and shaking his head.
At his feet was the starfish I had already seen in my mind.
I still call experiences like this my “Starfish Moments.”
Start small. See it. Feel it. Believe it is possible. Then watch it manifest into reality.
Every little success builds TRUST for the next one.
My Manifesting To-Do List
When I was twenty-one, the list I wrote wasn’t really a wish list. It became my life’s manifesting-to-do list.
I wanted to travel and be paid to do it. Soon afterwards, I found myself working aboard paddle-steamers on the Murray River. Then I wanted to travel further — and walked into a job as a safari cook and hostess on 25-day bus/camping/barramundi fishing tours through the Northern Territory and Queensland.
I wanted to learn to skydive. I did.
I had dreamed many times of the man I would marry — even the shoes he would be wearing when we meet and the car he would drive. Years later, through skydiving, I met the man who became my husband and yes he was wearing the exact shoes I’d envisioned.
And much later came the caravan I had imagined, the keel boat yacht racing on the east coast of Australia and the white beach house I had seen in my dreams.
Over the years, I kept adding things to that list and crossing them off as they became real.
The more I saw happen, the more I learned to TRUST.
How to Manifest: Where Do You Start?
Keep it simple.
- Decide what you really want. Be clear rather than vague.
- Write it down. Make your own Manifesting To-Do List, wish list or vision board.
- See it. Imagine yourself actually living it, not simply wishing for it.
- Feel it. What would it feel like if this was already part of your life?
- Stay open to how it arrives. The Universe may bring you an opportunity rather than the finished result.
- Practice gratitude. Notice what is already good and what has already come into your life.
- TRUST. For me, this is the biggest part of all.
You don’t need to make manifesting complicated.
Place the order. Believe in it. Stay open. Then get on with living your life.
How to Manifest Without Trying Too Hard: TRUST Is the Key
For me, manifesting is a practice of the Soul, not the mind.
The mind wants to control everything. It wants to work out how, when, where and what if. It keeps checking, questioning and worrying.
The Soul is different.
The Soul knows.
When I wrote those things on my list all those years ago, I didn’t keep thinking, How am I going to make this happen? I simply believed they were part of my life already.
That is the key.
If you try too hard, obsess over the outcome or constantly question whether it is working, you can actually push the energy away. You move out of TRUST and back into doubt.
Instead, act as though what you are asking for is already on its way.
See it. Feel it. Believe it. Live from the feeling of already having received it.
Then let go of the need to control exactly how it arrives.
Manifesting is not about forcing something into existence with your mind. It is about aligning your Soul with what you believe is already possible for you — and then TRUSTING enough to allow it to unfold.
Start With Your Own Starfish Moment
You don’t have to begin with the house, the dream job or the huge life change.
Choose something small. Something you can clearly see and feel.
Write it down. Believe it. Then stop trying to force it.
Let your Soul place the order — and give the Universe room to surprise you.
Want to Hear Me Talk About Manifesting?
In this video, I explain more about how I understand manifesting and how you can begin practising it in your own everyday life.
Continue Your Spiritual Journey
- Wired Not Weird — explore more of my personal stories and spiritual understandings.
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Updated 15 August 2026
