Oh yeah it works.
It's not some pure magic or whatever. Its just that when you put intention into something, that thing is way more likely to happen because you're gonna make baby steps for this to happen, you're gonna engaged the appropriate behaviours etc...
A year ago, I met a coach with work, I told him about my journal routine.
Told him that when I'm nervous or anxious about something, I write "I'm stressed about this but I know everything will be fine". And as a matter of fact, it's always fine.
Told him that I write that as a sort of wishful thinking, it relaxes me to write it.
Few months later, saw him again, and he gave me that book saying that my journal routine reminded him of it.
He also gave me a little exercise to do, a visualisation exercise, to imagine how I'd like my life to be in 6 to 12 months, how does it look like? How do I feel? Where am I?
Did the exercise for 30 minutes. Just lying down.
What I visualised was me, on a winter morning, before work, in a flat that would be mine, super relaxed, drinking my first coffee of the day, writing in my journal.
Well, since then, I bought my flat (waiting to exchange!) which is uncannily similar to the one I visualised. I was always convinced that I'd buy a purpose built, ended up in a conversion.
Whats happened is that having that making that visualisation exercise drove me somehow to take actions.
I became more focused and deliberate in my personal and professional life, saved money, got promoted, and worked towards that, almost unconsciously.
Recently, I did a similar exercise, more work focused. I was struggling a bit to find what were my career goals, so I took some time to visualise.
Now I have few goals, and somehow, I know that I will achieve most of them.
It's not magic, it's all in the intention.
(Sorry, long 😬)