My intention: To land a major motion picture deal, filmed right here on our farm and vineyard overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Why My Chickens Are Overachieving

There’s something deliciously audacious about standing on French soil, surrounded by bare winter vines and overproducing chickens, and declaring to the universe: “I’m ready for my close-up.”

As the central character on that anchors a major motion picture.

Wild? Absolutely. But I’ve learned that “wild” is just another word for “not done yet.”

The Manifestation Midlife Crisis (The Good Kind)

Here’s what no one tells you about midlife: it’s not a crisis—it’s a clearing. All those years of “should” and “practical” and “maybe someday” burn away, leaving something far more dangerous. Clarity. And with clarity comes the audacity to ask for what you actually want.

I moved to France at an age when most people are talking about retirement plans. I built a marriage across a language barrier that would have defeated younger, less stubborn versions of myself. I’ve turned the impossible into Tuesday’s to-do list more times than I can count.

So why not this?

Lesson One: Start With What You Can Control (Even If It’s Just Chickens)

January in Provence is not abundant. The vines are skeletal. The earth is cold. Chickens, sensible creatures that they are, typically slow their egg production to a trickle.

But I had other plans.

On January 1st, I walked out to the coop and had a conversation. Out loud. In full sentences. I told them what I needed—not begged, not hoped, but stated with the calm certainty of someone placing an order at a café.

“We need eggs. Plenty of them. I know it’s winter. I know it’s not your natural rhythm. But I’m asking anyway.”

They’ve been overachieving ever since. Meeting goals. Exceeding them. Treating winter like it’s personal challenge they’re determined to win.

The Method Behind the Madness

Manifestation isn’t magic—it’s a conversation between intention and action, between the audacious ask and the practical follow-through.

State it clearly. Not “I hope” or “wouldn’t it be nice.” I want this. I’m creating this. The vineyard will be a film location. Full stop. In fact I manifested all this 18 months prior to meeting my husband, January 1, 2022 I that I wanted a home with a Mediterranean Sea view…

Act as if it’s already in motion. I’m not waiting for permission to prepare. The property gets maintained with an eye toward cinematography. I notice the light differently now—golden hour over the vines, the way shadows fall across the stone walls. I’m curating before there’s a camera crew to impress.

Find small wins that build belief. The chickens aren’t just about eggs. They’re evidence that stating clear intentions and following through creates results, even when conditions seem impossible. If I can get winter chickens to overperform, I can certainly attract a major motion picture deal.

Teach what you’re learning. My husband is becoming a believer, once my most skeptical student. Every egg becomes a tiny sermon. “See? We asked. We believed. We acted. They delivered.” Nodding his head, he’s writing down the egg counts now.

The Part Where It Gets Uncomfortable

Here’s the truth manifestation gurus often skip: the gap between stating your intention and seeing results is filled with doubt dressed up as practicality.

Every day there’s a voice that whispers: “You’re being ridiculous. Movie deals don’t happen because you want them. You don’t have connections. You don’t have experience. You’re a midlife transplant with overachieving chickens.” But I’ve survived what many cannot and I know that your entire life can change in an instant.

And every day, I choose to hear a different voice: “You’ve done impossible things before. This is just the next one.”

The Manifestation Menu

If I’m honest, the movie deal is just one item on a much longer list. But it’s the item that makes my heart race. It’s the one that feels both terrifying and inevitable, like falling in love or moving countries—things I’ve also done despite every practical reason not to.

The vineyard deserves to be seen. This light deserves to be captured. Our story—the midlife reinvention, the language barrier love affair, the Mediterranean backdrop—deserves a bigger stage.

What the Chickens Know

Those birds understand something profound: abundance isn’t seasonal if you decide it isn’t. Winter is just weather. Scarcity is just a story.

They can’t read manifestation books or attend seminars. They just heard a clear request from someone who believed they could deliver, and they rose to meet it.

If chickens can do that, surely I can manifest a film deal.

I’m stating my intention clearly, acting as if it’s already in motion, and collecting evidence that the impossible is just the not-yet-done.

The chickens are doing their part.

The vineyard is ready for its close-up.

And I’m practicing the most important manifestation skill of all: the ability to stand in your own audacious request without flinching, even when it feels ridiculous, especially when it feels impossible.

Because midlife isn’t a plateau.

It’s a launching pad.

And I’ve already proven I know how to fly.

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P.S. If you’re a literary agent looking for fresh content reading this, come for a visit , the light is particularly stunning between 4 and 6 p.m. The chickens are available for background work. And yes, I’m serious.