As the old Rumi saying goes "What you seek is seeking you", but I want to go deeper than this. The most important step in manifestation is knowing your tangible and intangible desires. In our mind we have a model of the world and this includes a meta-representation system and sub-symbolic introspection. Manifesting your desires is the process of productively managing your representation system. By dropping all pre-conceived notions and committing to an intention with full belief and courage, one is able to be mentally powerful. In life, not knowing your desires is what causes confusion and disarray amongst personal development because without direction we may just keep going round in circles.
There are a number of ways to deal with the cards we are dealt in life. The first step is to accept and then act. Once we acknowledge our present situation, we are more likely to act as masters instead of pawns. Secondly, I attest to the notion that perception is a result and not a cause. The relationship between the observer and the observed tickles me in many ways. It is the powerful idea that you are not separate from your experiences and this gives you a lot of responsibility in really owning your choices. Perception is ultimately your appearance of the world projected with an emotional concept. What you experience is unique to you, however everyone has the power to manifest their desires through recognising that you are what observes; not what you observe.
When I think about manifesting; I envision myself envisioning something meaningful to me and then I project this feeling onto the world itself. If you believe of yourself as a master and not just a pawn then you must also accept that the life you are shaping is also shaping you in return. The art of manifestation is not a gimmick or a fancy name, it is the real ability to know what you want, know what you are going to do to go after it and possessing the courage to take risks for yourself. For example, Franz Kafka wrote "by believing in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever has not been sufficiently desired"
Manifestation is about more than just intention. It includes courage, understanding and spiritual growth. Some psychic abilities have shown us that is beneficial to know something, without a shadow of a doubt, even if there is no possible way to know it. The being who trusts his/her own instincts has a far better chance than the being who relies on the external, physical world for everything. Self-mastery and control can predict and affect change. Simply put, the art of manifestation teaches that in order to control your environment, you must be mentally committed to going after what you want.
Our desires are just un-fulfilled moments waiting for us to act on them and since becoming is more important than being, if you have the courage to seek your desires, you may just succeed in your path of attainment.