It may be an old hat for you, this idea that your thoughts create your reality, or it may be a novel idea worthwhile pondering. Or maybe you never thought about it at all. But if you're not entirely convinced already that your thoughts and beliefs are responsible for your physical reality think about it in reverse and read on.
Say you're just coming back from the grocery store, how did that bag of groceries manifest in your house? A few days ago you must have thought, "The fridge is getting pretty empty, I really need to go shopping." Then you made your shopping list and off you went. It's pretty easy to trace back how the grocery bags on your kitchen counter originated with an idea in your mind. Without those thoughts, if your mind had been completely empty regarding the state of your fridge, no groceries would have appeared by magic.
Same if you're planning a vacation. You think of it first, research where you want to go, make the arrangements, pay for your trip - and voilà, you're on your way. The first part of this manifestation process is all always mind work.
It's funny that we are less convinced of this method when it comes to things like wealth and abundance, or health, or love and friendship, or recognition. In reality these manifestations are just as real and tangible as the groceries in your fridge because you can clearly look at your life and see what you've got. What's your life like? Do you have what you want? Do you have the love you need? Do you have the abundance you want? If you have tons of friends, life's serendipity didn't just send them your way. You must have thought and done something to attract them. Same with abundance. Inspecting how you talk will give you a clear indication of where you're at with regard to abundance. If you say things like, "It's not always easy," or, "I just have to work harder," you are not expecting it to come easily to you, and then it won't.
The principle for manifesting a new job, abundance, health, or recognition is the same as for manifesting the bag of groceries or the gas in your car. It starts with thoughts, beliefs, and intent. Some things take longer to manifest, some manifest right away. If you're thirsty you'll manifest a glass of water very fast, almost instantaneously. If you're sleepy you'll go to bed pretty quickly. If you were down and out and wanted to be a millionaire, even if you were to act like one and turn your belief system around right now, it might take a while before things were visibly moving along towards that goal.
Think about what you think about, then create something fantastic. If you're a skeptic try it with something small to test the theory.