The answer is: Both! Whether you know it or not, you set your goals in your head, or even deeper, in your subconscious. Perhaps you want to become an artist. So you buy paints, and try to paint a picture, but it doesn't look very good. The Universe says, "Find a Teacher." If it is truly your path, the way opens up and a teacher appears! But if it not what your "Life Purpose" truly is, everything goes wrong. ("Life Purpose" comes from the book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which I highly recommend for this question.) No teacher appears; you struggle and fail over and over. This is a sign that you are not meant to do this. (Sometimes. Madame Curie never gave up, but the Universe also provided her with uranium!) So we work towards our goals, and if that is what we are supposed to do, we experience a unity with life and universe! All things work with us for the consummation of our path. Once, a man prayed for a year to win the lottery, but he did not. He asked God why he did not win. God said to him, "You must buy a lottery ticket, silly!" You have to work at things, and when the Universe, or God or your Higher Power agrees, things flow wonderfully. This does not mean the work will be easy. It just means that what you need to complete your task will be given to you. Working towards your Life's Purpose is NOT a negative attachment, and should give you joy. I hope this helps! Blessings, Jai,

We have to "work" the opportunities that inevitably arise when put our positive vibrations out there.

• I'm reminded of the joke I've heard about a drowning man who was asking God (the universe if you prefer) to save him.
  
  A man in a dinghy pulled up beside him and said "Climb in. I'll save you."
  
  The drowning man said "No thanks, I have faith that God will save me."
  
  Then a ship arrived and the captain yelled "Climb aboard. We'll save you."
  
  The drowning man said "No thanks, I have faith that God will save me."
  
  Then a helicopter appeared overhead and the rescuer yelled. "Grab hold of the rope and we'll pull you up into the helicopter."
  
  The drowning yelled back "No thanks, I have faith that God will save me."
  
  The enevitable happened and the drowning man drowned!
  
  When he got to heaven he asked God why he didn't save him. God said "What do you mean. I sent a dinghy, a ship and even a helicopter but you refused them all.

We have to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves or nothing happens.

I can't think of anyone that meditated themselves wealthy. I can only think of one that could if he wanted it would be Jesus like when he multiplied the two loaves of bread or fish. However imagine this Jesus holds up two dollars and multiplies it to be millions of dollars, in this day and age the next thing we know he is arrested for counterfeiting.

Not good to directly manifest money even if we can. Now I will give some examples of indirectly manifesting money.

I have in a book called Universal Mind, a story of a guy that wrote in his manifesting journal he manifested $5000 to fix his van, he had it he was thankful etc... Well he was walking through a grocery store and the checkout guy asked if he would like to purchase a raffle ticket, (it might have be for a cause or something) but anyway he said get away from me with that I don't want one. He picked up his groceries and was leaving only to hear the person behind him shout I won I won $5000 I won first prize!!!

Florence Scovel Shinn was a master of using THE WORD to manifest, I'll tell two stories of her and provide a link to her free on line books.

On the second count there are so many good stories of hers in her books I'll just give the link to her books, they are at the bottom along with many good books.

http://www.absolute1.net/free_self-help_books_online.html

Start with "The Game of Life and How To Play It" that was her first book and I consider her best, the other two are great too.

The universe does all the work for us, all we have to do is launch the desire and get out of the way like you said. How else could you explain the fact that some people have to work really hard to earn money whereas some people just do very little or nothing at all and just buy the lottery and get wealthy?

The work is important if that is the belief you hold. But the real purpose of action is to enjoy our physical manifestations and not to obtain them. Unfortunately, from what we see around us, it is hard to believe that we can get what we want with little or no action. Hence, the universe delivers exactly that belief.

the simple fact that you are here and alive in this world today is the proof that the universe works for you.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. http://bible.cc/1_john/3-1.htm

but you most also do your work of rightenous.

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. http://bible.cc/1_john/3-10.htm

be the light that you can be.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light http://bible.cc/ephesians/5-8.htm experience and enjoy.

Yes and no. Yes because first it requires faith or belief, the kind of faith that produces good work or inspired work. Lack of faith, limiting beliefs must be overcome in order for your faith to produce the good works. The no is because without the faith that produces good works, the limiting beliefs drive one to "work vigorously towards achieving a goal" instead of allowing opportunities to flow to you, opportunities to take inspired action.