You might be asking yourself, “how am I going to learn to be successful?” Well, it is not hard. You do not need specialized training or a college degree. You do not have to ‘know’ people or be in the right place at the right time. Luck has nothing to do with it, and believe it or not, it does not cost a dime.
A successful personality begins with something very simple that most people take for granted and fail to practice daily, and that is gratitude. Gratitude has been called the missing link, the magic word, the key to success, the key to happiness, and a necessary requirement to living a full, rewarding life. It is connected to good health, a good attitude, better relationships, rewarding careers, and a serene life. Simple, isn’t it?
Let’s think about this. Gratitude attracts support, success, and fulfillment and generally makes life much better. How do you feel when someone you care about never shows any appreciation for you or what you do? How do you feel when you show appreciation to someone else for what they do for you? Everyone wants to be valued and appreciated, respected and loved. It is human nature to seek these things. Showing another person gratitude rewards us as much as it does the other person. It elevates the relationship and enhances the respect the other person has for us when we demonstrate an attitude of gratitude.
Gratitude brings more into life of what you are thankful for. Do you practice gratitude daily? You will be surprised how much better you will feel about your day and your life when you replace negativity and complaining with thankfulness and positivity.
You might be saying, “I don’t have the house, job, bank account, relationship, clothes, car, or life I want. Thinking in those terms and internalizing feelings like that will only bring more of what you don’t want, and that is a fact. It’s called the law of attraction and if you have never heard of this or do not know what it is, I recommend you study it carefully. Instead, focus on what you already have and be grateful for those things. Then, take a sheet of paper and write out in detail exactly how you want your life to be, in the present tense. This is a powerful exercise that causes you to focus on the positive and possibility rather than lack and limitation. You might begin by saying, “I am so happy and grateful now that ___”. I did this many years ago and it worked for me even though I did not know it was working at the time.
Let me explain. I was at a place in my life that was very difficult. I saw no way out, no solution, there was no help. I had no money, no means of making changes that would solve the situation. I was very stressed out and full of anxiety. I started studying the law of attraction and wrote the list. I remember writing it and thinking to myself, there is no way any of this will happen. I was not seeing immediate results. I made a vision board. Nothing was happening. I told myself this is what I get, I am a bad person, I don’t deserve to be happy, blah, blah, on and on. I just forgot about the list and went on with life, but I kept studying. I kept filling my mind with positive books, media, people, places, and ideas that served me.
That was years ago. Recently my son came home to move his gun safe to his house and I had to clean all my paperwork out of it before he came. In it I found a sealed envelope addressed to me, in my own handwriting. I thought, what the heck? I opened it and had no idea what it was. In disbelief and tears, I read the list I had written so many years ago. Everything on that list had already happened in my life, I could not believe what I was seeing. The money I wanted to earn, and at the time, seemed impossible. Owning my own house without anyone else on the mortgage, a brand-new car in my name only, and on it went. All of it felt impossible, yet I was living it right then, it was reality. Some of it did happen "overnight" some of it took a few months, some a couple of years. I never stopped studying and I never stopped having an attitude of gratitude. I filled my office with positive quotes, and lived in a new way that attracted the people, job, resources, circumstances, and money I needed for it all to fall into place.
We are so conditioned to live from the outside in and through our senses, what we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. We cannot see nor understand how to shift our thinking to something better. After all, if we had all the money and nice things, THEN we would be happy, right? Wrong.
Think of your attitude in general. Is it positive or negative? Does it serve you? Are you living with results that are worthy of you? Most people are not. Until we understand that the results in our life reflect the things we think about, whether positive or negative, things will not improve.
What is your attitude toward yourself? This is where it all begins. We cannot have a right attitude toward others until we have a right attitude toward ourselves. Do you beat yourself up over the past or perceived failures? Are you unforgiving of your mistakes, do you feel unworthy? All of that is made up in your own mind and negative self-talk that keeps you stuck! Release the part of the past that does not serve you and embrace the fact that you are God’s highest form of creation on earth, and that He loves you. We cannot change what we had for lunch yesterday any more than we can change what happened a year, 5 years, or 25 years ago. Live with gratitude and those negative feelings over perceived failures will fall by the wayside once and for all.
Here is your assignment: Take your 2 sheets of paper, write on the first sheet the negative mindset and false beliefs about yourself, the entire thing in detail. Write the exact opposite on the 2nd sheet of paper and go BURN the first sheet. Read the second sheet of paper every day until you have replaced those old false ideas of yourself with the reality of who you really are, a marvelous person with more potential than you could ever hope to use!
Next, write 10 things on a sheet of paper or in a journal that you are thankful for every morning. It may be hard at first, but in just a few days you will exceed ten on the list, and this will literally change your life.
Now look for and download Earl Nightengale's recording of The Magic Word. Listen to this every day twice a day for 30 days. Notice the change in you and in your thinking.
Remember, only you can control what you think about, start thinking about everything you have to be thankful for and let this lead you to a more successful personality and life.
