* Highly
Recommended *
The
Billionaire Way
I
would recommend "The Billionaire Way" program
to anyone who is contemplating a new enterprise or business
start-up, or is already in business for themselves. It enabled
me to look at my life, attributes, and habits in a refreshing
new way. I was delighted to discover that I too have a number
of the traits and qualities that many who are successful in
business possess, which I hadn't realized. I am very excited
to apply the principles that were presented in the program
to my new business ventures.
A
tremendous benefit was to be able to talk with the author of
the program, Bob Cox, about my own business strategies and
ideas. Bob spent an hour on the phone with me after I finished
the program, and his personal insights and suggestions were
very helpful and inspiring.
I
know that I will often refer back to the information provided
in "The Billionaire Way"
-
Catherine McNeil, Monte Vista, Colorado
Find
out what Catherine discovered today!
"When
you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light,
for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food,
and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving
thanks, the fault lies with yourself."
-
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
Living
Rich: 6 Ways to Be Thankful
By
Michael Masterson
If
you ask the typical American what Thanksgiving means to him,
he will say turkey, relatives, and football. But if that's
all this holiday means to you, you're missing something.
Being
thankful is so good for you. It slows things down and brings
life's values into focus. It gives you both energy to bring
more good into your life and the tranquility to enjoy the good
that is there already. "Gratitude," said Cicero, "is
not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all
others."
Today,
I want to suggest several ways you can practice this virtue
and enjoy the benefits that come, automatically and immediately,
when you are thankful. But first ... I want to talk about death.
"Of
the many unpleasant things that can happen to you when you
approach 50," I wrote in 1999, ETR's first year, "the
recognition of mortality is the worst. You can't avoid facing
it. You are getting sick more often and feeling more pain.
And more and more people you know - even friends and family
members - are seriously sick or dying.
"Death
comes when it will. All of us, both the dying and those left
behind, must eventually accept it. But until we accept it,
we are likely to live some portion of our lives in pain."
For
those of us who love life, death is a hated thief. It comes
while we are still enjoying all the wonderful things that life
gives us. It comes before we've finished what we want to do.
The
thesis of Ernest Becker's book The
Denial of Death is that beneath everything
we do, every emotion we feel and every thought we have, is
the necessity to keep death out of mind because of our crippling
fear of nonexistence. If you have ever contemplated death in
a deep way, truly imagined the end of your being, you will
find Becker's concept compelling.
We
must, in fact, deny the full realization of death if we want
to move forward with our lives. We must - in some way - believe
in our continuing vitality if we are to enjoy any.
By
denying death, I don't mean pretending we will live forever.
We must accept the logical necessity of certain facts ... and
our mortality is chief among them. By denying death, I mean
the moment-by-moment abnegation of the full horror of non-existence.
To live successfully in the material world, we must deny death
on a here-and-now basis, just as we try to embrace life.
It
may be, in fact, that it is impossible to embrace life without
denying death.
That's
why I want to encourage you to find five minutes today to fully
face your own certain mortality. And don't play games with
yourself by imagining that you will somehow live on after death
in some religiously concocted better world. Face the real death:
the extinction of your consciousness, the oblivion of your
ego.
If
you can do that (and it won't be easy), you'll notice that
you will be able to stand the experience (the recognition,
the anagnorisis) for only a few moments. But those few moments
will make you fully realize the blessing that is life and the
value you should give each and every minute that you are living.
If
you can't do it, do the next best thing. Think about the death
of someone you love. Imagine or remember a friend or family
member who got sick and then died. Think about what they had
and what they lost. Then feel the thankfulness you should naturally
feel to realize that you are still here, living.
When
I think about Thanksgiving, I think about the usual things.
I think about the Pilgrims and the idea of being thankful (rather
than wanting). I also think about how great it will be to be
with my family.
Today,
it's the five of us: K, me, and the three boys. We are in Southern
California, because Number One Son can't get off work long
enough to come out East to our house. That's a blessing for
me. I love California.
We
are staying in a nice hotel, and this weekend we plan to do
some shopping and sightseeing. We will enjoy not just one but
many meals together. We'll drink good wine and eat good food,
and we will have all those family conversations that we always
have every time we are lucky enough to get together.
To
enhance my experience of Thanksgiving this year, I will do
several things that I've done before and that I've found have
made me more thoughtful, appreciative, and happy. I hope you'll
try one or all of the following yourself. It could lead you
to a more thoughtful, reflective, and grateful place in your
life.
1.
Take one or several walks.
Find
a safe, relatively quiet place to walk - preferably a place
that is beautiful. Walk slowly. Breathe deeply. Clear your
mind. Notice everything around you - the feel of the ground
you are walking upon, the quality of the air you are breathing,
the sights and sounds that surround you.
Recognize
that one day - sooner than you want - your life will end. You
will not be around to breathe the clean air, to feel the sun
on your skin, and to see the things you find beautiful. You
will not be around to hear your children's voices, to feel
your lover's touch, to enjoy the thrill of learning something
new or feeling passion.
Dwell
on the fact that after you are gone, after your ego is extinguished,
all those things that you love now will not exist for you any
more. But they will exist for those who survive you.
Realize
that, in the scope of the universe, you are a temporary bundle
of self-absorbed energy that is infinitesimally temporary and
virtually meaningless - except to yourself.
With
all of that in mind, take full responsibility for your future
happiness and success.
2.
Make a list of all the people you should be thankful for.
Start
with the obvious ones - your parents, your teachers, your mentors,
your colleagues, and other people who have helped you. Then
include the people who have helped you by letting you love
them - your children, your siblings, your friends, your students,
your proteges. And then list the people who have helped you
by trying to hurt you - your professional and personal enemies.
When
the list is done, make a commitment to send a quick, handwritten
note to each one of those people, one person a day. Just tell
them that you were thinking of them and you want to thank them
for the specific gift they gave you. Make it short and sweet.
This
exercise will benefit you immediately and continue to benefit
you for a long time. The benefits will be both expected (you
will renew good relationships) and unexpected (you will have
a stronger, braver, and happier heart).
3.
Make yourself a promise that you will spend a few moments
every day counting your blessings.
One
effective way of doing that is to list your current blessings
- specific things you can be grateful about - in your daily
journal. (I hope you are keeping a journal. If not, start one
today. If you do, you will be grateful that you did.)
- I
got to eat a turkey sandwich.
- I
got to spend a half-hour with Number Three Son.
- I
learned something new about blogging ... and so on.
4.
To repay the many blessings you have received, promise yourself
that you will spend some time every day being kind to others.
Giving
kindness is its own reward. But it is also a great way to pass
along the good that you have enjoyed. You will have more success
in keeping this promise if you give yourself the task of "doing
something kind" as a part of your daily to-do list.
It
may seem artificial at first, but don't worry about that. After
19 or 20 repetitions, acting kindly will become instinctive
and automatic.
5.
Spend half an hour resting.
As
you rest, think about someone you know or someone you have
recently read about who is less fortunate than you are. Imagine
how it would be to have that person's problems. Be grateful
that you don't and, at the same time, make a wish that he finds
relief.
Then
think about all the things you are grateful for - your home,
your family, the wealth you enjoy (not the wealth you don't
yet have), the good food you will be eating, the wine you will
be sipping, the games you will be playing, the jokes you will
be laughing at, etc. Be specific in your thinking. Don't think "food," think "turkey
breast and mashed potatoes with gravy."
6.
Say grace before eating - even if, like me, you are not religious.
I
usually say something simple, like "Let us be thankful
that we have the health that we have, the wealth that we have,
and the work that we choose." But you may prefer something
cooler, like this gem from Eubie Blake:
"Be
grateful for luck. Pay the thunder no mind. Listen to the birds.
And don't hate nobody."
Worth
Quoting: James W. Baker on Thanksgiving Tradition
"Thanksgiving
... is an invented tradition. It doesn't originate in any one
event. It is based on the New England Puritan Thanksgiving,
which is a religious Thanksgiving, and the traditional harvest
celebrations of England and New England and maybe other ideas
like commemorating the Pilgrims. All of these have been gathered
together and transformed into something different from the
original parts."
* Highly
Recommended *
ETR
Info-Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library
"When
you get this many industry giants in one place, all dropping
their experience right in your lap, an amazing thing happens.
You get answers to questions you didn't even know you had.
My head was spinning and my notebook was full at the end of
the Bootcamp.
I
would definitely recommend the Bootcamp
on DVD and I will see you again next year.
I give your event a five star rating!"
-
Glenn Cozzens, Owner/President, Lakefront Research LLC
Words
to Work Into Conversation Today: 14 Ways to Say "Thank
You"
- Irish -
go raibh maith agat
- Indonesian -
terima kasih
