Happy Thanksgiving
The Bountiful Benefits of an Attitude of Gratitude
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” — Melody Beattie
Today is Thanksgiving so I thought it fit to write a little something about gratitude and the effect it can have on your success in life, as well as in business.
Great minds have always known the benefits of the attitude of gratitude and its positive influence on the energetic flow of business, relationships, finances and health; among them are mega success stories like Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Elmer R. Gates, Alexander Graham Bell, and Luther Burbank, John Burroughs, Harvey Samuel, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles M.Schwab, and Thomas Edison.
Andrew Carnegie, world-renowned businessman, industrialist and philanthropist, was one of the wealthiest men in the history of the United States. A true pauper to prince tale, Carnegie went from a meager salary of just over $5 per month at age 13 in 1848, to multi-millionaire at age 66 when he sold his steel mill interests to the tune of $480 million (the equivalent of approximately $13.5 billion in 2012).
At Carnegie’s behest, a young journalist by the name of Napoleon Hill spent two decades interviewing over 500 of the world’s most successful men, including the aforementioned individuals above, and compiled a Philosophy of Personal Achievement. His book, Think and Grow Rich developed from this research.
Among the timeless principles of success, gratitude is on of the first and foremost; Hill wrote, “Start each day with an expression of gratitude”.
Here are some suggestions for manifesting an attitude of gratitude every day; not just on thanksgiving, or on those serendipitous days when everything seems to go right. When you put these things into practice, you will find that gratitude manifests abundance in every aspect of your life:
Cultivate compassion. See others as you see yourself and avoid “less than” or “more than” comparisons.
Tune in to attention. Notice what is happening around you. You may be amazed at the number of things you find you are grateful for. When you are mindful of each moment you are experiencing life fully.
Make a list and check on it twice. Each night before you go to bed, jot down a list of things you are grateful for. Take it out during the day and remind yourself; especially on days that don’t seem to flow well.
Express it. Let others know that you appreciate them. Your family, your life partner, your business partners and associates; the boy who mows your lawn, your child’s teacher, and those who give you service.