The Secret to Wealth

I firmly believe that there is one simple secret that will help anyone achieve greater wealth. Now, there is a difference between wealth and rich. Wealth encompasses a lot more than just money and richness. Wealth is living in abundance. It is living in happiness. It is living in joy. And there is one secret that I have found to help me achieve greater wealth.

It is so simple that anyone can start doing it today. The moment you finish reading this, try it out and you can see a difference.

The secret and key to wealth is gratitude, and that's it.

As we express gratitude for the things we have rather than the things we lack, we can immediately feel more wealthy. It's even enough to start with your body. Just the fact that you can get up every morning and get out of bed and breath air is a miracle. Watch this video to understand miracle and greatness of the human body.

It is simple, but it can be tough. Thomas S. Monson said, "...gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

Be grateful everyday and you can see an immediate abundance of wealth.

Goal-Setters vs. Goal-Achievers

We have too many experts in the world that are goal-setters. They know how to come up with something they passively want to accomplish and write it down on a piece of paper. That piece of paper becomes lost and forgotten as does the goal itself.

I believe the world needs expert goal-achievers. There are two key ingredients I believe that can help us become goal-achievers. I'll share these two elements with two questions.

1.  What is your level of commitment?
2.  What is your level of character?

Dive deep into your goal and answer these two questions:

• How bad do you want it?
• What are you willing to sacrifice? 

I heard someone say for the new year that their goal was "to hit the gym hard." Being the literal person that I am, I imagined them standing outside the gym, looking at the building, and putting all of their strength into their fist as they smashed it into the wall. Goal accomplished. Not really. 

When this person declared their goal, I couldn't feel their commitment, and I certainly couldn't see their willingness to sacrifice either. How bad do you want it and what are you willing to sacrifice?

I heard one of my mentors say that "Character is consistently overcoming challenges." Sacrifice is always required to overcome challenges. Therefore, character equals the willingness to sacrifice something less for something of greater value. 

Once again, how bad do you want it? What are you willing to sacrifice? 

From Weeds to Wishes

I don't like dandelions. They make my lawn look ugly. I don't like having an ugly lawn. The worst thing about dandelions is that they spread easily. The wind can blow off their seeds and it seems like the next day they have doubled in number. I don't like that.

However, my wife has helped me gain a better appreciation for them. We were in our kitchen and I was looking into our backyard. I was noticing the dandelions scattered all across our lawn thinking, "I don't like you. Get off my lawn! You're making it ugly!"

My wife comes up behind me and says with excitement, "Oh! Look at all the wishes!"

I immediately thought, "WISHES! No, honey. Those are ugly dandelions and they are ruining our lawn!" But I thought a little bit further and I could understand what she really said.

Do you remember as a kid finding dandelions in the yard and plucking them up out of the ground? I certainly do. I didn't view them as ugly, worthless dandelions then, but rather I viewed them as dreams with unlimited possibilities. With a single wish and a huff and a puff, I could make my dreams come true.

What lens do you view the world in? Do you see things as annoyances, ugly, and undeserving? Or do you see them as wishes, dreams, and unlimited possibilities? There is beauty all around, we just need to open our eyes a little bit more.

Watch the joy and happiness this father and son enjoy with dandelions.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Everyday

Sometimes in my life I get into ruts. I just find myself living a routine or a pattern of life. Almost like Groundhog Day, but perhaps I am a little more unconscious of the repeating cycle. I awake myself from those moments and look for ways to get out. For me, living a routine life isn't ideal. I don't find satisfaction going through the motions. I want to live my life! It is my life and I can choose how I want to live it.

Through some mentoring and personal development, I found three simple questions that I can ask myself everyday that can bring satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy in my life.

Question #1 - What am I doing today that is better than what I did yesterday?

Question #2 - What am I learning today that I did not know yesterday?

Question #3 - What will I create today?

These questions provide me a daily quest or mission to accomplish. It gives me focus and purpose.

Question number three is probably my favorite. Life was given to us by an ultimate creator. We are God's greatest creation. He has given us the ability to create. So what will you create? I choose to create my life.

Learn how you can receive free mentoring and personal development.

"Whatever the mind can achieve and believe, it can conceive."

I have been doing some personal development and I came by this quote from Napoleon Hill,

"Whatever the mind can achieve and believe, it can conceive."

I feel like growing up I have heard this quote in many different shapes or forms. "You can do anything you put your mind to", or "Anything is possible." I honestly think though that most of us do not believe these statements. They work for other people, but why not you and me? 

Here is another good quote from Thomas Ford, the inventor of the Model T,

I have heard this one before as well, but I never knew what Ford said afterward,

"It's in our thinking that makes it so."

Our thoughts are at the epicenter of our personal world. Whatever thoughts we decide to entertain and hold on to, can plan out our very present and future. In fact, our present is only a mere composition of our past thoughts and desires. What thoughts are we allowing to determine our destiny?

I am learning for myself through personal development how powerful the human mind actually is. Little by little, I am starting to scratch the surface of my own human abilities and potential. And it all starts with my thoughts.

Habits of a Happy Husband Part II

Last year around this time I wrote a post about habits I learned from my first year of marriage (Habits of a Happy Husband). I greatly benefit from those principles and now I wish to add more lessons I have learned during my second year of marriage.

1. Seek to understand then be understood 

This is a principle from Stephen Covey's book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It's a principle of listening. We all have two ears and one mouth, but sometimes we use our mouth twice as much as our ears. I have learned to shut my mouth and not just listen with my ears but listen with an open heart. If you rearrange the letters in LISTEN you get SILENT. That makes all the difference. Learn to listen to your spouse.

2. Show appreciation for your spouse

This is more than just showing appreciation for the things your spouse does. Rather, it's showing appreciation for who they are as a person and as your spouse. Take time to look your spouse in the eyes and appreciate them for their character. Saying things like "I love how your smile brightens up my day" or "I love  your passion for helping others" will make them feel valued and appreciated as a spouse. They need to feel that everyday.

3. Fall in Love Everyday

This was crucial for me and my wife. There was a point in our marriage that we were just going through marital motions. It felt like we were just living together rather than being married together. We love each other but we hadn't fallen in love for a while. We found some ways to fall in love again and we try to do this consistently.

These are simple and practical habits to develop. I am not perfect at them, but I try my best to be the best husband to my wife. I know that she is doing her best to be the best wife to me. We simply do the best with what we know and strive to be better every day. 

3 Ways to Fall in Love with Your Spouse Again

Marriage is wonderful and beautiful. However, sometimes we find ourselves in marital ruts that takes the "merry" out of being married. In my own marriage I have used these principles to get out of those ruts and bring the beauty back into marriage.

Show Your Gratitude for Your Spouse

This is different than just telling your spouse thank you for doing the dishes or folding the laundry. It's validating them as your spouse. Give them honest and sincere appreciation for who they are as your spouse rather than what they do. Sometimes I'll tell my wife, "I'm so grateful that you're my wife" or "You're such a great housewife." It makes her smile and that makes me happy.

Reminisce 

Take a trip down memory lane. This is one of my favorite things to do with my wife. The other day we had a look at a photo album and it was really neat to see all the fun things we had done together. When we retrace our life's journey together we're reminded of the moments that brought us closer together. Feelings of love and closeness fill our hearts as we fall in love again.

Tell Them Why You Love Them TODAY 

It's very common to rush through love. "I love you" is our script as either one of us leaves the house and it's almost mechanical and past feeling. Understandably, life can get hectic and we're either late for school or an important meeting, but let's not lose sight of our most important priority: our spouses. Don't burn out the love in your relationship with the pedal to the metal, but simply enjoy the ride with them. Take them in your arms and tell them why you love them today. This will rekindle love's fire and bring you two closer together.