Worship and Gratitude: The Alpha and Omega of Happiness

If you examine how the most successful people in the world become successful and how those the most happy people find their happiness, you may notice these people are those who maintain a rich and deep connection to their creator and express gratitude each and every day.

Now, I know some of you who read AspireNow are probably Atheist. And, you know, what? That's okay with me. You may say you don't believe and that is your choice. And, as you know, I rarely get on a soapbox and preach. Today is no exception. But I will ask you: "Do you want to be happy?" Because if you want happiness, everything I've studied leads me to these two qualities: worship and gratitude.

I am not on a soapbox. I will simply state what I, myself, believe to be true. I believe that Worship and Gratitude are the Alpha and Omega of HAPPINESS.

My parents have a plaque on their wall that always struck me as especially wise. It reads:

"A family that prays together, stays together."

The state of prayer is one of communication with our God. To me, our God is one. The "Christ-consciousness" is only shone to us through the angel those with near death experiences report - the white light. But works of nature and the Universe abound all around us. I love both the simple and elegantly complex nature of life. I am in awe of things like: a sunrise... the birth of a baby... a sunset... the stars... our sun... and the power of prayer.

In my book I am publishing about "Using Solomon's Wisdom to Build a Kingdom," I maintain 10 basic tenets that Solomon created and followed to build a kingdom. He started by asking God for WISDOM. He aligned himself with his maker and started from that place. He maintained worship as a vital part of his rulership and was considered the wisest man who ever lived. Could this be connected? I believe it is. Solomon's kingdom and influence ended up the largest his people ever experienced.

A path to abundance is one that begins in service, and one that begins by submitting our will to God's will. Because God has greater plans for us than we can imagine! My own path and my will focused my efforts on being a salesperson for a large corporation, then a manager for corporations. This influenced a few dozen people directly, and perhaps more indirectly. God's will has me writing books and speaking in ways that influence the lives of MILLIONS. Can you see what I mean? It isn't all about money, but when you influence millions you usually have more value in the world than if you influence dozens, would you not agree?

Worship of GOD begins by submitting to God. Worship and Wisdom, therefore, are uniquely linked as the paradoxical moment when we begin to manifest a larger vision for life.

In addition, you will notice people who are amazingly successful are very GRATEFUL. They express their gratitude to people they love, and those they just meet.

I am so GRATEFUL for YOU, right now!

See, because it is one thing to become "empowered" with the wisdom and vision that we may manifest God inside us. It is another thing to realize that FEAR and RESENTMENT block LOVE and hold us back, and even more to realize that FORGIVENESS and LOVE propel and lift our plane of life energy into the clouds. But it is another thing altogether to recognize that GRATITUDE is the key to BLAST OFF into the stratosphere of realizing our dreams! And this, my friend, is true.

Are you ready to blast off? Start showing gratitude everywhere you go! Laugh, smile, and let people know you love them and are grateful for their presence in your life.

Just as worship is the alpha; or, the beginning, gratitude is the omega; where it ends: the missing link to discover happiness.

Think about it.... if you can live a life filled with wisdom, filled with love, where fear has no place, and let go of all resentment through forgiveness and acceptance, and then are grateful for the blessings that come your way... is that not a life of abundance?

This is what AspireNow is all about. I encourage you to live that life of abundance. I can show you what I learn on my own journey. It is up to you if you wish to pick up the seeds of life sprinkled throughout these pages and say, "Yes, I want to plant these seeds in my garden." If you do, hopefully my articles will help, along with wisdom you receive from other friends, and other people and events will come your way to guide you and help water that garden, so these seeds turn into strong and powerful plants, trees, and eventually new life that you share with those around you.

I encourage it, I pray for it, I am grateful for the opportunity to help make it so for you.

May you integrate worship and gratitude as a regular part of your life activity and see if the beginning and end of happiness are not present for each and every day.

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Perspective: #1 Key to Success, by Scott Andrews on AspireNow Seriously Fun Radio Show

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The Key To Success

I've discovered the KEY to success in life endeavors. Yes, upon evaluation, you will discover that this secret is, indeed, the root underneath pretty much all success in your life fulfillment.

Are you seeking success at work?
Are you striving for a happy relationship?
Are you seeking a healthy body?
Do you want more friends?
Do you want more money?

Guess what I discovered is the KEY to SUCCESS for EACH of these things we want in life?

PERSPECTIVE.

That’s right. It is our perspective that determines the outcome of success in any endeavor we pursue.

The statistics on the impact of perspective on our success can range from 42% to as much as 300% difference. In some businesses, 4% separates the best from the worst. In sports, it can be ONE GAME that separates the team that doesn't make the playoffs to the team that wins the title. And that ONE GAME can be turned by ONE PLAY.

Imagine a basketball team that lost half their games last year. They fire the coach. The next year, they bring in a new coach who implements a new perspective. The team adopts a perspective that they can win every game. They built a belief system that by following a basic basketball system, by practicing good basics and implementing discipline towards success, and by adopting an attitude that no matter what, they’ll be competitive in every game and can win ALL of their games. The next year, the coach’s team goes on to win 80% of their games and take the title.

What’s the difference?

Is it that one coach knew more about basketball than the other? Probably not. Usually, one coach just knows how to shift and implement perspective better than the other coach. When the team has a perspective that they can and will win their games, they usually work harder, practice longer, and initiate proactive disciplines (taking shots after a game where they missed the game-winner, for example) that produce more success than their opponents. It really is that simple.

Let’s take another look at two perspectives someone could have with a job at a company that is struggling to succeed. The environment is stressful and people have been quitting. The first perspective looks like this:

“This company is struggling, but still offers great services to our customers. Sure, several of my friends have moved on and left the company, but I’ll make new friends and they’ll probably bring in new people in the months ahead who can be my new friends, too. Although the company is struggling, I think this is an opportunity. The people who demonstrate a positive attitude and success now will be rewarded by management after we pass through this transition. I’ll focus on the positive and experience success in my job and this will bring good things to me in this career.”

Or the second perspective, which looks like this:

“This company sucks! Jon, Margaret, and Ed have all left. My friends are all gone. Putting effort into this company is going to be a waste of time when I could thrive in a different company by going someplace better.”

I, myself, was once in this situation. When I took the latter attitude, my job really did suck. One day, I decided that my problem wasn't the company, but more rather my perspective on the situation with the company. Yes, the company WAS in bankruptcy. Yes, 75% of the sales team had left for competitors and other opportunities. But, rather than change jobs, I adopted the first perspective and stepped it up at the company I was employed at. The difference? I turned it around from where I made $54K one year to making $128K the next. The difference in my success? My PERSPECTIVE.

Let’s say you’re in a relationship. Imagine two different perspectives. The first looks like this:

“This will never work. I have doubts about whether we can make it. He doesn't do this. He says this. He acts this way. I can’t feel like xxx with him.”

Or the second, which looks like this:

“This is going to work. Our love is so strong, it can see us through anything. Yes, we have differences, but I see the ways we’re in common as matching in so many ways, and our differences make us stronger as a team. Although he doesn't always do what I want, we communicate and we’re taking steps towards a happier relationship every day…”

Which perspective do you think is going to remain married and which do you think will end up in divorce or separation?

I see couples who use the first perspective, and guess what? They ALWAYS end up breaking up. The problem is the PERSPECTIVE the couple holds towards their relationship.

I also see couples, like my sister and her husband, who have the latter perspective. They just experienced their 25^th wedding anniversary this year. They have a perspective that they're good together, the love each other, and even when they disagree that they'll see it through. Their perspective is half the battle of success in their marriage!

If you’re in a relationship that is struggling, are one or both of you taking the point of view that it may not work out? If so, you've got a problem. On the other hand, do you see your relationship from a point of view of “Yes, we can do this, no matter what?!” If so, you’ll probably see it through until they plant you in the ground.

It is the same thing with losing weight or developing a healthier body. I noticed my own attitude towards my body was that I was just heavier and needed to work out and needed more exercise and needed to eat healthier, but I until I willing to make the change to make the shift from dream to reality nothing happened to make me look better.

When I shifted my perspective to realize the reality: “This food will impact how much I weigh if I eat it, and if I exercise a little every day, then I’ll reach my optimum weight and look better…” that is when I started to lose weight and get back in shape. Perspective matters with our body, too.

When I compare people who have many friends with people who have few friends, most of those with more friends reach out to people everywhere they go and see people as “basically good, helpful to know, and happy they are in my life” whereas those with fewer friends often have the attitude that “People let me down, hurt me, and judge me unfairly.” The person with happier, healthier friendships is the person who looks for the good in others and gives that same good out everywhere they go. Again, it is their perspective that create their good fortune in friendships.

If you want more money and financial abundance, I’d ask you, "What is your perspective on money?"

Do you believe that you don’t need money? Are you willing to risk all of your money for an endeavor? Then you might go through your money. Take the view point that you can succeed, grow money, and get the work you need to manifest abundance, and you’ll likely discover your bank account is fatter in six months, six years, or longer. Why? A perspective that money is flowing to you and you are growing richer every day will permeate through you and resonate with those around you who want more success, financially, too!

So, if you’re going through life and wondering why you’re realizing happiness and fulfillment or whether you’re struggling to get what you want from life, maybe the problem isn't so much the circumstances and challenges that come your way, but more rather the PERSPECTIVE you adopt towards maximizing your happiness and fulfillment. Adopt a perspective of a winner, of someone who CAN make it and WILL make it, of someone who is healthy, happy, and treated well by others, and you’ll get more of those things. As Jean Luc Picard, the Captain of the Starship Enterprise used to say on Star Trek, The Next Generation, “Make it so!"

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