Today We Are Rich

Tim was raised by his *awesome* Grandma, Billye.

He kicks the book off with a ridiculously touching story about how, in the midst of enormous challenges of her own, his Grandma helped out a man in need named Clarence. The book is worth it for this story alone.

Today We Are Rich is all about the “forever kind of rich” Billye describes. A richness in spirit we all have the potential to experience every moment we give ourselves to the world and make a difference.

Here are some Ideas on how we can rock that.

Two things here: First, Billye & Tim’s great taste in inspirational literature.

Check out the Notes we have on Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-Cybernetics, Dale Carnegie’s How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, and James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh. Those are CLASSICS. If you haven’t read them yet, get on it! :)

Second, the importance of daily practices.

Let’s check out another passage to bring this point to life.

Context: Tim is coaching a friend of his named Eric who used to crush it and is now experiencing some challenging times.

Tim says: “Eric and I had our second coaching phone call the week of Valentine’s Day 2002. I began our conversation with a question: “What are you not doing today that you were doing when I first met you?” “I’m not sure what you mean,” Eric said, laughing nervously. “What investments in yourself and others are you no longer making?” I asked. “What daily or weekly practices for a better you have fallen by the wayside?””

Those are some powerful questions.

Are you experiencing challenging times? (Or do you know you can turn it up a bit more? That would now include all of us. :)

Think back to a time when you were on fire. Life was amazing, you were rockin’ it. All was good.

What daily or weekly practices did you used to engage in that, for some mysterious reason, have fallen by the wayside?

Were you exercising consistently? Eating a certain way? Reading inspirational goodness?

What were you doing when you were MOST on?

Are you still doing those things?

If not, GET ON THAT!!!

… How about we take a moment to make it official?

When I am most on, I do these things:

1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________

What are you chewing on these days?

Reality TV? News? Violent movies?

If so, get ready for some spiritual indigestion and emotional bad breath in the form of negative thoughts and attitudes!

Much better to become a healthy-thought nut!

Love that.

Plato must have been a healthy-thought nut, too, because he shared this wisdom 2,500 years ago: “The greatest mistake physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind; yet the mind and the body are one and should not be treated separately!”

We scientifically know that our thoughts shape our well-being.

Here’s to becoming healthy-thought nuts! :)

Let’s remove the “lacky-isms” from our vocab.

No need to create a tribe of “lackys.”

And, let’s remember that sharing our concerns with others “is like sharing a cold to help yourself feel better.”

Not wise. Nor cool.

Reminds me of T. Harv Eker’s great line from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (see Notes) where he tells us: “Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people… I believe negative thinking is like having measles of the mind. Instead of itching, you get bitching; instead of scratching, you get bashing; instead of irritation, you get frustration. Now, do you really want to be close to people like that?”

Scientists agree.

Here’s how Robert Emmons, the leading researcher on gratitude puts it in his great book, Thanks! (see Notes): “Internal strategies are good but not enough. We live in social contexts, and other people can facilitate or hinder our desire to become more grateful. You might consider hanging out with grateful people and commit to spending less time with people who themselves lack this virtue. You may already do this, since ungrateful people, like chronic depressives, tend to be shunned.

A well-established social psychological law is the law of emotional contagion: an emotion expressed within a group has a ripple effect and becomes shared by the group’s members. People are susceptible to “catching” other people’s emotions.

… If we hang out with ungrateful people, we will “catch” one set of emotions; if we choose to associate with more grateful individuals, the influence will be in another direction. Find a grateful person and spend more time with him or her. When you yourself express buoyant gratitude, you will find that people will want to “catch” your emotions.”

Let’s spread the good stuff!

How’s your promise-keeping ratio?

Following through on our commitments is *huge.*

The quickest way to stress ourselves out and erode the trust of those around us is to make a lot of promises you never fulfill.

Stephen Covey’s Habit #1 in his classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Be Proactive.” The most powerful indicator of whether you’re being proactive?

Per Covey: “The commitments we make to ourselves and to others, and our integrity to those commitments, is the essence and clearest manifestation of our proactivity.”

So, let’s get REALLY aware of the commitments we’re making and ONLY make commitments we intend to honor.

Then, as Tim points out, we want to remember Norman Vincent Peale’s wisdom that “promises are like crying babies in a theater, they should be carried out at once.”

Next time you make a promise see if you can carry it out at once.

P.S. Are there any promises you’ve made that you need to go carry out? Go ahead and rock that. Take care of that screaming baby. We’ll be here when you get back. :)

The “helper’s high.”

Love it.

Reminds me of Wayne Dyer’s great passage from The Power of Intention (see Notes) where he tells us about the fact that when we perform an act of kindness for someone three people get a serotonin boost: the person performing the act of kindness + the person receiving the act of kindness + (amazingly!) people who happen to be WATCHING the act of kindness.

Scientists have proven that, not only do we get the runner’s high that can last for several weeks, we also LIVE LONGER.

Here’s how Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener put it in there great book, Happiness (see Notes): “A very important finding comes from Stephanie Brown and her colleagues at the University of Michigan: giving support to others is more important to longevity than receiving support. She found that elderly individuals who gave little emotional or practical support to others were more than twice as likely to die during the five years she followed them compared to people who gave to others. Even accounting for initial health and other factors, people who gave to a spouse, to friends, and to neighbors were blessed with greater longevity.”

So there ya go.

Be nice.

Serve.

And enjoy a nice “helper’s high” as you add some years to your life! :)

Gratitude.

We talk about this all the time.

It’s a huge part of being rich and I just love Tim’s POET approach.

Let’s take a quick inventory now:

P: I am grateful for these amazing People: ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

O: I am grateful for these Opportunities: __________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

E: I am grateful for these Experiences: ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

T: I am grateful for these Things: ____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Here’s to becoming grateful POETs!!!

Persistence.

It’s the ultimate confidence booster.

You practicing it?

Let’s remember Napoleon Hill’s reminder from Think and Grow Rich (see Notes): “Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure… The hidden Guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test. Those who can’t take it simply do not make the grade.”