I've been given permission to post some of Mary's secrets to success, I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to share these tips and insights with you. Look forward to more from Mary over the next year as I've decided to keep the spotlight on her and her fantastic program!
Happiness is something that you grow inside of yourself and comes from many different areas including the physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, and financial aspects of your life as well as from your relationships, your family, and your community. Unlike being pregnant, as in you just are or you are not, there are different levels of happiness. Some people who already feel that they are happy cheat themselves out of experiencing an even greater level of happiness because they are neglecting one or more of these areas. The key to finding the greatest level of happiness for you is to cultivate success in all of these areas of your life.
The interesting aspect of cultivating one area that you were previously neglecting is that it may affect other areas and contribute to your success in those areas as well. Take the physical, for example. Often people find that when they start to commit to regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, it not only positively affects them physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Improving yourself emotionally and mentally may in turn positively affect your relationships. There is a chain reaction from one area to another and on to another helping you to find greater success in many areas just from focusing on cultivating one. Attaining greater success in several areas that are included in the “context of success” also contributes to having a greater level of happiness overall.
What kind of affect could improving yourself financially have on other areas that contribute to your level of happiness? Think about how your life could change if you suddenly inherited a million dollars. What if you used it to hire a personal trainer or cosmetically change a physical feature that could improve your self-esteem? How would your stress level change by paying off debts, investing and no longer being one-flat-tire away from financial disaster? What if you could go back to college and get a degree or an advanced degree that you previously could not afford? What kind of special, romantic getaway could you plan to build deeper intimacy with the one you love? What great family vacations could you experience that could provide you with memories to last a lifetime? What extra-curricular activities could you get your children involved with that you currently cannot afford? What could you do for your community through charitable contributions or donations? Think about all of the different areas of your life that could be affected by financial success.
Now, imagine the life that you could have if you were to attain financial success and cultivate all of these areas in the “context of success.” Picture yourself living that life. Make yourself the main character in the movie called, “My Best Life Possible.” If you really let yourself fully imagine yourself living that life, you can start to feel how you would really feel if it were real. This is a powerful motivation to start taking the steps to make that dream a reality. This approach is a lot different than a lot of goal-setting, motivational techniques. Instead of just making it a goal to buy your dream house, for example, you start making it your goal to live your dream life. You make it your goal to be the dream you. You only have one lifetime. Why not live it at the greatest level of happiness you could attain for you? Take the time to expand your mental picture of what life could be. Nurture your desire to attain that “best life possible” by replaying this movie over and over again until it turns into a burning desire. Once you have that burning desire to pursue and attain financial success, you will find that nothing can stand in your way and no one can stop you from making your dream come true.
