It's 9:00 am on Saturday. I'm taking a few minutes and putting fingers to keyboard and eyes on the screen. Then I'm going out and enjoying a marvelous combination of beautiful weather and material abundance. The weather was created by nature. The abundance was created by all of us (with nature providing the resources to help us along).
Our family is absolutely blessed. By any standard, we live in a state of abundance. I went downstairs after sleeping in a bed last night. Simply by that measure I'm ahead of the game.
The fact that the bed was inside a house - a safe, warm secure dwellling made life even sweeter. I happened to wake up next to someone I love and who loves me...perhaps the sweetest of all.
When I came downstairs it's as if the Kingdom of Heaven was waiting for me. A refrigerator stocked with nutritious, life-affirming food. A ready and running supply of clean water. Advanced nutritional supplements created by scientists who spent many years being educated so they could create these products for you and me.
A daughter who is earnestly reading at the kitchen table. I get a half smile of acknowledgment, then she goes back to her book.
Perfect.
A laptop computer that gives me instant access to friends, business partners, clients and ideas from all over the world. And I in turn get to express myself to an eager audience in the next town and half a world away.
Who would have imagined this kind of abundance 100 years ago? It was unthinkable.
What do you think the world holds 100 years from now? The pessimists say one thing, and they create that reality. The optimists see something different and they walk in faith and joy into the circumstances that manifest prosperity. They work for it, they let it in, they harvest it.
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I am happy to report this period in my life is one of financial abundance. We have created more wealth than we've ever experienced before. It allows us to do stuff, to buy stuff, to feel certain ways that are difficult (though not impossible) to feel without the cash flowing in.
It feels right. We've earned it. We studied wealth, we committed to becoming the kind of people who receive it and we worked our butts off. We experienced the setbacks (there have been many) as learning opportunities, not tragedies.
And we continue to grow. Hey, the Wealth Train is just getting started!
And today we are going to play in the beautiful New England weather and take our prosperity out for a spin. Shopping, planning a home renovation, dinner out...all marvelous stuff.
So yes, I'm experiencing an overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation for everything we have. And I'm experiencing a desire to share with anyone who feels a sense of gloom about their economic position. Been there, done that, know a way out.
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I'm no economist, but my understanding is recessions happen when people stop participating in economic life to the extent they were. They stop buying stuff, people who make stuff slow down, or even stop. The workers lose their jobs, or get their hours cut. Prices necessarily come down to stimulate new buying. New buying happens, optimism kicks in, more stuff and new ventures are created.
Sure that's an oversimplified explanation. But essentially isn't recession a psychological and emotional phenomenon?
Isn't it about FEAR?
Isn't it about pessimism?
Isn't it about running out of ideas?
Yes, high energy prices are taking a toll on daily life. Gas and oil have skyrocketed.
No, the sky is not falling. What a marvelous time to think differently, to respond differently, to capitalize on trends.
Where's your new bicycle? Where's your new carpool?
Where's your new Smart Car?
Where's your family meeting to figure out ways to maximize your energy dollar?
I don't know what makes sense for you in this environment. For many, making smart decisions about changing cash flow circumstances is a good idea.
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Here's what I KNOW is a good idea for everyone, including you...
1. Experience a sense of gratitude, or at least appreciation for what you've got. And believe me, if you have access to these words right now, your cup runneth over. Focusing on your abundance rather than relative lack invites more abundance in.
2. Look at your current cash flow and find ways to keep it positive. What are you in a position to keep? What can be scaled back? What other ways are there to bring more money in? It might be a good idea to think differently than you have before. There is joy in any honest way of bringing extra loot into you and your family's experience, from power selling on eBay to a second (or third) job to teaching fly fishing etc.
3. Even in lean times, make the most important investment there is. Invest in your own education. Get smart, get excited, keep the channels to abundance open. If that means attending the seminar, or hiring that incredible coach, or taking the extra college course, do it.
Even if you don't know where the money's coming from, do it anyway. The Universe always supports those who commit to their prosperity.
It did for us. We pushed forward when you could see the cobwebs where the money used to be. We filled ourselves with hope, courage, optimism and faith.
And the Money Train came in!
Now it's your turn. The recession is in your head and your heart. So is the way out.
Invest. Create. Celebrate. You're alive! You have your head, your heart and an amazing partner called God who's right there with you.
Larry Hochman is the founder of NO MORE HOLDING BACK. He helps individuals and groups break through self-imposed limitation and achieve success in business, careers, relationships and happiness. He is a long-time educator, counselor, author and entertainer. Join the free NO MORE HOLDING BACK support and networking community at NoMoreHoldingBack.ning.com. Visit SourceofGoodStuff.com for products and from Larry and other self-development experts.