Success Advice

Gratitude Is the Key to Financial Success

Published

4 months ago

Jun 29, 2021

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The coronavirus pandemic disrupted our lives in ways most of us never imagined could be possible. COVID-19 didn’t just affect us physically. It also affects us emotionally and financially. Yet not all these effects were bad. It also prompted us to feel grateful. For some, gratitude was a coping mechanism. For others, gratitude meant focusing on what they had instead of what they lost.

We’ll be very happy to let go of many habits we developed during coronavirus lockdowns. But this habit is not just one to keep. It’s also one to apply to other areas of your life. Gratitude for what you have alters your financial perspective in several ways. After all, financial success often isn’t about getting more. Instead, financially successful people usually know how to hold onto what they have. An attitude change could unlock this secret in your life.

Direct Effects of Gratitude

Most advertisers attempt to trigger emotional responses which prompt people to buy certain products. For example, many car commercials say almost nothing about the vehicle advertised. Instead, the commercials focus on product use, like fun road trips, which trigger that emotional response.

Gratitude redirects these emotional responses. If you are grateful for the vehicle in your garage and the road trips you’ve been on, you are less likely to reach out to a dealer.

Instant gratification impulses are a related issue. When you drive by a fast-food restaurant on your way home after a long day, you are most likely tempted to pick up dinner. This decision is also rather easy to rationalize. Latent advertising effects remind us of the convenience that fast food offers.

Gratitude eases these temptations. One recent study indicated that gratitude increases patience and makes delayed gratification more appealing. On a related note, gratitude decreases impulse buying. The carefully-displayed products at grocery stores look much less appealing if you are grateful for the food which is already in your refrigerator.

Hedonic Adaptation is a closely-related concept. Essentially, we all have a base happiness level. Life’s ups and downs do not permanently change this baseline. We simply feel better, or worse, for a brief period of time. Admittedly, that “brief period of time” could seem like an eternity in some cases.

So, gratitude helps you avoid the buying-happiness trap. Once we realize that acquisition is just a quick fix, we normally look inward for happiness.

There are other direct effects as well. For example, gratitude usually increases generosity. In this context, “generosity” doesn’t necessarily mean giving things away. Instead, generosity is more about respecting the people in your life who have had a positive impact. This respect usually prompts people to make a positive impact in other people’s lives.

Such generosity always comes back to you. Some people call it karma. Others call it reaping what you sow or paying it forward. This benefit could be financial. Generosity also makes you memorable to others, so they are more likely to think of you when they are hiring, need a contractor, and so on.

“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think. So start each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for.” – Dale Carnegie

Indirect Effects

As mentioned, gratitude is often related to respect. This respect includes self-respect. Several studies suggest that grateful people have better diets, exercise more, sleep better, and otherwise take care of themselves. So, they have fewer illness symptoms. Better physical health and lower materialistic impulses is a good combination for anyone.

What does this combination mean to your finances? Gratitude increases productivity. Instead of worrying about your health or your next purchase, you are focused on the task at hand.

Financially successful people usually make good decisions and have strong willpower. Gratitude supports these traits.

There have been a number of delayed gratification experiments over the years. For example, study participants might have a choice between a $50 payment today and a $75 payment in thirty days. These studies consistently show that people who are grateful for what they have and can resist immediate “get more now” impulses are happier and more productive.

On a related note, bosses know how much simple expressions of gratitude increase productivity. One former President of the United States noted that Congressmen and Senators were much more likely to back controversial new proposals if he thanked them for their support of a previous initiative. The evidence is not just anecdotal. One study suggested that such expressions increased a work team’s productivity by 50 percent.

How to Be More Grateful

Knowing the benefits of gratitude is one thing. Incorporating gratitude into your daily life is something else. How can you unlock these benefits and reap the financial benefits they bring?

Toward the end of every day, write, don’t type, five events or things that you are grateful for. The items themselves aren’t necessarily important. These lists help convince us that overall, life is pretty good. That understanding is usually the foundation of gratitude.

Allow your mood to affect your decisions. When you are feeling good, that’s a good time to make spending decisions. Make an extra IRA contribution or donate some money to charity. Later, if you feel depressed, you are less likely to spend money frivolously, since you have already “spent” it elsewhere.

Finally, focus on the positive aspects of your everyday life. Avoid negative people and negative social media posts. The positive energy these habits generate make it easier to be a grateful person.

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Lyle Solomon

Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View Law Group in Los Altos, California.

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Success Advice

How Your Friends Determine Whether You Succeed or Not

Published

4 days ago

Oct 18, 2021

TheThrives

Image Credit: Unsplash

Can anyone do without having friends? We all have our friends, we share ideas with them, talk together, have fun, and fight. Yes, that’s the baseline of friendship. But, do you know that aside from you, your friends can determine whether you achieve success or not?

There are two things in friendship which are the ability to ”love” and the ability to “influence”. This means you are loved and you are influenced. How do your friends affect your success in life? How are they one of the biggest deciding factors of your success? Let’s find out.

What type of friends do you keep?

First, what type of friends do you keep? Who do you call your best friend? There are two different kinds of friends, good friends, and bad ones. A lot of people have lost their pathway to success and some have also found their road to success all because of the friends they keep, the people they mingle with.

Who is your best friend? Answer carefully. Having a best friend means you find each other compatible and understanding. Analyze who your best friend is. If your best friend has not motivated you to do something positive, if who you call your bestie has never given you positive advice, lastly if your best friend has never informed and advised you on your shortcomings, then you don’t have a best friend.

This quote tells us “birds of the same feather flock together”. Countless people have changed from their good nature into a bad one all because of friends. One thing to note is, “negative people move with negative aura”. If your best friend is filled with negativity inside-out then you will surely be affected by his/her negative aura.

They influence your success with positivity or negativity

The friends you keep can either influence you with positivity or negativity because your friends have the power to change your kind of person completely.

This is how your friends influence you:

They influence you indirectly with what they do
They influence you directly by teaching and giving you advice

Yes, that is how they influence you. For instance, you watch a movie and you like the way the actor walks. The question is if you truly like the way the actor walks, won’t you try to imitate the actor? Of course, you will.

Just the way you imitate the actor is the same way your friends can influence you with their character. However, the funny part is, they don’t have to teach you to do things like them. You just find yourself imitating and copying them gradually.

An important question to ask is, are you imitating a good friend or a bad one? If you imitate a good friend then you will be good, but if you imitate a bad person, you will surely become a bad person.

Everyone wants to succeed, a good friend will always teach, enlighten, and motivate you for success. A bad friend will only motivate you to do evil things (smoking, drinking, fight, envy,).

And you should know that things like that are a great enemy of success and even of God. So, if you have these bad elements in your life, how will you achieve success? There is no way!

And also, they can teach and advise you directly. But, what do your friends teach you? When you ask them for advice do they inspire you positively or teach you the bad stuff.? A lot of people have regretted lifelong decisions just by listening to the advice of friends.

The company you keep has the power to influence and change you. Never forget that a positive influence will teach, motivate, and brush you up for success. While a negative influence will inspire you to become a bad person, change your good nature, and leave you with regrets in the end.

Success Advice

The 3 Step Process to Building a Profitable Pitch

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5 days ago

Oct 17, 2021

Monique Maley

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As a communication coach, one of the top questions entrepreneurs ask me is how to deliver a winning pitch to potential investors. They want to know if there’s a magic formula to get an investor to say yes and buy into their dream and their business. (more…)

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The 4 Pillars of Wealth and Abundance

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6 days ago

Oct 16, 2021

Dalia Escobar

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Have you ever wondered what the formula for a wealthy and abundant life is? Many people have. Lots has been written about the subject of wealth creation and living an abundant life. It was a breaking point in my journey and pursuit of success when I found out that there is a clear path to achieve success in life. Thanks to those who have shared their journey, we can clearly see and follow the principles of prosperity. (more…)

Success Advice

Here Are 4 Reasons Why You Should Have a Podcast, Youtube Channel or Online Show

Published

1 week ago

Oct 14, 2021

Timothy Craggette

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Confidence comes from a place of strong understanding of self. After close to three years on radio, I’ve grown from a shy introvert to a shy introvert with an extrovert persona. When the mic is turned on, I can channel a version of myself that some say is attractive, strong, and of course, confident but it wasn’t always this way.

What I want to share with you is what I discovered on this journey into broadcast that you can apply to your life, your ventures, and your personal development. This doesn’t require any fancy gear. It does require a leap of faith on your part because once you go down the road of media; it can change your life.

1. Perceived Expertise

When you go to a doctor, you expect their knowledge will guide them to a solution to your problems. When you have a show, you become your listeners’ doctor. For all the multiple thousands, maybe millions, of YouTube channels, podcasts, and user-created content in the world, each person that gets behind a mic takes a position on their passion, their opinions, and their themes.

They challenge the status quo for the benefit of their listeners in hopes to entertain and educate. With consistency on your side, those fans place you on a platform and give you permission to influence them.

2. Global Acknowledgement

One of the benefits to increasing confidence is when you receive thank you notes from people you may never meet. The feeling of enriching someone’s life from halfway around the globe, provides validation you’re enhancing someone else’s life with your wisdom and your wit.

The very first time I was told I was making a difference in someone’s life in a country other than my own, I felt like I caused massive impact that transcends my circle of influence. When you experience just how much you can cause impact and it comes back to you, it’ll change your worldview.

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems.” – Zig Ziglar

3. Backed By Numbers

One of the most exciting ways to measure success is to quantify your growth. It’s not enough to just broadcast. Having subscribers and downloads helps to know, numerically, how well you’re doing. Word of caution. This can be a way to set yourself up for distress because of number envy but if you understand what the numbers mean; you can control the narrative of the numbers.

The major number that makes most people smile is 10,000. I’d advise it to be 1. Here’s why. As you grow in your industry, so does your reach. If you learned that the one person that subscribed totally changed for the better because of you, wouldn’t that be worth the effort?

4. Effective Communication

While it’s not talked about much, having a show is documentation. You create a dynamic account of your life, your industry, and the pulse on what’s important simply by having a show. When you find a channel to improve your communication skills, you demand attention and people will listen to you. You become more trusted as a leader and people will follow you once they believe you can lead them to their wants and needs.

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins

These insights have helped many people become leaders and, ultimately, move others to their best selves. It’s worked for me and I hope it works for you. At the end of the day, it’s all about showing up and showing out.