Think and Grow Rich: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself for Abundant Living
"WHEN RICHES BEGIN TO COME THEY COME SO QUICKLY, IN SUCH GREAT ABUNDANCE, THAT ONE WONDERS WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN HIDING DURING ALL THOSE LEAN YEARS. This is an astounding statement, and all the more so, when we take into consideration the popular belief that riches come only to those who work hard and long. When you begin to Think and Grow Rich, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work. You, and every other person, ought to be interested in knowing how to acquire that state of mind which will attract riches." --Excerpt From: Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill. “Think and Grow Rich.”
When we hear the word "riches" we often think solely of money, but riches come in many shapes and forms, depending on who the experience is following. In this case, I'll refer to riches as whatever we desire in abundance, whatever it is that we wish we could have all the time, whenever we want, however we want. This could be health, happiness, money, success, love, freedom, and so forth.
When I was young, I was taught that we have to work hard for what we want. We must have discipline and focus, put forth an enormous amount of effort and preparation and then work diligently toward our goals in order to achieve success in whatever area we're working on. However, I've found that this isn't necessarily true. We don't have to live in misery for years just to live a decent life.
Early on I realized that as long as whatever I'm doing is in line with my inspiration (what feels right), things come much easier than expected, with so much less effort than anticipated...and often quickly.
As I've grown older, my experiences have taught me that when I'm doing what I enjoy, things comes much more easily, I'm much happier, and life is much better...When I'm doing what I love, time flies and I'm having fun (despite the amount of effort I'm putting forth).
We've been taught that we must take the path of most resistance, as this is where we toil on the road that the lazy people won't dare trek. But I've found this contrary to my own experiences, and Napoleon Hill refers to this in the excerpt above. Basically, we think, "If it's easy, it's not worth it. If it's difficult, that means I'm tackling down something unique." I, however, have learned to recognize that if things (ideas, inspiration, relationships, connections, work, and so on) come with much difficulty, maybe we're going against the grain of our own soul's purpose and mission.
Better yet, if we "follow our bliss" (do what sparks the happiness and excitement within), we are led toward more and more riches, more and more greatness, which eventually flows in abundance.
If instead we feel difficulty (as in, we're being drained, frustrated, irritated, tired, unhappy, unmotivated), we must first analyze a few things so we can get to the root and build the foundation of riches from within:
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IS IT ME? - We have to ask ourselves if we feel these ways because of our own inner deficiencies. It could be that we weren't raised with a strong ethic of perseverance, we haven't had to do things outside of our comfort zones very often in our lives, these are areas we may need to grow, we must be refined, we are fearful or we are just plain lazy. If any of these are the case, we have some work to do on ourselves before we can expect true riches anyway, so get to work. However, if this is not the case, we can move on to the next question.
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IS THIS WHAT I TRULY DESIRE? - Many times, we find ourselves doing things we don't truly desire. We've been programmed to believe that there is a way we should go, which often includes things that aren't true to our soul. If we're doing things that aren't interesting to us, and we don't fall into the categories from #1, then we probably aren't tapping into the excitement behind what our lives are truly meant to encompass. Most of us believe we must do things we don't want to do in order to attain a good life. If whatever is causing resistance is what you truly desire, go back to #1 and be honest with yourself because most likely you fit into one of those categories and have more work to do before stepping into #2. On the other hand, if it isn't what you truly desire, move on to #3.
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DO I EVEN KNOW WHAT I TRULY DESIRE? - To be completely honest with ourselves means we must take the time and energy to be vulnerable and strip down the differences between others' expectations of us and our own true deepest desires, the ones that stem from within, not around us. So many of us don't truly know what we want. We don't usually want to face the discomfort that comes from total truth, especially if it'll set us apart from what our parents, friends, associates or society tells us we must be (or do, or feel). This is all ego. When our ego feels the need to prove something, despite what our inner being is nudging, we will always be in conflict and confusion. It takes courage and humility to truly go against the grain, which means learning (and then doing) what YOU TRULY WANT, but only this will lead to an abundance of riches (of all kinds, in all areas). If you can't positively, confidently, and joyfully express what you truly want, you must focus on this step before you can move forward toward the happiest, most prosperous and fulfilling life possible. But, if you can, and you're still feeling resistance, ask yourself this:
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AM I FEARFUL? - When people don't fit into any of the other numbers above, their resistance almost always boils down to fear. It could be fear of success, fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, fear of criticism, fear of losing the seemingly stable lifestyle of mediocrity, fear of taking risks and so forth. If it turns out your feelings of resistance are due to fear, as yourself this final and most important question:
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AM I CONNECTED TO MY HIGHER SELF? - This is incomparably the most important part of our journey through life. We must be connected to who we truly are, where we truly come from, and what intentions we truly have. It's hard to know these things for sure without connecting to that part of us that already knows it all. You can call your "higher self" whatever you want: intuition, holy spirit, god, angels, source, soul, whatever. Just know that if you're not deeply connected to the excitement and intentions within your Self, you will never reach the whole and full freedom of riches that you seek, no matter how much you try to fight or ignore this fact. Once this connection happens, you'll find yourself taking steps toward the things that excite you, which means you're on the path of least resistance and as you follow this, your life will fall perfectly into place with happiness and fulfillment flowing consistently and evidently.