"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination 
and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a 
commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain 
the success you seek." ~Mario Andretti

ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy & Wealthy

by Christine Kane

Gratitude is more than being thankful one day a year. Gratitude is a practice. For some, it's a way of life.

Why do some people swear by the practice of gratitude? Why do these people have joy-filled andabundant lives?

In other words, why does gratitude make you happy and wealthy?

• Because gratitude is about presence.

It's about waking up in this moment and being here -really being here - and noticing what's around you. Most people are so busy thinking about the next thing, or about their horrid past, that they don't wake up and look around at their present moment - the only moment there is.

• Because gratitude is about honoring YOUR precious life.

Do you ever compare your life with someone else's? Do you ever wish your life were better and more like [insert famous person's name here]? Sometimes we can lose ourselves in wondering how we "measure up" to some standard set by our families or by the media. Comparison is the mind killer. The antidote is gratitude.

Gratitude requires that you validate your own life. (And you really don't have any other life, do you?) It forces you to say YES to the gift that is you. The choices you've made and the changes you've gone through -- they have brought you here. Even if here is a place that needs a little adjustment, that's okay. There are always gifts in any present moment.

• Because gratitude is about attracting.

It's difficult to attract abundance and joy if you are constantly saying "no" to what IS. You say "no" each time you focus on the future or past, or when you criticize something that is in your present moment.

Attraction is about saying Yes. When you say Yes, you shift.

Gratitude says, "Yes, I love this!" And then more of this is attracted, because the this is what you're focusing on.

• Because gratitude is about choice.

How you translate any situation is the situation. What you choose to see is the truth (for you).

This isn't proposing that you live in denial or phoniness. It's reminding you that your translation of any life situation is your choice. We've all heard stories of people who have ignored others' translations of their talent, their projects, their art, their looks, their lives. These people chose their own translations andsucceeded. You always have a choice when it comes to how you look at things. Choose to choose gratitude.

• Because gratitude is about wisdom.

I think people believe they're being smart if they criticize, complain, and focus on the problems of the world around them.

Smart? Maybe.

Clever? Sure.

But not wise.

It is wise to look for and find the knowing place in your heart. It is wise to choose joy. It is wise to honor your riches. It is wise to focus on and grow the blessings of your life.

• Because gratitude is about recognition.

Use your power of focus to hone in on beauty and on what makes your heart sing. Recognize the spirit in your life. It's all around you waiting to be noticed. In the words of Franz Kafka, "It will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

• Because gratitude is about receptivity.

Gratitude makes you receptive. It makes you a vessel, waiting to be filled.

I carry a tiny notebook with me everywhere I go. In it, I write down song ideas. I write down quotes I hear. I write down ideas for stage stories. As I do that, I become more receptive, and more ideas and songs come to me. It's a tool that says to my subconscious, "Send more my way!" And the subconscious always responds.

Gratitude is the same way. It says, "I am receptive! Send more!" And more arrives.

• Because gratitude is about creativity.

Creativity is really all about attention. (So is genius.)

When I write a song, I build a relationship with that song. I spend time with it. I get to know it. I pay attention to it. Artists do the same thing with drawings. They spend time in rapt attention, and the drawing is born.

Gratitude is how we Live Creative. It is a creative act to notice and pay attention to the moments of your life. Some days it's an enormous act of creativity to find things for which to be thankful.

Start today.

And have a Thanksgiving of presence, creativity, and gratitude!

---

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Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?

See Christine's blog at ChristineKane.com/blog.

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." Bernice Johnson Reagon

MY VISION - to INSPIRE people to move FORWARD.

One thing that is always constant and it is CHANGE.

Why not embrace Change, feel how good it is expand yourself. Our minds are Pre-Conditioned from our past, influenced by everyone else, and as a result as we get older we try to filter out what people have said and done to us that we have no idea who we actually are.

Look at the results you have now, look around and see, and ask yourself, Is all this really WHO I AM?

Then ask yourself: Am I willing to be at the same place 1 year from now?

MINDSET: D

ecide to not settle, not to give up, and not stand for less than our true selves.

The difference in life is not whether or not you have moments of inspiration, but rather what you do when those moments are here. Do you grab them and act on them? Or, do you just savor the feeling until it drifts away?

Feelings will drift away. But actions define a new life.

CHOOSE to work with your MINDSET to CREATE and make the CHANGES to live your Ideal Life!

CHOOSE to work with your MINDSET to CREATE and make the CHANGES to live your Ideal Life.

MY VISION - to INSPIRE people to move FORWARD.

One thing that is always constant and it is CHANGE.

Why not embrace Change, feel how good it is expand yourself. Our minds are Pre-Conditioned from our past, influenced by everyone else, and as a result as we get older we try to filter out what people have said and done to us that we have no idea who we actually are.

Look at the results you have now, look around and see, and ask yourself, Is all this really WHO I AM?

Then ask yourself: Am I willing to be at the same place 1 year from now?

You have Choices...You are allowed to make them.

Nice One

What if you were given $86,400 dollars every morning that you had to spend everyday or you would lose whatever you didn't spend ? How would you spend it? Guess what, you are given 86,400 seconds everyday to spend as you wish. How are you spending it or better yet... how will you invest it so you get a great return on your investment? by John Assaraf -

CHOOSING WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU

No matter how busy you are, add something enjoyable to your schedule. This will increase your productivity and expand your energy to pursue other activities and responsibilities. A rewarding, enjoyable life outside work makes it easier to tolerate any frustrations you may experience in your work environment. For maximum productivity, coordinate your daily activity pattern with your natural energy cycles; only you can know the times of the day when you feel the most productive. Choose what is important to you, and let go of the rest.

Those who know themselves well, who are clear on what pleases them, what energizes them, what interests them, are the ones who create the most fulfilling and productive lives.

Alignment

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results. - Albert Einstein

The decisions you make today are the seeds you plant that will manifest in
your life. Are you planting seeds of faith, trust, courage, abundance, joy,
love..... or are you planting seeds of lack, scarcity, feel, doubt,
unworthiness, struggle....

The key to manifesting more of what you want is being in alignment.
Whenever you are hitting up against obstacles, unintentional or undesired
creations in your life, something, somewhere is out of whack. You are
perfectly aligned with what you attract into your life.

Unless you can see where you are out of alignment, you will continue to
operate in a survival oriented space, which is a difficult place to attract
and manifest your greatest desires.

Everything is energy. Whatever you feel, believe and do will be magnified
in all areas of you life. That is the law of the Universe.

How you do anything is how you do everything