A quote from The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley, answered my question, “Why is humility good business?” The author interviewed an entrepreneur that owns and runs an auto junkyard. He asked the owner what made him successful.
The owner replied that at first, he got a lot of pushback from his family. he said his mother asked him, “Anyone can own a junkyard. Why did you go to college—not to own junk!”
Yet, this owner was a deca-millionaire. The author noted that many people overlook opportunities because social status and concern about appearances keep many from noticing opportunities. That led to Thomas Stanley’s quote:
Do you remember all that writing we did in school? I would like to have thought they were bestselling papers. That thought inspired this bestselling report cartoon.
It would have been nice if that third-grade report on bees and honey made it on theNew York Times Best Sellers list. But I feel it is best that the report is buried deep in a landfill.
It’s been such a challenge lately to count our blessings. Then again, when is it not a challenge? There is something within all of us that longs for something more, even when we are richly blessed.
John D. Rockefeller was one of the richest men of his time. When someone asked him, “How much money is enough?” he replied, “Just a little bit more.” As the reference states, he was also quite a philanthropist and a person of faith. Still, few people have ever reached the level of success and wealth he possessed. Yet, he was tempted to keep pursuing more.
We can be so busy pursuing wealth and success that we forget to be thankful for what we have. When that dissatisfaction affects our mood and actions, it can actually backfire. We may be tempted to pursue get-rick-quick schemes. We may decide to cut corners or cheat when we feel we must do what it takes to get a little more.
Counting our blessings is a remedy for that. It reminds us of what we already have. Yet, today’s quote states, it can be the hardest arithmetic to master.
Here are some reasons to count our blessings
It reminds us that there are some things to be thankful for that we didn’t earn
We are reminded to thank the people in our lives that have made a positive difference in us
It can lift our mood when we are going through a hard time
Counting our blessings reminds us to take care of what we already have instead of pursuing something that may cause us to neglect loved ones and things dear to us
It can actually motivate us to keep pursuing excellence
Gratitude leads to generosity and generosity leads to abundance to the people you are helping and yourself
Counting our blessings will not cause us to become complacent and stop excelling. On the contrary, gratitude opens us up for more blessings. No matter where you are, take some time to be grateful today.
I nearly spit out my coffee when I heard the dreadful news the other day. It seems the Swiss Government was considering taking coffee off of the Essential-to-Life list.
It’s rather humorous, even to this coffee drinker. If the world was coming to an end, would coffee really matter? It would be a comfort, but essential to life?
We get fixated on things we consider valuable and begin stockpiling them. We become stingy before we know it. All those coffee beans could be useful now. Do we really need to stockpile 16,000 tons of coffee for a population of 8 million people?
It reminds me of this Proverb:
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
We end up losing the very thing we are stingy about. Before you stockpile money, wealth or coffee, consider if what you are holding back may make you poorer in the end.
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