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Prosperity

"There is no way to prosperity. Prosperity is the way." This quote reminds me of one I wrote down in my tribute to President Monson the other day entitled His Light Lives On. "You do not find the happy life, you make it." 

I believe in mindset. What we think becomes our reality. If we think we will one day become prosperous, we will find ourselves always chasing it. If we believe we are already prosperous, and we create and hold that prosperous image of ourselves firmly in mind, we will behave in prosperous ways. It's a lot like my post yesterday about relationships. If we think our spouse is selfish or unloving, we will create a pattern of interactions that reflect this belief. We will end up seeing what we believe.

I have been guilty of thinking that one day I will be financially independent. When I operate from this mindset, I tend to strive to acquire more. I see myself in the parable Jesus shared of the man who built larger silos to house his grain. He sought to store it up against a rainy day thinking that he could horde his wealth and trust in his riches to help him feel secure. This is not the way the universe work for it is in giving that we receive. Additionally, it is impossible to give yourself poor. We were created to give our lives away. In fact, the only real way to live is to give.

I don't want to be a generous person. I am a generous person. Generosity isn't something you aspire to. It is something you do right now. Generosity is a way of being. It consists of giving what you have away with no expectation of return. And for me the real power lies in the latter half of that equation. When we give without any expectation of return real miracles happen in our lives. The universe conspires to reward us. We get back exactly what we give out, but in truth, the universe returns it pressed down and in good measure. I LOVE watching this principle work in my life. I wish I could say that I gave for purely altruistic reasons, but I do think I give because I know this principle to be true. I know that the more I give the more I get. . . and so in a way I feel impure about my giving. I want to be a person who gives even if the universe never gave back.

WHOA, hold the phone! Do you see what I just did there? I said I want to become something. That is diametrically opposed to the miracle mindset I'm writing about. If our thoughts create our reality and if thinking you will one day be prosperous is a barrier to true prosperity because it prevents you from assuming prosperity now, then I cannot say I hope to become a genuinely generous person who truly gives with no expectation of return. I must assume the feeling that I am already in very deed that person who gives not because I know the universe will compensate me tenfold, I give because that is who I am. I give because I'm a giver. "Give, oh give, away!" Starting today, I will not only be prosperous. I will give with no expectation of return. That is who I am. I hold this vision of me perfectly in my mind. I see myself giving away everything I have that someone else may need or benefit from. "Give, oh give, away!" That is who I am today. "There is no way to prosperity. Prosperity is the way!"

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