Wealth Is An Abundance Of Things That We Value

Thanksgiving Week is a great opportunity to spend time (and energy) on yourself and your family. *Very little productive ‘business’ or ‘work’ gets done anyway.

I have (admittedly) recycled some Thanksgiving thoughts from the last few years, and added a few more.

Here are 3 things to think about this Thanksgiving:

1. “WEALTH IS AN ABUNDANCE OF THINGS THAT WE VALUE.” I love this definition… because I’m truly ‘wealthy‘.

Try this. Write down a list of all the things that you truly VALUE… and then put a ‘COST’ (an actual dollar figure) next to everything on the list.

Most people look at their lists and realize that the things they truly VALUE end up COSTING NOTHING! My VALUE LIST is filled with very simple things like family time, adventures with the grandkids, health, friends, all the ‘good stuff’.

Besides these things that are alive… there is also wonderful value in a great book, a good cup of coffee, nature, the sun, the ocean, the mountains, yoga, physical workouts, etc.

There’s a great quote on the bottom of a picture from one of my first athletic clubs that said, “Good HEALTH is the greatest WEALTH.” A lot of truth/value in that.

A gentle reminder: WEALTH, no matter how you define it, should not be ‘A LOT OF MONEY’. Money is worthless wampum.

ODE magazine had an entire issue around the idea of ‘MONEY’. One of the best lines was a simple statement: “It’s not about MONEY. It’s what you DO with your money!”

Note: I’m an entrepreneur. I’m all about ‘financial freedom’. I want to be able to take care of my family, travel, live on the farm, and much more. At the same time, money has become a kind of scorecard or measurement with very little relative VALUE to happiness in the grand scheme of life.

2. “ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.” Almost every book I’ve ever read on personal development has reinforced that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. My good friend Tim Kight calls this the ‘R’ FACTOR. His brilliant equation is E + R = O.

Event + Response = Outcome.

Event does not equal the outcome. It’s our RESPONSE (which is almost always a function of our ATITTUDE) that creates the outcome. We are surrounded by relative comfort and certain freedom. Few of us have to worry about struggling each day to meet our basic needs (which is a daily struggle for most of the people in the world). Many people focus on what they see as a lengthy list of negatives, complaints, faults, cynicism. We need to respond with our antidote of GRATITUDE.

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE alters the way we see others and ourselves. It inspires us. It builds and supports lasting relationships.

Take a moment every day to write or think about the many, many things for which we are most grateful. (Julia Cameron calls them money pages.) Family. Friends. Freedom. Maslov’s Food, Shelter, Clothing. Greatest country in the world. (And when you’re my age, the fact that you’re alive and breathing vs. the alternative.)

Note: This is also a great way to think about the whole idea of ABUNDANCE MENTALITY.

3. “THE MORE YOU GIVE THE MORE YOU GET.” I’ve watched thousands of people experience this ‘giving thing‘. While I still don’t understand exactly how it works, I know that the more we do give, the more we get.

Thanksgiving and the holidays is a terrific opportunity to SHARE with others. You can even take your children and grandchildren as you GIVE of your time or money or material goods to help feed, clothe or shelter the homeless, help the elderly or make some difference in a child or family’s life.

Special Note: Every Thanksgiving, I share these 3 stories that you may want to share with your children or grandchildren or family. One is THE HAPPY PRINCE. Second is the SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, as seen through the eyes of a child. Third is a very powerful parable about giving titled the SEA OF GALILEE.

From all of us at For Impact and The Suddes Group, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. (We’re grateful and appreciative of what you do every day to CHANGE THE WORLD and to MAKE AN IMPACT.)