Tweet

The Power of Gratitude

Guest post by: Alen Majer

Article Overview: Be grateful and inevitably you'll have a lot more to be grateful for. The salesperson who has a heart full of gratitude sells a lot more than the one who doesn't.

The Power of Gratitude

Today I am honored to have Robert Terson as a guest blogger on my blog. Here is his blog post: Epictetus (55 AD-135 AD) said, "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." I believe the optimum state of mind to accomplish any achievement is gratitude. It doesn't matter what your status is, what you have or don't have, there is always something to be grateful for. George Burns, in his mid-90s, said, "At my age, I'm grateful to be still breathing." For a salesperson, what's significant about gratitude is that it's impossible to feel discouraged or sorry for yourself if you're feeling grateful.

Do you have a spouse you love and who loves you? There are widows and widowers out there who ache for their lost love; I know a few, they're friends of mine. Do you have children? Are they healthy? Think of the millions of depressed women whose wombs are barren; or the grief-stricken parents of a critically ill child, who desperately go from the ICU to light a candle at church. Are you healthy? My grandmother, born in 1888. on a farm outside of Minsk, used to say, "If you don't have your health, you have nothing." Smart woman, my grandmother. Do you have adequate shelter? The homeless do not. Do you have enough to eat? The hungry do not. Were you educated? The illiterate were not.

The things to be grateful for are endless, are they not?

Isn't it simply a miracle that you and I are alive on this earth, with limitless opportunities to live life to its fullest? Just to have known love was worth the price of admission. It makes me want to get down on my knees and give thanks to the Powers That Be for every day I've been blessed with, for all the wonderful people I've been blessed with. When I'm told to have a nice day, my standard response is "I woke up this morning; it's already a nice day." How about you? Do you appreciate all your blessings or just take them for granted?

Have you ever heard about the man who complained about not having shoes...until he saw someone in a wheelchair without feet?

Here's an exercise for you: create a gratitude list; write down everything you're grateful for. You may stop at a hundred, but go to a thousand if you like. At the top of my own gratitude list are the health of my wife, three children, and three grandchildren. I once made a promise to never take their health for granted. I made that promise on a Saturday morning in February, 1997, in the CAT-scan waiting room at Lutheran General Hospital.

On a Sunday evening six days earlier, I had deplaned in Atlanta, gone to the bathroom and was shocked out of my wits to see blood in my urine. It happened six more times before I headed home Thursday. I have no excuse why I didn't listen to my wife and immediately go home; not one of my more prudent decisions. Nicki had set up an appointment with the urologist for Friday, but I went directly from O'Hare Field after my plane landed. The doctor examined me, said there were a number of possibilities, and then sent me to the hospital for an IVP x-ray. When I was done with the x-ray and about to leave, the technician told me the urologist was on the telephone.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," he said, "but I'm afraid I've got bad news-it's kidney cancer, not much doubt about it." He suggested I return to his office so a surgery date could be set forthwith.

Kidney cancer-it sounded so ominous; I contemplated my mortality.

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls," Hemingway wrote, "the bell tolls for thee."

There was little doubt about the diagnosis, but the urologist wanted a CAT scan to be 100% sure. So that's how I wound up in the CAT-scan waiting room early Saturday morning. Nicki and I were alone except for a young couple and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter-a real cutie. They sat directly across from us.

Nicki nervously explained why we were there; the little girl's mother explained why they were there: their daughter had developed a rare cancer when she was six months old, and periodic CAT scans had become part of their routine.

Six months old! A baby, for God's sake! I fought back the tears-for both of us, but especially that beautiful child and her beleaguered parents. I ached for them.

I tried to imagine what it must have been like for the mother and father to cope with such an Ordeal-hell, still were coping with it. How did they manage it? A baby whom you couldn't communicate with, explain things to; how could they watch her suffer so without going stark-raving mad? I couldn't do it, I thought. I couldn't possibly deal with something so devastating. Surely I'd collapse and die.

I felt a surge of gratitude that I had the kidney cancer, not one of my kids. I took that CAT scan feeling like Lou Gehrig-"...the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

There is always something to be grateful for.

It's impossible to feel discouraged or sorry for yourself if you're feeling grateful.

There's magic all around you; take notice of it, never take it for granted.

Smell the roses!

Emerson said it so well:

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Be grateful and inevitably you'll have a lot more to be grateful for.

The salesperson who has a heart full of gratitude sells a lot more than the one who doesn't.

Related Articles
  When gratitude precedes gratification
  How To Live Your Life Of Gratitude
  Gratitude is Attitude
  Enjoy Seven (7) Health Benefits of Expressing Gratitude and Lead a More Productive and Less Stressful Life
  Resistance to Gratitude: Why Isn't The Law of Attraction Working for Me?
  How Salespeople Can Develop An Attitude Of Gratitude
  21 days to a life full of gratitude
  The Attitude of Gratitude
  Gratitude gives you so much to be grateful for…
  Do You Wake Up Happy or Anxious?
  Smart Women Have Personal Power
  Are You Using this "Power Tool" in Your Business?
  Aligning With Your Prosperity
  Walk of Gratitude
  Use Gratitude to Create a Happier and More Successful Life
  The Art of the New Wealth: A Journey of Inner Peace and Deliberate Creation
  Feeling Frustrated? You Have A Choice
  Small Business Success -- 3 Ways Gratitude Can Grow Your Business
  Practice Gratitude and Create Well-Being
  Celebrate Your Victories and Give Thanks

Article Tags: grateful, grattitude, sales



Related Forum Posts
Women Entrepreneur Tips - Thank you LeoOliveros, I found #4 particularly true in my case: 4. The Enterprise Must Include the Power of Power Networks. As a conductor of your own enterprise, you can not see yourself as a one-woman-show. You must choose to utilize the power people in your life, by asking for help when you need it, and effectively delegating in order to capitalize on your strengths and that of your power network. When certain experts are not represented in your power network, you must actively seek advisors or mentors and develop a team of specialists, so the benefits are received by everyone involved in the power network - the true Power of Power Networks.
Re: what brings tears to Your eyes ???? - Hi Barry Being able to make a difference in a life, whether it is a human life or an animals life I think gives one a wonderful feeling of gratitude. Gratitude of being in a position to help and that what you do is actually going to make a difference is definitely enough to bring tears to your eyes. MichelleJ
Success Strategies - How to get the results you want now? Success Strategies and Action Steps I have used are: The Power of Choice Where you are at this present moment, is exactly perfect from the choices you have made. If you want to be somewhere else, you have to decide clearly what that is (your goal/outcome) and create action steps to achieve this. The Power of Focus The book "The Power of Focus" by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt, is one of my treasures in my Entrepreneur Library. If you focus on what you want versus what you do not want, your conscious and sub-conscious mind will direct attention to this. The movie, What the Bleep, Down the Rabbit Hole, explains this in detail about quantum physics and what we create in our lives. The Power of Commitment This is not about commitment to others. The first step is the commitment, your word, you make to yourself. Accountability and responsibility are additional success strategies and ingredients to creating the success, defined by you, that you want. The commitment to others reflects your integrity, your word and the team you work with. Co-workers, clients, yoru family, friends and community. My Success Acronyn in Success Breakthroughs(c) is: S pecific & self-directed U nlimited opportunities & possibilities C reate powerful outcomes C onsistent measureable results E xperience pwoerful transformation S olution and action-oriented S uccessful habits and outcomes Break Through to Powerful LIfestyle & Performance Choices Moira
The Power of Ten - Do you want to save money and time? Make the most of your marketing efforts? The Power of Ten™ is about taking the concepts of repurposing and leveraging “to the max”. It allows you to innovate and discover new possibilities for any marketing you already have in place. Here’s how it works: Make a list of the most recent 10 marketing items you’ve created or paid to have created. If you don’t have any materials, you can simply list the pieces you plan on creating. Now pick one. It could be an article, ad, poster, anything you have used recently as a marketing tool. Take a fresh look at it. Brainstorm and free write until you find at least 10 different ways to use that piece. You can do this with as many pieces as you want, but for now start with just one. It’s amazing how much time, effort and money you can save using The Power of Ten™. Below is an example using The Power of Ten™ with this very article. Even a very short piece, such as this, can benefit from The Power of Ten™. Here are some ways I can use this tip: 1) It’s part of a new marketing program I’m creating that may be called Marketing Full Circle. 2) It’s on my blog. 3) I can tweet it (knowing that it will show up on LinkedIn and many other sites which display tweets). 4) I can go over to LinkedIn and post it to a group. 5) I can it to my ezine subscribers. 6) I will send it to my clients. 7) If it is a longer article, I can try submitting it to an Article Bank, or two, or three. It started out as part of an answer on Focus.com 9) Eventually it will be part of an eBook on marketing tips. 10) I mention the concept often at speaking engagements. (c)2010 Elevating Your Business What would you add to the list? How about your own? Give it a try and comment below.
Wills, Power of Attorneys personal, bank, health - These four items are important even if you don't have a business. You don't have to have a Will because the law has procedures that are in place just incase someone dies without a Will. It is call dieing intestate. However, it can be an expensive process for your beneficiaries and your estate may not go to who you want it to go to. A Will - helps you set up where you want your assets to go to and who they go to. They set out your wishes for the business as well. In Ontario, you do not have to have a Will prepared by a lawyer but sometimes it is in your best interest to do so. There is a lot of info on the internet and kits that are available but they key to this are the witnesses to your signature. You may want to write it yourself and then have a lawyer witness the signing of the Will. If you handwrite you’re Will then you don't need to have it witnessed. But the entire document must be in your handwriting no typing allowed. The Power of Attorneys - Personal or Health Personal - This gives someone consent to act on your behalf if you can't due to physical or mental disabilities. The Power of Attorney goes into effect only when you are incapacitated or you authorize it. So it can be signed and ready to be used but only takes effect when you are ready to use it. You don't need a lawyer to prepare these - there are kits on the internet, there are kits that the government have where you can fill in the blanks. But if you have an extensive estate I would take it to the lawyer because their could be other issues that need to be dealt with. Health – This Power of Attorney outlines what you want to happen in case of medical emergency, for example, do you want to be revived if there is no hope of recovery, is the most common reason, maybe the type of treatment that you want to receive for the particular illness you have. This Power of Attorney protects your health rights when you can't speak for yourself and it gives someone else the right to speak for you. In the Power of Attorney you would outline your request and designate someone to carry them out. Bank - This one designates someone to look after your finances if you aren't able to do them. The banks have special procedures and these forms are completed at the bank. So if you became ill then your designated person can take care of your finances until you are ready to resume doing them. The Power of Attorneys and the Wills are legal documents and they can be revoked or changed at any time. If your estate is very large then I would suggest that you have a lawyer prepare these documents to protect your interest. Again, the law does not have the same rules as a married spouse so this would protect the surviving partner in a common-law relationship. I realize that most of the subjects that are discussed on this site are concerning growing your business but I deal with the hidden aspect of the business as well and these could affect your business as much as if you can't find that next client. Happy and Prosperous New Year Everyone


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Sales Staff

TOP Level Selling

The Basics Of A Home Based Internet Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.