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By V.Jayaram
In the final sense, prosperity is not something which you inherit, but
something which you create out of your own consciousness, through your efforts, determination and will to succeed against odds. A person may inherit great riches but he may remain poor in his outlook and attitude. You may call him rich but truly he is poor for he has blocked the energy that has been given to him as a part of an endless network. A person may be born poor, but may remain generous and kind in his heart and live like a rich person in the real sense. What is the true meaning of being rich ? It is to be rich in giving and appreciating and be in possession of certain virtues, which we refer here as pillars. We enumerate these qualities for the benefit of those who seek wealth as the means to circulate happiness and gratitude. If you possess them already you are on your way to success and prosperity and if you do not you can cultivate
them over a period of time and change your life for ever. These qualities are listed below :
1. Positive thinking
2. Awareness
3. Discipline
4. Determination.
5. Courage.
6. Faith
7. Compassion.
8. Intelligence.
9. Interest.
10. Love.
11. Humility.
12. Simplicity.
13.Generosity
14. Curiosity
15.Initiative.
Optimism, : When you look at the world positively, you clear your mind from the cobwebs of fear and suspicion and of hatred and ill will. You learn to accept people and the world around you with a loving and caring heart. You awaken the creative faculties that lead to affluence through unconventional and unexpected channels. The ideas you so generate creatively contribute to your unique status as an individual and as a member of a group and lead to your prosperity. You learn to build relationships, accepting people in a very positive way, appreciating their worth, understanding their weaknesses, rarely judging them. Through this attitude you build relationships and through the relationships you so build, you improve your chances of
reaching your goals and realizing your dreams.
Awareness: Awareness comes out of observation, out of attention to detail, out of curiosity and out of the willingness to learn and change if necessary with a sense of humility and sincerity. You are pragmatic to the extent you are aware of yourself, of your surroundings and the people you interact with. You are successful to the extent you are aware of your goals and your needs, your fears and your capacities and abilities. Awareness is the key to success in any field. In education it is the student who knows better who wins the laurels. In a profession it is the person who has the expertise and the knowledge who is respected and who is frequently approached. Awareness is knowledge. Awareness is strength. Awareness is success.
When you are aware you have the ability to and the opportunity to face the reality around you and deal with it appropriately. You become sensitive to the threats and opportunities in your environment and plan your actions and strategies accordingly.
Discipline: Discipline makes man different from the rest of the animals. Discipline means order. Discipline means control. Discipline means moderation. Discipline means to be able to adjust yourself to your environment and to your own expectations and plans. Discipline means adaptability, the ability to suit yourself according to your circumstances, the willingness to make sacrifices when required, to stand alone if necessary and fight your life's battle with determination and tenacity. Discipline enables you to control your thoughts and your impulses and bring to fruition your hopes and dreams. Where there is discipline there is efficiency and effectiveness. Through discipline you learn to control yourself and your
environment. You learn to direct yourself towards your cherished goals. You learn to deal with yourself and the people around you more positively and confidently. With discipline comes the clarity of your mind and the simplicity of your methods. You learn to sacrifice if necessary and hold on when the situation demands. You build the strength of your character and the stability of your mind and the senses. And through these extraordinary qualities, you acquire the ability to deal with the problems of your life and your frustrations with tolerance and dignity. You learn to accept failure as a part of your life and as a process of learning and changing. Discipline does not necessarily mean you have to be morally righteous or socially acceptable. It means to
be able to stand for what you truly believe in. It means to be able to defend your right to be yourself. It means to pursue without fear your philosophy of life, however divergent it may be from others opinions and value system. It means to purse a path perseveringly however difficult and dreadful it may be to the ordinary mind. When your are disciplined you are be able to accept others for what they are and their right to have their own thoughts and opinions, without hurting yourself or others with your impulsive reactions or thoughtless actions. Discipline is the invisible companion of all successful people. It is the backbone, the true support. If you have this basic quality you are sure of success in your aims and goals. Courage and fortitude come out
of discipline.
Determination: You may have goals. you may have plans. you may dream wonderful dreams about your future. But all this comes to naught, if do not have the determination to carry your plans forward. You cannot surmount obstacles as you proceed with your plans. If you do not have the power to stand up to your own expectations, you cannot keep your enthusiasm, your energies and your optimism. Determination means perseverance, a quality that distinguishes an achiever from a non achiever. Without determination you cannot go far in your life, because life is full of problems and obstacles, and especially because there are enough people and forces outside there who want you to fail, who want you to stop in
your tracks and turn back. These are the people who compete with you or envy you for one reason or the other and would do many things consciously or unconsciously to slow you down or stop you altogether. Then there are many extraneous factors on which you have little control and which may make things difficult for you. You will not be able to cope with these forces unless you have the power of determination. Your determination comes from self discipline, confidence and faith in yourself and your attitude. Your thoughts are equally important. If you are positive minded, you are bound to have strong will power as your positive state of mind keeps your hopes alive and your determination strong.
Courage: Courage is the ability to take calculated risks, to face the unknown if necessary, to be free from anxiety and hesitation in difficulties and to be able to withstand the pressures of life with inner balance and peace of mind with faith in oneself and hope for tomorrow. Courage is also the ability to demand from life from yourself and from the world what is due to you, to ask for that which you require genuinely, to be able to negotiate successfully and to refuse to accept that which you think is not appropriate for you or your plans. Courage is the ability to stretch your hands and ask for help when you need it, without worrying about the consequences, to be able to forge relationships based upon the principle of equality
and mutual respect without suffering from the compulsion to control others, to stand for what you believe in and defend your ideas and thoughts when required. A courageous mans always finds himself forging ahead even under testing circumstances, because undaunted by initial set backs he finds ways and means to keep himself going.
Faith: Faith implies a certain sense of self-confidence, initiative, responsibility, feeling of assurance and willingness to take risks. When you have faith in yourself, you will have a healthy and positive attitude towards yourself and it manifests itself in all thing you do, in your relationships and in your approach to various problems and issues in life. With faith in yourself, you do not feel the urge to look to others for approval or inspiration. You do not suffer from the sense of dependence that generally persists in those who lack it. You are guided and motivated mostly by your own sense of judgment, your priorities and values. You accept responsibility, an inner direction as your prime motivator that does not permit you to escape from
yourself, or blame others for your failures and misfortunes. You enjoy greater equanimity because of the inner sense of certitude and tranquility. When you have faith in yourself, you will have faith in others also. You do not suffer from the perils of doubt and distrust unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Your basic approach would be to treat others the way you would treat yourself, to accept other the way you accept yourself and this will help you to establish relationships help you build your life and fortune as well as of others. Your relationships would mutually rewarding and satisfying. Faith in God is equally rewarding. If you have faith in God, you would be more interested in building your fortunes in the light of the values and principles
your religion inculcates in you. You work for a greater cause, that may outlast your life or help you transcend your petty interests and selfish outlook.
Compassion: Compassion flows out a heart that is willing to make sacrifices for the happiness of others, which by itself is a rewarding virtue, because those who are benefited by it are bound to respond with positive thoughts and sense of appreciation towards you. When your heart is filled with love and open to the love of others, when you are not propelled by the negative force of selfishness which is normally the predominant cause of misery and conflicts in the world, when you are willing to let others share your success and fortunes without suffering from the fear of losing them, you taste the fruit of compassion that will bring you greater rewards than you can imagine spiritually as well as temporally. You will for situations in which the rewards
of your efforts will be shared not by you alone but by others also. Through your compassion you will share your happiness with others, your success propel the success of many, you will become a lamp that will bring light and cheer in the lives of many. You develop an understanding attitude and empathy that will help you to become sensitive to the people around you, to their hopes and aspirations, their needs and expectations that will ultimately help you to establish successful relationships, without which nothing much can be accomplished in this world.
Intelligence: By intelligence we mean the ability to decide, the ability to discriminate what is appropriate or inappropriate in a given situation, the ability to learn from experience, study, analysis and observation and the ability to make reasonable predictions about the future based upon your sensitivity to the present environment. Intelligence however does not mean mere academic excellence. Intelligence is a product of awareness as well as alertness to opportunities and threats in the environment as well as to your own inherent strengths and weaknesses, which would enable you in turn to adapt yourself to the demands of a given situation and fit into the roles that facilitate your success and survival. It also helps you to
recognize people with exceptional talents from whom you can learn, whom you can emulate or with whom you can forge rewarding relationships. The sensitivity that comes out of your intelligence also helps you to learn from your mistakes and failures and turn them into opportunities instead of stumbling blocks. And most important of all, it helps you to deal with ambiguity and cope with uncertainty. When you are intelligent enough to know what is best for you, what is most appropriate for you in a given situation, with whom you should build your relationships, when and where to look for opportunities, how to solve your problems and deal with different situation, you are resting your success upon this most important pillar of your success. Remember wealth is a
product of discrimination and discrimination of intelligence.
Interest: Interest means to like and love what you do. Where there is interest, there is dedication and concentrated effort. There is whole hearted and untiring attention that comes with passion, and enthusiasm. There is inner harmony that enables you to give an expression to your talents, skills and latent energies. You experience the totality of yourself, your whole system, working with synergy and the exhilarating feeling of your whole being moving in harmony with the demands of your job. You are rarely at conflict with yourself because your mind and heart are in agreement and work together to give you best possible results. Interest enables you to learn from your day to day experiences, to know what you
do not know, to remain ever curious and open minded, to face challenges, test your limits and exceed yourself, to explore the unknown and the hidden and thereby to shape yourself into a rare talents and progressive, qualities. The secret of success is therefore to select a career or profession that is in harmony with your thoughts and aspirations, that enables you to flow with it, makes you feel happy and comfortable, and gives you an opportunity to express yourself and your potentialities. Remember, prosperity is a consequence of dedicated and concentrated effort which comes naturally to a person engaged in doing what he loves to do. Your aim therefore should neither be success nor riches, but the pursuit of something in which you
are genuinely interested.
Love: If your heart is filled with the positive emotion of love, you will see your love manifesting itself in everything you do and bringing you rich rewards. The rewards of love come in the form of wider acceptance, appreciation, loving relationships, unexpected help, and increased personal satisfaction. We are using the word love here in a wider context. It means love towards yourself, love towards what you believe in, what you do or want to do, love towards the people you deal with, love towards those who assist you in your progress and even those who help you negatively by their negative behavior. It is true that success brings into your life more problems that you imagine and these problems become compounded if you have
not learned to deal with things and people in a loving and caring manner. Successful people suffer from feelings of loneliness and of alienation mainly because on their way to success, knowingly or unknowingly they become engrossed with their goals and pursuits and fail to take care of their relationships. But if you have love in your heart, you will not suffer from the same fate. You will remain in control of yourself and your relationships and enjoy your success in the company of your loved ones, who would stand by you and assist you especially when you face difficulties or failure and feel lonely.
Humility: The most difficult thing in the world is to remain unaffected by the rewards of success, to remain human and successful at the same time, or be in touch with reality after you have tasted the sweet fruit of success. It becomes possible with this most precious virtue most common among the most successful people. It enables them to open to all suggestions, to learning new knowledge, to be thoughtful and careful in their relationships and statements, and to be helpful and considerate towards all those who assisted them in some way to achieve of success. It helps them to keep their feet firmly on earth while their minds and imagination may soar to far away places. Since they do not suffer from the compulsion of
proving themselves or indulge in pretentious display, they display a rare degree of spontaneity and sincerity in their relationships and become a source of inspiration rather than depression to others.
Simplicity: If you want to be successful and remain successful, you must know how to do things and achieve results in a simple way. You must master the art of knowing what is essential and what is not in a given situation. You must learn to jettison the extra load without endangering your voyage. Simplicity implies efficiency and conservation of valuable resources in accomplishing tasks. By learning to do things in a simple manner, you conserve your resources and save yourself from unnecessary exertion. By adopting a simple life style, you can avoid many complications in your life and thereby concentrate more on your cherished goals and important tasks. The principle of simplicity helps you to keep yourself in shape
physically, mentally and financially, to maintain your relationships and lead a wholesome and healthy life. and even if you lose everything in the end, your simple life style would help you cope with your difficulties.
Generosity: We are well aware of the corrupting nature of riches. When Jesus declared that it would be difficult for a rich man to pass through the needle, he was not saying that it was a sin to be prosperous. He was only cautioning the rich to be aware of the pitfall of prosperity, one of which is the tendency to become overly selfish and increasingly self centered. As eastern religions such as Hinduism emphasize again and again, materialism leads man deeper and deeper into the illusory world and ensnares him in its strong hold from which escape is possible only through good conduct, detachment and self surrender to God. Abundance flows into your life because of the generosity of God and having received it, it becomes your
prime responsibility to permit its free flow back into the universe so that its movement is not impeded and its purpose is not defeated. The riches that come into your life are not meant for you alone, but for all those whose welfare has become your responsibility and whose progress in life depend upon you. It is true that many people and factors play a crucial role in your success, not just your effort and talent alone. Even the society or community in general in which you are born or brought up impacts you success in many ways. It would be unwise of you not to share your fortunes with these extraneous agents of your success and carry the debts beyond this life. The true purpose of prosperity is to free yourself from the shackles of the
petty demands of your lower self and elevate yourself to a level where you can truly refine your character, ennoble your attitude and learn to spend your riches wisely and appropriately for the ultimate freedom and well being of your own soul. This becomes possible only when you permit your riches to flow freely to those who deserve it. This way you carve your path to the heavens and earn the right to pass through the "needle"
Curiosity: Curiosity is responsible for learning and exploration without which no progress is ever possible. It is because of curiosity man becomes inventive and experimental and makes possible progress and prosperity for himself and his community. Without this precious gift, man would have been perhaps still living in the stone ages. It is equally true in case of individual achievement. Without driven by curiosity a man rarely achieves success and having achieved it he cannot sustain it for long unless he keeps the embers of curiosity still burning and alive. Driven by curiosity, he keeps his learning continuous and himself busy with the new possibilities and opportunities. The change that is so ubiquitous in modern
life would not deter him or discourage him. Instead it would propel him to accept the challenge and test his limitations. It is not mere idle curiosity that we are referring here, but a genuine curiosity which arises out of a deep desire to experience the thrill of success, the joy of possessions and the taste of freedom that comes with prosperity which drives man to exceed his ordinary limitations and realize his dreams.
Initiative: Success is essentially a product of intelligent self effort. Rarely extraneous factors and powers play a significant role other than acting against your interests and as stumbling blocks on your path. Successful people may seek appreciation from others, They may also seek the help of others in their efforts. But in the heart of their hearts they know that they have to rely mostly upon themselves and their talents to achieve success. Having known thus they accept responsibility for their actions and perform them without waiting for inspiration or instruction from others. And since they are capable of accomplishing things on their own, they are appreciated and rewarded by those whom they serve and whose fortunes their
actions impact. They become immensely popular as team members and team leaders, showing great courage in taking decisions and initiating actions and ensure their own prosperity and success in the process.
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