Aston Martins, E-Meters & Yoga: Finding True Happiness (Don’t Drink The Kool-Aid)
Lately I’ve been just pointing out things that piss me off in the world of internet marketing, MLM, or just life in general. I’ve been speaking up against stupidity, hype and flat out lies people tell.
While I’m still pretty disgusted in general, there’s something on my mind that I don’t think is talked about enough.
Finding true happiness. Is that even possible?
Misery loves company and there’s always someone that complains and bitches about everything like there is a reward for it, but there are also people that DECIDE to be happy no matter what their circumstances.
What do they know that the whineasses don’t know?
They learned these 5 secrets:
1. Love People, Not Money and Possessions
Advertisements bash us from all directions telling us that we are nobody and that we are empty and unhappy because we don’t have more “stuff”. We can’t go through life buying more and more crap to fill our needs because there will always be someone else making the next big thing and we’ll go broke trying to keep up with the Kardashians.
It is far more rewarding to care about others and give to them and see the happiness in them by helping up others that don’t have the physical or mental means to help themselves. (I’m not talking about welfare and social programs here, I’m talking about people that need true help.)
2. Resist The Urge To Compare Yourself To Others
You will NEVER be happy if you are always comparing your accomplishments and possessions to that of others. Whether they have more or less than you in life, don’t do it. You’re either going to stir up feelings of envy in yourself, competition, or if you have more than someone else,,, so what? Now you’re just an egotistical asshole that nobody likes. Realize this, just because someone LOOKS like they have everything, they could still be living a miserable existence on the inside.
3. Maintain An Appreciative Attitude
Were you ever told as a kid “this is why we don’t have nice things” after you broke something? Appreciate and take care of what you have now if you ever want to have more in your life. If you don’t appreciate the things you have in your life right now,,, why should you deserve to have more? Take notice of what you already have that is awesome in your life.
4. Choose Your Friends Wisely
You are the average of your 5 closest friends. If they are all pissers and moaners and broke all the time and always looking for someone else to fix their problems,,, well then you’ve got problems. It’s impossible to be happy in the company of friends who are never happy. Misery loves company and they would love to have you over for dinner and some pitiful complaining.
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
Actually Forrest might be a good friend to have. He kept running and moving forward.
Surround yourself with friends that are positive goal setters that will lift you up and encourage you to live to your full potential by their own example.
5. Satisfy Your Spiritual Need
There are thousands of different religions (most of which conflict) however, they all exist because humans realize they have a spiritual need. Not everyone has the same needs. So I don’t care if you choose to worship in tongues, do yoga, pray to Allah, go on a nature hike, get out your E-meter, walk around the house nekked, watch Ed Wood movies, or drink the Kool-Aid. (actually, don’t drink the kool-aid, especially if there’s a comet cruising near the Earth that day)
You have a spiritual need that needs to be met to realize that there is more to life than just you. There is a greater picture to do a greater good than just make yourself comfy. Life is bigger than your dream house or the perfect car. If you still feel unfulfilled spiritually it doesn’t really mean much does it? (Unless you worship Aston Martins in your underwear while doing yoga in your dream house,,, but then I think you’re just making things up.)
What’s Your List?
Maybe I missed something that you think is a key component to happiness. Share your thoughts below. This was just a quick list I threw together this morning to make a point that we usually slip and lose focus on what makes us really happy. Being happy is really a decision. Just like being depressed is a decision. You decide how you react to your surroundings and the stimuli that enters your life. Knowing that, you can be happy right now, no matter what your situation is. And if you really feel like you can’t be happy right now, then your decision will be to make changes to your life. Either way, it’s up to you. Decide.
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I know exactly how you feel Stephanie. As far as #1 Giving has always been one of my strong points. Its also nice to receive, but its more rewarding to see someone have a smile of feeling appreciated. #2 Ive stopped trying to compare myself with everyone else no matter what anyone’s status is. We all feel and hurt as anyone else and bleed the same color. To me I see everyone being my equal. #3 I appreciate everything I get whether its an actual object or just a simple appreciation of thanks. #4 I have some friends like that. They don’t complain all the time, but if the economy wasn’t so screwed up the way it is I bet some people could live a better life. Unless they are just terrible with knowing how to invest their money.#5 Can’t come up with one. But so far I can’t think of anything to add to the list. Maybe I will give you a rain check on this one. Thanks for sharing
Steven Dean
You made an awesome point about #3 that I forgot. Appreciation doesn’t have to be for things. It can be for acts, kind words, love, accomplishments… all of these things need to be given appreciation too or someday we will find that we are not only not worthy of more, but we also begin to lose some of the favor and kind acts others give to us because we don’t show our appreciation.
Hello Stephanie, Great post you are on top of. You can’t soar with the eagles as long as you roost with the buzzards. Thanks, Andrew Gallop
True there. I can’t think of too many people in my life that are a drag like that anymore. Just a few people that still pop up from high school or family, but I certainly limit my exposure to the Debbie Downers.
Hi Steph,
Great post. I think the two most important points are don’t compare yourself and what’s your list, ie. What’s your dream? Don’t let anyone steal your dream. Like the scene in Pretty Woman with the guy on the street corner asking everyone, Welcome to Hollywood, What’s your dream?
Keep up the great work.
Randy
I forgot about that scene! (No surprise, I forget a LOT of things) That could make a good slogan in general “Welcome to Life, What’s your dream?”
Good one Stephanie..spirituality is the key for me as it centers everything..and who wouldn’t worship Aston Martins while doing yoga!! LOL..and I see your point that BALANCE is the key. The key with appreciative relationships, having the right view of possessions as well as view of ones self will keep you on the track of “wellness” and not just “richness”..is that a word? …
I’ll allow “richness” to be a word. I make up words all the time
You just reminded me of Eleanor Roosevelt:
“Poor minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas.”
It’s great minds that can grasp these concepts of happiness, relate to them, and apply them to their own lives for happiness.
Love the post and your willingness to put things out there like this.
So many people are caught up with the being what they “think” society wants them to be instead of just being themselves. Work hard…damn hard at making yourself the best you can be for you and your family. Invest in your self-education, work at being a bit healthier and make connections. Open your mouth and talk to someone and shut it and listen.
I appreciate you so much for your direct attack on all things.
-James
It means a TON to be appreciated for speaking my mind. When I first got into blogging for marketing purposes I did what I was told and did all the “how to” kind of posts,,, but they were so FREAKING BORING and just dull and lifeless. But those were the posts I “thought” I had to write.
It took a few of my friends that are also marketers (primarily Aki Wood) to show me that I needed to be myself and speak out and be for reals.
So what you say in your comment applies to everything in life. Don’t ever sacrifice your inner self for what people think you should be like.
Totally appreciate the feedback you give. Keep rockin James.
\m/ \m/
So many people forget the power of appreciation, not only does it feel great to give it, it really feels great to get it. Unlike Christmas presents, it is not selfish to want to be given something..like appreciation. It is the present that keeps on giving, and how happy does it make you to appreciate someone and tell them and see how much they appreciate your appreciation (ok enough with that word, I don’t appreciate you using it so much.)
Happiness is a state of mind, a conscious decision, and it is up to you to create it, Just as people who bitch about things and say bad things happen to them, end up having the self fulling prophecy of more bad things happening to them for them to bitch about; happiness brings more happiness..thinking positively brings more positive into your life (it isn’t immediate by any mean, but it will come).
Earlier this week I posted a status update on FB that said:
” For those people who have an inspiring and caring person in their life, make sure to thank them for all that they are and all that they mean to you. They deserve to hear the admiration and it will help them to inspire more.”
Why? Because I wanted to thank you Stephanie for all that you are and all that you do, which lead me to think…Maybe other people could use that kind of admiration to…maybe they haven’t hear something positive said to them in a while..maybe they deserve to feel happiness at the appreciation (ya I used it again) of what they do. And just as it made me happy, to say something to make you happy Stephanie, I wanted other people to feel the happiness of making someone or a bunch of someones happy…about their contributions to others lives.
So go do it..go make someone else smile and make someone else feel that happiness. The happiness that Stephanie makes me feel every moment of everyday of my life.
(Ya, my lovey doveyness is gonna make some people sick…but I don’t care!)
Yah, that was kinda sappy and mooshy. But it’s totally acceptable since it’s on my blog
And since I totally appreciate the appreciation that you show I want you to know that your appreciation does not go unnoticed and that my appreciation for you appreciates daily and I doubt I can think of too many other ways to use the word appreciation in a sentence in order to totally saturate it with the word appreciation.
“You keep on using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”
You guys crack me up….”get a room!”
Great advice, Stephanie! Another brilliant post fromthe girl who “keeps it real!”
People out there holding themselves back because they spend all their time comparing themselves to everyone else instead of reading blogs like this! BAM!
Amateur internet and network marketers better watch out! If you post dumb crap or just act stupid on Facebook, Stephanie will call you out on it!!
And, I will too!
Yeah…Im gonna call out a few people this week publicly on facebook and maybe even on my blog that are slaughtering their own business with no clue!!!
DO IT! Playing the “nice guy” and trying to “attract” everyone to teach them the right way to market is the slowest most boring way to teach people. Some of the approaches people use for educating the marketers that are sabotaging themselves make me think of high school counselors that make students watch a documentary LOL.
People need to be shocked out of their mediocrity and self sabotage. I’m not afraid to bitch slap someone if it’s going to save them years of frustration, money lost and a ton of heartache.
I can’t wait to see the crap that you’re gonna be callin ppl out on
Stephanie,
We so agree with you. Happiness is a choice, a decision we make, not the “stuff” that’s around us. It’s sad to know that so many more people could be happy if they choose to be. No matter how “bad” we perceive things to be in our lives, we can still be happy if we so choose. Wow… that’s totally liberating!
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
I totally agree!
I remember listening to Tony Robbins talking about making the decision to be happy. He said have you ever said “we’ll laugh about this later.” His answer to that is why not laugh about it right now and get it over with so you can move on? That’s not to say that we should go through life ignoring our problems, but we certainly don’t need to treat them like it’s the end of the world.
You two are awesome, thanks for being cool! LOL
Great post Stephanie!…This is soooooo true! I love that you brought it up..
You Rock,
Nicki
Thanks Nikki
thought I’d do a change in the theme of my posts lately and bring out some mindset instead of rants.