“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more… Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow” (Melody Beattie)

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but I love the idea of a holiday that represents being thankful for everything you have.

This year has been a fairly crappy one for me in many ways, due to health issues that had a knock-on effect to my finances and business. Yet, through it all I have so much to be thankful for.

I started writing a list of 101 things I’m thankful for this year. I thought about posting it here but decided a list might be a little boring, so here is a snapshot.

I am thankful for: all my family and friends who love me, take care of me and rally round when I need them (I hope I offer as much strength to you as you do to me); all my online friends who I class in the first group as well, but who also offer me daily food for thought, smiles, laughs and occasional tears; my 1st nephew James who was born earlier this year and is the happiest, cheekiest chappy imaginable; Allison Reynolds and Barb Sabathil from SWBN who are wonderful friends and business partners and who gave me something to sink my teeth into at a time when I needed it most…

…my trip to Salzburg last Christmas, which seems like a lifetime ago but which has given me the best snowy pictures for this year’s Christmas card; my brain and ability to make the best of a bad situation; that I am still able to continue working as my own boss and find contracts that interest me and use my abilities to their fullest; my health, which is on the mend and I finally have (close to) my old voice back (I’ve missed it but maybe others have enjoyed the silence)…

…Thirty Day Challenge and Immediate Edge for being wonderful resources and communities; my laptop, which connects me to the world (even if it is a pc and not a mac); the books I have read, the music I have listened to and the movies and tv shows I have watched that have left me feeling uplifted, relaxed or enriched in some way; my day trip to France and drinking cafe au lait with friends in a small cafe overlooking the cathedral square; my beautiful, completely unfinished disorganised home (with so much potential)…

…chocolate, champagne, good food, new friends, flirtations, freedom, life, love and lots and lots of laughter!

Anyone who has read a book or watched a dvd about the Law of Attraction will know that having an Attitude of Gratitude is considered incredibly important. Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, gratitude is a powerful and positive emotion.

So, whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving today or not, I hope you will spare a moment to think of all the things for which you are thankful and grateful.

I ended the last post with the quote from Napoleon Hill:

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.

The main reason I and many others choose to avoid the newspapers and news media as much as possible is because we believe in what Napoleon Hill spoke of often, that “what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Everything we want to create in our lives starts with us and our internal thoughts and beliefs. True success must be created internally before it is manifested externally. So, you cannot create prosperity when you are focused on lack or worrying about what may happen, or what you may lose.

What goes into your brain really does affect what you manifest in your life, so if you are reading the newspapers at the moment and watching endless news stories, you are going to be focusing on lack, poverty, rising prices, stockmarket crashes, doom, gloom, and problems. You are buying into mass beliefs that are being expounded by the media.

Do you really believe that there is less money in the world, all of a sudden? Do you believe that people are going to stop spending?

Instead of dwelling on the terrible news the media is broadcasting, you can choose to ignore it and create your own vision of abundance. Someone told me that more millionaires were made during the Depression than at any other time in history. I don’t know if that’s true, but certainly during times of economic difficulty people are still looking for solutions to problems. And when life is a bit depressing, we all know that people buy more of what they want to make themselves feel better.

Imagine the possibilities for you as a marketer!

You need to make the choice to control the information that goes into your brain, and start believing in prosperity, focus on your goals and take action. Take responsibility for your own abundance.

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. – Napoleon Hill

I have noticed a number of people recommending shutting off from the media, in order to avoid all the current doom and gloom. And I have seen a strong reaction from others who think this is crazy, especially with the US Election building to its climax and issues with the economy.

So, is a media diet tantamount to sticking your fingers in your ears and hoping the bad stuff will go away, or is it vital to your success and peace of mind?

In my opinion this discussion enters the realms of prosperity and abundance, which I promised to talk about on this blog (and so far have not mentioned).

I have been on a media diet for many years. I refuse to read newspapers or watch lengthy news reports. Am I burying my head in the sand?

Absolutely not. There is a big difference between going on a media diet and ignoring the world altogether.

I still listen to the news headlines on the radio or watch them on TV when I need to. I browse my local newspaper’s website to ensure I am up-to-date with what is happening. And I probably hear all the big news first on Twitter (honestly, I hope Reuters is following the Twitter stream)!

I do not read newspapers because I learned a long time ago that (a) they are not impartial and are governed by fewer laws than broadcast media (at least in the UK) and (b) they sell papers by being doom and gloom merchants. Newspapers are packed full of bad news… unless you read the tabloids, in which case they rarely carry news at all and are more focused on sensationalism and gossip.

Even broadcast media offers a slightly skewed view of the world by choosing what is news and what isn’t.

As if this isn’t reason enough to avoid the news, I realised that the two most negative people in my life are avid newspaper readers and TV news watchers. Is that just coincidence? Perhaps. But their negativity often refers back to the news stories they are consuming. If they were reading self-improvement books instead, or watching uplifting movies, would they be as negative? I’d love to find out. Are their lives more enriched by being more up-to-date on the minutiae of news than I am?

But there is more to my media diet than just my negative view of newspapers, I truly believe that the media plays a huge part in our successes and failures.

I’ll discuss this more in my next post, but if you need any hints beyond what I have already said, think on this other quote from Napoleon Hill:

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.