Attitude of gratitude

Hey all you future 4X’ers out there…thanks for joining me once again on 4X Formula Radio where we talk about the Real Estate business on a weekly basis.  Tips, Tricks and Mindset principals are all here to help you elevate your game.  I am so thankful that you are here listening today.  Today we are going to talk about having an Attitude of Gratitude…

There is a movement out there in this world where there are a bunch of teaching to be thankful to the Universe and feel gratitude within you.  There is a lot of merit to that.  I don’t want to make this a “touchy feely” type of episode but there is some importance to this.  Its worth talking about.  I actually think that this should be added to the 9 Facets of what a 4X Agent becomes…that would make it 10 I guess.  A nice round number.  A 4X Agent has an attitude of gratitude.

It is that important.  Its as important as all of those facets.  If you haven’t listened to that series or watched it on Youtube, then I would encourage you to do so.

If you have been listening for some time, you will know that there were some very dark times in my life.  There were some very stressful years where I was in survival mode and was carrying a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders and it was weighing me down.  I won’t go into those stories right now.

But I can tell you that there were only a choice few people that knew what I was going through.  I carried a lot of that myself and I abstained from dumping those challenges on other people.  I had to maintain who I was and I had to stay consistent in my daily activities and just push on no matter how heavy I felt.  It was definitely a character building time.  I am not putting any blame on anyone else or placing myself as some sort of victim…that is not what I mean.  But I will tell you that I believe that, I caused everything to happen the way it happened.  It was me.  I take full responsibility for everything….

When I took the time to really think deeply about those experiences, I came to some conclusions that I didn’t like.

The root problem, to everything that I was experiencing, was my own mindset.  My own frame of reference.  My ego.  The way I was approaching life.  The truth is, I was totally ego dominated.  I was totally worshiping a god that was not worthy of being worshiped and that was money.

So when that was taken away from me…what was left?  Me… so then for a while I was totally wrapped in my own stuff.   My own issues.  My own failures.  My own anguish.  My own …. Selfishness.  See how “me-me- I- I” that is?  I wasn’t do it for my family.  I wasn’t doing anything for anyone else other than myself.  I was a self centered, selfish, ego dominated, thankless, person, totally driven by greed.  I wanted everyone to think that I was amazing.  It was all outer stuff.  All my efforts and thought patterns were consumed with those end results!  Impress others and be the big man!

This works for some people and they may do very well.  They may make a lot of money…but the reality is, it is never enough, and there is a hole that needs to be filled and success and money is never going to be the filler.  The appetite just grows and grows…the thirst is never quenched… the craving never subsides and when decisions are made in that mindset… The conclusion is never good.  It is a stressful existence.

But then I became humbled.  I came to the end of myself.  I began to look around and suddenly everything that was in my life that was awesome… became “awesome-er”!  I came to this amazing realization that I have amazing people in my life….my wife and children and surrounding family.  In stressful times I learned to start first with the things that I was grateful for.   Those are the first thoughts that happen in my mind now.  I do this today.  I centered my life and aligned it properly.  I don’t mind telling you that I am a Christian.  A young Christian in the true scheme of things.  I have so much to learn.  I have so many things to work on.  My accountability is growing as I learn more.

The enormous turning point in my life was, when I learned to get my alignment right, I was able to operate with the right mindsets in place.  My motivations changed.  The stress in my life minimized.  I don’t work hard for stuff anymore…or to look successful in the eyes of strangers.  I wake up truly thankful every single day.  I give thanks in my prayers because that is all I believe that I should be praying about.  I don’t pray for God to do things for me.  Who am I to ask that?  I don’t pray for God to make things easier for me.  Who am I to tell God to adjust His plan for me?

I learned to submit… and continue to make myself better so that I can be a better influence in the world for others.  That is a big reason that I have put this course together.  Once you have a gift to give people that will hopefully benefit their lives you have to do it!  I couldn’t just keep it all to myself.  My mission changed.  My motivations changed.  Everything went from being totally inward to being totally outward flowing.  This radically changed my view on life.

Once I went to my knees and gave thanks for everything in my life….I was empowered in a totally different way.  There is so much to be thankful for.  If you seek that out your will find so many things popping into your mind.  All of a sudden I began to see other things in a new light.  I began to have more patience with people.  I began to have more empathy and understanding.  I began to focus on them and their needs and even if they were a bit of a pain in the butt, I was thankful that I had the opportunity to help them.  I would tell people that.

It’s the same if I want to spend my mental energy finding faults in others…I can find it.  They will magnify immediately.  Its true.  How does that serve me and, in turn, others…to do that?  IT doesn’t.  Not at all.

The other thing that I learned was that, if we are not thankful for what we have today.  The simply things.  Like… “Did I wake up today above ground?” – great… it’s gonna be a great day.  I get to be here for another day.  What am I gonna do with that gift?

Then….  “Is my wife still here with me?” – yep.  Phew…that’s awesome…  “How about my kids… are they ok and healthy?”  ya…good.  Thank you.

“Do I have a roof over my head?” – yep…  “If I want to eat something, is there food to eat?” – yep

“I can shower and have new fresh clean clothes to wear today”…..  good.

“Do I have people to serve today to affect their lives in a positive way?”… YES…Yes I do… Awesome.  This is going to be an awesome day….

IF we are not thankful for the seemingly insignificant things in our life… how can we possibly deserve any more than that.  Those things that I just listed… waking up in a bed…..healthy…my family is ok, and we have food to eat, and clothes to wear and a roof over our heads….

Compared to some other people in our world… that is the life of Kings and Queens.  In North America we are Rich.  We are the lucky few.

We sponsor 4 different children all over the world in different area and help pay for their schooling and clothing etc.  IT is amazing how thankful they are to get a new chair to sit on.  To be able to buy a jacket or a new notebook for School.  They are so happy in the pictures and they are so thankful for those things.  Imagine if the highlight of your day was to get a new notebook?  A Notebook.

My definition of a notebook is a $4500 Microsoft Surface Book Pro that has 1TB of hard drive!!!

We are so fortunate.  These people have never left their village.  I just got back from the UK and a trip over to Barcelona Spain last week.

Do I have stuff to be grateful for?  Oh man…yes I do.  So much.  We have to take time to count our blessings and really meditate on that.

Be grateful.  A 4X Agent is a grateful person.  A Person who is thankful for the business they have today.  The people in their lives today.  The referrals that they received yesterday and the referrals that they are going to receive tomorrow….this is the mindset that we need to adopt.

Again…I have to admit, that I have my days.  I have my weak moments.  I am not perfect.  Nobody is.  We are all full of flaws and as humans we are all a mess.  It’s true.  But if we take a breath.  Settle down.  Center ourselves on what is important and what our WHY is and how we can be contributors during our time on this earth… then we see the world in a whole different light.

Start your day right… Start with the things that you are grateful for.  We are meant to have challenges.  We are meant to be confronted with evil.  We are meant to have tough choices to make in our lives… That will not change all because we have decided to be grateful.  I don’t want to confuse you.  It is the choice to be grateful and thankful and outward thinking during those tough times that makes all the difference.  That will give you amazing strength.  It will give you amazing focus.  It will give you a new creativity.  It will give you an army of people in your life that will be there for you.  It will serve you in ways that you cannot imagine.  Challenges will arise.  Yes… that’s life.  Negative things will happen.  You will falter once in a while.  We all do.

But in order to get the power back.  In order to get yourself centered.  In order to re-align what is really important in your life on this earth: Give thanks, be grateful, be thankful.  Take a moment and do that… and get up and go with a new energy.

I hope you were inspired by our chat today.  Please share this podcast with others and if you are on iTunes please drop a comment… I would be so grateful to you for that.

This is Kelly Johnston signing off for today.

Take care and Make a great Day!