Scott’s 10 Prosperity Ps

A few years ago I decided to make a list of  key principles, life skills if you will, that attribute to living a healthy, happy and prosperous life. Of course list came from many years of personal observation, learning and doing. And now I’d like to teach them to you.

I noticed when I started writing them down that all but two started with the letter p — responsibility and action. This was an easy fix. I added the word personal in front of responsibility and the word proper in front of action. Because in reality the responsibility must be personal and not just any action will do, it must be the proper action.

I’ve posted these in past blogs and have received many nice comments. And so once again, my 10 Prosperity Ps. Enjoy…

1. Perception. You must be aware of the opportunities around you. Contrary to a popular expression, I don’t believe that “your ship comes in only once in your life.” I believe you have opportunity ships coming in all the time. But until you believe that and start looking for them, you’re missing opportunity ships on a regular basis.

2. Personal Responsibility.You must take personal responsibility for your life. You have to stop blaming others or circumstances for where you are in life. You need to be accountable for your decisions and actions and not allow yourself to fall into the downward spiral of “victimitis” where one thinks that the world, and everyone in it, is out to get them.

3. Purpose. When you find a big enough “why” you will find a way. What drives you? What are the desires of your heart? When you live life on purpose, doors open and miracles happen.

4. Plan. Planning helps you chart your course. When your mind can see a clear and logical path, your imagination can be inspired with hope and creativity to help make it a reality. It’s been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. The journey actually begins with the idea and the plan to take the journey.

5. Preparation. With a plan in hand you can begin preparing yourself to achieve it. This might require learning new skills; specialized training; getting the right tools or equipment; building up your savings account; etc.

6. Proper Action. Taking just any random action will not help you carry out your plan. In fact it might hurt you. Your actions must be the proper actions.

7. Persistence. Once you start your journey, you must persist “until” – until you succeed. Everything worth doing, everything that brings about a substantial reward will not be easy. You will not have “over night success” you will not “get rich quick.” But if you persist you will eventually succeed.  It’s like Dory said in Finding Nemo: “Keep on swimming.” Challenges and trials are the test from life to find out if you’re really serious about achieving your desire. If you’re not, you will drop out early.

8. Patience. Even when you’re doing everything right, achieving success in any area takes time. If you know you’re not going to quit, then you know you are going to eventually arrive at your destination. When you know this you can turn frustration into anticipation and get excited knowing that with each obstacle you overcome you’re another day closer. And as Benjamin Franklin said: “He that can have patience can have what he will.” You can’t have it all right now, but you can have all that you want eventually if you persist with patience.

9. Perspective. Keep your failures and successes in the proper perspective. You are learning and growing as you persist with patience. It really isn’t about how much stuff you can acquire in this life, it’s how you can use your experiences to grow and progress as a person… and help others to do the same. At some point along the way you will realize that you can acquire as much material stuff as you want. The test after that is to stop wanting to, and to start using what you have learned to help others enjoy lives filled with abundance.

10. Prayer. I used to say that this step is optional depending upon your religious beliefs. But I can’t really say for sure if it’s optional because it’s been a vital part of my life in helping me to achieve the desires of my heart. And because I’ve not gone without prayer in my life, I can’t say for sure if it truly is optional. I can say for me that it isn’t optional. I believe prayer is instrumental in helping me to do the other nine. I believe in a higher power, a Creator of worlds and people without end who cares about me and is willing and able to help me achieve the righteous desires of my heart.