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Prosperity Works
March 25, 2005
In this issue:
- Prosperity point: Are you making a sacrifice?
- Recommendations
- Looking for Letters!
Prosperity Point: Are you making a sacrifice?
When I was a university student, an ice cream-loving friend of
mine gave up ice cream for Lent. It became a joke among all
of us as we watched him suffer through keeping his promise,
and almost a party when we brought him three gallons of butter
pecan just after midnight Easter morning! We often talk about
Lent as a time of sacrifice. Of the sacrifice Christ made for us.
And the sacrifices we should make.
The idea of "sacrifice" isn't a pretty one-it's a painful one!
But it implies temporary pain for future gain. In our study of
creating greater abundance, what do we have to sacrifice? We
have to give up our old ways of thinking. That's not easy, even
if those old ways are hurting us.
Old habits are comfortable. They're familiar. We carry out the
habit, we know what's going to happen. And it may not even
be pleasant, but it's predictable. What happens if we break the
habit? That's the problem…we don't know what will happen,
do we?
In our case, we're sacrificing the way we think about:
Money. If we think that "money is the root of all evil," how
well are we going to attract it? If we think that rich people are
somehow bad, are likely is it that we'll become one? Sure,
there are rich people with bad attitudes. There are those who
got there on the backs of others. There are those who take their
financial success as a sign of superiority. But we know it
doesn't have to be that way.
Life. Why are we here? If we think we're here to suffer, it's
reasonable to believe that the Universe will be kind enough to
comply. I'm not sure who first wrote this poem, but I'm taking
it from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich:
"I bargained with life for a penny
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid."
Do you see life as being willing to pay a penny's worth of
value? Or more? The Universe won't second-guess you. If
you only ask for a penny, it will assume you know what you
want, and be accommodating enough to give it to you.
Ourselves. This might be the hardest of all. Do we see
ourselves as average? Stuck? Not as smart, or not good
enough? Then we're not. But even our self-limiting beliefs are
comfortable. They become part of our identity. But these
beliefs have gotten us into whatever position we're in. If we
want to change that position, we've got to change the thinking.
If I want new furniture in my living room, I need to get rid of
the old furniture to make room, no matter how comfortable
I've gotten with it. If I want new thoughts in my head, I need
to sacrifice the old ones.
What does Prosperity tell us about this? In "Lesson Twelve:
Overcoming the Thought of Lack," Charles Fillmore says:
--We must learn to let go, to give up, to make room for the things
we have prayed for and desired. This is called renunciation or
elimination, and may even seem like sacrifice to some people.
It is simply the giving up and casting away of old thoughts that
have put us where we are, and putting in their place new ideas
that promise to improve our condition...When we cling to the
old ideals we hinder our progress or stop it altogether.
So sacrifice isn't such an awful thing. Its short-term pain
makes room for long-term growth. And as long as we know
where we're growing to, it's a process to welcome.
Does the idea of sacrifice make you think, "There's gotta be an
easier way!"? Staci Stallings has a fine article that compares
our thinking to Christ's at Gethsemane. Read it here.
Today’s Recommendation: The Greatest Miracle in the World
If you've never read anything by Og Mandino, you're in for a
treat. He has a wonderful storytelling style that make his
lessons of hope and inspiration easy and enjoyable. If you'd
like to read "a memorandum from God to you," you'll find it
here.
You'll find The Greatest Miracle in the World, as well as other
inspiring books and resources, on our Resources page, as
are other excellent Web sites and books. Keep checking this page—we’re updating it regularly.
Looking for Letters!
Have a story to tell about how your Prosperity reading has affected you? Keep the Prosperity mindset alive by sharing your story. We’d like to put you on the Web site and future issues of the newsletter!
Don't have your copy of the book yet? Now's the time! Go to our secure order page and get ready to download our exclusive version of Prosperity plus two free bonus books!
Until next time: my very best wishes to you for a wonderful Easter!
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