8 Principles To Live By For Success and Happiness

A reasonable life can be achieved by anyone. An OKAY life, an OKAY job, OKAY relationships…..Anyone can have these! If you want a great life, you must commit to leading a great life. To do things the majority do not do. You must commit to thinking like the minority, not like the majority. Here are 8 Principles To Live By For Abundance, Success and Happiness.

No 1: Live today like your last day

Live like one day, you will be gone. It may be in 50 years, 50 weeks, next week, or even today. I don’t know, you don’t know – nobody knows. And rather than live in fear of this, we should embrace the fact that this life is short – short and unpredictable. Knowing this, we must live fully today.

It is not a recipe for recklessness, rather a recipe to give your all today, to give your very BEST today. In everything you do. To give your greatest energy to this day – To your family, friends, colleagues, and to everyone you encounter TODAY.

It is a reminder for you to live your best self in each moment. What if they couldn’t speak to you tomorrow? What if you were gone tomorrow? What would they speak of you?
What can you do today that will leave a lasting positive memory in the lives of everyone you come into contact with?

It is about being light-hearted- Knowing, that in the end, none of this STUFF matters. The only thing that ever matters is how you made others feel and how you felt in your own heart.

One day you will be a memory: either a good one or a bad one. The memory of a bad person rots and is forgotten but people remember good people and their hearts are warmed and joyous. People will remember the loving things you said and did and how you made them feel. People may forget words and deeds but never forget how they felt as a result of them.

It is about knowing that things can never go with you in the end. The spirit lives on but the ‘things’ – they die with your physical body. You will realize that when people know that they are about to die and they are breathing their last breathe they are not usually concerned about their wealth or investments.

They do not call for their financial advisor, ask for title deeds and so on; instead, they call for their loved ones- close family members especially wife or husband and kids. This is because the truth has already hit them and they have realized that in the end, the material possessions do not matter much because you cannot take them with you but RELATIONSHIPS matter the most!

In fact, your hard-earned money can be squandered by the beneficiaries not giving to account all the sacrifice, sweat and hard work that went into accumulating it. How you touch lives, making people smile, showing them that they matter is what really counts!

You should strive to make people better; not neglecting your close ones and the people who really matter because in the end even when you are sick and cannot be able to do things by yourself- your family are the ones that really help in those difficult moments. Do not neglect them in your pursuit of success.

Remembering that we are going to die is the greatest reminder we can have in our daily lives because it keeps us focused on what’s really important, and what is REAL. According to the famous song If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback; if today was your last day and tomorrow was too late could you say goodbye to yesterday? Read the lyrics here.

A wise man said “treat each day like the first day of your life.” You have control over today which is a present from God. Forget about the past because you can do nothing about it. Do not worry about the future because it will make you not live in the present.

No. 2: Plan the change you want to see in your life and execute it

There is nothing you cannot be, do or have. If there has been someone, even one person on this planet that has done it before, that means you can too. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, but it does mean IT IS POSSIBLE! And as long as it is possible, you can work toward it. You can make a plan

• It doesn’t matter if you are 17 or 71 you can decide to plan whatever change that you want to happen in your life. If you want to be a millionaire, if you want to be a CEO, if you want to shed off some fat and live a healthier life…whatever change you want to see in your life. It all starts with a plan and executing it
• Read about how to plan the change you want to see in your life. Learn what needs to be done for you to live your craziest, most abundant life.

No. 3: Nothing is worth it if it doesn’t make you happy

If it doesn’t A) Make you happy or B) Make you better: Don’t make time for it.

Now, before any of you jump on this, let me clarify. Nothing is worth it if it doesn’t make you happy – that means if it doesn’t make you happy NOW, while you’re doing it, or it isn’t going to make you happy as a result of doing it, it most likely is not worth it.

For example, working out may not make you happy but the results- more energy, better appearance, a boost in confidence, better metabolism, better sleep, better overall health and longer lifespan; will make you happy. Just like saving may not make you happy but the results: debt free, emergency fund, cash purchases for stuff you want, giving and generosity, investments and financial peace will make you happy!

The discipline of instilling such habits is not pleasant but painful but the results are sweet and life-fulfilling!

Just about everything worth fighting for is going to require a real FIGHT to win a great prize. You will have to suffer and sacrifice for almost anything worthwhile in life. Nothing worthwhile comes easy!

No. 4: Be yourself. Always. No exceptions.

It’s such a tragedy to see so many people on this planet, living lives they don’t want to live, just because they listened to other people who did the same. The ONLY way you can be happy in this life, The ONLY way you can be successful is if you be YOU!

Let me repeat that, because perhaps it is the most important thing you could ever apply to your life: The ONLY way you can be happy in this life, the ONLY way you can be successful is if you be YOU!

You will NEVER be truly happy in life if you are constantly doing things to please others, to compete with others or to be like another. You are unique, and that is your greatest gift. When you follow your own path, regardless if that fits in with others, you open up space for great things to enter your life.

Compare yourself to no one. Compete with no other. Make your own decisions and it will lead to your greatest life. Comparing yourself is undermining yourself and selling yourself short.

God has created each and every person uniquely according to their purpose on earth. The genes you have are designed that way because of your unique purpose here on earth.

If you are alive you are still of value and can impact others. The wisest man on earth- king Solomon said that a live dog is better than a dead lion. As long as you are living there is hope, no condition is permanent!

No. 5: Everything you need is already within you

In this world, we see endless examples of people who seemingly have it all, materially speaking, but they are EMPTY inside. THINGS will never complete you; OTHER PEOPLE will never complete you, only GOD can complete you! God gives you the holyspirit and when you have the holyspirit you have everything you need to live a triumphant life and reign over everything!

The holyspirit fills you with power to overcome all challenges and reveals to you the truth of who you are and the plans God has for your life. You are fearless and unshaken in the midst of trials, and tribulations because you are an overcomer! Knowing that you are in the centre of God’s will and purpose for your life is the greatest joy a human being can experience.

There’s a saying, needing nothing attracts everything.

When you come from a place of needing nothing, of seeking nothing outside yourself to make you happy, you open up space for more amazing things to enter your life. And if ‘things’ don’t come… that’s fine, you don’t need them. Real happiness is never found OUTSIDE of us. It is not found in possessions or wealth. Happiness is always & only found within us. It is a state of mind.

No. 6: Surround yourself with good people who build you up

There’s no room for toxic people but there is never-ending space for positive energy and positive people. Surrounding yourself with energy killers is one of the worst things you can do if you want to live a happy, fulfilled and successful life.

Unfortunately, not everyone, including friends and family will share the same positive energy you have, some will take a while, and some might never get there. Let them run their own race, while you focus on living your own happiness. Those who are truly aligned with you will never hold you back from living the life you want to live. Don’t ever dim your light to fit in with others. Shine bright. Those who see your spark will shine with you.

They say that you become like those you hang out with and a company of fools brings harm. If you hang around 9 broke people you will be the tenth. You cannot be any different from the people you spend most of the time with. Some people you will need to cut off from your life or they will drag you down to living a mediocre life like they do.

You cannot hang around people whose life is full of drama and not expect some of it to rub off on your own life. The bible says that you should not be friends with a person easily given to anger because you will be caught in the same snare.

Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV says Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Hang around people you admire and want to be like. You subconsciously start imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and language of those you spend most of the time with.

No. 7: Focus on what you want

Whatever you focus on you will find; if you search for negativity in this world, you will find plenty of it. If you search for hate, anger, violence, and sadness you will find it.

But the same is true on the flip side: If your only INTENTION is to search for the good, you will find only the good. Whatever meaning you give your life becomes your life. It can be a failure or a lesson, heartbreak or character building; life is against you or making you stronger.

There is no such thing as reality. We choose our own reality by the meaning we give each moment in our lives.

Make it your intention to look for the good in your life; to notice the good in others, to be grateful for what you do have, to see challenges as opportunities to show your true character.

Remember: What you give your attention to will become your experience in life.

Practice seeing the good in your life, and in others. Think the best, expect the best and always ask yourself “how can this benefit my life?”

No. 8: Speak good about yourself

You cannot rise above your confession. You need to watch how you speak about yourself. The tongue has the power to bless or curse. Jesus Christ is the high priest of your confession and we only need to speak things that are consistent with the word of God.

Most people undo their futures and lives with how they speak about themselves. “I never will amount to anything”, “I will die poor”, “I am incapable of changing my job”, “I never choose the right relationships”, “I am old and I can do nothing about my future”…..it goes on and on.

The Bible says from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What you speak must have stayed in your heart before you spoke it. Do not let the circumstances you are in dictate your future.

If you are in a job you do not like or in an abusive relationship or even in a massive debt crisis instead of always criticizing yourself and speaking negatively concerning your future, own up your mistake and make a plan to get out of that situation. It doesn’t matter how long it will take, persevere and stick to the plan because you love you and you are worth it!

Guard your heart against evil and negative words spoken about you

Some people have believed the lie they were told by people as the truth. People are hurtful and throw words around- that should not be the case. Even a fool is thought wise if he holds his tongue.

Parents may even tell their children that they will never be successful and amount to anything and the child takes the words as a reality and they wind up being miserable unsuccessful people even at their old age because they believed the lie that they were told.

Teachers have sometimes spoken bad things concerning the future of the students and the students take their words to heart and wind up being failures. It is paramount to read God’s word because it contains the truth concerning your purpose for being alive, God’s plan and vision for your plan and your true identity.

The bible detoxifies your mind, it sanctifies you and flushes all the lies you have been told. It is important to renew your mind with the truth from the bible so that you can reject the lies!