Whatever it is that you decide you can and cannot do, has a large influence on how you live your life. Whatever it is you do in your lifetime, your occupation, your friendships, and interactions with others; all of things (even your wealth status), stem from your own mindset.

The inner person inside you is the one that guides your thoughts that only you, yourself can hear. This is the force that drives you in whatever direction you go.

Believe it or not, these musings, and these decisions, are the turning points of your life. In order to establish the truth of this statement, we will drill down a little further to see what we can uncover.

We all aspire toward things we think we cannot have, like a beautiful motor boat or something. But if we just look and dream but think to ourselves that it is beyond our means, then that makes it so. We will never even try to own that boat. This negative sort of thinking is just that; negative, and you do not achieve anything positive with negative thinking.

Unfortunately, too many of us think negative thoughts similar to this, such as: “I am never going to be able to get out of debt”, or, “that particular job is way out of my league”. But if we were to think more positively instead of being so negative, what might happen as a result?

You will find that if you begin to think more positively, positive things will begin to happen. Why not just try it and see? If ever you find yourself thinking negatively, stop yourself; turn your thoughts around, and start to think in positive terms.

You can set the power of your mind to attract wealth. You set your mind into believing that you have what you want, and then your life begins to change to reflect your new belief.

Mind set #1: Show gratitude for any money that enters your life. In order to attract money into your life, you must show gratitude for the money that is already in your life. Instead of whining about how little money you have, bask in gratitude at the many ways in which you are already wealthy. When you focus on what you have rather than on what you want, you realize that you are already rich. Give thanks often for all the riches in your life.

Action step: The next time money enters your life, instead of barely noticing what has happened and mentally beginning to spend it, use a few moments of time to give thanks to the universe for bringing this money into your life. Every time you receive a paycheck, every time someone gives you money for any reason, every time you get a great deal or save money in some way, appreciate the fact that money is flowing into your life. Doing this every time money comes to you will attract more money into your life.

Mind set #2: Act as if you are rich. This is the fundamental truth of all mind power work—you must act as if what you want is already yours. Act as if you already have the money you wish to have. Ask yourself if you were already rich what you would do, how you would act, and how you would feel, and then do, act, and feel in those ways.
Start small, and with each success, build your way to greater wealth. Eat a little better, dress a little nicer, take that class you think you can’t afford, or do anything at all that you wish to do but believe you can’t because of a lack of money.

When you do these things, bask in joy at your inner state of wealth, and know that this state will be reflected in your outer world. You’ll be amazed at how life provides for the things that bring you joy.

Action step: The next time you are about to buy something, anything at all, purchase an item that is of slightly higher quality and price than you would usually buy. Even if something only costs a few pennies more than what is usual for you to spend, buy that item, and thank the universe for providing for your new, expanding lifestyle. Even though it is a tiny step, you are beginning to teach your mind that you are expanding your limitations, and as you practice this, you will begin to purchase more of the things you want in your life, and the money will come to you to pay for them.

Mind set #3: Open up to money-making opportunities. One thing that all self-made millionaires agree on is that there are opportunities everywhere if we are open to seeing them. You can prove this for yourself by looking at your own life. There are probably many times in your past that you think back to and wonder what might have happened if you had taken an opportunity at just the right time.

If you are like most people, when you think of your past opportunities, you believe that you once had a chance but that now it is gone. The difference between rich and poor people is that rich people realize that new opportunities are always all around us, all the time. You simply need to keep a lookout for the opportunities, keep an open mind, and be prepared to take advantage of them when the opportunities arise.

Action step: Today, get a notebook, and write down all the money-making ideas you can think of. It doesn’t matter how stupid or outrageous the ideas might seem—write them down anyway. This does two things. First, you realize that there are plenty of money-making opportunities around you right now, as there always have been and always will be. Second, this exercise will stimulate your mind to see money-making opportunities where it might have ignored them in the past and will help you practice to see opportunities in the future. If you keep adding ideas to your notebook consistently, one day, you will see an incredible opportunity on your list that is perfect for you. Then, go for it!

There is nothing you need in order to succeed, except the power of your own mind. If you worry that you are not smart enough, not connected enough, not talented enough, not young enough, or not old enough, you are simply creating limiting beliefs that will manifest in the outside world. All you really need to know is that the outside world is a reflection of the state of your inner mind. Know that you can make every day from this day forward a little more joyful and a little more abundant, and then, watch your life begin to change.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “One cannot sincerely help another without helping themselves.”

There are Divine Universal Laws that play in the backgrounds of our lives. Even though these laws are always consistent, there is  beauty and magic in the way they work . The Law of Reciprocity is one such law.

When we give, we are opening a channel, creating a new energy that can be shared, forwarded, circulated and recycled over and over again. In giving, we are creating. Is our ultimate purpose for being to create?

Giving does not  necessarily mean  money. It could be the  giving of our time, attention, energy, assistance and kindness. All of these things are free and we have an unlimited supply of these things, so why not give them away? When you give, it is then that you receive and not sooner.

Advocating giving to get, but I will say that getting is impossible without first giving… it is Universal Law. I am advocating giving to give for the sheer joy it. In doing so, you’re creating positive energy on so many levels. On one level, your gift is helping the receiver, and on another level, you are raising your own vibration, which not only benefits you, but benefits everyone around you.

I’ve put this to the test. I love walking at my neighborhood park. There’s a running path around the perimeter of the park and it is usually populated with people morning, noon and night. I’m a friendly and outgoing person by nature and I smile at people as we cross paths. Not everybody smiles back, but most people do and when they do, I feel a surge of energy, and I am certain they do to. I would also venture to guess that they will have a smile to give to the next person they see…

Think about how good it feels when you receive something. Just yesterday I was shopping with my child for a memory card that holds music on a cell phone. While in the electronics department, we could not find one, so we asked one of the clerks. He couldn’t find what we were looking for, so he called over two other clerks. Together, these young men were determined to get us what we wanted. Their customer service was impeccable. Not only did I walk away with a memory card in hand, but even more importantly, I walked away feeling loved and honored that these young men were passionate about serving me. They didn’t get a bonus or reward for their outstanding efforts, but I could feel their joy and sense of satisfaction in a job well done.

To live an excellent life, we must be excellent givers. Giving truly makes the world go round. Look for an opportunity to give today and notice how good it makes you feel to give freely.