One of Life’s Great Lessons: Learn to Be Thankful for What You Already Have by Jim Rohn

Is thankfulness a survival skill?  Perhaps most of you would respond with, "No, Jim, thankfulness is not a key  to survival," and I would tend to agree with you. Most of us have probably  already solved the necessary problems of survival, gone beyond that and are now  working to achieve our desires. But let me give you this key phrase: "Learn  to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you  want." I believe one of the greatest and perhaps simplest lessons in life  we can learn is to be thankful for what we have already received and  accomplished.

Both the years and the experiences have  brought me here to where I stand today, but it is the thankfulness that opened  the windows of opportunities, of blessings, of unique experiences to flow my  way. My gratitude starts with my parents who raised me, gave me an incredible  foundation that has lasted me all of these years and continues with the mentors  I've met along the way who absolutely changed and revolutionized my life, my  income, my bank account, my future. I am also very thankful for the people, the  associations, for the ideas, for the chance to work and labor, and to produce  results; all of that has brought me to this place, to this weekend. I'm  grateful for it all.

What a unique opportunity each one of us  has—many of us representing different countries and cultures—to appreciate the  uniqueness of our own experiences that have brought us all here, together, for  these three days to learn new skills and sharpen old ones. For the countries we  represent, we have freedom and liberty. These are extraordinary times. About  eleven years ago [at the time this was written] the walls came tumbling down in  Germany, and it started a wave of democracy and freedom like the world has  never seen. We as a country and as a world have so much to be thankful for.  Always start with thanksgiving; be thankful for what you already have and see  the miracles that come from this one simple act.

Thankfulness is just the beginning;  next, you've got to challenge yourself to produce. Produce more ideas than you  need for yourself so you can share and give your ideas away. That is called  fruitfulness and abundance. Here's what I think fruitfulness and abundance mean:  to go to work on producing more than you need for yourself so you can begin  blessing others, blessing your nation and blessing your enterprise. Once  abundance starts, once someone becomes incredibly productive, it's amazing what  the numbers turn out to be. But to begin this incredible process of blessing,  it often starts with the act of thanksgiving and gratitude, being thankful for  what you already have, and for what you've already done. Begin the act of  thanksgiving today and watch the miracles flow your way.