Principles for successful living

We may not able to control what happens to us each day,
but we can control our attitude and how we reach to
situations.
Now this is not always easy. Sometimes we let ourselves
get too emotional involved in the situation. Yet by
controlling our attitude and our reactions each and every
day, we directly impact our ability to enjoy life to the
fullest. Each day. Every day. A positive attitude goes hand
in hand with living your life according to sound, healthy
principles.

Make Friends With The Realities Of Life
Life is not always a piece of cake. We all face both good
and bad days. But there is an important principle you need
to understand. People reap what they sow. This can be good
and bad. It means the world in general reaps what sows,
and all of us, whether we like it or not, reap some of the
good and the bad of other people’s sowing. This means that
life is difficult sometimes, and the sooner we get used to
that reality, the better off we are going to be.
Take Responsibility For Your Actions
People are always looking for reasons to explain why they
react the way they do, their background, their personality,
or their temperament perhaps. There are always something
to use as an excuse. But the fact is, on any given say, a lot
of circumstances get thrown at us. And regardless of the

causes, intimately we have to hake responsibility of how
we respond to each other.

Choose Inspiring Role Models
When you want to develop a certain attitude or react in a
certain way, think of a person who is like that already,
someone you admire. It could even be someone you have
read about in history who took a heroic stand or made a
difference in some way. Some people think of Napoleon or
Abraham Lincoln as a symbol or courage or confidence.
Get Excited By the Possibilities
A woman asked if positive thinking was wrong. Positive
thinking just means being bright, optimistic and confident
in life.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt developed such a positive
personality, such a powerful ability to interact with people
that those who came to visit him would say they totally
forgot about his wheelchair. Even a president of the United
States, he was so dynamic that people worldwide say him
as a man of great strength and commitment and forgot
about his disability.
Everything you can do or not do is in your mind. It is your
decision.

Get a Direction and Mission
You have got to decide where you are going. Once you
decide where you are going, that direction will determine
your decisions in life. If you have not determined your
direction, you start every decision back at square one. It
makes like harder. Decide your direction, and life gets
simpler.
Sometimes, you may set objectives, and for whatever
reason, you might not meet them. It was disappointing,
sure. But when you are driven but a determined direction, a
few missed objectives won’t get you off the path.
What does it mean to determine a direction? It has to do
with the quality of life. Set your heart on a Journey for debt
free living, for life that is God, and family centered, for a
home that is welcome to others, for a character of wisdom
and integrity.
Combine that sense of direction with a personal mission or
dream, and you will become unbeatable.
While you are heading in a positive direction, a mission
will give you added energy and purpose. A dream, a goal,
is something you want that you can pinpoint and describes,
and you know when it has been accomplished. Direction
leads to mission, and mission puts that drive inside you to
keep going till you get there.

Practice Forgiveness
Everyone makes mistakes. And life is full of cuts and
bruises and people who hurt you, whether accidentally or
on purpose. Forgiveness keeps the path open between you
and others. It also keeps your heart clean, so you can love
people. You let pain or bitterness build up inside you, it
will cost you unbelievably. It is hard to be creative or
productive when you are carrying all the anger and tension
that come from the hurts of life.
Forgiveness is letting them go. When we forgive others, we
are treating them like God has treated us. It means starting
over, wiping the slate clean.
Whenever I think about how great God’s forgiveness is, it
is easier for me to practice forgiveness with other people.
Here is the bottom line. If we hold a grudge every time
someone wrongs us, then after a while we will send more
energy carrying that grudge than we will be getting on with
our life.

Maintain Sensible Security
Balancing risk with a certain amount of security is a skill
you need to develop in your business and in your life.
Adventure is great, but there needs to be a basic level of
security for you and your family. Then again, noting
ventured, nothing gained.
You need to take risks that will help you grow, but do not
be foolish. Get information about what you are doing.

Make use of the wisdom of people who have risked
successfully and established a solid base of security. They
know a lot more than you do. Take their advice. With their
help, you can determine how much security you need and
how much risk you are willing to take. Think it through in
the light of your own personal mission in life, your own
dream.

Balance Time With People and Time Alone
We need people in our olives. We need friends and not so
close friends. We need business associates, people to play
with, and people who share our spiritual beliefs and values.
We need people who help us and people we can help.
But different personalities need different amounts of peole
contract. Some of us need more time alone to get refreshed
and refueled. Others get refreshed and refueled by having
people around. It is important to figure out the type of
person you are and to build in the time with people or the
time alone that you need.

Live in Obedience to God
I believe the most important relationship in life is our
personal relationship to our Creator. If that relationship’s
not right, not much else is going to be right in the long run.
But if our relationship with God is strong. His Holy Spirit
is going to give us the power to live like He wants us to live
and fulfill His purpose in the world.
So my last behavior builder is this. Live in obedience to
God and in a close relationship with Him. Put yourself in a

position to learn. God’s two greatest commandments are to
love God and to love others as we love ourselves. He said
that living by these two principles can only result in good.
So when we live as God wants us to live.