The Importance of Gratitude and Love

Real love is not an intention. It's initiative. It's not just a sense of purpose. It is a practice.

So where did it show up? Because isn't it true we all want love?

So the way to experience that is to be generous with it, not just hope to receive it. I hope that you found today a moment to be grateful, a moment to capture your thoughts about all the things that are going well in your life. I'm a person who always had a very active faith. Even before I had, you know, any sense of the religious world or history or an understanding of how people's faiths and archetypes shape how they feel and how they live their lives. I just always had a sense of connection, a sense of, I don't know, maybe something beyond me, a sense of flow or universe or what I think of, like, you know, as spirit or consciousness that was beyond my own body. And it always made me sort of try to stay in tune with that, to try to flow with that and. And to feel that and. And as the years have worn on and I've deepened my own practices in the era of spirituality, what I always kind of come back to is that that flow, that sense, that thing that's larger than itself, it always brings to me a sense of reverence for life. And it brings to me appreciation or gratitude. Sometimes it's hard to stay connected to a bigger picture, a bigger flow, a trust in the universe. When you're so busy, when there's so many things going on, when things don't work out well, when you're frustrated, when you're hurt, when your health isn't good, when there's too many things to do and you're overly caffeinated and freaked out, you know, it's just easy to forget that. Today I'd like to talk about just a simple topic that I think about a lot when I think about spirituality, When I think about that flow, that consciousness, something beyond me. And that is just what all the sages in history, from every major spiritual text I've ever read talk about. And that there's this. That this. Some. Somehow there's an equation whether you believe in a religion or not, or you have a spiritual practice or not, or whether you believe in a God or something beyond us or multiple gods or nothing. I can share with you that there is something I know you want and there is something I know that has pervaded the themes of every great wise teacher of all time. That there's been one thematic element and there's been one thematic Yearning of humankind. From its recorded history, it's a very important topic today. And that personal development topic today is love.

Love.

We all seek it. Many claim that their spiritual leaders practiced it, proclaimed it, asked for it. Many people who get in the deepest, darkest parts of their lives are often pulled up through somebody's grace or somebody's love, compassion, kindness. When we seek out partnership, intimacy with others, we're seeking love. When we feel at the highest heights of humanity, love is there. When we feel at the lowest lows, love tends to be absent or broken or cheated. And so I like to reflect a little bit on whether or not I loved during the week. Now, if you know my story with my car accident, I learned that, and I believe that the way I evaluate myself at the end of my life is asking questions of did I live and did I love and did I matter? So this has been a major part of my practice for the last 25 years. But this question of did I love this week is so tangible. Show me, where was it? How did it show up? Because real love is not an intention. It's initiative. It's not just a sense of purpose. It is a practice.

So where did it show up? Because isn't it true we all want love.

So the way to experience that is to be generous with it, not just hope to receive it. So where in this last week did you take a moment to demonstrate love, to show love, to be generous with love? And this can be the familial type of love. This can be love in terms of compassion, friendship, kindness, making moments, connecting heart to heart with somebody in your life, a friend, a team member, somebody who needed you. It could be a demonstration of taking somebody out. It can also be a demonstration of just sitting with somebody and listening. Well, I think there's a million acts of love that make a difference. Often I believe it's really holding space with people listening, accepting them. It's about allowing them to be themselves and honoring their own journey as a unique spiritual entity from yours. Somebody who we are connected with in a sense of oneness. So they deserve our respect and our care and our compassion and also enough care, compassion, and respect to let them be themselves. It can be an act of making simple moments with people. If you read the motivation manifesto, you know there's a chapter at a spiritual level of love in there that I hope that you will read one day if you haven't yet. And people often talk about that book with me and that chapter specifically. And yet my favorite chapter is actually the latter chapter. The final chapter in the motivation manifesto about learning to slow down time. I think when you slow time with another person, when you really get in sync with their energy, with their flow, something magical happens. When you really slow down a moment and look them in the eye and hold that look for two beats longer, that's where that connection is. When someone's sharing something with you and you just listen for two beats longer before you jump in with your idea, that's where the connection is. It's the space in between the moments of appreciation and respect and. And yes, love that allows them to feel you sensing them. It's one of the highest arts in all acts of high levels of coaching. Is that moment where there's really a sense of that energy, that trust, that reverence. Yes, I will say it, that love between people that I think that a differentiator in my career is. I never was scared of that emotion. I was never scared to let people know that I love them. Because I'm a person who's had plenty of experiences facing my own mortality. And I've had plenty of experiences of seeing somebody at a conference, talking with a friend, and then them passing away, unknown or tragic circumstances, days or weeks later.

Life is precious.

There's someone in your life. Maybe you could send a loving note today. A loving message, a loving text, just something to say, hey, I appreciate you, I honor you, I love you. I just want to let you know that today, too often we wait until tragedy, till we get sick, till something gets us down. To reach out, think about that. You've met the people that you have met in life for a specific reason that you probably don't even know. I believe. I don't know. And yet here they are in my Life. Out of 7 billion people, what are the odds? I will tell you. The people around me, they know I care. I send them notes, I hold space for them. I'm actively reaching out. I'm trying to demonstrate compassion, empathy. Yep, love. I think it's so important make your practice the act of reaching out and being generous and vulnerable and thoughtful to those who you love. Every day we can choose to put in play the very intentions that we have in life. Every day we get to say, hey, you know what? I believe in these concepts. I believe in the value of love. So let me demonstrate that. This is how you gain congruence. This is how you gain self respect. This is how you progress your life. Every day you say, hey, I believe in these concepts. Let me practice them. And if you believe in any way that in spirituality or or a great benefit of life is love. Then take this day to share that love, because every day is a good day to love and grow.

Hey guys, it's Brandon. I'm jumping in here real quick. First, I want to make sure you've gone to progressmode.com to join the newsletter.

Because I have a resource for you.

Related to this episode and I have an upcoming meetup with my private group, Ultra. If you've ever liked to be in a private group with me where I help you get more progress towards your passion projects or to build your business or your brand in a bigger way, just go to progressmo.com, click on Private Group to apply to See you can get into Ultra and we can take it to the next level by getting in person and meeting up virtually once a month online as well. Just go to progressmode.com.

Making wishes. You know, it sounds so trite almost, but when they say, you know, make sure you know what you wish for because it might come true, I think that's really relevant right now. I think a lot of people have forgotten what they wish for. We've gotten so busy and so caught up in the politics, the drama and the social media and the comparisons and the judgments, the vitriol and the to dos that sometimes we forgot the wish. What do you wish for in life? What do you wish for your family? What do you wish for your team? What do you wish for your customers? What do you wish for your neighbor? You know, when I grew up and learned how to pray, I learned that so much of prayer is actually offering wishes for others. You know, it's your wish that your grandmother would be healthier, your wish that that thing at school would happen for you. Your wish that your parents would be together. You wish that you and your family would have more. Your wish for abundance, health. Your wish for good things for you and those you love. And I think that's a beautiful thing. So rarely do we send out good, positive energy for others. I remember being taught that it was powerful when you walk by strangers on the sidewalk to wish something for them. I developed this practice of walking by people and strangers all over the world and just saying in my mind as I pass them, I wish nothing but joy and abundance and love and good health for you. And I would say things like that over and over and over and over again in countries all around the world as I traveled and visited places. And sure enough, I seem to find friends, no problem anywhere I went. Your intention and your wishes for others matter. But today, so many people feel discouraged, trapped in all the uncertainty or frustrated by the progress they're making. And sometimes when you're frustrated or discouraged, you stop wishing. You're just trying to handle life and you forget to ask anything of it. I think today maybe you could write down your wishes. Maybe you could go into your plan or go into your journal and just capture the wishes and the dreams that you have. Again, so rarely do we take the time to capture those things. But part of self improvement always begins with the dreams. Begins with the ambitions, the goals, the hopes, the wishes. You know, whether it's I wish I could lose this weight, or I wish I could be a better dad, or I wish I could be a better leader, or I wish I could just be happier. I wish more for me and my family. I wish better things for my neighbor. I wish this nonprofit could take off. I wish for good things for others. Whatever it is, make those wishes today. Because remember, wishes can come true. It begins with the idea, the generative nature of who you are, to think of new things and better things for you, your family and others. That idea that when we're creative, what we're really doing is generating new wishes. And so what could it be? What's the wish you could be generating or creating for your life at this stage? And don't get discouraged in the last three years, because you should never let your last few years or even your current circumstances or current competencies dictate your vision for your future. Because when you have a wish for your future and you focus on that wish, each day, that wish can become an intention. And each day that intention can be action plans. And each day those action plans can be the way you move throughout the world. And as you move throughout the world in new ways, attach the wishes that you have, suddenly you get different. And suddenly you have a different destiny. Your wish, what is it? What are you wishing for in life right now? Have you captured anymore? If you don't reflect on it and think about it and keep writing it down, how are you going to manifest it? You get so busy in the day, so busy scrolling through everybody else's stuff, that you become detached from your own wishes. I want you to know your wishes. I want you to think about them, write them down, whether you call them dreams or hopes, intentions, whatever those are, to capture those wishes. I wish for you to have an abundant and remarkable and healthy and extraordinary and happy and daily, contentful type of life, where each day you feel the day, where each day, when there's A struggle. You honor it. Where each day, when you offer opportunity to manage your energy, you bring the joy. Where each day you remember the extraordinary gifts you have in this life and the extraordinary capability you have in impacting others lives in a positive way. What's your wish? What are your wishes for your family and others? Go capture it today. One of the great joys in life is when your life, suddenly you realize on a daily basis has far exceeded any wish you ever had. I wish that for you. I remember years ago, as I became a quote, unquote successful author. I couldn't believe it. My wishes had come true. And my wishes had come true beyond anything I ever possibly imagined. With life's golden ticket and the charge and the Millionaire messenger and the Motivation Manifesto and high performance habits and omg. And suddenly I just. I couldn't believe I was living a life that was beyond any wishes or dreams I'd had. And I don't say that in braggadocious ways. I say that with great reverence and great appreciation and gratitude for my creator gifting me with wishes even beyond my own vision, with gifts even beyond my dreams. I think it has something to do, though, a little bit with having those wishes at the baseline. The basics. What do you wish for? And I really believe when the universe or God or creator sees you working for your wishes on a continual basis, it opens another realm for you. So what are your wishes today, striver? Please go in your journal today. Capture those wishes again. Look at them again. Some people haven't looked at any of their wishes or dreams since New Year's. Come on, let's get back into it. Let's start looking at those wishes and ambitions and goals and dreams again on a consistent basis and make sure that those are the things that we are aligning our lives towards. Not just handling things, not just managing the small stuff, but actually manifesting some wishes for ourselves, our families, those that we serve. What a blessing it is. Each day we get to write down our wishes and think about what are the opportunities before us? What will be the obstacles in chasing after them? How can we get better? How can we improve? How can we manifest these things and showing up day after day after day. And as Paulo Coelho has taught us all in the Alchemist, boy, sometimes when you align your life towards your dreams and your wishes, it seems like the whole world, the whole universe, conspires to make sure they happen. Oh, what a beautiful thought. I'm thankful for you today, striver. To everybody listening to this every day, one touch point for self improvement. We could change the world. Because every day is a good day to grow, Sam.