"When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all"

Paul Simon, Kodachrome

Unless you are a military historian, it is completely irrelevant to your life that the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Yet that knowledge is taught to you in school. Instead of teaching you how to create and live a happy and successful life, they fill your mind with trivia. Why?

It's a cold hard truth. 90% of what you think you know is erroneous, inadequate or irrelevant. I am not insulting you; it is the same for me and 99% of the other people on this planet. We all tend to live our lives based on outdated or useless information; worse, we often base our whole belief systems on ignorance and superstition.

It is no wonder, then, that our attempts to create the success and happiness we desire in life are met with failure. Like some political leaders, we base our decisions on faulty intelligence and then try to convince ourselves and the world that the decisions are still valid despite the evidence of our failures.

I'll let you in on a little secret...

The results we experience in life (what we have) is the result of the way we live our lives (what we do). The way we live our lives is the result of who we are (and are becoming). Who we are is the result of what we choose to think we know and what we choose to believe. It is our thoughts and beliefs that produce the results in our lives.

If what we think is based upon erroneous, inadequate or irrelevant information or knowledge, then the results that show up in our lives will be erroneous, inadequate or irrelevant.

If you do not want to live an erroneous, inadequate and irrelevant life, then you need to acquire and apply the knowledge that will empower you to achieve the success and happiness you desire.

The knowledge that leads to happiness and personal fulfillment is to be found in the awareness that you are intimately linked to the infinite, ineffable sacred source of all that is. Many people are under the impression that they can have happiness when they have the right spouse, have that dream home, have the ideal toys, have a certain amount of money in the bank or have whatever. They equate happiness with havingness.

Happiness is, however, a state of being. You get to be happy by choosing to be more loving, choosing to be more appreciative of and grateful for ALL that life has to offer, choosing to be more contributory to life, choosing to be more reverent of the whole universe and ALL its component parts. Being happy and fulfilled is NOT dependent upon having anything; it is dependent upon choosing to revere, relish and contribute.

The knowledge that leads to success (and to leaving a legacy) is to be found in the awareness that you are a consciously creative force in the ongoing evolution of the universe. Many people are under the impression that they will have success when they have the right spouse, have that dream home, have the ideal toys, have a certain amount of money in the bank or have whatever. They equate success with havingness (attainment or achievement).

Success is, however, a state of being. You get to be successful by learning how to enact your ideals, by learning how to think for yourself, by learning how to believe in yourself, by learning that your true success is not measured by what you are able to accumulate but by what you are enabled to contribute.

The more loving that I become, the more perfect the spouse that I get to have. The more appreciative of the things I have in life, the more valuable they become. The more grateful I become for what life offers me, the more I deserve to have more. The more contributory that I am to the lives of others, the more I get to have. In other words, the more valuable that I become, the more valuables I get get have.

There are people in this world who have less talent than you do, have less education than you do, have fewer opportunities than you do; yet, they are more successful. Why? Because of how they choose to be.

There are people in this world who have less of everything than you do; yet, they are happier. Why? Because of how they choose to be.

Want more out of life? Figure out how to become more.

Become more reverent of life and all that it encompasses and it will revere and honor your existence more. Relish (enjoy) all that life has to offer more and life will provide more for you to enjoy. Become more contributory to life and life will contribute more to you.

Here is what you need to know... You are a gift. Now give 100% of yourself to life. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how many presents you receive in return. Stop focusing on the havingness and start focusing on the beingness. It is always be, do, have. It is never have, do, be.