7 Laws of Abundance

Those that found abundance in their lives attracted it through their thought process. There is no such thing as luck. Those that believed they deserved abundance received it, just as those that believe they do not deserve it or believe it is not possible do not receive it. So, how do you make the change to a mentality that attracts abundance? Here are 7 Laws of Abundance to help you get started:

Law 1: Fly With the Eagles or Be Grounded With The Turkeys

Vision. Independence. Freedom. Strength. Individuality. Intelligence. These are the attributes associated with eagles, and with those that fly high in our lives. They dream big, they work towards their dream, and they replace their doubts with belief. They don't follow the crowd. Instead, they follow the vision they created in their mind's eye for themselves. They know that they don't know everything, but trust that they can and will learn while on the road to success. You can easily identify the eagles in your life.

The turkeys are also easy to identify in your life. They gather together and gobble gobble...meaning, they talk. They talk about their woulda's, coulda's and shoulda's. Though their lives are in shambles, they seem to know exactly what you should do to fix your life. They gobble about the things they can't control while allowing the things they can control to go out of control. The turkeys can tell you why you can't succeed, but can't offer a single shred of hope or support towards how you can. They gobble about what they don't like, without taking any action towards changing it. They gobble about everything, and do nothing.

It does matter who you associate with. It is much harder to fly when everyone around you is telling you its impossible. Find people that want to fly or that are already flying. Leave the turkeys to what they do best...gobbling on the ground.

Law 2: Think Big and Work Smart

We all know many people that think small and work hard. They've been in their same positions for a very long time, with the same incomes, same level, and same amount of dissatisfaction. These are some of the hardest working people on the planet, and yet, they rise to the level of their thinking. Thinking small and working hard is actually safe. You know how to do the job, and you don't need to learn anything else. So, you increase your energy in order to do more while leaving the mind starved of new knowledge, opportunities and dreams.

Thinking big and working smart is about creating your dreams. It's not about learning something once and doing it over and over again. It's about constantly learning. It's not about a hard day's work, but about a smart day's work. Thinking big is about creating dreams that at first seem impossible, but upon further reflection resonate in your heart and mind as exactly where you should be. Working smart is about efficiency. It's about finding the people, knowledge and opportunity to help you get where you want to get to. Working hard is about struggle. Working smart is about flow.

Your thoughts make all of the difference. Those who do the seemingly impossible knew believed they could do it before they knew they could do it. They trusted themselves to learn along the way, and to have the tenacity to see it done no matter what they had to go through.

Law 3: The Mindset of Gratitude vs Complaint-a-tude

Ok, there's no such word as "complaint-a-tude". However, the difference between these 2 mindsets literally comes down to focusing on what's right with the world vs focusing on what's wrong with the world. What you think about determines your reality. Therefore, when you focus on gratitude, you are focusing on all of the things you are thankful for in your life. With that focus, your mind and subconscious leads you to more people, experiences, and things for you to be grateful for.

The opposite is also true, however. When you focus on a mindset of complaint-a-tude, you are focusing on everything that's wrong in your life. With that focus, your mind and subconscious leads you to more people, experiences and things for you to complain about. As bad as you may think you have it, there are many many more people out there that would love to exchange their problems for yours. If you truly want to make things better, you have to start being grateful for what you already have.

Again, your thoughts make all of the difference. Abundance in your life starts with abundance in your thoughts. An man or woman of abundance is thankful for everything in their lives. Absolutely everything. They understand that every experience contributed to who they are today. They may not have always like the experiences. However, they know those experiences are leading them to something greater than they thought they could be or achieve.

Law 4: Investing vs Spending

Whether we are talking about time, money, love, attention or anything else we have, there is a difference between investing and spending. Those who spend without investing have a poverty consciousness. They believe there is only so much money (as an example) to go around. So, when they get it, they spend it on something they believe has value based on the value others place on it. These are the people driving luxury cars while living in poor neighborhoods. These are the folks that wear their financial value on their necks, fingers and wrists through jewelry. These are the people that wear designer labeled clothing at all times, and of course at all costs. For all of their spending, however, they just can't seem to get out of the rut they find themselves in. They can never make the big changes they wish they could experience in their lives.

Those who invest instead of spend have an abundance mentality. They believe that there is plenty to go around and there is no limit to what they can achieve. When they get money, their first thought turns to how they can make it grow. They invest in books, they invest in education, they invest time in the things they truly want to achieve. When they see the returns from their great efforts, then they celebrate with meaningful additions to their lives. They remain responsible, and don't make purchases based on what other people value.

When you spend, once its gone, its gone. When you invest, when you get your return, you can still continue to grow that original investment. You never lose, because you are always replenishing. This may be the very definition of abundance. And remember, this is also true of your time, your energy and your love...all things that are much more valuable than your money.

Law 5: Eliminate the Anchors in Your Life

What are the anchors in your life? They are anything that is holding you back from where you want to go. What could some of those anchors be? It could be the people you've outgrown, but you continue to allow to prevent you from making strides on your own plan. It could be situations that you continue to put yourself into when you know that the results will be to your detriment. It could be your own thoughts providing you excuse after excuse for why you can't, shouldn't and won't.

Those with an abundance mentality don't let anchors hold them back. They cut the lines they are attached to so they are free to go where they need to go. They let go of old relationships that no longer serve them. They only put themselves in situations that will help them to grow, achieve, and to find other like-minded individuals such as themselves. They destroy excuses and turn them instead into meaningful action.

The biggest anchor of them all is an old way of thinking. If you want to jump start your life, you must first jump start your thoughts. Finding your way to fulfilling your dreams can be difficult enough without holding yourself back. Cut the anchors lose and sail towards your destiny.

Law 6: Delayed Gratification vs Instant Gratification

When in high school, a mentor asked what would be worth more; $10,000 today or a penny a day doubled for 30 days (Day 1 = $0.01, Day 2 = $0.02, Day 3 = $0.04, etc for 30 days). When most people first here this scenario, they choose the $10,000. However, the penny a day doubled for 30 days comes out to over $5 Million ($5,368,709.00 to be exact). Striking! In this example, the $10,000 represents instant gratification (what looks good now), and the penny a day double represents delayed gratification (what doesn't look too appealing today that because great over time).

What are examples of these contrasting perspectives in action? In the future you want to be a best selling author, but everyday, you use potential writing time to watch your favorite sitcoms. In the future, you want your children to be able to talk to you about anything they might experience as teenagers, but everyday, you tell them to be quiet as they want to tell you about things that are important to them that you find childish. In the future, you want your love relationship to be happy and to last, but everyday you think of new ways to hide things, to step out on the relationship and to exert control over your mate.

Things worth having are worth waiting for. Things you get quickly often disappear just as fast. However, with delayed gratification, the effort, thought, energy and time you invest often pays you back much more and over a far greater timescale than anything you just take today because its in front of you now. When your long term and short term goals conflict, always choose the long term goal.

Law 7: Abundance is Your Birth Right

Everyone deserves abundance. Many people get themselves into the mental trap of believing that they don't deserve abundance in their lives. They believe that there are others more deserving, that they are not "good enough", or that they have past transgressions to atone for first. In truth, you are deserving of abundance for no other reason than you were born.

The modern society is set up to keep us competing, wanting to "rise to the top", and to be better than the next person. However, natural law says we are all the same. We are all connected via the divine energy that dwells within us all, and we are all unique expressions of that energy. Though society sets up class distinctions, don't be fooled by them. Abundance is just as much your right as the wealthiest men and women on the planet.

You must believe that you are worthy. Your worthiness must be based on the fact that you exist, and nothing more. Anytime you base your own self worth on anything outside of yourself, it can go up and down in value. When self worth is based on the divine energy you have locked inside, its value always remains the same...priceless.

James LeGrand is an Author, Life Strategist, and the publisher of www.SpiritualIndividual.com, a free weekly newsletter that presents solutions to life's issues through the lens of self-help, wisdom, philosophy and spirituality. He is the author of an Amazon.com best seller in Religion and Spirituality titled Evolve!, and an Expert Author with Ezine Articles.com & SelfGrowth.com. James LeGrand is also a former Radio Personality, and a Sifu in Shaolin Kungfu, which has been known for centuries as a pathway to spiritual enlightenment.