SerenDestiny #44: How Gratitude Sets Your SerenDestiny in Motion

“Happiness is gratitude doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton

As I interview people around the world to discover what contributing factors have helped them lead a life where the light’s on in their eyes; I keep my antenna up for trends.

What beliefs and behaviors do they have in common?

As you can imagine, having the courage of their convictions – a willingness and readiness to act on their own behalf and in their best interests – is one of them.

Another characteristic is being alert to and capitalzing on coincidences. SerenDestineers understand coincidences aren’t accidents – they’re kismet – their best future meeting them halfway.

However THE most consistent characteristic of SerenDestineers is gratitude.

Every single person I’ve met who has wrapped their life around what they love most and do best feels incredibly fortunate for all that’s right with their world.

It’s like the chicken and the egg.

Do they love their life so much because they have a lot to be grateful for – or do they have a lot to be grateful for because they love their life?

Whatever it is … it’s clear that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is a stepping stone to SerenDestiny.

In honor of Thanksgiving, and in honor of this “rising tide that raises all boats” emotion, I’ve collected the 20 best quotes on gratitude.

You might want to print this out and post it where you can see it every day.

You’ve heard the saying “out of sight, out of mind?”

Keeping these quotes “in sight, in mind” can help you keep gratitude top of mind so you stay alert to all that’s right with your world – the hallmark of every SerenDestineer.

Gratitude quote #1: “When you drink the water, remember the well.” – Chinese proverb

Gratitude quote #2: “When I started counting my blessings; my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

Gratitude quote #3: “Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge.” – Carmelia Elliott

Gratitude quote #4: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~ William Ward

Gratitude quote #5: “If the only prayer you ever said was ‘Thank you,’ that would be enough.” – Meister Ekhart

Gratitude quote #6: “Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.” – Betty Smith

Gratitude quote #7: “As we express our gratitude, may we never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

Gratitude quote #8: “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘Thank you?’” – William Arthur Ward

Gratitude quote #9: “I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping green spirits of trees, for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – e. e. cummings

Gratitude quote #10: “For lack of attention and appreciation; a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day.” – Evelyn Underhill

Gratitude quote #11: “When you give and carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, ‘Yes, this is how I ought to feel.’” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

Gratitude quote #12: “One of the very first things I figured out about life is that it’s better to be a grateful person than a grumpy one, because you have to live in the same world either way, and if you’re grateful, you have more fun.” —Barbara Kingsolver

Gratitude quote #13: “Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.” -Garrison Keillor

Gratitude quote #14: “What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” – Colette

Gratitude quote #15: “Unless people like you care a whole lot, things aren’t going to get better, they’re not!” – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Gratitude quote #16: “Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.” – Jose Ortega y Gasset

Gratitude quote #17: “What if you gave someone a gift and they didn’t thank you for it. Would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. If you want to attract more blessings, you must appreciate the ones you already have.” – Ralph Marston

Gratitude quote #18: “I didn’t realize all that was going on and never noticed. Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you.” – Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town

Gratitude quote #19: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before I open a book, and before sketching, painting, swimming, walking, playing, dancing and before I dip the pen in the ink.” – G. K Chesterton

Gratitude quote #20:
“Normal day, let me aware of the treasure you are.
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may; for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth . . . or raise my hands to the sky
and want, more than all the world, your return.” – Mary Jean Iron

As Oprah Winfrey said, “If you’re grateful for what you have; you’ll end up with even more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have; you’ll never have enough.”

Well said. Do you want a life where the light’s on in your eyes? Look around and count your many blessings. It’s the first step to attracting more …

SerenDestiny #30: What Can we Learn from an Underdog Who Pursued His Passion?

“Ask people, ‘What is your passion?’ and they often freeze. They feel they have to give an amazing answer, like ‘feed the orphans of the world’ or “write a novel that changes the landscape of literature.’ Or, they may feel ‘I don’t know’ isn’t an option.” – Dan Pink

Are you a NCAA Final Four fan?

If so, you’re familiar with the underdog success story of the VCU team that finished fourth in its own league – but somehow got into the NCAA tournament and surprised just about everyone (except the coach and players) with their rise to the semi-finals.

One of the many interesting aspects of this story is the leadership displayed by Coach Smart – who turned down admission to Yale, Harvard and Brown to stay in the Midwest and play for Coach Bill Brown at Kenyon in Ohio.

Smart is among the 10 youngest head coaches at the Division I level

As quoted in this fascinating USA Today article (http://www.usatoday.com/)
his professors at Kenyon perceived him a “thinker, an intelletutal, driven.” They were eager to put him on a track to a Ph.D. and weren’t particularly pleased when he chose instead to follow his first love – basketball.

As Smart’s former faculty adviser Peter Rutkoff says, “Initially, there was a sense of, ‘Gee, why is he wasting his talent? But he’s not. He is USING his talent.'”

As Steve Wieberg reports in his insightful article, Smart took his basketball everywhere. . . “to the library, the cafeteria, to classes. His teammates used to tease him about sleeping with it. He was always working on his game. He wanted to make sure, if there was an empty basket, he had his ball.”

Smart said he initially went to college to “make his mother happy and proud. “But what happened was a beautiful thing. I found a subject I really enjoyed and classes I loved. And all of a sudden, I started learning beause I wanted to. And I no longer needed that drive my mom had instilled in me.”

Smart, who graduated magna cum laude from Kenyon, went on to become one of 19 students selected for the 1999 USA Today All-USA College Academic team.

As his mentor Coach Brown says, “He was like a sponge. He soaked up everything. He’s a trememdous role model . . that if you prioritize and take care of business, anything is possible.”

There are many SerenDestiny epiphanies in Coach Smart’s journey.

1. Doing what you love is not wasting your talent. It’s using your talent.

2. Part of committing to your “first love” means constantly keeping your eyes on the ball and your antennae up for the “empty basket.” This alerts you to opportunities that make you better and move you forward.

3. When you put your SerenDestiny stake in the ground, (decide to pursue what’s meaningful to you); your life takes on a momentum of its own. You no longer have to drive yourself, your passion provides its own incentive.

4. When you become a sponge and absorb and apply everything related to your business, you accelerate that business.

How about you?

Do you want to pursue your passion – but people are telling you it’s a waste of your talent?

Could you instead be clear that using your talent is what you’re born to do?

Could you be clear that when you have the courage to you put yourself in the game you’re born to play – you set your SerenDestiny in motion?

What’s your answer when people ask, “What’s your passion?”

If you don’t know – and if you’d like to know – join us May 9 for a tele-interview with Sam Horn as she reveals what she’s discovered in her hundreds of interviews with people who love what they do.

Contact us at Cheri@SamHorn.com with “SerenDestiny interview with Sam Horn” in the subject heading and we’ll send you call-in instructions.