I wrote yesterday about our close friend’s decision to look after herself after her husband’s down right shitty treatment of her over the last couple of years. 

That and an email I got this morning from a great digital marketer and personal development guy I follow, has made me think about this happiness thing again.

His email quoted a famous author in whose book “ Regrets Of The Dying” she sites “I wish I had let myself be happier” as 5th on the list of regrets the majority of people who are dying. 

Her book was based on interviews with hundreds of terminally ill people (morbid I know but worth noting) 

I must admit that I struggled with happiness for a long time. Actually I just got the message that happiness is a choice a couple of years ago and since then my life (and my business) has gone from strength to strength. 

Here’s a video I recorded some time ago about this as part of an SFM 90 day video challenge

I used to feel that I didn’t deserve to be happy UNTIL I’d achieved X or UNTIL and I’d made Y amount of money….. 

As my mentor Stuart Ross often says - Success does not bring happiness - happiness brings success

At the weekend our friend told us her husband’s biggest problem (and one that was mine too in the past - MY ex wife told me that once) was his constant drive to get more.

More cars, more sales, more money, more, more , more!! ….

As a result he is chronically unfulfilled and permanently un-content. To such an extent that it’s affecting his mental and physical health. He has plenty of material wealth, several flashy cars, nice house - but I tell you this - He is one SAD bas**rd!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more - it’s a huge motivator - but the real secret to getting it and more importantly enjoying it - is to be happy first. 

After doing a lot of work on myself I realised that my problem with happiness was that I was selling myself short. I was telling myself that the only way to get more of what I wanted was to do more: More work.

Here’s a video I recorded while I was thinking about this stuff.

In the back of my mind was always that my job wasn’t ever going to get me where I wanted to be. The people I hung out with weren’t going to either. Time was ticking away. 

Please don’t let this happen to YOU.

Not when you can learn skills that will bring you all the wealth you’ll ever want but more importantly that will give you freedom of choice time and location.

My vehicle to all this (and yours if you want it) was and is SFM and DEA and through them the lesson that happiness really is a choice.

Check out the video here 

Cheers!