Can we be happy all the time?

I have to say that I am extremely excited today as I write this blog because it is so good to be back on the road. The full day Masterclass I ran for Radius Payments on behalf of Live and Learn was one of the best I have ever experienced, and it made me realise how blessed I am to be doing this at the age of 67! I just love making a difference.
 
This was part of a leadership programme run by Live and Learn, and the group was outstanding and to be ‘in the room’ with them to bounce thoughts and ideas around was special. I have been working with Radius for a few years now and they are a fast growing and highly respected company.
 
I have also run some excellent online Masterclasses which have been very well received and it’s great to be in a position to offer clients an option of face to face or online. Online is great for international work and I have recently started work with another wonderful coaching client this time based in Switzerland and it is working extremely well.
 
 
What is life all about?
 
Recently I have been thinking about what life is really about. Is it about having loads of money? Is it about striving to be the best? Is it about looking after number 1? Is it about keeping up with the Jones’s?
 
In my Masterclasses I talk about contentment as opposed to happiness. I believe that happiness is fleeting and comes and goes but I also believe that you can be content with life regardless of the circumstances within reason. We all need a roof over our heads and food to eat but we can be content with the simplest of possessions and things.
 
 
Are you happy or content?
 
When I was earning fortunes in radio and advertising agencies, I had the big house, a flashy car and money to burn but I wasn’t content. I always wanted more, I was never satisfied and only occasionally happy. I just wanted the next new gadget or new car, and the grass was always greener on the other side. I was never content.
 
When everything came crashing down for me 11 years ago, I was left with nothing but huge debts. It took me 4 years of decorating to survive as I lived with my mum, then I came across the techniques and philosophy I teach now, and I have discovered the secret of contentment.
 
 
We are very content
 
Julie and I have a very nice home which is paid for, it is smaller than homes I have had in the past, but it is an incredibly happy home and I have fallen in love with it. I don’t want a bigger home or any another home – I am extremely content.
 
I love my work and I love my wife. I love the friends and relatives and I love my life. I am still recovering from losing all my business a year ago due to Covid  but during that time I have written a second book and moved my business online. By maintaining a positive attitude and a positive belief system I have come through the pandemic in an extremely healthy state.
 
To be content is to be at peace with everything around you including your actions and the impact you have on others. If you treat people well, you have peace if you don’t then you don’t. Deep down in your subconscious there is conflict, and this eats away at you.
 
I came across this article in Word for Today recently and it made me think about the subtle areas of life that really make a huge difference to our peace and contentment.
 
 
Do the right thing by others
 
“Taskmasters don’t come much tougher than Bob Thompson. For forty years he pushed his highway workers hard six days a week from April to December to finish the job before the first frost.
 
Their loyalty, sweat, and hard work helped make him a very rich man. Thompson remembered this and returned the favour.
 
When he sold his company, Michigan’s largest asphalt and paving business, he gave his 550 current and retired employees $128 million (about £96 Million) from his gains. Even surviving spouses got cheques.
 
Some ninety employees became instant millionaires. Thompson started the Thompson–McCully Company with $3,500 (about £2,600) his wife, Ellen, earned from substitute teaching.
 
The first five years in business were challenging. Thompson didn’t take a salary. So why later did he give away so much of his fortune? ‘It was the right thing to do,’ he said.
 
‘You realise the people around you have gone through all the pain and suffering with you. I wanted to pay them back.’ When the cheques were handed out, Thompson wasn’t present.
 
He said, ‘I didn’t want to be there because it gets too emotional.’
 
Doing good isn’t a moonlighting occupation, it’s a full-time job. The person of character is guided by the North Star of goodness that leads him or her to ask in every situation, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ And the answer is always: ‘Do the right thing by others.”
 
 
Thoughts for the week: 

1. How do you treat others?
2. Do you sometimes treat others less well than you should?
3. This week think about all the people in your life and how you treat them.
4. If you get this right, you will find amazing peace enter your life.
5. You will find contentment like never before. 

 
Well that’s if for this week have a wonderful weekend and do the right thing.
 
Warm regards

John

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