The Bank Account of Life–from Michael Fletcher of Neworld Coaching!

As published in the Shameless Blog from Neworld Coaching

The Bank Account of Life

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, moved into a nursing home today. He is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

“I love it!” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. “Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room yet; just wait.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged … it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.”

“It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can stay in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in.”

When you put this in business terms … you can worry all day about the business dealings that you are involved in, or be negative about the potential clients that have fallen by the wayside, or you can choose to be positive and focus on the things that are going right in your business. My advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of life! I am still depositing, and I make a conscious effort each and every day to remember the “goodness” of people.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

 1. Free your heart from hatred.
 2. Free your mind from worries.
 3. Live simply.
 4. Give more.
 5. Expect less.

~Michael@Neworld