"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today"

The previous chapter was entitled "Go for it!" Maybe this one should have actually been called "Keep going for it!"

Benji: “We all have our doubts when entering into something new. There are always obstacles. The only thing to do is keep going and eventually with enough determination and drive we get there in the end. Did you learn to ride a bicycle when you were younger? As a small child I remember thinking what an impossibly hard task it was wobbling along on my first bike. I remember the day the stabilisers were removed and a rode solo for the first time. What at first seems difficult soon becomes as easy as 1-2-3. If you fall down you always have to pick yourself up, brush off the dust, figure out what went wrong and try again, and again, and again. Eventually you will succeed.”

So, if you come across a difficult time and things are harder than you expected just keep going! Stay confident and try again. Remember a time in your life (like learning to ride that bike, learning to swim or something similar) when you achieved something you had set your heart on. Remember that feeling of fulfilment and joy when you were successful. Really think about what it felt like inside. You felt brilliant. You were fantastic. You did it! Well, whatever you want to achieve is possible again. You just have to make it happen again.

Benji Says... If someone else can do it, then you can do it too!

Try to forget all the negativity in your head that may be holding you back. Break free of the restraints of your doubts and be positive about your success. It is just another obstacle. Add it to your list of goals and nibble away at it until you have leapt over it and it is just a memory in the past fading into the distance.

Whatever you do in life you will have your good days and your bad days. The trouble is that most people seem to remember the bad days easier than the good days. You have to change that way of thinking. Whenever you feel down or like giving up think about something good that has happened. Think how it made you feel. Think about what you can do to turn around the situation you are in and end up having another good day after all!

Aston's Top Tip... The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.

Walk tall and proud, put on a brave face and keep on going for it - you have got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain! Think positive and positive things will start to happen. This can start from something as simple as a smile. Remember what we said earlier about the amount of muscles it takes to smile? And to top that it also makes you feel good too. Do it today - smiling is infectious!

Benji Says... Happiness is like jam. You can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself.

WEALTH

Wealth. First of all let's discover what wealth actually is. What do you understand the word wealth to mean?

In the dictionary, the first definition of wealth lists it with an obsolete meaning with the word Weal. If you, like me have no idea what weal is, it is listed as follows:

Weal:
A sound, healthy or prosperous state.

Well-being:
The state of being happy, healthy or prosperous.

It also relates to the word Welfare.

Welfare:
The state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity.

The second meaning (after the obsolete meaning) my dictionary describes wealth as:
Abundance of valuable material possessions or resources.

I wonder why the first meaning is now obsolete? The really important factors of what the word Wealth really mean seem to have been overlooked nowadays: Health and happiness.
And prosperous? Does that word exclusively apply to money? It seems not...

Prosperous:
Auspicious, Favourable
Marked by success or economic well-being

Most people nowadays interpret what it is to be wealthy as being the same as it is to be rich.

Rich:
Having abundant possessions and especially material wealth

It seems that modern Western culture has chosen to focus on the monetary aspect of wealth and has forgotten the aspects of wealth that were originally important. I am sure that it is better to focus on the now obsolete meaning which encompasses a more balanced view.

In summary, being wealthy can include being rich but being rich rarely includes having all of the jewels that true wealth can bring you.So, knowing all of this, let's ask a question. If you had the chance to be either Rich or to be Wealthy, taking into consideration all of the above, which would you choose?

You may have heard the saying that Real riches are the riches possessed inside. And only when you have got those kind of riches will you be in the position to be really happy, regardless of whether or not you have material riches.

When you have riches on the inside is when you find out what you actually want and need in life. So, for now, just relax and don't worry about a thing... It'll come eventually, when you're ready for it.

Aston's Top Tip... There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can't do any business from there.

LUCK

Some people follow seemingly odd superstitions in the pursuit of luck, some almost to the point of it becoming a compulsive disorder, but I don't think that there is a way of increasing “luck” as such.

But that doesn't mean that lucky people don't exist and that it is possible for some people to be luckier than others. For example, how many people have you heard of who've won the lottery who didn't buy a ticket first?

Benji: “Now, I don't often do the lottery, maybe once in a while, just for a bit of fun. The odds are stacked almost completely in the favour of the company that runs the lottery. The same goes with all other forms of gambling be it horse racing or casinos. They exist primarily for one purpose. To take money from the majority of the participants and to reward a small minority. That's not the kind of luck I'm interested in.”

Instead of relying on trying to stack up impossible odds in your favour why not “gamble” on things with shorter odds? These things, otherwise known as opportunities exist all around us. It's just a case of spotting them.

*NOTE: 2006/2007 amendment. I DO endulge in the lottery every single week now. You see, I stumbled upon the perfect opportunity - a way of making the lottery work for me. I play over 100 entries, with far greater odds of winning, in two of the world's largest lotteries every week and it doesn't cost me a single penny. I actually EARN money from it. See.. www.easy-uk.net for more details. THAT's what I mean by an OPPORTUNITY! It was only because I had my eyes open and was willing to change my point of view slightly that I found it. Now I earn thousands of extra pounds income because of it.

The more ships you send out to sea, the more likely it is that one will return laden with gold.To put this another way, the more opportunities you take advantage of in life, the more likely it is that one of those opportunities is going to be the one that brings you what you are looking for.

Aston: “Or the way I see it is, 'it is an empty penguin that returns for the night devoid of herrings'. “
We believe that “luck”, whatever that is, presents itself to everyone at random points during their lives in the form of opportunity. It is those people who are actively looking for luck, and are ready to jump into action the moment it appears and take advantage of it, who are “lucky”. Imagine luck being a bit like planting seeds. Not all of the seeds are likely to actually grow, but the more attention you pay to helping them grow, by properly watering and looking after them, making sure they have exactly the right conditions, the more seeds will go on to grow into healthy plants. And it is only when you have healthy, well-tended plants, that they begin to bloom. You don't know for sure at the beginning which seeds are going to grow, but you can be fairly sure that most will grow, and eventually flower, if you follow the right rules.

Benji Says... You make your own luck!

BECOMING TRULY HAPPY... Forever!

Before continuing with this section, have you simply skipped straight ahead to this chapter from the Table of Contents? If so, go back and read the previous chapters first. They are there for a reason. The way we have written this guide everything will make more sense that way.
If you have read everything else, then hopefully you have already learned a great deal so far, but we have found that most people find the pursuit of true happiness to be the main reason that they purchased this guide (whether they know it or actually disguise it with another goal, such as having lots of money, thinking that this or other material possessions will somehow lead to increased happiness)

Can reading this guide really give you all you need to become truly happy? Well, it can't just miraculously make you instantly happy. This is a “lazy way” but you will need to put in a little effort. It will require you to take notice of what we have actually written here and you will need to make a few simple changes, but it will definitely show you the path that you need to take to becoming as happy as you like!

This is without doubt the single most important part of this guide. If you start actually living your life following the methods described here from this moment onwards you will notice changes almost immediately. We could have simply written down a short summary on a single sheet of paper and sold people “The secret of happiness”, but we wanted to put it all into context and give the whole piece more meaning, hence all of the other chapters and the wealth of useful information that we have provided you. We wanted to give you something we feel is very important, we wanted to give you Value.

You have almost certainly felt happiness before, so you know you are capable of being happy. Many people, as they get older, forget this. The potential for happiness exists inside all of us. It always has, and always will. It is just a question of accessing it in the right way.

So what is this secret? If you have taken it upon yourself to buy this guide and have read this far then you can almost guarantee that you are like the majority of the world's population and don't currently employ this technique. You will understand the secret in about 10 seconds. It is so simple you may feel like kicking yourself, but don't do that! Read on and you'll see why! Once you discover the secret you will fully understand how you can totally change your life for the better. Of course, there will be times when you feel other emotions apart from overwhelming happiness because that is part of what it is to be human. You just won't dwell on those times for as long as you maybe did in the past. Imagine having the ability to change your state within a few seconds and to feel happy most of the time.

But before that please take the time to try this important exercise.

We need you to ask yourself a question. Grab yourself a pen and paper so you can write it down when you're ready. All we ask is that you to ask yourself a question relating to your personal level of happiness. We are not going to tell you what the question should be. We are asking you to come up with the question. Think about it for a minute or two and then put it down in writing. It should just come to you – write it down as soon as you are ready.

Have you written your question yet?

If not then STOP and DO IT! It can be as short as you like. Just ask yourself a question. Don't worry about why just yet. All will become clear.

It's a question that we want you to ask yourself about how you currently feel...

DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE THIS.