Prosperity is a Choice

The end of World War II was a difficult time for most families. Money was tight, banks had collapsed, many previously well to do people were living on food stamps and rations. I was born during that time and I remember while I was a small child, we often collected green stamps or gold stamps and pasted them in a book which we could later “cash in” for some commodity such as an item of kitchen ware or table ware that was wanted or needed. It was a time when many families were “strapped” for money. And, while I know that we were one of those families, we seemed to always live a prosperous life.

Both of my parents were hard workers and they definitely educated my sisters, brother, and me on the value of a dollar. We always had plenty to eat, a roof over our heads, and a big yard in which to play. We had a beautiful garden with lots of vegetables. I have to admit, weeding the garden, and picking tomato worms off of plants were not my favorite pastime. Nor, was I overly thrilled about spraying insecticide and picking fruit. My mother loved flowers so we had beautiful flower beds, and often had cut flowers on the table or in vases around the house.

We often went to the beach on weekends, caught crab, and cooked them in a pot over a wood fire. Sometimes we went to the San Jacinto monument and had a picnic on the beautiful grounds. My mother would read to us and tell us fabulous stories about the people in the Bible. When my dad would drive to the airport on Sunday evening to mail in his sales report to the company for which he worked, he would often park near the runway, go across to the sugar cane field across the street, cut off a piece of sugar cane and peel it back for me to chew on while we sat on the hood of the car and watched the airplanes take off and land. Daddy would tell me stories about all the fabulous places those planes were going and he would say that one day I would probably be on those planes going to some of those places.

Early on, I learned that prosperity was a way of life. Yes, it does take money to get on those planes and go those places, and I’m sure if my Father were alive today, he wouldn’t be surprised that I have traveled to 28 countries…several of them, many times. He would know that was part of the abundant life he expected for me. And, what I am most sure of is he would be delighted that by becoming a public speaker, I found a way to get other people to pay for those plane tickets.

My mother would often sit in big patches of clover in our yard and get us to come and look with her to see if we could find a four-leaf clover (which meant we would have much good luck) and often, we would find one, take it home and press it in a book. Those clovers represented prosperity to us. It meant we would have good fortune, health and happiness. That is, after all, what a prosperous life looks like.

We also learned to believe in a Power in the Universe much bigger than us…a Power that would supply us with the knowledge and the resources to fulfill our needs, always at just the right time. That has ultimately always happened for me.

I am so thankful for the prosperity thinking of my parents, and that they taught us prosperity was more about mindset than about money. They taught me that no matter what my circumstance, living a prosperous life is definitely my choice.

This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2017 issue of CHOICES Magazine