Encouraging Words by Dennis Merritt Jones, DD
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One of my mentoring clients, who is pursuing an increase in his “PQ” (Prosperity Quotient), recently asked me how to do so. I asked him if he knew the difference between a treasure chest and a bottomless well. I said, it’s a matter of discerning the difference between cause and effect. Prosperity, as we know it, often focuses on increasing our net worth – think of material things; money, assets, investments, all that good “stuff” that fills up our treasure chest. This is where we see the effect of tangible outcomes, like a bigger house, a nicer car, or a fatter bank account. It’s about the quantity of what we own, possess, or control. Wanting to increase our experience of prosperity is fine, but we shouldn’t put the proverbial cart before the horse. Rather than focusing on the effect, let us consider the cause of prosperity. We do so by moving the spotlight to the Principle of Abundance.
In my book, The Art of Abundance – 10 Rules for a Prosperous Life, I point out that abundance is a much deeper dive, tapping into an all-encompassing, infinite well of self-worth and life’s intangible riches. This isn’t just about wealth in the financial sense. Rather than quantity, it’s about the depth and quality of our experiences and the richness in love, health, relationships, and time – all the elements that create a fulfilling life. Imagine having an endless supply of joy, inner peace, and meaningful connections – the more etheric things that shape a life worth living … just to ponder that possibility is indeed a deep dive for many of us.
So, while prosperity is the effect – more of the “stuff” – abundance is the cause, the underlying universal principle that says there’s always more than enough of whatever we can conceive of. This is evidenced by the fact that the Universe is expanding at the speed of light – perpetually creating more of Itself from with Itself. The hook is, to personalize this expansive universal principle, it has to start out with an inner belief that we “are enough,” and from that belief springs everything else. The point being, if we believe we are not enough, how can we ever draw to us enough of anything good to us? What we’ll continue to manifest on that hedonic treadmill is more “not enough” (again, a simple case of cause and effect).
To summarize, prosperity can be seen as the surface-level gains, whereas abundance is the deeper, foundational wellspring that feeds our entire existence. The cool thing is we don’t have to earn abundance; it comes with the gift of life itself. It’s about embracing this mindset and recognizing that true richness is not just about the volume of possessions but, also, the depth of experiences. This is not to downplay the significance of the material world; we all need our daily bread. It’s about embellishing the fact that abundance, as a causative universal principle, must come before the manifestation of prosperity in any form. The biggest challenge for most people is they are more focused on living in the effect rather than being one with the cause.
And as we dig into this concept, it’s worth reflecting: What does “more than enough” look like for us? It’s an answer that varies for each one of us, but at the end of the day, the pursuit of living prosperously unifies us with a universal principle of abundance that transforms our essence into a rich, fulfilling experience.
Embrace the abundance mindset and watch how it changes everything!
Peace, Dennis Merritt Jones