When my father was slowly progressing through the phases of a terminal illness, as a final legacy he revealed to me a sequence of 9 extraordinary “wealth-building” steps he nicknamed, “The 9 Insights of the Wealthy Soul.”
On the surface, his lessons appeared to be about building material wealth.
On a much deeper level, these insights held the secret for overcoming our greatest challenges and achieving the highest wealth of the soul.
My father, himself, had used these same insights as an army pilot-trainee to turn several near-crashes into soaring flights. Later, these insights were the means through which he would raise himself up from the devastating death of his beloved daughter – my sister.
Four years after my father's last great lesson to me, while actually writing a book on the subject, I awakened one morning perceiving a profoundly deeper significance of his 9 Insights.
I suddenly understood that they are the actual stages of “TRANSFORMATION".
Whether you desire to transform a dream into reality, failure into triumph, grief into grace, or a relationship breakdown into a bridge of love and higher understanding, these universal principles are the means you can naturally accomplish your goals.
Here is a summary of my father's “9 Insights of the Wealthy Soul”:
Insight 1: INSIGHT
Just as a tree begins with a seed, so too, is Insight the “seed” that begins your transformation. One of the greatest insights is simply the knowledge that “You Can.” You CAN overcome your greatest challenges. You CAN transform your dreams into your own living, breathing reality. You CAN create a new life for yourself and your loved ones.
Insight 2: TIMING
The saying “Timing is everything” is not just a nice expression. Without developing excellent timing, you will always be fighting the natural ebb and flow of the universe. Just as most seeds sprout on a particular day in springtime, YOU can develop the ability to recognize the precise day of spring for all you do.
Whether asking for a raise, launching a business venture, or bringing up a difficult subject to a friend, loved one or business partner, your ability to recognize the often brief moments of maximum opportunity will determine how much success and balance you achieve.
Insight 3: PATIENCE
Only humans are impatient. Seeds do not attempt to turn into trees in winter. Eagles don't try to soar during lightening storms. And Mayflowers do not blossom in August. Developing patience – your ability to wait for the right moment in your life cycle to accomplish a particular task or goal – is all important to develop excellent timing and great success.
Insight 4: SURRENDER
What must you do to let go of your need to control things? How can you let go of your past mistakes and history that may be preventing you from moving forward? How do you spiritually surrender to “the process?”
Without spiritual surrender, you will never be content, you will never have patience and excellent timing. You will never experience the joy and “flow” of having the greatest business and life partner you could ever possibly have: namely, “The Universe” and “God.”
Insight 5: GROUNDING
With strong roots, a tree will survive any storm. When YOU create a strong foundation, your greatest efforts will withstand the many storms and challenges you inevitably face in achieving your goals.
Grounding is what you use to nourish and nurture your goals. Grounding is the books, tapes, schooling, seminars, and people you surround yourself with to support yourself in whatever you want to achieve.
Want to have a great relationship? Learn from those who already have one. Want to earn a million dollars? Read books, listen to tapes, and receive coaching by those who show you how. When you have ample “grounding” to support your dreams, the challenges that come along are merely temporary storms that ultimately make you stronger and more highly energized.
Insight 6: BALANCE
This is a tough one, especially for the most successful people. Even when a tree is well developed, without regular water, sunshine and nourishment, it will not be healthy.
What must you do to balance yourself?
How much sunshine do you get?
How much exercise do you regularly do?
How nourishing is your diet?
How much quiet time do you take on a daily basis with yourself and your loved ones?
Life is a balancing act. Isn't the minute, hour, day or month you save by working through your natural point of balance just another minute, hour, day or month you subtract from your lifetime?
Take breaks to smell the roses along the way, and in fact, you'll naturally discover the universe rises up to become your partner rather than it being you against the world.
Insights 7, 8 & 9
GROWTH automatically occurs in direct proportion to your ability to empower yourself with the first 6 Insights.
EVOLUTION blossoms when your growth takes you to a new and higher stage of life, unfolding a powerful Vision of your life you probably never foresaw.
TRANSFORMATION occurs when you become something very different than that which you started off as. Your initial seeds of Insight become a tree of knowledge and accomplishment. You are ready for something greater than achieving for your own personal gain.
You, the student, become the teacher, the mentor, the leader. You are the vessel of seeds to birth a new generation. You enjoy the glow of knowing you have followed your highest path that ultimately leads you to helping others follow theirs.
All along, you have been transforming into a balanced, wealthy and fulfilled human being.
All along, you have been transforming yourself into a “Wealthy Soul.”
Dr. Michael Norwood is the author of “The 9 Insights of the Wealthy Soul,” which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. Interviews of him have been broadcast on more than 300 radio and television stations worldwide. To find out more about his book series, go to:
www.michaelnorwood.com
