The Science of Gratitude

“"When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.”
–Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker

In Issue #125:

Editor’s Note: This week I am re-running an article I wrote earlier this year about gratitude. There’s not a more important topic I could talk about. Enjoy—and have a fabulous holiday!

The Science of Gratitude
by Krista Jones

Ever since I watched the movie The Secret, I’ve wondered how being grateful helps to bring more good things into our lives. The emotional and psychological benefits are clear, but I wanted to know what was happening on a spiritual and physical level when we are grateful.

That question has come back to me several times over the past few months, so the copywriter in me finally decided to do a little research by studying the two books that inspired The Secret—“The Science of Getting Rich” and “The Master Key.” Here’s a summary of what I found:

An attitude of gratitude draws the mind closer to the source from which the blessings come. People who are grateful are in closer harmony with the creative energies of the Universe than people one who hardly ever says thanks.

Not to get overly technical, I discovered that, in essence, being thankful for the things you already have acts very much like a magnet that pulls more good things toward you.

I had never heard it put that way before. But when I heard the concept, I considered it thoroughly. Then I realized a few things about my early days in copywriting that I think might help you if you are currently feeling stuck or like nothing good is happening even after all of your effort …

I remembered how grateful I was for my day job while I was working my way into copywriting. It was more than paying the bills, and without it I would have felt much more pressure to start making money quickly.

I remembered how, as I’ve built my career, I’ve always been grateful for AWAI and the dozens of master copywriters who have helped me learn this skill. It seemed the more grateful I was, the more opportunities came my way.

And I remembered how I thanked the Universe for each and every client I got. I was (and still am) very thankful that they trust me enough to hire me to put their message out.

I didn’t know it then, but my gratitude helped me relax and be with what was going on at the time. And that made space for things to get even better.

If the thought of gratitude acting like a ‘blessings magnet” is new to you, I recommend that you look back over your own life and consider the times when you have been most grateful. I bet it will bring up some interesting things for you.

Another thing I really appreciate about my new understanding of gratitude is that it isn’t important just so you can get more blessings in the future. It’s also important because it keeps you from focusing on all the things that are “wrong” with your life as it is. (Have you ever heard the expression “What you focus on expands?”)

If you are currently going to a job that doesn’t light you up, find something about it you sincerely appreciate.

If you’re not finding clients as quickly as you would like to, instead of resisting it, find the things about your current situation that work for you and appreciate those things. You might find that the new client will come into your life when you are truly grateful for what you already have.

Of course, everything is much easier said than done. But if you can find it in your heart to be more grateful, your life will improve.

So…if you’re feeling stuck, just amuse me and try this for a while. Begin each day thinking about the things you’re grateful for right now. Since the grateful mind is focused on the best, it tends to become the best, and then will receive the best.

According to “The Science of Getting Rich”—the original authority on the Law of Attraction—there’s simply no way around it.

Resource Referral: A Niche That Can Keep You Busy

I’ve been working on a big business-to-business project for the past few weeks. Mixing it in with my other projects has kept me quite busy.

As you probably know, there’s a huge market for writing to businesses. But if you’re interested in writing this type of copy, you should be aware that there are a few differences between it and the business-to-consumer market—differences that aren’t covered in most copywriting programs or books.

If you want to learn how to write copy for the business-to-business market, you should learn from someone who does it every day. I don’t know of any copywriter who is more qualified to guide you in this area than Steve Slaunwhite. Steve has been writing business-to-business copy for more than 10 years, and he consistently earns well over $100,000 per year doing it. In fact, one Fortune 100 company pays him a five-figure annual retainer just to reserve his availability for their copy assignments.

Steve wrote AWAI’s program, Secrets of Writing for the Business-to-Business Market. Not only is the program packed with dozens of Steve’s secrets for making a living in this market, but it also explains how to write copy for all three Business-to-Business markets: Fortune 500 companies, midsize companies and small businesses.

Sound interesting? Click here to learn more about the market and the program.

Scroll Call I:The Confidence of Research by Laurie Cauthen

Since Monica and I have been copywriters for more than five years now, we thought you would enjoy hearing hear from someone who is literally just getting started in learning the craft. Someone who might be experiencing the same challenges and triumphs that you are currently experiencing.

So we’ll be running a series of short essays from Laurie Cauthen, a wife and mother of two children who used to work in the public service sector, that chronicles her experiences as she immerses herself in the copywriting program and starts taking steps to get her business off the ground. Here’s her first installment:

What an amazing journey so far- although positive new experiences thrill me, I can’t remember being so intense about learning anything, like I have AWAI’s Basic Copywriting Program.

I’ve been in the program now for a month and twelve days. I’m seriously immersing myself into the “meat and potatoes” of the program, and just yesterday, received my second installment. I can’t wait to start developing my first sales letter…….

I have to admit, at first I was intimidated by all this new study material. In some ways, it almost seemed like Hieroglyphics to me, just because it was something I knew next to nothing about. Unfamiliar territory can seem daunting and overwhelming. But I found a way to categorically alleviate my fear. I relied on RESEARCH to show me the way.

I decided to study the profiles of all the AWAI Wall of Famers to get insights and tips on how to be successful at this new craft. What they all revealed is nothing short of amazing! Each and every one of them had a wonderful “process for success.”

Their processes included these major steps:

  1. Most used their mornings to write undisturbed, usually very early until at least noon.
  2. Next, in the afternoon most made their calls, tackled administrative duties or research.
  3. Many took small breaks to refresh their creative flow.
  4. Most scheduled time to exercise early or right after lunch.
  5. All were driven to succeed, so they did!
  6. All gave powerful advice such as the following: “Write, write, write!”, “Just do it.”, “Be persistent.”, and “Network.”

My personal favorite was by Kelvin Parker, “Be passionate, be obsessive, and never give up. You MUST ACHIEVE MASTERY. Think “process training” on the job….day-in, day-out until you achieve your black belt. There are no shortcuts.”

I plan to use these insights to help me succeed at this as quickly as possible. My strongest desire is to one day join the people who have so inspired me by taking my place on AWAI’s Wall of Fame.

But first things first. Right now I’m going back to my research so I can write, write, write!

Until next time…