Appreciation is the most important thing on the growth journey. As you acquire more things, do you need to become more grateful or less grateful? The answer is pretty simple. There are plenty of things that money can buy you that will make you happy. But none of these things will bring you consistent happiness or joy. Let the people in your life know that you appreciate them, share a token of appreciation with those you work with, and allow yourself to feel appreciated by others. This opens your heart to true happiness. 

The more successful you become, the more gratitude you need.

The more wealthy you become, the more grateful you must become. What’s interesting, we usually see the opposite. The wealthier a person becomes, the less grateful they are. That’s because when you are in poverty, you are forced into gratitude. But when you become wealthy, gratitude becomes an option. You are not forced to appreciate life when you are rich. 

Every time you move up the career ladder, force yourself to embrace a higher level of gratitude. When you grow your business with gratitude, you embrace the complexity, challenges, and expenses of building a business. If you’re going to grow your finances, something will get more complex at some point. So how fast are you going to tap into gratitude whenever adversity comes? 

The most successful – and most positively framed people – have two phrases in their mind constantly on replay: 1) I’m grateful for it, and 2) I can figure it out. If you imprint those phrases in your mind, you can become unstoppable.  

The best way to reach people is with appreciation.

In his book What’s in it For Them?, Joe Polish argues that the key to great relationships is approaching every single person with a “what’s in it for them?” instead of a “what’s in it for me?” viewpoint. But then, to build a world-class network, you need to ask people for help and advice. There is a delicate balance to be made here. Asking someone for help is not a bad thing. However, calling people only when you need help is a bad thing. How do you ask someone for help and make them feel special but still retain your authority? 

Form strong relationships by delivering value

Oftentimes when we are busy, we stop investing in relationships. Sometimes, however, you need to appreciate the people in your network. Share a token of appreciation. Speak to them without asking them for help or advice. Everyone is being asked for something. But if you “ping them with love,” you will form life-long friends. If you deliver real value to someone, do it fast. The more open loops you have in your relationships, the more you will frustrate people. Don’t delay the conversation. Just close the loop. Be helpful, grateful, and valuable. People want to feel appreciated for their help or service. Being useful is giving the value that you promised to give someone. Being grateful is showing appreciation for the value someone provides. Being valuable is literally improving someone’s life. 

How social media plays into that

Social media kills a lot of our relationships. With the internet, we have answers to most of our questions. There are a lot of risks to depending on the internet so much. So what’s the solution? Whenever you search for an answer online, you must reach out to someone and ask for advice. Get into the habit of pinging people without asking for anything. If you send a text message to 5-10 people every day, letting them know you value and appreciate them, your entire life will start to change. 

…but don’t become a servant

The viewpoint of “What’s in it for them” can quickly put you into the position of a servant. Relationships should reflect your life priorities. It’s okay to simultaneously have a “what’s in it for me” and “what’s in it for them” viewpoint. While making sure you are valuable and share gratitude with others, don’t keep relationships where you are not appreciated in return. 

Be specific 

Most people don’t ask specific enough questions to get the attention of the people they want to connect with. A specific question shows that someone already has it in them to be successful. That’s how you make high-level connections: by articulating the questions specifically and showing humility by sharing your problems.

The Takeaway: Embedding Appreciation in your life 

Money doesn’t make you happy or unhappy. You make yourself happy through your fitness habits, relationships, morning rituals, etc. Your brain makes you happy or unhappy. It’s vital that at every single growth, you “hypnotize” yourself into being grateful and sharing appreciation. As you accumulate new things and meet new people, apply gratitude. Share your appreciation of the success and people in your life. Offer a token of appreciation to someone or something ever day. As you do that, over time, you start to reprogram your mind to approach each problem with gratitude. Chances are, if you appreciate everything around you, even when adversity occurs, you will still approach it with gratitude.