INTRODUCTION

There was a time in my life when I felt the opposite of abundant. I was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and my meager paycheck barely paid for all the monthly bills that I had amassed. In fact, I often borrowed money from one credit card to pay the monthly payment for one of my other cards. If you’d asked me how I felt, I would have told you I felt like there was an enormous, crushing weight on my shoulders all the time.

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And if you’d asked me about abundance, I would have told you that abundance was for other people. I wasn’t born into a wealthy family, I didn’t know wealthy people, and I didn’t have parents who modeled financially healthy decisions. My parents were always in deep debt, and I ended up just like them. Abundance? I had no concept of what that even meant.

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If you’d asked me what I wanted most, I would have told you that I wanted a million dollars, to pay off all my debt, to buy a house (instead of renting a tiny studio apartment), to finally get a car, to be able to help my parents financially, and to donate to some charities. That’s as specific as I would have been. How much money did I actually need to become debt-free? I didn’t actually know, because I hated looking at my bills.

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Long story short, life got harder and harder. Eventually I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was thinking of declaring bankruptcy, like some of my relatives had done. However, I had seen firsthand that though bankruptcy seemed like a short-term good solution, the long-term effects created different difficulties. What to do?

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I started reading books on abundance and prosperity. The ideas in those books made sense. They often focused on changing attitudes and beliefs about money. Some of them also had specific tips on what to do with money. I began to implement those ideas, and that’s when things began to change.

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One of the most surprising ideas I encountered is that abundance isn’t solely about money. What?! I was so focused on my (lack of) wealth that I couldn’t fathom abundance in any form besides money. But I kept reading and learning and taking positive steps. And things began to change. Some things changed quickly, and some changed more slowly, but change was happening. As things started to improve, I began to realize that the books were right: abundance was a concept, not a thing. And I didn’t have to wait for abundance to come my way before I could begin feeling abundant. Not to sound too woo-woo, but abundance began internally, as a mind-set, long before I could see the external results.

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Those ideas changed my life, and I’m excited to share them with you here.

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This book isn’t meant to solve all of your abundance issues. But it can be a bright light on the path to experiencing more richness in life. Read each idea, and try each of the practices. Do so with an open and curious attitude. Don’t tell everyone you know that you’re doing it, especially people who can tend to be negative. Just take time every day to read a little bit of this book, and then put the ideas into practice as best you can.

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One thing to consider: Every journey has moments of success, and a few stumbles as well. If you hit a roadblock or a new challenge, don’t lose heart. Double down on these ideas, and keep moving forward. Those who persevere are rewarded for their efforts. If you do something halfheartedly, you will receive halfhearted results. But if you move forward with enthusiasm and commitment, you’ll have results that match.

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Your journey of abundance is your own. You are 100 percent responsible for your own life and your own experience. It is my sincere hope that this book can be one of many positive forces that will help bring you greater abundance in your life.


Copyright © 2020 by St. Martin’s Press