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       #Post#: 28--------------------------------------------------
       BLINDNESS TO BLESSINGS IMPAIRS OURINFLUENCE
       By: IMPACT360 Date: November 28, 2014, 4:51 am
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       An immigrant shopkeeper’s son came to see him
       one day. Observing the disorganization of his
       father’s shop, the son complained, “Dad, I don’t
       understand how you run this store. You keep your
       accounts payable in a cigar box. Your accounts
       receivable are on a spindle. All your cash is in the
       register. You never know what your profits are.”
       “Son, let me tell you something,” answered his
       dad. “When I arrived in this land all I owned was
       the pants I was wearing. Now your sister is an art
       teacher. Your brother is a doctor. You are a CPA.
       Your mother and I own a house and a car and this
       little store. Add that all up and subtract the pants
       and there is your profit.”
       Very few people fully fathom how far they have
       come in life, or are able to see the bountiful
       blessings right in front of them. Instead, people
       typically concentrate on life’s blemishes to the
       exclusion of its blessings. They focus on what they
       don’t have instead of being grateful for what
       they’ve been given. They worry about the road
       ahead instead of being thankful for the joys the
       journey of life has already brought them.
       Our personal growth is tied to our professions of
       gratitude. Why? Because what we appreciate,
       appreciates. When we express thanks to others for
       their support, they’re more likely to assist us in
       the future. People enjoy working with those who
       acknowledge their contribution and affirm their
       value. As you heap gratitude upon people, they’re
       motivated to help you even more. As Dan Sullivan
       and Catherine Nomura write, “Resources are drawn
       to where they are valued most. The world
       responds to gratitude by making more of
       everything we appreciate available to us.”
       Conversely, what we underappreciate atrophies.
       People are repelled from relationships where their
       effort goes unnoticed or routinely gets overlooked.
       No one wants to work where they feel invisible or
       ignored.
       Gratitude is the antidote to three deadly diseases
       that imperil a leader’s influence: pride, isolation,
       and selfishness. When we overstate our own
       importance, viewing our own hard work and
       wisdom as the sole source of our success, we
       devalue the support others have given us. On
       account of our arrogance, our relationships
       weaken, and we grow distant from others. On the
       other hand, when we thank people proactively,
       we’re reminded of our dependence on them and
       inspired to serve their needs instead of just
       expecting them to meet ours.
       As Henry Ward Beecher said, “a proud man is
       seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets
       what he deserves.” Conversely, a humble man is
       continually in awe that he gets to partake of the
       beauty of life and glad that he gets to share it with
       the ones he loves.
       PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
       What steps can you take to avoid being blind to
       the benefits and blessings around you?
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