By Mark Andrew Beach
Since the newness of the new year is still lingering, I felt it appropriate to write more about ‘resolutions’ and goal setting, even though you can follow this process at anytime during any year. In light of this desire, I think it is important to address two key ideas about putting one’s life in order. It starts with a life vision, which is another topic altogether. So in this article, I am going to focus on personal creeds.
By now, most readers have figured out that there is no “one” secret to success and prosperity, but in fact, there are many facets to a successful body just as there are many facets to a beautiful diamond. Metaphorically speaking, are we not all diamonds in the rough? So to begin this process, I recommend that you consider preparing a personal creed.
What is a creed? It is a statement of declarations of believes. In fact, the root word of creed means belief. These beliefs or creed may be put into an affirmation format and reviewed and listened to, everyday, so as to make them a part of your life.
I have written and recorded my personal life vision, but in this case, I am inserting a personal creed into it so that it is something that becomes a part of me. When a person develops a formal creed for their life and lives it as fully as they can, they develop another character trait (diamond facet) called integrity. To me integrity means that your inner life and your viewable outer life are congruent.
So what does a creed look like? This past week I studied the creed of a great and honorable man by the name of George Albert Smith. Even though he wrote his creed over one hundred years ago, I was so impressed by it, I am adopting it for my own, with little modification. Here it is:
1) “I would be a friend to the friendless and find joy in ministering to the needs of the poor.”
I think the operative term in this declaration is to ‘find joy’ in helping those in need. Of course, finding joy is a personal choice of mine as I go about helping others. I choose to be happy and joyful, it is not something that just happens.
2) “I would visit the sick and afflicted and inspire in them a desire for faith to be healed.”
I really like the clause that focuses those in bad health on inspiring in them a desire to have the faith to be healed. Since all of us know what it feels like to be sick and how helpless that can make us and those around us feel, being inspired to want to have the faith to get well sounds very comforting.
3) “I would teach the truth to the understanding and blessing of all mankind.”
There are many areas in our lives that need truth. In the area of prosperity and abundance, there is truth and there is error. There is truth and error in all areas of our lives, whether it is religion, relationships, health, or other sciences. We all have a purpose for being on this planet and that purpose in all likelihood contains a message of truth. It is important to find your purpose, your message and get it out to the world. Therein, lies another secret to your success and abundance; the value of your life.
4) “I would seek out the erring one and try to win him back to a righteous and happy life.”
Again, this re-enforces what I mentioned above. Within the realms of the truth of our unique messages, we can recover those in that realm from error and win them back into a truthful existence.
5) “I would not force people to live up to my ideals but rather love them into doing the thing that is right.”
Building upon the previous two tenants, we should never undermine the free-will of others in an effort to bring them to truth. I am impressed by the statement that ‘love’ is what wins people over. That definitely places us on a creative plane (an abundance mindset) when building wealth and success, as opposed to a competitive plane (a scarcity mindset).
6) “I would live with the masses and help solve their problems that their earth life may be happy.”
This statement again, reflects a love for all people, but more so, it reflects an attitude, that one is not better than another, as well as a willingness to rub shoulders with the ‘salt of the earth’, common people, rather than hob-nob with the elite. It speaks to a philosophy that lifting up others is the key to lifting one self and that by that means all boats rise with the tide.
7) “I would avoid the publicity of high positions and discourage the flattery of thoughtless friends.”
Notice, it does not say avoid high positions, it says avoid the publicity that often accompanies them. In other words, it means to avoid the lime light, nor be quick to take the credit. It means to promote others, and not seek or curry the favor of other people.
8) “I would not knowingly wound the feelings of any, not even one who may have wronged me, but would seek to do him good and make him my friend.”
This declaration will be the hardest one for me to live completely. In the business world, there are so many who deliberately seek to hurt others on the competitive plane because they see their success as a zero-sum game. Which means, that if you win; they must, by their own faulty logic lose. They will not see the possibilities of win-win solutions. While this attitude is a false one, it leads to many people hurting others on purpose. We have all been a victim of such false and hurtful people in our lives. The objective is to not retaliate in a like manner. This is hard not to do so, but when we are successful at forgiving others who have hurt us in this way, we ourselves become greater, as well as fully compensated in some other form. Moreover, to seek to make them our friend after they have hurt us? Wow! Think of the implications of that one during meditation some time.
9) “I would overcome the tendency to selfishness and jealousy and rejoice in the successes of all the children of my Heavenly Father.”
This is another difficult concept for those who live on the competitive plane, not so, for those living in the creative plane. For me, I am always happy for others when they succeed. I am never jealous or covet their wealth or prosperity. I seek them out to sincerely congratulate them and find out how they did it, so that I may genuinely learn from them, for they, by their success, become my teacher.
10) “I would not be an enemy to any living soul.”
I am an enemy to no one, because I wish no ill will on anyone. I would that everyone be successful and happy. I seek to see others as God sees them. What I mean by this, is that as certain as I am that God loves me, I know that he loves all His children, His creations just the same. So I seek to see/love others, as God would have me love. I cannot have an enemy if I am diligent in this loving effort.
11) “Knowing that the Redeemer of mankind has offered to the world the only plan that will fully develop us and make us really happy here and hereafter, I feel it not only a duty but also a blessed privilege to disseminate this truth.”
Many people believe that the laws of success are not linked to the very laws of creation. They attempt to remove the Creator from the process. I am committed to including my God – my Creator – in learning the laws of success and creation. In sharing this with the world, I consider this my mission, my purpose and a divine privilege.
So here is my new personal creed. It has been a joy to reflect on these principles and to add them to my life vision. I hope as you think about your life this new year, that you will reflect on your mission, your life’s purpose, your message to the world. As you seek this out and make it a part of your life, it will support and sustain you. It will provide for you spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially, if you let it.
For more on this topic, click here to read Hidden Treasures: Heaven’s Astonishing Help with Your Money Matters FREE.
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- I Got Confused - January 11, 2012
- Get a Creed - January 11, 2012
- Get to Work! - January 2, 2012
