POSITIVE ADDICTION #4: RELENTLESS PRAYER, GRATITUDE, AND FORGIVENESS

Isaiah 40:30-31 is my favorite Bible passage. It gives me great comfort. It gives me faith. But most importantly, it gives me energy:

                Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

                And the young men shall utterly fall,

                But those who wait on the Lord

                Shall renew their strength;

                They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

                They shall run and not be weary,

                They shall walk and not faint.

                —Isaiah 40:30–31, New Living Translation

Whenever I’m feeling down, I read that passage. Even youths are weary, but with God’s strength, anyone can run like the wind! Then I stand up to my challenges, mount up with wings like eagles, and run through any obstacle or roadblock standing in my way. This verse is the power of RELENTLESS personified.

That’s the whole point of this specific “Positive Addiction.” No man is superman. No human is superhuman. We all need help. We all need a boost of energy and faith now and then.

We all need a team to support us. I am a firm believer that God is that team. God gives us each the horsepower of a Ferrari! When we need strong shoulders to hold our problems and stress, God gives us the shoulders of ten thousand bodybuilders. Faith is the foundation of success.

I’m here to tell you how important prayer and gratitude are to my success and how I use both to improve my wellbeing. But if you are an atheist or nonbeliever, don’t fear. Don’t skip this section. I was born Jewish and became a born-again Christian. But that’s my personal faith. I’m not here to preach any one faith—although I can testify about the strength, energy, and passion I’ve enjoyed since taking Jesus Christ as my savior.

But I find much inspiration in the writings of many different religious leaders throughout time. I want every reader of this book to enjoy the power of faith—no matter your religion. In the end, faith and prayer are both really an extension of positive thinking.

Prayer is really (at its simplest) meditation (with God). It is affirmation and visualization. It is exercise (of your mind and your faith). It is the perfect holistic, organic diet (of positive thought). It is perfection. It is team-building. It is a synergistic combination of everything in my “Positive Addictions” . . . and everything I believe in.

Read on.

Prayer is about faith in something greater than yourself. Gratitude—or thanksgiving, if you like—is about thanks and acknowledgement to God for the blessings in your life.

As we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 . . . Few things can change our lives more than turning our complaining into thanksgiving: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you . . . .”

Sounds like the Bible has much in common with the section of this book where I preach “hitting and pitching . . . instead of bitching!”

The key words here are “in everything give thanks.” Prayer is my anchor. It is the root (excuse the pun) of my passion, energy, enthusiasm, positive attitude, confidence, tenacity . . . and of course, it is my power of RELENTLESS.

My personal faith in God inspires me and motivates me. It gives me confidence in knowing I’m not alone. My shoulders simply could NOT carry the weight all by themselves.

How do I know this for a fact? Because all the truly great things in my life happened only after I developed a deep faith in God. A whole new world was opened to me. My faith inspires me to believe in miracles; to make the impossible, possible; to move mountains; and to ignore critics and the limitations set by naysayers.

I firmly believe no man is an island. We all need support and help. If two heads are better than one, having God on your team is . . . INFINITY.

A faith in God reduces stress and fear, and with fear out of the way, creativity comes alive.

Perhaps most of all, prayer makes me happy. It is the ultimate extension of positive thinking (a.k.a. RELENTLESS OPTIMISM). No matter how low my mood, prayer lifts it. That’s why for me, spiritual wealth has led to material wealth.

But that was all opinion. Now I will interject scientific studies that prove the power of prayer. Prayer does more than lift your spirits. It heals your body and keeps you healthy—and I can prove it.

A 2012 Duke University study by the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health found a strong spiritual belief led to a healthier, happier, longer life.1

The researchers examined 1500 medical studies and found that prayer not only prevents sickness, but also promotes faster healing. Those stating they were faithful believers were found to have stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure than the general population.

A 2006 University of Texas study showed the more you go to church, the longer you live.2 And not just a little. The study found a seven-year difference between those who never attended and those who were weekly church-goers.

Dozens of scientific studies connect faith in God and regular church attendance with success; stability in marriage, family, and parental responsibilities; and societal well-being.³

Here’s where you might say, “Okay Wayne, you’ve convinced me. How do I incorporate this specific “Positive Addiction” into my everyday schedule and life?”

Again, it is very simple, easy, and straightforward:

PRAYER: I pray daily, not for specific things (although I have been known to do that), but for continued good health, happiness and blessings for myself and my family, and then simply for God to inspire me to make the right decisions and be the best person I can possibly be. To make sure I do it, I make prayer part of my morning TRIAD. That way it is “scheduled” each and every day.

GRATITUDE: Every morning, usually on my walk, I think of five to ten blessings in my life to be grateful for and thank God for them. Just the act of coming up with all these wonderful blessings puts me in a fabulous positive mood to start the day. Who wouldn’t be positive when focusing your energy on the great blessings in your life?

FORGIVENESS: Forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with gratitude. Several times a week, usually on my walk, I think of people who have wronged me, or disrespected me, or offended me; people who have caused me pain; people who have cheated me; people who I harbor anger or ill feelings towards; and I forgive them unconditionally.

This breakthrough in my life was triggered by the incredible book Unbroken about the life of legendary World War II prisoner-of-war Louis Zamperini. It was later made into a hit movie, also called Unbroken.

Zamperini’s story was so remarkable . . . the pain, torture and near-death experiences he suffered so tragic . . . yet he eventually chose to forgive his Japanese tormentors. That forgiveness allowed Zamperini to go onto live a wonderful, blessed life and live to the ripe old age of ninety-seven. We all need to learn to forgive. When I forgive the people that wrong me, I feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. Forgiveness produces freedom.

THOUGHTFULNESS: I keep notes and at least once or twice a week I send cards, notes with photos, personal thanks, wisdom, or great sayings to brighten someone’s day.

There’s even a fantastic company that allows anyone to do that with ease. It’s my wife Debra Root’s business, and it’s called SENDOUTCARDS. They do all the work for you. They have cards for any and every occasion in your personal life. Plus cards for every business occasion (or any other reason you can think of). They even have cards created for each profession—cards just for doctors, lawyers, dentists, realtors, stockbrokers, etc. You go online, produce the card in minutes, they stamp it, address it and send it out from their facility. What a great idea!

But I haven’t told you the best part. SENDOUTCARDS not only does all the work, they make it remarkably inexpensive. I send out thousands of cards at a fraction of the cost if I did it myself. Each Christmas or holiday I simply create one card, press a key on my computer, and over 1,000 cards go out all at once. It’s that easy. I never stuff them, close them, or stamp them.

How successful is SENDOUTCARDS? This company is now the #1 customer of the U.S. Postal Service in the world. The U.S.P.S. has its own annex inside the corporate offices of SENDOUTCARDS! Kudos to Debra Root. I guess RELENTLESS runs in the family.

This is the perfect way to congratulate, thank, and show gratitude and appreciation to all your business associates, clients, and partners (not to mention friends and family). SENDOUTCARDS is a valuable business tool in my success arsenal.

You can register for SENDOUTCARDS here: new.sendoutcards.com/147164.

BIBLE READING: I read Bible passages anytime I need a boost of energy, faith, or confidence. Some people drink booze . . . some do drugs . . . some reach for a cup of coffee. I reach for prayer, or a Bible passage. I highly recommend it.

TITHING: I tithe—as God asks us all to do. I donate a generous portion of my income to good causes. My favorite charities and their contact information can be found in “POSITIVE ADDICTION #9: RELENTLESS CHARITY.”

As I end this section I want to share one more of my favorite prayers. I read it aloud every morning, and it has given me great peace, strength, faith, energy and of course, the power of RELENTLESS:

          And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                  —Romans 8:38–39, New Living Translation