The Pursuit of Happiness

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

• Declaration of Independence
  

The Pursuit of Happiness

There I sat. I was on one side of the table and my coach was on the other side. She's helping me to reach the "next level" in my business and my life. This process always takes commitment. But, this time it's different. She's asking me to abandon at least one of my hard core beliefs; "I have to work hard to be successful."

I've always prided myself on my work ethic. I've even focused on teaching my daughters that if they'll work hard and smart they'll find great success in their lives. Oh-oh! What if they find out their Poppy just thought he knew what is was doing all these years!

Here's the thing, I'm battling with myself here, what if I can have a hugely successful business, lots of leisure time, long vacations and wonderful relationships at the same time? What if?!

Well, I'm entertaining the thought and beginning to see evidence that it's true! Perhaps the greatest inspiration came to me this week as I was contemplating the Declaration of Independence as my guide to personal freedom. I read the words "pursuit of happiness" over and over again. Then I thought, "what if Thomas Jefferson meant me?"

I looked in the mirror and wondered how Thomas Jefferson became the man he was. "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Why weren't they so self-evident to me?

Then it came to me as if in a flash of intelligence, he did mean me. And, he meant you as well! Then I began to contemplate the miracle of the American Dream. It is that each one of us is endowed by our "Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

In this regard, I spoke with a friend of mine from India and she said, "That's why I came here." Her comments gave me new insight.

Another miracle of the American Dream is that it is universal, "equal," to all Americans. It doesn't matter what your background or race is. Up to now, it hasn't even mattered if I understood it fully. It's always applied to me and you. Thank goodness we can pursue our own dreams, in our own way and in our own time!

Self-evident; let's go out today and find evidence that our dreams are still within our grasp. Let's declare independence from the shackles of our old thoughts. Let's pursue happiness in ways that will leave us healthy, wealthy and wise.