I would like to start this booklet off with a personal letter I
wrote to somebody I love dearly. I want her to step back
and look at the broad picture. I want her to get out of her
own way. I want her to be happy.
Dear _______,
I know your life isn’t what you had in mind for yourself.
You thought you would have more, and be more by now.
You try and try, with all of your might, pushing yourself
and what seems to be forcing your ideas and ideals on
others. Why won’t they just hear you? Can’t they see that
you only want the best for them?
It is time to take the pressure off of you. It’s time to give
to others so they will be in a better place in their lives.
That is what you want – for people to have a better life.
Allow me to remind you of an age-old action. One that
builds your karmic bank. An idea that ultimately will
benefit you; but it does so indirectly. Some people call it
being a good person. Others call it random acts of
kindness. I prefer to call it, “Paying it Forward”.
When you pay it forward, you do something selfless for
another person. You only hold the hope in your heart that
they will, in turn, pay it forward to somebody else and the
chain of goodness will continue.
You want happiness to surround you. You want success
for other people. Start giving that to others in a different
way. A way that you have not yet tried. Start giving that
happiness and success to others by paying it forward.
You will be amazed at how great it makes you feel.
Deepest Love,
Erin
You might be reading this and wonder what “Paying it
Forward” has to do with your own happiness. Friend, I am
here to tell you that it has everything to do with your
happiness.
It is something that cannot be explained.
It must be experienced.
But before we get further into how to pay it forward, let’s
talk about something else first.
Being happy with who you are.
You simply must get rid of the things in your life that are
dragging you down! Make room for the things that light
up your life. Do this. Right away. Life is too short to
continue living a life that leaves no time for who you are as
a being.
When you are happy with who you are, paying it forward
will come so much more naturally.
Want an example?
Let’s say that you have such a tender place in your heart
for homeless animals. Every time you walk into the pet
store and they are just waiting to be adopted, you hope
your highest hope that they will soon find a good home.
You look into their eyes and you can feel their loneliness –
you just want to take all of them home.
You have just come up with a plan at home that will free
up some of your time. Wonderful! Now, you can adopt
one of these pets to fill that time with something that
makes you happy!
Now, let’s take it a step further and pay it forward. You
know what makes you happy, so reaching out to those
animals will not be a “chore” whatsoever.
You decide to volunteer at the local pet shelter. When you
can devote time to the animals there, you light up and
time flies by without you even noticing. You know, that by
giving them the special attention that they deserve, you
are enhancing their lives if even for a moment. Spending
this time with them brings you such happiness at a deep
level.
After you have spent a few weeks volunteering at the pet
shelter, you realize what they are missing. They need
more interaction, more food, more treats, more, more and
more! You decide to do something about it.
You gather a few other volunteers and have a fundraiser
for the shelter so these pets can have more of what they
need.
You hold the fundraiser and guess what – you just paid it
forward. The wonderful animals won because you just got
them all kinds of goodies that will make their stay at the
shelter more comfortable; and you have won because you
have done something that lit up your Spirit. (And when
your Spirit lights up… wonderful things happen!)
So what if you are like so many people and just don’t know
what makes you happy?
It’s time to take an inventory of YOU.
Do these things to help you figure out where your true happiness lies:
1. What do you have a lot of around your home?
Books? Collectables (what kind)? Cooking
instruments? Bicycles? Items you want to repair?
Craft items just waiting to be crafted? Take a look
and you will get clues as to what is important to
you.
2. What is your prized possession? Pen and paper? A
camera? A guitar? Your family tree? Books?
When you identify the one thing that means a lot
to you, you will have clue number two.
3. What do people always ask you about? “When
people have a question about ________, they
always call me.” Plain and simple – clue number 3
is something that people can count on you for. If
you know a lot about it – it must be important to
you.
4. What do you find yourself always talking about? If
you talk a lot about it – you have clue number 4.
(Note: if it is something negative, flip it around to
the opposite.)
5. What did you want to “grow up to be” when you
was a kid? Kids are so stinkin’ smart. As we get
older, we tend to let society dictate what we are
going to become. Recall what the smart you – the
kid you wanted to become in life. That’s clue
number 5.
6. What did you play with when you was a kid? Same
premise here. Clue number 6 lies in your playtime
as a child.
Did you find a common theme? Perhaps you found a few
things! If they can be combined – great! If not –
wonderful! That just means you have a variety of options
to make you happy!
Here is the super simple method to find out what makes
you happy and how to explode your happiness level:
1. Clear your physical and time clutter.
2. Do what makes you happy.
3. Find a way to help others in the area that makes
you happy.
That’s it. Honest.
True happiness doesn’t come from how much money you
have, where you live, or what kind of car you drive.
True happiness comes from being true to who
you are and helping others.
Seriously.
You won’t know it until you try it – and I am willing to bet
you have tried a lot of things in order to be happy. It’s
amazing how many people simply aren’t happy.
Look within yourself for your happiness, and then find a
way to pay that happiness forward.
You just have to do it to understand it.
Here is a secret. That letter at the beginning of this book?
It was to myself. I wrote it before we (my family and I)
started the website/contest: PayitForwardContest.com. (I
actually wrote it because I was really sad and mad at
myself.)
It is because of that letter that we have created something
that is so huge and helpful all the way around.
Quickly – our story. We need to move, but because of the
housing market, we would lose our shirts if we sold our
house the traditional way.
SO
We are holding a contest where people write in and tell us,
in 200-300 words, how they want to pay it forward in
today’s society.
It costs $104 to enter – and that is a deal because when
you enter, you automatically receive over $300 worth of
free downloads (eBooks, music MP3’s, hypnosis MP3’s,
coupons, etc…) That is way #1 we are paying it forward.
Way #2 we are paying it forward, is if we reach our
maximum of 10,000 entries, we will send back $65,000 to
entrants – randomly!
Way #3 we are paying it forward is that the top 10 entries
will be eligible to receive a free consultation to take their
idea to the streets with little to no money out of their
pockets.
Way #4 we are paying it forward is the winner gets to
choose if they want our HOUSE or $20,000. Huge, right?
I truly hope you enter the contest. It is a win-win all the
way around.
Pay it Forward ! Share the contest info on your social
media and with your real-life friends!
PayitForwardContest.com
Facebook.com/PayitForwardContest
Twitter.com/PayitForwardWin
PayitForwardContest.Tumblr.com
We can't help everyone, but
everyone can help someone.
~Ronald Reagan