Abundance is, in large part, an attitude.

Sue Patton Thoele

Living an abundant life is everyone’s dream. We all want to live a prosperous life where we can be happy and fulfilled. While it may seem difficult for some people, in reality we already have what it takes to live an abundant life. As the quote above says, the most important ingredient for abundance is attitude and your attitude is something you can control.

With that in mind, here are nine tips to help you live an abundant life:

1. Have abundance mentality

Abundance mentality says that there is enough for everyone, so someone else’s gain is not your loss. This is the opposite of scarcity mentality which says that there is only a fixed amount of reward so someone else’s gain is your loss.

By having abundance mentality, you won’t feel envy when someone else succeeds. You know that you can have your own success.

2. Be grateful for what you have

More than anything else, being abundant is about how you see life. Some people may have everything but they still feel poor. Some other may have fewer but they feel abundant. You need to look at what you already have and be grateful for them instead of complaining for things you don’t have. Some people need to go through painful loss before they can appreciate what they have. Don’t let that happen to you. Here are some things to be grateful for.

3. Smile

I know it sounds simple, but smiling is an easy way to change the tone of your day. Even if your day doesn’t go as good as expected, you can always choose to respond positively. By smiling you are sending a positive message to yourself and others that you are a winner in life.

4. Start your days right

How you start your days greatly influences how they will be. That’s why you should make sure that you start your days right. While only you can define how to start your days right, here are some ideas:

Rise early

Get out of the bed right away

Meditate or pray

Exercise

5. Prepare yourself for opportunities

The way you use opportunities that come your way matters a great deal. Those who know how to best use opportunities will advance faster in life than those who don’t.

The first thing you should do is preparing yourself for opportunities so that you are ready when they come. Here are some things you can do to prepare for opportunities:

Know your strengths

The opportunities you get could be unexpected, but most likely they’re related to your strengths. So it’s essential that you know what your strengths are. Books like Now, Discover Your Strengths and StrengthsFinder 2.0 have tests that can help you identify your strengths.

The opportunities you get could be unexpected, but most likely they’re related to your strengths. So it’s essential that you know what your strengths are. Books like Now, Discover Your Strengths and StrengthsFinder 2.0 have tests that can help you identify your strengths. Develop your skills

After identifying your strengths, you should develop skills that are relevant to them. See 7 Essential Tips for Developing Skills for more on it.

After identifying your strengths, you should develop skills that are relevant to them. See 7 Essential Tips for Developing Skills for more on it. Be observant

Open your eyes and your ears. Be on the lookout for opportunities. The best opportunities are those that are overlooked by others.

6. Make the most out of every opportunity

Once you have an opportunity, explore the full extent of it. Don’t let it pass half-used. Is there other ways to use it? Can you combine it with something you already have to create something new? Can it open related opportunities?

7. Build friendships along the way

Relationships give you a lot of joy in life. It’s through relationships that you love and be loved. Furthermore, you can get the help you need from your network of friends. 106 Tips to Become a Master Connector has some tips you might find useful.

8. Build upon what you’ve built

The easiest way to achieve greater things in life is to build upon what you’ve built. Rather than starting again from scratch, leverage what you already have to jump to the next level.

This applies to many aspects of life. For example:

You can apply for a better job based on the resume you’ve built.

You can cross promote a new business to the customers of your existing businesses.

You can find new connections through the network of friends you have.

9. Enjoy your life

Living an abundant life means you should be able to enjoy your life now without waiting for something big in the future. You don’t need certain amount of money or certain level of success to be happy. You can be happy right now with what you have. Read 30 Simple Ways to Enjoy Life for some ideas on how to enjoy life.