The Four Essential Skills to be Happy

I know if you are reading this, you are a special kind of person. How do I know this? Because you are unique in the fact that you want to keep learning. That’s a rare thing in this world.

Today’s topic is especially important. Herein lies a simple way you can have success, balance, and the life you really want. In a moment, I am going to cover the four essential skills you need to have to attain happiness.

Talking about happiness from a guy who is renowned for making quite a few people rich and successful may seem strange; however the only real purpose of having money is to get a life and give a life. Money is there for you to have an amazing life, and hopefully, to help others have a better life. I mean if money doesn’t make you happy, then what’s the point?

Let me start by asking you this question: Will your education allow you to make money and find happiness?

 I was watching a documentary by a Cambridge graduate. He said that after years of study at university and school, he had concluded that he was still ill equipped for the real world. It had allowed him to find a better job, but not necessarily know what his ideal profession was or understand money. As he looked at his peers 10 years after university, he could find no difference in their level of wealth, happiness or relational success than many people without that level of education.

Having spoken to some big groups of people, I would routinely ask the audience, “How many of you felt that school equipped you with the skills to become financially successful?” Less than two per cent thought that it did. The other 98 per cent felt they were ill equipped for the real world.

When I was at school, I started up a business that reinforced our school straw hats by putting a thin coat of resin on them to increase their longevity. The school deemed this activity as “unseemly,” even though it actually saved the parents money.

 Rather than supporting my entrepreneurial mind set, they clamped down on this activity because it was outside their paradigm. To them, what was important was algebra and trigonometry, even though I have never used these in any of the successful businesses I have owned.

So, if you want to be happy what kind of skills do you need?

If you want to have an awesome life, there are “Four Lives” you must master. These four skills will ripple into every area of your life and touch everyone you meet.

 These four essential skills are:

1. Financial
2. Relational
3. Spiritual – Some might call these happiness or personal fulfilment skills.
4. Health

To have a life of balance, you have to have all four skills.

Why?

These skills will give you the ability to become financially free, have a relationship that nurtures you, attain peace and happiness, and maintain a good level of health and vitality.

I sometimes call these four lives, or four skills, “The Confusion Smasher.” If someone comes to me and says, “I am confused as to what my next step is in life,” my answer is invariably the same: Have a good look at your life and ask this question: “Which of these four lives is currently demanding more attention right now?”

If you listen, life will tell you what you are avoiding or what you should be doing.

The key word is: Listen!

Sometimes working longer and harder leads to less results! One important principle is to learn how to work smarter, not necessarily longer or harder. 

I am a big believer in taking several months’ holidays a year. When planning our year, my wife and I pencil in all the holidays first into our calendar. Then we work the business around that. This allows me the time to work on some of those other “lives.”

Another way of doing it is to spend time every day, even if it is just a brief period, working on some of your other lives.

What happens if you don’t have the life you really want? Here is the good news. It’s never too late to get the education you really need. Begin by asking yourself, “Which one of these four areas do I need to devote more time to?” Then, simply start to become more educated in that arena.

By Brendan Nichols

Brendan Nichols has the audacity to believe you should work a little for a lot and shows his clients how he averages three months holiday a year. He is financially independent and a best selling author, published by the giant publisher, Harper Collins. He has appeared in the media dozens of times and about a million people watched an exclusive ABC television documentary on him. He has trained tens of thousands of people, on three continents. He originally started from nothing and had several successful businesses before he was an educator. One of these businesses was a highly successful Real Estate project marketing company, where he launched major campaigns.Brendan’s specialty is showing you the steps to make more money and have an amazing life in the process.To get more information, go to www.brendannichols.com.