Gratitude

We're in December. 2009 is ending quickly. Are you having a bad year? If yes, then you may say, "2010 is going to be a good year." 2010 happens. It's another bad year because you do nothing to make 2010 a good year. You're hopeful, you have wishful thinking. That is an example of taking life for granted.

I took life for granted. I don't today. Most of my opportunities I earned were luck. Luck is not infinite. I must create opportunities. I must control my life. I must earn success and what I want in life. I must create luck.

There were many moments, events, and experiences I took for granted. Something bad happened to me. I hoped for something good to happen. Sometimes good did happen. That's taking life for granted.

Flashback to 2002 and 2003

2003 is the best example how I took life for granted. 2002 was a bad year. My manager who did nothing and my dumb-ass co-worker still worked in my company. The anime conventions I attended were terrible. I re-watched anime series too many times. I quit playing role playing games in 2001. I had extra time since I spent less time with my friends. I was lonely. I tried to teach myself JavaScript, Visual Basic, XML, and other programming language. All failed. 2002 was a bad year I said to myself, "2003 is going to be a good year." I didn't change my life nor planned how to make 2003 a good year.

Sep 2002 began the turnaround for a good 2003 year. I planned none of this. It just happened like fate, like chance, like luck, taking life for granted. First, my manager who did nothing was fired. Work became a happy place. Second, one of my co-workers introduced me to Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I started to read financial and business books during my extra spare time. Third, I watched the anime Spirited Away in the move theatre. I found new anime to watch thereafter. (Spirited Away won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Picture.) Fourth, my family and I and my uncle's family took a mini vacation to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles during Thanksgiving weekend. Fifth, I created an eBay account to buy and sell. I sold lots of junk.

I planned none of the five events above. All five events came to me. All five events gave me opportunities. Life gave me the opportunities. I didn't create the opportunities. I knew about Spirited Away days before the movie was released. The eBay just happened after I talked with my brother who had an eBay account.

2003 continued the momentum of unearned good luck and good moments that came to me. The economy started to recover. I continued to read business books. I continued to buy and sell on eBay. The anime conventions I attended were awesome. I watched new anime series. I went on family vacations to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, and San Diego. All of the 2003 activities and moments I had nothing to do with. They just came to my life; although, I planned one activity that was my new webpage www.innovateinfintely.com that went online on May 1, 2004. Other than my new webpage, I took life for granted. I expected good things to happen in my life and it did. What happened in 2004? 2004 was a bad year.

Life Is All Me

All my actions, all my choices, all my hard work, all my efforts, all my responsibilities, everything in my life I must learn, earn, make mistakes, and create action for a good life. A good life is not a guarantee; however, a bad life is a guarantee when I do nothing.

They say life somehow find ways to work itself out for the good. That's true if you do something to make your life work out for you positively and you actually do it.

I Continue To Find Myself Finding Raymond Mar