Smile, Success and Happy Growth

What does it mean to be successful and what is real  happy growth? What if it was a simple as a smile? If success was really as easy as putting a smile on our faces, why don’t we all just smile more?

How do we define success and happy growth if it does not involve putting a smile on your face… and putting a smile on other people’s faces?

We smile for happy growth

I have to admit, I’m one of those who used to think that success came with the massive bank balance, the fancy cars and the nice houses. If you told me to smile more, I’d have told you to get off the drugs and get serious about success. However, the reason I did not smile is because I was not happy with growth. There was always something more to do, something more to achieve – I was always so busy that I did not have the time to enjoy the fruits of my labour.

I’d see a young child run past me with the biggest smile on her face and I’d wish for a moment to be a kid again so I could smile and be carefree. I’d recall my younger days when I could smile and laugh without being burdened by responsibility. Of course, now I was too busy building my economic growth to be able to do that – at least that’s what I thought. I, like so many other people, believed that happiness came after “succeeding”. I had it backwards and I was about to learn the truth, the hard way.

In just a few months, I fell from being one of the top in my field to being nearly bankrupt and scrambling to make ends meet. I didn’t know if this was a natural part of every entrepreneur’s journey but all I knew was that I was down. So now I finally had some time on my hands, I finally had time to stop and think. As I did, I started to realise that I had been on a journey that was not giving me any joy of growth  or reason to be happy. I had not had a reason to smile in quite a while. Sure, I felt good and I smiled whenever I landed a great deal or made a massive sale or when someone cracked a joke, but that sense of happiness quickly faded away.

Then things changed. I woke up early and smiled at the beauty of the sunrise, I smiled as I watched the birds go hunting for worms, I smiled as I took a deep breath of fresh air as the wind brushed my face, I smiled at the little kids who ran past me down the street with so much joy, I smiled as I started teaching orphans and children who all can not afford private tuition. I started teaching kids and girls free of cost. I started talking with kids for their economic growth I smiled with kids and girls to help them in their economic growth.The amazing thing was the joy they felt at hearing from me put an even bigger smile on my face. As time went by, my challenges remained and I still did not know exactly what the next chapter of my life would entail but I was happier than I had been when I was at the top. I was smiling more than ever before and I just felt like I could handle anything for happy growth. For me waking up every day, being grateful for having a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in was something to smile about. Every morning as I woke up, I smiled with gratitude at the day ahead. I decided that in the new chapter of my life, success was going to begin with a smile.

Today I am more successful, by the accepted rules of success, than I ever have been. However, I remember the great lesson the Universe taught me; that success begins with a smile. The amazing thing is that with my new mindset of waking up looking for new things to smile about, I am naturally happy. I am in a better frame of mind and a better physical state – and as a result I am more productive and achieving goals faster than ever before. I am still amazed at how choosing to smile and being happy first leads to greater growth and ultimately longer term success.  I am enjoying my work more and I am often seen with a smile on my face. Why? Because I can smile and because I want to smile. Do we really need any other reason?