Sometimes, it's tough to be grateful. I mean come on, the   economy's in the toilet, people you know have lost their jobs, businesses or maybe even their homes, and we're supposed to give thanks? It may take a bit of a mindset shift to realize that being grateful and having gratitude is exactly what you need right now.

As a forward thinking entrepreneur, a visionary, a dreamer, an over-achiever, you may have trained yourself to never be satisfied with the status quo. Never content. Always striving for something better. I can relate, because I'm talking to myself here. No matter what I accomplish in life, no matter what I look forward to, I always seem to set new, higher goals and have more lofty aspirations for myself as time goes by.

It's hard to sit back, pause, and actually assess how far you've come or what blessings you've received when you are in the day-to-day fight of achievement. I want to challenge you to do exactly this - here's the kicker - at least once per week. As time moves by, try to get to the point where you pause and focus on your gratitude every single day. What? Take time out of my busy, hectic, stressful daily grind to be grateful daily? Are you kidding me? Yep, there's a good reason for this.

Being grateful gives you POWER.

See, when you're always focused on lack, or what you don't have, or what you have not yet accomplished, or how better off other people are than you, you are operating in a state of 'limited thinking'. The mind itself and and your thoughts alone are creative in nature, and if you are always thinking about what you don't have, then your mind is working against it's natural creative powers.

If, on the other hand, you excercise thoughts of thankfulness and gratefulness, you'll begin to tap into a power storehouse of energy that will catapult your life into accomplishing goals that you never thought would would happen.

Start with one 10 minute session per week. Block it off on your daily organizer and make it happen no matter what. I suggest doing it on Sunday night, as you are winding down. You've had a good weekend with your family, hopefully enjoying some of what fruits your labor during the previous week have provided to you, and your mind should be in a perfect place for this exercise.

Think about basic things, and actually focus on the fact that you are grateful that you have them. Start with clean drinking water. A bathroom in your home. Several hot meals of food per day. A roof over your head - sure it's not your dream home yet, but you're on a journey - give thanks for what you have now. Think about the schools and teachers your children have access to. Think about the parks and pools and sports activities you engage in weekly. Think about the health club with all the flat screen TV's and the air conditioning.

These are all basic things that we all take for granted. Then start tapping into the special things you have that you've worked for. Your vehicle, your vacation spot. Your friends, family, the list goes on.

Once you realize how blessed you really are right now here at this point in time, you're brain will begin to work wonders for you. Goals and dreams will begin to happen. It's actually your subconscious mind that will begin to manifest situations, business introductions, and people will begin to appear in your life as if some magical force was there guiding them at the perfect time and place.

Try it out and see what happens in your life when you exercise some thoughts of gratitude!