Have you ever noticed how life throws surprises at people? One person may see the surprise as a gift and embrace the chance to move through it. Another person may have the same experience and see it as a royal pain in the rear – something almost that life is punishing them with.

We have a choice. We can decide to live with a prosperity consciousness knowing that our life is joyful, rich, wonderful, prosperous and loving. Or, we can decide to play the victim with a poverty consciousness that is full of lack, limitation, and a life that is never enough.

When I went to my son’s graduation in Oregon, I had a chance to experience the extremes. Whenever I need to go to the airport, I use the same driver. Well, this particular time, my driver wasn't available and I had to use a different one. I spent 40 minutes on the way to LAX with a man who did nothing but complain and find fault with everything and everyone. He complained about the business their company had lost as a result of SARS and the war. Then he complained about having to work so hard since business has picked up. It was clear that nothing made this man happy – he almost reeked a miserable perfume. The weather was clear, bright, and sunny, but he was missing the entire scenery and the beauty of the moment because he was consumed with his own limited vision, a poverty consciousness frame of mind.

When I arrived in Portland, I was blessed with a shuttle driver who had an amazing perspective. He had been born in Nigeria and was sent to a refugee camp in Kenya. He described the conditions but didn’t dwell on them. What he really spoke about with such passion was the gift he received in being sponsored to come to the United States, the chance to live with his wife and three children, and the transitions in his eleven years since he’d been here. He worked for five years in a copy shop, drove a cab for six years, and then switched to driving a shuttle because his quality of life improved. “It’s like a rebirth” he said to me. “Everyone is so nice, so calm, so peaceful, so courteous, so considerate, so giving, and so loving.” This man was a joy to be around and I could see that his life was prospering. A 25 minute ride became a 2 and 1/2 hour trip as we rode through an incredible storm of ice and hail, accidents and closed roads, but this man never once became upset or complained. He is clearly living with an abundance and prosperity consciousness.

Each man is living the life he is creating with his thoughts. And, like these men, we can choose to live a life that is a dream or a nightmare. It’s all in our perspective and what we choose to focus on.

We have opportunities to grow in life. That’s a given. Our attitude about what happens in life and the way we respond is what really counts!

If you find yourself stuck with a limiting belief or negative self-talk, choose to reframe your view and see things from a different perspective. Develop a prosperity consciousness. Take off the blinders that you’ve been wearing and make a decision to see life from a wider vista. Let go of the “I can’ts” and grab on to the “I cans” in life. Let go of the fear and grab on to the faith that each moment leads you to a wondrous experience. Make a conscious decision to see the gifts, the joy, the opportunities to become even more in your life – more of what you came here to be.

Make a decision to live each day with a prosperity consciousness so you can receive all that is rich, wonderful, prosperous and joyful.

Stand up and declare that you choose a life that is full of peace, love, courtesy, consideration, generosity, and love. And when you go to Portland, choose the shuttle.