This image is the sunrise at the ‘Ashridge Business School’ captured earlier this month during my quarterly stay there. I consider this my spiritual home that nourishes my soul as I pursue my doctoral studies. This is a place that helps me grow towards my fullest potential, giving me real inner happiness during the process.

 Perhaps you are one of those people who is always tasting success and living happily. Perhaps you are one who observes others in this way of living. Perhaps you are one who is searching for the ‘how’ to achieve such a state of life. This blog is designed to discuss how such a state of life can be achieved.

While there could be millions of ways of making sense of success and happiness, my personal belief is that success comes from improving in areas that are purposeful to me. I am refereeing to action that is driven by a higher purpose as I keep on my quest to make sense of what that higher purpose is. Happiness is what I experience when I am in the process of improving in areas important to me.

What is important to me is my purpose that helps me to be of service to the world and thereby helping me to provide a comfortable and purposeful life for my family and me. This requires me to improve my spirituality that gives me peace of mind, and improves my brain, which helps me learn and teach, improve my body, which helps me act effectively and efficiently, improve my relationships, which provides the love to live purposefully, improve my emotions to be in joy, improve my finances to help fund my purpose and improve the use of my time choosing to do purposeful work.

While the above life style helps me succeed in important areas for me and derive happiness it also generate positive energy. Part of that positive energy is what we absorb from the universal energy system. Therefore when we become members of the ‘sunrise clan’(those who wake with the sunrise), we absorb the energy of the rising sun. When we spend the first few minutes in meditation, contemplating on our purpose, visualising a purposeful living during the day and exercises, we absorb the energy of the universe. When we spend the first 60 to 90 minutes focusing our attention on the most purpose-enhancing activities that was planned for the year (please refer to my previous blog post: Gearing up for a Fruitful 2017), we use the energy absorbed already, absorb more energy from the universe and generate positive energy for the universe.

This requires us going to sleep before 11 pm so that we get 6 to 8 hours of sleep required for our body’s rejuvenation. Spending the 15 to 30 minutes before sleep in peaceful activity such as listening to soothing music, reading soul nourishing books, mediation, prayer etc. helps absorb positive energy of the universe to have a peaceful nights sleep, to wake up with the sunrise.

I recommend you attempt these rituals of going to sleep, waking up and starting the day during the next 21 days and reflectively think and write about your living and its impact on your being. It is believed, supported by neurological studies, that repeating a habit for 21 days, makes it part of our regular behaviour, hence my recommendation.