We may not have control of all the circumstances in our life, but we do have control of what we choose to focus on.  I challenge myself, and would like to challenge you, to focus on the things in our lives for which we are grateful.  Gratitude is the way we create more positive in our life even when negative things seem to be happening.  It is the secret to happiness and the foundation of humility.  Here are some great quotes on Gratitude from wisdomquotes.com:

Albert Schweitzer:  At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Albert Schweitzer:  To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.Alfred Painter:  Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.

Buddha:  Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.

Cicero:  Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

Edward Gibbon:  Revenge is profitable, gratitude is expensive.

Eric Hoffer:  The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld:  Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors.

H. U. Westermayer:  The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

Henry Ward Beecher:  Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

John F. Kennedy:  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

Leroy [Satchel] Paige:  [D]on't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.  New York Post, October 4, 1959

Marcel Proust:  Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Margaret Cousins:  Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.

Meister Eckhart:  If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.

Melodie Beattie:  Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Rabindranath Tagore:  Power takes as ingratitude the writhing of its victims.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:  I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.

Thomas Erskine:  In the New Testament, religion is grace and ethics is gratitude.

William James:  The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.

It can only happen to the other guy, right? It could never happen to you. Your ideas, beliefs, perspectives would never be challenged. After all, you are honest, ethical, aligned with the company and they love you. You are golden. Yours is practically a modern-day Cinderella story. You started out like most people; newly married, employed, working hard to get by and dreaming of a brighter future for you and your family. You realize the only way to live your dreams is to own your own business so you register as an Independent Business Owner and begin your journey. You invest the next 15 years of your life (25 – 40 years old) working to build a business. You gave it your all; nights, weekends, holidays, whatever it takes. All the while, you find yourself regularly defending the concept of the networking/mlm business model as well as specifically defending the Amway/Quixtar names. Since 1997, the Company has been struggling as reflected in overall volume, sponsoring, etc. Consequently, in addition to building your own business, you spend thousands of hours building a system that will increase the new person’s chance for success. Your efforts pay off, in 2003, you are asked to speak by Quixtar at their national convention (Quixtar Live!) as the key-note speaker. In 2004, the managing director of Quixtar, Ken McDonald, sends you a letter of great praise and acknowledges that you are the fastest growing IBO in North America. Then, in 2005, Quixtar hires a new managing director, Jim Payne. Suddenly, you realize that Quixtar has made significant changes in regards to their stance on positioning as well as depth. Now rather than being golden, you are a significant obstacle to an apparent hidden agenda.    more »

What do you do when you learn that what you have been promoting isn’t working? Do you simply complain about it? Do you keep telling everyone that the good times are coming? Or, do you do something about it? Let me complicate it: What if you learn the supporting facts of this business failure after you’ve invested 17 years of your personal life, and your parents have invested over 35 years? What if you find yourself financially dependent upon the business income; the basis of which was built years ago? What do you do? This is the story of where I found myself and why I chose to do what I have done. First, some facts: In 1982 Amway of N America did $1 Billion in volume (interestingly, so did Wal-Mart). Twenty-five years later, Amway/Quixtar of N America recorded approximately $1.1 Billion in volume. Considering inflation, the relative volume has plummeted over the past 25 years; most significantly in the last ten. Currently, out of 10,000 people that register in this business, only 833 will remain after three years. That is, 91.6% of people will be gone within 36 months of registering. From 1999-2000, 600,000 English speaking people as a first language registered in the business in North America. By end of 2005, of those registered business owners, only six have achieved the Founders Emerald level (in 2005, the average income was less than $90,000/year) or above. That is, 1/100,000 achieved an income of $90,000/year or more. Nearly 50 years of community building for Amway/Quixtar and the qualified Diamonds in North America fit in one ballroom with tables. These are the facts. Perhaps, you relate to them. How’s it working for you? In addition to these horrifying statistics, the business is riddled with litigation including very significant court cases threatening the very existence of the company in the US, England and India. The core issue in these cases is the same core issue behind the current failure of the business—over-priced products. Everything stems from this root problem. A very unfortunate domino effect resulted in one negative thing leading to the next till now we find ourselves in the current situation. After years of attempting to correct this within Quixtar, it finally became apparent that if there was ever to truly be change, then a more dramatic stance would need to be taken. As much as I felt like David stepping up to the plate to meet Goliath, the time had come to take a stand for what I believe in.   more »