One day I was complaining about something to my friend Sam Beasley. I can’t even remember what it was I was complaining about – all I remember is Sam’s reply: “Your life is your prayer. Whatever you’ve got going on in your life is what you’ve been praying for – either consciously or unconsciously. If you want something different in your life, pray a different prayer.”

“Can you explain that to me a bit more?” I asked Sam.

“If you’re constantly lamenting to your friends, ‘I don’t have a man in my life,’ the Universe will respond, ‘Yes, you don’t have a man.’

“If you constantly complain, ‘I’m fat,’ the Universe will answer, ‘Yes, you’re fat.’ Your thoughts and words are prayers, and the Universe always gives you what you’re praying.”

A light bulb went on in my head. “Oh wow,” I said. “I never realized that. But now that I think about it, I see that there are certain aspects of my life that are working just great – and those are the areas where I have a lot of confidence and positive expectations. The Universe IS giving me what I think about. And the areas in which I’m not getting what I want are the areas in which I have doubt, discouragement, and frustration. Those are the things I focus on because they’re NOT working – but it seems the harder I try to figure out what’s wrong, the more a solution eludes me. It’s bedeviled me for years – why can’t I make my life work in ALL areas?”

“You can,” Sam replied. “You just have to stop complaining. Start focusing on what you DO want, not what you don’t want. Make your prayers positive and affirming – see if that brings you different results.”

Since then, I’ve been consciously choosing new thoughts and having new conversations – and I’ve gotten new results. Sam was right – my life IS my prayer. The decisions I make throughout the day, the attitudes I adopt, the conversations I have, the way I respond to other people, and the thoughts I think to myself are all prayers.

I love what Sam taught me. He is a wise and generous friend whose wisdom enriches the lives of many people. His own life is proof positive of what he says: Once a homeless, hopeless drunk and drug addict, Sam is now a millionaire businessman, happily married to the same wonderful woman for over 20 years, with three terrific kids. He knows firsthand that a person’s life is his prayer.

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Sam Beasley is co-author of several books, including: “Wealth and Well-Being” and “Your Life Is Your Prayer.”