Unless you’re a personal finance geek who explores money advice from all over the world, you may not be familiar with Ken Honda, a highly influential money teacher in Japan. Fondly known as the “Zen Millionaire” and “Happy Panda,” Honda has published dozens of books, including the international bestseller “Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money.”
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Honda champions the philosophy that money is neither good nor bad and believes that your emotional and mental states influence your financial situation. He also believes in the power of language and intention. On his YouTube channel, Honda posted a video where he discussed the possibility that one specific word can positively alter the course of your financial future.
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Transform Your Situation by Repeating 1 Meaning-Loaded Word
Honda shared a seemingly true story about a man — let’s call him Joe — who was in financial dire straits. At the peak of his desperation, Joe met with Wahei Takeda, a legendary investor known internationally as the “Warren Buffett of Japan.” Joe explained his situation to Takeda and asked for a loan. Takeda declined, but offered an alternative — to “buy” Joe’s time.
Takeda instructed Joe to repeat one word over and over every day, offering him 1 cent for each time he said the word. The men agreed that Joe would say the word 3,300 times per day for one month. He would then return to Takeda, who said he would know whether Joe had kept his end of the deal.
A month later, Joe returned to Takeda’s office “totally transformed,” Honda said. Just by looking at Joe, Takeda knew that Joe had done as he promised. “Thank you,” Takeda said, “That was good shopping for me, too. Because not only I bought your energy and time, I bought the happiness of your lifetime.”
The Magic Word Signals Both Gratitude and Contentment
The word that transformed Joe’s life is “arigato,” which means “thank you” in Japanese.
“Once you start repeating, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you,’ your mind shifts,” Honda said. “You’re focused more on appreciation and what you have in your life and what you have in the present situation.”
Expressing gratitude is not only the opposite of complaining, it counters anxious or rueful thoughts because it grounds you in the present and steers you to a state of abundance rather than a state of scarcity. And repeating “thank you” throughout the day won’t just make you feel better, it could make you do better, financially.
Honda said that after his month-long repetition exercise, Joe didn’t need to ask for a loan. His perspective literally changed his mind, which changed his actions, which led to prosperity (or, at least, financial improvements).
Start Small
Saying a word or phrase 3,300 times a day is pretty intense. It’s best to start small.
“You can start doing just 10 or 20 or 100 would be nice,” Honda said. “Once you start saying, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you,’ you get bored after 20 or 30 ‘thank yous,’ your mind is kind of wandering to this state of ‘What am I thinking about? Why am I saying ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’?”
As your mind wanders with questions, you will start to focus on the reasons for your gratitude: family, shelter, mentors, health, etc. “Whatever you appreciate appreciates,” Honda said. “So the thing that you put your focus on is attracted to you.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Repeating This 1 Word Could Make You Rich, Says Money Expert
