Gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation, blessing – these are all states of being that open garden gate to abundance, prosperity, synchronicity… namely, Serendipity! Begin by paying appreciative attention to what truly matters: things of your heart, your creative life and sense of self, your family and friends, your community.

Open yourself to engagement, and most especially enchantment. Here are six fun ways to re-connect with your power of appreciation:

1. Reduce your wants and needs to their most basic level. In other words, what is feeling or quality that you most desire to expand? Beauty, joy, freedom, time, security? Allow yourself to take one small action today to increase that appreciated quality in your life.

2. Spend time alone in play with your inner artistic child. Do something you remember taking pleasure in as a kid. For me it’s things like glitter, iridescent paints, beads, or baking chocolate chip cookies. Ask yourself: “What did I have fun doing at age of ten or so – what made hours fly?” Connect with those inspired ideas that whisper “Oh, this might be fun!

I'm a pretty competitive guy, though I try to keep it in perspective. But there are times, often when I least expect it, when life teaches me lessons about true nature of competition. One of those lessons came on a warm spring day several years ago, in a small town outside Portland, Oregon.

I used to love to watch high school track team train—especially distance runners. But that year, my eye was drawn to one girl in particular. Her running style was all wrong—she ran with her arms tucked close to her body, bouncing up and down in a way that must have driven her coaches crazy. My athletic mind scoffed at her strange style, I began to think of her as "the Bouncer."

But more I watched her, more I began to notice something else about this awkward young girl. While she ran, she was oblivious to everything and everybody as she bounced around track, and always wore a smile that could only be described as serene. For her, running had taken on significance that was difficult to define, and in spite of myself, that young woman with angelic smile began to intrigue me.

Even so, I couldn't help wondering how she was going to fare once real track season began—and it didn't take long to find out. In early May, high school hosted its first big track, featuring athletes from every school in conference.

Since conference ran distance races with both boys and girls on track at same time, a large group of athletes gathered at starting line for two-mile run—including Bouncer. The gun sounded, and runners took off in a multi-colored flash.

That year, our school had a very gifted runner named Dave, and he quickly took lead, one he would never relinquish for that entire season, because he never lost a race.

But Bouncer quickly fell far behind pack and as race progressed. Dave lapped her once, twice, and finally a third time. In fact, every runner, male and female, lapped Bouncer at least once before it was over. But she just kept running, arms tucked close to her sides, never varying her stride, bouncing up and down—and always wearing same angelic smile.