I am in Dharamshala, India at the Mind and Life Conference with his Holiness, The Dalai Lama, and I am struck by how much his words echo a recent article I wrote for Mindful Magazine. 

He kept reiterating that true happiness is not based on circumstances and that's what I'm explaining in this article on success. 

As I think about the words from His Holiness, I recognize that this idea of true happiness is aspirational. 

It's hard to even imagine that I could be happy independent of circumstances. 

Sensing that His Holiness actually abides in this place of true happiness all the time, energizes me to plant and water the seeds to make this happen. 

These seeds are in this article. 

While I wrote the article, watering these seeds has been a work-in-progress for me. 

The first step was practicing the mindset of "Enough" on a more consistent basis. 

In Dharamshala, I met the neuroscientist, Tania Singer, who explained to me that we humans become addicted to the dopamine release from going for more and that our brains often don't naturally rest in a mindset of "Enough." 

Tania went on to say that we have to cultivate a calmer, more spacious mind, in order to coax the mind toward the "Enough" mindset. 

This mindset of "Enough" is liberating and is the first step towards happiness independent of circumstances (i.e. material wealth, feedback from others, etc.), otherwise known as true happiness.

My Mindful Magazine article goes on to suggest that we investigate our beliefs, shift from comparing and striving toward kindness, become a mentor, widen your awareness, get to know your numbers, and cultivate a specific kind of gratitude. 

I believe that you, I, and everyone can do this. 

I know we can shift from fragile happiness dependent on our circumstances to a deep sense of ease, regardless of the ups and downs of our finances, our work or our lives. 

In my Fearless Finance University, you'll find programs to help you make this happen. You can learn more here.