2025-11-16 10:00
I remember the first time I truly understood what it meant to create your own fortune. It was during a particularly challenging period in my life when everything seemed to be working against me - much like Naoe and Yasuke's desperate journey across Awaji Island. In that historical tale, three Templar lieutenants had systematically made their world smaller and more dangerous, just as we sometimes allow negative thoughts and habits to shrink our own possibilities. The spymaster's agents hiding among ordinary villagers, the samurai's patrols blocking main roads, the shinobi's ambushes waiting in wilderness areas - these obstacles mirror how we often find ourselves trapped by invisible barriers in our daily lives. But here's what I've learned through years of practice: we can rewrite our story just as surely as we can choose our response to challenges.
That morning when everything changed for me started like any other - I woke up feeling overwhelmed by what felt like constant setbacks. My version of the spymaster's reinforcements seemed to appear every time I tried to make progress, flooding my mental space with doubts and anxieties. The roadblocks of negative thinking felt as real as the samurai's patrols on Awaji's main roads, while the ambushes of self-sabotage lurked in every side path I considered taking. But then I remembered something crucial: just as Naoe and Yasuke needed to adapt their strategies to overcome their pursuers, we too can develop daily practices that transform our relationship with abundance. This realization led me to develop what I now call my "Happy Fortune: 7 Simple Ways to Attract Joy and Abundance Daily" system - a framework that has genuinely transformed how I experience life.
The first breakthrough came when I stopped fighting all battles simultaneously. Watching how the three lieutenants in our story each controlled different aspects of the territory taught me an important lesson about focus. The spymaster's network of informants meant that any scouting mission would immediately draw reinforcements - doesn't that sound familiar when we try to explore new opportunities while carrying all our old baggage? I started implementing what I call "stealth gratitude," where I'd quietly notice three specific things to appreciate before even getting out of bed. This simple practice became my counter to the mental spies that would otherwise report my every move to the reinforcement troops of anxiety.
Then there's the matter of dealing with the obvious obstacles - what I think of as the samurai's roadblocks in our own lives. These are the limiting beliefs that patrol the main roads of our thinking, the "I'm not good enough" or "this will never work" narratives that stop us from moving forward. My second practice involved what I call "path clearing" - each evening, I'd identify one roadblock I encountered that day and brainstorm three alternative routes around it. Sometimes this meant adjusting my approach, other times it meant waiting for better conditions, but always it involved recognizing that the obstacle wasn't permanent unless I allowed it to be.
The wilderness ambushes - those surprise attacks from the shinobi with their smoke bombs and poisoned blades - these translate to the unexpected challenges that seem to come from nowhere in our lives. The key insight I gained was that while we can't prevent all surprises, we can develop what special forces call "situational awareness." For me, this became my daily mindfulness practice - just 12 minutes of meditation where I simply observe my thoughts without judgment. This has helped me detect the subtle tripwires of negative patterns before they trigger full-blown crises.
What surprised me most was discovering that abundance isn't about acquiring more, but about removing the barriers to receiving what's already available. The Templar lieutenants in our story created systems that made movement and discovery difficult - aren't we doing the same when we fill our schedules with busywork or our minds with worry? I started implementing what I now teach as "strategic emptiness" - deliberately leaving space in my calendar and mental landscape for unexpected opportunities. In practical terms, this means I protect at least 90 minutes each day for unstructured time, and the results have been remarkable.
The beautiful paradox I've discovered is that by implementing these simple practices - my "Happy Fortune" system - we gradually transform from being the pursued to becoming the architects of our experience. Where Naoe and Yasuke had to constantly react to their pursuers' moves, we can learn to design days that naturally attract more joy and abundance. It's not about positive thinking alone, but about creating systems that support our wellbeing much like designing a fortress that can withstand sieges while still allowing commerce and connection to flow.
After consistently applying these principles for nearly three years now, I can honestly say that the quality of my days has transformed dramatically. The mental spies have largely been turned into allies, the roadblocks have become checkpoints for course correction rather than barriers, and the wilderness ambushes now feel more like interesting detours than threats. The specific seven practices within my "Happy Fortune" framework have become as natural to me as breathing, and the abundance that flows into my life now often surprises me with its consistency and creativity. What started as survival tactics have evolved into thriving strategies, proving that we really can design our days to attract more joy and abundance naturally.