Spotlight: Back For More by Sylvia Kane

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For Kurt Owens law school came first, but now that he’s back in the city, he can’t deny the sparks when he see’s his best friend’s sister for the first time in years. Corina Davies needs a job and takes Kurt up on his offer to be his new assistant. Summer in the city is about to get a whole lot hotter. The seventh book in the beloved 425 Madison Avenue, is now live. Read Back For More by Sylvia Kane today!

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Summer in the city...

Kurt

She’s smart, hot, and funny. My dream girl.  

There’s just one problem. She’s also my best bud’s little sister.  

The sparks have always been there, but law school had to come first. Now, we’re all back in the city and the same sparks fly every time I run into her.  

She needs a job and I need an assistant at the law firm. What could go wrong?

I don’t know if I can hide my feelings any longer.  

I know I shouldn’t go there, but I can’t help it.

Corina

My brother's back in town, and I offer to share my awesome apartment. Imagine my surprise when his best friend Kurt walks in.  

He’s still tall, dark, and handsome, and I can’t deny the pull.  

Working together only complicates things. Long days and nights in the office can be dangerous.  

When we’re not at the office, he’s always hanging around my apartment. To see my brother. Yeah, right.

All I know is, summer in the city is about to get a lot hotter.

After all, 425 Madison Avenue is the perfect place to fall in love.

*Each story is completely standalone.

Excerpt

Copyright @ 2019 Sylvia Kane

“I’m here for Corina Davies in 1205,” I respond, my nerves rattling even louder than five minutes ago when I was seized with the instinct to see her.

“Is she expecting you?” he asks, resting his hand on the phone.

I shake my head. The guy must think I’m a weirdo for just showing up like this. He’s going to call her for sure.

Sure enough, he picks up the phone. “Ms. Davies, you have a visitor,” he says, and then looks back at me. “Your name?”

I almost turn around to walk back out into the night, but I stay rooted to the spot. “Kurt. Kurt Owens.”

“Kurt Owens. Thanks.” He turns to me again and nods. “Go ahead. Have a good evening.”

I head for the elevator, and my heart rate rises with each step. She’s gonna think I’m fucking nuts for showing up like this at midnight. And why am I doing this again? What do I hope to achieve by interrupting whatever relaxing activity she’s enjoying at this time of night? I don’t know, but the thought of seeing her makes my palms sweat. I remember that skirt she wore, and how soft her legs looked. My cock twitches at the memory of her silky-smooth legs. Fuck. Down, boy. We’re not here for that.

I step into the elevator and before I know it, I’m standing in front of her door, my hand in the air. What am I going to tell her? What’s my excuse for showing up here so late? At the very least, I have to admit it to myself—I just want to see her. I have to see her. There’s no denying the spark that flew between us the other night. All those years hadn’t done a damn thing to kill our chemistry.

It sure is ballsy to just show up here. Maybe I’ve had a bit much to drink, but I’m not drunk. I’m not slurring or falling over myself. She won’t notice.

Finally, I knock. She’s expecting me, because she opens up right away. Seeing her knocks the wind out of me. Her hair rests over her shoulders in this sexy, yet natural way; she has a hint of makeup, but not much. She doesn’t need any. She’s still a natural beauty, just like she was all those years ago.

A light pink, silk robe clings to her body and ends just above the knees. She ties up the belt, very tight, as if afraid it might slip off any minute. Or that I might see what’s underneath. I try to push the thought from my head.

“Hi,” I say, hoping I don’t look as awkward as I feel. I’m standing in her doorway, without any good reason whatsoever, like a doofus. She’d be perfectly justified in turning me away with some excuse about going to sleep or whatever. But, she doesn’t.

She stands back to let me in.

“Hi, Kurt.”

I love the way my name sounds on her lips. Her lush, rosy lips. So smooth and kissable.

About the Author

If you love naughty romances about irresistible men who love their women fiercely, you’ve come to the right place. Sylvia's books include a sprinkling of angst, introspective and lovable characters, and a healthy helping of steam. She lives in Toronto with her husband, their two young kids, and an adorable Maine Coon who follows them around like a guard dog when they go for walks!


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Spotlight: O’Connor Brothers by A.S. Kelly

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Ian
A.S. Kelly
(O’Connor Brothers, #1)
Publication date: February 15th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

A year ago, she begged me to stay.
A year later, it’s my turn to beg her not to go.
My obsession. My downfall.
I tried to resist, to keep her at a distance.
I tried to save myself.
But no one will be saved here, not even a selfish bastard like me.
My life has always been about sport and family, including my stupid brothers. Until that night, the night I made the worst decision of my life. And I’m still paying the price for it.
We both are.
But the time has come to take back control of the situation, to risk it all, to convince her to let me in, because she can’t be anything other than mine.

I am Ian O’Connor, and I’m about to accept this challenge: to try and hold on to the only woman I’ll ever be able to love.
And even if I already know how this badly written romance is going to end, I won’t back away. This time, I’m going all the way. Because I only want her.
And I have no intention of losing her.

I’m an O’Connor, and the O’Connors never lose.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Ryan
A.S. Kelly
(O’Connor Brothers, #2)
Publication date: May 20th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

I’ve gone back: back to the place where it all started, where somebody else had the final say.
I did it out of love for my family.
I’m trying to rebuild my life, to stay standing, even though my legs hurt like hell. I’m concentrating on myself, on my career.
I’m ready to tear everything apart to try and keep it all together. To hate without feeling guilty for it, because hating others is the only way I know how to keep myself - the person I am - going; and I was doing it.
I was strong. I was untouchable. I was invincible.
Actually, I was deluded.
I didn’t consider everything. I didn’t consider her: the only woman I really want to hate, but who gives me hope. A woman who turns your world upside-down, who entwines herself into your life even if she can only stay until tomorrow.
I’m not looking for tomorrow: I want a future. But I don’t believe in that anymore.
And I can’t turn back, not even for her.

My name is Ryan O’Connor, and I’m about to make a huge mistake. I’m about to let her believe in me, to take a chance. But she’d be betting on the wrong man. I’ve never been the right one. And she’ll be left accepting her bitter defeat.

Goodreads / Amazon

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IAN EXCERPT:

“Tell me that everything’s okay,” he says seriously. “Tell me that this time no one’s going to run away or regret this or lose their mind over it.”

I look at him and smile. “None of those things are going to happen.”

He exhales and caresses my face with his hand.

“Riley Murray, you’re breathtaking, you know that?”

My heart swells in my chest.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

He laughs, rolling onto his back and bringing me with him. I lie down and stretch out alongside him, resting my head on his chest. I caress his pecs, his shoulders and his arms. I hear him sigh every time I change the movement.

“Do you want to know what I really like?”

He turns his head to look at me better. I raise my gaze and let myself be taken in by the warmth in his eyes.

“This. You and me.”

He exhales deeply as if he had been holding his breath this whole time.

“I’m begging you, please don’t leave me in the middle of the night.”

And in this moment, with his eyes as sweet and melancholy as I’ve ever seen, Ian O’Connor takes my heart and I know he’ll never give it back.


Author Bio:

A.S. Kelly was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, their two children and a cat named Oscar.
Bookworm, English Literature lover, music passionate, coffee drinker, she lives in a small village in the North of Dublin, where she looks for inspiration for her new stories.

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Spotlight: Unplanned Love by Sharon C. Cooper

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Unplanned Love
Jenkins & Sons Construction Book 4
by Sharon C. Cooper
Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Fate has a way of changing a perfect plan.

Liam Jenkins hasn’t given up on the idea of marriage. However, he’s closed his heart to his impulsive, force of nature, ex-fiancée. He’s moved on. But Charlee Fenlon is kryptonite to his common sense, and his resolve is no match for the explosive passion that still brews between them.

Liam, the stable, overprotective, loving man is everything Charlee wants in a husband. Yet, years ago she sacrificed his love for her career and a shot at becoming the CEO of her father’s company. But she’s still in love with Liam. And when a twist of fate leads to a second chance, Charlee’s going for broke to win him back.

**read as a standalone!**




Award-winning and bestselling author, Sharon C. Cooper, is a romance-a-holic - loving anything that involves romance with a happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies, or real life. Sharon writes contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense and enjoys rainy days, carpet picnics, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She’s been nominated for numerous awards and is the recipient of an Emma Award for Romantic Suspense of the Year 2015 (Truth or Consequences), Emma Award - Interracial Romance of the Year 2015 (All You’ll Ever Need), and BRAB (book club) Award -Breakout Author of the Year 2014. When Sharon is not writing or working, she’s hanging out with her amazing husband, doing volunteer work or reading a good book (a romance of course). To read more about Sharon and her novels, www.sharoncooper.net




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Spotlight: Cherishing the Goddess by Lucy Eden

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Billionaire CEO Alexander Wolfe has spent years putting in 120-hour weeks and adding zeroes to his net worth. But lately, work has left him feeling burnt out and uninspired. Then he is given the chance to go head-to-head with a legendary corporate raider and the man he’d idolized his entire career. He seizes the opportunity, immediately jumping on a plane for Barbados to close the deal in person. If he’s successful, it’ll be the biggest win of his career.

He had no way of knowing that meeting a mesmerizing beauty would have the power to derail everything...

Calypso Sterling has no time for men who value her beauty over her intellect. Instead, she focuses all her energy on her studies and career aspirations. But when her home—and a closely guarded family secret—is threatened, she’s ready to defend all she holds dear.

She had no way of knowing a handsome stranger had the power to take away everything she’d ever loved...

This standalone, workplace/ enemies to lovers romance features characters from Everything’s Better With Kimberly, is full of alphas and steam and has NO cheating.

This is the novelized, extended version of the previously published novella of the same name.

Exclusive Excerpt:

I approached Paul at the helm. He handed me a beer and gave me a sly half smile.

“Thought you were leaving?” His half smile morphed into a full-blown shit- eating grin.

“Yeah, me too.” I knocked back half the beer in two large gulps.

“She got you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” I grinned and nodded, “she did.”

Paul guffawed. “I knew it. I told Nadine when we met you two, ‘That boy doesn’t know what hit him!’” He chuckled once more and clinked our bottles together. “She’ll take good care of you. That’s a good woman. I can tell.”

“The best,” I said.

“Well, I don’t know about the best. You have met my wife?” He grinned again, and we both laughed.

“So how did you and Nadine meet?”

Paul grinned and took another sip of his beer.

“I used to work with her brother down at the shipyard. She was the most beautiful looking girl I’d ever seen, but she was a skinny little thing back then and mean as a snake. She did not fancy me. Every day when she would drop her brother off at work I would say, ‘Good Morning, Nadine,’ and she would roll her eyes and drive away. One day, her brother forgot his lunch, and she came to drop it off. Now, I never ate much for lunch, a piece of chicken between two slices of bread with some pepper sauce. She took one look at my pitiful lunch, screwed her face up and walked away. The next day, her brother gave me a bag.” Paul’s face spread into a wide grin. “Inside was a container with peas and rice, curried goat and a slice of coconut bread. Best meal I’ve ever had.” He laughed.

“So, she talked to you after that?”

“No,” Paul laughed as if I’d made the most absurd suggestion,” but,” He held up an index finger and wagged it at me. “That’s when I knew I had a chance.”

We laughed again.

“So, I know what happens when you cross a Bajan woman. What happens when you try to leave one?”

“I don’t know, man,” Paul shrugged and took another sip of his beer, “I’ve never tried.”

Get Your Copy Today:

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About Lucy Eden:

Lucy Eden is the nom de plume of a romance obsessed author who writes the kind of romance she loves to read. She’s a sucker for alphas with a soft gooey center, over the top romantic gestures, strong & smart MCs, humor, love at first sight (or pretty damn close), happily ever afters & of course,  steamy love scenes. 

When Lucy isn’t writing, she’s busy reading—or listening to—every book she can get her hands on— romance or otherwise.

She lives in New York with her husband, two children, a turtle & a Yorkshire Terrier.

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Spotlight: Defending Harlow by Susan Stoker

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Guest Post: A Mountain Mercenary’s Sneak Attack with Author Susan Stoker

Defending Harlow is book 4 in the Mountain Mercenaries series. Each book features one of the men who were recruited by the mysteries “Rex” to work on his team to help rescue kidnapped women and children. In this book we meet Lowell “Black” Lockard who was a Navy SEAL before he became a Mountain Mercenary. He joined the group because after his stint in the Navy, he realized that he was happiest when he was being useful, helping others. He’d been close to his fellow SEALs when he’d been on active duty, but somehow he was even closer with his fellow Mountain Mercenaries.

They worked together, they played together, and they simply enjoyed spending time with each other both during missions and when they were living their lives in Colorado Springs.

Black loves that his friends have found women that completed them. Gray met Allye when he rescued her from a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and they had to swim for hours to safety. Ro met Chloe when her brother was holding her hostage in his house and was about to pimp her out from his strip club. And Arrow met Morgan when they’d been down in the Dominican Republic to rescue a child who’d been kidnapped by her non custodial father. Turns out, Morgan was one of the most famous missing people the United States had ever had, and she’d been held for over a year before she’d accidentally been found by the Mountain Mercenaries.

He loves that his friends are happy, but realizes that he is…bored. He wants someone to laugh with. To talk to at the end of the day. To break the routine of his life. He envies his friends for having that.

Meeting Harlow is a turning part in Black’s life. She makes him laugh and he’s intrigued more than he’s ever been by a woman before. And realizing they went to the same high school once upon a time makes him even more curious. But there’s a problem…Harlow has had bad date after bad date and she’s sworn off dating forever.

But Black won’t give up. He decides to “trick” her by refusing to call what they’re doing as ‘dates.’ They’re just “hanging out.” And the more he spends time with her, the more he likes her…and vice versa. Harlow will have to decide whether or not to take a chance on Black, and he’ll have to figure out how to neutralize the threat looming over Harlow and the women’s shelter she works at or else the semantics of what they’re doing will be a moot point, because someone might end up dead.

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Summary

Lowell “Black” Lockard, former Navy SEAL, has watched his fellow Mountain Mercenaries settle down with the women of their dreams, but he’s convinced he doesn’t need love. Then he gets a call from Harlow Reese—a chef at a local women’s shelter—and begins to reconsider his decision.

After being continually harassed by a local band of punks, Harlow asks Lowell to give the women of the shelter lessons in self-defense. She doesn’t expect him to take such a special interest in her safety, but he insists on escorting her to and from work, never taking no for an answer. Not that Harlow minds the personal touch…especially when it’s coming from her former teenage crush.

Despite her long history of bad dating luck, seeing Black again makes Harlow rethink her self-imposed celibacy. Easy on the eyes and hard to forget, the man has morphed into an alpha stud. And Harlow may be exactly the type of woman Black is looking for. Making her feel safe isn’t only a duty; it’s a pleasure. But the threats are escalating. The motives are a mystery. And as the danger burns almost as hot as their passion, there’s much more at risk than their hearts.

Excerpt

Neither said anything for a while as they drove toward downtown.

Finally, Harlow asked, “Where are we going?”

“The Pit.”

“Where?”

Lowell smiled. “Since this isn’t a date, and we’re talking about the shelter, I decided I should take you to the place where me and my team conduct business. The Pit.”

“It sounds scary. Please tell me there aren’t snakes on the floor and Indiana Jones isn’t going to pop up and run pell-mell through the place being chased by members of an ancient civilization because they want their artifact back.”

Harlow stared at Lowell when he threw his head back and laughed loud and long. She couldn’t help but chuckle herself. The man sitting next to her was so different from any man she’d dated in the past—no, wait … this wasn’t a date. Nope. Not even close.

“I can’t wait to tell the others that. No, Harl, The Pit is a combination bar and pool hall. It’s pretty much a hole-in-the-wall kind of place.”

“Why do you do business in a bar?” Harlow asked.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. The Pit is where we were interviewed when we were first asked to join the Mountain Mercenaries … I’m assuming you know about the team?”

She nodded. “A bit. Loretta told me. I’m sorry if she spoke out of turn, but she was trying to reassure me that you knew what you were doing and could help us.”

“I can help you,” Lowell confirmed. “And in a nutshell, me and my teammates are all former Special Forces soldiers, and we work for Rex, getting women and children out of untenable situations.”

“Why mercenaries? I mean, it doesn’t sound like that’s what you guys really are.”

Lowell shook his head, and a small smile formed on his face. “Why do women always concentrate on that word?” he asked, more to himself than her.

Harlow answered him even though he hadn’t really asked. “Because. It’s weird that you call yourselves something that you technically aren’t. I wouldn’t start a catering business and call it Harlow Photography.”

“Point taken. I don’t know why Rex chose that name. Probably because it was catchy and sounded better than Colorado Badasses, or Your Worst Nightmare.”

Harlow couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that escaped. “True.”

“The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what we’re called. We’re six men who go where we’re needed and do what we have to do to rescue those who need a helping hand. I know women are empowered, and there are many who are just as talented at what they do as we are. But the fact remains, there are a lot of men out there who feel the need to subjugate and beat down the women and children in their lives. They take advantage of teenagers who are too young to know better or those who have had horrible lives. They hurt them and force them to do things against their will. It’s not right, or fair, and me and my friends are playing a small part in trying to right those wrongs.”

Harlow wasn’t sure how their light and playful conversation had turned so intense, but she turned slightly in her seat to better look at Lowell. His teeth were clenched, and the hand on the steering wheel was holding on so tightly, she could see his knuckles turning white. He obviously felt deeply about the topic and his job, and Harlow couldn’t be more proud of him.

“I’m proud to know you, Lowell Lockard.”

He looked at her in surprise. “What?”

“The world needs more men like you and your friends. I don’t know why men like the ones harassing the shelter are the way they are. Why they feel the need to exert their power over those they deem weaker than them. But I’m glad you’re there to help tip the scales. Other than the high-speed-chase guy, generally I haven’t been afraid of my bad dates, I’ve just been disgusted by or disappointed in them. But I know there are a lot of women out there who’re in bad marriages and relationships, and it helps knowing there are people who care. People who will put their own lives on the line to help get others out of those situations, if asked.”

Lowell pulled into a parking lot of a dark and seedy-looking building, and Harlow wasn’t surprised to see the neon sign above the door that said The Pit. This was exactly the kind of place where she imagined Lowell and his fellow badasses would meet.

He stopped the engine, brought the hand he was still holding up to his mouth, and kissed the back of it. “Stay put. I’ll come around.”

He went to let go of her, but Harlow held on to his hand. “This isn’t a date,” she said, not sure if she was reminding him or herself. “It’s a work meeting. I let you pick me up, but I should’ve driven myself. And I can open my own door and pay my own way.”

Lowell leaned into her, and Harlow forced herself not to pull back.

“I know this isn’t a date. You don’t date. I heard that loud and clear, Harl. But in my world—and make no mistake; when you’re with me, you’re in my world—a man opens a door for a lady. He walks on the outside of the sidewalk, he picks her up whenever possible, and he pays for drinks and meals. If it makes you feel better, you can think of this as a business expense I can write off on my taxes.”

Harlow stared at him for a beat, then nodded. What else could she do? She didn’t want to like Lowell’s world, but she had to admit it felt good being there. She’d had doors shut in her face when men had entered ahead of her and hadn’t held them open. She’d had to pay for her own meals on dates. And she’d even had an experience when she’d literally almost been run over by a bus in Seattle because she’d been forced to walk on the outside of the sidewalk near the curb.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay,” Lowell said with a small smile. Then he squeezed her hand once more and climbed out.

“Not a date, not a date,” Harlow chanted to herself quietly as Lowell walked around his car to come to her side. He opened her door and held out a hand. Taking a deep breath, Harlow put her hand back in his and allowed him to help her up and out of the low seat.

He didn’t let go of her hand once she was standing next to him, though. He simply shut the car door with his free hand and led her toward the door of the bar.

Not a date, she told herself once more as Lowell smiled at her and pulled open the heavy wooden door.

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About the Author

Susan Stoker is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her series include Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes, SEAL of Protection, Delta Force Heroes, and Mountain Mercenaries. Married to a retired Army noncommissioned officer, Stoker has lived all over the country—from Missouri and California to Colorado and Texas—and currently lives under the big skies of Tennessee. A true believer in happily ever after, Stoker enjoys writing novels in which romance turns to love. To learn more about the author and her work, visit her website, www.stokeraces.com, or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorsusanstoker.

Spotlight: Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money by Ken Honda

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What Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up did for your living space, Ken Honda’s Happy Money will do for your wallet.

Ken Honda—Japan’s #1 bestselling personal development guru—knows that getting rich quick is no way to achieve happiness. Too often, money is a source of fear, stress, and anger, often breaking apart relationships and even ruining lives. We like to think money is just a number or a piece of paper, but it is so much more than that. Money has the ability to smile, it changes when it is given with a certain feeling, and the energy with which it imbues us impacts not only ourselves, but others as well.

Although Ken Honda is often called a “money guru,” his real job over the past decade has been to help others discover the tools they already possess to heal their own lives and relationships with money. Now, in practical and accessible language, the “Zen millionaire” explains how to achieve peace of mind when it comes to money.

Learn how to treat money as a welcome guest, allowing it to come and go with respect and without resentment; understand and improve your money EQ; unpack the myth of scarcity; and embrace the process of giving money, not just receiving it.

This book isn’t to fix you, because as Ken Honda says, you’re already okay!

Excerpt

Five Steps to Happy Money by Ken Honda, Author of Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money

From Happy Money by Ken Honda. Copyright 2019 by Ken Honda. Excerpted by permission of Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com

Originally published on Psych Central

Here is a list of five steps you can take, starting today, that will get you into the flow of Happy Money:

1. Shift out of the scarcity mind-set.

Each person has the ability to choose what kind of money mind-set they want to live with. That is why the first step to Happy Money is to get yourself into an abundant mind-set. Until now we have been taught to believe that money is scarce and that we have to get it before someone else does. We have become a culture that is obsessed with money. We are so focused on the amount of money that we do or don’t have that it cuts off our potential for a great life.

Why? Because we automatically assume that we won’t be able to make a living if we take a risk and go for what we really want. The concept that there is not enough in the world makes us feel small and less generous. Don’t let your mind-set limit your life’s potential. If you have an abundant mind-set, you start seeing new possibilities, you become more creative, and you become more capable of responding to difficulties in life. You free yourself to create your own destiny.

2. Forgive and heal your money wounds.

We know that our attitudes about money are mostly inherited. And the people whom we inherited those ideas from also inherited theirs. But you won’t get to Happy Money if you let this become cause for resentment. The people who went before you were young, inexperienced, and prone to all sorts of mistakes. You know this because you have been there too. Imagine the situation that your parents were in. They acted out of fear because they didn’t know any other way. They did what they had to do. If you can sympathize with their situation and their humanity, you can begin to understand why they made the mistakes they did. Then you can forgive them, and when you do, your heart will feel lighter. You can break the cycle of Unhappy Money by forgiving others and, just as importantly, by forgiving yourself for the mistakes you’ve made.

You can set the tone for a new era of Happy Money when you forgive and begin the process of healing. When we make peace with the past, those wounds cease to be an obstacle to our present happiness, and money stops feeling like a mysterious, uncontrollable force. That is what gives us the freedom to find the Happy Money flow that works for us.

3. Discover your gifts and get into the flow of Happy Money.

Everyone is born with certain gifts. Some people find them when they are young; others may need time to search. Uncovering your talents, and finding what brings you joy, is one of the most important things in life. If you are no longer burdened by the past, you will be surprised at how quickly your talents will be revealed to you. When you take an inventory of your life, all the dots begin to connect. Getting into a state of flow will become second nature. Difficulty and struggles will transform into fun and adventure right before your eyes. When you start sharing your gifts with the world, you kick-start the flow of Happy Money. Knowing who you are and where you feel most alive is what creates the groundwork for trust, because you have nothing to hide from.

The more you develop your gifts and the more you share your gifts, the more Happy Money you will attract. People who are successful in all kinds of fields credit their success to a love for what they do.

4. Trust Life

Trust is a major part of a happy state of being. Once you can truly trust in yourself and in those around you, life gets so much easier. Those everyday anxieties about the future begin to fade away. When everyone is looking out for each other with hearts and minds of abundance, we all become free to share and receive all the great things that money can do. There is no fear of what might happen in the future, because we know that we can count on people, and they can count on us.

Trust and fear cannot coexist. It is one or the other. Trust makes us more active, creative, and free, whereas fear stifles our actions, counters our intentions, and creates resentment. When we trust, we are free from expectations. Risk no longer feels like risk. Almost all the things that we worried would turn out terribly actually turn out to be some of the most positive things in our lives. The “bad” things that have happened to us end up working in our favor.

We know that everything that happens, positive or negative, will end up working out to support our lives in its own unique way. This is what frees us from the paralyzing anxiety of judging things in our lives as “good” and “bad.” That is why trusting people are more passionate and successful.

When we trust, we are able to become our authentic selves.

5. Say arigato all the time.

A world of Happy Money looks like a world in which everyone is continually expressing a deep appreciation for the energy that flows through their lives. A willingness to give and receive, rather than keep a tight clutch on what we have, is what creates the conditions for Happy Money. The positive energy of gratitude works for us and invites more money into our lives.

There are two kinds of people: those who are outwardly appreciative and those who always find something to blame or complain about. Which do you think is a more magnetic personality?

People who appreciate life are more liked, more approachable, and more attractive. As a result, they invite all kinds of opportunities into their lives.

We know that there will be times when things don’t go exactly as we planned. But a heart that says arigato in the face of it all gives us an inner resolve that navigates us right through all kinds of rough waters.

So take every chance you get to show your gratitude. Show appreciation for yourself. If you live in the flow of gratitude, your life will be full of unexpected miracles. When we are in this kind of flow with our inner self, and with those around us, we live with Happy Money!

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About the Author

Ken Honda is the author of Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money. He is a bestselling author of self-development books in Japan, where he has sold more than seven million books since 2001. While his financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses, his writings bridge the topics of finance and self-help, focusing on creating and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty. He is the first person from Japan to be voted into the Transformational Leadership Council. Fluent in Japanese and English, he has lived in Boston and currently resides in Tokyo. For more information, please visit https://kenhonda.com