I Googled "getting ahead in tough times" to see who else was blogging about it. One of the top entries said Acting Skills Are Vital For Getting Ahead In Tough Times.

Who knew? But it makes sense. I've written before about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. What you focus on expands. If you keep staring at how bad things are, reading about how much the "stimulus package" that we'll all be paying for for the next decade has grown, and watching stomach-turning news during dinner every night, you could get depressed.

By beholding, we become changed.

Same thing. What you fill your mind with overtakes you. It changes you, so what you look at is your reality, even if it's no one else's.

Think about what you have, not what you don't have. Think about the bills that are getting paid, the mortgage payments that are going in on time, the food in the pantry and fridge.

Ninety percent of homes are not in foreclosure. Ninety-four percent of people who want to work are working.

In fact, readers of Let Your Mortgage Make You Rich! are accelerating their mortgage payoffs. I receive emails every week from someone who's $50,000 ahead of where they were projected to be, or $20,000 ahead, or $118,000 ahead.

My own home isn't quite half paid for. But considering our current loan is less than six years old, almost half paid for feels very, very good.

By focusing on that, our home soon will be paid for completely.