Abundance begins from within. If you don't feel empowered, rich and deserving from within, prosperity chooses to stay away from you. This, at its root, is the abundance secret - and is central to your building enormous wealth.

But how do you go about feeling abundant? How do you feel rich, when your bank account has less than one grand in it? How do you feel prosperous? Do you fake it? Do you just imagine it? (You know the answer to that!)

The main methodology for feeling abundant, prosperous and empowered is by giving. There is no other simpler way to feel powerful, strong and kind. When you donate $1 to a charity, you have activated within yourself and in the Universe, powerful forces that now seek to make your pathway just a little bit easier, seeking to make you into even more of a giver and directing energies that will help you be that.

However, to have these helpful forces support you completely - make sure that the giving is done with happiness and freedom, and not from a place of mental poverty. The best way to achieve that is by apportioning a fixed amount of money from your income for this cause, paycheck after paycheck. Then, when an opportunity to give presents itself, you won't have to pick from your savings or unexpectedly part with a part of your income. You would simply take money from the designated account and give it away!

Consider this - even if you put away $10/month for this cause - in about a year, you will have $120 put away. This is serious money that you can now give to either one or multiple charities. And you get to choose to whom you must give this - and that act alone will help you feel empowered beyond measure. Suddenly, instead of giving money away stingily, you are actually picking and choosing charities and worthy causes. In fact, you will automatically be on the lookout for places to give money - a heady experience! The only requirement is that you stick to the habit of apportioning a fixed part of your money for giving - and then you give what you put away for this purpose.

One of the better suggestions I have read in this regard is to fix a percentage of your income - say 1% - for this purpose. And stick to it.

A second methodology for feeling empowered is to teach. In spite of GB Shaw's witty remark on teaching ("Those who can, do, those who can't, teach") - teaching is another powerful mechanism of giving -whereby, you, the teacher, learns even more in the process. It rounds out and completes your knowledge about a certain subject - and thus teaching an art, skill or knowledge about a subject is another good way to empower yourself. "The teacher and the taught together create the teaching" - an old Chinese saying.

A third, probably the most powerful mechanism of all, is to create space within oneself.

What does that mean?

Our lives are full of things - whether it is material things, or thoughts of all kinds. At no point are we really free of things, except in our sleep. But the world is made of two parts - things and no-things - i.e. objects & space. Our own bodies are made of matter & space; your house has things and empty spaces. In fact, without those empty spaces, it will very well be impossible to live! (Consider a congested highway for example - don't you wish for more space then?).

Similarly, we and our minds need a break from the world of things. Either through meditation, or through the simple practice of calming your mind and bringing it to a place of no thought, you can introduce this most element into your life. This empty space allows a greater Intelligence to arise and act in your life, and your thoughts & speech become fresh and creative. This simple practice by itself will lead you to greater prosperity than any other single act. Bring space into yourself.

Practice these three abundance secrets and you will find yourself rising from strength to strength, feeling more connected and joyful than ever before.