Unlock Your Happy Fortune: 7 Proven Strategies to Attract Joy and Abundance Today
I remember the exact moment the idea for this article clicked. It wasn’t during some serene meditation session, but rather in the middle of a chaotic, rain-lashed virtual battlefield. I was playing through the Claws of Awaji expansion, that decent, if somewhat predictable, addition to the game’s universe. The story had our protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke, finally reaching the island of Awaji after a long search. The relief of finding Naoe’s mother alive was instantly gut-punched by the reality: she’d been a captive for over a decade, tortured by a Templar seeking revenge and a hidden treasure. A decade. That number hit me. 3,650 days of suffering, all while holding onto a secret that could unlock immense power. It was a stark, pixelated metaphor that stuck with me long after I put the controller down. It made me wonder, what are we holding onto, or what pain are we enduring, that’s actively blocking our own fortune? We chase joy and abundance like they’re external MacGuffins, hidden on some distant island, when so often, the key is in changing our own internal narrative. That’s what I want to talk about today. Because attracting a better life isn’t about mystical incantations; it’s a practical, daily practice. So, let’s talk about how you can unlock your happy fortune: 7 proven strategies to attract joy and abundance today.
Think about Naoe’s mother for a second. Her captor wasn’t some random villain; she was the daughter of a man Yasuke had defeated, someone who had inherited her father’s station and, more importantly, his legacy of bitterness and vengeance. She didn’t choose her path out of blue sky; she stepped into a pre-written story of lack and retribution. How often do we do the same? We inherit mindsets from our upbringing, our past failures, our social circles—stories that tell us resources are scarce, joy is fleeting, and abundance is for other people. The first strategy, and arguably the hardest, is to audit that inherited story. I started doing this a few years back, and let me tell you, it was uncomfortable. I had to write down beliefs like “money is always a struggle” and “I’m not a lucky person.” Seeing them on paper, I realized I’d been torturing my own potential with these limiting thoughts, just like that Templar was torturing a prisoner for information that was, in the grand scheme, just an object. The “MacGuffin” of perfect conditions will never arrive if the prison door is already unlocked from the inside.
This leads me to the second strategy: define your own “MacGuffin.” In the game, it’s a physical object. In our lives, it’s terribly vague. “I want to be happy” is as useful as a map without landmarks. Get specific. When I finally got serious about this, I didn’t just say “I want abundance.” I wrote: “I want to generate an additional $1,500 per month from my passion projects within 6 months” and “I want to feel genuine contentment, not just distraction, for at least 80% of my weekday mornings.” One is measurable, the other is a felt sense. Naoe and Yasuke had a clear target—find the mother, find the artifact. Your mission needs similar clarity. The third strategy is active gratitude, and I know it sounds like a broken record, but its power is in the consistency, not the poetry. I don’t just list things; I try to feel the relief or joy of them. It’s the difference between reading a menu and tasting the food. This practice, done for just five minutes each night, subtly rewires your brain to scan for what’s present and working, not just what’s missing or broken. It’s the antidote to that inherited scarcity mindset.
Now, strategy four is where many stumble: taking aligned action, even when you’re scared. Naoe didn’t send a polite email to the Templar asking for her mother’s release. She stormed the island. Your action might be sending that email, finally launching that website, or having that difficult conversation. I’ve found that 90% of the time, the action I’m most afraid of is the one that creates the biggest shift. It doesn’t have to be huge. Five years ago, my “storming the island” was publishing my first blog post. The tech terrified me. I was sure maybe twelve people would read it. But it was an action aligned with my defined “MacGuffin” of sharing ideas. The fifth strategy is environmental design. You cannot think abundant thoughts in a cluttered, chaotic environment that screams “there’s not enough space.” I did a purge last year—donated four full trash bags of clothes and old books—and the mental clarity that followed was palpable. Your physical space is the stage for your life’s play. Make it a set that inspires the story you want to live.
The sixth one is about energy exchange, or what I like to call “circulating the good.” Hoarding—whether it’s money, praise, or opportunities—creates stagnation. I make it a point to connect people, share resources freely when I can, and tip generously. This isn’t about being naive; it’s about operating on the principle that abundance flows like water, not like a buried treasure. It wants to move. Finally, strategy seven: embrace the detours. The path to Awaji wasn’t straight. The main game’s final battle set the stage for this new conflict. In my own journey, a project that “failed” two years ago led directly to my most lucrative contract last month. What felt like a loss was simply a plot twist I didn’t understand at the time. The Templar’s single-minded focus on torture blinded her to everything else; she couldn’t see any other path to her goal. Don’t be that person. Stay rigid on your vision but flexible on the path.
So, that’s my take, born from an unlikely source—a video game expansion about samurai and secret societies. It reminded me that our quest for joy and abundance is often a story of releasing old captivities, defining our treasure, and having the courage to sail to our own Awaji, whatever that may be. The fortune isn’t just in the finding; it’s in the person you become on the journey there. Start with one strategy today. Audit one inherited belief. Define one specific desire. The unlock, I’ve found, is always in the starting.