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All the successful people I know have an attitude
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Entrée: A Plea for
Positivity by Grace
Judson
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I was handed a business card the other day by a young woman who does pedicures at a day spa. The name on the card was Judy Fantastic. "What a wonderful name!" I said in delight.
It turns out that Ms. Fantastic is using a nom de plume, so to speak (or, at least, a nom de nailpolish brush). With utter, disarming sincerity, she explained that she chose "fantastic" as her personal adjective because, she said with a huge smile, "I am fantastic!"
What a difference between Judy’s approach and that of most people I talk to!
When I tell people that I work with smart, successful people who want to explore new careers or who are seeking more meaning in their current careers, I'm shocked at the number of them who duck their heads, shuffle their feet, and declare (usually with embarrassed laughter), "Oh, well, that wouldn't be me. I'm not successful or smart!" (I generally have to bite my tongue to avoid retorting, "With that attitude, you never will be, either!")
It seems as if people have a superstitious need to make disclaimers. I'm not ready, I'm not smart, I'm not successful – all of these statements are somehow supposed to turn away the bad luck gremlins and instead invite the gods of good fortune to smile upon us. We blame our achievements and successes on luck and circumstance, and embrace setbacks with a litany of responsibility.
But life doesn't work that way. The fact is, we get what we focus on. Our brains have to filter through huge amounts of input, whether it's the birds flying past the office window or the latest financial news. The bird enthusiast sees an orange-crowned warbler sipping from the hummingbird feeder; the warbler is invisible to his non-birding co-worker at the next desk. You and I listen to the same news report; you're an avid investor, but I only stare blankly when you comment afterwards on the price of oil.
You've probably experienced yourself how a new interest – whether it's which car to buy or a sudden passion for Thai food – is suddenly everywhere you look. Established Thai restaurants appear out of the blue on streets you've travelled for years, and why, you wonder, is every third driver behind the wheel of the exact model and color of the car you're considering?
In practical terms, what this means is that we can set our own filters to hear – or exclude – whatever we want. We can focus on being fantastic and tune our filters for opportunity – or we can remind ourselves that we're neither smart nor successful, and set our filters for failure.
Personally, I know which I prefer. And I know which type of people I'd rather hang out with. What about you?
I invite you to select your own positive adjective. Which one most suits your goals and enthusiasm? Write down at least a dozen, and spend time trying them on, just as you would try on a pair of shoes; it's important that your personal adjective fit correctly and not pinch your aspirations! Then decide how you plan to incorporate your adjective into everything you do.
About the author:
Grace Judson is the founder and driving force behind Svaha Concepts. She coaches people who are ready to play - and WIN - the game of living life on their own terms. For more articles like this, sign up for the free Svaha Concepts newsletter. For information about the free interview series Secrets of the Woman Next Door: Stories of ordinary women living extraordinary lives, visit Svaha Concepts' Secrets page.
Main Course: The Effect of
Positive Energy by Kent
Jacobson
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Positive energy can go a long way in ensuring that your home and work environment is calm and relatively anxiety free. If you have ever worked in an office with people who are constantly giving off negative energy, you surely know what it feels like. You feel suffocated by this energy, and often times it wears off on others. One of our major social problems nowadays is negative people, who are constantly talking about others, and turning people against one another. This form of negative energy is one of the quickest ways to divide an office or your home. If you work with negative people, do not let them bring you down. Easier said than done, so what to do about it.
The best way to combat negative energy is to throw positive energy right back at it. In other words, if a person is constantly degrading someone, you need to step to the plate and throw a good word in about him or her. This will make the person realized that this type of attitude will not be tolerated. By letting this negative energy circulate around the home or office, you are doing nothing to help the situation. In fact, if you are not helping, you are just contributing to the problem.
Try to make it a personal goal to show up at your office everyday in a good mood. Often times, positive energy will pass on to your co-workers and family members. If you can get this sort of attitude started, pretty soon everybody is feeding off of each others positive energy. The end result, anybody who brings negative energy to the office or home will quickly be converted; they have no other choice!
The best aspect of positive energy is that it is F R E E. You need to look no further than within yourself. Be aware, negative energy is easier to find in some ways. Remind yourself, it is vital to wake up everyday looking at what can go right, not what can go wrong. Try taking a positive attitude to be the night before; you will see a difference in the morning.
In everyday life positive energy seems to be ignored when evaluating successful business or home environments. Businesses or families that do not address the people who project negative energy are never going to reap the rewards possible in their quest for success. Be part of the solution, not an enabler to the problem.
Brian Tracy said, "Excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends."
About the author:
Kent Jacobson, a.k.a. "Mr. Success" is a trusted authority in the success field and provides valuable success information for free through his website at: http://www.Shortcut2Success.com. You can also read Kent's Success Blog to find more success secrets at: http://www.Shortcut2Success.com/blog
Second
Helping: Ponderings at Powell’s by Angel
Hale
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The nudging reminder came to me while we were in Powell’s Bookstore. It must be noted that Powell’s is actually less like a "store" and more like a book "mall" that takes up an entire city block. My Sweety and I did what we love to do; we wandered throughout the entire place and dived for any room with headings that sounded interesting, bazaar, funny, mysterious, or just intriguing, and read passages aloud together. We laughed, shook our heads in bewilderment, engaged in interesting discussions and dreamt of our next major vacation destination between our readings.
While in the self-help area, I became suddenly aware of the immense amount of "information" that exists in so very many forms. It’s overwhelming and staggeringly wonderful to consider the resources that are available to us in this day and age. If we want to improve our lives in any given area, there isn’t just one, but hundreds, if not thousands of books, audio programs, videos and other forms of media to choose from. No matter who we are, what language we speak, or the learning style or preferences we possess, we can find just about anything we want to find to assist us on our journey.
The trick of course is to know where to find it, seeing it when it is smack dab in front of our faces, and recognizing the value it could add to our lives. Standing there in Powell’s, in the midst of all of those potential gifts of knowledge and inspiration that surrounded me, I could feel nothing but gratitude. I was and am still grateful to all those who have taken the time and effort, whatever their motivation might have been, to write and share their messages and stories with the world.
I then thought of the book I am currently writing and was grateful for the chance to join these messengers in gifting to the world yet another resource that may touch a life, or many lives, in ways no other message could; not simply because of the story or message itself, but because of the messenger. It amazes me to think of all the times I have heard a particular message over and over only to have its’ deeper meaning elude me. Then, almost magically, upon hearing it a sixth, seventh, or even a fifteenth time, the message explodes with meaning and truth. Is it the message or the messenger? I am convinced that it is the synergistic effect of the two combined.
Hearing an old familiar tune can suddenly sparkle with new meaning when delivered from just the right musician. In the same way, an often repeated message delivered in just the right way, by just the right person, using just the right words, can suddenly create new resonance and meaning for us. That’s how important the messenger is!
While standing there, I also thought of you, yes you, the gift that you possess through your story, your message. You are the messenger through which others learn. When you share your story and message at just the right time, in the way only you can share, using only words that you can conjure from your own unique experience, you may convey the very knowledge or inspiration that someone has needed and sought for years.
About the author:
Vatche Bartikian is a Stress Management Specialist and regular (every 2nd Tuesday) article contributor at AskMen.com.
Soup to Nuts: From the feedback
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Patt writes,
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