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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Attitude Is Everything



No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.
Helen Keller


According to Helen Keller’s biography, she was actually the first deaf blind individual to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree! Of course from there she went on to achieve extraordinary things in her lifetime. The thing I want to point out is if Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, did not let that stop her from building a life of significance, what are we missing? Shame on us!

People don’t really value or reflect on their purpose in life until something really bad occurs. Getting diagnosed with cancer, having a heart attack, a bad car accident. In essence the problem is really us, not the economy, not the government, not our children or our parents. Often we identify these as the problems which hinder our success. We allow them to loom large in front of us. We delay taking action because we want to be sure we understand the problem thoroughly and that we have analyzed every possible solution. Unfortunately by the time we think of something that certain problem has totally engulfed us! Envision that there is a house on fire and a person driving by just stopped and jumps out of the car and runs into the house. The person saves two small children inside. If that person had instead stopped to ponder about what to do rather than just doing it, and then guess what, two children might have lost their lives.

We are stopped by the words and thoughts of others as well. “You can’t do that.” “No one has ever done that before.” We’re stopped by these barriers that have no walls, no perimeters, and no blockades! In fact, the only true barrier is our perception. The only way to discover this truth is to make the journey yourself.

Urban legend has that the 409 spray cleaning formula product is named for the birthday of the inventor's wife or daughter. Some have thought that they named the formula after a large, powerful engine found in Chevrolet cars at the time. However, the product was actually named 409 because it took the inventors 409 tries to get the formula right! Most of us would have quit after failing maybe two or three times.


Want to know the secret to this piece of success?

Effective action is 30% what you know, and 70% how you feel about what you know.

This means that your accomplishments multiply a thousandfold when you infuse them with energy, excitement, and passion! The other day someone told me about a woman I would be working with. He said, “Oh, you’ll love her. She is so dynamic and enthusiastic.” People never say, “You will love her. She is so intelligent, and has a PhD.” As a matter of fact, it’s not what the woman knows that really impresses people, but how she gets that knowledge across. She is actually excited about what she knows, about what she is doing and how she can help. Excitement is absolutely contagious. Everyone she works with is more productive when she is around. For example, if you had the choice of hiring two people with the same background, the same skills, and the same academic degrees, you will always choose the one with the highest degree- OF excitement and enthusiasm. Trust me, hands down it is attitude that makes the difference!

4 comments:

  1. You rock. Thanks for taking the time to write/share that. I have done the same. :)

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  2. This was SO inspiring, THANK YOU!!!!

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  3. This is so great! My favorite part is "if you had the choice of hiring two people with the same background, the same skills, and the same academic degrees, you will always choose the one with the highest degree- OF excitement and enthusiasm. Trust me, hands down it is attitude that makes the difference!" Especially that I am currently looking for job and have been thinking what can distinguish me from other qualified competitors...

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  4. Although I enjoyed the article, I believe you failed to cite where you got your information, especially when it could be considered plagiarism. I.E. The Formula 409 Urban legend blurb taken, almost verbatim, from the Wikipedia page.
    Lincoln Deming
    Washington, DC

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