Posts Tagged ‘Positive attitude’

Monday Mojo: You Are Who You Hang With

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Do you ever notice that people who are negative, down and have low energy tend see the negative in everything no matter what? They see the glass half empty. While those who are positive, upbeat and fired up about life see the positive in almost everything. They see the glass half full.  If you had to take a guess, which group do you think is right – the positive ones or the negative ones? The answer is both.

They are both right, because you get what you focus on and you attract people into your life who are like you. So the good news is, if you are positive, upbeat and fired up – you attract positive, upbeat and fired up people into your life. The more positive people you attract into your life the better your life gets. Actually it gets better exponentially! The downside is if you are negative, down and have low energy, you attract negative, down and low energy people into your life. The more negative people you attract into your life, the worse your life gets. And yes, it gets worse exponentially.

For a minute, just think about some of the people you know. Not necessarily those who are your best friends, but just acquaintances. What are the common characteristics of the positive ones and what are the common characteristics of the negative ones? What energy do they give off? Do they smile or frown? Do they laugh or do they yell? Do they fire you up when you see them or suck the energy from you? Do they complement or do they criticize?

Have you noticed that we don’t see the positive people and the negative people spending much time together, except when absolutely necessary? Why is that? Because the positive people naturally spend time with optimists and find ways to improve their lives. While the negative people seem to always spend time with the basket-cases and seem to always be looking for ways to sabotage their life – not intentionally, but subconsciously. The positive people tend to do things good for their physical, mental and spiritual body, while the negative tend to do bad things for their physical, mental, and spiritual body.

So, how do we get out of the funk and into the fired up?

One of the most important things we need to do is stop spending time with other people in a funk and start spending time with people who are fired up. Or if you are fired up, find other fired up people to spend time with. Better yet, find people more fired up than you to spend time with.

Both groups are like magnets and either we are going to get sucked down into a hole with the “my life sucks” group, or we are going get pulled up into the clouds with the “my life is on fire and awesome” group. You can’t beat it, because it is like any fight. No matter how tough you are, if you are out numbered you are going to lose. If you are trying to be positive but hang out with negative people, you are going to get your ass kicked. The good new is if your negative, but hang out with positive people, you are also going to get your ass kicked.

Remember, everything in life is contagious. Choose to hang with people who have the fired up plague and catch it!

Make it a GREAT week!


Thursday’s Thoughts on Leadership: Leaders Understand – Failure is a Part of Success

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Most of us have heard the story of Thomas Edison failing his way to success in the invention of the light bulb.

He literally failed 10,000 times before getting it right.

If Edison had said, “I am a failure. My idea is bad, my work is misguided, my mission is lost,” the world would be a much darker place. Of course, what he did do was learn from the failures, made changes, and tried again.

Bingo.

Early in my real estate career I seriously was considering quitting the business. I struggled greatly for my first deal. Then out of the blue a friend called and said he wanted to move. I said to myself, “OK, I will get out of the real estate business after I close this one deal.” That deal led to another and another and pretty soon there was no looking back.

One year later I had closed 52 deals!

Here is what I have learned: when you have a setback – losing a big sale, being passed over for a career-making promotion, even getting fired – allow yourself a short time to grieve, then get right back up on your horse and plan your next move.

The great coach Bill Walsh, in his book “The Score Takes Care of Itself,” recounts how close he came to quitting in the second season as 49er head coach, hitting rock bottom after a crushing loss to the Miami Dolphins. He spent part of a transcontinental flight experiencing an emotional meltdown.

Sixteen months later, the San Francisco 49ers became world champions, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI at the Silver Dome in Pontiac, Michigan.

A football dynasty was in the works. The 49ers won five Super Bowls over fourteen years.

Thomas Edison and Bill Walsh both understood that failure is an integral part of success. We would do well to follow their lead.


Positive vs. Negative

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Every time you see them, you try and avoid them like the plague because they are just so negative and draining. To them everything is a crisis. Everyone and everything is out to get them. Nothing works and everything that is not going right in their world is someone else’s fault – never theirs. They never smile and they always seem to find the negative in everything and everybody, never the positive. Anytime there is a small setback, it is like the world is coming to an end. They treat life like it is a WIN/LOSE game and trust me, there is no such thing. Whenever someone wins and someone loses, both lose. Does this type of person sound familiar? Do you know people like this? I sure do.

Then there are those people you love being around because for whatever reason they just have this positive energy about them which makes you feel good. They are always fired up and have a smile on their face. When there are small set backs, they seem to find the positive side or don’t even acknowledge it. They just keep moving forward as if it is an expected part of the process. They are the ones who keep their emotions under control. They don’t yell, they don’t scream, they don’t attack, they don’t fight and they don’t blame. Now don’t get me wrong, they are passionate and fired up. They just don’t fight it. They seem to always find a way to use the flow to their advantage. They aren’t pushing. They seem to be getting pulled through life. They are WIN/WIN people – always looking for ways that they can WIN, along with everyone else.

The interesting thing about these two different types of people is that the positive ones almost always seem to win in all aspects of their life – personal, professional, business, health, you name it. They actually say people who smile and laugh a lot (the positive ones) live longer and are much healthier and happier. The negative ones always seem to look unhealthy and anxious. They seem to struggle in business and in their relationships, and they look run down.

So, my question to you is which one are you? Be honest. Is your energy good energy or bad energy?  Fired up energy or draining energy? If you asked those around you to describe your energy, what would they say? Fired up and infectious or exhausting and draining. Are you positive or negative? Do you fight life or do you use those people and things around you to propel you to success.

It is a choice. Another one of those small choices I write about every Monday morning.  It is the cumulative affect of all those small choices that will get you are looking for in life.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!