Michael is the
kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always
has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he
was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the
employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing
this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and
asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of
the time. How do you do it?"
Michael replied, "Each
morning I wake up and say to myself, Mike, you have two choices today.
You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I
can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose
to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining,
I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive
side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it isn't that
easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Michael said.
"Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every
situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations.
You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in
a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line is: It's your choice how you live
life."
I reflected on what Michael
said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own
business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made
a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard
that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from
a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive
care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him
how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna
see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what
had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went
through my mind was the well being of my soon to be born daughter,"
Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that
I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die.
I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared?
Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Michael continued, "...the
paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces
of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I
read 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?"
I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly
nurse shouting questions at me," said Michael. "She asked if I was
allergic to anything. 'Yes,,' I replied. The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath
and yelled, 'Gravity!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing
to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to
the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after
all, is everything.
Attitude
Unknown Author
There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair
today."
So she did And She Had A Wonderful Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror
and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
"H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my
hair down the middle today." So she did And She Had A Grand Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror
and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.
"Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear
my hair in a pony tail."
So she did And She Had A Fun, Fun Day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror
and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.
"YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix
my hair today!"
Attitude is everything.
