CHARACTER
Here’s Why “Attitude is Everything!”
Having a positive attitude gives you a significant advantage. People with a positive attitude focus on “can” instead of “can’t. “ They see possibilities instead of limitations. Without a positive attitude, you can’t tap into any of the other success principles. Your attitude is the foundation, the starting point for your success and fulfillment.Let’s examine how your attitude activates the other keys to success:
Confidence: The confident person believes in his or her abilities and strides forward with the expectation of success. Others can see and ‘feel that confidence. Negativity breeds doubt and hesitancy.
Persistence: We all know the value of making repeated attempts until’ we reach our objective. Why on earth would you persist if you didn’t believe you’d succeed in the long run?
Resiliency: Getting back on your feet when you’ve been knocked down - that’s surely one of the most important success principles. Positive people get frustrated temporarily ... and then they look for the opportunity or learning that comes from adversity.
Courage: There’s no sustained success without courage. When you believe you can do something, you have the courage to move forward despite being afraid.
Enthusiasm and Energy: Show me a person with a dynamic, positive attitude and I’ll show you someone who is energetic and, in all likelihood, enthused about what he or she is doing. These people have a spring in their step and you feel better just by being around them. Negativity is an energy drain, while optimism is an energy enhancer.
Health: We all know times in our lives when we got sick because we were tinder significant stress and consumed with negativity.
Encouraging Others: As you begin to see and use more of your own Potential, you’re also able to see the greatness that lies within each individual. YOU have faith in the ability of others, and they Pick up on that! The positive person is a far more effective leader. Would you want to follow someone who didn’t believe in what they were doing?
Gratitude: Positive people appreciate everything more. They also ‘find that they feel better when they’re dwelling on their blessings, rather than complaining and finding fault.
Perspective: This is a logical progression from your increasing feelings of gratitude. You appreciate the many positives in your life and recognize that they far outweigh any problems or temporary inconveniences.
“Approachability” YOU feel a certain connection with positive people and enjoy the time you spend with them,
I think you’d agree that this is a pretty impressive list of characteristics. And the way to access all of them is to build a more positive attitude.
Never forget, however, that your attitude is a choice that you make every day.
The quality of your life and the impact you make in the world ... depends on that choice. In the end, I think that you, too, will find that attitude IS everything!
February 24, 2004 Jeff Keller
Sincerety
"The first virtue of all really great men is that they are sincere."
Anatole France
“Of all the kinds and colors of marble, the milky white Carrara is the rarest and most costly. Sculptors who lived during the Golden Age of Tuscan Sculpture claimed that it was the purest substance God ever created, and they longed for the feel of it beneath their hands.
Any sculptor who was commissioned by a wealthy patron of the arts to create a statue of Carrara marble felt himself to be highly favored.
“Sculpting in marble was neither fast nor easy. In addition to innate talent, it required both careful analysis and tedious, backbreaking work.
The artist would have to study the block of marble to determine its essential nature. He would then need to discover the direction of the grain and ascertain the presence of any flaws.
He had to make careful and precise plans and drawings which were in accord with the structure of the marble itself. Then, with consummate care, he would begin to chip off the superfluous marble, layer by layer, until he revealed the form he had envisioned.
“Any mistake could be disastrous. If the sculptor went against the grain he could crack the marble; if he struck a blow with too much force he could mash the crystals beneath the surface, creating holes and ruining the sculpture.
This seldom happened with the greatest of sculptors, who labored with infinite care and supreme sensitivity. Those with lesser talent and little patience, however, would occasionally be confronted with such a disaster. Rather than admit their blunder and lose their commission, some would resort to subterfuge.
“Soft, white wax, skillfully applied, could usually disguise the damage. In outward appearance the sculpture appeared to be flawless and the defect was seldom discovered until well after the work had been accepted and the commission paid. As the practice became more common, patrons of the arts became more discerning.
They refused to accept a piece of marble statuary until after a careful examination had been made to ensure that it was undamaged and contained no wax-covered flaws. The highest standard of excellence for works of white Carrara marble came to include the distinction, ‘sine cere,’ meaning ‘without wax.’
“Eventually these two words merged to become a single word, ‘sincere,’ meaning ‘pure, unadulterated, whole, intact, uninjured.’ When the word was used to refer to marble works of art, the emphasis was on the fundamental wholeness of the statue, not just on its superficial or outward appearance."
