It’s happening once again. Maybe it’s just me, but I have heard others mention it as well. We’re rapidly moving through the holidays as we approach the coming new year. Moving from Halloween activities through New Year’s Eve celebrations feels more like a few weeks than three months.
It’s been a very difficult year for so many, and things don’t look much better for the coming year. Sadly, many have made the personal decision to throw in the towel and place the blame on politicians, a tough economy, global competition, and a myriad of other convenient excuses.
I don’t think these people realize that they have become their own worst enemies. All my life, I’ve heard about the importance of having a positive mental attitude. I’ve seen hundreds of examples where positive thinking or the lack of it made the difference in the life of an individual and/or an organization.
It’s not hype. It’s not motivational voodoo though some present it as such. I’m a firm believer in the fact that we move toward our most dominant thought! If that thought happens to be negative, we stop trying, we blame circumstances, we lose our purpose, we give up. We suffer the negative consequences we predict for ourselves.
On the other hand, if we keep our most dominant thoughts positive, we experience the opposite. We become more creative, form new alliances, fine tune products and/or services, and refuse to give up. Such success is profiled in the media most every day.
The decision is yours! What will 2013 hold for you? You might want to review your dominant thoughts today in preparation what must be done in the near future.
We recently lost a fantastic speaker and author who has been motivating people for decades. Zig Ziglar has been using terrific stories to share his wisdom with audiences for close to 50 years. I’ve heard him share the following story many times and it certainly demonstrates the importance of self-confidence and positive thinking. What do you think?
The Kindness of John D. Rockefeller
A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment.
He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.
Suddenly an old man appeared before him.
“I can see that something is troubling you,” he said.
After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.”
Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the un-cashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.
With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the un-cashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared.
But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man. “I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller. ” And she led the old man away by the arm.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his new found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he ever imagined.
What are your positive dominant thoughts for the coming year? Be they negative or positive … you WILL move toward your most dominant thought! Act accordingly!
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.