Sometimes, as obvious as it sounds, we really do have to take things one day at a time. Immediately after the events of September 11, we didn’t know what was going to happen, but we all kept going, one day at a time, and we’re still moving forward.
Maybe you’ve gotten to the point where you think you can’t get through another day. That’s shortsighted of you. You’re missing the big picture. You’re on the runway, but your fuel supply is the problem. You won’t get off the ground without it. Feed yourself some positive thoughts and you can take off at any time.
Ever wonder what makes certain people keep going? I do. Abraham Lincoln encountered a steady procession of setbacks, but he just kept at it. Nothing deterred him. He must have had a lot of faith, because he didn’t receive much encouragement along the way. He’s an excellent example of someone who never gave up.
The other extreme is the person who seems to run into obstacles with the unerring aim of a marksman. I knew a guy who was remarkably accident-prone. If there was something to run into, he’d find it. If there was a hole in the ground, he’d break his foot by stumbling into it.
Once, he was in such a slam-bang accident that he was hospitalized for six months before being completely patched up. Finally, the day of his release from the hospital arrived and it was decided that he should get an ambulance ride home, just to be on the safe side. As the ambulance was taking him home, it crashed into a car— another spectacular slam-bang accident. My friend was immediately brought back to the hospital, in a new ambulance dispatched to the scene of the disaster. What can I say? Maybe he’s just a really unlucky guy. Or maybe he’s a loser. I know that sounds harsh, but let’s face it—some peopleare losers.
The altitude level of losers is so low that they should walk around in scuba gear all day. They are below sea level on the altitude map. We all know people like that, and they might make great comedians because they have so much material—but first they’d have to learn to be funny. Honestly, I’ve known people who are such accomplished losers that I think that’s what they devote their time to:
• How can I be the biggest screwup possible?
• How can I prove theborn losertheory to be correct?
• How can I defy the law of probability to make it anabsolutedisaster every time?
• How can I achieve a perfect record of total wipeouts?
• How far can I get at zero miles per hour?
• How can I reach the lowest frequency possible?
• How can I operate so that radar could never possibly find me even if I get lost, which I probably will?
These people need a new speedometer.
Get going. Move forward. Aim high. Plan for a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen.
Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.
Start Visualizing Positively
Positive thoughts will create positive visuals. Have you ever heard someone say I can justsee it! when they are enthusiastic about something? I know from experience that if I can see something as a possibility, it has a much better chance of happening than if I can’t see it happening.
Give your higher self a chance once in a while by giving your possibility quota a boost.
Keep a book of inspiring quotes nearby, so you can change a negative wavelength the moment it descends on you. Here are some of my personal favorites:
Know everything you can about what you’re doing.
I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.
A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised.
Let’s avoid subtlety on this one.
He who looks outside his own heart dreams, he who looks inside his own heart awakens.
Exciting is a dull word for the business we’re in.
You’re the only guy who can wear a cashmere overcoat to a baseball game and get away with it.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.
I remember whenI was the Donald.
Cartoon in
(© The New Yorker Collection 1993, Lee Lorenz from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved.)
Read Carl Jung
I find reading psychology and self-help books useful. Carl Jung’s theories fascinate me and keep my mind open to my own—and the collective—unconscious.
Reading his books can also be a good form of self-defense.
There’s a lot we don’t know about ourselves. Likewise, there’s a lot we may not know about everyone else. Jung used the word
