The Big Idea
We give leis to say “Thank you” and we give leis to say “Goodbye.”
Our attitude is like a lei. If you string together a collection of dried fish, everything starts smelling fishy! If you string together old socks, the whole world has this funny odor to it.
Your attitude is like a fragrance you carry around with you. The difference is that skunks carry a bad odor while a beautiful Hawaiian plumeria blossom carries a fragrance.
Why You Need This Book
This book gives practical steps to building internal values and perspectives that will change your life!
Make Your Choice
So far too often we see the consequences of making a bad choice or walking through life with a bad attitude, and yet we choose that attitude anyway. Then when relationships fail, when we lose friends or forfeit a great opportunity, it really should be no surprise.
Deposit into your heart the necessary ingredients to develop a life-changing attitude. Make that choice right now. The new attitude may feel awkward at first, but practice until it becomes natural.
You are only one attitude away from a great life, a successful marriage and a promising future!
Your attitude is the set of your sail. You must choose the direction you want your life to travel and set your heart accordingly.
There will be storms, but it will be your attitude toward those storms that drives you in one direction or another, not the storm itself.
A poor attitude in the midst of the storm can cause the storm to rage inside for a lifetime.
You will see problems everywhere, but don’t allow your eyes to remain focused on them. Develop a new perspective – a fresh view of your problems.
Don’t hang around the swamps of despair. They will only skew your attitude and impede your resilience. Learn to bounce back quickly.
Don’t miss the ride! Don’t forget to laugh. There is plenty to laugh about in life, and we need to laugh.
Whatever it is, take time to enjoy life in its simplest form.
Make a new friend today. A great place to start is with your family.
Life is too short for that. By establishing deep friendships with your family, you’ll begin to reap one of life’s greatest promises and rewards.
Pause long enough to enjoy the ride. You will be pleasantly surprised how a new perspective will help you to develop an attitude that attracts friends, laughter, joy and success!
Raise the Bar of Excellence
We need to practice having an excellent attitude in each and every endeavor, for it will always be true that we can improve the way we see problems, people and life.
Even if it’s only 1 percent each day, improve something about yourself. If you can improve just 1 percent a day, that means over one year you will have improved more than 300 percent for your life.
Raise the bar!
Play the Right Background Music
As you dwell on these memories, experiences and thoughts, they are recorded on the soundtrack of your mind and play continuously all day long.
Whatever you play on this internal sound system affects everything about you – your attitude, your self-image, your confidence level, your relationships, the way you communicate with others and even your faith. Memories hang on for a long time if you let them.
What is your play list? You get to make the selections, so choose wisely!
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Love
Am I consistently committed to helping others develop and discover the very best in their lives?
Peace
Do I bring a calming effect to every situation, or do I stir up people’s feathers? Do I tend to fix the blame or fix the problem?
Patience
Do I give people room to fail, and then help them look for the lessons of life that can be extracted from that failure?
Kindness
When working with people under my supervision or care, do I appeal to them kindly?
Gentleness
How do I deal with others’ failures, especially if it affects me?
Self-control
The more you practice these things, the more fruitful you’ll be in your attitude, business, and family. So practice, practice, practice!
Finish Well
Each of us can live an extraordinary life with an attitude of excellence, but it must be diligently cultivated. Let’s take a look at four keys to living an extraordinary life.
Aim for the Right Target.
An attitude that attracts success begins with knowing which opportunities to accept and which to reject. This way you will begin to develop not just an existence but a LIFE.
Remember, first aim for the right target.
Run the Right Race.
You cannot run someone else’s race; you can only run your own. If you run the wrong race, you’ll end up at the wrong finish line.
Understand What Satisfies Your Soul.
Contentment cannot be acquired directly. Truly content people are those whose aim in life is something much bigger than attaining mere contentment alone.
Learn to understand what truly satisfies you – what satisfies your soul. Otherwise, you will never develop an attitude of true contentment.
Make Contentment an Inside Job.
Contentment is vital in developing an extraordinary attitude and, as discussed in the previous point, must be aimed for instead of instant and all too temporary gratification. The prisoner on the top bunk was staring out the window of his cell into the night sky.
The stars were spread out in a splendid array, with an occasional shooting star making the evening sky a spectacular display of fireworks.
Calling to his cell mate in the bunk below, the man said, “Hey, wake up! Look at the stars! “Aw, leave me alone,” his cell mate grunted.
The stars tonight are the brightest I’ve ever seen!”
One prisoner saw the stars; the other saw the bars. It all depends on your attitude, doesn’t it?
Contentment is an inside job. Choose a good attitude that you might experience life the way it was meant to be lived!
But it takes training, discipline and desire to develop your perspective to see what’s good. Choose, because both will be present – the stars and the bars. Look for the stars.
You’re only one attitude away from a fantastic life!
