Motivation of the Day

"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed."

~ Richard B. Sheridan

Motivation of the Day

"Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other."

~ Brian Tracy

Motivation of the Day

"It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it's how you handle what happens to you."

~ Zig Ziglar

Enthusiastically Failing

In baseball history, there has not been a man strike out any more than Babe Ruth. Ninety-nine percent of all major league baseball players struck out fewer times than Hank Aaron. Thomas Edison failed over 14,000 times at perfecting the incandescent light... and that's on top of his teacher calling him a dunce. Albert Einstein flunked math. By age 40, Henry Ford was broke. At age 43, Vince Lombardi was a line coach at Fordham University. He went on to become one of the most respected football coaches in history. Abraham Lincoln lost his job, failed in business, and was defeated in eight different elections and nominations before being elected President of the United States.

Everybody, even the most successful people in history, have failed at some point. Some have failed more than others. The difference lies in how you handle those failures. If you let it knock you down and you do not get back up, nobody will pull you to your feet. But if you remain enthusiastic, learn from your mistakes and let it motivate you to try harder next time, you have no choice but to succeed.

Pessimism Not Allowed

Have you ever heard the saying, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. Either way, you're right." Believing you can accomplish a goal will put you on the right path to achievement. As General Eisenhower's quote says in today's motivation, pessimism is not likely to get you the win. You must think positively and believe you can. Your results follow your actions, and your actions follow your thoughts. Think like a winner, and you will play like a winner. Play like a winner, and you will be a winner.

Faking Yourself into Success

How about a little challenge for today? If you get down, depressed, angered or any other negative emotion today, pretend for 30 minutes that you are in an excellent mood. Fake it. Giggle, cut up, be energetic... just make yourself do it for 30 minutes. How do you feel after your time is up? Are you in a better mood than you were before faking it?

Many times we can convince ourselves to be happier than we previously were. If you act in a good mood for a period of time, you can actually change your own attitude. The same holds true for challenges, competitions and difficulties. Muhammad Ali believed that if you fake yourself into believing that you are the best, you will be the best. Our actions follow what our minds think. Changing your attitude to positive - whether it is in relation to work, school, kids, parenting, a disability, or just your general mood - will put you on the road to success.

Try it! I'm willing to bet you won't have to fake it very long before the positive attitude becomes a reality.