Skip to main content

Words Can Be Magic

"Every day, we put in place plans and ideas that will determine the shape and substance of our tomorrows." Consider for a moment the power of that simple statement.

It was 60 years ago when Earl Nightingale wrote and produced what has become known as The Strangest Secret. An audio recording that sold over a million copies, making it the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status.

 The premise of that powerful message was simply this, “We become what we think about.” A truth that had been handed down through generations crafted in many different languages. The bible states it this way, “As you sow, so also shall you reap.”

 Or this one, “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

 Face the facts; we all want excellent results from life, in our home, our work, and in all our interactions with other people. Be it financial, intangible, or both. Earl said it best, “The most important single factor that guarantees good results, day in, day out, all the months and years of our lives, is a healthy attitude!”

 Attitude is defined as, “the position or bearing as indicating action, feeling, or mood.” And it is our actions, feelings, or moods that determine the actions, feelings, or moods of others.

 Attitude is the magic word.

Have you ever caught yourself sharing the misery of your “difficult staff” with other associates on break, or before and after work?

 If so take the following challenge:

 The next time you begin to talk about a colleague with anyone else make it something constructive and positive. Try it. It’s not easy. (I’ve found that most people only feel good about themselves when they find someone more miserable than they are. That’s absurd!) Then as you walk away from the conversation smile, pat yourself on the back, and think about how good it feels to build up others instead of tearing them down. I’m convinced when you treat people exactly like you expect to see them you get the results you expect.

 Zig Ziglar called this, “A check-up from the neck-up.” An attitude adjustment.

 It’s like mining for diamonds. Miners move over 23 tons of dirt to find a single gem diamond – but they don’t go into the mine looking for dirt — they go in looking for the gems!

Earl Nightingale simplified it so well; “Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” 

 Interesting. This says to me that the attitude and expectations of my friends and associates is simply a reflection of me!

 Yes, I am responsible. Believe it or not it all begins with that magic word Attitude.

 "Attitudes are not the result off success, success is the result of great attitudes." - Earl Nightingale

 So start today, create a new habit of treating people exactly like you expect to see them - with love, respect, and dignity, and look for the gem in other people.

 Congratulations. When you look for those essential qualities in others — surprise, you will find them and nurture them in you!

 Updated January 17, 2019
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

The Rhythm of the Woodpecker

The morning in Vista often begins under a heavy, gray marine layer that rolls in from the coast, pressing a damp, muffled stillness over the neighborhood. At 4:30 a.m., the driveways are still full. The local commuters are either blissfully unconscious or stumbling blindly toward their showers, clinging desperately to their last shred of peace before the nine-to-five grind claims them for the day. I, on the other hand, am voluntarily wide awake in the dark. When your agenda consists of absolutely nothing, it is critical to get an early start. Inside the house, the quiet is profound, broken only by the sharp, mechanical click of the kettle as it reaches a rolling boil. I stand at the counter, watching the dark ground coffee bloom as hot water hits the French press's stainless steel. The smell is sudden and heavy—a deep, roasted-earth aroma that cuts through the morning fog. I push against the plunger’s gritty resistance, pouring a cup that radiates dark, stinging heat against my pal...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Gopher Problem and the High Powered Solution

Vacationing in Maine this week, just a short drive down the coast from Freeport, it is hard not to think about the outsized impact one frustrated outdoorsman had on the gear we all use today. Bad equipment can ruin a perfectly good day on the water or the trail, but it takes a special kind of vision to turn cold feet into a century-old empire. This is the story of the company we now know as L.L.Bean, but more importantly, it is a masterclass in integrity, learning from failure, and standing behind your work. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean faced a persistent problem: returning from expeditions in the Maine woods with cold, wet feet. Instead of complaining, he got creative. He had a local shoemaker stitch waterproof rubber soles onto the flexible leather uppers of a hunting boot. He called it the Maine Hunting Shoe and mailed a flyer promising perfect satisfaction. Then reality arrived. Ninety of his first 100 pairs failed when the rubber separated from the leather. Not an effective product...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...
4 comments
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more