Are you living a life of CELEBRATION or DESPERATION?

After last week’s historic election, we’ve got millions of people celebrating while millions of others are feeling desperate.

But did you ever stop to think that what happens “out there” has very little to do with how you feel? You’re in charge of that, if you know how to build and keep a KILLER ATTITUDE.

F.Y.I. Join my 60-minute webinar this Thursday, November 14 on How Your KILLER ATTITUDE Will Take You To The Top

But let me give you a head start. What does it take to get a KILLER ATTITUDE?

It starts with embracing the truth. Even Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.”

So what is the truth? It’s not what happens “out there” in the world and it’s not what happens to you that determines your feelings or your behaviors. It’s how you choose to respond to those things that shape every part of your life.

American singer Roger Miller said, "Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet." He's so right.

Have you ever noticed that two people can experience the same event but react in totally different ways? I sure have. And that reaction makes all the difference in their two worlds.

In my seminars, I teach a simple formula. It says E + R = O or Event plus Reaction equals Outcome. You can't change or prevent many of the Events that happen in your life, but you do have control over your Reaction. And that's critical. It is your Reaction that gives you the Outcome of celebration or desperation.

So what determines your Reaction? There are three elements.

? 1. BELIEF

If you have the right beliefs and if you believe in the right things, you'll be on the road to a life of celebration.

Of course that’s easier said than done when the news media and the political campaigns of so many people are spreading lies on all sides of the aisle. It can be very difficult to know what to believe.

Nonetheless, when you know the truth, when you believe the right things, you will experience joy, peace of mind, and a reaction of celebration, even though your life might be challenging.

Perhaps the best example I ever came across was a saying scratched on the wall of a basement in Germany. It was found after World War II, placed there by some unknown Jew who was hiding from the Nazis. He wrote:

"I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when I do not feel it.

I believe in God even when He is silent."

He or she was living a life of celebration when most people would have thought it impossible to do so, all because they had mastered the element of BELIEF.

? 2. FOCUS

What do you choose to focus on? There's always some good in a bad situation and there's always some bad in a good situation. Afterall, we're living on earth, not in heaven.

An old ditty says it this way:

"As you go through life, brother,

Whatever be your goal,

Keep your eye upon the doughnut,

And not upon the hole!"

I'm sure you know some people who focus on the hole and I'm sure those are the same people who live a life of desperation.

It's like one person I knew who was sent to a seminar by her company. The trip was paid for by the employer; the hotel was very nice, and the training was excellent. But this person's only comment about the entire experience was the fact that the chairs in the training room were uncomfortable. I'm sure they were. But her focus on the uncomfortable chairs kept her from celebrating the rest of the trip.

By contrast, Dr. Marion Stottlemire at the Kansas University Public Management Center says, "One of the greatest causes of stress in the modern world is unhappiness with our work or our work situation. You CANNOT AFFORD TO BE UNHAPPY ON THE JOB. It is killing you."

To make his point, Dr. Stottlemire related the following story. He recently met a friend that he hadn't seen for a long time. Of course, he asked him how he was, and his friend said he was happy and healthy.

As they talked, Dr. Stottlemire learned that his friend had been passed over for a promotion. In fact a subordinate had gotten the job. So he asked his friend how he was dealing with it. He replied, "Well for a while I was quite bitter. Then I realized that I was making myself miserable. I decided that I had always liked this job, and I was just going to keep doing it and make the most of it." The friend had decided to focus on the doughnut and not the hole.

So the second element that determines your life of celebration or desperation is your focus. Or as I tell my coaching clients, it's better to grow through your experiences than simply go through them. There's a lesson in every experience, and if you focus on that, you'll be in much better shape.

Let me show you 11 strategies for getting and keeping your focus positive. Join me this Thursday, November 14th, from 2-3:00 pm ET (1 pm CT, 12 noon MT, 11 am PT) for a practical, powerful virtual presentation on How Your KILLER ATTITUDE Will Take You To The Top.

I want in!

I only offer this webinar every 18 months, so please, don’t miss your chance to learn these life-changing strategies.

Click here for more information or to register.

? 3. VISION

Whereas as the second element of focus deals with what you see in the present, vision deals with what you see in the future. Those who live lives of desperation only see doom and gloom in the future.

It’s like the prize fighter who was having a rough time in his first important fight. He was floored in the second round by a powerful punch. With glazed eyes, he tried to look up from the mat. "Let the referee count." yelled his trainer. "Don't get up until eight."

The fighter nodded and replied weakly, "What time is it now?"

You need a positive vision of the future if you're going to live a life of celebration. Tom Layton made that clear. At 101 years of age, he had won several medals at the Senior Olympics and he knew how to live a life of celebration.

When asked for his secret, he said, "I don't look at my life as behind me."

Now that might sound like an odd thing for a person to say who is 101 years old. But Tom had a very different definition of "old." He said, "Old is when your memories exceed your dreams."

I think we would all be wise to adopt Tom’s approach to vision.

For a copy of Dr. Zimmerman’s latest book, The Champion Edge: Skill Sets That Fire Up Your Business and Life, go to https://www.businessexpertpress.com/books/the-champion-edge-skill-sets-that-fire-up-your-business-and-life/

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To receive more information on Dr. Z’s speaking, training, and leadership coaching, go to https://www.drzimmerman.com/ .