Self confidence is one of the keys to personal and professional success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become self confident you need to do three things. First, become an optimist. Second, face your fears and act. Third, surround yourself with positive people.
Last Thursday, Michael J Fox hosted a one hour television special on optimism called “Michael J Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.” Did you catch it? I hope so, as he focused on the power of optimism and how optimists create their own good fortune. As you probably know, Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about 10 years ago. The disease pretty much ended his acting career, but not his life or optimism. He has created a foundation devoted to finding a cure for Parkinson and has established a goal of spreading the word about the power of optimism. The TV special is a follow up to his book Always Looking Up.
Suzanne McCarroll is a well know television personality in Denver. Recently, she had a battle with cancer. She survived and her cancer is in remission. She says that she learned that the little things that stress us and cause us to become pessimistic aren’t all that important in the greater scheme of things. Once she got her health back, she says she is “too blessed to be stressed” by many of life’s little, and big, annoyances – like the current economic crisis.
I am wearing a “Too Blessed To Be Stressed” T-shirt as I am writing this post. Suzanne has written a poem by the same name that captures her thoughts on optimism….
Too Blessed To Be Stressed – Suzanne McCarroll
I walked into work and everyone had a frown
My coworkers said the stock market was down.Their 401 k’s were heading south
Causing them to be, down in the mouth.At that moment I didn’t care about money
I was joyous, happy, optimistic and sunny.Right then, I though little about my lack of wealth
For I had just been given a clean bill of health.My pet scan results showed that I was cancer free
My retirement account was far less important to me.A simple phrase I offer to you,
To cheer you if finances are making you blue.It’s hard for a balance sheet to truly measure
The most important asset we should treasure.Good health is what I prioritize now,
Not the volatile rise and fall of the Dow.
Good for Suzanne – for beating cancer, and more so for sharing her story of hope and optimism via her poem and T-shirts.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are self confident. Self confident people are optimistic. They realize that life throws a lot of stuff at you. The stuff isn’t important, how you react to it is. Michael J Fox and Suzanne McCarroll have chosen to react to the troubles life has thrown them in an optimistic manner. After battling cancer, Suzanne says she is “joyous, happy, optimistic and sunny.” Optimism is a choice. When you choose optimism you choose to take a proactive stance in creating the successful life and career you deserve. The Optimist Creed helps me choose optimism. I read it at the beginning of every day. I have a copy hanging in my office. I’ve made a .pdf of The Optimist Creed that you can hang in your work space too. If you want a copy, go to http://budbilanich.com.optimist/
That’s my take on optimism, self confidence and success. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Bud
PS: Last night I saw Fleetwood Mac in concert. In their encore they played Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow – one of the most optimistic and positive songs ever written. Unfortunately, Christing McVie, who wrote the song, no longer tours and performs with the band. Here are the lyrics to Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow…
If you wake up and don't want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Don't you look back,
Don't you look back.
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