Jerry is the manager of a restaurant in America. He is
always in a good
mood and always has something positive to say. When
someone would ask him how
he was doing, he would always reply, "If I were any
better, I would be
twins!"
Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs
when he changed
jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant
to restaurant.
The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of
his attitude.
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having
a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling the
employee how to look on the positive side of the
situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I
went up to Jerry
and asked him, "I don't get it! No one can be a
positive person all of the
time.How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to
myself, I have two
choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I
can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be
in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can
choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from
it. I always choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can
choose to accept their complaining or I can point out
the positive side of life.
I always choose to point out the positive side of
life."
"But it's not always that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Jerry said "Life is all about choices.
When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a
choice. You choose how you react to situations. You
choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to
be in a good mood or bad mood. It's your choice how
you live your life."
Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally
did something you are never supposed to do in the
restaurant business: left the back door of his
restaurant open one morning and was robbed by three
armed men. While trying to open the safe, his hand,
shaking from nervousness slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the
hospital. After 18
hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry
was released from the
hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his
body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When
I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any
better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had
gone through his
mind as the robbery took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was that I
should have locked
the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, after they shot
me, as I lay on the
floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could
choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept
telling me. I was going to be fine. But when they
wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the
expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I
got really scared.
In their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man.' I knew I need
to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at
me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to
anything." 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a
deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their
laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Please
operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but
also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from
him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy
your life or to hate it. The only thing that is truly
yours that no one can control or take from you-is your
attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything
else in life becomes much easier. Now you have two
choices to make: 1. You can just close the browser
now, OR
2. You can Email This Post to someone you care about.
I hope you will choose #2. As I did.
Also Read : You Have One
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