With a challenging year behind us, and a promising new year on the doorstep, I thought it would be a good time to share one of my favorite stories.  I hope that we can all adopt some of the lessons of "Jerry". 

Happy 2009 to you!

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant in South Philly. 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 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 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: he 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 needed 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.

I recently joined a worldwide giving movement called 29 Gifts. It feels great to be part of a positive community and help create a revival of the giving spirit in the world. There are already more than 3,100 people taking part from 38 countries and our goal is to grow the movement to 29,000 givers as soon as possible.

I hope you’ll say "YES" and join with me to offer your own gifts to the world.

It’s so simple. Just sign up at www.29Gifts.org and commit to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. If you want to, you can share stories or art on the 29 Gifts community page about how it impacts your life to focus on giving.

You can start your personal challenge any time, and your 29 Gifts can be anything given to anyone... money, food, old sweaters, smiles, your time, kind words, positive thoughts, prayers...

WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS? To inspire more generosity on our planet. Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your own life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude.

Visit www.29Gifts.org today and sign up to start your giving!

Some sobering statistics about youth and smoking:

• Each day, nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking; of these, nearly 2,000 will become regular smokers. That is almost 800,000 annually.

   

• It is estimated that at least 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers.

   

• Approximately 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21.

   

• If current tobacco use patterns persist, an estimated 6.4 million children will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.

   

• According to a 2001 national survey of high school students, the overall prevalence of current cigarette use was 28 percent.

My son, Jackson and his 5th grade class at Rosecrest Elementary were guests on the Home Team this week.  They learned about this anti-tobacco ad contest and joined me in a kickboxing workout. (click here to kick with us!)

Here is the information you need to get your kids involved in the TRUTH campaign.  

4th and 5th-Graders Urged to ‘Try Advertising’: UDOH Annual Anti-tobacco Ad Contest is now open to all 4th and 5th graders statewide. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) invites Utah 4th and 5th graders to design radio, TV and billboard ads that will convince other kids to never start using tobacco. Best in show will win $400 and the ad will be professionally produced. Additional prizes include $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place in each category. Entries are due by March 6, 2009 and more information is available at www.youthagainsttobacco.com

I recently experienced one of the most heart-breaking days of my life.  We made the unbelievably difficult decision to put our 17-year-old Lady-Dog down.  We adopted her 8 years ago, and I know we gave her the best years of her life, but still I am so sad.  A few years ago, we learned that she had an old ACL injury that she had learned to deal with.  She had a chronic middle ear infection, she had lost most of her hearing, and was going blind.  Near the end, she became incontinent, lost her dignity, and lost her appetite.  We knew it was time.  On her last day on earth, we took her to her favorite groomer, made a stepping stone for our garden with her paw prints, and had these beautiful pictures taken by Vanessa Cheney. (Thanks Vanessa)

I can't look at her picture or talk about her without crying.  The hardest part has been watching my boys deal with her passing in their own ways.  My three-year-old was in denial.  He didn't want to talk about it.  Then, exactly one week after she was gone, he just started crying and asking me why we couldn't just keep her.  This went on for two days.  Now, he will sit at his little piano and play a soft, slow song.  When I ask him what he's playing he says it's a song for our Lady dog who went to Heaven.

For most pet owners, the connection we have with our pets is as strong, or stronger than our relationships with other people.  "Animals tend to provide us with a type of companionship and emotional intimacy that humans can't quite manage to provide for each other," says Jeannine Moga, MA, in Healthy Pet magazine.  My friend, Darlene Braden gave me a book of comforting letters and thoughts that she received when she lost her dog.  I want to share a poem with you, in hopes that it will help you or someone you know when losing a beloved pet.  If you want to download the entire e-book, go to www.whatstopsyou.com

I STOOD BESIDE YOUR BED LAST NIGHT
I stood beside your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you where crying, you found it hard to sleep
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
“It’s me, I haven’t left you, I’m well. I’m fine, I’m here.”
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour your tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today. Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels; I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today. You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I’m not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you; I smiled and said, “It’s me.”
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It’s possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away.”
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew.
In the stillness of that evening, I was close to you.
The day is over; I smile and watch you yawning.
And say “goodnight, God bless, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to greet you and we’ll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out, then come home to be with me."

This is an excerpt from 'The Strangest Secret' by Earl Nightingale.  Although his message was written over 50 years ago, it is as relevant, if not more, today that it was when he wrote it.

"If you understand completely what I am going to tell you, from this moment on, your life will never be the same again." - Earl Nightingale

George Bernard Shaw said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in  circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.”

Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry – his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing… he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I’ll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it’s good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care. It’s up to the farmer to make the decision.

We’re comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn’t care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant.

Now, let’s say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land…and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted. As it’s written in the Bible, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Remember the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant… success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal…or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.