Are you living the dream?
I surely am! Erin Kennedy’s recent blog post on choosing happiness reminded me of a lesson that was taught to me by the former CEO of First Consulting Group, Luther Nussbaum. Anytime that Luther is asked, “How are you?” his response is “SUPER!” Even when Luther is not having such a great day, you can observe his energy spike and a legitimate smile emerge.
I have completely plagiarized Luther’s habit, though I have modified it to suit my personality. So when people ask me how I am doing, I proudly and energetically respond, Lliving the dream!” which I am, even if I happen to be having a bad day.
To be perfectly honest, by nature I am a glass half empty person and my typical response to “How are you?” prior to stealing Luther’s habit was some sort of negative rant or complaint. Initially, I was surprised and encouraged to observe that the outcomes of my conversations improved dramatically with this one simple adjustment. Now I come to expect it and I relish the fact that I have the power to disarm someone that is naturally negative like I used to be and remind them that we are all pretty lucky in the big scheme of things.
Thanks to Erin for the reminder and to Luther for making me more effective!
For more on this topic from some great thought leaders, check these out:
- Seth Godin George Clooney and How Companies Care Most about Great Ideas and Attitudes!
- Paul Sloane at Stepcase Lifehack @PaulSloane How to Be Lucky
- Gretchen Rubin @GretchinRubin 10 Tips for Being Happier – I especially like “Fake it Until You Feel It”
- My first blog post ever @ActAsIfSite Act As If It Were Impossible to Fail
Please tell us all your strategies to encourage positive thinking in others.
Joe:
Solid post!
I tend (ok always) to flock with those that have a good upbeat and positive attitude. Attitudes (positive or negative effect those nearby. I would rather spend my time with optimistic people any day of the week. Life is too short to hang out with negative, I can’t do it nay-sayers. Please.
Not interested. Nope.
Thanks so much Tim.
I find that success follows the optimistic folks like you far more than the naysayers or downers! I could not be more grateful for learning this lesson mid-career (instead of after retirement)!
Nice post, love it. I am a glass half full person but I still have bad days (or weeks sometimes) and I will definitely be using “Living the dream” as my response from now on when anyone asks me how I am.
I started my adult life in a hostel for homeless teenagers and worked hard to find some success as an entrepreneur. My attitude was the key to most of my success and now I blog about it http://mattkinsella.com/blog-2/
Hi Matt and thank you very much for your comment and for letting everyone know about your blog! I will be a (lucky) avid follower from now on!