In honor of Obama's election, I thought I'd quote another Democrat, President Harry Truman: "A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties."
So much of life is perspective. What you see in life's challenges has an impact on one's focus and choices.
Pessimists complain about how bad things are and how few options they have. They don't want to know more about the challenges they face, because they don’t believe they can overcome them. They settle for worry, not action. Failure to make choices doesn't prevent failure; it just turns life into slow death.
Optimists keep looking at problems from different angles until promising openings become visible. They don't wait for things to happen to them; they make things happen. As a leader, don’t get lost in operations, to-do-lists and emails like this one! Instead, invest the first hour of your day thinking about strategic opportunities and moving them forward. Don't get stuck in surviving when what you really want to do is thrive. What cards in your bad hand might provide a stepping stone to success? When you reposition and retool to meet the challenges you now face, you're more likely to find ways to turn your difficulties into opportunities.
Cultivate a commitment to action for your team…starting with yourself.
(Source: Harry Truman quoted in Michael Aun, info@aunline.com, "It Sure Is Hell to Be President" Nov. 6, 2008)
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