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A friend sent me this short inspirational story this week that I thought I’d share in this post: John is the kind of guy you love to hate. 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 reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was 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 and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or . . . you can choose to be in a bad mood. I 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 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 choosethe positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy, " I protested. "Yes, it is, " he 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 affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life. [07ba35d692539e27a38aba7e4b1cc85e.js?ver=1714064536] " I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own 07ba35d692539e27a38aba7e4b1cc85e.js?ver=1714064536 business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was 07ba35d692539e27a38aba7e4b1cc85e.js?ver=1714064536, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. 07ba35d692539e27a38aba7e4b1cc85e.js?ver=1714064536 "the first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter, " he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or. . . I could choose to die. I chose to live. " "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. He continued, ". . . the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER 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 burly nurse shouting questions at me, " said John. "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, 'Gravity'. " Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead. " He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. . . I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. ********************************* Ron Goch, Sign up for our free eNewsletter, the