Have you ever wondered what would have happened if?

We are the sum of our experiences not only due to the chain of events linked from our birth to now, but also because as we make decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions it impacts future decisions of a similar nature. Personally I like where I am and would never want to change a thing; even though there have been many experiences I definitely do not want to go through again.

 So what does this have to do with business? Our business, in the same way that we are the sum of our experiences is the sum of opportunities both taken and passed. Opportunities in the business world present themselves constantly. Some are not noticed, some we pass on and some we seize and run with. I want to always be in a position to both notice and take advantage of any opportunity, whether it is as simple as an act of kindness or as complex as an offering that needs serious analysis before moving forward.

 Everything is an opportunity; everyone we meet is a potential lead or new customer, or even the source of an idea that may move our business to a new level. Keeping a positive attitude will allow you to see more opportunities and taking advantage of those opportunities will help your business grow and flourish and everything depends on your attitude.

1. Change your input to change your attitude. If you seek a positive mind and a positive attitude, you MUST expose yourself to positive information and hang around positive people. If you want to achieve positive, you have to surround yourself with it and live with it.

2. You were born to win. But,"You must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win." (A famous Zig Ziglar quote.)

3. "The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win." (A
[famous coach] Vince Lombardi quote.)

4. You will get whatever you want if you help enough people get whatever they want.A quote that many claim to have said. It doesn't matter who said it - just live it.

5. Make every day as productive as the day before you go on vacation. That's a day that EVERYTHING gets done.

6. Ignore people who who tell you, "You can't." (Except your boss.) People will try to discourage you for fear that you will pass them. Don't let it happen.

7. "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing." (A famous quote said by your mother.)

8. Don't dwell on (whine about) the problem; concentrate on the solution. Resolve how you can; don't lament why you can't.

9. Forgive and go forward. Grudge blocks positive. Until you clear the past, you are destined to repeat it.

10. Self-talk equals self-performance. Look at any athlete. Self-talk is a crucial part of expected positive performance.

11. What is the picture you have of yourself? That is what you will become. Spend 15 minutes a day focusing on a positive picture.

12. You will hear the word "No" 116,000 times in your lifetime. (Maybe more.) Try converting to just 1,000 of them to "Yes!" and the world is your oyster.

13. What you do off the job determines what you are likely to do on the job. Uh oh.

14. Strengthen your weaknesses and strengthen your strengths at the same time. Combine positive with negative for better personal development results.

15. Failure is an event, not a person. Think of failure as "it," not "me."

16. It's not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you. Sound familiar? Attitude manifests itself in your RESPONSE to events.

17. Every obstacle presents an opportunity, if you're looking for it. "Revel" and "lament" are choices. Your choices.

18. Hard work makes luck. Nothing affects positive circumstance and results more than hard work.

19. How many of your problems are cured with ten grand? (A question a famous father [my dad] once asked me as I lamented my problems.) If money makes your problems go away, attitude can make them go away as well.

20. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. The tone of your verbiage determines the atmosphere of your environment.

20.5 Resign your position as general manager of the universe. Don't try to solve (butt into) other people's problems until YOU are problem free.

Attitude gems lead to attitude AHA!s - those single moments in time where something happens, or someone says something, and suddenly you get it - suddenly you scream AHA!