Every now and then you have the opportunity to meet someone whose philosophy resonates with yours. I recently had just such an experience. It was both delightful and empowering for me to hear Price Pritchett, PhD. speak at a conference I was attending.

Pritchett asked the following question, "Do you think it's more important to be positive, or not to be negative?" A quick survey at my table (made up of mostly salespeople) revealed that we unanimously agreed that being positive was the right answer. After all, isn't it better to be proactive? We've all read the articles and reports that state that there is a high correlation between what we think and how we feel.

Pritchett stated that not being negative was far more important than being positive. I don't believe that being positive and not being negative are opposite ends of the same spectrum. I look at it this way, having negative thoughts diminishes the impact that your positive thoughts can have. Pritchett's follow up question was this, "Where do you think most of the bad news comes from that's floating around in your head?" It's been said that we have on average some 50,000 thoughts each day. It turns out that we talk to ourselves more than to anybody else. What we say to ourselves and how we say it determines whether it is positive or negative. In the newspaper business there's an adage that goes, "Bad news chases good news away." The more we let the "bad" news occupy our thoughts, the more pessimistic we're inclined to become.

Here are three quotes that drive home the above points. Dorothea Beade says, "All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail." Lucille Ball says, "One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping yourself busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." Paul Harvey says, "I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist."

How you use language has a great impact on how you feel. For example, do you say, "That was a horrible experience" or "That was a challenging event." How about, "I'm not good enough" or I am good enough and am able." What about, "Life is full of problems" or "Life is full of adventures." You get the idea. What we feed our mind dramatically influences how we feel. And how we feel dramatically influences whether we will have positive or negative outcomes.

Dwelling on the negative gives it power. Focus your thoughts on what you want to see happen. Use positive affirmations to program your mental computer to deliver to you your desired results.

I'll give the last word on this subject to W. Clement Stone who about 50 years ago made this observation, "There's very little difference in people. But that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it's positive or negative."

Good luck to you on your journey to success.