Thursday, February 13, 2014
CHOICES
CHOICES
Jerry 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 unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him
around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry
was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was
having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the
positive.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and
asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time.
How do you do it?'
Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, 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 choose the positive side of life.'
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' Jerry 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
will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant
industry to start my own 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 Jerry did something you are never supposed
to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and
was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the
safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The
robbers shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to
the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive
care, Jerry was released from the
hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he
was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?' I
declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind
as the robbery took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was
that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied. 'Then, as I lay on
the floor, 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. Jerry 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 deadman.' 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 Jerry. 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, 'Bullets!'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as
if I am alive, not dead.'
Jerry 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.
-- Author Unknown
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Visit our website at: http://www.emailministry.org
-- Jerry 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 unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him
around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry
was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was
having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the
positive.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and
asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time.
How do you do it?'
Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, 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 choose the positive side of life.'
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' Jerry 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
will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant
industry to start my own 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 Jerry did something you are never supposed
to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and
was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the
safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The
robbers shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to
the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive
care, Jerry was released from the
hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he
was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?' I
declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind
as the robbery took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was
that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied. 'Then, as I lay on
the floor, 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. Jerry 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 deadman.' 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 Jerry. 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, 'Bullets!'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as
if I am alive, not dead.'
Jerry 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.
-- Author Unknown
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Visit our website at: http://www.emailministry.org
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