Thursday, January 24, 2013

Positive Leadership


Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” -Viktor Frankl

There are times in your life when your attitude will be tested. It may be a family issue, problems at work and sometimes it occurs in your church life. How you respond to these tests of life will dictate many times the outcome of each. It will dictate the direction of your life. The point being is that your attitude can have a huge impact upon your life.

A few years back, a friend went through a couple of job changes. They were not of his doing and he simply was caught in the circumstances of the times. He and his wife also had various challenges with children, health and the death of relatives.

They were experiencing many of the things all of us go through. Yet to compound all of that with job loss seemed too much for anyone to carry on their shoulders. It seemed that they were carrying an unfair share of life's problems. Certainly they had every right to complain. But he kept an attitude of positive thought under the pressure.

My friend lost his first job due to company layoffs, but he had positioned himself to gain another job rather quickly. In this second job, it was a good one but after a short amount of time, a returning soldier was given his job back. The employer had promised to keep both but circumstances had changed and only one could be kept. There being no room, my friend was let go. The returning soldier deserved his old job back and so my friend left with a cheerful heart.

What happend to my friend? He kept looking, kept his attitude positive and landed a job to manage another, larger company. It was a bigger position with more responsibility and leadership. It was the job that was waiting to meet up with him at the right intersection and time in life. This man will know who he is and I'm proud to know him. He is a man of great character, great attitude and a leader among those he comes in contact with.

It is those qualities by which great leaders operate. Leaders who have learned and continue to learn how to 'rule' their attitudes. These people know how they want to feel and then chose to feel that way. Their mood and choices help create the end result. You too can be that kind of person, with the right kind of attitude.

Stay inspired my friends!

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