The rhetoric of "positive thinking" is well known to us all. The motivational speakers emphasize that maintaining a positive attitude is the first step to making significant life changes.

They are correct!

The book entitled "The Book of Positive Quotations" compiled and arranged by John Cook is a terrific resource for we believers of "positive thinking". Yes. The concept is an old and true one, but absolutely a necessity to meeting success in any venture.

One of the chapters in the book is titled "Positive Thinking, and Self-Fulfilling Prophesies and Actions". As someone who thrives on quotations, I have opted to highlight a subcategory within this chapter. Why? It is because I have learned through trial and triumph that the concept rings true. The idea is "our attitudes create our lives."

After you have read the quotations below, we can discuss why attitude plays such an important role in shaping your destiny.

"Each of us makes his own weather,
determines the color of the skies in
the emotional universe which he inhabits."
---Fulton J. Sheen

"Self-image sets the boundaries of
individual accomplishment."
---Maxwell Maltz

"They can because they think they can."
---Virgil

"To the timid and hesitating everything
is impossible because it seems so."
---Sir Walter Scott

The power of the mind can not be underestimated. The power of determination and the will to succeed is at the core of everything you do. How you view the world, your perspective of a challenge, your attitude of failure or accomplishment will absolutely determine the ultimate outcome.

Your perspective of anything that you face in life is literally that – your perspective. The 2004 Presidential election has been a fascinating case study in perspective. An audience can listen to the ideas, comments, and arguments of two men (President George Bush and Senator John Kerry) at the same event, yet arrive at polar opposite conclusions. Voters are making a judgment based on their experiences, gathered information (if a voter has bothered to do it), radio and television commentators, and newspaper articles and editorials. In the end, a voter’s selection will be based on their perspective/interpretation of what is presented by the sources above.

Life is about perspective. How you choose to forge ahead in life is all perspective. What challenges, events, work issues, and self-development obstacles you address will all be resolved by how you view them.

Approaching life from a positive thinking perspective will determine the outcome. If you choose to take the negative approach, consider a challenge too difficult to broach, or decide that you don’t have what it takes, you will fail.

The quotations above can be words of encouragement for us all. Virgil’s concept of ‘you can because you think you can’ says it all. Positive thinking can have a fantastic influence on how your life turns out.

If you have dreams, know that you can make them a reality.

If you want to accomplish certain goals, you can set in motion the steps to meet those goals.

Remember. Your attitude will influence what direction your life will take. Your attitude will influence whether you live in the shadows or step into the sunlight.

Begin living with a positive attitude today and savor the fruits of your success!

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