Jerry is a manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood. When someone would ask him how he was doing, his would always reply, " If I were any better, I would be twins!" Many of the waiters at his restaurants quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him from restaurant to restaurant.
Why? Because Jerry was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look at the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really makes me curi0us, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him: "I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "each morning I wake up, I say to myself. I have two choices. Today,
- I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always 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 always choose to learn from it.
- Everytime someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complains or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life."
"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 bad mood.
Several years later,
I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never suppose to do in the restaurant business. He left the back door of his restaurant open. In the morning, he was robbed by three armed men. While Jerry was trying to open the safe box, his hand shaking from nervousness, slipped of the combination. THe robbers panicked and shoot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and was rushed to the hospital.
After 18hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of 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. Want to 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 just, I should have locked the back door. Then, after they shoot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices. I could choose to live of choose to die. I chose to live." Replied Jerry.
Weren't you scared?" 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 Emergency Room and saw the expression of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me, she asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes , to bullets' I replied. Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Please 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.
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I want to be like Jerry la!
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