“You are the sum total of the five people you hang around with most” is a popular quote amongst speakers. And with good reason…..it’s true!

If you surround yourself with others who are negative [either willingly or unwillingly] who dash your hopes, dreams and aspirations, you will never find the success you deserve.

And if you choose to surround yourself with others who are positive, optimistic and supportive, you will be uplifted and well on your way to finding less stress and more success which is what I’m all about.

So, which type of people are you hanging around with? Makes you think, doesn’t it?

No matter how positive the people you spend the bulk of your time with, it’s easy to become negative and pessimistic if you spend too much time watching and reading the news.

Don’t get me wrong. You want to stay informed. But, there is a careful balance to be struck between being informed and overloaded with doom and gloom. The media knows that the uplifting stories don’t tend to get as many eyeballs and as deep an emotional reaction as the sensational and cataclysmic stories do.

As positive as I am by nature, I know that I, too, can be dragged down if I’m not ever vigilant. Since my work is consulting, I’m speaking to many of you who are struggling and, at best, seeing the glass as half empty. And if I’m not careful to offset this view of the world it might just rub off on me.

That’s why I have regularly scheduled phone calls with people I know who are like-minded in a positive way. We focus on one another’s businesses, we call each other out when we’re being overly pessimistic and we use each other as a sounding board for new ideas and as a mirror to provide constructive feedback. We even take it one step further: once a year, I meet with two other like-minded positive business people face-to-face for two power-packed days. We do this because we know that relying on phone calls, e-mails and GoToMeetings® is not good enough. We must commit to get physically away from our businesses and in an environment where we can surround ourselves with like-minded positive and supportive people committed to helping one another as we help ourselves.

The meeting agenda always covers:

1. What went right this year and why?
2. What went wrong this year and why?
3. What we’ll be doing differently this year and why?

When I come home from this meeting, I’m re-energized and refocused in a way I never could have been if I had just kept plowing away dealing with the day-to-day routine of running my business. I must look up once in awhile in this special way to see where I’m going and to reaffirm that the path I’m on is the one I intend to follow.

One of the best things I get from this meeting is it allows me to shrug off the negativity I’ve unwittingly accumulated.

Attitude is really all we get to control. And when we can re-center ourselves with an attitude adjustment the work we’re doing both in and on the business gets better. I know this because I can see how much more effective my consulting work becomes with my clients when I’m in a positive and supportive frame of mind. The neatest thing is it benefits them, their staff and their customers when I’ve got the right attitude. We all win!

Remember, you and your attitude have a bigger impact on yourself and others than you can imagine.

Don’t believe me? Rent “It’s a Wonderful Life” and after you watch it, tell me again how you don’t think what you do and even what you think has a powerful impact on others.

Right now, commit to forming your own Positive Mastermind Group and put a note on your calendar, Outlook or any other program you use so it comes to fruition.

I bet you’ll feel better about yourself and you’ll have less stress and more success.

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