Attitude is everything!

Have you ever known someone that just never took no for an answer? 


No, I am not talking about pushy salesmen trying to talk you into a third blender...

I am referring to the kid from your high school basketball team that was 5'1 and determined that he was going to play professionally... you laughed incredulously, and lo and behold that spunky guy overcame ridiculous odds and made the NBA...

Or maybe it was the girl from music class that had seemingly no sense of rhythm whatsoever. She was seen later on the front page of Guitar Player with insane licks in her wake...

What sets these folks apart from the status quo?
"I think I can, I think I can." (The Little Engine that Could... :)

"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he... "  that is from the Bible - Proverbs 3:27

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about that very phrase:

"The sum of a man's thoughts are his character. His character influences the conditions and circumstances of his life. Every action springs forth first from thought- even actions considered to be spontaneous and unpremeditated. 

Wow.. that's pretty powerful.

A good example of a positive reaction to rejection was illustrated by one of our country’s greatest heroes, Abraham Lincoln. 

Lincoln knew about rejection and failure: he was defeated for the Illinois General Assembly, U.S.Congress and U.S. Senate, as well as for his party’s vice presidential nomination before he finally became the 16th president of the United States. It was his perseverance and integrity that carried him through numerous personal attacks and setbacks. Decades into his career, he still considered himself a failure in comparison to the man he would ultimately defeat for the presidency, Stephen Douglas.1

David (a 13ish year old Israeli kid) killed a Goliath (a beast of a giant) with a sling shot and a stone. He killed him on the first try. He knew God had his back and refused to give in to fear!

I was nineteen years old before I ever picked up a bass guitar. While I am not a Jaco Pastorius by ANY stretch, I can hold my own in a groove. Self taught, I just determined that I wouldn't quit. 

Conversely, here I am 24 years after I left college to pursue my musical passion, back in the classroom. To the naysayers: no matter, I can! 

So before you let someone get the last word about your future, (doubt and nay saying) listen to confidence, you CAN! 










1 excerpted from The White House. "Biography of Abraham Lincoln" www.whitehouse.gov