The Optimist Creed
A few weeks ago, I featured Cynthia Brian’s book Be The Star You Are! In the “Bud’s Books” section of me free ezine. If you’re not a subscriber and would like to be, you can do so by going to my website, www.BudBilanich.com.
Cynthia tells a great story about optimism in Be The Star You Are! She was in San Francisco on October 17, 1989, the day of the Loma Pietra earthquake which registered 7/1 on the Richter scale and did significant damage to the city.
She made it home to her children 12 hours later. She couldn’t cross the Bay Bridge, her normal route home, because a portion of it had collapsed. Her daughter, Heather was five at the time. A local reporter interviewed her and asked if she were worried about Cynthia when she heard the bridge had collapsed.
Heather’s answer was that of a true optimist…
“No. I wasn’t scared for Mommy. I knew that if the bridge fell down and her car fell into the water, she would just swim home.”
If life were only that simple…
Cynthia goes on to say, “Optimism doesn’t mean life will be perfect, just that we can imagine positive outcomes.” I am an optimist. I truly believe tomorrow will be better than today. My optimism gives me the strength and confidence to tackle each day with a sense of energy.
Optimism is fundamental to self confidence, one of the five keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become self confident, you need to do three things: 1) be optimistic; 2) face your fears and act; and 3) surround yourself with positive people.
I often write about The Optimist Creed. I have created a .pdf of it that is suitable for framing and hanging in your workspace. I have given away hundreds of copies. If you want a copy to hang in your office, go to http://budbilanich.com/optimist/.
Even though I give away copies to frame, several people have asked if I would post The Optimist Creed in its entirety on this blog. The Thanksgiving weekend here in the USA has left me in an optimistic mood, so here goes…
The Optimist Creed
Promise yourself:
• To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
• To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
• To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
• To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
• To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
• To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
• To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
• To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
• To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
• To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
In other words believe, as little Heather did, that if your Mommy’s car falls off the bridge and into the water that your Mommy will swim home to you.
The common sense point here is simple. Self confidence is a key building block of personal and professional success. Optimism is at the core of self confidence. The Optimist Creed presents terrific guidance on how to become and remain optimistic. I begin every day by reading it and committing to its tenets. I turn to it when things get rough, tough or shaky. It helps my self confidence and it has played a fundamental role in my success. It can do the same for you.
That’s my take on optimism, The Optimist Creed and self confidence. What’s yours? Please take a minute to comment and share your thoughts with us. You can get a copy of The Optimist Creed that you can frame and hang in your office, just as I’ve done, at http://budbilanich.com/optimist/. As always, thanks for reading.
Bud Bilanich
The Common Sense Guy
www.BudBilanich.com
www.CommonSenseCoach.com
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www.SuccessCommmonSense.com (blog)
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