Smiley faces

Recently we ran an ad for new sales people. I instructed my staff that under no circumstance were they to hire anyone unless they seemed genuinely happy, friendly, had a warm inviting smile and an upbeat attitude. It is difficult to sell anything without the foregoing characteristics. I wish that “every” manager would use the same criteria when hiring for any position. Many of them do and it is a pleasure to be around such a friendly bunch of happy, smiling nice people with positive attitudes.



How can a positive attitude be obtained and maintained? I believe that like most things we must work at it. I knew a man who had the most positive attitude imaginable. One day he was diagnosed with cancer. He endured it and suffered terribly undergoing some very painful surgery and chemo treatments, yet throughout it all he maintained a wonderful attitude and eventually he beat the cancer and although I have not seen him in the last couple of years, last I heard it was still in remission.
His enthusiasm for life was contagious. He was what I describe as a “boomer”. Not a baby boomer but someone whose good mornings and good natured slaps on the back were enthusiastically boomed out with genuine vigor and love for life and those around him. I asked this man one day how he did it day in and day out especially with some of the trials he had to endure. He replied that he looks at himself in the mirror while shaving “every” morning and “literally” talks to himself about “choosing” to be happy instead of glum each day. He told me he never misses a day and had been doing it for as long as he could remember. It is a daily conscious effort to do so. It has paid off for him in more ways than one. He became very wealthy as a result of utilizing his likeable personality to assist with selling his financial planning services. He has more friends than anyone can imagine and is loved and admired within his community. He is also a great witness for Jesus Christ and is an inspirational spiritual witness to practically everyone he meets. If you asked him, (and probably if you do not ask him), he will unabashedly tell you that his relationship with Christ is the most important aspect of his life and without it he would just be another “sad sack” with a chip on his shoulder.



I believe that true deep enduring peace and happiness are impossible to obtain without a close relationship with Jesus Christ. That is not to say that all Christians are happy and have good attitudes; unfortunately they are not. Christ is the foundation and cornerstone, but like most things we must do our part too. It rains on the righteous just like it does on the wicked, and we all get discouraged and weary, but we must look to Jesus Christ to lift us up. We must consciously choose to look at the bright side of things and “know” that the cup is half full and not half empty using Christ and His love for us and willingness to endure the horror of the cross in order to once and for all defeat sin and death as our example. Your most important job aside from obtaining your own salvation is to love others and lead them to Christ. Your life, your attitude, and the way you handle yourself will go a long way towards convincing someone that the Christian way is better than following the way of the world, (or not!). The Bible tells us to let our light so shine that it will lead others to Christ. My friend is a welcome lighthouse and bright beacon for the Christian life. I have heard people say of him, “I don’t know what that guy is on, but I sure want some of it”. What he has is a good dose of Jesus Christ and he does not mind telling people that. Everyone can have a better attitude, but it does not come out of a whiskey bottle, beer can. pill bottle, needle, or immoral relationship. It begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and must be combined with a determination to be happy combined with a daily work ethic towards maintaining it.. Smile you are being watched by a skeptical world!





Hebrews 12:1

Therefore we also since we

are surrounded by so great a

cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside

every weight, and the sin which so

easily ensnares us, and let us run

with endurance the race that is set

before us,

looking unto Jesus, the author

and finisher of our faith, who for

the joy that was set before Him

endured the cross, despising the

shame, and has sat down at the right

hand of the throne of God.











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