It’s up to you, Chicken Little!
The one thing we can always control is our attitude. How we interpret and react to people and situations influences their reaction to us. Most people suffer from what I call "Chicken Little Syndrome." They believe the sky is falling. If someone calls themselves a realist or pessimist they most assuredly suffer from CLS. They most assuredly look at the glass as half-empty.
The great majority of the news is reported negatively. Our economic crisis is reinforced by compounding negativity. The rare positive statements are followed by a grammatical conjunction and subsequent negative statement, i.e., "Durable good orders were up in February as compared to January, but down compared to last year." Forget the comparison to last year. Look at the positive that durable orders increased. Existing home sales are up and new home sales are up. Forget all statements that dilute these positive statements. I tell my sales and office employees to ignore anything that follows a “but" or "nor” conjunction.
One of my customers printed my philosophy and hung it in their office. “Have a fantastic day and if you’re not, fake it.” Fake it long enough and you will come to believe it.
I emphatically believe that when I change someone’s attitude from defeatist to optimistic, it will lead to a direct change in their spending habits. When people start spending more, the economy will recover quickly. A positive attitude will lead our economic recovery, not the infusion of huge sums of money.
This is my soapbox. I know that I must always repeat it continuously to everyone. Even those to whom I have espoused before need to hear it again. Join me in changing our economy by changing attitudes.
I fully expect to hear from people calling me Pollyanna. Pollyanna ignored facts. I acknowledge them. Employment is at approximately 91 percent; 96 percent is considered full employment. The fact that 91 percent of our population is employed is impressive. The fact that mortgage rates are very low is good for buyers. Gasoline is essentially ½ the price it was last summer. Savings rates are up. That means people have money to spend. Let’s encourage them to do it by creating a positive environment.
The great majority of the news is reported negatively. Our economic crisis is reinforced by compounding negativity. The rare positive statements are followed by a grammatical conjunction and subsequent negative statement, i.e., "Durable good orders were up in February as compared to January, but down compared to last year." Forget the comparison to last year. Look at the positive that durable orders increased. Existing home sales are up and new home sales are up. Forget all statements that dilute these positive statements. I tell my sales and office employees to ignore anything that follows a “but" or "nor” conjunction.
One of my customers printed my philosophy and hung it in their office. “Have a fantastic day and if you’re not, fake it.” Fake it long enough and you will come to believe it.
I emphatically believe that when I change someone’s attitude from defeatist to optimistic, it will lead to a direct change in their spending habits. When people start spending more, the economy will recover quickly. A positive attitude will lead our economic recovery, not the infusion of huge sums of money.
This is my soapbox. I know that I must always repeat it continuously to everyone. Even those to whom I have espoused before need to hear it again. Join me in changing our economy by changing attitudes.
I fully expect to hear from people calling me Pollyanna. Pollyanna ignored facts. I acknowledge them. Employment is at approximately 91 percent; 96 percent is considered full employment. The fact that 91 percent of our population is employed is impressive. The fact that mortgage rates are very low is good for buyers. Gasoline is essentially ½ the price it was last summer. Savings rates are up. That means people have money to spend. Let’s encourage them to do it by creating a positive environment.
--Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville
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