Let it really sink in - then choose

This is a story I received in an email. Its very motivating....

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... You can choose to be in a bad mood
I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about l ife instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'GRAVITY'!'

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything .

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

What sense do we make of the financial crash?

Events of the last month, though not flummoxing me, have definitely left me in a state of wonder. Wonder about how do we make sense of what is happening around us as financial markets crash, banks run for cover and governments panic into bailing out these so called safe and dependable institutions. I, for one, am being quite equanimous about the whole affair but, as any reasonable person would vouch, having a crystal ball in my hands at this moment in time would not go amiss. Alas, crystal balls and soothsayers are devices best left to the weak. Rational judgement demands that we look at the situation with cold reason and plan for the future.

The credit crunch, mortgage crises, bank runs and stock market collapses in the Western world had seemingly left the emerging markets untouched. But the performance of the emerging market indices have put paid to the belief that these markets were “decoupled” from the west and as a result would be safe harbour for investments. Markets in China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Middle East have joined the West in a bear run. Investors are selling off their holdings to salvage whatever they can rather than wait for the markets to recover. In my opinion, this is a herd mentality that we are falling prey to. Selling off in stages might be better. Personally, I see an opportunity in the downward slide of shares. With stocks at levels seen 5-7 years ago, it has never been a better chance to buy them than NOW.

Also, diversification presents an alternative strategy: real estate, cash, gold and art are alternative investment assets which provide good stable returns and tend to rise when markets pick up. The exception being cash, as cash will not grow in a low interest regime. So essentially your cash is not working for you if not invested in some productive asset: an asset that provides a constant stream of income or appreciates in value thereby making it possible to realize profits from sale. Or if you have the luxury of currency arbitrage, then you can remit in your hard earned dollars and £s in India as the Rupee continues to weaken. However, in a few months, when the Rupee gets stronger you will have more $s and £s as a result.

Bottom line, as long as you are able to maintain exposure to the stock market without feeling the heat, I would recommend staying invested. Perhaps buy more in the Mumbai Stock Exchange and increase your chances of growing your portfolio in the coming years when the inevitable upturn comes.