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We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another.  Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be happier when they are.

After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.  We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

Then we tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we’re able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.

Then we decide that when we recover from heart surgery or get cancer-free or have a knee replacement, that’s when we’ll be happy.

The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now.  If not now, then when?

Life is always filled with challenges.  So go ahead and admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.  Live each day to the fullest by choosing to be happy regardless as you Live Positive today.

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I opened my email that morning as soon as I arrived in my office, just like I do each morning.  I removed the spam—yes, I get it, too—and looked down through the list.  I recognized our younger daughter’s email address on one of them so I scrolled down and opened hers first.

The message announced that I had an e-greeting card to open.  So I clicked on the link and opened it.  There was the cutest picture of a yellow Lab puppy like the ones we have and a kitten, their noses touching.  And someone had drawn in some hearts between them.  The caption read, “Puppy Love.”

And our daughter wrote in, “Daddy, I know it’s not Valentine’s yet, but I couldn’t resist sending this to you.  Love and kisses,” and her name.

I wrote her back and said, “Thank you, sweetheart!  It’s never too early to send love.  Love and kisses, Daddy.”

And it isn’t.  Nor is it ever too late.  Yea, I know Valentine’s is past for this year, but send someone love today.  You receive 365 days a year, so share it as often as possible so you can Live Positive.

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Once there was a bishop in the church named Valentine.  Valentine was known far and wide for showing love to others.  It was illegal for him to proclaim his belief in a loving God, but Valentine did so publicly.  His loving actions landed him in jail on charges of treason to the government.

But he shared so much love with his jailer that he started believing in God.  He even fell in love with the jailer’s daughter.  He sent her cards with clovers made into hearts which read, “From Your Valentine.”

The legend of Valentine’s displays of God’s love only spread more after his death.  So much that he was made a saint and a day was declared for us all  to share love—St. Valentine’s Day.

Share God’s love with others today, not just your family, but people you don’t even know.  As you pass them in the hall at work or on the street, say, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”  And as you do, do so as if today were named after you.

Live positive.  Work positive.  Love positive.

When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she really wanted a certain kind of baby crib. It even had a name—the Jenny Lind crib.

Frankly, at that point in my life, I didn’t have enough money to buy it, but I really wanted to purchase it because it meant that much to my wife. I was discovering even then how to Work Positive. So I changed my perception, released my imagination, conceived a complementary relationship, believed that I could find the money, and acted on my attention and intention so I achieved the positive result of buying that crib.

First, I remembered my shotgun. I had not been hunting for years with that gun, but it was still special to me. Santa Claus brought it to me when I was 13 years old. It was my “dream gun”—a Remington 870 Wingmaster pump-action 12 gauge with a 28-inch modified choke barrel. I drooled all over “her page” in the Sears Wishbook catalog that year. I stood for hours staring at her in the local gun shop. Not that I was attached to my gun or anything like that . . .

Then, in a flash I decided that the crib was coming and the gun was going. I would sell my shotgun and buy the baby crib. On my way to the gun shop to sell it, I stopped by to visit my friend, James, who said he wanted it. So I sold the shotgun to him and bought the crib, presenting it to my wife as a surprise baby gift. She loved it!

About fourteen years later, on my 40th birthday, my wife threw a huge birthday party for me. She had about 250 of my closest friends over for a meal and party. It was great.

After everyone left, she escorted me into our home and said, “There’s one more thing. Close your eyes and hold out your hands and I will give you a big surprise.”

I did, and then she said, “OK, open your eyes! Here’s your birthday present” and handed me my Remington Wingmaster 12 gauge shotgun that I had sold to buy the Jenny Lind baby crib.

“Where did you get it?” I said.

“From James,” she said. “I called him and told him that you were turning 40 and asked him if I could buy your gun back. And Joey,” she said. “He wouldn’t let me pay him. He gave it to me as your present.”

Business Truth 1: Love your customers and clients, employees and suppliers with the same reckless abandon that my wife, James, and I did. Commit yourself to solving their problems, to growing their bottom line, and to improving their lifestyle. They will remain loyal to you forever.

Business Truth 2: What goes around, really does come around. Serve everyone associated with your business based on their needs first. You will always have enough to go around.

Business Truth 3: Believe in your business. Work hard to love and serve. And at the beginning and end of each day, remind yourself that there are Work Positive resources converging that are beyond your ability to control or influence. You will succeed.

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A husband was looking through the paper when he read a study that said women use more words than men.  He showed his wife the study results, all
excited to prove to her that he had been right all along when he accused her of talking too much.  The study results read, “Men use about 15,000  words per day, whereas women use about 30,000 words per day.”

The wife read the results that her husband showed her, and thought for a while.  Then finally she said to her husband, “It’s because we have to repeat
everything we say.”

And her husband said, “What?”

Whether you’re a woman or a man, you sometimes fail to listen to the best of your ability, right?  And that means somebody has to do more talking to get their point across.  That somebody includes not only your spouse if you’re married, but your coworkers as well.  You say, “What?” to them sometimes, too.

Avoid just talking or waiting to talk while someone else speaks.  Say to someone like your spouse or coworker, “You talk first this morning” and listen
to your life.  Maybe both of you will use fewer words as you Live Positive.