"Having the energy to pursue our passions will always come if that's our wish. Most of who we are, what we do, and where we are going relates to our attitude. Being tired, bored, scared, or unhappy are decisions, nothing more. Coming to grips with this reality has the potential for changing every aspect of what remains of our lives."

This quote came to me recently and I simply had to pass it on because it's true. As I've studied personal development and success for more than 20 years, I've come to realize, (with apologies to Abe Lincoln), "most people are just about as successful as they make up their minds to be."

Succumbing to the internal story of failure...I'm too tired, bored, scared, unhappy,...or I'm not (blank) enough...fill in the blank with whatever mythical ingredient you've decided you have too little of: looks, money, smarts, connections, blah, blah, blah. It really doesn't matter. It's all a story we've made up and through repetition come to believe. So why not make up a different story and in the process start to shape a different set of circumstances?

Jinny Ditzler, author of the amazing book, Best Year Yet, and the goal-setting process she's worked with for more than two decades, calls this shifting from a limiting to an empowering paradigm. Laurie Beth Jones in her book, The Path: Creating Your Mission for Work and for Life (another of my favorites), describes it as the power of positive prophecy. Words do indeed have prophetic power...whether the prophecy predicts failure or success.

This week, examine what kind of paradigms or prophecies are shaping your mood, attitude, actions and behaviors. Listen when you talk to yourself. If you want a real eye-opener, jot down the things you say under your breath or in your head. You may be shocked at the kinds of limiting, judgemental, negative, critical stuff that pours almost constantly through your brain. You'd probably wash your child's mouth out with soap for saying some of it!

We do tend to become like what we think about constantly and talk about, whether silently or aloud. I invite you this week to reinvent yourself by reprogramming your internal chatter. And even if it doesn't result in an immediate turnaround of fortunes (what does?), I can predict you'll start feeling much better about yourself, others will feel better about being around you, and it's only a matter of time before your external circumstances start to match your predominant internal mantra.

The following story has circulated through email channels for several years, but it bears repeating one more time:

One evening a wise old Cherokee grandfather told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself.

He said, "my grandson, it is between 2 wolves. One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego....

"The other is good: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith..."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins.?"

The grandfather simply replied, "The one I feed."

Our attitudes are a matter of the decisions we make, one minute at a time...which wolf we decide to feed. Choose right now which attitude you'll align with...success or failure...it's up to you, starting now.