It’s all about Attitude
Discussion about the recession, job loss, the economy in general is everywhere. It’s difficult to watch the news, read the newspapers or view the news online. It is hard not to feel down about what is happening to our country these days, but it is also not difficult to remember there are positive things happening as well, we just have to look for that too. I found this story a while back about attitude and how it can shape our lives…I don’t know who told this story originally-I definitely appreciate the lesson it taught me, my hope is it helps you or someone you know.
The Hot Dog Vendor
There was an elderly man who had a profitable little business selling hot dogs on a busy street corner in a major city. He wasn’t particularly well educated, but he sold great hot dogs and his customers loved him.
During the early morning rush hour, he’d wheel his mobile hot dog stand to position it near the exit of the central railway station in town. A year ago, he’d added a bacon and egg roll to his menu and sold scores of them to the breakfast crowd every day. At lunchtime, he’d move his stand to a popular park where he had lines of regulars.
In the afternoon he’d be back at the station entrance and then later, most nights he knew a great spot near a nightclub where patrons rushed him off his feet. He had even installed special lighting and flashing neon sign. Even people driving by would stop.
He worked hard for years and had done well enough to put his only son through the university and later became a management consultant with a large firm.
One day his son warned him that a recession was on the way. The old man asked his son what this meant. Being an educated man his son gave a very detailed explanation of how the recession would severely impact every person in the community, particularly small business people like his father. There would be enormous unemployment; people would not be able to afford to spend money as they did now. He painted a gloomy picture of the future and warned his father that it would be wise to cut back on his expenses and “tighten his belt” financially and prepare for the worst. The old man didn’t know about the economy or interest rates, but he trusted his son. After all, he was an educated man. Recession mentality kicked in…
Buy or sell
The old man began to cut back on the quantity of sausages and bread rolls he bought. He didn’t want to get caught with stale rolls as business began to drop off. But it was hard to judge and some days he actually ran out of sausages and rolls earlier than he normally would. So he went home early and spent more time worrying about this recession that was coming.
Soon he knew that what his son had said was right. He noticed that his earnings were indeed falling. This depressed him more and so he tended to get out of bed later each day. After all, why get to the station so early when obviously more people would be eating at home rather than spending money on breakfast in the city. He decided that his bacon and egg rolls were too expensive for most people now. After all, they were twice the price of a hot dog, so he cut them from his menu and his sales continued to plummet.
Wow, his son was right, this recession was hitting hard!
He decided to save more money and not replace the batteries that powered his neon sign and lights at night. Now, because he was in the dark, fewer people bought from him and soon he decided that it wasn’t even worth his time setting up at night. Eventually, he decided to sell off his equipment and his trolley. He was in luck though because the woman who bought his trolley didn’t seem to know how bad business was, or how severe the recession was going to be. He managed to unload the trolley for more than he thought he would get. Now day after day he stayed at home, depressed, and occasionally his son would visit him and they would discuss how bad the recession was, and how lucky the old man had been to have an educated son who had warned him in advance about this terrible recession.
So what’s the moral of this story?
Recession mentality starts in one’s own head. With our current state of affairs – Tough times are here and if you believe that times will soon be tough for you, then they will be. It may be tough for you already. Like the old man in the story, you’ll start to change your successful behavior patterns and replace them with less resourceful habits. You’ll sleep in later, take longer lunch breaks, make fewer phone calls, generate less e-mail, and go home earlier.
It needn’t be that way….
Someone else is out there continuing to do what they have been doing and possibly doing a few extra things. Dig deep, research, make an “educated” decision on what works for you – don’t stop..there is always light at the end of the tunnel if we believe it’s there..BE INNOVATIVE
We become what we think of ourselves and our success..
Celebrate TODAY – STAY positive about TOMORROW.
March 9, 2009
Tags: attitude, economy, positive, recession Posted in: Uncategorized
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