This year marks the 75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech. Whether you are familiar with the speech or not, here is how Gehrig said goodbye to his playing days in baseball after being diagnosed with ALS:
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.
"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.
"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."
In the weeks following, when Gehrig spoke with sportswriters, he was upbeat about his situation. Now that he knew what he was up against, he could think more clearly, even though what he had to deal with ahead of him was not the path he would have chosen.
A positive attitude helps you think more clearly and creatively. When your mind is focused on the negative it is impossible to do that. Ever been in an argument, and when you reflected on things later and said: I wish I had said....
Don’t despair; your negative attitude was what was blocking the way of handling that better, not you. A positive attitude would help you get a better outcome. Try it.
So we all know that a positive attitude is good for us, the hard part is doing it. Rather than thinking: I know how important it is to have a positive attitude, ask yourself: How well I am doing at having a positive attitude?
So a positive attitude has individual benefits, but what is really cool is how a positive attitude spreads and grows among others.
Read this excerpt from August 9, 1939 that appeared in The Hartford Courant where Gehrig talks of his inspiration from letters from fans:
"… One thing that helps me more than anything is the letters I receive. They come from every section of the country, from the old and the young. Many of them are marvelous. They prove how many fine people the world has left."
Don’t just keep positive attitude for yourself. Give positive attitude, and share it with as many people as possible. Show that you are one of the many fine people left in the world, and the world will love you back for it.
Click here to watch this very cool video from MLB on the 75th Anniversary of Lou Gerhig’s Farewell Speech:
Lou Gehrig's Luckiest Man Speech
Want more ideas on positive attitude? E-mail me at cjpolek@polek.com with subject line:
Yes! Attitude
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Chris Polek is a CEO and Gitomer Certified Advisor. His passion is helping sales people become better, and serve their customers better. Learn more at: www.gitomercertifiedadvisor.com/chrispolek