You may have heard it said before that an attitude change is easy. All you have to do is change everything about yourself. As crazy as it seems, it’s the truth. A change in your attitude will eventually involve everything about you. It’s easy and yet, the fact that you have to keep at it day after day after day is what makes it really hard. An attitude change requires a long term perseverance that few people have. That’s what makes it the biggest change you will ever make.

Attitude changes typically take place when something monumental happens in a person’s life that suddenly makes them see everything differently. This may be a near-death experience or some kind of tragedy that they weren’t expecting. People begin to see that life is extremely fragile and they begin to think that maybe the real meaning of life is contained in something other than the things they used to value so much. They begin to change their values to and to approach life from a new perspective about what is truly important. It doesn’t have to be a tragedy or a near-death experience, however, which brings this about. An attitude change can take place simply because you decide that you want to make yourself into a better person and you are determined to make that happen.

One of the most common reasons for bringing about an attitude change, besides a tragedy or near-death experience is the simple fact that a person becomes fed up with the life they have been living. They no longer see themselves as a worthwhile individual and they want to feel good about themselves again. Maybe it was just a little thing that went wrong in their life but it was somehow the straw that broke the camel’s back and now they are ready to really change their life. How do they get serious about this plan and make themselves actually stick to the new changes that they have in mind for themselves? What do they need to do to actually make this attitude change a reality?

One of the best ways to really make your attitude change stick is to join a group and make a commitment to go to that group several times a week in order to remind yourself about the changes you are trying to make. Other people can do wonders for your attitude and make you stick to the promises you have made for yourself simply because you feel more support from other people when you join a group. It really doesn’t matter who the people are in the group and whether you like them or not. This is not how an attitude change works. The change takes place because you make a commitment to make friends with some new people who are trying to do the same thing as you are trying to do; i.e. improve you life! You go to the group, not because the people are so great or you love them so much. You go to the group because you are trying to make yourself a better person and you know that you can’t really do it on your own. This is called humility and it is a primary ingredient in bringing about an attitude change in anyone.

You have to be able to admit that you can’t do everything on your own. People don’t become educated doctors or lawyers on their own. They go to school and classes to achieve this. Similarly, you can’t change your attitude and become a new person on your own. You need other people! If you are serious about making an attitude change in yourself, you will make a commitment to join a group and start working toward your goal with others who are also interested in the same thing. There are thousands of groups out there and you can find one that fits the interests you have to make a change. Attitude change is easy but it takes concerted effort over a long period of time. What better way to devote yourself to this long term goal than to try out a new group and make a commitment to help out each week. You will surely be on the road to success once you have made that decision!

The other day I was reading a very interesting article concerning a shark attack that occurred way back in 1916. It played off along the North East coast of the U.S. and concerned a great white shark, that had been had been terrorizing the New Jersey beaches.

Now everybody knows and accepts that a shark is a creature of the sea and needs salty water to survive. Therefore nobody thought that a shark may attack them in freshwater, but that is exactly that happened later that year.

This particular shark remained close to the shore and eventually swam up a river stream around Raritan Bay, attacking a couple of bathers upstream.

Shortly before the attacks occurred, a retired Sea captain, by the name of Thomas Cottrell saw this shark swimming upstream while crossing a bridge. He couldn’t believe his eyes, but nevertheless got into his boat and raised the alarm. Not surprisingly nobody believed him. “A shark in a river? C’mon, get real, It’s not possible.”

But you know what? As incredible as it seemed there was a shark in the river and all those who didn’t heed the warnings were in danger of being attacked.

Eventually this shark killed two people. The first victim was a teenager who may or may not have heard Cottrell’s warning. Shortly after this attack another man jumped in the water to look for the victim, even though he was told there is a shark in the water. He too was attacked and died from a severe loss of blood.

While reading this I couldn’t help thinking about September 11 and see the parallels between these two stories.

When asked by the U.S. Congress and the media, why “clues” which should have been picked up were disregarded, the heads of the FBI and CIA as well as members of the Bush administration replied, “We didn’t think they would use airplanes as missiles.”

Had the FBI and CIA believed that something like what happened on 9/11 was possible they might have put measures into place which would likely have prevented this from happening. But they didn’t, even though the hijackers left dozens of “clues.”

Similarly if the swimmers at the US East Coast had believed Captain Cottrell when he told them there was a shark in the river, chances are that nobody would have been killed by this shark on that day.

But because they believed it is “impossible” for a shark to be found in freshwater they disregarded the warning altogether, just as the US law enforcement agencies did, resulting in many paying with their lives.

On the other hand there are human beings who overcame extraordinary odds and accomplished great feats. Everyday we hear stories of people who were told by the so-called “experts” they didn’t have what it took, yet made it regardless.

The lesson here is that anything is possible, both the good and the bad. By believing or not believing in something doesn’t mean you will not be affected by whatever happens. But it means that based on what you believe, you may take some action which may save you from something terrible or may get you out of a terrible situation.

There are many of us who are in terrible situations, including poverty, unhappiness, debt, etc. Those of us who have changed their situation, did it because they believed they could make it.

Those who don’t obviously don’t believe that they can change their situation otherwise they would have done something about it, right?

How many opportunities have you missed just because you thought it wouldn’t work or wasn’t possible. Just think what you could do if you believed that you could do anything, even realize your dreams?

What great talent do you have which you have done nothing about, because you probably believed you can’t do it.

I hope to have shown you through this short article that anything is possible. And that by just believing, “I Can,” your battle is already half-won.

Since the beginning of my blog, I have tried to let my readers into my private life a little at a time, without giving too much away (I really don’t want psychos showing up at my door). For instance, through the blog, you have learned, among other things, that I am a recovering drug addict, that I was homeless less than 10 years ago, that my wife is expecting, and that I live near an extremely small town in Utah (population is less than 400).

All of that aside, the one question that I get from most is: “how can you live your life without a TV?” This question gets funnier every time I hear it. My first initial response was, “how can you live WITH a TV?” Watching TV is an alternative to living. It’s not possible to spend an hour actually playing with the kids when you are spending that hour watching someone play with kids on TV. It’s not possible to spend a week cruising the Caribbean when you are busy watching the Love Boat (or whatever they have on TV now-a-days). It’s TV or it’s living. It can’t be both.

Living without a TV in my home was a choice I made long ago. It was a choice to I made to give me my freedom. We’ve covered the massive inverse statistical correlations between watching TV and financial freedom. It’s just a fact. A vast majority of the desperately poor tune out regularly from life and watch TV. A vast majority of the rich never watch the slavery tube. The line between the two extremes is linear and it’s pretty obviously causal. A TV watcher can stop watching TV and immediately start seeing more financial success in their life.

But still, there are those that are just baffled by this choice. I could spend numerous hours explaining this choice in detail, but it really only comes down to one… mine! I am not telling everyone to get rid of their TV. We need poor people in this world. There are some tasks that simply need to be performed by the TV watchers in a J.O.B. I simply suggested trying to live without it for a few days and find out how much more freedom you feel you have. The world is full of things to view things to do.

If you truly want the freedom that others have, just try this experiment. Turn off the TV for two weeks. Find out what your mind has to offer. Feel the freedom for just those two weeks. The creativity that you possess may astound some of you. I know it’s in there… Just try it.