The idea for this month's newsletter came from an unlikely encounter: I recently had lunch with a new friend named Rick Rockwell. You may remember him as the bachelor from the first-ever reality TV show, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?"

During our meeting, Rick described some of the knowledge he gained from doing the show, along with a few of past his experiences in business, ethics, and of course, primetime romance. The stories were fantastic, the drama was riveting, and as Rick detailed his adventures with great humor, what impressed me most was what he wasn't saying.

You see, at no time did he dwell on the misfortune of not finding the love of his life or the way the media portrayed him. Instead, he said something along the lines of, "You know, Greg,! short and simply put, our circumstances, good or bad, are a direct result of our own actions, and ultimately, the only thing in which we are in true control of is our own (Attitude) towards them."

To which I agreed and responded, "You're absolutely right. We're are all dealt obstacles as well as good fortune in our lives-that's simply a part of life itself. Yet it's how we handle the obstacles that shows the world our true character as a person."

Rick and I sat there, just reflecting on the impact of that message for a bit until the idea of this newsletter popped into my head. I said, "You know, Rick, when it's all said and done, the bottom line is . . .

"We are exactly where we choose to be."

Now, this is where I put the question to you, the reader: Isn't that true for all of us? Isn't that true for all those around us?

I'm sure you know people (or perhaps even yourself at times) who blame the world for their setbacks and failures, then simply! credit "luck" for those who succeed around them. Yet, when we really examine our own lives, we see that we are exactly where we choose to be at any given moment.

>>We are a product of our own environment because we are the ones creating the environment we are in.<

Have you ever noticed people taking negative actions like hanging out at the local dive bar every day after work, spending all their money on liquor and fun, and then complaining that they're broke and can never catch a "break"? Have you ever noticed people who confide to their family and friends that they can't find love, yet they never leave the house or put themselves in situations (or on TV) to meet new people? But haven't you also noticed people who surround themselves with positive influences, work hard, are accountable, plan for the future, and "create" their own breaks?

In my new friend's case, he was and is simply seeking love. What he got, however, was something completely different (! he was slandered in the press). While he admits that he put himself in that situation to begin with, he thrives on the fact that he took such a bold chance before anyone else did in history. Would he change the way it turned out if he had the power to do so? Of course. But he wouldn't change the opportunity itself because he was the one who put himself there in the first place...the bottom line, he took a chance and stood by the outcome.

The moral of this story (or newsletter, in this case) is presented in the form of a challenge. Sit down and ask yourself this question: "What is right, and what do you wish to be different in your life?"

You might want to take a minute or two to make a list. Take accountability for all those things, both the good and the bad; for after all, you created them. Then simply keep doing the things that are right, and work on a strategy to create new (positive) actions to stop doing the things that are not.

It would be complete insa! nity to continue punching yourself in the face and then complain to the world that you always have a black eye...now wouldn't it?

As you work on your list, keep this mind: You are handed two major tools in life-a hammer for building and a shovel for digging. If you ever find yourself digging a hole deeper and deeper and wishing you could get out of it, just stop digging! Because, when it's all said and done . . .

We are exactly where we choose to be.

Keep Smiling'.

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