The real test of optimism...and I have failed.

My optimistic attitude has been in the pits this week. Monday I was in a car accident trying to get out of my own driveway. A girl came around the blind curve just as I pulled out and hit me. It totaled our green GMC truck...the "brand new engine-new transmission-new dual exhaust-paid for" GMC truck. And to add insult to injury, I got a ticket and the accident was considered my fault. Since we only had liability on that truck, we get no money at all to try and replace it. And just when we were really getting going on our debt elimination plan too.

My mantra for the week has been "at least I wasn't hurt." And many people have reiterated this sentiment and I have agreed many times over. Yet still, my heart is heavy and I am wallowing in self-pity. I have had headaches and felt a general malaise and deep melancholy all week. I've been outright depressed about the whole affair and am really having a hard time shaking it. I've had trouble sleeping. I feel like I'm stuck in a quicksand pit of negativity. I need a proverbial rope to help pull me out. Maybe the only rope that is available right now is time. Time for the self pity to pass and good happenings to replace the feeling of bad karma.

So, my optimism was put to the test this week and I feel like a bit of failure. I admit I'm not even close to being perfect at this yet. Maybe just being aware that you've slipped and are trying to pull yourself up again is a step in the right direction and that can be considered positive? Maybe positivity is not required in all situations? Maybe there are times when a bit of depression is just human nature and it cannot be avoided? That only time can heal some wounds and it is the amount of time that it takes to recover your optimism that really counts? Maybe a week isn't so bad after all.

I still do have some positive news to share. I have been moving ahead with my online dog clothing and accessories business with vibrant optimism! Even when I put "dog clothing" into Google and 38,400,000 hits came up, I just said to myself I can do it better. How many countless brands of jeans are there? And yet still, more jeans come onto the market every day and they sell millions of pairs. There is more than enough business for those who can differentiate with a better product and customer service. Why should mine not be the one to catch on and become the popular choice with dog lovers everywhere? This is my new logo soon to be appearing on t-shirts, business cards, dog clothing tags on all my items and my Web site at TinkleToots.com. Stay tuned for more doggie business updates!

Was there ever a pessimistic entrepreneur?

I think the answer to this question is defnitely NO. An entrepreneur is one of the most optimistic beasts you will find anywhere and to study them is to learn lessons in perserverance, determination and positive thinking. Thomas Edison, one of history's greatest inventors/entrepreneurs, tried over 1,000 times to perfect the light bulb. When asked about these failures, he is quoted as saying "I did not fail 1,000 times. I've been successful at finding 1,000 ways that don't work." Now that's optimism!

An optimistic mind is churning out entrepreneurial ideas all the time and all you need to do is awaken your senses to the opportunities being presented to you and then act on them!  Acting on them is the key! How many times have you thought of a great idea and then just dismissed it with an "ah, that will never work" or a "someone else is probably already doing that."

For example, my mind presented me this opportunity yesterday. Baxter and I were on our way to Yappy Hour at Barnsley Gardens with Scott. I decided Baxter needed appropriate attire for his introduction to polite society. I remembered I had some cute material with cartoon dogs on it left over from another project. I got it out and whipped him up a new bandanna on my trusty sewing machine. He looked so cute in it!

On the way to Barnsley (I get a lot of good ideas in the car) my mind said loudly you should start a business selling doggy bandannas and call it Dana's Doggy 'Dannas. After arriving at Barnsley and doing some serious walking and tree-peeing...I think Baxter peed on every tree, bush and post at Barnsley - I didn't pee on any...we went into the gift shop to meet the new buyer/decorator and admire her merchandising talents. While talking with Marka she mentioned she was going to do a doggy shop at Barnsley with dog collars, leashes, clothing, etc. So I said "Well, I could do some bandannas for you to sell in the shop." She thought that was a GREAT idea and voila!! My first client!

On the way home Scott and I discussed the idea and we decided to name my new venture "Tinkle Toots" which is Baxter's nickname because, after all, he was my inspiration. I've got tons of material left over from my last entrepreneurial venture selling purse covers...which was going GREAT by the way until the company who sells the purses told me to "cease and desist." I still think it was a pile of crap, but I digress. That's a whole other story. So, I'll start with that material, see what sells and expand from there. I'm very excited about it! We'll be selling some on eBay, Etsy and I plan on opening my own online shop too.

So, the moral of this story...listen to that inner voice when it suggests something to you. You might have just stumbled across the next great idea! And won't you be mad if someone else follows their intuition and makes a fortune off of your idea??

Blue tights and hot dog suits

Ok, so admittedly when I woke up this morning I was feeling pretty low on the optimism scale. On a scale of 1-10 I was feeling about a 4. The change to daylight savings has in typical fashion kicked my butt. I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning on a normal day, but getting up an hour earlier than usual is almost impossible. Trying to pry myself out of bed these past two mornings has been like trying to separate a child from a beloved blankie. And I'm just as bitter about it. I'm also pretty bitter about the fact it hasn't been sunny here in Rome in what seems like a donkey's age and I think donkey's live fairly long lives or why would that saying even exist?

My back, which has been hurting for about two weeks from a pulled muscle or possibly there's a knife sticking in my back that I haven't noticed, starting jabbing at me immediately upon standing up. Folding in half and crawling into the big green plastic garbage bin we use for grain to feed the horses didn't help either.

But despite my annoyances and being rankled (rankled is mine and my husband's absolute favorite word!) at the world, I know once I get moving I'll realize I have so much to be grateful for. For example, this past Saturday I drove down to Cartersville to meet my friend Deb for lunch at Moe's. Welcome to Moe's! Just as I was pulling into the main part of town my attention is caught by a man in bright blue tights wearing a hot dog costume jumping up and down and waving at traffic as we swoosh by. Right then and there I thought to myself I am grateful my job does not involve dressing up as food.

Now don't get me wrong! I give this guy major props for getting out there and working, making some money, no matter what he has to do for a few bucks. I admire those who will do whatever it takes and not depend on the rest of us to be their keeper.

I think the most effective way to start living optimistically is to start living gratefully. I feel like my optimism really got a huge boost when I started being thankful every day for the wonderful things in my life...like my job which does not involve dressing up as an Oscar Meyer weiner. Don't make your gratitude just a passing thought. Make it something concrete done in a purposeful way. For example, I have a gratitude app on my iPhone. Yes, I am ADDICTED to my iPhone. Every night before going to bed I rate my day using a 5 star system, add a photo of something I'm grateful for, and write out a list of 5 to 6 things I'm grateful for in my life. Sometimes they are big things and sometimes they are not. My list last night read that I am grateful for good friends, motivation, work I love, weekends and Scott. You might wish to include what you are grateful for in your daily prayers or give thanks by writing a list in a beautiful journal.

Being grateful in this way opens your mind to what is good in your life, leads to positive thoughts and opens you up to the frequency of more good things coming your way. It helps you to see past the negative and focus on the positive things going on in your life. Like the fact that I actually woke up this morning and was able to get out of bed...now there's something to be grateful for!

Optimists of the world unite!

Hello. My name is Dana and I’m a recovering pessimist. I’m about 13 years optimistic. I can’t nail down the exact time and date of my last negative thought, like an alcoholic with their last drink, because I’m still having them. They creep up on me like kudzu on a pine. I need a flame-thrower or maybe a goat. I have 5 horses, but I don’t think horses eat kudzu. Really what I need are five really positive goats.

Why do I call myself a born-again optimist? The first time I was born, January 9, 1972, I was born optimistic. Babies are not born negative. Pessimism is learned from what we see and hear around us and for some this education starts very early on. Before you know it, it takes over your life.

Before I became a born-again optimist, if someone told me a hardship was an opportunity, I looked at them like they were crazy. When God closes a door he opens a window. I wish you’d jump out that window, I’d think. Behind every cloud is a silver lining. I want to strangle you with that lining. They obviously didn’t understand my difficult situation and were not being realistic. I was a REALIST! I thought I saw things how they really were. What I didn’t know then was that you can change your reality simply by HOW you think about it. It is not the situation that controls your thoughts. It is your THOUGHTS that control the situation.

It took me years to see this as a universal truth and maybe you are looking at your screen right now like I’ve got three heads. Maybe if I did I could put two of them to work on that kudzu. But this way of thinking is a gift that can change your life and I want to share it with everyone. I’m by no means perfect at this…I still get down, still have doubts, and still lose faith at times. (Like when we had two years of unrelenting car repair bills!) But once you see the results this paradigm shift can produce in your life, you will be eager to try and use the power of it.

This blog will be the confessions of a born-again optimist (hereby known as a BAO) because as recovering pessimists we often need to own up to our transgressions. Their will be positivity breakdowns and indulgent self pity. I will definitely have times of weakness in which I’ll be complaining, venting and otherwise whining about things. There may even be some screaming. But my hope is that by sharing with you some of the things I’ve learned I can inspire you to follow the path of the hopeful, the positive, and the sanguine.