Bud Bilanich,  http://www.budbilanich.com  -is an internationally recognizedmotivational speaker and career success coach. He writes a newsletter thatoften extols the benefits of adopting an optimistic outlook -and who alsofrequently makes reference to Optimist International . Here's a recap of his June 15TH newsletter-

Optimism Is A Key To Career Success

 `The cover story of the June 6, 2011 issue of TIME Magazinewas called The Science of Optimism.'  [Author:  Neuroscientist Tali Sharot].  `I think that optimism is a key ingredient of selfconfidence.  If you read this careeradvice blog with any regularity, you know that self confidence is one of theseven keys to life and career success  Ihave identified in my research of career success.'

Quoting the author of the TIME article:

`The belief that the future will be much better than thepast and present is known as the optimism bias.

It abides in every race, religion and socio-economicbracket. You might expect optimism to erode under the tide of news about the violent conflicts, high unemployment, tornadoes and floods and all the threats that shape human life But private optimism, about our personal future, remains incredibly resilient. To make progress, we need to be able to imagine alternative realities   ...and we need to believe that we can achieve them.  Such faith helps motivate us to pursue our goals. Optimists in general work longer hours and tend to earn more.

...optimism has clear benefits in the present.  Hope keeps our minds at ease, lowers stress and improves physical health. Researchers studying heart disease patients found that optimists were more likely to than non-optimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low fat diets and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk.

 This reminds me of point four in The Optimist Creed:   Promise yourself to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. In other words, be optimistic about your health –but eat right and exercise to make sure you stay healthy.  Or, be optimistic about your career success –but work hard and smart to create the career success you want and deserve. 

 There are two important pieces of career advice about optimism and life and career success.... 

First, optimists believe things will turn out well.  

Second, optimists see failure and defeat as temporary. They treat them as learning opportunities.

__I started reading biographies of successful people.  I created a page for each person.  I wrote down the characteristics that I observed in these people.  When I was finished, I had a notebook full of the characteristics I observed in successful people.   ....It was a long list.  So I started looking for patterns and groups of behaviors.  When it was all said and done, I found seven distinct characteristics that the successful people I had studied had in common. They all:

    * Had a clearly defined purpose and direction for their lives.

    * Were committed to succeeding.  They faced obstacles and overcame them.

    * Were self-confident.  They knew they were going to succeed and continue to 

        succeed as they went through life.  

    * Were outstanding performers.

    * Were good at creating a positive image of themselves.

    * Were great communicators.

    * Were good at building relationships.

 These are the ideas I cover in my writings on life and career success.'

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One might ask: 

-How does O.I. reflect the application of  these traits?

-My district? 

-My club?

-ME?