Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins£¡” 

    He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. 

    Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don”t get it£¡ You can“t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it£¿” 

    Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ”Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.“ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.” 

    “Yeah, right, it”s not that easy,“ I protested. 

    “Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line£º It”s your choice how you live life.“ 

    I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. 

    Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business£º he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe£¨±£ÏÕ¹ñ£©, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off £¨Íü¼Ç£¬ÒÅ©£©the combination £¨¿ªÆôºÅÂëËøµÄºÅÂë×éºÏ£©¡£ The robbers panicked and shot him.

    Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma £¨´´ÉË£¬ÍâÉË£©center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.