INTRODUCTION

The Night That

Changed My Life
The greatest discovery of my generation is that human
beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of
mind.
—William James

I n 1980, I graduated from law school and thought I’d be

a lawyer for the rest of my life. After all, that’s what I’d
wanted to do since my early teenage years.
At first, everything went according to plan. After lots of
studying that summer, I passed the Bar Examination and
was admitted to practice law in New York. My personal life
was also on the upswing. In early 1981, I married Dolores,
a law school classmate. I was on my way to much success
and happiness.
Or so I thought.
But, after practicing law for a few years, I realized I
wasn’t happy at all.
Sure, there were some things I liked about being a
lawyer. I enjoyed helping people resolve their disputes,
especially when I could save them the agony of lengthy
court proceedings.
 Attitude is Everything

Yet, there were so many things about being an attorney

that I disliked — and that just seemed to drain the life out
of me. Mounds and mounds of tedious paperwork and mo-
tions to be filed. Constant delays and postponements. It
was not uncommon for a trial to be postponed 10 times.
I Dreaded Going To Work
I continued to grind out the work but grew more and more
dissatisfied as an attorney. I was frustrated and very de-
pressed. To put it bluntly, I didn’t like my life, and saw no
way that things were going to improve.
Have you ever had a job where you dreaded going to
work most days — where you felt the “weight of the world”
on your shoulders each day?
Well, that’s how I felt. I was literally hunched over… and
in pain, both physically and emotionally. I looked much
older than my years. I began to get headaches all the time,
and my stomach was constantly churning. Fearing that I
had some serious health problem, I saw some doctors and
they ordered a battery of tests. Every test came back with
the same result — they couldn’t find anything physically
wrong with me. One of the doctors suggested that I take
Maalox to calm my upset stomach.
Spiritually, I was dead. Nothing in my life had much
meaning. This day-to-day drudgery was also affecting my
appearance. Although I was in my late 20s, I looked like I
was 40!
In the early part of 1985, shortly after I had turned 30
years old, I was burned out. And, one particular evening,
while sitting alone in my den, I knew that something had to
change. Not knowing what to do, I simply said out loud,
“There’s got to be more to my life than this… there’s got to be
more than this misery and unhappiness.”
Help Comes From An Unlikely Source
Later that night, I was watching TV in the den. It was
around 1:00 am, and my wife, Dolores, had already gone to
bed. But I was feeling so down I couldn’t sleep. I “channel
 Attitude is Everything 

surfed” looking for something to occupy my time. I tuned

in to, of all things, an infomercial.
Normally, I would have changed that channel in a frac-
tion of a second, but for some rea-
son, I listened. You are not what
The product being peddled was you think you are.
called The Mental Bank and was en-
dorsed by actress Florence Hender-
But what you think —
son of Brady Bunch fame. The Men- YOU ARE!
tal Bank was a home-study course — Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
that explained how everything we
achieve in life is based upon our subconscious beliefs.
I felt so desperate at that point that I decided to go for it.
I pulled out my credit card and ordered the program.
That night in my den was the turning point of my life.
By the way, when I sheepishly told Dolores what I had
done a day or two later, she was shocked.
“You did what?” she asked in amazement. It’s not that
she objected to the purchase — it was just so out of character
for me to buy something like that on impulse… and worse
yet, from a TV infomercial!
Several days later, The Mental Bank program arrived at
my doorstep. And I was fascinated and excited to begin
learning how our thoughts determine the quality of our
lives. Prior to that time, I had never heard these ideas. Un-
fortunately, they don’t teach you this stuff in school!
The Mental Bank program spurred me to seek out other
motivational resources. I began to read books by Napoleon
Hill, Og Mandino, Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schul-
ler. I started reading the Bible on a regular basis. And I
eagerly listened to inspiring audio programs by Zig Ziglar,
Earl Nightingale, Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor and many others. I
felt like a person who had wandered for days in the desert
with a parched throat… and then suddenly found a stream
of water!
Now, I can’t tell you that everything in my life changed
overnight, because it didn’t happen that way. But, from the
  Attitude is Everything

moment I began to change from a negative attitude to a pos-

itive attitude, I started to get significant results.
I felt better. I had more energy. And I started to achieve
goals that I would never have accomplished before… all be-
cause of a change in my attitude! I’m also happy to report
that when people now ask how old I am… and I say 52, they
invariably reply, “You look much younger!”
It’s all in the attitude.
From Lawyer To Motivational Speaker
I continued my self-study program in my spare time, while
I worked full time as a lawyer. The positive thinking was
helping my attitude at work, but I felt a passion for my
“hobby” that I never felt for my work, and I dreamed about
the day I could walk away from my job.
In 1989, after four years of intensive research about at-
titude and motivational concepts, I agreed to present some
adult education seminars in the evenings at a local high
school. I was to be paid $30 for each two-hour class. Not
the kind of money that lets you quit your day job!
As I stood in front of the class to
Never underestimate start my first seminar, I was petrified.
your power to My heart was pounding and I was
sweating. But somehow I managed to
change yourself. muster the courage to just do it. The
— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
students loved the class, and I got a
real adrenaline rush from presenting
the material that had revolutionized my own life… and that
had the power to do the same for others!
I was on my way.
Eventually, the speaking fees grew a little larger, and in
1990, I decided to phase out my law career over the next
few years. This wasn’t a simple decision. I had gone to four
years of college and three years of law school to obtain my
law degree. On top of that, I had spent 10 years of my life as
a practicing lawyer. When you have that much invested in
a career, it’s not so easy to walk away.
 Attitude is Everything 

Then, of course, there was the money issue. As a lawyer,

I was on track to earn $100,000 in a few years, and I’d be
earning that much — and more — for the rest of my profes-
sional career.
Taking A Stand
Although I was earning a little more income from my
new “hobby,” I realized that I’d have start-up expenses in
launching my new enterprise. Fortunately, Dolores and I
had saved some money over the years. To supplement my
income, I began to sell a line of mer-
chandise with my unique “Attitude
A positive attitude
is Everything” logo. But there was no
way to avoid it — I’d have to take a is a person’s passport
huge financial step backward to start to a better tomorrow.
my new business… at least in the be- — Unknown
ginning.
And yet, it was time to move on. I
felt as if I was being pulled out of the legal profession and
into my new career. Whenever I spoke to an audience or
wrote a motivational essay, I was so invigorated and full of
life. I knew that’s where I belonged.
So, I made a gradual transition — working four days a
week as a lawyer, then three days a week… and then two
days a week… until, in 1992, I began working full time as a
motivational speaker and writer.
Trust me, my mother wasn’t thrilled when I told her that
I was giving up the practice of law to speak about attitude.
After all, it doesn’t carry the prestige of saying “My son is
a lawyer!”
But these are issues you have to deal with when you take
a stand in life. You have to face the fact that some people
will disapprove of your decision. I also learned that you
often have to let go of some things in your life and take a
few steps backward before you can move forward in a new
direction. Part of the price I had to pay was giving up the
money, prestige and security of my legal career.
  Attitude is Everything

By the way, as it turned out, my mother became very

supportive of my new career, especially when she saw that I
was making progress — and that I really enjoyed my work.
Why am I telling you all this about my career transition?
It’s not to impress you with what I’ve done. Believe me,
I’ve made plenty of blunders and mistakes along the way.
I’m sharing my story because I want you to know how
drastically my life changed — and how much better it got
— when I made a change in my attitude.
Proof positive that, indeed, attitude is everything!
How You’ll Benefit From This Book
Some final thoughts before we launch right into this ma-
terial: This book can help you, no matter how positive or
negative you are right now.
If you’re negative, don’t despair. You can use these con-
cepts to develop and maintain a positive attitude… and to
achieve incredible breakthroughs in
Think, act and talk your life.
with enthusiasm If you’re already a positive person,
you can use these principles to soar
and you’ll attract to even greater heights of success and
positive results. fulfillment.
— Michael LeBoeuf I’ve spent more than 20 years re-
searching why it is that some people
succeed while others achieve disappointing results. During
that time, I’ve read a few hundred books and thousands of
magazine articles on attitude and success. I’ve listened to
more than 3,000 hours of audio cassette programs. In ad-
dition, I’ve interviewed countless high achievers to learn
their “success secrets.”
More importantly, I have personally applied each and
every success strategy that is described in this book. So,
I know from firsthand experience that these ideas work
— and that they have the power to literally transform your
life!
 Attitude is Everything 

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t claim to be a

“know-it-all” on these subjects. Far from it. I consider my-
self a “work in progress” and I continue to learn every day.
However, I know what it’s like to have a negative atti-
tude, because that’s the kind of attitude I had for the first 30
years of my life. I know what it’s like to doubt yourself and
your abilities, because that’s what I did for 30 years. All of
the positive changes that I’ve made in my life are the result
of practicing the principles you’ll read about in this book.
Think… Speak… Act
This book is conveniently divided into three Parts, and each
Part contains a series of lessons. So, if you ever need rein-
forcement in a particular area, it will be easy for you to turn
to that lesson and re-read it.
In Part 1, Success Begins in the Mind, we’ll be focusing
on the power of attitude and belief to shape your destiny.
You’ll learn how your success initially depends on the way
that you THINK.
In Part 2, Watch Your Words, we’ll concentrate on the way
that you SPEAK… how your attitude is reflected in your
words… and how positive language can help to propel you
toward your goals.
In Part 3, Heaven Helps Those Who Act, we’ll cover the fi-
nal leg of our journey. Even if you think positively… and
speak positively… you won’t achieve your dreams until
you ACT. You can’t sit back and just expect success to pay
you a visit. In this section, you’ll learn the action steps that
will turn your dreams into reality.
When you THINK, SPEAK and ACT in ways that sup-
port your success, you’re firing on all cylinders… and on
the way to achieving phenomenal results in your life.
You’re about to embark on a journey that will bring you
success and happiness beyond your wildest dreams, so let’s
get started….