Handshake Excerpt – Bill Porter

Door to Door is the story of Bill Porter and his winning attidude

Below is an excerpt from Chapter four of my new book Handshake… I’m looking forward to your comments!

Bill Porter and the Choice of a Winning Attitude

Bill Porter wakes up each up morning and gets ready for work like millions of other Americans.  He is in the sales industry just like thousands of other men and women across the United States.  However, there is one slight difference; each morning it takes Bill three hours to get ready and to arrive to his territory.  He stops by the shoe stand and every morning the shoe shiner ties his shoes.  He then stops by the local hotel and the doorman buttons his top button and clips on his tie.  This happens every work day because Bill Porter has cerebral palsy, which impacts his nervous system and affects his ability to talk, walk and fully control his limbs.

… Bill has become an icon in the world of business.  Books are being written about him, a T.V. movie was made about his life and he is receiving the accolades that are long overdue.  Bill put his remedy for success in these words “Decide what you want out of life; look on the positive side; and never give up until you achieve it.”

Bill shows us that although life may not deal us the hand we would prefer, but if you find the positive side and be determined to keep your attitude right, you can win!

In this chapter you will learn these facts about attitude:

FACT #1 – Attitude is a choice
FACT #2 – Attitude directly affects your success
FACT #3 – Attitudes are contagious
Fact #4 – Attitude is a learned response

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances – to choose one’s own way.”
– Viktor Frankl

My New book…HandShake

Let your handshake reflect confidence

I am currently in the finishing stages for a new book titled Handshake: What the Great do that Others Don’t. As I stated, we are in the finishing stages, and plan to have the book completed early in January 2011. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing excerpts with you from the book, and I would love your feedback.

The book highlights different characteristics or choices associated with “the great” by examining the biographies of various highly successful people. Today’s excerpt is a glance into Chapter One and the reason why the book is titled Handshake. I sincerely look forward to your comments.

… After a few months of working with Brown’s Janitorial, my boss asked if I would be willing to work on a Saturday morning.  Needing the extra money, I said yes.  I met my boss at his home, and together we got in his truck and began to drive to a different location.  I had no idea where we were going until we pulled up to this large home and I asked him, “What are we doing here?”  He responded “This is Frank Colapinto’s house, and he hired us to help him move some items out of his garage today.”   Up to this point I hadn’t been thrilled about working on a Saturday, but knowing I was about to meet Frank Colapinto made it all worth it.

We got out of the truck, and Mr. Colapinto greeted us at the front of the garage.  He shook the hand of my boss and then looked to me.  He stuck out his hand, and I quickly responded by putting my hand out to greet him as well.  As we proceeded with the handshake he looked at me and said, “Frank Colapinto.”  I had never had anyone greet me by saying their first and last name, and I also have never heard anyone say their name with such confidence, self assurance and pride.  It was just a “Handshake” but it changed my life forever.

He showed us a few things that he wanted done and then he left to run some errands.  The man I had admired from a distance said only two words to me but I will never forget them.  Not necessarily what he said, but how he said it.  A few hours later, after we were done with the work, I remember driving in the truck and thinking to myself, “could this be it…could this be the reason for his success?”  Could it be that the only thing that separated Frank Colapinto from many others was confidence?  Can something that small make that big of a difference?  It was the only conclusion I could come up with, so I did it.  I decided right then that from now on, when people asked me my name or I was introducing myself to someone I would say with confidence, “Chris Sonksen.”

For some strange reason that handshake made me believe that greatness was possible for anyone who wanted it.  That it wasn’t reserved for the elite or the upper class, but that what separated the great from everyone else wasn’t necessarily talent or skill, but it was choice.  For Frank Colapinto it was the choice of confidence that he displayed and a belief in himself.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”

Peter T. Mcintyre quotes

Your attitude will always determine your altitude

Positive thoughts motivate you to keep moving forward

Excerpt from In search of higher ground

Imagine, if you will, that you are at home, comfortably sleeping in bed. It is 2:30 a.m., and your house is filled with a sense of peace and serenity. Suddenly, you are awakened by the loud ringing of your telephone. You quickly jump out of bed to answer the phone. As you pick up the receiver and place it to your ear, what do you think the information you are about to receive will be…positive or negative?

Your car is making a funny noise so you reluctantly take it to your local mechanic. He takes a quick look at the car and lets you know that further diagnosis will be necessary. You leave the car at the shop and go about your day. A few hours go by and you receive a call from the mechanic. As he begins to tell you what he has found wrong with the car, what is your mind-thinking…positive or negative?

Your boss tells you that he or she would like to see you in their office first thing tomorrow morning. You say yes, as if you have an option, and you head home for the evening. Your boss rarely talks to you and so your mind begins to wrestle with what the subject will center around. You quickly evaluate your progress at work. Your mind gives you an account of your last few days and you begin to re-evaluate over and over, things that were said, projects that were due or anything else that would help you to understand why your boss wants to see you. After a long night of tossing and turning, you get up, get ready, and head for work. When you arrive, you go straight to your boss’s office and sit as confident as possible in front of his or her desk. Now tell me, what is going through your mind…positive or negative?

In each of these scenarios there is a good chance that you were quicker to think in the negative rather than to think in the positive. Unfortunately, we as people have a tendency to lean toward a negative mental outlook. A variety of reasons cause us to believe the best for the next guy, but not for ourselves. It’s like Murphy’s Law. “If it can go wrong, it will.” Most people think that for themselves! They feel that opportunities and good fortune happen to others, but are not reserved for them. Have you ever been in a grocery store and looked at two checkout lines and had to make a decision which one you would go to? Then you catch yourself thinking, “It doesn’t matter which one I choose, the line I go in will be slower.” We take this kind of negative, pessimistic approach and we try to carry it with us on the road to Higher Ground, but it doesn’t work. Negative thinking will prohibit you from reaching your fullest potential, and will weigh you down until you don’t want to climb anymore.

The good news is that if a negative attitude is “death” to a person who wants to climb to the top, then a positive and healthy attitude can be “life” to that same person. A positive attitude becomes the fuel to ignite your spirit as you set your course for success. It becomes a compass that guides you on your journey and leads you to higher places. Nothing can exchange the power and potential that is found when one person goes deep inside their soul and discovers the amazing strength that is found in belief.

• The belief in themselves and in their personal potential.
• The belief that anything is possible.
• The belief that if they set their mind to it, they can accomplish something extraordinary.
• The belief that greatness, success, and achievement are not reserved for the few, but are possible for anyone.
• That the Creator has not selected only a handful of people to be achievers, but that in God’s infinite wisdom, He placed in the spirit of man the ability to win and to win big!

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTES OF THE DAY:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

-Philippians 4:8

Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.

– Napoleon Hill