I recently attended a membership-drive dinner for my Optimist Club of Erie, Colorado. Now, if you are not familiar with the Optimist International organization, you should be. We are a service club and we “help bring out the best in kids.” Our motto is “Friend of Youth.” As President of our Club I was introducing our invited guests and prospective members as to the meaning of the Optimist Creed.
In our club, the Optimist Creed is recited at the start of each meeting. As I explained to our guests, the Optimist Creed helps me align my thoughts and my energies with my fellow Optimist. I likened the Optimist Creed to an old wagon wheel. At the center or hub is the Optimist Creed. The spokes radiating out from the hub are our Members. On the outside connecting us together is the rim of the wheel or the community we serve. If one of the spokes is out of alignment, then as the wheel rotates it makes a thumping sound and eventually it will fall off.
We start our meetings at 6:30p.m. on Thursdays. After a long day at work sometimes we are still thinking about something that went badly during the day. Some of our members are business people, we may have had a tough time with customer issues or complaints. Some of us are teachers, we may have had children acting up or misbehaving in class. Some of us are home makers, we may have had an appliance break or our car fail. All reasons to be in a bad frame of mind.
The reciting of the Optimist Creed, out loud, with your fellow Optimist is an opportunity for each member to get their minds in alignment with each other. To focus on the reason we are all members of this wonderful club and to rotate as one, smooth rolling wheel.
In the next few blogs I want to explore how Optimism and the Optimist Creed have helped me in so many ways to be a better sales person, a better father and husband and a better human being. You see, even if all I did was remain a member of this club and serve the youth of my community I would be in debt because the Optimist Club has given me so much more than I have given it. The Optimist Creed is a point of reference that brings me back to center. First, here is the Optimist Creed;
Promise Yourself-
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
In our club, the Optimist Creed is recited at the start of each meeting. As I explained to our guests, the Optimist Creed helps me align my thoughts and my energies with my fellow Optimist. I likened the Optimist Creed to an old wagon wheel. At the center or hub is the Optimist Creed. The spokes radiating out from the hub are our Members. On the outside connecting us together is the rim of the wheel or the community we serve. If one of the spokes is out of alignment, then as the wheel rotates it makes a thumping sound and eventually it will fall off.
We start our meetings at 6:30p.m. on Thursdays. After a long day at work sometimes we are still thinking about something that went badly during the day. Some of our members are business people, we may have had a tough time with customer issues or complaints. Some of us are teachers, we may have had children acting up or misbehaving in class. Some of us are home makers, we may have had an appliance break or our car fail. All reasons to be in a bad frame of mind.
The reciting of the Optimist Creed, out loud, with your fellow Optimist is an opportunity for each member to get their minds in alignment with each other. To focus on the reason we are all members of this wonderful club and to rotate as one, smooth rolling wheel.
In the next few blogs I want to explore how Optimism and the Optimist Creed have helped me in so many ways to be a better sales person, a better father and husband and a better human being. You see, even if all I did was remain a member of this club and serve the youth of my community I would be in debt because the Optimist Club has given me so much more than I have given it. The Optimist Creed is a point of reference that brings me back to center. First, here is the Optimist Creed;
Promise Yourself-
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
1 comment:
Optimist Creed by Christian Larson is great affirmations.
If anyone want the PDF version of it, it's available at Your Guidance
It's nice to have it printed and pasted it on the wall.
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