每天早上醒來我都告訴自己說：“今天你有兩個選擇，你可以選擇一個好心情，也可以選擇一個壞心情。”我選擇了好心情。

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!"

杰里真是個讓人喜歡得不行的家伙。他總是心情愉快、情緒高漲，總能說出積極的話來。每當別人問他一切可好時，他就回答：“好得不能再好了！”

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.

他是個與眾不同的經理，有好幾個服務員都跟著他在不同的餐廳做過。他們跟著杰里是因為他的生活態度。他天生善于激勵人，如果哪個雇員不走運了，杰里就會告訴他要往好的一面看。

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?"

我對他的生活態度深感好奇，于是有一天我走到杰里跟前問他：“我不明白！你不可能事事都順心，你是怎樣做到一直都這么積極樂觀的呢？”

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."

杰里回答說：“每天早上醒來后我對自己說，‘杰里，今天你有兩個選擇。你可以選擇一個好心情，也可以選擇一個壞心情。’我選擇了好心情；每次有壞事發生時，我可以選擇成為受害者,也可以選擇從中及吸取教訓，我選擇了從中吸取教訓；每當有人向我抱怨時，我可以選擇聽他們抱怨，或者給他們指出生活中積極的一面，我選擇了指出生活中積極的一面。”

"Yeah, right, it’s not that easy," I protested.

“對，話是沒錯，可是做起來可不容易。”我說。

"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: It’s your choice how you live life."

杰里說：“其實也容易，生活就是由很多選擇組成的，出去那些不值一提的事情，那么生活中的每件事都是個選擇。你可以選擇如何回應這些事件。你可以選擇周圍人影響你心情的方式。你可以選擇有個好心情或是壞心情。重點是：你可以選擇如何來過你的生活。”

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.

我仔細地考慮著杰里的話。不久后，我離開餐廳業去追求個人發展。我們失去了聯系，但每當我對生活做抉擇而非被動接受生活時，我就會想起杰里。

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.

幾年之后，我聽說杰里犯了個在餐飲業不該犯的錯誤：一天早晨，他沒關后門，三個持槍匪徒走進來，拿槍指著他。當他們試圖打開保險箱時，他由于緊張，手從保險鎖上滑下來。匪徒緊張之下開槍打穿了他的手，接著又有三枚子彈正中他的腹部。