When I was growing up, I would get so tired of always hearing from my dad phrases like, “attitude is everything” and “you can accomplish anything with a positive attitude.”
Mike started telling me these things as far back as I can remember, and it didn’t even make sense at the time what he was talking about because I was so young. But, from very early on, the word “attitude” was firmly planted in my mind. Then as I started growing up through my late teens and early twenties, when things wouldn’t quite go my way, he reminded me of how having a positive attitude can overpower any negative situation.
Next came the beginning of my career. Then, a few years later, he and I started working together for the first time. As we were just getting the company “re-started” back in 2004–2006, some days seemed so bad and painful you literally wanted to drop your head on your desk and cry. But, by this point, we were reminding each other that “you can accomplish anything with a positive attitude” and once again that “attitude is everything.”
Some people see things today and may think, How could things have been so bad at one point that you felt such despair? But, when you know where you want to go, know you have the ability to get there, yet have no traction and no momentum behind you, it can be extremely frustrating when nothing is going your way.
While doing an interview about a month ago, somebody who had studied the company asked the two of us, “Why do you do the things that you do?” This was in reference to things like the Big Oak Ranch Christmas, the “Holiday Haul” and other things they had seen online and read we do at SAM, and especially with a focus around the holidays.
Our answer was very simple. It is “An Attitude of Gratitude.”
Over the years, and thanks to so many people who have made this a fun and successful place to work, Mike and I have continued to encourage each other not just for us each to have a positive attitude but have an attitude of gratitude. (Yes, and we planned our phrase to have alliteration).
That is why we work so hard to make sure that everyone feels special during the holidays and at the end of the year can look back on not just doing great work – but doing something great for somebody else, like the children of the Big Oak Ranch.
I hope everyone enjoys their December, and maybe by reading this will help everyone understand a little more about our beliefs toward what attitude can truly do to a person and a company. And also why we feel such a need to have “An Attitude of Gratitude.”