Only Positive News

Pat McCormick was a four-time gold medallist in diving.  In 1984, Peter Ubberoff began sending his Olympic organizing committee members, which Pat was a part of, to local schools and corporations to speak.  Pat’s first speech was at Windling Elementary in El Puente, CA.  Afterwards, one of the teachers came to her and asked if she could help out any of the children in the school.  Pat began volunteering two mornings per week at the elementary school and began refining her process.  Pat focuses on 3 key attributes in the students: You have to Work, You have to Learn and You have to Surround Yourself with Winners.  Soon after Pat began volunteering there was a dramatic increase in better grades and kids staying in school. 

Today, Pat volunteers at the Workman High School in East LA.  These students are “at-risk” students who are struggling to graduate from high school.  Pat has been able to encourage them to stop joining gangs and stop using drugs.  Pat says that her passion of excellence comes from hardships of her own.  “My father died on skid row, and that’s the motivation I have.  I want to let everyone know if you have a dream and you believe it, you will find a way.  You have to surround yourself with winners, you have to work,” says Pat.  Today, several students have followed Pat’s guidance and have gone for the gold of high school graduation.

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Whether you’re down in the dumps because of recent events in your life or you just feel like you need to do something different to change the way you think about yourself (and in turn how others view you) here are some habits everyone should adopt to boost their self esteem and confidence.

* Start a “Pick-Me-Up” File:  Get a box and fill it with all sorts of things that make you feel good about yourself.  Receipts from purchases that you saved long and hard for or that were rewards for meeting a goal, a checklist that you completed, pictures of yourself accomplishing great things (such as making your kids laugh or the first day of your new job).  Use this box as a something you can go to and sort through when you need a “pick-me-up” as a reminder of all the great things you do in your life!

* Make it a habit to encourage yourself.  Positive thoughts lead to more positive thoughts and actions which will help you feel  better about your self. 

* Look for the good in other people.  Yes, I know, you’re reading this to find out ways to look for the good in yourself, but to do so you’ll need to be more positive all around.  Looking for the positive in other people will help you have a more positive outlook on life in general which will naturally permeate to how you view yourself as well.

Try all three at once or do one at a time.  Either way, even if you make one small change in your life today, you’re on your way to becoming a more confident person.

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