Sketch Artist Shop by Ken Barton

             “Yes I can, I will, and I do!”

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A long time ago I began a journey towards becoming a School Teacher.  My venture took me back to college at the age of 45, thinking this was my last chance to try to obtain the skills I needed to get out of doing factory work that was killing me both physically and spiritually.

Much of what drives me comes from the hope my father had that us kids would not have to spend all our years working at a job that offers no future.

“Lessons learned, applied, and thus internalized, become guiding Attributes that will guide your decision making process throughout your life.”

My father passed on to me several lessons that have helped me with my quest to better myself and achieve my goals.  They have been foundational principles that have assisted me with the work I do and the education I have acquired.  One of these lessons can be summarized in a simple phrase I tell myself when presented with needing to learn something new, “Yes I can, I will, and I do!”  I know with some passion and effort almost anything can be achieved if you start off with the correct attitude.  Let’s break this saying down to its parts and go into more detail.

“Yes I can!”

·        This attribute assisted me when I was working for a company I had been working for.  My boss would bring me the most outrageous jobs, quite often, that no one else was able to figure out how to do, and expect me to do be able to do what everyone else said was impossible.  I would look the job over and come up with a plan for doing the job; but first, I would take the job back over to my co-workers who said the job was impossible, and ask them about what they had tried.  Each time they would go on and on about how it was impossible to do and how I shouldn’t waste my time with it.

·        Their assurance that the job was impossible helped drive me forward towards figuring out how to do the job where they couldn’t.  They would ask how I could do these jobs when no one else could and I’d tell them simply, “The Impossible only takes 10 minutes more.”  If you take your time and have a “Yes I can” attitude concerning any task you venture into, you will have a high possibility of success.

“I will”

·        The next attribute I learned to develop and implement was the “I will” attitude about accomplishing any task brought my way.  When I am given a task that needs to be done “I will” do it and get it done.  Putting work off that needs to be done can often lead to that work never gets done and that profits no one.  If the driveway needs shoveling, it doesn’t do any good to put it off, especially if it’s still snowing out.  If you get out there and tackle the job when there’s only a few inches of snow it will be much easier than if you wait until there’s two feet of snow.  Procrastination has been the ruin of many businesses, people’s health, marriages, and household finances.

·        Where I work currently, there has been many occasion when my employer has asked me to cover other responsibilities that aren’t really part of my job description; but, rather than arguing about it, I always say sure, “I will” and proceed to get the job done.  This helps in other areas subsequently, because when things get tight for work, my boss always makes sure to keep me busy where others might be laid off or even lose their jobs.  It’s best to always side on the side of getting busy and moving forward with any project than to hesitating and saying, “I’ll wait until tomorrow.”  It’s always best to take care of all the work you can today, while it’s today, because you have no idea what problems tomorrow may bring that will only make completing your task that much more difficult.  That old time saying still holds true today, “Never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today!” 

“I do!”

·        One of my previous employers use to call me “Ken-do” because anything he asked me to work on I could accomplish because I had the right “can do” attitude.  If you approach a task with a negative, defeated attitude, you have basically set yourself up for failure.  The underlying principle here is something most have heard of before; called “Self-filling Prophecy”.  If you believe you are going to fail, you most definitely will, it’s just that simple.

·        Having a positive, winning attitude, throughout the day has just the opposite effect on most outcomes.  It’s sort-of like stacking the cards in your favor, so-to-speak.  Someone has said, “Whatever a man can Conceive, & Believe, he can Achieve.”  Beginning with that kind of attitude every day, and approaching any challenge or disappointment that comes your way during the day, can turn what may seem like a hindrance to your plans into an opportunity.  The right attitude is like turning a light on in a dark room.  All of a sudden the things that seemed impossible become possible and what seemed scary become laughable. 

Having the right attitude and applying them to my life has allowed me to achieve many goals I once never dreamed possible.  In both my educational & vocational pursuits I have excelled and I enjoy teaching others how they can do the same.  I hope this Hub helps others to be encouraged to choose the right attitude; so, when adversity comes crashing in on your world you can rise above it and keep moving forward.  If you ask yourself, “Can you be victorious?”  Just shout out the affirmation, “Yes I can, I will, and I do!”