Michael was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood1 and always had something positive2 to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Michael was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator3. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, “I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”
Michael replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Michael, 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 victim4 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.”
“Yeah, right, it's not that easy,” I protested.
“Yes, it is,” Michael said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk5, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react6 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.” I considered what Michael 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.
Several years later, I heard that Michael did something you are never supposed7 to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up8 at gunpoint9 by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand， shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination10. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Michael was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery11 and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Michael about six months after the incident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars12?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Michael replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”
“Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.
Michael continued, “The paramedics13 were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action.”
“What did you do?”I asked.
“Well, there was a big, burly14 nurse shouting questions at me,” said Michael.
“She asked if I was allergic15 to anything. ‘Yes,’I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them. 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”
Michael lived thanks to16 the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
迈克尔是那种你真想恨一恨的家伙，他情绪总是很好，说起话来总是积极乐观。如果有人问他近况如何，他总是这样回答：“如果我还能更好，我就要成双胞胎了！”
他是个颇为特别的经理，因为有好几个服务员跟随他换了一家又一家餐厅。这些服务员追随他就是因为他的态度。他是个天生的鼓动家。如果某位雇员哪天过得很糟糕，迈克尔就会告诉他如何看待问题的积极面。
他的这种生活方式着实让我好奇，所以有一天我走近迈克尔问：“我真搞不懂！你怎么能总是那样积极乐观呢？你是如何做到这一点的？”
迈克尔回答说，“每天早晨醒来时我对自己说，'迈克尔，今天你有两种选择。你可以选择心情愉快，你也可以选择心情恶劣。'我选择心情愉快。每当不愉快的事情发生时，我可以选择成为它的牺牲品，也可以选择从中吸取教训。我选择从中吸取教训。每当有人找我发牢骚时，我可以选择接受他们的抱怨，也可以向他指出生活的积极面。我选择生活的积极面。”
“话是不错，可做起来就不那么容易了，”我表示异议。
“其实很容易，”迈克尔说。“生活就是做出各种选择。你想摆脱生活中所有的烦恼，每一种情形都是一种选择。你要选择如何应对种种情形：他人怎样影响你的情绪你要做出选择。你可以选择好心情，也可以选择坏心情。说到底，如何生活是你自己的选择。” 迈克尔的这席话叫我琢磨了一番。
此后不久，我离开了餐饮业，开始创办自己的公司。我们失去了联系，但每当我对生活做出一种选择而不是被动做出反应时，我常想起迈克尔。
几年之后，我听说迈克尔遭遇了一件你永远想像不到的事情：一天上午，他后门未关，三个手持家伙的歹徒用枪顶着他实施抢劫。打开保险柜时，他紧张得颤抖的手从密码锁上滑落，歹徒害怕了，朝他开了枪。幸运的是，很快有人发现了他，赶紧把他送往当地的伤病救护中心。经过18个小时的手术和几个星期的精心护理，迈克尔出院了，但体内还留有子弹碎片。
事隔半年后，我见到了迈克尔。我问他怎么样，他回答说，“要是我还能更好，我就成双胞胎了。想看看我的伤疤吗？”我婉言拒绝了，倒是问了他抢劫发生时他脑子里想了些什么。
“首先想到的是我应该把后门锁好。”迈克尔答道。“接着，我躺在地上，脑子还记得我有两种选择：我可以选择活下去，也可以选择死。我选择了活下来。”
“你难道不害怕吗？你失去知觉了吗？”我问。
迈克尔接着说，“那些护理人员棒极了。他们不停地说我会好的。但他们把我推进急救室时，我看到医生和护士脸上的表情，真是吓坏了。从他们的眼神里，我看得出他们在说‘他无异于死人。’我知道我需要采取行动了。”
“你采取了什么行动？”我问道。
“一位人高马大的护士大声冲我问，”迈克尔说。
“她问我是否对某些东西过敏。'有的，'我说。所有的医生和护士都停下手中的活儿，等待我的回答。我深吸一口气大声说，'对子弹过敏。'他们大笑时，我告诉他们，'我选择活下去。做手术时把我当个活人，千万不要把我当成死人。’”
迈克尔活了下来，这要感谢那些医生的高明医术，但也要归功于他令人佩服的态度。从他身上我学到了我们每天都有机会充实地生活。毕竟，态度决定一切。
1. mood n． 心情，情绪
in a good mood 情绪很好
2． positive adj． 积极的
3． motivator n． 鼓动家
4． victim n． 牺牲品
5． junk n． 垃圾
6． react v． 起作用
7． suppose v． 料想
8． hold up 拦截
9． gunpoint n． 枪口
10． combination n． （用以开启暗码锁的）数字或字母组合
11． surgery n． 手术
12． scar n．伤疤 v． 使留下伤疤
13． paramedic n． 护理人员
14． burly adj． 魁梧的
15． allergic adj． 过敏的
16． thanks to 由于，因为