In a previous place in an earlier time, a time long, long ago. I knew a great guy that would get into work early every morning even though he didn’t have to be in that early. He would be there, come rain or shine. He would be working away.

He would always be working away at the computers and head down and focused. I would see him every morning, and I would always say, ‘Good morning Andy, how you doing?’

His reply was always the same. He would say, ‘Amazing!’ and reply with such positive energy. This guy and his response would always start my day off nicely. Such a positive mindset, and it was infectious.

I loved seeing the guy in the morning, and I would look for him just to check in so I could get that little hit of positivity. 

“Amazing!” he would say every damn morning. It was magnificent.

That positive mindset then went from me to others, as I also responded to people. It gathered pace, and very quickly, the whole place’s energy was charged up with a can-do mentality, and it showed up in the results.

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.”

Rosa Parks

This guy was one of the first people that I could sense that had the ability to change the energy in a place just with a simple, early morning posture, and I have tried to emulate that many times over.

I have to admit that it is not the easiest thing in the world to do. To keep a positive and upbeat energy when all around you is pushing an alternative. Some people can drive out the very devil himself with their negativity.

I can often fall victim to the same powers. It is probably driven from a single source, somewhere in the opening of the day. Or from one key source. Kryptonite. 

Punishing negativity can be a virus. It can bleed through an organisation or a body of people, in the same way the idea of ‘Amazing‘ can sweep through in a blaze of glory.

I have found it to be often driven by fear. So much is driven by fear. Fear can cause people to do the craziest of things and act in a way that is just not like them. Fear is a danger to us all. Fear is a doppelganger.

In truth, it is not them or us. It is the mammal brain acting out in a way to protect them. Their rational brain has been swamped by the need to self protect. The rational brain has been thrown in a cupboard or hidden under a table, while the mammal brain deals with the thunderous onslaught of perceived fear. It is natural. Fear and the actions it drives are wholly natural. 

What we need to do is remove the fear.

Never an easy thing to do.

So many people need fear to get things done. It is how they manage.

Whatever it is that they are managing. This type of person needs to cause fear. Fear is easier to manage and more comfortable to manipulate. Politicians have known this for years, and they have mastered the art of it. They use it to keep us in our place. Stop and look around for a moment and see this in action in every corner of the earth.

There is an alternative.

I would always urge others to go for the much more difficult road. Drive and manage the positivity. That is not easy. 

A common cause for positivity is harder to manifest. There is no bogey man inside the grounds of being positive. There is the vision and purpose of a glorious outcome based on hope and a startling picture of what could be if we all pulled together. A majestic view to behold. The people we remember in history with fondness, admiration and respect are the people who painted that compelling picture. These people used their paintbrush with deft despite the challenges.

We all should learn to paint, even if it is painting by numbers, getting us started in the correct direction.

As for Andy, the ‘Amazing’ morning guy. 

He was a wise man way beyond his years. 

Every morning he would be in to use the computer to learn. Self-taught, quietly picking up the skills on his own dime but using the company equipment. For context, this was back when a home computer was not a cheap-to-own item. Andy would be there, learning. Upskilling.

He was improving day by amazing day.

Andy was my role model in more ways than one. He is my vision and purpose for my present self. I look back at andy in complete awe, and so should you.

I want to be more Andy. 

Andy left the company after a year. He went on and became an engineer guy, and he is doing very nicely. Thank you very much. He looked around and saw the future and chased his goal with quiet determination.

He painted his picture by numbers at first. 

Now he is Picasso.

What amazing thing have I learned…

“We should all learn to paint, and we should all learn to be more Andy.”

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