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Easter's this weekend. Many of us will celebrate it as a day with family, as a day to attend church, or as a day of reflection. For me, it'll be a little bit of all three.

If you are of the Christian faith (or interested in it), we've got something to share with you. This short video is about the life of Christ, and the inspiration that He brings into the world...and we felt that it would be appropriate to share this during this year's Easter Season:

We wish you a blessed Easter!

The other day, I got a call from a colleague of mine, named Jocelyn, to update each other about what we're working on. I told her about how I wanted to share some tips for our blog readers about keeping a good attitude. Jocelyn introduced me to Marlene Chism and gave me a couple of articles that she wrote. I decided that I had to share my favorite with you!

Marlene's article is called, "Five Ways to Stand Out in 2010." Even though we just finished the first quarter, I know that there's still a lot of 2010 to get through. So, will you barely survive, or make it the best year of your life?

You might think that it's difficult to stand out given all the distractions of the day. However, there are easy ways to be exceptional simply by distinguishing yourself from the norm. What is the norm today? Stress, anxiety, feeling overworked, complaining about how busy you are, putting too much on your plate, letting others down, impatience and overindulgence are the signs of our times. If you want to stand out in 2010, just try one of these five disciplines and make it part of your life. You will be noticed. In fact, you will be viewed as extraordinary.

1. Keep Your Word If you do what you say you are going to do you will definitely stand out. Today we have many excuses to drop the ball including, "I didn't see the e-mail, it went into my junk file, I just got swamped and time got away from me." Keeping your word requires you to quit making too many promises you can't fulfill, doing a better job of scheduling, setting appropriate boundaries, and padding your calendar a bit so you aren't always rushed.

2. Say No Instead of complaining about all you have to do, simply say "no" to the things you don't really want to do. This will require you to give up your need for approval, and to either take action or accept what is, but the payoff is you will be happier, have more energy, and have more time for what really matters.

3. Be Present If you can really be present with someone while they are with you or even while on the phone with them, your energy will be magnetic. This new habit requires you to slow down, take a breath, give some eye contact, and when on the phone no checking e-mail or texting someone else. Believe me you will stand out if you have the discipline to do these things.

4. Smile People will either think you are a bit crazy or they'll be suspicious but you will definitely get some attention if you walk around with a happy smile. This will require you to notice your body language, be a bit more patient and work on all those negative thoughts that manifest as a stressful frown or angry countenance.

5. Acknowledge It's easy to notice bad customer service but do you acknowledge great service? Whether it's the rep on the other end of the phone handling your credit card transaction, your mail carrier, your waitress, your employee, your boss, or the ticket taker at the movie counter, acknowledge friendliness, efficiency, innovation, thoughtfulness and other character qualities and competencies of others.

This will require you to quit thinking about yourself and your problems, and turn your focus to the greatness of others. My challenge to you is to pick one area above, look at what is required to master the new habit. Take note of how your new discipline improves your self-image and helps you stand out as someone committed to excellence. How will you stand out today?

Want to get to know Marlene? Check out her website, or leave a comment for her!

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

-Jimmy Dean

No matter what time of year, it's important to keep a good attitude. I need to know that just as much as the next person...today as I stepped into the office I felt overwhelmed by all the newsletters that had to be sent out, calls that had to be made, and work that had to get done. I was so busy having my bad attitude that I didn't even notice that today was the first warm, sunny day in months!

To help you look at the bright side (both literally and figuratively), here's a short movie guaranteed to boost your attitude:

How will you shape your attitude today?

A few weeks ago, I found an unexpected letter and book from a Facebook fan of Simple Truths. Nicholas Dennen wrote to tell my team and me, "Thank you for believing and helping myself and others overcome seemingly 'impossible' situations. Blessings to you, your families, and Simple Truths." That was a touching letter...but what really touched me was Nick's amazing story! It was so amazing, in fact, that I invited him to share his amazing story of perseverance with you. Nick experienced trauma that he would not have overcome without the right attitude. Be encouraged by his life today:

Question: when you look back on your life, 10, 20, 30, even 50 years down the road, what do you think you'll remember most, the times you effortlessly moved forward without any bit of struggle or the times you found yourself wrestling against your deepest fears? I think Jim Rohn said it best, "we must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment." I would have surely regretted not giving 110% of my heart and soul to my rehabilitation.

I had taken a 35-foot fall into a creek with a near drowning, suffering massive closed head trauma, with a collapsed lung. Miraculously, I survived that, yet alone surpassing an uncertain future plagued by insurmountable odds. It was those same impossible odds that set the scene for an amazing journey. The odds were definitely against me, and sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which according the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota, affects 100,000 individuals just in Minnesota alone. The numbers are close to 1.4 million across the United States.

And today, we have to also consider our brave troops overseas. It is estimated that nearly 20% of our returning troops will have some form of mild to severe traumatic brain injury, many from improvised explosive devises. This number is staggering, but I think is underestimated. I've learned, in my short time with my brain injury, prevention is the only known cure.

I had a choice, to remain in the shadows or move forward, defining the moment, or letting the moment define me. I was hospitalized for months, September 27th of 1998 until early December of that year. After being discharged, after escaping death, I continued outpatient rehab at Sister Kenny, and continued moving forward. Moving home provided me with the comfort of family, but also the drive to continue walking my path with myself. My parent's and I were at the mall one Sunday afternoon and we walked by Successories and then I saw it. A poster of a runner with an inspiring quote. "Persevere: On the road to success, you can be sure of one thing…there is never a crowd on the extra mile." At times, it felt like I was running alone; the action had to be pushed forward by me.

Seeing pictures of me in the hospital offer inspiration. I was totally unconscious on life-support laying there with my eyes open, but I was not there. I was semi-comatose. The difficulty in seeing myself in such a state has nothing to do with whether or not I thought I would make it back. The difficulty was knowing that my family, friends, and others were faced with the uncertainty and pain that I may never, ever return. I think it ultimately came down to faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these three being love, the love of my family, friends, and everybody else.

I love motivation, particularly self-motivation, and not letting fear make my decisions. It took a near-death experience to open my eyes, to see a future serving others. My mom gave me a plaque from Successories during that first year as I was enduring an extensive rehabilitation, relearning how to walk, how to write, how to feed myself, how to live again. It was titled, New Beginnings, and it said, "In life what sometimes appears to be the end is really a new beginning."

Yes, I had thought my life was over. I saw my friends and everyone else moving forward, and I was stuck in the past. I saw my glass as half-empty, not half-full. I had a bad attitude. I needed to visualize my new beginning. I needed to change my perspective. I needed to re-define my TBI. Rather than Traumatic Brain Injury, I think TBI really stands for, "To Believe in the Impossible," "To Baffle the Imagination," "To see Beyond the Individual," and "To Become Invincible." I needed to see my struggle as an opportunity to take me to the next level.

Nearly 12 years post-TBI now, looking back, I can hardly imagine my life going any other way, without everything I have learned and every person I have met from this one experience. I was able to return to college, meeting people on the journey whom have shaped my life and transformed my future. I have been fortunate enough to get a job working at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, where I have worked since August of 2004. Working here has helped me go from being somewhat shy and introverted (qualities amplified after having a head injury) to becoming the opposite, outgoing and extroverted. It became my future.

I never would have imagined such a meaningful purpose, serving others enduring the same trials and difficulties. I have found a place serving the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota on their Speaker's Bureau, as well as on their Board of Directors. I can use this experience to lift others up. Adversity can, in the end, strengthen character.

And the best part, which I saved for last, was meeting my beautiful wife, Tina, whom I never would have met had I not been injured. She is my best friend and someone I can't see my life without.

So, I'd like to ask you another question: would you ever take a journey if, before you even started, you knew you would face death, be overcome by fear, and feel as though the world would be better without you in it? Or think about it this way. If, walking that same path, you'd discover your potential, meet the person of your dreams, and find your true calling in life?

Check out Nick's website: http://www.dennen23.com, or leave comments for him!

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." -Author Unknown

To continue with our theme of perseverance, here's a movie based on BJ Gallagher's book, The Best Way Out is Always Through.

What encourages you in times where you need to persevere?