Several years ago, I was living in Washington with one of my brothers, who had come to stay with me while he pulled himself out of a rough patch. Eventually, he got a gig selling memberships at a gym, part of a well-known national franchise. No one in our family is a natural salesperson, but it was a job, and at least the gym is one place where my brother is in his element.

He had the closing shift, and he’d get home in his regulation polo shirt and raid the fridge just as I was going to bed. Pulling in a paycheck straightened his shoulders, as it does for anyone. Some of his wry humor returned, and so it was that one night he came in and, standing at the kitchen counter, recited “The Affirmation,” the creed that new gym employees had to learn by heart:

I will win. Why? I’ll tell you why—because I have faith, courage, and enthusiasm!
 
Today, I’ll meet the right people in the right place at the right time for the betterment of all.
 
I see opportunity in every challenge.

I am terrific at remembering names.
 
When I fail, I look at what I did right, not what I did wrong.

I have clearly defined goals.
 
I never take advice from anyone more messed up than I am.

I never let a negative thought enter my head.
 
I am a winner, a contributor, an achiever. I believe in me.

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