Attitude is Everything-w/Keith Harrell

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**🎙️ Podcast Show Notes:

Join me in this week’s Mind Wrench Podcast, as we tackle a truth that’s both simple and game-changing: your attitude sets the course of your life. Most people nod at that idea—but few actually practice it. Between daily fires, customer stress, and repair deadlines, it’s easy to let circumstances run the show. But when you learn to choose your attitude instead of reacting to everything around you, you regain the control that stress usually steals.

Through stories, science, and some real talk from the collision repair world, we break down how small shifts in mindset can totally change your energy, your leadership, and your shop’s culture. 

I’ll share a standout story from the late Keith Harrell drives it home: after sprinting through an airport to catch a delayed flight, he chooses calm over chaos. While another passenger melts down, he reads, eats, calls his grandmother, and boards relaxed. Same flight, same delay—completely different experience. That’s the power of attitude as strategy!

We also explore real tools to train your mindset like a muscle. Quick affirmations like “I choose my response” can interrupt negativity spirals, while micro-rituals—like a walk, water break, or short call with a positive friend—help you reset faster and lead stronger.

Finally, we come back to Charles Swindoll’s timeless reminder: “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react”. In this business, where chaos can hit before the first cup of coffee, that ratio might even be generous. So, ask yourself—what can I do now that helps later? Who can I be proud of being right now? That’s where real power starts.

3️⃣🔑Takeaways:

✅Attitude is a choice, not a reaction—and it’s your greatest tool for influence and calm.

✅Micro-rituals rebuild control fast, turning stressful moments into leadership wins.

✅Your response shapes your results—every day, every customer, every challenge.

If you’re ready to invest in your growth and lead your team by example, visit www.rickselover.com/contact for a free coaching consultation. Because in this industry—and in life—learning how to adjust your attitude IS everything!

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
You've probably heard this famous quote multiple
times before.
Your attitude will determineyour altitude, right?
Or maybe the more common one byCharles Swindahl that says, Life
is 10% what happens and 90% howyou react to it.
The great news is how you reactto what happens in your daily
life, whether it's somethingpositive or negative, is 100% up

(00:22):
to you.

SPEAKER_00 (00:31):
Welcome to the MindFree Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
Welcome to the 9 Minutes Podcast.
I'm your host Rick Silver.
Thanks so much for stopping in.
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(01:21):
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(01:42):
If you've been listening to theshow for a while, or been on the
receiving end of my daily quoteof the day emails, or maybe just
catch my posts on Facebook orLinkedIn, you know I'm all about
the quotes, right?
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It's free and you canunsubscribe at any time.
If you've ever listened to anyof my previous podcast episodes,

(02:03):
seen my daily social mediaposts, or even heard me speak at
an event, it should come to youas no surprise when I say your
attitude is everything, andit'll absolutely determine the
course of your life.
You've probably heard thisfamous quote multiple times
before your attitude willdetermine your altitude, right?
Or maybe the more common one byCharles Swindall that says Life

(02:27):
is 10% what happens and 90% howyou react to it.
The great news is how you reactto what happens in your daily
life, whether it's somethingpositive or negative, is 100% up
to you.
Do things in life really happento you or for you?
Well, it really depends on howyou look at it or your attitude
towards it, which is a choiceyou make every single day.

(02:51):
I found this to be true not onlyin my life, but in the lives of
hundreds, if not thousands, ofpeople I've talked to in my
career.
Your attitude, the attitude youchoose to have, can make life
either a grand adventure withmany good things in store for
you, or a miserable existence,with one disappointment after
another just waiting for you, orsomewhere in between.

(03:13):
But it is all up to you.
I want to share a great exampleof this from a recording I heard
the other day by formerbasketball star, motivational
speaker, and author of severalbooks, including Attitude is
Everything, known as America'sAttitude Coach, Keith Harrell.
And I just had to share thiswith all of you.
Now, although Keith passed away15 years ago, his messages and

(03:36):
his positivity live on.
So here's Keith.

SPEAKER_04 (03:39):
I fly an awful lot.
How many people fly a lot?
And you know today that's achallenge.
It's gonna be a challenge when Igo to the airport tonight with
all the weather change.
A couple weeks ago, I'm going toAtlanta airport.
I've got a major flight to catchto go to New York.
I run up to the ticket counterand I tell the person, hey, I
really gotta catch that flight.
He goes, sir, you're going outof Concourse C.
And if you've ever been toAtlanta, that's about 57 miles

(04:00):
from the ticket counter.
He looks at me and he goes, Uh,sir, I uh uh uh you only have 15
minutes.
I I don't think you're gonnamake it.
I looked at him, I said, I'm notgonna make it talking to you.
Give me my ticket.
Damn.
I believe in life sometimes themagic of the word triumph is in
the first syllable.
You gotta try.
I snatched that ticket and Ijust started talking to myself.

(04:21):
Come on, you're gonna make it.
You just keep on going.
You just keep on running.
You know you're gonna make it.
I just kept talking to myself.
I finally got to security, Ijumped over it.
Just kept on running.
You know, Atlanta has thatconcourse, that train.
I didn't even catch the train.
I was running faster than thetrain.
Who was that?
I finally, I just, I just keptrunning.
I was talking to myself.
You gotta try.
You gotta try.

(04:42):
Come on, kid.
Keep going.
I finally got the concourse fee.
And my voice said, You out ofshape.
And then my voice said, Youbetter start working out.
I finally got to the gate and Ihad to catch my breath, and I
saw the plane was there, and Igo, excuse me, man.
Oh, boy, did I make it?
She looks at me and she goes,sir, we just got word the
plane's gonna be two hoursdelayed.

(05:12):
I looked at her and I said, uh,I said, uh, I said, I'm, I'm,
I'm proactive.
She looked at me and she goes,No, you look dead.
Hey, another gentleman ranaround up behind me, a top
executive, of course, and helooked at her and he said, I
have to get on that plane.
I'm going to New York for amajor meeting.
Is it leaving on time?
You see, go, sir, we apologize.
The plan is physically here, butwe have some trouble.

(05:33):
We'll be leaving in about twohours.
He goes off.
What do you mean, two hours?
Do you know who you're talkingto?
I'm a million miler.
I'm a flying colonel, I'm a rollmedallion.
You better get your supervisorout here right now.

SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
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(06:08):
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(06:29):
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(06:52):
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(07:14):
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SPEAKER_04 (07:24):
Supervisor, a nice woman in a nice red jacket,
stepped up and said, Sir, weapologize, but regardless of
what you say, the plane's notleaving for three hours, for two
hours, two hours later.
He goes off for 35 minutes.
Guess what time the plane left?
Two hours later.
You know he made himself famous,though?
You know he made himself famous?
Everyone knew who he was.

(07:45):
Blood pressure went to anall-time high.
And nobody wanted to sit next tohim.
I was proactive.
I went down and got something toeat.
Grilled chicken, French fries,large coke.
And then I went and bought abook, Norman Vincent Peel,
Enthusiasm Makes a Difference,read chapter one.
Then I did something extremelyspecial.
I believe to stay positivetoday, you have to do the little
things for you.
I called my grandmother.

(08:06):
Collect.
You ought to try it sometime,then never say no.
You know, it's funny.
After I got off the phone fromtalking to someone who has
impacted my attitude my entirelife, someone who loves me more
than anything in the world, andsomeone who I love, you know, I
had a whole new outlook on life.
Playing didn't matter.
Going to New York was secondary.

(08:27):
I had a whole new outlook onlife.
If you ever see me in theairport again, I do the little
things for me.
I love popcorn.
If you ever in Atlanta, uhConcourse C, it's gate four,
concourse B, B-19, Concourse A,hey,$27,$1.58 a box.
So if you can visualize me, I'meating popcorn, I'm whistling,
you know.
I walk back over to the gate anduh I go to sit down.
It's about 20 minutes before weboard.

(08:48):
And I look at some of the folksgetting ready to board.
They look toxic.
They look extremely negative,and I say to myself, you don't
want to sit next to thesepeople, I'm gonna go over here.
I go over to the other group,they look like they wanna be
dead.
I finally plop down next to aguy and I'm just sitting there.
He looks over and he goes, Whyare you so happy?
I said, I'm proactive.

(09:08):
He said, What the heck isproactive?
I said, Let me give you threereasons.
Either something's wrong withthe plane, something's wrong
with the pilot, something'swrong with the weather.
I'd rather be right here talkingto you.
I told him I'd rather be hereand wish I was up there than to
be up there and wish I was here.
He looked at me and he goes, Isthat proactive?
I go, yes, it is.
He said, Give me some of thatpopcorn.

(09:31):
You gotta look at your liferight now.
A lot of people ask me a keyquestion.
How do you stay positive?
I read a lot of affirmationsdaily.
I think affirmations are reallythe secret to programming a
negative attitude.
One of my favorite affirmationsis by Chuck Swindall.
Imagine if you had theopportunity this morning, as I
did, to wake up and to read thisentitled Attitude from Chuck
Swindall.

It goes like this (09:50):
the longer I live, the more I realize the
impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me is more importantthan facts.
It's more important than thepast and education and money
than circumstances, thenfailures are successes.
It's more important thanappearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make a break a company,a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we havea choice every day regarding the

(10:12):
attitude that we will embracefor that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact thatsome people will treat us in a
certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
But the one thing we can do isplay on the one string we have,
and that is attitude.
I'm convinced life is 10% whathappens to you and 90% how you
react.
So it is with you as it is withme.

(10:35):
We are all in charge of ourattitude.
Chuck Swindow, he's not here,but let's give Chuck a round of
applause.
Thanks, Chuck.

SPEAKER_01 (10:43):
Well, that's all I had for you today.
Thanks again for tuning in.
I really appreciate yoursupport, and I hope you have a
great week.
I can always be reached atwww.rixilover.com, where you can
find all my social media links,podcast episodes, blog posts,
and much more.