If you get nothing else from the lessons we will talk about, get this:

Your attitude is the prime factor in some of the most important things in your life: personal happiness, success in your career, the quality of personal relationships, effectiveness in getting what you want, ability to deal with problems, and how others view you.

Adults have lectured you about your attitude ever since you were a little kid. Let&squo;s take a fresh look at what&squo;s rightly been called &dquo;the magic word.&dquo;

For the record, Houghton Mifflin&squo;s American Heritage Steadman&squo;s Medical Dictionary defines attitude as: &dquo;A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a certain way.&dquo;

Think about the phrase &dquo;relatively stable.&dquo; Your attitude doesn&squo;t change with each situation. It generally holds true wherever you are and whatever you&squo;re doing.

This next bit is one of life&squo;s greatest lessons, elegant in its sheer truth and simplicity:

A great attitude will result in a great life.

A lousy attitude will result in a lousy life.

You have complete and total control over your own attitude, so choose wisely.

The single greatest thing you can do for yourself is to adopt and keep a positive attitude about everything in your life. Wouldn&squo;t you rather enjoy life than trudge through each day with a dark cloud over your head, dreading the next hour, wishing for something you can&squo;t define? You can have that good life. You just have to make the decision, and then put it into practice every day.

Studies have shown that the one trait that&squo;s always present in highly successful people is‐you guessed it‐a great attitude.

Almost all of the lessons to follow relate in some way or other to this one. Burn it into your subconscious. Believe it. Live it, and you cannot fail.

Excerpted from The Graduate&squo;s Book of Practical Wisdom: 99 Lessons They Can&squo;t Teach in School by C. Andrew Millard, published by Morgan James Publishing, available in bookstores and online beginning in April 2009. &opy; 2008 by C. Andrew Millard; all rights reserved. For more information visit www.wisegraduate.com.