A group of anthropologists at Cambridge were conducting research on the concepts of pessimism and optimism. Their subjects were two young boys: one a pessimist, and the other an optimist. The pessimistic boy was put in a room full of wonderful toys. The optimistic boy was put in a room with nothing but a barrel of manure.

When the scientists looked in on the pessimistic boy one hour later they found him complaining about this toy that didn’t work, that one needed fresh batteries, the next one wasn’t the right color, etc., etc. Recording their findings, they moved on.

As they opened the door to the room where the optimistic boy was, they had to duck to avoid being hit by flying manure. Indeed, it was splattered everywhere. They found the young lad head-first in the barrel, where he was heard to say, “I know there’s a pony in here somewhere”.

Be sure to look for your pony this year. Even in 2009, it’s in there somewhere.

Recently I talked about attitude and perspective on my small business radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show. Take a few minutes to see what you think and leave your own comments.