Life can be a real challenge sometimes. Sometimes you've got to make yourself happy(er) even though there may be no outside support. What do you do when you're feeling down?

About three or four years ago, I learned a very powerful philosophical tool that I've used ever since. It doesn't always completely change my attitude but it's a good start and really puts the crap-time in perspective.

What is this simple "trick" that I've employed every single day for almost four years? Well, every morning, I take a deep breath and, on the exhale, I say out loud: "Life is wonderful". Sometimes I use "Life is beautiful". If I happen to forget, there's a certain traffic light that I've designated as the barrier between work and home. Whenever I pass that light in the morning I do it.

It's so simple yet, if you're sincere about it and remember just how wonderful and precious life really is then it can make a measurable difference in your attitude. After all, attitude is the real bedfellow of happiness and success. It's the means to every end.

Even when I'm feeling like sh!t, even when I think life sucks, even when I had 7 friends (several close to me) die last year - keeping a positive attitude about life and our place in it is so powerful. Believe it or not, on the way to my friend Reggie's viewing (2 days before Christmas) - then funeral (Christmas Eve) - I took a deep breath and said: "Life is beautiful".

You know what, life really is beautiful. If we could only realize that we can start to live it that way.

How do you keep a positive attitude?