Kimberly S. Reed - Optimists Always Win!: Moving from Defeat to Lifes C-Suite

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020948194

2021 Kimberly S. Reed

ISBN-13: 978-07573-2105-4 (Paperback)

ISBN-10: 07573-2105-4 (Paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-07573-2357-7 (ePub)

ISBN-10: 07573-2357-X (ePub)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.1700 NW 2nd Avenue Boca Raton, FL 33432-1653

Cover design by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

Interior design by Larissa Hise Henoch, formatting by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

In loving memory of

Grandmother Mary J. Morris

Beloved mother and soror, Barbara E. Reed

Grandmother Hattie V. Reed

To every courageous warrior and survivor who never stops fighting and believing there is a champion in YOU!

To all the amazing and caring doctors and nurses at Penn Medicines Abramson Cancer Center and Hartford Hospital

LIFE IS FULL OF THE unexpected. There are choices to be made that can significantly alter the direction and fulfillment of ones life. We are all faced with wonderful opportunities, but also with adversity, which can sometimes be devastating and even life-threatening. The good times in life are generally easier to navigatehope, opportunity, and success are great things to anticipate. Yet, it is often how we deal with adversity that tests our strength and defines us. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, some of us choose pessimism and defeat, while others refuse to accept defeat and strive forward with optimism and determination.

None of us will navigate through life without some sort of medical issue, often serious. Cancer is unfortunately common, and virtually all of us either know someone battling the disease, or we may even have faced it personally. We all strive to find the best medical providers at the best institutions for treatment. However, our approach to these issues also can have significant effects on the outcome. Having a positive outlook, optimism, and strength are critical.

Kimberly S. Reeds life was turned upside-down with the sudden death of her beloved mother and her grandmother. She was dealing with these tragic life events when she herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. Initially, the cancer was thought to be localized, but subsequently it was determined to have spreadStage IV. An aggressive, personalized treatment plan was devised including major surgeries, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiation.

Faced with this daunting diagnosis and difficult treatments, Kim never wavered, never complained or asked why me, and never lost faith. She maintained an unshakably positive attitude, determined to beat the odds and declare victory over this dreaded disease. She recovered from her treatment and has been cancer-free for over five years following her diagnosis.

I had the privilege of being one of Kims doctors and was with her throughout the treatment process, and I continue to monitor her breast health. Her optimistic, determined attitude and approach to adversity are inspiring. As is typical of Kim, she wanted to share her journey, with the hope of helping others facing similar adversity. She wanted to highlight the power of an optimistic attitude and elimination of negativity to emerge victorious.

Kim is a motivational speaker. She reaches a large audience with her words of encouragement and guidance to a better, more fulfilling life. But that wasnt enough for Kim. She decided to write a book outlining steps to eliminate discouragement and reach the pinnacle in life. The message of Optimists Always Win! Moving from Defeat to Lifes C-Suite is simple: difficulties and struggles are unavoidable in life, but every one of us has complete control of his or her personal response to adversity. Responding with optimism and hope in difficult circumstances is not easy. This book provides concrete steps to help us counteract negativity and pessimism; learn from the pastbut focus on the future; and strive forward with hope and promise.

There are other books that address similar concepts, but few are as inspiring and motivating as this one. Kim gives the reader ten concrete tools to eliminate discouragement and embrace an optimistic attitude to apply to his or her own battles, to succeed in overcoming adversity. This book is a must-read for everyone facing lifes difficult challengeswhich means all of us at some point in our lives. Kim helps us regard challenges not as tragedies, but rather as opportunities to become the best we can be.

Dahlia M. Sataloff, MD

Professor of Clinical Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Chair, Department of Surgery, Pennsylvania Hospital

AT SOME POINT IN LIFE, we all eventually face something much bigger than we are. We all get in situationssome by fate, others by our own doingthat seem too big to overcome. I call these life knockouts (LKOs). If you have ever experienced an LKO or are in the midst of one, this book is for you. If life seems to be knocking you down with little hits more often than it lifts you up, this book is also for you.

In boxing, a referee declares a technical knockout (TKO) if they determine that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason. Theres no need for an intervening count. Similarly, a life knockout (LKO) is a life circumstance that renders a person mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally incapable of continuing life in their usual manner. A person experiencing an LKO is so impaired by the current crisis or challenge that they are unable to see any possibility for a positive or victorious outcome. That person is figuratively down for the count. But that is precisely when they need to keep fighting.

People often fixate on the negative side of life, perpetually seeing the figurative glass as half empty, dwelling on insults, and focusing on mistakes. This is because our brains default setting is to give greater weight to the negative things that happen to us than to the positive things. Psychologists refer to this as the negativity bias. And, unfortunately, it is an inherent trait of most humans. Ask anyone who has ever tried to lose weight, develop a new skill, or incorporate a new habit, for example. They can tell you from firsthand experience that focusing on the difficulty of the task rather than on the positivity of achievement is our natural tendency. The good news is that developing optimism can overpower our inherent inclination to focus on the negative side of challenges and pitfalls.

Optimists Always Win is designed to help you develop a process to stay optimistic at all times. To be clear, being optimistic does not mean that you are always happy or that sugar will fall from the sky. Choosing to be optimistic acknowledges that we have the ability to positively interpret the meaning of our life events, or as Tony Robbins puts it: Its not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean. Optimism is the most salient trait we have because it allows us to evolve our thought process, better our situation, and put our faith and hope in a better tomorrow.