Have you been following those individuals who are trying to be the first person to sail around the world in a hot-air balloon? While watching Steve Fossett take off from Bush Stadium in St. Louis, I thought, "Yuk!" Alone, cold, 25-30,000 feet high, deep oceans and bad weather for what? One million dollars!

Last night I watched another interview on Steve Fossett. I learned that he is not just another individual with millions of dollars and nothing to do.

He has accomplished quite a lot. Steve already has amassed millions from Wall Street and almost reached the summit on Mount Everest. He holds the record for fastest crossing of the Pacific by an individual in a small sail boat. On his fourth try, he completed a twenty-one hour swim across the English Channel. He said he considers himself a terrible swimmer! And now he just failed this around the world balloon race - only to try again next month. Next year he plans to ski across Greenland.

I don't know if you have seen a picture of Steve Fossett. He is not some super athletic specimen. From the outside he is just your regular 53 year old person. When asked if he fears failing, he said with a school kid grin, "No, I've done it so much, I don't even think about it."

I then realized that Steve shares a trait that most successful people have - positive thinking. As I was watching Steve Fossett's balloon take off from St. Louis, all I could think about were negative reasons not to do it. Even Nike is changing from its slogan "Just Do It" to "I Can" positive reinforcement!

I guess FDR said it best, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."