I scheduled an early wake-up call to ensure a preferred seat. Steve Rizzo’s keynote delivery was set for 7am Thursday in the Venetian Hotel’s Casanova Ballroom at the LMC Annual in Las Vegas. Popular comedian turned hall of fame speaker, Rizzo is The Attitude Adjuster. Billed as a motivational mechanic who tunes and tweaks each member of his audience, I finished his mind-altering book “Get Your Shift Together” in advance of the show. It’s a must-read.

On stage as in the book, Rizzo revealed how a simple shift in thinking can change our perception of challenging circumstances. “Feeling good is the fuel that drives motivation,” declared Rizzo. And the key to feeling good, according to Rizzo, is a conscious choice to enjoy the process. The tendency to focus on outcomes (“If only..” or “As soon as..”) puts our happiness on hold. “People who consistently enjoy the process not only reap the benefits of achieving their goal, but they also have a fond appreciation of how they earned it,” writes Rizzo. On Thursday he asked each one of us “Will you make the choice to enjoy yourself during the process?”

In his stand-up style, Rizzo even ‘walked the talk’ when a group of people sheepishly stood at the doors having arrived late to his presentation. “Come on in guys!” encouraged Rizzo. “Can I get you anything? … like a watch?”

“There are far too many people holding on to their precious ticket to Happy Land, waiting for the Good Time Express to arrive. Give me a break! Better yet, give yourself a break. This defies all logic. Why wait for good times? Why not have them now? In fact, now is the only place where good times can happen. They can’t happen in the past and they can’t happen in the future. Happiness can only be experienced in the present.”

“Regardless of what is going on around you, you can feel happier, you can be productive, attract success, and enjoy yourself during the process. When you shift your focus and the way you think, your perspective changes. When shift happens, your life changes. So get your shift together.”

– Steve Rizzo