When people first come to SparkPeople, they are often happily surprised by how positive our members and community are. SparkPeople members are by and large a positive bunch, continuously looking out for one another and spreading encouragement. This positive support system is so important in any healthy lifestyle journey--and it really works! Our most successful members--real people like you who have reached their weight-loss goals or lost at least 100 pounds in their journey to date--truly understand the power of positivity. When we recently surveyed this elite group, we found out so many things these big "losers" did to reach their goals and were finally able to quantify just how successful certain habits or strategies really were. You can find it all in The Spark, now a New York Times Best Seller!

We couldn't keep all the secrets in this book to ourselves, so we're sharing our 15 favorite secrets of success on the dailySpark from March 1-15.

Secret #12: Tap into the power of positive people.
Successful SparkPeople members don't just consider people a nice part of their community; instead they tap into the power of positive people and use that as a weight-loss tool. How?

60% of successful members connected with positive people who they knew would help them stay positive, and nearly just as many proactively read other people's success stories on SparkPeople.com as a motivational technique. Among people who had lost at least 100 pounds, the numbers were even higher—72% proactively connected with positive people, and 71% read inspiring stories of other successful SparkPeople.

There are two techniques here, both of which have a resounding impact on your success. The first combines support from others and positivity. That means it may not be enough to ask your pessimistic cube-mate at work to support you in your weight-loss goals. And if your partner or roommate isn't supportive about your goals, you may need to look elsewhere to keep your spirits up. You have to seek out support from people who are also positive if you hope to remain that way yourself.

The second technique, looking outward for inspiration, is another interesting one. I guess it is no surprise why weight-loss success stories are so intriguing for us to read and shows like "The Biggest Loser" are so popular among viewers. While it's interesting to learn what each person did to reach his or her goal weight, the simple act of learning about someone else who was successful can help you feel like YOU can be successful, too. What a powerful motivational technique!

When I was on my own weight-loss journey (long before SparkPeople), I lived alone in a city where I barely knew a soul. I didn't have the support of a workout buddy, roommate or family member who really understood what I was going through. No one was cheering me on or giving me pep talks to stick with my plan, and as a result, I struggled more than I would have liked. Would it have been a lot easier if I had someone else to count on? You bet! But one thing I did do was read the success stories of others. I would tear them out of my fitness magazines and keep them in a folder so that I could look at them anytime I needed a motivational boost. Each person I read about was proof that I could do it, too.

You don't have to go it alone though, even if you don't have supportive friends or family in your life. SparkPeople's overwhelmingly positive community is here to support you when you need it! And we have boatloads of success stories and motivational members (as voted on by you) whose stories and pages you can browse whenever you need a boost. Here are some resources to help you get support (online and in real life) and tap into the power of our positive community.

• Video Overview of SparkPeople's Community
• 2 Ways to Get Support: SparkTeams and Message Boards
• How to Get the Support You Need to Succeed
• SparkPeople Success Stories
• Browse Our Motivational SparkPages
• Surround Yourself with the Positive

The Spark is the only top-selling weight-loss book this year that isn't about what to eat or how to exercise. We all know HOW to lose weight. Often, the challenge lies in maintaining the motivation and positive outlook to follow the program, and that's exactly what we focus on in our book. Read The Spark to become the master of your own motivation once and for all!

How do you tap into the power of positive people? What other stay-motivated tricks help you reach your goals?