Positive Attitude Precedes Success

In our previous write-up titled “Make the Second Half of the Year Count”, we discussed ways and provided tools you can employ to get the best out of the remaining part of the Year. In this write-up, we will discuss “positive attitude” as an essential ingredient to achieving those goals and objectives you are pursuing.

What Does Positive Attitude Mean?

Positive attitude is a state of mind that envisions and expects favorable results. It involves:

• The willingness to try doing new things
• The belief that everything would turn all right
• It is an attitude that helps you see the good in people.
• It is a mental attitude that sees the good and the accomplishments in your life, rather than the negative and the failures.
• A positive attitude is a mindset that helps you see and recognize opportunities.
• Positive attitude means positive thinking
• It is optimism and maintaining a positive mindset
• It is a mental attitude that focuses on the bright side of life
• It is a mindset that uses the words, “I can”, and “it is possible”.

How does having a Positive Attitude determine Success

According to a quote by William James, "Your belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that insures the successful outcome of your venture." This is a very powerful statement as it underscores the role believe or state of mind plays in determining the outcome of our endeavors.  A state of mind that envisions and expects favorable results prepares and strengthens the bearer for whatever challenges may arise while prosecuting the idea.

A positive attitude helps you cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life and makes it easier to avoid worries and negative thinking. With a positive attitude you see the bright side of life, become optimistic, and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing. When you are pursuing a vision, a positive attitude connects you to the achievers invisible “project manual” as positive attitude manifests in:

• Positive thinking.
• Constructive thinking.
• Creative thinking.
• Optimism.
• Motivation and energy to do things and accomplish goals.
• An attitude of happiness.

These attributes connect the positive person to a rich source of “divinely inspired solutions download” for any challenge that may occur while executing projects or running your business.

According to Rana Abu Hadhoud in her article “The Power of Positive Attitude Can Change Your Life” A positive attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your whole life. If you look at the bright side of life, your whole life becomes filled with light. This light affects not only you and the way you look at the world, but it also affects your environment and the people around you. If this attitude is strong enough, it becomes contagious. It's as if you radiate light around you.

The truth of this statement can be seen in the story below. This is a story we have shared sometimes in the past but because of its relevance to the topic we feel its helpful to share it again. Enjoy it.

The Gardener's Badge Story

A landscape gardener ran a business that had been in the family for two or three generations. The staffs were happy, and customers loved to visit the store, or to have the staff work on their gardens or make deliveries - anything from bedding plants to ride-on mowers.

For as long as anyone could remember, the current owner and previous generations of owners were extremely positive happy people.

Most folk assumed it was because they ran a successful business.

In fact, it was the other way around...

A tradition in the business was that the owner always wore a big lapel badge, saying Business Is Great!

The business was indeed generally great, although it went through tough times like any other. What never changed however was the owner's attitude, and the badge saying Business Is Great!

Everyone who saw the badge for the first time invariably asked, "What's so great about business?" Sometimes people would also comment that their own business was miserable, or even that they personally were miserable or stressed.

Anyhow, the Business Is Great Badge always tended to start a conversation, which typically involved the owner talking about lots of positive aspects of business and work, for example:

•          The pleasure of meeting and talking with different people every day
•          The reward that comes from helping staff take on new challenges and experiences
•          The fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment
•          The fascination in the work itself, and in the other people's work and businesses
•          The great feeling when you finish a job and do it to the best of your capabilities
•          The new things you learn every day - even without looking to do so
•          And the thought that everyone in business is blessed - because there are many millions of people who would swap their own situation to have the same opportunities of doing a productive meaningful job, in a civilized well-fed country, where we have no real worries.

Therefore, the list went on. And no matter how miserable a person was, they'd usually end up feeling a lot happier after just a couple of minutes listening to all this infectious enthusiasm and positivity.

It is impossible to quantify or measure attitude like this, but to one extent or another it is probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, on which point, if asked about the badge in a quiet moment, the business owner would confide:

"The badge came first. The great business followed."

So, why don’t you create and wear your own “BADGE” today?

Best of Luck!

Nigerian Seminars and Trainings Team