[Chapter 1]
[Importance of Attitude]
“There was a man who made a living selling balloons at a
fair. He had all colors of balloons, including red, yellow, blue, and green.
Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the
air and when the children saw it go up, they all wanted to buy one. They would
come up to him, buy a balloon, and his sales would go up again. He continued
this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned
around and saw a little boy who asked, "If you release a black balloon,
would that also fly?" Moved by the boy's concern, the man replied with
empathy, "Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what is inside
that makes it go up."
The same thing applies to our lives. It is what is inside
that counts. The thing inside of us that makes us go up is our attitude.
We can see in our daily life that some individuals, organizations
are more successful as compare to others because the people think and act effectively,
they knew how to invest in a very important asset i.e. People. The success
of the organization and individuals are depending upon the People or the quality
of people.
Now the question is how should we have the quality of people.
What kind of quality should have in a people for a successful organization:-
i) Total Quality People(TQP) :-
TQP in shortly that peoples are who have the character, integrity, good
values, and main point Positive attitude.
With these types of people an organization can pretty sure success.
Example of Blaise Pascal:-
“ Someone once approached Blaise Pascal, the
famous French philosopher and said, "If I had your brains, I would be a
better person.
" Pascal replied, "Be a better person and you will have my
brains."
Example of Attitude:-
The Calgary Tower of Canada stands at 190.8
meters. The total weight of the tower is 10,884 tons, of which 6,349 tons is
below ground (approximately 60%). This shows that some of the greatest
buildings have the strongest foundations. Just like a great building stands on
a strong foundation, so does success. And the foundation of success is
attitude.
ii) Acers of Diamond: -
"There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy
because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man
came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes
along with them. The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your
thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your
fist, you could probably own your own country." And then he went away.
That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He
was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy.
The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his
family, and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't
find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to
Spain, he was emotionally, physically, and financially broke. He got so
disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed
suicide. Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels
at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the
morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would
look good on the mantlepiece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living
room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked,
"Is Hafiz back?" The new owner said, "No, why do you ask?"
The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see
one." The man said, no, that's just a stone I picked up from the stream.
Come, I'll show you. There are many more." They went and picked some
samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They
found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.*
The moral of this story is
- Opportunity is always under our feet. We don't
have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it. { By Dr Russel Conwell
- When people don't know how to recognize
opportunity, they complain of noise when it knocks. The same opportunity never
knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it is never the same
one.
iii) DAVID AND GOLIATH:-
We all know the story of David and Goliath. There was a giant who was
bullying and harassing the children in the village. One day, a 17-year-old
shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, "Why don't you stand up
and fight the giant?" The brothers were terrified and they replied,
"Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said, "No, he is
not too big to hit, he is too big to miss." The rest is history. We all
know what happened. David killed the giant with a sling. Same giant, different
perception.
Our attitude determines how we look at a setback. To a positive thinker,
it can be a stepping stone to success. To a negative thinker, it can be a
stumbling block. Great organizations are not measured by wages and working
conditions, they are measured by feelings, attitudes, and relationships. When
employees say, "I can't do it," there are two possible meanings. Are
they saying they don't know how to or they don't want to? If they don't know
how to, that is a training issue. If they are saying they don't want to, it may
be an attitude issue (they don't care) or a values issue (they believe they
should not do it).
iv) Factors that determine our Attitude:-
Nobody here is born with him/her own attitude depending upon the environment
and locality their attitude is decided.
There are primarily three factors that determine our attitude.
These are called the triple Es of attitude. Let's evaluate each of the
factors individually.
1. Environment
Environment consists of the
following: ¨ Home: positive or negative influences ¨ School: peer pressure ¨
Work: supportive or over critical supervisor ¨ Media: television, newspapers,
magazines, radio, movies ¨ Cultural background ¨ Religious background ¨
Traditions and beliefs ¨ Social environment ¨ Political environment All of
these environments create a culture. Every place be it a home, organization, or country has a culture.
2. Experiences
Our behavior changes according to
our experiences with people and events in our life. If we have a positive
experience with a person, our attitude toward him becomes positive and if our
experience is negative towards a person then our attitude is negative towards
him.
3. Education
The author refers to both formal and informal education, not just academic
qualifications. Knowledge strategically applied translates into wisdom,
ensuring success. I talk of education in the broader sense. It makes the role
of the; educator vital. A teacher affects eternity. The ripple effect is immeasurable.
We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge and wisdom.
Education ought to teach us not only how to make a living but also how to live.
HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE?
Just like an absence of ill health
does not equal good health, an absence of negativity alone does not make a
person positive. People with positive attitudes have certain personality traits
that are easy to recognize. They are caring, confident, patient, and humble.
They have high expectations of themselves and others. They anticipate positive
outcomes. A person with a positive attitude is like a fruit of all seasons. He
is always welcome.
THE BENEFITS OF A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
These are many and easy to see. But what is easy to see is also easy to
miss. To mention a few, a positive attitude
¨ increases productivity
¨ fosters teamwork
¨ solves problems
¨ improves quality
¨ makes for a congenial atmosphere
¨ breeds loyalty
¨ increases profits
¨ fosters better relationships
with employers, employees, and customers
¨ reduces stress
¨ helps a person become a
contributing member of society and an asset to their country
¨ makes for a pleasing personality
Steps
to build a Positive attitude : -
During childhood, we form attitudes that last a lifetime.
Undoubtedly, it would be a lot easier and better to have acquired a positive
attitude during our formative years.
We have to accept responsibility for some time in our lives. We
blame everyone and everything but ourselves. It is up to us to choose our
attitude every morning. As adults, we need to accept responsibility for our
behavior and actions. People with negative attitudes will blame the whole
world, their parents, teachers, spouse, the economy, and the government for
their failures. You have to get away from the past. Dust yourself off, get back
into the mainstream. Put your dreams together and move forward. Thinking of the
positive things that are true, honest, and good, will put us in a positive state
of mind. If we want to build and maintain a positive attitude, we need to
consciously practice the following steps:
Step 1: Change Focus, Look for the Positive
We need to become
good finders. We need to focus on the positive in life. Let's start looking for
what is right in a person or situation instead of looking for what is wrong.
Because of our conditioning, we are so attuned to finding fault and looking for
what is wrong that we forget to see the positive picture. Even in paradise,
fault finders will find faults. Most people find what they are looking for. If
they are looking for friendship, happiness, and the positive, that is what they
get. If they are looking for fights or indifference, then that is what they
get. Caution looking for the positive does not mean overlooking faults.
LOOKING FOR THE GOLD
“As a young Scots boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and
started doing odd jobs. He ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers
in the United States. At one time he had 43 millionaires working for him.
Several decades ago, a million dollars used to be a lot of money; even today it
is a lot of money. Someone asked Mr. Carnegie how he dealt with people? Andrew
Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is like digging gold: When you go
digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of
gold. But when you go digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go
looking for the gold."
In the story, Andrew Carnegie mentions that when you want to dig
gold first you have to find the solution for many problems like clear the tons
of dirt only for an ounce of gold. As like that first we have to clear our mind and
remove all the negative think then we can get a positive attitude like gold in
our life.
In the way of building a positive attitude, there are so many
negativities are on the way, in simply we should have to negotiate that step
forward on your way.
Step 2: Make a Habit of Doing It Now
We have all procrastinated at
some time in our lives. I know I have, only to have regretted it later.
Procrastination leads to a negative attitude. The habit of procrastination
fatigues you more than the effort it takes to do it. A completed task is
fulfilling and energizing; an incomplete task drains energy like a leak from a
tank. If you want to build and maintain a positive attitude, get into the habit
of living in the present and doing it now.
He
slept beneath the moon
He
basked beneath the sun
He
lived a life of going to do
and
died with nothing done.
If you want to build a positive attitude, learn the phrase,
"do it now" and stop the habit of procrastination. The saddest words
in life are:
¨ "It might have
been."
¨ "I should
have."
¨ "I could
have."
¨ "I wish I
had."
¨ "If only I had given a little extra."
Never leave till
tomorrow which you can do today.
--Benjamin Franklin
Step 3: Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
Count your blessings, not your troubles. Take time to smell
the roses. It is not uncommon to hear that someone, because of an accident or
illness, became blind or paralyzed but won a million dollars in settlement. How
many of us would like to trade places with that person? Not many. We are so
focused on complaining about things we don't have that we lose sight of the
things we have. There is a lot to be thankful for. When I say count your
blessings, not your troubles, the message is not to become complacent. If
complacence was the message you got, then I would be guilty of faulty
communication and you of selective listening.
To give you an example of selective listening, let me share
with you a story
I heard about a
medical doctor who was invited as a guest speaker to address a group of
alcoholics. He wanted to make a demonstration that would be powerful enough to
make people realize that alcohol was injurious to their health. He had two
containers, one with pure distilled water and one with pure alcohol. He put an
earthworm into the distilled water and it swam beautifully and came up to the
top. He put another earthworm into the alcohol and it disintegrated in front of
everyone's eyes. He wanted to prove that this was what alcohol did to the
insides of our body. He asked the group what the moral of the story was and one
person from behind said, "If you drink alcohol you won't have worms in
your stomach." Was that the message? Of course not. That was selective
listening--we hear what we want to hear and not what is being said. Many of our
blessings are hidden treasures--count your blessings and not your troubles.
Step 4: Get into a Continuous Education Program
Let's get some myths
out of the way. It is a general belief that we get educated in schools and
colleges. I run seminars in many different countries and ask my audiences all
the time, "Do we really get educated in schools and colleges?"
Generally, there is a consensus that some do but most don't. We receive a lot
of information in schools and colleges. Don't get me wrong. We do need
information to be educated. But we need to know the true meaning of education.
Intellectual education influences the head and values-based education
influences the heart. In fact, education that does not train the heart can be
dangerous. If we want to build character in our offices, homes, and society, we
must achieve a minimum level of moral and ethical literacy. Education that
builds fundamental traits of character--such as honesty, compassion, courage,
persistence, and responsibility--is absolutely essential. We don't need more
academic education; we need more value education. I would stress that a person
who is morally educated will be a lot better equipped to move up in life or
succeed than a morally bankrupt person with excellent academic qualifications.
Character building and teaching values and ethics come in the formative years
because a child is not born with this knowledge.
EDUCATION DOES NOT MEAN GOOD JUDGEMENT
There is a story about a man who sold hot dogs by the
roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of
hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never
watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hot dogs. His sales
and profit went up. He ordered more meat and got himself a bigger and a better
stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from
college, joined his father. Then something strange happened. The son asked,
"Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our
way?" The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son
said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic is even
worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad time." The man thought
that since his son had been to college, read the papers, and listened to the
radio, he ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next
day, the father cut down his order for the meat and buns, took down the sign, and was no longer enthusiastic. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to
stop at his hot dog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly. The
father said to his son, "Son, you were right. We are in the middle of a
recession. I am glad you warned me ahead of time.
" What is the moral of the story?
1. Many times we confuse intelligence with good judgment.
2. A person may have
high intelligence but poor judgment.
3. Choose your
advisers carefully and use your judgment.
4. A person can and will be successful with or without
formal education if they have the 5 Cs:
¨ Character ¨
“ Commitment ¨
“Conviction ¨
“Courtesy ¨
“ Courage “
--Winston Churchill
Educated Whom, then, do I call educated?
First, those who manage well the circumstances which they encounter
day by day; and those who can judge situations appropriately as they arise and
rarely miss a suitable course of action.
Next, those who are
honorable in their dealings with all men, bearing easily what is unpleasant or
offensive in others, and being as reasonable with their associates as is
humanly possible. Furthermore, those who hold their pleasures always under
control and are not unduly overcome by their misfortunes, bearing up under them
bravely and in a manner worthy of our common nature. Most important of all,
those who are not spoiled by their successes, who do not desert their true
selves, but hold their ground steadfastly as wise and sober-minded men,
rejoicing no more in the good things that have come to them through chance than
in those which through their own nature and intelligence are theirs since
birth. Those who have a character which is in accord, not with one of these
things, but with all of them these are educated--possessed of all the virtues.
We are All Gifted with Some Strengths.
"The small size of the
hummingbird, weighing only a tenth of an ounce, gives it the flexibility to
perform complicated maneuvers, such as beating its wings 75 times a second.
This enables the hummingbird to drink nectar from flowers while hovering but it
cannot soar, glide or hop. The ostrich, at 300 pounds, is the largest bird but
it can't fly. However, its legs are so strong that it can run at up to 50 miles
per hour, taking strides of 12--15 feet."
"Ignorance Illusion of knowledge is not
education, but ignorance. Foolish people have a strange kind of confidence
which comes only with ignorance. Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being
unwilling to learn to do things the right way. "
--Benjamin Franklin
Step 5: Build a Positive Self-Esteem
What is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem is the way we feel about ourselves. When we feel
good within, our performance goes up, our relationships improve both at home
and at work. The world looks nicer. What is the reason? There is a direct
correlation between feeling and behavior.
How Do We Build Positive Self-Esteem?
If you want to build positive self-esteem quickly, one of
the fastest ways is to do something for others who cannot repay you in cash or
kind.
Step 6: Stay Away from Negative Influences Today's teenagers
learn from adult behavior and the media. They face peer pressure. Peer
pressure is not just limited to teenagers, it is also prevalent in adults. It
shows a lack of self-esteem when people do not have the courage to say
"No, thank you," and stay away from negative influences: What are the
negative influences?
- 1.
Negative People
- 2.
Smoking, drugs and alcohol
- 3.
Pornography
- 4.
Negative Movies and Television Programs
And avoid all these things which gives you
temporary happiness.
Step 8: Start Your Day with a Positive
Read or listen to something positive first thing in the
morning. After a good night's sleep, we are relaxed and our subconscious is
receptive. It sets the tone for the day and puts us in the right frame of mind
to make every day a positive day. In order to bring about change, we need to
make a conscious effort Andre committed to making positive thoughts and behavior
part of our lives. Practice having positive thoughts and behavior daily until
they become a habit.
William James of Harvard University said, "If you are
going to change your life, you need to start immediately and do it
flamboyantly.
Here are the differences between the Winners and Looser;
WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS
¨ The Winner is
always part of the answer; The Loser is always part of the problem.
¨ The Winner always
has a program; The Loser always has an excuse.
¨ The Winner says, "Let me do it for
you"; The Loser says, "That is not my job."
¨ The Winner sees an
answer for every problem; The Loser sees a problem for every answer.
¨ The Winner says,
"It may be difficult but it is possible"; The Loser says, "It
maybe possible but it is too difficult."
¨ When a Winner makes
a mistake, he says, "I was wrong"; When a Loser makes a mistake, he
says, "It wasn't my fault."
¨ A Winner makes
commitments; A Loser makes promises.
¨ Winners have
dreams; Losers have schemes."
¨ Winners say,
"I must do something"; Losers say, "Something must be done.’’
¨ Winners are a part
of the team; Losers are apart from the team. “
¨ Winners see the
gain; Losers see the pain. “
¨ Winners see
possibilities; Losers see problems.
¨ Winners believe in
win-win; Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.”
¨ Winners see the
potential; Losers see the past.”
¨ Winners choose what they say; Losers say
what they choose."
¨ Winners use hard
arguments but soft words; Losers use soft arguments but hard words. “
¨ Winners make it happen; Losers let it
happen.”
¨ Winners plan and prepare to win. The keyword is preparation"
BE A WINNER--ACTION STEPS
Let me close this
chapter with the eight action steps discussed earlier:
2. Make a habit of doing it now.
3. Develop an attitude of gratitude.
4. Get into a continuous education program.
5. Build positive self-esteem.
6. Stay away from negative influences.
7. Learn to like the
things that need to be done.
8. Start your day
with a positive.
Buy a book on Amazon by clicking the link;- https://amzn.to/3cSI0Br
If there any queries please comment below. Wishing you happy reading.
THANK YOU.
Very good book 👍
ReplyDeleteThe best book
ReplyDeleteyes it is..
Delete