"Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them by their attitudes."

-Charles Prestwich Scott

On a recent radio broadcast of Your Opportunity Knox on WNOX, I made reference to my often used quotation "attitude determines altitude."

Our on-air guest, Kevin LeBlanc, founder, CEO and managing partner of LeBlanc Financial Group, after the show offered his opinion on my attitude quotation by stating that "a great attitude is the beginning of success whereas a bad attitude is the beginning of failure."

People with poor attitudes hate these positive quotations.  No doubt they have quotations of their own which contradict these positive ones.  If they do, I'm not interested in discovering them.

At 58 years of age, I remain amazed at the huge disparity in attitudes which exists among the dozens of business people I greet each day.

Not that you should expect to be at the top of your game every day, I have come to believe that a perpetual negative attitude might be the most debilitating of all human conditions, but yet I wonder if those with this condition even recognize that it exists.

Fortunately, for most of us, we recognize this condition and take the required steps to put ourselves "back on track again."  Even the great statesman Sir Winston Churchill battled bouts of depression he called "Black Dog" days, which he experienced much of his life.

I've come to accept that attitudes vary, often significantly, among the many business people I meet.  One observation is readily apparent, however.  Business owners with great attitudes, with few exceptions, have great businesses.  Those with poor attitudes have poor businesses. 

"It's easy to have a great attitude when things are going well," you might say.  Unquestionably.  But I am convinced that their positive attitudes proceeded their success.

Unfortunately, our current sluggish economy, which the 24/7 media never tires of reminding us of, reinforces this negative mindset causing those with already poor attitudes to become even more negative.

So, what's the solution?

I'd say the first step is to acknowledge that your negative attitude exists and that you alone are responsible for taking the steps necessary to improve your condition, although not necessarily by yourself.

Just a word of caution, a negative attitude and depression can go hand-in-hand and should be taken seriously.  If you suspect that you or a loved one might be suffering from depression you should strongly consider seeking professional help.

Another great step is to remove yourself from sources of negative.  This means turning off the news and avoiding negative people.

I check the news headlines online in the morning and before I retire for the night.  Five minutes tops.  Leaving your favorite network news program on all day will not lower the price of a barrel of crude oil.

Try associating with other positive business owners.  Numerous networking opportunities likely exist in your community in which you can participate.  You'll discover a source of positive new friends and even a few mentors.

Read.  That's right, read.  Invest the time you spent watching the network news channel reading.

Try books by Zig Ziglar or Norman Vincent Peale.  Set a goal of reading 10 pages each morning. 

Reading a positive book before retiring for the evening can also result in the best night's sleep you've had in years.

I honestly believe that the most beneficial way to positively impact your business today, not to mention your life, is to tune up your attitude.  And it's easier than you might imagine.

Winston Churchill said, "The optimist sees opportunity in every danger, the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity."

Our current soft economy will provide opportunities for great success for those who are bold enough and possess the vision necessary to search for these new opportunities.  Sixteen of the Dow Jones Industrial 30 were launched in a recession including Disney, Microsoft and HP.

Can your attitude really be important as all that?  You bet!

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes." - Charles Swindoll

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.