Nancy Friedman, Customer Service Keynote Speaker, President – Telephone Doctor Customer Service

I happened to tell my husband the other day, that very same headline.

A few days later, I posted it on my Twitter, LinkedIn, Company FACEBOOK page, and a few groups as well. It received a lot of “LIKES.” Which made me think ATTITUDE is still a very popular topic.

You won’t find that saying anywhere because I made it up the other day while having a personal “issue” shall we say. It may not go down in history to compete with some of the very famous quotes, but I stand by it. It can get cloudy in your life, but things can still go right.

So am sharing our 7 Traits of Being Successful and Having a Positive Mental Attitude. It’s one of my popular programs at conferences all over the world. They may not be brand new traits, but we do know they are traits of folks who are positive and successful. You may not have all of the traits, but even having a few will get you started on the right path. Follow along:

1. Choose Your Attitude in Advance – That’s right, YOU and ONLY YOU get to make that decision. NO ONE ELSE. You have little control of what goes on around you. The weather, the traffic, or even someone else’s attitude. YOU and only you can choose your own attitude. When your feet hit the floor in the morning (or whenever you get up), that’s the time to make that decision. “This is gonna be a great day” OR “This is gonna be a crappy day.” You pick.
2. Visualize Success – Very important. SEE YOURSELF doing good things. It won’t ‘always’ happen, but it’s still such a good feeling. Make a sale in the morning? Keep that sale in your mind all day. Visualize good things. Pick up a copy of Norman Vincent Peale’s Power of Positive Thinking. ONE OF THE BEST ever on the topic out there. His comment “What is the worst thing that can happen?” changed my life. Because the worst seldom happens. That’s where Plan B comes in.
3. Energy, Humor & Enthusiasm – This should be a daily part of your DNA. Show me a person without a sense of humor and I’ll show you someone I don’t care to be around. Neither do others, normally.
4. Resist Negative Tendencies – The most difficult. Because it’s just easier to blame things on others – be it a person, or a reason. (i.e., Not enough leads, they didn’t tell me, it was too hot, too cold, I’m too short, too tall, too fat, too thin and so on.) This TRAIT needs to be worked on daily. We don’t need to love everything. That’s not realistic. But we don’t have to hate so much either. Or blame so much. Taking responsibility is critical to resisting negative tendencies.
5. Be A “Whatever it takes” Person– For some, it takes hard work to have a positive mental attitude. But it can be done. Don’t be an ‘acceptor.’ It’s OK to challenge, but have a Plan B. Put every “NO” you get into the bottom right hand drawer and look for the “YES.” They’re out there. Just may take a bit longer to get there. Patience pays.
6. Accept & Expect Change – Another difficult one. And that’s so odd. Change is so inevitable. We know it’s coming. Yet we always seem surprised when it happens. Even with the weather; let alone something personal. This is truly one of those: “It is what it is.” Deal with it. I was always taught, “It’s not the problem; it’s how you handle it.” We live in a changing world. That will not change. Deal with it.
7. Be Grateful for What You Have– There is NO ROOM for jealousy in a positive attitude. Look around you and count the positive things. From being able to get up in the morning, to having an automobile to get to a job, to having the money for lunch. The list goes on.

Bonus: If you have all 7 traits – GREAT! If not, count your blessing on the ones you do have. And concentrate on the others.