Secrets of a Successful Attitude Rosey Conway Copyright 2012 Rosey Conway Smashwords Edition **** Rosey Conway Consulting specializes in all areas of sales training and is building an eSales suite designed to make quality sales training products easily accessible, affordable and most importantly, effective. To discover free sales training resources including free motivational quotes and free sales podcasts, click here. **** Smashwords Edition, License Notes Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews. Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated. **** Table of Contents Dedication Introduction What is a 'Successful Attitude'? Iconoclasts Attitude is everything Sports Psychology Secret 2 of 7 - Maintain Focus A final note (for Satyam) About the author Connect with Rosey Other eBooks by Rosey eLearning by Rosey **** Dedication This mini-eBook is dedicated to a dear friend and colleague who was taken too early, but who continues to motivate and inspire us: Satyam Anand 1979 - 2012 "I come to work every day with a positive attitude and every situation in life I try to take it in a positive way There are a lot of negative things around, but you need to try to be positive as much as you can, and things will fall in place." Satyam Anand **** Introduction Teacher: "I don't like your attitude!" Student: "Alright, well teach me how to improve it!" Teacher: "Ummmm, just be better behaved, OK" Let's face it - most of us at some point in our life have been reprimanded at school, by our parents, or by our bosses about our attitude. We were told to improve or change our attitudes and then left to our own devices to learn and implement this seemingly important information with little or no guidance. Once I even called a teacher out on this (see transcript above) and not only did she not want to teach it to me, but implied that a good attitude simply meant "toeing the line", or being better behaved in class. Not very inspiring really. True inspiration comes from people who "walk the talk" - people who demonstrate a successful attitude consistently, and there are not many people more inspiring than my former colleague and friend who passed away recently, Sataym - to whom this eBook is dedicated. He was a sales champion, a great team leader, an inspirational coach, a beloved family man and a friend. Satyam walked the talk and even in his passing, I hope to inspire others with how he lived his (short) life positively in the hope that his successful attitude can be passed on and to continue to inspire others. Satyam gave his love, friendship, compassion and positivity freely, and that's why this mini eBook is free. It is designed as a quick read that aims to provide a bit of inspiration and some useful concepts about successful attitudes that promotes deeper thought in the hope that everyone can find a little piece of inspiration and make positive change in their own life. When I was in primary school, I knew that attitude was generally quite important in life - I was too young to understand exactly how, but I had been told this by successful people, so I assumed it to be true. I learned that my attitude could be my best friend, or my worst enemy, and I ended up in the Principal's office more than once! In the early 1980's Robert De Castella spoke at my primary school about the importance of attitude, and his sentiments were mirrored by other athletes whom I would see discuss their game or race on the TV. What I noticed quite obviously is they spoke of the mental training much more than the physical training, which surprised me. This focus on attitude seemed to be pervasive in business success as well. In 1999 I eagerly read Richard Branson's biography, "Losing my virginity: How I survived, had fun and made a fortune doing business my way." His attitude was certainly very different than my school teacher's notion that improving my attitude was synonymous with obedient status quo. In fact many successful people are often non- conformists to a certain degree, which is why they are part of the elite, and not the status quo! In sales, attitude is almost everything - more important to skills or knowledge, and as a young woman of only 15 years knocking on doors in my first sales job, I quickly discovered the enormous impact a successful attitude could have, not only on my sales results, but my corresponding feelings of ability and (most importantly at the time) my income! I was determined to earn enough commission to buy a TV for my bedroom (as quickly as possible). Even if it was raining, I braved the elements and continued to visit my neighbours (in fact, I soon learned that rain outside meant I was invited into more houses which meant more sales!) So, even though I was cold and wet, I saved my "bad attitude" for the times when it didn't impact important areas of my life. Learning the direct correlation between a positive attitude and my income early in life set me up, and so my passion for cultivating a 'successful' attitude began. Now, don't get me wrong, my life has not always been smooth sailing and dealing with grief, trauma, ill health and addiction, my attitude has not always been on point, but having the skills to be able to manage it has saved me a number of times. Now I hope to share some of this knowledge with my readers. Back to top **** So, what is a 'successful attitude'? Sometimes to define something, we need to identify what it's NOT. A successful attitude should not be mistaken for a positive attitude 100% of the time. This is not realistic, and I do not condone it. We're all human, everyone needs an outlet and sometimes life circumstances are extenuating. If one tries to be positive 100% of the time, I believe that a negative critical mass / breaking point will eventually occur, and probably negatively impact important areas in your life. Life is about balance and having a successful attitude means learning how to choose the right attitude at the right time and finding that balance in your own life. As Johnny Cash sang, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." From my 20 + years as a sales trainer and manager, specializing in attitude management, here are some definitions of a 'successful attitude' so we all start off on the same page: 1. A successful attitude is productive and constructive and should help you get where you want to go in life and help you achieve your goals, not hold you back. A successful attitude should be helpful (not a hindrance) in important areas in your life. 2. Having a successful attitude means that you can exert control over your attitude and you can consciously choose to manage your attitude to be effective when it comes to the important things in your life. 3. A successful attitude is not always positive, sometimes it can be neutral. For instance, in a highly stressful situation where others may react emotionally, sometimes the most successful attitude you can have is one of neutrality - where you take some time to internalize the situation and choose to respond more appropriately. 4. To re-iterate, it's not realistic to be positive all the time, rather in order to have a successful attitude you need to learn the skills to manage naturally occurring negative, limiting thoughts. We all have them; the key is to learn how to manage them so they do not affect your behaviour. Learning how to manage negative thoughts is an important element in having a successful attitude. Right, so now we know what a successful attitude is, next we need to understand the value of having one, and why it's worth changing our behaviour slightly to get one. To do this, I like to look to inspirations - people who have demonstrated and proved the value of doing what I aim to do Back to top **** Iconoclasts I find people who are labelled an 'iconoclast' (in this context defined as a creative visionary who breaks through established conventions), such as Richard Branson, very inspiring. He is a great example of breaking through 'invisible barriers', demonstrated recently by his world record breaking kite-surf across the English Channel. He is now the oldest person to successfully complete this challenge! But, he 'failed' the first couple of attempts. His age may be seen as a hindrance or a barrier by others, but it was his attitude that made him continue trying and his belief in his own ability that made his succeed. I have also had the pleasure of meeting Graeme Alford, author of "Never Give Up", who spoke at a conference I had organized for a sales team a number of years ago. He is a dynamic and charismatic presenter with an amazing story to tell. After losing everything in his life - his career, his wife, his home and his freedom, from within his jail cell, he decided that the only thing that was left in his life that he could control was his attitude. By learning to manage his attitude, he turned his life around. Described by The Australian Story on the ABC as "the comeback King", Graeme featured at a World Masters of Business Series in the 1990's alongside Nelson Mandela. Today, Graeme espouses the concept of practicing "mental toughness" by testing his resolve by giving up something in his life for one month at a time; maybe its ice-cream or alcohol. He knows that success relies on his mental ability, positive self-talk, self belief and attitude - all of which control his actions, therefore defining his outcome. This is a valuable lesson that I implement in my life regularly. I was humbled when Graeme said to me after watching me present a goal setting workshop, "Rosey, I would put you in the top 10% of presenters I've seen, and I've seen a lot!" The other thing I like about successful business people is how openly many of them discuss their failures prior to their success - and how their failures ultimately shaped them. Winston Churchill famously said, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." In my eLearning module "How to Achieve Your Goals", I explore the concept and definition of 'failure' and make the distinction between a failure and a set-back; a failure defined as giving up all together or running out of time, and a set-back being a temporary state that can be overcome. There is a finality to failure, where there isn't with a set-back. Unfortunately most people don't acknowledge this distinction and view a temporary set-back as an excuse to give up completely. This is what all successful entrepreneurs seem to have in common; did you know that Colonel Sanders only became successful after he lost everything and started his now famous chicken franchise at an age where most people are thinking about retiring? Michael Jordon says he is successful because of the amount of times he continued to try after "failing". This theory is also demonstrated in the amount of presentations I have watched on Ted (a great website with 'riveting talks by remarkable people') where successful people of all industries who talk about their business or entrepreneurial success only after so many failures (and cited their attitude as the factor that kept them from giving up all together). Our attitude also controls our perception of situations, and how the world perceives us. Ask yourself this question right now - is your glass half empty or half full? Being inspired by successful people (like Satyam, elite athletes or "iconoclasts") is a critical component to a well rounded and successful attitude - so much so that "Be Inspired" is actually 1 of the 7 Secrets of a Successful Attitude covered in detail in my latest eLearning module, "Secrets of a Successful Attitude". Being inspired and perhaps even inspiring others (!) is only one facet of having a well-rounded and successful attitude. But, as an educator, I must come back to my initial question / challenge of 'how can we learn how to have or improve our successful attitude?' Back to top **** Attitude is everything It's fair to say that for the most part, people remember the way in which we do something - how we approached a task, or the way we was handled it, over what was actually achieved. Have a read of some endorsements, recommendations and testimonials that are given on LinkedIn - the vast majority of them refer to the person's attitude rather than their aptitude to complete a task or project, don't they? Quite simply, our attitude often speaks volumes about our ability. In sales, attitude is everything - more important than skills or knowledge even. After 15 + years as a sales trainer, having trained thousands of sales people, I have witnessed this time and time again. This reminds me of Satyam again - I had trained the whole sales team on a new product. The majority of the team did not really like the product (and were quite vocal about it) but Satyam came to me and said, "No-one likes to sell this product, but I'm going to make it work - can we spend some time together working on the best sales strategy please?" Needless to say, Satyam quickly became the top seller, and unspoken ambassador of that product. He had exactly the same product training as everyone else in the team, so what set him apart? His attitude. Sales attitude is such a huge topic - it's about positive energy (positive self dialogue and positive influence on others), choosing how you're going to respond, having the confidence, tenacity and resilience to bounce back from a bad presentation, or turning around a bad morning without wiping off the whole day off. Attitude determines how we perceive a situation, and determines how we are perceived by others. Attitude is the driving force that motivates you to make 5 more phone calls and to get 1 more sale when everyone else has given up. But motivation comes in waves, this is normal - the secret to having a successful attitude is learning HOW to manage your attitude through the highs and the lows, through the days when you're tired or dealing with customer complaints. Imagine if you were equipped with the skills to be able to apply a useful, effective and successful attitude in the times when it really counts? A successful attitude is one that is consistently effective when you need it to be - to increase your commission, progress your career, improve your health or nurture important relationships in your life. Managing your attitude is a learned skill and there are some very specific strategies that work. In my "Secrets of a Successful Attitude" eLearning module, I go over 7 of the key strategies and help you implement these successful strategies in your own life through theory, examples and activities, but most of all, I help you write your own personalized strategy for each secret - and you can print out your own Attitude Success Plan (pictured below) at the completion of the module! If you're a Sales Manager or Team Leader, you know exactly how much of your time is spent managing other people's attitudes, right? When I became a qualified sales trainer in the year 1999 I threw myself into learning (through extensive research) HOW to actually improve the quality of one's attitude through teaching. For an individual person to improve the quality of their attitude, two things need to happen; on a micro level, the change needs to come from within - from a personal and internal motivation. At a macro level, the environment for their improved quality attitude must be supportive and respected. This is one of the reasons why the best Sales Managers and Team Leaders (who get great results out of their team members of different levels of experience and skill) are all good coaches - they inspire change from within and encourage the change by providing a supportive and rewarding environment. Being a sales trainer for 15 + years and having trained thousands of sales people (teaching them to earn 6 figure salaries) I have seen the evidence that attitude OVER skills and knowledge propels people to the top. Managing a sales department for 2 years recently also demonstrated how much time and resources I could save for my Team Leaders by ensuring they coached and supported their team members on how to manage their own attitude. And this is the key I'd like to re-iterate; Team Leaders and managers can influence, inspire, reward and discipline their staff, but the change can only come from within. Trying to change someone else's attitude can be very difficult, if not impossible without a willing participant AND a conducive environment - it's like trying to fill a holey bucket! Knowing this, teaching the secrets of a successful attitude in a group environment can be challenging - you have people with all different levels of motivation to improve their attitude, but through relevant theory, personalized activities that resonates with the learner and writing their own strategies (which they can hold themselves to) is a very effective way to teach and change behaviour. This is exactly how the "Secrets of a Successful Attitude" eLearning module is structured and designed and why it is so effective. When I am contracted to conduct physical sales training for a sales team and I run a 'sales diagnostics' or training needs analysis - which includes feedback from Sales Managers and Team Leaders on what would assist them the most, invariably, I design and deliver a session on attitude. Most recently when I designed and ran a full day sales training for a client, including topics on rapport, questioning, closing and objection management, the session on attitude always rated one of the best from participants, and post implementation reviews with management indicated that the attitude session had the most significant impact on their team. As we have already seen in this mini-eBook, it's not just sales where attitude is so critical to success. The quality of your attitude can impact many areas of your life - in what every profession or industry you choose. Attitude is often the defining attribute of many successful people. "It's not what happens to you that counts, it is how you handle it that matters. You are in charge of the way you perceive the world, and to a large degree, how the others perceive you. Back to top **** Sports Psychology Did you know that sales training evolved from sports coaching? Ric Charlesworth - one of Australia's Olympic team gold-winning and world champion hockey coaches says, "Sports performance today covers a wide range of scientific, technical and tactical disciplines. Yet still the critical component is in the mental approach - the mind". There is enormous correlation between the psychology of sports and the psychology of sales and it's not all about skill - it's more about the will. That will, that desire, that passion, that drive to succeed, all comes down to how you manage your attitude, that little voice in your head that has so much power over your actions and ultimately your results. As former NCAA football and NFL head coach, Lou Holtz says, "Ability is what you're capable of. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Many successful sports coaches focus more on the mental training than the physical training to produce winning results. It has been proven time and time again that it's not always the fastest, fittest or most experienced athlete or team who win the gold medal or the championship. So much of success in life is a mental game. Self belief, positive self-talk and internal dialogue is pivotal to your success without a doubt. In another of my eLearning modules, "How to Achieve Your Goals", there is some valuable information on effective and positive self-talk. You can take a free 5 minute tour of that eLearning module by clicking here. Inspired by one of the common mental techniques sports coaches use with their athletes, I will share with you 1 of the 7 secrets of a successful attitude covered in my eLearning module right now Back to top **** Secret 2 of 7 - Maintain focus When you maintain focus on the present - on your present state, you are less distracted by external circumstances and you become more conscious of your attitude and are in a better position to choose the most effective attitude for the situation that will benefit you the most. If you focus your attention on past event, or who may be to blame, you are much less likely to have a positive, constructive and successful attitude. You may be able to look back in your own life and relate to that, right? When faced with high pressure situations, if you focus on the present, you become aware of your breathing (that you can regulate to calm down if necessary) and choose the most successful attitude for the situation - remember, that sometimes the most successful attitude is a neutral one. Top athletes are trained to relax their body, focus their mind and channel their energy. This technique reduces the risk of "choking" in high pressure situations. This is also a great sales objection management technique that I have trained many sales people over the last 15 years on. When a customer objects, relax your body physically - if you're not face to face with your customer, this is usually easy - you can literally relax back into your chair and really relax your body, so you can concentrate on focusing your mind on the best response to continue selling. [...]... just my manager, as you said 'we are friends' and comrade you have taught me to be resourceful." Jarrod Bartle Back to top #### About the author From a family of educators, Rosey Conway has a sales training and management career that has spanned over 2 decades Rosey has trained thousands of sales people and has helped them achieve their goals and become more successful and sophisticated sales people... technique and the benefits of it, try to recognize a potential negative attitude, and circumvent it, regain focus on the present and choose a constructive and successful attitude, be it positive or neutral Back to top **** A final note (for Satyam) As I wrote after I heard of Satyam's passing, "if we who knew Satyam could be more like him every day, the world would be a better place." Satyam was a shining... this and I can also speak from personal experience that sometimes professional help is needed Depression comes in many forms, but can often be treated successfully Don't be afraid to ask for help, be resourceful and use support networks that you have around you you may be surprised just how many you actually have! At work, there are often situations out of your control that may negatively impact you... is a highly in-demand sales trainer because of her sales effectiveness, integrity and passion; she has built her brand on quality and results For the convenience of effective sales training anywhere, see the range of sales eLearning modules, free sales resources (subscribe to free motivational quotes and free sales podcasts) or for dynamic and personally presented sales presentations, you can contact...You can't change the past If you choose to dwell in it, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to maintain focus on the present, on what you can control, and what quality of attitude you chose to have Of course there are times when we all feel a bit sorry for ourselves and indulge in a little wallowing of the past This is normal and I actually encourage you to do this - occasionally! One of the... shining example of choosing to have a successful attitude Life wasn't always perfect for him - he would come to me with challenges he was facing and he would ask for help and support We would motivate each other He made the conscious choice every day to try to have a positive attitude, and whether you knew Satyam or not, I hope that you have been motivated and inspired by his story - this way he can live... most important points I want to get across in this mini-eBook is demonstrating the importance and implications of choosing your attitude No-one else can choose it for you, but if you learn to make the conscious choice of when to have a successful attitude (in the important and influential areas of your life) I know that you will enjoy greater success overall Now, this is much easier said than done, I... through others Satyam always gave his kindness, compassion, friendship and inspiration freely and in tribute to Satyam, this mini- eBook is a free resource If you like it, please recommend this eBook to your friends, family and colleagues "Satyam, everything you did was in a positive way and you have helped touch so many people's lives I am very thankful for you being my manager for the past few months,... time that happens, try to implement this lesson - relax your body and focus your mind on the present Focus on what you can control - your attitude With a heightened sense of awareness, you are better equipped to consciously choose the most constructive attitude at any given moment If you find yourself reacting in an unproductive (or potential destructive) way, now that you are aware of this successful. .. Connect with Rosey Twitter: @RoseyConway Facebook: facebook.com/RoseyConwayConsulting Website: www.roseyconwayconsulting.com E-mail: rosey@roseyconwayconsulting.com.au Blog: roseyconwayconsulting.wordpress.com Other eBooks by Rosey How to Achieve your Goals The Psychology of Sales eLearning modules by Rosey How to Achieve Your Goals Secrets of a Successful Attitude Back to top . specializing in attitude management, here are some definitions of a &apos ;successful attitude& apos; so we all start off on the same page: 1. A successful attitude. author From a family of educators, Rosey Conway has a sales training and management career that has spanned over 2 decades. Rosey has trained thousands of sales