Relationship Building - 4 Reasons Why A Positive Attitude Leads to Success

Throughout life, we are forced to adapt to change and overcome obstacles. These challenges and obstacles are what inevitably make us stronger. In this post, what I want to talk about is why a positive attitude is important in life as well as the success of your business.

Now you may be asking, why write about something so obvious? Well, sometimes I find myself loosing sight of what is truly important and sometimes need a kick in the rear end! What I hope this post will do is make you think twice about how you represent yourself as well as your brand.

I will be discussing four different reasons why a positive attitude leads to success which includes,

1. The Experience Establishes Returning Customers
2. The Roadmap: A Plan Keeps You Focused
3. Accountability: You Control The Success of Your Business
4. The Outcome: A Positive Attitude is Infectious

Although this post may seem somewhat obvious in it's message, what I hope to do is breakdown the effects of a positive attitude and showcase how these attitudes can create a snowball effect and inevitably increase your chances at success with your business.

1. The Experience Establishes Returning Customers

Before delving into how a positive attitude directly leads to the success of your business, I want to touch on what I will call, The Experience. I am sure that we all have had that one exceptional customer service experience that stands out (At least I hope you have!) -- the ones that completely change the outlook of your day. I find myself drawn to these experiences and also find myself returning even just for these experiences.

Now what does this mean? On the simplest level, this one experience secured a returning customer. This business, although selling a kick-ass sandwich (by no means the best sandwich in town), was actually selling the experience -- and were known throughout town not because of the sandwich but because of the experience. This place was always lined up out the door and people had no problem waiting. This business took the time to find out who you were and with each sandwich sold, these relationships grew. This 'experience' reinforced the importance of how I need to instill this feeling in the work and relationships I establish and maintain.

Life is a learning experience and I am the first to admit that I am still learning. However, in regards to 'the experience', below are a few things to get you started.

• Recognize that forming a positive attitude is the cornerstone for building success. Without developing and keeping a positive attitude, it will be very difficult to obtain consistent and long-lasting success.
• Understand that your attitude is shaped by the thoughts, ideas, and opinions you allow into your thought process. You create your own reality! You must choose to become very selective in what you listen to, watch, and read.
• Believe that you can change your attitude. This is by far the hardest part for me. I often find myself thinking that I am unable to change who I am because of the impressions I have set upon others. By choosing to look forward and understanding that change starts with you, change IS simple and achievable  If there is some aspect of the way in which you have conducted business that bothers you, make positive changes to ensure it doesn't happen again. Don't give in and don't fall into a rut.
• Take action towards developing a positive attitude. It's one thing to proclaim something and another to take action. This desired experience only works when put into practice.

2. The Roadmap: A Plan Keeps You Focused

Relationship building is a constant learning experience and requires a lot of work. Without sounding overbearing or unclear on what I mean, I am referring to how I feel when the lines of communication are not 100% clear. Building and maintaining relationships is extremely simple when you are able to establish open lines of communication. By being transparent, it is much easier to maintain these relationships.The first thing one needs to do is determine where you want your business to be in ten years. What do you hope to accomplish? How are you hoping to accomplish these goals? This ten year plan is a great baseline for basing your decisions as well as what relationships to develop and maintain because each decision you make will inevitably be made for the long term success of your business.

3. The Bigger Picture: You Control The Success of Your Business

Being able to transform the way in which you run your business is not as hard as you may think. The main thing you need to be able to do is become accountable for your actions. The moment you realize you are the one that controls the fate of your business is the moment you will be able to work towards a change. During this endeavour it is extremely beneficial to build a support system that will 'keep you honest' in your endeavours.

Keeping You Honest

Staying focused on your goals can sometimes be challenging when obstacles get in your way. To ensure that you don't lose site of your long-term goals, building a support system is extremely important. Find like-minded, supportive individuals to keep you focused is extremely important.

Lead By Example - The Customer Service Experience

In my opinion, the most successful business owners are the ones that are able to negotiate their way to success - while also embodying a level of transparency. These people are able to get what they want, while ensuring that all parties involved remain happy. I have met a few of these people and try my hardest to maintain these relationships.

4. The Outcome: A Positive Attitude is Infectious

Your attitude rubs off on your existing and potential customers, your staff, your suppliers, your investors and all those that you come into contact with. On the simplest level, if you consistently embody a positive attitude, people will want to spend time with you and will want to do business with you.

If you maintain a positive attitude, this will be infectious and those around you will pick up on your positive energy. Everyone in your company will feel positive and customers will want to do business with you. This in turn will lead to you maximizing the performance of your business. On the flip-side  if you maintain a negative attitude, people will not want to be around you, your staff will feel demotivated and customers will not want to buy from you. The result will be that the performance of your business will deteriorate. With a positive approach you will feel in control and confident and you will perform at your best.

How to maintain a positive attitude

1. Look for the positive. It is easy to focus on the negative in any given situation, especially when you are a perfectionist. However, it is key to focus on your successes and use these successes to drive you. There is nothing wrong with breaking down your decisions based on constructive criticism as long as you don't lose sight of the bigger picture and what you hope to accomplish with your business.
2. Be aware of your thoughts. Focus on how you think about different situations and how you react to these situations. If you make a bad decision regarding your business, don't get stuck on the fact that you failed, rather on how to improve and avoid making the same mistake. Life is a learning experience and it is okay to embrace failure, as long as you are able to breakdown why you failed and work towards avoiding it in the future. Challenge any negative thoughts and turn them into positives.
3. Present a positive attitude to others. Even if you are feeling down, make sure you present a positive attitude to everyone you deal with. This will help you feel more positive and make others feel positive too.
4. Be careful who you associate with. Surround yourself with people who have a positive attitude and avoid those who are negative.
5. Focus on improving the performance of your business. Focus on getting your business in the best shape. When your business is happy/successful, it is much easier to extend these feelings beyond your business.
6. Keep your business goals at the forefront of your mind. What are the goals for your business? Revisit them and make sure they are still relevant. Make sure all your current actions support your goals.
7. Love What You Do. A positive attitude is not only about choosing to have a good outlook through good times and bad, but also about learning to love what you do. When you love your job, you'll be more productive, more creative, and more content. Think of most successful people you know, and you may agree that most are passionate about what they do, are rarely affected by negativity, and tend to enjoy their work. I know for certain that the better your attitude the better your work and your life will be for you.
8. Know When to Make a Change. What if you still don't love what you do, no matter how hard you try? What if you own your own company and no longer feel the excitement and enthusiasm you had when you first started out? What if you are a business owner and can't take the pressures of being an entrepreneur? What if you longer find joy in your business or your day job? Then maybe it's time to get out because when the going gets tough, tough business owners remember that they love what they have chosen to do. Those who embody a positive attitude have the mind-set that if they have a job they don't enjoy, it may be a stepping stone to something greater down the road. If you have a positive attitude, you will do your best no matter what because of who you are. You'll take what you have right now and make the best of it - and in almost every case, eventually achieve success.

Conclusion

Attitude isn't just about whether or not you're having a good or bad day. Attitude is more than that. It affects relationships. It affects careers. It affects your entire future. A positive attitude through bad times makes you stronger. Some people believe they don't have a choice and that their fate is out of their hands—that life, the universe, or whoever, decides what will happen to them. They have this passive approach to life that whatever happens, happens. However, a positive attitude starts with how you think, talk, and act! A positive attitude also determines EVERYTHING else in your life!

Why not try a positive attitude and see what difference it makes for you and your business. You will find that it not only maximizes the performance of your business, but it will also have a positive impact on other areas of your life. For me, although sometimes losing sight of the bigger picture, when I fully embrace a positive attitude, I find I am most creative at these times AND way less stressed.

Agree/Disagree with any of the above? Feel free to comment below!