Attitude Is The Cornerstone of Success

            Can’t will get nothing done.  Henry Ford is often quoted as saying, “If you think you can, you’re right.  If you think you can’t you’re right.”  No doubt about it, if you think you can’t do something – you are right!

            It all comes down to attitude.  It can lift you up, or it can tear you down.  Nothing will stand in the way of someone with a positive attitude, and nothing will stand in the way of a person with a negative attitude either.  Often it is attitude that determines who will succeed or fail.  A positive, optimistic attitude has lead many toward greatness while a negative attitude has drug many to the depths of defeat.  Your attitude is the foundation of all your successes and failures and is what will lift you up or tear you down.  Attitude will make or break you.  Attitude is the cornerstone of success.

            During season one, Troy exuded confidence and a positive attitude.  On numerous occasions, his positive attitude helped lead his team.  During the first season’s episode ten, Troy was project manager for the third time.  Even though his team was defeated in the pedicab task, Troy remained positive.  Out on the streets of New York , Troy and his teammates spotted a Versacorp pedicab with advertising on the sides and back.  They knew they were in trouble, or as Troy put it, “We were looking up the ass of a dead dog with fleas.”  That did not stop Troy from having fun and keeping a positive outlook on things.  He did not bemoan his fate or pander to disappointment when things got tough. Instead, he changed clothes, put on his hat, and decided to make the best of it.  When Troy changed into his cowboy hat and told the team they were going to have fun and whoop it all the way to the bank or all the way to the boardroom, his attitude became contagious and they had fun with the remainder of the task.  One who avoids complaining, criticizing, and comparing to things that appear better will attract followers.  People want to follow a person who is a light, a model, not a critic.  This was Troy , and his teammates did follow him and people in the crowed were attracted to his upbeat, positive attitude.

            Troy ’s team, Protégé, made a profit of $382 compared to Versacorp’s $3,680.  They took a severe “thumping.” However, Troy remained positive and still believed that he and his team had a great idea with the punch cards, but Versacorp had a brilliant idea with the advertising that Protégé did not think of.  Troy survived the boardroom as Heidi was fired that week.

            Troy did not go on to win and become The Apprentice, but his positive attitude and country charm made him a fan favorite.  That attitude helped him succeed before applying for the show, and it is certain that with that attitude he will have many more successes in the future.

            The opening lines of Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking contain a simple truth of success, “Believe in yourself!  Have faith in your abilities!  Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.  But with sound self-confidence you can succeed.”  Peale’s simple message of believing in yourself and having self-confidence is the cornerstone of the power of positive thinking phenomenon that transformed millions of lives.

            Scott W. Ventrella was so impressed by the power of Peale’s message that he wrote The Power of Positive Thinking In Business, a book based on Peale’s classic bestseller.  In this book, Ventrella relays a conversation he had with the CEO of Ritz-Carlton, Horst Schulze.  Ritz-Carlton had just won the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), which recognizes companies for outstanding quality when Ventrella interviewed Schulze, “Mr. Schulze, of all the business concepts you employed to become an MBNQA winner, which would you say was the single most important factor?”

            Ventrella says it took him barely ten seconds to respond, “People!  Having motivated, energetic, hardworking people with great attitudes.  That’s the single most important factor.”  This is a common denominator for many successful companies, and it is certain that Donald Trump also looks for these qualities in the people he brings into his organization.  If you want to succeed, you must be motivated, energetic, hardworking, and possess a great attitude.

            Attitude creates the way you feel and act, which creates reactions from others.  What you think and how you feel determine what you will get.  Your attitude toward others affects their attitude toward you.  If you incorporate a positive attitude, you will have positive results.  If you have a bad, negative attitude, you will fail before you begin.

            Chris from season two exemplified a negative attitude on several shows, and it led to him being fired in the boardroom.  During episode seven, the teams were tasked with creating a dog service business.  Chris did not want to go up to people to ask if they wanted a doggie massage for their pets.  He stated that it was degrading and embarrassing.  He did not like washing dogs with his Rolex on.  It is uncertain why he could not take it off to perform the tasks needed to win.  This was the start of his bad attitude, and it only got worse.

            In the boardroom during episode nine, Chris was told to go upstairs when he was not one of those chosen by Project Manager Raj to stay and face Trump for the firing.  Before he left, he asked Trump if he could make a point before going, saying it was important.  Trump gave him permission to speak, and Chris stated, “At the end of the day, the chemistry on this team is horrible.  It was horrible on the last three tasks, and I’m just telling you right now, if this team stays the same, no matter who stays or goes, we will be defeated again next week.”

            “That’s a little disloyal, don’t you think?” snapped Carolyn with a stern look.  Trump then asks Raj if he wants to change his mind and bring Chris back into the boardroom after that comment.  Raj declines and Trump tells them both that he doesn’t like people telling like that, and he doesn’t like hearing about problems.  When Chris pipes in that he was just being honest, Carolyn told him, “Don’t tell us about it.  Fix it.  We don’t want to hear how bad your team is.  Fix it.”

            Because Raj did not bring Chris back into the boardroom, even when given a second chance by Trump to do so, Chris was safe for another week.  However, when he stated that he would love to be the leader for the next task, Trump told him, “You’ll be the Project Manager next week and I’ll be watching very closely.”

            As project manager during episode ten of season two, Chris’s attitude did not improve, in fact, it worsened.  His negativity was the focus of the show.  At the very beginning, Jennifer wondered how he would be an effective project manager when he obviously felt so negative about the team.  Ivana stated that they had a team member that did not believe in the team and he was the project manager.  Immediately after learning about the bridal shop task, Chris stated that the other team had an advantage, and if their team could pull it off it would be quite a victory.  Just the fact that he used “if” showed he lacked confidence in his team and was not looking at the task positively.  Next, we saw him on the phone, where he again showed negativity and was not positive at all.  His negative attitude was summed up by his statement, “This is really, really, really tough.  I have a very tough task, almost impossible.  The problem is, there’s no way you’re going to buy gowns and then commit and advertise, and then sell them and they’re going to fit, and it’s going to be the same size.  It’s impossible.”  Chris was just rambling on with a negative attitude stating the task was impossible. 

            In an interview segment, Ivana stated, “It didn’t help when Chris basically threw up his hands and said, ‘this task is impossible.’  To throw up you hands that early in the game, it’s pathetic.”  We then saw Chris saying, “This is very, very, complicated, very frustrating.”  Jennifer commented that Chris was really feeling negative and Ivana was seen telling Chris, “Keep your head up.”

            The negative attitude drained the team and in the end, Chris’s team, Apex, only sold two wedding dresses for a profit of 1,060.47.  Mosaic on the other hand sold 27 dresses for a profit of 12,788.94.  While there are always various contributing factors to end results, Chris’s negative attitude was the major factor in Apex’s tremendous beating.

            Chris admitted in the boardroom that he felt it was an impossible task from the beginning and thought the other team had an advantage because Sandy ran a bridal shop.  Carolyn did not buy his excuses, and neither did Trump.  The Donald could not believe how badly Chris led the team after complaining how the team was a mess and that he would fix it.  Chris and his negative attitude were fired.

            During episode five of season three, a teammates negative attitude was again the focus of attention.  Before bringing the final three back into the boardroom to fire one of them, Trump asked George his opinion.  George thought that Stephanie brought her team down with a negative attitude.  When the three entered, Trump asked Bren, the losing Project Manager, which of the two he brought with him into the boardroom he would fire.  Without hesitating, Bren chose Stephanie.  He said that without a doubt, Stephanie worked a lot harder than Michael, but she had a very negative attitude and should be the person fired.  Fortunately for her, Michael irritated Trump by interrupting Bren as he told Trump why Stephanie’s attitude should be the reason for her to go.  Not being very impressed with Michael, Trump fired him for opening his mouth at the wrong time.  However, it was another clear example of how a negative attitude will cost you.  Stephanie survived a while, but it was clear that she was not going to go on to win it all.  Attitude is everything.  Make sure you remain positive and avoid negative people.  It is the only way you will soar with eagles.

Trump Time Out – Believe In Yourself

            “Positive attitude is all about self-confidence, and self-confidence is the whole ballgame.  If you don’t have a positive attitude in business or in life, you’ll never ever be successful.”  - Donald Trump from The Apprentice, season two, episode ten.

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