An Advance-and-Conquer Attitude

at advancing and conquering.

The most dangerous component of a slowdown isn?t usually the reality of the economic factors; it?s the amount of damaging thinking that can infiltrate the marketplace as well as affect the individuals who support and spread such thinking. While bad attitudes never show up on a profit-and-loss statement, they always have something to do with the bottom line.

It?s best during these times to avoid negativity?and the hopelessness, lack of confidence and direction, and depression it causes?at all costs. All of these factors will start to manifest themselves in your actions and results. Prospects and clients will sense any pessimism on your part and will interpret your actions as those done out of despera- tion or worry. This will most likely prompt them to respond to your proposals out of fear, which is never good for you.

Countless surveys have demonstrated proof that nega- tivity can actually contribute to poor health, accidents, and

lower levels of production. The American Medical Associa- tion even believes that 90 percent of illnesses are psycho- somatic, or caused by the mind. If you believe that you will get sick, you have a better chance of getting sick. If you believe you will get in a car wreck, you?d better call the body shop?because you?ll soon have to get your car repaired. If you don?t think there is anything you can do during times of contraction, you?ll support this belief by actually doing less. This self-fulfilling prophecy shows the power of your mind and attitude.

A man named Sangeeta Iyer conducted research that validated this theory and wrote about it in an article titled ?Healing Is Believing: The Placebo Effect.? This is an excerpt:

Placebo is any treatment that is devoid of specific actions on the patient?s symptoms or diseases that, somehow, can cause an effect upon that patient. A placebo can be a ?sugar-pill?; or fake surgery/therapy can even be effective. In recent years, the effect of the placebo is becoming as great as that of a given medication.

A person?s beliefs and hopes about a treatment, combined with their gullibility, seem to have a significant biochemical effect. Positive results from a placebo are being noticed in patients being treated for a variety of disorders from depression.

At this point, the more cynical reader will ask, ?Grant, are you saying I should just believe things are good when they really are not?and then everything is going to turn out good?? The answer is yes, I would suggest that you have

a better chance at success if you fool yourself into thinking that things will improve?and that you can have a hand in improving them.

Reality is an interesting element to decision making because it seems to change drastically depending on whom you are talking to. Ask three different people how they feel about today?s weather (let?s say, 85 degrees and sunny), and you will probably get three different responses: (1) It?s great! I love the summer; (2) It?s terrible. I?m sweltering in this suit; and (3) It doesn?t matter much to me. All three are the truth for the individual expressing them, and each response will influence the outcome of that person?s day. So it?s merely a question of how you see a situation?and occasionally con- vincing yourself that you can change the outcome.

At some time or another over the course of your career, you will experience business cycles during which things slow down. Your clients hear the same negative news you do, and bad news never fuels positive outcomes. They don?t want more negativity; they can get that free at home from their TV in seemingly unending amounts. They don?t want to see it on your face or in your actions, responses, or attitude. Act competent, exude success, and be positive and opti- mistic regardless of what is happening around you. Poten- tial customers will be much more attracted to?or at least intrigued by?positive people. I was cohosting my regular weekly radio show in Los Angeles, talking about the impor- tance of being positive in getting a job when unemployment rates are soaring. A caller texted the radio station saying, ?That guy Cardone is obnoxious.? I responded by saying,

?The guy who finds me obnoxious probably really admires and loves me, and that is his way of saying it.? I wasn?t being arrogant?I was looking for the positive. A woman I wanted to date years ago said the same thing about me?and she just delivered my first child! She simply couldn?t resist my positive attitude, relentless follow-up, unwillingness to take no for an answer, and commitment to continue to show her attention?even after she had labeled me obnoxious.

I have endured several serious recessions as an active member of the business world, and sooner or later, they all end. None of them will last forever, and the way you handle yourself during that time has more to do with your current and future situation than the economy itself. Your attitude affects everyone around you?those at home, at work, and everywhere in between. I want my wife, daugh- ter, four dogs, employees, colleagues, clients, and friends to see me as someone who instills hope and a positive attitude, especially when things are challenging.

I would suggest that everyone reading this immediately adopt a kind of program that focuses on positive thinking and offers constructive solutions. The positive attitude you need to succeed in business is not on CNN, CNBC, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, or any of the other cable or radio channels or any newspaper printed in the United States of America. In fact, the media that depend on bad news for their revenue are even starting to become concerned about losing viewers due to the vast amount of negativity that they regurgitate in such phenomenal proportions. While they?re not likely to cease this activity?after all, it?s the commodity

they?re selling?they?ll probably escalate coverage of what they call the news to another level of shock and chaos. As my friend and direct-mail genius John Hamlin says, ?All I need to know about the news I can get from the weather report.?

If you are really committed to advancing and con- quering, then I suggest that you replace your TV, radio, and newspaper time with programs designed to shift your attention to the positive and solution oriented. For instance, I created a program called Rules of Success that consists of 13 simple steps designed to be executed over the same number of days that will immediately improve your attitude and reset your focus on the exact solution- actions to guarantee your success. In order to truly cre- ate your own economy, you must invest every last ounce of energy in the solution, not the problem. This doesn?t mean that I don?t watch TV at all. I just pick programs that limit the time I spend viewing crisis-type reporting, such as Planet Earth, The Food Network, ball games, or movies of my choice. I feel that this kind of programming allows me to be educated and entertained without feeling down every time I watch TV.

People who abandon positive attitudes might not even be aware of market recovery when it occurs due to the blind- ness they?ve adopted and the poor work ethic they?ve made into a habit. I for one have never met anyone who didn?t believe in the importance of attitude in terms of its contri- bution to one?s productivity and future. More than 95 per- cent of all attendees at my seminars and people with whom

my company consults believe that they don?t do enough to train themselves to be positive and maintain positivity.

However, it?s not as simple as instructing someone to ?just be positive??especially in a culture filled with billions of regular negative transmissions. Some books even suggest that simply thinking about what you want will allow you to ?attract? those things. While this sounds great, and I believe it is true to some degree, this theory doesn?t consider all the other thoughts outside of your awareness that you?ll also attract. Telling someone to just be positive in an environment that is very negative is like telling someone who is swimming in the ocean not to get wet. Your friends, coworkers, family members, and others unintentionally but freely contribute negativity to your life each day. You have to counter this type of input with data that will shift your attention to a more solution-oriented outlook. Otherwise, you?re apt to pay the price in the form of reduced business. Use my Rules of Success program every morning, and in 13 days, I promise you that your life will be dramatically different. It might be so pronounced that people will ask what you are doing dif- ferently! Fill your day with a disciplined schedule and reduce your television intake to recorded programs with no news.

Do something positive every day that makes you feel good. Do it early in the day, during the day, and again in the evening. It could be anything from working out or tak- ing a walk in the morning, to saying something nice to a coworker during the day, to sitting down for a meal and some conversation with your family in the evening. Record your goals at the beginning and end of each day the same

way; this will give you two opportunities to pay attention to where you are going. What you give your attention to is what you will end up with. Think poor and you will be poor. Think solutions and you will find many! If you spend more time on advance-and-conquer strategies, you will advance and conquer.

Here are some tips for staying positive:

1. Write positive reminders in places you can see in your work environment. Counter negativity with optimistic messages, pictures, and notes.

2. Get on my Rules of Success program for 13 days. This eight-hour program is used over a period of 13 days to shift your thinking and your actions.

3. Exercise each day.

4. Start reading positive books. Try to complete one to three chapters per day.

5. Write down your future goals and dreams daily in present tense as though the goal has been achieved. For example, ?I own a helicopter? or ?My income is

.?

6. Create and commit to a disciplined schedule, and do not deviate from it.

7. Get an agreement from friends, family, and coworkers to knock off all negativity, and make a game of it. Post a sign at your home or office that says, ?No negativity allowed ftere!?

8. Consider getting rid of all toxins, chemicals, and con- taminants in your body. All of us store chemicals and environmental toxins in our bodies that might be the cause of negativity, depression, fear, insecurity, lazi- ness, and anxiety. These toxins?accumulated in your body?s fat cells from poor nutrition and drink choices, environmental chemicals, pesticides, prescription medicine, drugs, and alcohol?can hinder your mood, focus, and energy level. I went through a purification process and the results were amazing; I immediately had more energy and clearer thoughts.

9. Replace negative thinking with positive thinking. Remember that a major problem during all of this talk of recession is that once people believe there is going to be a recession, they start to feel, see, and experience those things that are consistent with a recession. They then start to exhibit negativity about their business prospects and see only what they believe. Remember that no matter what you see, hear, or read, you ultimately make the choice about what you think.

Negative beliefs quickly affect your outlook and the way you feel about the future prospects of your business. You have to counter the negativity in the marketplace by replacing it with positive thinking. Just by asking certain questions, you can shift your attention from good to bad. Asking wftat?s wrong witft tfte economy often highlights exactly that?what is wrong. But altering that question just a bit by instead asking yourself

wftat you can do to sell sometfting today immediately shifts your attention to solutions and away from the problem.

One way to get yourself out of a hopeless state is to increase urgency and necessity. For instance, if your life depended on getting a sale today, you would get a sale? regardless of the economy. Take a cue from children; they continue to focus on getting what they want despite any ?recession? because they pay more attention to the outcome than the problem. Children will relentlessly pitch as though their lives depend on it?usually until they close the ?deal.?

Having the most supportive belief structure possible is essential to succeeding in any market and absolutely vital to selling in a tough one. Adopting a winning belief system does not mean that you?re in denial. It just means you make the most of every opportunity with a can-do attitude.

There are always opportunities to thrive, regardless of the economic nature of the times. History has count- less examples of businesses that found great success dur- ing challenging financial circumstances. Ray Kroc bought McDonald?s during a recession in 1953 and went on to build the largest fast food restaurant on the planet. Walt Disney went bankrupt several times before developing the largest entertainment company in the world?one that sur- vived the Great Depression and seven recessions. The F. W. Woolworth Company?now known as Foot Locker?was founded with a loan of $300 during the Long Depression, which lasted 23 years. School dropout and child runaway Harland Sanders sold his recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken

after nine years of effort?during two recessions and while living on Social Security checks at the age of 65.

Even in the middle of the darkest economic times, you don?t want to have your eyes shut. Be aware, observe, and look for every problem because every problem equals an opportunity. During all times?but especially tough times? people want to work with the most positive and most pro- fessional people in the market. Competitors who struggle with negativity translate into more sales for you?if you stay positive.

Be sure you sign up for my ?strategy of the week? at www.grantcardone.com. We will send you free strategies with tips on staying positive, expanding, increasing sales, and more. I also offer multiple sales programs on CD and video, even virtual training programs that are available to you 24 hours a day through your computer. These provide training on how to use a positive, solution-oriented sales approach to maximize every opportunity you encounter. These programs have helped thousands of people gain con- trol of their attitudes, make the most of every opportunity, and manage their environments.

Nothing?not your product, service, or company?is more valuable than the ability to maintain and deliver a positive attitude. This influences every area of your life? your physical health, your mental state, and your finan- cial well-being. Money and success are more likely to move toward those who are able to maintain an upbeat, solution-oriented, can-do attitude. Be the placebo effect for yourself and all those around you?and make sure it is a positive effect.

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Date: 2016-06-12; view: 118