Attitude is Everything: The Best Motivational Book Out There
“Life doesn’t reward those who refuse to expose themselves to difficulties and challenges. (Keller)”
This book has three main principles regarding having a better attitude: control what you think, what you say, and act.
The first part of the book is about what you think and how that impacts your attitude. This part starts with an amazing example of how two people, unexpectedly in the same situation reacted differently. Sara walked into the restaurant with a smile on her face and an excited feel to her. She exited with the same attitude. Sam on the other hand walked in gloomy and ready to get out of there after eating his lunch. He walked out with an even more depressing mood. Then he talks about the, almost cliché, example of babies and how they never give up and have a positive attitude despite falling down multiple times before learning how to stand. He ends up connecting this to his own life, with being a lawyer even though he is slugging through work and not enjoying it. Throughout the book, he references his own experiences in getting a better attitude. Going back to the first section, Keller starts to talk about how what you think about is what you become. If you continuously think about a specific goal or objective, you will find steps to reach that goal. Unless you really believe that you can do it, you aren’t going to take the steps necessary to complete that goal. Keller also makes a good point to mention how reading and listening to uplifting audio programs, like podcasts, will really change the outcome of your day. After a while, those messages in the program will become a part of you. Imagining where you will be, in say 5 years, is very important because it gives you a mental goal as to where you want to be. Keller talks about how when something important happens in your life, your brain records that event and keeps it forever. You might feel scared and nervous to achieve your goals because of something that occurred to you in your past. The next lesson in Keller’s book is being committed and persistent until you reach your goal. What Keller says is that you should always be willing to do whatever it takes because when you do that, people will get attracted to you and the ones that you need will be there.
The second part is about controlling what you say and how that influences your outlook. He gives an example of a guy named Tom who kept saying that he ‘hates making sales calls’ and ‘approaching prospects’. Tom tells everyone about his experiences and himself so he gets poor results. Speaking negative words in turn leads to a negative attitude. Keller also mentions how you shouldn’t talk to people with negative attitudes because then you will start to doubt yourself. Just like with negative attitudes, telling yourself and others about your goals is good because you will enforce them with the people you know. Keller particularly talks an entire chapter about the simple question ‘How are you?’ and how people’s response to that dictates their attitude. Negative responses include, “Thank god it’s Friday,” and “Don’t ask.” When someone says the latter, it is usually the first line before they release a bunch of complaints. Positive responses include, “Terrific,” and “Excellent.” When people use these words, it uplifts both you and the person saying the words. Another lesson that Keller talks about is to stop complaining. Complaining to other people isn’t going to make you or them feel better. Unloading your problems on them doesn’t make them feel sympathy for you, they will just unload their problems and expect you to feel sympathy for them.
The last part is about actually acting and getting results, even if they aren’t good. One of the lessons Keller mentions is that you should always associate yourself with positive people. Keller mentions how this guy named Mike used to hang out with people who had negative attitude and they used to always shoot down his ideas. When he started to hang out with people who had a positive attitude, they helped them on his ideas and to grow it. As soon as people with a positive attitude walk into a room, they have a good energy and they light up the room. It feels good to be around them. The next lesson Keller talks about is to confront your fears. In this, Keller talks about how even if you fail you should pick yourself back up. Even if you do everything else mentioned in the book, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t actually act. Later on in the chapter, Keller talks about a woman named Dottie who taught for 32 years at a high school. In her 50s Dottie finally decided to break out and get into show business. This shows us how no matter how old you are, you can rewrite your story. The last lesson in the book is about networking. Networking is socializing. Making it big in the world starts with doing things but also socializing because when you talk to people, you learn from them and they also learn from you. Becoming friends with people in your same field or who have the same ideas as you will help you grow. You should also go up and talk to influential people at conferences and whatnot.
Jeff Keller’s attitude is reflected through his book, filled with positive words of encouragement. It is sure to lift you up and motivate you to have a more positive window towards this world. People of any age can read this book. As he says, change your attitude, change your life!