Your attitude can make all the difference.

Someone once told me: "Andrew, everything in life is 90% attitude and only 10% circumstance". I've taken that to heart, and ran with it since.

Many reading this article will likely agree with that statement, and those who know it all will simply stop reading because they already know everything they need to know. (gotcha!)

Attitude can make the difference between:

• Being considered for that job you really want
• Seemingly negative experiences
• Winning or losing that big deal

Let's talk about these points in detail, shall we?

That job you really want

You're looking for a new opportunity. You're highly qualified. You're the "ideal" candidate for this position you're interested in. However, you're up against many other candidates, some perhaps more or less qualified. How do you set yourself apart?

A POSITIVE attitude. Why?

Someone with a positive attitude will do everything necessary to get their foot in the door or at the very least get a phone interview. When someone OOZES positivity, it will be very apparent to the person interviewing them on the phone.

Wait a minute, did he just say ooze? Yes. It's just like when you come across someone who has had a few too many drinks... it seems like their pores are just oozing the smell of alcohol. Similarly, people can detect when you ooze positivity!

How do you do this practically? Let's say you're that individual seeking that specific position. You will:

• Research the company, find positive things you like about their story/product. (If you come up empty, why bother continuing?)
• Reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn via InMail if possible. Show a genuine interest in working for their company and having a positive impact on their business.
• In your cover letter, write how excited and passionate you are about this specific opportunity. Don't wait until the phone interview that might never occur.
• On your phone or in-person interview, if you ooze a positive attitude, the hiring manager will sense it. Mention what you like about the company, their product, or any positive feedback about them that you may have received from an employee/partner of theirs.

I've done all this, now what.... just wait? No! Send a thank you email to the hiring manager to show much you appreciated the opportunity and that you would welcome the possibility to have a positive impact on their team/company.

Alright, I did all these steps, but I didn't get an offer! This leads to my next point.

Seemingly negative experiences

So you didn't get that interview, offer, or position you were seeking. Was all that hard work for nothing? Not at all.

It is quite common to berate ourselves when things don't go our way. Some will even allow negative experiences to get them down, way down....and have trouble recovering.

However, my experience has taught me that there are three ways to look at our life experiences:

1. Focus only on the negative, criticize ourselves, or find excuses to justify why we didn't get that job, deal or promotion.
2. Focus only on the positive and blind ourselves to believe that we know it all and everyone else is wrong when things don't go our way.
3. Focus on the positive, but draw lessons and feedback from all our past experiences.

Similar to a car, we have a BIG windshield and a small rear view mirror for a reason!

If we focus on past negative experiences, we are like a driver whose eyes are always turned to the rear-view mirror. He sees only what he's leaving behind and will quickly crash.

If we focus only on the positive, we are like a driver whose eyes are fixed forward. Oblivious to his surroundings, he will likely be blind-sighted by a pedestrian or a car cutting in front of him.

The best scenario is what we all do on a daily basis when we drive. We focus our eyes mainly ahead, but we are sure to keep an eye on our surroundings and what's behind us in order to make the needed adjustments.

What's the point of all this?

Take positive lessons from every experience you encounter in life.

Don't dwell on the negative; it won't get you anywhere. It's not a question of being oblivious to it... just have the right perspective. Learn from the experience and use it to better yourself next time.

Now let's get back to that interview, offer, or position you were trying to get. Although you might have gotten rejected, by applying the best practices and showing a positive attitude consistently, it will pay off later on. You will stand apart from the rest in due time.

Winning or losing that deal

Have you ever pranced excitedly into a beautiful store to buy a new pair of shoes, only to be disappointed by the salesperson, Negative Nancy? No smile, no effort. You immediately get the vibe that they hate their job or didn't want to work that day.

Personally, if I don't have an urgent need, I walk out. It's that simple.

The same could be said about that deal you're trying to close or quota you need to hit.

All things equal, people tend to buy from people they not only trust, but like.

If you've provided your customer with an overall positive experience, you're golden. If the experience has been negative in the least, your competition will have the upper hand.

When I used to work for the biggest telecom company in Canada, I would outsell everyone when I was happy, positive and above all, trustworthy. On the flip side, if I was tired or oozed negativity, I could barely make a simple sale.

However, a positive attitude is about more than just being cheerful. Its about making the best out of any situation you're in, learning from your mistakes and moving forward.

Case in Point:

At one of my last previous sales positions, I had a monthly quota of 100k. I was 2 days from month's end and had only attained 27k. Our lead volume as a team was low, 45% lower than usual.

My initial reaction was to complain and blame my horrible month on the low volume of leads, the fact that I was out of the office for a few days, etc. However, that wouldn't fix the issue or make me feel better.

Remember, 90% attitude and 10% circumstance.

I had done everything possible. I had a decent amount of opportunities in my pipeline, but for some reason nothing was closing. I certainly didn't have enough to close 100k.

What did I do? I looked to my surroundings.... other successful reps, my manager, my VP of Sales. I gathered ammunition to encourage me.

I remained determined to maximise what I had and not give up.

The results?

After a good night's rest, I spend those last 2 days making extra phone calls, extra personal emails to my clients, scraping the bottom of the barrel and finding creative ways to hit my quota. I hit 106k by the end of the last day. It was never done before. Nobody had ever closed so much business in 2 days without some MEGA deal.

My story became an inspiration to the rest of the team in the months that followed. Attitude made all the difference!

How did I feel? AWESOME! On top of the world.

I could have given up, blaming my failure on XYZ.

I could have continued doing what I was doing all along, maybe to succeed, but more likely to fail.

Instead, I looked around me, took in all the feedback and kept a positive attitude.

Nowadays, I store these success stories close in mind and go back to them in times of need.

At this point, you might be thinking: "Great article, good ideas, but I don't even know where to start!"

My tips for building a positive attitude:

1. Remember, 90% attitude, 10% circumstance.
2. Get a good amount of sleep.
3. Exercise regularly. Get that stress out and those happy hormones flowing.
4. Surround yourself with positive individuals and connect with them on LinkedIn.
5. Avoid Debbie Downers and Negative Nancys (as I like to call them) at ALL costs. They're cancerous and they will kill your growth.
6. Read books & articles that will inspire you to be more productive, successful and positive.
7. Have a humble attitude. Be willing to change or adapt your way of doing things. Take in feedback and learn from others who have more experience and are successful at what they do.
8. Draw positive lessons from ANY experiences you encounter in life.

Am I guaranteeing you success? No.

Am I a millionaire? No.

I'm just a simple guy who loves learning from all experiences and tries to be as positive yet realistic as possible.

Thanks for reading my very first LinkedIn article.