Little Gold Book of YES Attitude.
How to Find, Build, and Keep a YES Attitude for a lifetime of Success
By Jeffrey Gitomer
Jeffrey Gitomer is one of the top authors in the world when it comes to sales training and personal development. Yes Attitude has been a classic on my bookshelf for a number of years now, it’s a book that every now and then you can easily dip into and refresh yourself on the important lessons that Gitomer shares.
Gitomer’s books are easy to read as they have lots of illustrations in them and big print but this should not distract you from the important messages he gets across in all of his books. What is brilliant about Gitomer is his straight talking, no pulling punches style, he is genuinely funny and educates and entertains at the same time. Of all the books that Gitomer has written ‘the little Gold book of Yes! Attitude’ has probably been the most influential on me and my business of the last few years.
Why the message from this book is important.
We all know that entrepreneurs need to have a positive attitude more than anyone else. But it’s not easy to maintain it all the time is it? Who better to enlighten you about how to have a super powerful attitude than a world renowned salesman, speaker and writer, Jeffrey Gitomer? Everyone knows that a positive attitude is one of the main keys to success but as Gitomer explains it takes a lifetime of dedication to have a positive attitude. And for Gitomer, it’s more than a positive attitude, it’s a YES attitude. This is the key to accessing the power to achieve whatever you want for your business, and your life! His book contains the tools and roadmaps to build and maintain a YES! Attitude, and specific advice to maintain your intensity – No Matter What..
The Big Idea.
A positive attitude is one thing, but a YES attitude is even more powerful. Why because it’s based on a simple premise:
Everything you say and do will start with a YES!
Gitomer is influenced by many of the classic books that we’ve covered in other book reviews including ‘Think and Grow Rich’ and ‘How to win friends & influence people’. But, while these books may be easy to read and understand the real challenge is in applying their lessons to your business and life. That’s why this book is so useful as it contains a complete game plan to help you ‘understand, apply, become proficient at, and finally master and maintain your attitude.
This book won’t magically give you a YES attitude or even a positive attitude but it will put you on a lifelong path to the attitude it takes to win. So what exactly is a YES! Attitude (besides something you should have)? It’s that feeling that comes with winning at sport, making a major sale, or achieving some other massive goal, It’s what make you want to raise your hands in victory. A YES! Attitude is making every moment of your life like that! Unfortunately, most people don’t think like this. They instinctively think ‘NO’ first. Don’t be one of them. Even they don’t want to be one of them. They just don’t know how to change. Living out the difference between ‘NO’ and ‘YES’ is at the core of this book. And it’s not just about your business, it’s also about your personal challenges as well. After all, “Attitude is everything and attitude is the foundation for everything”.
Gitomer’s books are as unique as he is. They stand out on a bookshelf because of their visual appeal, excellent formatting and fun and clever cartoons, the packaging of all of his books tells the reader that they are in for something special.
Abstract.
This book can inspire you and give you actions to take but it can’t give you a positive attitude. Gitomer’s advice is: “Read it today. Study it tomorrow. Practiceit Daily. Keep it forever. Refer to it often.” This is why I have a well read copy sat in a prominent place on my bookshelf. We, entrepreneurs and small business owners have bad days, they’re a part of life, but if we’re to be successful we have to get over them and get over them fast!
We know that it’s not about what happens to us. It’s about how we react to what happens that matters.
Here’s the good news. If you work on your attitude, you’re less likely to fall into negativity. It’s easy to get ticket off and get into a bad mood. This is why maintaining a positive attitude, takes work. It’s only for the winners. “Positive attitude comes from your own thought process combined with your determination to stay in the right frame of mind.”
Decide that you want to become a positive person, then do it!
This creates attraction, who doesn’t want to be around positive people? Miserable people that’s who, and what use do you have for them.We all know who the positive people are. They show it everyday in how they respond to situations. How do you respond to situations? Like someone you want to attract, or someone you want to repel?
So do you have a positive attitude? Gitomer would say that you probably think you do. But, alas, he’s found that only about one percent actually do! How do you know whether you’re in the club? Gitomer provides a fantastic test and score card. You’ll know just where you stand. Even if you don’t score high, there’s good news. Do you know where all of the attributes you need to achieve a positive attitude are at this very second? Right inside of you. That’s right, your attitude is a choice and it is YOU who make the choice through the control over the way you respond to life and what happens, yes you and YOU alone.
Avoid the Negative.
Negativity is terrible. It makes you miserable, it blocks creativity and it wears you out. Negative people have something powerful in common. Blame, they blame circumstances, other people and customers. They focus on the problem, not the solution. And a negative attitude is expensive. “How many games (service and sales opportunities) are you losing because you have the attitude of a loser?”
To achieve success you must be armed with a YES! Attitude, and stay armed, to overcome the negativity you’ll face in your business and the rest of your life. Your reaction to all of this lies in your attitude.
So how do you defeat “attitude busters?” Here are just a few ways:-
- Looking at material things as replaceable.
- Personal Meditation.
- Random acts of kindness
- Something that you do with passion.
Putting others into context can go a long way to help shape your attitude.
Why do others tell you what you can’t do, instead of being as positive as you one day hope to be:
- They have low self image.
- They’re jealous of you.
- They’re ignorant.
- They have a terrible attitude.
Remember that and overcome the limitations they try to put on you.
They’d rather see you fail, just like they’ve done. And when confronted with this, remember to look. Look at their car, their career, their attitude, their success, their lifestyle and their happiness. Do you need anymore proof?
They complain about people and they talk about them when they’re not around. Is that the behaviour of a positive person? Of course not, and it should not be your behaviour either.
When you talk about people, speak from positivity. Say what you like about them, not what you don’t. You have to think in the positive. This requires conscious thought, especially at the beginning. Stop and think before you speak. Ask yourself, is it positive?
You have to work at it!
A YES! Attitude requires work. Gitomer reads two pages from a positive book everyday, and he’s done it consistently for over 30 years. And he’s an author of a famous book on staying positive! How much more important is it for you to work on your attitude? To stay on the right track you have to expose yourself to positive information and positive people. As another author on success principles (Jim Rohn) said, you become the composite of the 5 people you hang around with most, so guess what, if they’re positive you’ll be positive.
Who do you want to become? One powerful way to establish this attitude is to develop your picture of yourself. Spend 15 minutes a day focusing on the positive picture of who you want to become.
Gitomer offers some advice to every entrepreneur who is serious about achieving success and that is the difference between ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘thank-you’. Apologies are sometimes necessary, but they’re not something you want to make too often in your business. But ‘thank-you’ is a positive reaction. It indicates a willingness to do something. When you have a problem (and they’ll alway be something) thank the customer for bringing it to your attention and then ask them if they have thoughts on how to fix it.
That’s how you solve problems, build relationships and shape attitudes – yours and the customer’s! And that’s powerful stuff.
To stay positive you have to love what you do.
Entrepreneurs need to have an attitude of learning. But you can’t have that unless you love what you do. And you have to love what you do enough to want to be the absolute best at it. To do this, you may need to ask yourself:-
- Why is this important to me?
- Why am I doing this?
- Why will this help me?
These are really important questions, because discovering your ‘WHY’ is a big part of achieving the proper attitude.
You may discover that you’ve been doing it for the wrong reasons. Your ‘WHY’ must be powerful enough for you to achieve and maintain an outstanding attitude. Gitomer says: Post your goals where you can see them everyday. He recommends the bathroom mirror. Then speak them out loud twice a day. Once you achieve them, move them to the bedroom mirror so you can start each day looking at what you want to achieve and what you have achieved. This is extraordinary advice but many will not heed it.
Another test is his rating of your YES! Attitude habits. This ranks, among other things, how well you score in waking up happy, possessing self belief, how much you laugh, and whether people like you. Then Gitomer provides some direction for action. He then takes you back to the test to look at the attributes where you ranked poorly. You’ll select one weakness each week to improve on. He even tells you how to improve it. This is real, actionable advice on creating the attitude that will help you win big!
Smile.
This may sound silly, but do you know what one of your most powerful attitude assets is? Your smile. Use it. All the time. As Gitomer puts it, “lead with a smile, and the words will follow. Earn a smile from everyone you talk to.” ‘Mental Freedom’ makes it easier to have a positive attitude. You’ll miss if your mind is cluttered. And you’ll be able to start the day with a fresh, positive outlook.
Your attitude is under attack. The reality is that your attitude can easily be compromised. It will be tested almost on a daily basis and if you’re not careful you’ll slip into negativity. But if you take Gitomer’s advice, you’ll recognise that whatever you’re facing is a temporary setback. You’ll keep it in context and your terrific attitude will win out. But to achieve this, you’ll need to immerse yourself in the right thoughts, words, people and actions every single day. Do this and, a positive attitude will indeed be yours. He even guarantees it.
Here are Gitomer’s tips for maintaining your positive attitude:-
- Read something positive every morning.
- Think positive thoughts every morning.
- Say positive things every morning.
- Have a ‘sanctuary’ where you can decompress and get your attitude back in check.
- Know where you’re going before you begin walking.
Also be on alert for urgent attitude maintenance. It will happen and when it does, you’ll need to act quickly!
Gitomer makes the important distinction between success and fulfilment. So what is fulfilment? “Fulfilment is wanting more but being content and at peace with what you have, being internally and externally happy, regardless of circumstances or the people involved.”
Guess what fulfilled people have? A YES! Attitude.
Fulfilment isn’t a one-time event. It happens all the time.It happens when you achieve and when you’re proud of others. It happens when you do something for someone you love and help others realise their dreams. The great thing about fulfilment is that helping others, helps you experience this. And then there’s attitude fulfillment. That’s something special. It’s what it takes to help you overcome a personal tragedy, help you with difficult health issues, and to persevere through the really nasty things life sometimes has to throw at you.
Gitomer’s Affirmations of YES! Attitude Success
Here are 25 things you can tell yourself each morning to get the direction you really need, and affirm that you’re as cool as you think you are:-
| 1 | I am the friendliest person in the world |
| 2 | I am the most enthusiastic person in the world |
| 3 | I am the most helpful person in the world |
| 4 | I will tell myself what I can do, not what I can’t |
| 5 | I love to serve |
| 6 | I love to sell |
| 7 | I don’t prejudge or put down anyone |
| 8 | I will take control of myself and my success |
| 9 | I will remember the good times as often as I can |
| 10 | I will ask for what I want |
| 11 | I will stick at it until I win, even if my ass falls off |
| 12 | Life may not be a blast right now, but look at all I’ve learned, and look where I can get with hard work |
| 13 | I will reinforce my decisions with positive thoughts, not negative second guesses. |
| 14 | I will thank everyone for their help and never measure |
| 15 | I will ask before I tell |
| 16 | I will give with pride |
| 17 | I will be memorable |
| 18 | I will avoid arguments |
| 19 | I will not gripe or whine about my lot in life. Rather, I will celebrate all I have, all I love, and all I will learn |
| 20 | I will feel GREAT when I make a sale |
| 21 | I will earn more when I make the sale |
| 22 | I will celebrate my victories today |
| 23 | I am grateful for life and living |
| 24 | I will have a great time tomorrow |
| 25 | I will get over it in less than one minute and get back to enjoying life. |
The Rule of Every Day.
Gitomer says that in YES! Attitude the words “every day” appear 46 times for a reason. If you’re going to achieve positive, if you’re going to achieve YES! Then “every day” is the guiding light, the yellow brick road- the ultimate answer. It is the answer to achieving and maintaining YES! Attitude.
“Just give yourself a dose of positive attitude every day!”
Final word.
If you’re looking for success in life and business then you need to have and maintain a positive attitude then this is an excellent book that most entrepreneurs haven’t read. Be different, grab a copy of it from the link below and don’t just read it study it.
Happy reading
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