Q.  Does my attitude affect my business results?

A.  In a word…YES.   As Zig Ziglar’s famous quote states, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”   Positive attitude can overcome most of the issues you will face as a business owner, and as a business owner you will face many issues.   They never stop coming.  How you handle them depends on you.

Q. Can you learn or be trained to have a positive attitude?

A.  Again yes.   We recommend taking on a “victor mentality versus a victim mentality”.   Victors demonstrate the following “PROVE” characteristics:

Proactive - Don’t react or wait to take action.  Once an issue is identified and you deem it to be important, take action immediately to address it.

Responsible – Everything that happens in your business is your fault, good or bad.   Embrace it. 

Ownership- As the owner, you own all the issues.   If it’s an employee issue, own it. You hired the person after all.

Visionary - Look to the future.  Clearly define what you want your business to look like one year, three years and five years from now.  Then identify what needs to happen to build that vision.

Excellence -  Embrace the concept that you will do everything to the best of your ability.  Look for ways to improve your performance daily.

By embodying that “PROVE” mentality in your daily business you will maintain a positive mindset.  You will look at each issue as an opportunity rather than as a problem.  You will focus on what you can do versus what you can’t.

Q.  How is the Victor mentality different than the Victim mentality?

A.  Victims demonstrate the following “BENDS” characteristics:

Blame - Nothing is your fault, it’s someone else’s.

Excuses – There’s always a reason for not performing your task.

Negative- Focus is on what’s not working and why it won’t work

Denial - There was nothing that they could do to change the result or played any part in a result. 

Scarcity - There are never enough resources, opportunities or time.  No focus on self improvement.

Have you ever worked with someone who had the victim mentality?   It’s probably why you left your job to start your own business.  How do you think your employees will respond to an owner who’s a victim?  What about your customers?    After you answer those questions, decide what you want to be.   A victor or a victim.