1 Oct 2013

The 21 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader | Positive Attitude


13.       Positive attitude: If you believe you can, you can

Role model for positive attitude is Thomas Edison.  At sixty-seven, he rebuilt a laboratory which had burnt down in a huge fire.  For the next seventeen years, he continued to work in his rebuilt laboratory.  Maxwell urges readers to ruminate on four points to learn about being positive: attitude is a choice, attitude determines actions, people are a mirror of one’s attitude and maintaining a good attitude is easier than regaining one.  Maxwell rounded off this chapter with Chris Evert commenting that “the thing that separates good players from great ones is mental attitude…”
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My thoughts

Positive attitude is one of the ingredients to a great leader.  Someone perpetually a slave to self-pity would find it difficult to rally others to his cause.  However, I felt that Maxwell had painted a one-dimensional picture of positive attitude.  It is one thing to have a healthy dose of positive attitude and be able to pick oneself up from setbacks, it is another thing to have too much of positivity that one becomes delusional.  I am of the opinion that a healthy dose of realism keeps people sane and balanced, and aware of pitfalls which they might have merrily dismiss as a tiny pothole in their path.

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