When the going gets tough, the tough get going

The first quality that everyone talks about is Attitude. The dictionary defines attitude as: “A settled way of thinking or feeling about something”. Frequently I have heard interviewers say “Oh the candidate was great but does not have an attitude”. Attitude is that intangible asset that needs to be brought to the table.

“When the going gets tough, the tough need to get going.” Life as it is very tough and one needs to look at the positive side of the issue. There are two types of people. When a boss assigns some work to be done the first candidate says “What is the work?” and after knowing the work, volunteers to do it.

The second candidate volunteers first and then enquires about the nature of the work. No prizes for guessing who has a better attitude about life and his job. Once there were two friends. One of them was an optimist and the other was a pessimist. Both had hung up stockings on the Christmas Eve.

The next day the pessimist got a packet of fresh milk and he was very sad. The optimist had his stocking full of cow dung and he was still very happy. A mutual friend wanted to know the reason for their strange behaviour. The sobbing pessimist blurted out “Oh the milk is fresh today but by tomorrow it would get bad”.

This man was trained to look only at negative things in life. He is an eternal worrier. He would keep on worrying and make the life of everyone around him miserable. The confident optimist said “Fine it is cow dung. I got this today and the cow will come tomorrow.”

This man looks at the positive things in life. He has the right attitude. Same as a sales man who was beaming as he was falling out of a multi-storey building. He was falling from a 25th storey building but was sure that he would be saved before he crashes onto the pavement.

There are lots of naysayers around. There would keep on discouraging us and telling how things can’t be done. Nothing ventured and nothing gained. There is everything to win and nothing to lose. Having the right attitude is important as it takes us places. Impossible is a word found in a lazy persons dictionary.

Having a positive attitude at the workplace is imperative. Work would present many problems and only those people are employed who know how to solve them with a positive attitude and with a smile. People like to be around other people who are cheerful, work oriented and not around people who are grumpy and keep complaining. No work is too small or too insignificant.

As the author of “How Starbucks saved my life” says in his book (based on a true story) “I wanted to be the best restroom cleaner in entire America.” The author Michael Gates, Gill Director in a famous advertising agency in New York is forced to work as a low paid barista in Starbucks coffee shop.

Desperate to please his boss the author cleans the rest room so well that his boss appreciates his work. Very inspiring indeed! The best way to respond to the recruiter’s question: “When would you like to join?” is “immediately”. The world is looking for people with the go getter attitude.

The advertisement that symbolifies attitude is the ad for Edelweiss brokerage services. The advertisement shows us many ways of achieving our true potential. At the end of the advertisement, the letter ‘T’ is simply knocked out from the word ‘can’t’ and it becomes ‘can’.

Once the word turns ‘can’ the world becomes a better place to live. Cry and you cry alone, laugh and the world laughs with you. A positive attitude changes everything. Key word for the YouTube.com search “Edelweiss Brokerage service ad”.

The second video clip is that of Derek Redmond in the 400 metres finale in the 1992 Olympic Games. It is widely believed that Derek would win the race. Mid-way through the race Derek is injured. He is in terrible pain. His race is over. All the training had been wasted. Sobbing in pain and disappointed he continues to hobble. A man rushes out of the stand. He is Derek’s father. He tells his son to stop and says “you don’t need to do it”, Derek says “I have to”. “Okay” says his father, “then we will do it together”, he adds.

Hand in hand both father and son struggle towards the finish line. Right at the finish line Derek’s father leaves Derek to cross the line by himself among thundering applause and standing ovation from the spectators. It is not always about winning; rather it is about the spirit and the attitude.

It is about the participation as much as about winning medals. This clipping gets us teary eyed but makes us feel happy to watch the determination of Derek. Key words for the YouTube.com search “Powerful Inspirational true story...Don't give up!”