Alan R. Zimmerman - Pivot : how one turn in attitude can lead to success

Published by Peak Performance Publishers

Copyright 2006 Alan R. Zimmerman

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005934974

eISBN: 978-1-937125-02-8

Part of the Tree Neutral program, which offsets the number of trees consumed in the production and printing of this book by taking proactive steps, such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees used: www.treeneutral.com

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

First printing 2006
Second printing 2007
Third printing 2009
Fourth printing 2011

First Edition

Ive been observing people for years. I love to observe people, because I find them so very fascinating. They all look a bit different, and they all have a lesson to teach me.

When I started a successful door-to-door business in the second grade, I watched my customers. Some of them were warm and outgoing, while others were quiet and reserved.

When I started an international import business in the sixth grade, I watched my suppliers. Some of them were fair and honest, while others cared only about themselves.

I watched the inmates when I worked as a counselor in a juvenile reformatory. Some of them wanted to make a new start in life, and others did nothing but blame other people for the problems they had.

I watched my students when I taught at a university. I found little or no correlation between my students aptitudes and their academic achievements.

Now Ive been speaking for various organizations for more than twenty years. Ive been in front of thousands and thousands of people, and Im constantly watching my audience members.

Through all of this observation, Ive noticed that attitude makes a huge difference in determining a persons level of success in life. In fact, attitude seems to make a bigger difference than age, sex, race, education, circumstance, or any other factor. Two people can have the same background and face the same situations, but experience very different outcomes. Its all about attitude.

Unfortunately, many people have no idea how important attitude is. They dont realize that their positive or negative attitudes may be making or breaking them on or off the job. They may not even know they have the wrong attitudes. They figure thats just the way they are. The first three chapters of this book are for these people. They will learn the importance of a positive attitude, and they will learn how to eliminate a negative attitude.

Ive also found many people who know they should have a positive attitude, but they have no idea how to get one. They confuse a positive attitude with happiness, thinking if they have the right attitude theyll never have problems or never feel down. And that, of course, is impossible. But positive people possess skills that keep them upbeat and motivated, moving through their problems, achieving their goals, and making the best of any situation. Chapters four through seven tell you how to achieve that kind of positive attitude.

And then there are people who know the importance of a positive attitude and how to get one, but they dont know how to keep their positive attitudes. When worries or failures come along, their positive attitudes fizzle away. Chapters eight and nine tell you how to maintain a positive attitude despite the changes and challenges in your life.

You may be a skeptic. You may think its almost impossible for you to get and keep a positive attitude. You may think that I dont understand how difficult your parents, spouse, children, finances, health, company, boss, job, coworkers, customers, or whatever are.

I do understand. This positive-attitude thing didnt come easily for me. I grew up in a family that was deeply touched by abuse, alcoholism, imprisonment, and suicide. Ive dealt with illness, divorce, and financial strain. Professionally, Ive encountered betrayal from coworkers, incompetent direction from bosses, and idiotic change from the executives above. I know what it feels like to have lots of challenges and still maintain a positive attitude.

The information in this book is simple, because Ive never been interested in complex, esoteric academic theory. Im only concerned with what works. The skills in this book work. Ive studied, researched, practiced, and lived these skills for years.

But dont let their simplicity fool you. These skills will take work on your part to master. So I encourage you to read and reread the chapters. Practice the skills. Do the exercises. I know youll be delighted with the successes youll achieve.

Dr. Alan R. Zimmerman

I make my living flying across the country and speaking to all types of groups and all kinds of people. Although I spend a lot of time on airplanes, I seldom take the time to talk to my seatmate. But Ill never forget this one man who sat next to me. He looked terribly down, with drooping shoulders, a sagging face, and eyes that seemed to ask, whats the use?

So I greeted him with a cheerful, Good to see you. How are you doing?

He said, Oh, okay, I guess. We talked for a few minutes and then he asked me, What do you do for a living?

I said, Im a professional speaker. Some people might call me a motivational speaker. I write books and give presentations on how to be a peak performer.

Then, out of nowhere, he said, Tell me something. Why does everything go wrong for me?

Well, I certainly didnt know. I had never met the man. I replied, Beats me. But if youll talk to me for a few minutes, perhaps we can figure it out.

For the next thirty minutes he went on and on about all his difficulties. His workload was getting heavier at work, and the management team seemed to change directions every other day. His marriage wasnt the best. His kids pushed their boundaries, and the bills always seemed to exceed the amount of money available to pay them. He repeated the same negative thoughts over and over. He kept saying, Ill never get ahead. I just cant do it. Nothing ever seems to work out.

Then all of a sudden he exclaimed, Hold it! Hold it! I know why everything goes wrong for me. It just came to me. Everything goes wrong for me because Im wrong. I think wrong, speak wrong, and act wrong. Im just too negative all the time.

He was right. He had gotten right to the crux of the matter: his attitude was determining his altitude.

The same is true for you. Your attitude is one of the most important, most powerful factors in your life. In fact, you can trace just about everything you achieve or dont achieve back to your attitude. Quite simply, good attitudes bring good results, and bad attitudes bring bad results. Your attitude, even more than your aptitude, determines your altitude.