Attitude 101

Reviewer: David Oletu

Do you know that your attitude is a primary force that will determine whether you succeed or fail?

Let me take you on a journey through John Maxwell’s ‘Attitude 101.’

Book Title: Attitude 101

Book Author: John C. Maxwell

ISBN: 0-7852-6350-0

Page Count: 120

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Year: 1947

Book Reviewer: David Oletu

John Maxwell expresses his excitement at Attitude 101’s publication in the book’s preface.

According to him, the book is designed to equip us with the right kind of attitude to succeed, as he realizes that few things in life are a greater asset than an attitude of positive determination.

Three sections make up the book’s eight chapters.

The first section explains how attitude impacts leadership and an individual.

The second section tells us what shapes a person’s attitude and examines if a person’s attitude can be changed and if obstacles enhance an attitude.

The third section gives us an overview of what the future holds with the right attitude.

In Chapter 1, John Maxwell discusses how attitude impacts leadership and a team’s success.

He argues that a good attitude does not guarantee a team’s success, but bad attitudes guarantee its failure.

Maxwell goes on to discuss five truths about attitudes, clarifying how they affect teamwork.

Further, He explains how attitude has the power to lift or tear down, how it compounds when exposed to others,

And, how bad attitudes compound faster than good ones, also, how attitudes are subjective, hence difficult to identify the wrong ones,

and how rotten attitudes, left alone, ruin everything.

In Chapter 2, John Maxwell discusses how our attitude impacts us as individuals.

He first defines attitude as an inward feeling expressed by behaviour.

He admits that our negative attitude can be masked outwardly in ways that others who see us may be fooled;

however, the cover-ups will not last long.

According to Maxwell, the negative attitude will always wiggle its way out while we struggle to cover it up,

and as a result, our hardened attitude, which Maxwell describes as a dreaded disease, will cause us to have a closed mind and a dark future.

Maxwell clarifies that when our attitude is positive and conducive to growth, the mind expands, and progress begins.

He goes on to share seven axioms about attitude to help us better understand how it impacts a person’s life.

In Chapter 3, Maxwell examines the various factors that shape people’s attitudes at different stages of their lives.

He discusses how and when inherent personality, environment, word expression, exposure to new experiences, peers and physical appearances, marriage, family, jobs, success adjustment, and assessment of life shape one’s attitude.

Maxwell agrees that people are born with certain characteristics;

but also affirms that those factors play an even greater role in people’s lives and the formation of their attitudes, and they make the greatest impression during different times of life.

In Chapter 4, John Maxwell delves into examining the question, “Can an attitude be changed?”

Many times, we may have come across people who have bad attitudes. We may even try to help them change.

However, the stark reality is that they won’t change unless they are willing to change.

According to John Maxwell, the key to having a good attitude is the willingness to change.

Maxwell makes us realize that change is a matter of personal choice and that who we are today is the result of choices we made yesterday.

To further enlighten us, he goes on to extensively discuss eight choices we can make to have a great attitude in life.

In Chapter 5, John Maxwell writes about the role adversity plays in our attitude.

The world often views adversity as something negative to be avoided by any means,

but Maxwell argues that it should rather be viewed as an absolutely critical part of success that should be embraced.

He explains the various benefits of adversity, making us see reasons to embrace and persevere through it.

According to Maxwell, adversity creates resilience, develops maturity, pushes the envelope of accepted performance, provides greater opportunities, prompts innovations, brings unexpected benefits, and motivates.

You’ll learn more by reading this book.

In Chapter 6, Maxwell redefines the concept of failure.

We often feel ashamed, cultivating negative attitudes about ourselves whenever we fail.

However, Maxwell believes that failure is not something that should limit us from moving forward.

He highlights seven abilities needed to ‘fail forward.’

He discusses how we should reject rejections, see failure as temporary, see failures as isolated incidents, keep our expectations realistic, focus on our strengths, vary approaches to achievement, and bounce back.

According to Maxwell, every successful person is someone who has failed yet never regarded himself as a failure.

So, there is no cause for negativity whenever we fail.

In Chapter 7, John Maxwell likewise redefines the concept of success.

He debunks the vague idea that portrays success in the minds of people as the wealth of Bill Gates,

the physique of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the intelligence of Albert Einstein, the athletic ability of Michael Jordan, the business prowess of Donald Trump,

the social grace and poise of Jackie Kennedy, the imagination of Watt Disney, and the heart of Mother Teresa.

Maxwell defines success as knowing our purpose in life, growing to reach our maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.

According to Maxwell, when we think of success this way, we can see why it must be seen as a journey rather than a destination.

He clarifies that when we see success as a journey, we will never have a problem trying to ‘arrive’ at an elusive final destination.

To help us get a better perspective on aspects of success, he goes on to discuss how we can know our purpose, grow to reach our maximum potential, and sow seeds that benefit others.

In Chapter 8, Maxwell asserts that leaders have to “give up to go up”.

How can a leader possibly give up to go up?

By giving up, Maxwell means ‘making sacrifices.’

He discusses how we can keep climbing as leaders and individuals.

Maxwell believes that we can’t climb to the top without making sacrifices.

He states that the higher the level of leadership we want to reach, the greater the sacrifices we will have to make,

there is no success without an attitude of sacrifice.

In conclusion, it is pertinent to know that our attitude is a primary force that will determine whether we succeed or fail.

It determines our happiness, acceptance, peace, and success.

For some, attitude presents a difficulty in every opportunity; for others, it presents an opportunity in every difficulty.

The very fact that attitude makes some while breaking others is significant enough for us to explore its importance.

John Maxwell’s Attitude 101 comes in timely, helping us better understand the impact of attitude on our everyday lives.

I hope you have an enjoyable reading experience.

Attitude 101

Read also: Self-Improvement 101 – Diademng (thediademng.org)

You can check it here Attitude 101 [Hardcover]-BK2201 (maxwellleadership.com)