1. Attitude is Also a Skill
As I mentioned in the previous issue we will be discussing about
some important skills, which are essential for one to be
employable. As we always say, "Your attitude decides your
altitude." 1 believe the most essential skill one needs to have is
attitude. 1 am sure some of you may be thinking, is attitude a skill.
I believe so. Anything is a skill as long as one can impart and
improve it by practice and training.
One of my friends, Mohan, told me a very interesting story. Mohan
had a friend by the name Tom who had a very negative attitude
towards life. He was an expert in finding negative aspects of
anything. If one showed him awhitc surface, he would detect a
microscopic black dot on it. Tom would never see a glass half full;
he would always see that glass as half empty. His main hobby was
gossiping. He loved finding fault with anything and everything in
the world. He believed that luck was the single most factor that
made a person successful. He blamed his destiny for all his failures
in life. Mohan tried many times to make Tom think and talk
positive, but failed all the time. Then one day my friend decided to
make him at least talk something positive. Mohan had an amazing
pet dog that had the rare ability to walk on water. This dog had
already become a wonder among people. My friend took Tom for a
drive and the dog was also with them. They went to a lakeside and
decided to catch a duck. He took his gun and shot a duck that was
swimming in the lake. The duck died. He asked the dog to fetch
the duck from the water and the dog started walking on the water
towards the duck. He looked at Tom thinking that he must have
been amazed about the dog. But Tom had no expression on his
face. The dog came back picking the duck walking on the water.
With a lot of excitement Mohan asked Tom, "Didn't you see
something amazing?" Tom, with no emotion or expression at all on
his face replied, "How is that your dog doesn't know swimming?"

2. It is quite a commonly asked question why somebody is so
negative towards everything in life. The unfortunate fact is that wc
all arc most of the time negative. This is an attitude. The most
meaningful quote in the world may be,"Your attitude decides your
altitude". The attitude of an employee decides the altitude the
organisation he/she is working in reaches. The attitude of the
players decides the altitude a team attains. The attitude of the
people in a State decides the altitude that State would achieve. The
attitude of the citizen decides the altitude of the country. It is not
the politician or the economist who decides the growth of a State
or country; it is the attitude of its people. Noted author William
James has written, "The greatest revolution of our generation is the
discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of
their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."
Why is that in a given situation, two persons think in two different
ways. We all know that old story, where an American company
sends two sales managers to an African country to market their
footwear. After reaching the country while one person sends a
message stating that, "No one wears footwear here, hence I am
coming back", the other person sends a message stating, "No one
wears footwear here, and hence there is a tremendous market; send
the first consignment urgently." The company is the same,
products are the same, the market is the same, what was different?
People, their attitudes! A lot of people ask me this question, "I
have always wanted to think positive, but somehow or the other
most of my thoughts are negative".
Can we change our attitude? Can we do something by which we
always think and act positively? The good news is that we can. By
changing the way one thinks, one can change everything. One's
thoughts lead to one's words and actions. Any action repeated
becomes a habit. One's habit leads to one's character. That is why
we always say, 'You are what you think you are.' 4

3. Sajeev Nair is a successful first genera! ion entrepreneur,
internationally renowned life-coach, author and philanthropist.
Contact Me : www.facebook.com/iamsajeev