Daily Inspiration: “A negative attitude will always lead you to a predictable result!”

“A negative attitude will always lead you to a predictable result!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

I’m an optimistic futurist – that’s another way of saying that I can’t walk on stage and say to the audience “guess what! Your future sucks!” I wouldn’t get a lot of repeat business.

I’ve actually turned that phrase into a great storyline on stage – it resonates with people!

Yet, if you think about it, negativity is the cancer that leads to failure.

You don’t hear of Olympians talking about how they were focused on losing when they were at the top of the ski hill. Race car drivers who are relentless in their pursuit of last place. Game show contestants who want to walk away with the least amount of money.

Innovation is the same way. If you are going to pursue a new idea involving a radical new product or service, you need to be relentless on your potential for success, not the chance for failure. Your strategy must presume that you’ll win, so that you’ll do everything you can to ensure that you achieve that result.

Positive attitudes are energy and fuel for action, because they help to define the effort that we might put forward towards any initiative we pursue.

This is why you find so many leadership narratives focused on success and opportunity, rather than potential risk and downside. If you are going to motivate a group of people to step out of their ‘comfort zone’, you need to feed the enthusiasm that it will be a worthwhile investment.

Here’s the kicker – your positive attitude might not always lead to equally predictable results, it’s far better than the alternative!