Secrets of a Successful Attitude
Rosey Conway
Copyright 2012 Rosey Conway
Smashwords Edition
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Rosey Conway Consulting specializes in all areas of sales training and is building an eSales
suite designed to make quality sales training products easily accessible, affordable and most
importantly, effective. To discover free sales training resources including free motivational
quotes and free sales podcasts, click here.
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Introduction
What is a 'Successful Attitude'?
Iconoclasts
Attitude is everything
Sports Psychology
Secret 2 of 7 - Maintain Focus
A final note (for Satyam)
About the author
Connect with Rosey
Other eBooks by Rosey
eLearning by Rosey
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Dedication

was too young to understand exactly how, but I had been told this by successful people, so I
assumed it to be true. I learned that my attitude could be my best friend, or my worst enemy,
and I ended up in the Principal's office more than once! In the early 1980's Robert De
Castella spoke at my primary school about the importance of attitude, and his sentiments
were mirrored by other athletes whom I would see discuss their game or race on the TV.
What I noticed quite obviously is they spoke of the mental training much more than the
physical training, which surprised me.
This focus on attitude seemed to be pervasive in business success as well. In 1999 I eagerly
read Richard Branson's biography, "Losing my virginity: How I survived, had fun and made
a fortune doing business my way." His attitude was certainly very different than my school
teacher's notion that improving my attitude was synonymous with obedient status quo. In
fact many successful people are often non- conformists to a certain degree, which is why they
are part of the elite, and not the status quo! In sales, attitude is almost everything - more
important to skills or knowledge, and as a young woman of only 15 years knocking on doors
in my first sales job, I quickly discovered the enormous impact a successful attitude could
have, not only on my sales results, but my corresponding feelings of ability and (most
importantly at the time) my income! I was determined to earn enough commission to buy a
TV for my bedroom (as quickly as possible). Even if it was raining, I braved the elements
and continued to visit my neighbours (in fact, I soon learned that rain outside meant I was
invited into more houses which meant more sales!) So, even though I was cold and wet, I
saved my "bad attitude" for the times when it didn't impact important areas of my life.
Learning the direct correlation between a positive attitude and my income early in life set me
up, and so my passion for cultivating a 'successful' attitude began. Now, don't get me wrong,
my life has not always been smooth sailing and dealing with grief, trauma, ill health and
addiction, my attitude has not always been on point, but having the skills to be able to
manage it has saved me a number of times. Now I hope to share some of this knowledge
with my readers.
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So, what is a 'successful attitude'?

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Iconoclasts
I find people who are labelled an 'iconoclast' (in this context defined as a creative visionary
who breaks through established conventions), such as Richard Branson, very inspiring. He is
a great example of breaking through 'invisible barriers', demonstrated recently by his world
record breaking kite-surf across the English Channel. He is now the oldest person to
successfully complete this challenge! But, he 'failed' the first couple of attempts. His age
may be seen as a hindrance or a barrier by others, but it was his attitude that made him
continue trying and his belief in his own ability that made his succeed.
I have also had the pleasure of meeting Graeme Alford, author of "Never Give Up", who
spoke at a conference I had organized for a sales team a number of years ago. He is a
dynamic and charismatic presenter with an amazing story to tell. After losing everything in
his life - his career, his wife, his home and his freedom, from within his jail cell, he decided
that the only thing that was left in his life that he could control was his attitude. By learning
to manage his attitude, he turned his life around. Described by The Australian Story on the
ABC as "the comeback King", Graeme featured at a World Masters of Business Series in the
1990's alongside Nelson Mandela. Today, Graeme espouses the concept of practicing
"mental toughness" by testing his resolve by giving up something in his life for one month at
a time; maybe its ice-cream or alcohol. He knows that success relies on his mental ability,
positive self-talk, self belief and attitude - all of which control his actions, therefore defining
his outcome. This is a valuable lesson that I implement in my life regularly. I was humbled
when Graeme said to me after watching me present a goal setting workshop, "Rosey, I would
put you in the top 10% of presenters I've seen, and I've seen a lot!"
The other thing I like about successful business people is how openly many of them discuss
their failures prior to their success - and how their failures ultimately shaped them. Winston
Churchill famously said, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss
of enthusiasm." In my eLearning module "How to Achieve Your Goals", I explore the
concept and definition of 'failure' and make the distinction between a failure and a set-back; a
failure defined as giving up all together or running out of time, and a set-back being a
temporary state that can be overcome. There is a finality to failure, where there isn't with a

and time again. This reminds me of Satyam again - I had trained the whole sales team on a
new product. The majority of the team did not really like the product (and were quite vocal
about it) but Satyam came to me and said, "No-one likes to sell this product, but I'm going to
make it work - can we spend some time together working on the best sales strategy please?"
Needless to say, Satyam quickly became the top seller, and unspoken ambassador of that
product. He had exactly the same product training as everyone else in the team, so what set
him apart? His attitude.
Sales attitude is such a huge topic - it's about positive energy (positive self dialogue and
positive influence on others), choosing how you're going to respond, having the confidence,
tenacity and resilience to bounce back from a bad presentation, or turning around a bad
morning without wiping off the whole day off. Attitude determines how we perceive a
situation, and determines how we are perceived by others. Attitude is the driving force that
motivates you to make 5 more phone calls and to get 1 more sale when everyone else has
given up.
But motivation comes in waves, this is normal - the secret to having a successful attitude is
learning HOW to manage your attitude through the highs and the lows, through the days
when you're tired or dealing with customer complaints. Imagine if you were equipped with
the skills to be able to apply a useful, effective and successful attitude in the times when it
really counts? A successful attitude is one that is consistently effective when you need it to
be - to increase your commission, progress your career, improve your health or nurture
important relationships in your life. Managing your attitude is a learned skill and there are
some very specific strategies that work. In my "Secrets of a Successful Attitude" eLearning
module, I go over 7 of the key strategies and help you implement these successful strategies
in your own life through theory, examples and activities, but most of all, I help you write
your own personalized strategy for each secret - and you can print out your own Attitude
Success Plan (pictured below) at the completion of the module!
If you're a Sales Manager or Team Leader, you know exactly how much of your time is spent
managing other people's attitudes, right? When I became a qualified sales trainer in the year
1999 I threw myself into learning (through extensive research) HOW to actually improve the
quality of one's attitude through teaching. For an individual person to improve the quality of

profession or industry you choose. Attitude is often the defining attribute of many successful
people. "It's not what happens to you that counts, it is how you handle it that matters. You
are in charge of the way you perceive the world, and to a large degree, how the others
perceive you.
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Sports Psychology
Did you know that sales training evolved from sports coaching? Ric Charlesworth - one of
Australia's Olympic team gold-winning and world champion hockey coaches says, "Sports
performance today covers a wide range of scientific, technical and tactical disciplines. Yet
still the critical component is in the mental approach - the mind". There is enormous
correlation between the psychology of sports and the psychology of sales and it's not all about
skill - it's more about the will. That will, that desire, that passion, that drive to succeed, all
comes down to how you manage your attitude, that little voice in your head that has so much
power over your actions and ultimately your results. As former NCAA football and NFL
head coach, Lou Holtz says, "Ability is what you're capable of. Motivation determines what
you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Many successful sports coaches focus
more on the mental training than the physical training to produce winning results. It has been
proven time and time again that it's not always the fastest, fittest or most experienced athlete
or team who win the gold medal or the championship. So much of success in life is a mental
game. Self belief, positive self-talk and internal dialogue is pivotal to your success without a
doubt. In another of my eLearning modules, "How to Achieve Your Goals", there is some
valuable information on effective and positive self-talk. You can take a free 5 minute tour of
that eLearning module by clicking here.
Inspired by one of the common mental techniques sports coaches use with their athletes, I
will share with you 1 of the 7 secrets of a successful attitude covered in my eLearning
module right now
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Secret 2 of 7 - Maintain focus

next time that happens, try to implement this lesson - relax your body and focus your mind on
the present. Focus on what you can control - your attitude. With a heightened sense of
awareness, you are better equipped to consciously choose the most constructive attitude at
any given moment. If you find yourself reacting in an unproductive (or potential destructive)
way, now that you are aware of this successful technique and the benefits of it, try to
recognize a potential negative attitude, and circumvent it, regain focus on the present and
choose a constructive and successful attitude, be it positive or neutral.
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A final note (for Satyam)
As I wrote after I heard of Satyam's passing, "if we who knew Satyam could be more like
him every day, the world would be a better place." Satyam was a shining example of
choosing to have a successful attitude. Life wasn't always perfect for him - he would come to
me with challenges he was facing and he would ask for help and support. We would
motivate each other. He made the conscious choice every day to try to have a positive
attitude, and whether you knew Satyam or not, I hope that you have been motivated and
inspired by his story - this way he can live on through others. Satyam always gave his
kindness, compassion, friendship and inspiration freely and in tribute to Satyam, this mini-
eBook is a free resource. If you like it, please recommend this eBook to your friends, family
and colleagues.
"Satyam, everything you did was in a positive way and you have helped touch so many
people's lives. I am very thankful for you being my manager for the past few months,
you weren't just my manager, as you said 'we are friends' and comrade you have taught
me to be resourceful." Jarrod Bartle.
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About the author
From a family of educators, Rosey Conway has a sales training and management career that
has spanned over 2 decades. Rosey has trained thousands of sales people and has helped
them achieve their goals and become more successful and sophisticated sales people. Rosey