The Right Mental Attitude

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goals; nothing on earth can help a man with a wrong mental attitude.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

I was at a job seekers event not long ago and I met two people. There were many people there–over 150–and I bumped into one fellow after a breakout session and before the formal networking tables began. He was preparing to leave and I asked him which networking session he was going to, “Steve, are you going to the Professional table, the Executive table or the open networking table?” He told me he was going to leave, that these networking things don’t work, “No one ever has a contact for me. I’ve been out of work for five years, with a couple of contract jobs in between. And no one ever has a good contact for me.”

He went on to tell me that the economy sucks, life is terrible and he was just getting started telling me everything that was wrong with the world. I interrupted him and asked him if he realized that there are many ways to work a formal networking session. He could practice his elevator speech, offer connections and contacts to others or just meet someone new and follow up for coffee and more practice. Steve just didn’t want to hear that and I stepped back and offered him success in his job search. I’ll pass from documenting his response.

Earlier that day, I met Denise. I’ve known her for a number of years and she was at this event representing a Temp Services business in the area. She stopped me and asked a couple of questions about negotiating for a new opportunity she was considering. She loved the job and the people, but the salary was $5K less than she was currently making. We bounced a couple of options around and role played a little and she left to go networking to see who else she might meet.

Later that same day I was given a book on famous quotations and there was Thomas Jefferson pointing out the moral for me to learn that day. No matter how much you want to help, some people won’t change. It you find yourself in that situation, walk away–no, run away–and focus your time and energy on your goals. Surround yourself with people who possess the right mental attitude. As W. Clement Stone once said, “Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you become like them.”