The-Slight-Edge

80 The Slight Edge
There are some who won’t be as dedicated as the baseball players led by
Coach Stockton in doing the little things every day. Some people when they get
the tiniest amount of freedom fall off the wagon and stop doing everything they
were taught to do. Why does this happen? Simply because they are now in an
environment where they find themselves with no structure—no one telling them
what to do. The principles of showing up consistently give people the structure
they will need in their lives in portions they can handle.
No. 3: Have a Good Attitude
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
— Winston Churchill
Not only do you need to show up consistently, you need to do it with a good
attitude. Why is attitude so important? According to author and leadership icon
John C. Maxwell, attitude makes all the difference in the world. I got the chance to
interview John recently on the topic of attitude and he told me the following:
When all things are equal, attitude will set you apart from anything
else. When you’re going for a job, it’s the difference maker. If a girl has a
choice between two handsome men where one has a great attitude and the
other one has a lousy attitude, nine times out of 10 she’s going to pick the
man with the best attitude. It’s a difference maker for coaches who have
two athletes who are of similar skill level and are looking for who to play.
Attitude really is the difference maker.
Having a good attitude has proven to be a key in longevity of life. I was
watching CNN one night and a well-known doctor was talking about a report
he had just released where he studied the 25 longest living civilizations on earth,
where people lived well past the age of 100.
He went through the process of finding out the common threads these
successful civilizations have in common. Keep in mind these civilizations were
not connected by race, geography, DNA or genetics. In his findings the number
one characteristic—far greater than number two—that determined whether you
live over 100 years of age, is a positive outlook on life.
Attitude my friends, attitude. Many would think it would be their
diet or their genetic code that determines one’s health. That obviously is
true, but the difference maker, as John C. Maxwell alluded to earlier, is our
attitude—our positive outlook on life—the key factor for us living long and
productive lives.