TODAY -

Science of success : Attitude
- Part 1 -

L Biren Singh *



1. William James of Harvard Havard University said “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind”.

A study in the Harvard University found that 85% of man's success is because of his attitude and the remaining 15% is because of his intelligence and knowledge. “Attitude” is the most important word found in English language.

It applies to every sphere of life including one's personal and professional life. As such, the foundation of success in our life is our attitude. When opportunities are always under our feet, we don't need to go anywhere. From the above, we came to know that attitude is everything.

Let us see the following stories

(i) Balloon Seller : There was a man who was selling balloons at a fair. He had balloons of different colours including yellow, red, blue and green. Whenever, business was slow, he could release a helium filled ballooon into the air. When the children saw the balloons going up in the air, they would come to him and buy a balloon. One day a little child asked him “If you release a black balloon, will they fly” ?

The man smiled and replied gently, “Son, it is not the colour of the baloon, it is what inside the balloon which makes it going up.” The same principles are applied to our lives also. Our abilities, attitudes and motivations are always helping us to move ahead in our lives. Ability teaches us that how we do.

Motivation teaches us that why we do but it's our attitudes which decide how well we do. Your attitude contributes to success. So, it is the matter which is lying inside all of us that make us going up. This is known as “ATTITUDE”.

(ii) Acres of Damonds : Hafiz was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man came and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said “If you had a diamond, the size of your thumb, you could buy your own city.

If you had a diamond, the size of your fist, you could probably buy your own country.” Then, the wise man left. That night Hafiz couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and also he was discontented. He was unhappy because he was discontented and discontented because he was unhappy.

The next morning, Hafiz made arrangements to sell his farm, took care of his family and went off in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and coundn't find any. He looked all through Europe and could not find any. By the time he got to spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He was so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona river and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at the stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought the stone would look good in his living room and he picked up the stone and kept inside living room. The wise man came in the evening and saw the stone sparkling. He asked “Is Hafiz back ?”

The new owner said, “No, why do you ask ?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognise one when I see one.” The man said “No, that is just stone, I picked up from the stream. Come I will show you. There are many more.” They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.”

What is the moral of the story ?

There are many morals

(1) When our attitude is right, we release that we are all walking an acres of diamonds. Opportunities are always under our feet. We don't have to go anywhere.

(2) When we don't know how to recognize opportunity, it could slap us on our face and we would still not be able to recognize it. All we need to do is to learn to recognize opportunities.

(3) People who don't know how to recognise opportunities, complain of noise when they knock.

(4) Lost opportunities are easier to recognise when they are leaving rather than when they are coming.

(5) An opportunity only knocks once. The next one may be better or worse, but never the same one. That is why it is so crucial to make the right decision at the right time. A right decision at the wrong time becomes a wrong decision.

(iii) Attitude of an Eagle :

For centuries, people have seen eagles as a symbol of beauty, bravery, courage, honour, pride, determination and grace. An eagle is also the king of birds kingdom. This bird is important and symbolic to humanity because of its characteristics.

A. Characteristics of an Eagle :

(a) Eagles have powerful vision :

If you ever see an eagle sitting high above on a cliff or a top of a tree, watch closely and see how attentive the bird is. The body will be still and the head tilted side to side to observe what is happening below, around and above it. Even if it is flying, you can observe how keen its eyes are looking for its prey. Eagles have extremely powerful vision. Their eyes are specially designed for long distance focus with clarity. They can even spot another eagle soaring from 50 miles away.

Does this leadership characterstic of an eagle ring a bell for you ? I am sure, it does. Look at great leaders who have come and had gone in the world and you will see they share the characterstic of eagle-like vision with the ability to both see reality clearly as it is in the present as well as make accurate predictions about the future.

For example : Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of USA guided his country through the most devastating experience in its national history, the Civil War. He had the vision to save the union and free the slaves. He is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American President.

You must have a vision that guides and leads your team towards the organisation's or society's goals. The vision must be big as well as focussed.

(b) Eagles are fearless :
An eagle will never surrender to its prey, no matter of its strength or size. It will always put up a fight to win its prey.

(c) Eagles are tenacious :
Watch when a storm comes. While other birds fly away from the storm, an eagle spreads its mighty wings and uses the current to soar to greater heights. The eagle takes the advantage of the very storm that the other birds fear.

The challenges in the life of a leader are many. These are the storms we must face as leaders to rise greater heights. Like an eagle, a leader can only rise to greater heights if he faces the challenges head on without running away from them.

(d) Eagles are high flyers :
Eagles can fly up to an attitude of 10,000 feet, but they are also ably to swifly land on the ground.. An Eagle doesn't mingle with the pigeons. Pigeons scavenge on the ground and grumble and complain all day long. But Eagles don't. They fly and make less noise, waiting for opportunities to strike their next prey or gliding with the current of the storm.

Great leaders are problem solvers. They don't complain like pigeons do. They love to take challenges like an eagle when the storm comes.

(e) Eagles nurture their youngs :
Even though eagles are known for their aggression, what is more astonishing is their ability to nuture their young ones. Research has shown that no member of the bird family is more gentle and attentive ot its young than eagles.

This is how it happens : When the mother eagle sees that the time has come for it to teach the eaglets to fly, she gathers an eaglet onto her back, and spreading her wings, she flies high.

Suddenly she swoops out from under the eaglet and allows it to fall. As it falls, it gradually learns what its wings are for until the mother catches it once again. The process is repeated. If the young is slow to learn or cowardly, she take it back to the nest and begins to tear the nest apart until there is nothing left for the eaglet to cling to. Then she nudges him off the cliff.

True leaders are not bosses. They grow with their people. They strive to make individuals in the organisation or society grow to their full ability. They teach and guide just like the mother eagle does. They never stop giving challenges but also never give up empowering and directing.

To be continued....


* L Biren Singh wrote this article for The Sangai Express
The writer is Chief Executive Officer (Retd), Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board, Lamphelpat
This article was webcasted on January 26 2025 .



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