Director How can you expect to soar with eagles when you surround yourself with turkeys?

[dannyzmom]

Hey guys -
I need a quote about how negativity is contagious and how you should stay away from negative people and stay with positive people if you want to succeed. Anybody have one?

I have a consultant on my team (we'll call her Debbie Downer) who is incredibly negative. Last year she came to NC with her DH...went to her workshops (complained about them), came to general sessions (complained), came to the Exec Banquet (was MISERABLE, complaining, took one of my top performers and left to go to the bar...got THAT gal in a foul mood...etc)

Last week I talked to her and said I needed to get w/her before NC to give her the goodie bag & binder I make up for my gals...her response "Oh, is the goodie bag filled with the same crap as last year?" :::thud::: During that conversation I asked her to please try to keep her negativity to a minimum this year and to stay away from my highly motivated new team members at NC (I worked it into the conversation nicely)

So...tonight I am talking to one of my long time consultants (currently a SC), and she is all poo-poo about NC (note: I know she and Debbie got together for dinner last week)...now THIS gal (we'll call her Easy Going Ellie) NEEDS the $$ she makes with PC. She is in nursing school right now but is off for the summer. We're on the phone and she is starting in about which dinners she'd like to bail on (we do 2 cluster dinners and the Exec Banquet) and tells me "Well, Debbie asked me to come out to dinner with her and her husband instead of going to the cluster dinner..." LOVELY

We talked about how if you NEED the $$ you make with PC you really can't afford to get sucked into someone else's negativity..she started to realized how she was getting sucked in and said she'll rethink her plans.

So...I am in need of a quote to send out to my entire team about how important it is to avoid negative nellies...anyone got one?

 

[chefheidi2003]

I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for, but I like it.

"Negative people are worse than negative occurrances. The argument is over in ten minutes - the person may hang around for years." Jeffrey Gitomer

I'll keep looking.

Michelle

 

[chefheidi2003]

Here is a part from Jeffrey Gitomer's book "Little Yellow Book of Yes! Attitude."

"Shit happens. And people happen. Or shit people happen. They will either bust you (and your positive attitude) or build you based on the way you react to them.

Unfortunately, the knee-jerk reaction is negative.

The secret to keeping your positive attitude: (while others try to bust it) Is hesitation, thought, and questioning before making a statement.

Your reaction to the negative crap, or the negative people who enter your life, is the fate of your attitude.

If your instict is negative, you can reverse it by reversing your thoughts and actions.

One you realize that most negative energy comes from outside, it's easier to deal with it."

Michelle

 

[chefheidi2003]

Ok, one more from Jeffrey Gitomer.

"Their attitude sucks and they're basically cynical. They are incapable of encouragement because they would rather see you as a failure (just like they are).

So, the first thing to think when someone so graciously pukes on you is, 'Cool! They ain't me.'

Okay, they're pukers. What do you do about it? How do you handle it? What's the first step to 'Pepto Bismol-ing?' them?

Here's a one word clue: LOOK.

Look at their car.
Look at their career.
Look at their attitude.
Look at their success.
Look at their lifestyle.
Look at their happiness.

If you wouldn't trade places with them, who's crazy?"

Michelle

 

[PampMomof3]

A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can't do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do.
Chuck Norris

A negative judgment gives you more satisfaction than praise, provided it smacks of jealousy.
Jean Baudrillard

Accent your positive and delete your negative.
Donna Karan

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.
Hans Selye

 

[PampMomof3]

“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power”

Shirley MacLaine quote

“It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.”

Ram Dass quotes

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong...Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”

Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“Basically we are all the same human beings with the same potential to be a good human being or a bad human being ... The important thing is to realize the positive side and try to increase that; realize the negative side and try to reduce. That's the way.”

Dalai Lama quotes

 

[PampMomof3]

I googled "negative quotes" you'll find TONS!

 

[Nanisu]

Ok, so this is not exactly about negative people, but it IS a great quote about stuff in general, and keeping the main thing the main thing, in business as well as personal life--maybe you could pass this on to your team in general? I love it so much I have it posted on my wall in my office:

"Nothing shapes your life more than the committments you choose to make. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way they will define you." Rick Warren

I think of this quote every time I get out of focus and need to pull myself back to where my committments are--be they to my family, my Lord, or my business.

 

[dannyzmom]

Those are ALL great!! What I am looking most for though (and am not sure it's even out there) is a way to say to my easily influenced consultant to stay away from the Negative Nelly because that Negative Nelly is bringing her down. How do I say that without directly saying it? kwim?

 

[BethCooks4U]

I couldn't find it in my files but there's a story about debbie downer or negative nellie vs _____________ (I forget the positive person's name) out there. That might be something that could work for what you want. I'll keep looking.

 

[Nanisu]

Those are ALL great!! What I am looking most for though (and am not sure it's even out there) is a way to say to my easily influenced consultant to stay away from the Negative Nelly because that Negative Nelly is bringing her down. How do I say that without directly saying it? kwim?
__________________
Maybe if YOU just focus on the positive and how what THEY commit to (see my post) is what is going to influence their business--instead of trying to get them to NOT listen to her, focus on the good things of this business with them? Enthusiasm is contagious.

This is a tough one.

 

[finley1991]

Chris Manion tells us the story of the crabs in a bucket and how it relates to attitudes... maybe you can use it as a lead-in for this conversation? Just a thought. Here is the story:

One day I was walking along the Washington Beach, the black beach in Washington, North Carolina with my father. I was about eight years old. I noticed a man with a bucket of crabs. The crab bucket did not have a top on it. I asked my father why the crabs were not able to escape. My father’s explanation taught me a valuable lesson.

My father said, “If there was only one crab in the bucket it would certainly escape. However, when there is more than one crab in the bucket, if one tries to crawl out, the other crabs would grab hold and pull it back down so that it would share the same fate as the rest of them.”

This is true with people. If one person attempts to better himself, other people will attempt to drag him back down to share their fate. My father said, “ You must ignore the crabs if you want to be a success in life.

 

[ChefVee]

Oooohhh Thats a good one!!

Chris Manion tells us the story of the crabs in a bucket and how it relates to attitudes... maybe you can use it as a lead-in for this conversation? Just a thought. Here is the story:

One day I was walking along the Washington Beach, the black beach in Washington, North Carolina with my father. I was about eight years old. I noticed a man with a bucket of crabs. The crab bucket did not have a top on it. I asked my father why the crabs were not able to escape. My father’s explanation taught me a valuable lesson.

My father said, “If there was only one crab in the bucket it would certainly escape. However, when there is more than one crab in the bucket, if one tries to crawl out, the other crabs would grab hold and pull it back down so that it would share the same fate as the rest of them.”

This is true with people. If one person attempts to better himself, other people will attempt to drag him back down to share their fate. My father said, “ You must ignore the crabs if you want to be a success in life.

 

[baychef]

Chris Manion tells us the story of the crabs in a bucket and how it relates to attitudes... maybe you can use it as a lead-in for this conversation? Just a thought. Here is the story:

One day I was walking along the Washington Beach, the black beach in Washington, North Carolina with my father. I was about eight years old. I noticed a man with a bucket of crabs. The crab bucket did not have a top on it. I asked my father why the crabs were not able to escape. My father’s explanation taught me a valuable lesson.

My father said, “If there was only one crab in the bucket it would certainly escape. However, when there is more than one crab in the bucket, if one tries to crawl out, the other crabs would grab hold and pull it back down so that it would share the same fate as the rest of them.”

This is true with people. If one person attempts to better himself, other people will attempt to drag him back down to share their fate. My father said, “ You must ignore the crabs if you want to be a success in life.

Thank you for this Colleen! One year there was a consultant with a "crab hat" on and it was in honor of this story that Chris Manion told. She ignored the other crabs and was able to promote to Director! I just had never heard the entire story so thank you!