Outlook Makes All the Difference

Many years ago two salesmen were to Africa by a British shoe manufacturer. The goal of their trip was to investigate this new market, and to report their findings back to headquarters on the potential of the market.

  • The first salesman came back with a rather dismal report, “There’s no potential at all here, because nobody wears shoes.”
  • The second salesman came back with a rather different reply, “There’s massive potential in Africa, because nobody wears shoes.”

When telling this story put your inflection on the “nobody” as it helps to clarify that in a single situation, there are often many ways to look at the outcome.

It’s your choice as to how you interpret any situation, whether you’re looking at it positively with optimism, or as a challenge full of negativity.

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