What audiobooks have taught me about positive thinkingPosted about 3 years ago by Nick Boulton

During the last lockdown, I have rediscovered reading, something I had convinced myself that I didn't have time for in my 'busy' schedule. I might add a minor correction to this point; it's audiobooks that have entered my life, and how have I not known about them before?

It's incredible. I'm no book worm, but I now consume three or four books a month, and I can do it anywhere, in the car, on the train, running, walking, you name it, it's genius!

No, this is not a pitch for Audible. The reason for me giving you the backstory will become clear shortly.

What audible has done is open my mind to a broader range of authors and books, previously very predictable in my choices; Wilbur Smith, Dan Brown, James Patterson, Andy MacNab. I have now found myself reading many biographies, autobiographies, self-help books, books on attitude, mental approach, and success in all walks of life and not just at work. In your family life, in your community, in your health, your religion, the list goes on..

But what I have realised is that there is one common trait that all of these books cover, no matter who the author is. Whether it's Nelson Mandela (the third time I have read The Long Walk to Freedom), Barack Obama, Andy McNab, Matthew Syed or Grant Cordone, they all have an overwhelming sense of positivity and positive mental attitude towards their goals.

When you stop and think about some of the challenges and opposition these people have had to overcome to achieve what they have, it's astonishing. How do you spend 27 years wrongly incarcerated and then come out of jail and make "peace" with the very people who put you in there in the first place?

Today, there seems to be a steady stream of negativity fed to us from the media and press all the time. I don't know about you, but I don't remember subscribing to the constant stream of doom that is continually displayed today.

It got me thinking and comparing the parallels this type of attitude and approach has in recruitment and at Client Server. Can an overwhelmingly positive approach and outlook have an impact on success in our industry?

The short answer is yes!

We face hundreds of objections every day:

• I'm not interested
• I'm not looking
• Your fees are too high
• We don't pay for hiring
• We have an on-site team
• We have an internal team
• I hate recruiters
• Please stop calling me

The list is endless, and if you spent too much time thinking about it, you'd never pick up the phone for fear of rejection. But what I have realised is that recruitment was here before I was on this planet, and it will be here long after I'm gone. It's the simple equation of supply and demand, and in our market, there are a finite amount of qualified people who can do the jobs that businesses are hiring.

So, if you get a 'no' from your first, second, third, ninety-ninth or hundredth call, you will get a 'yes' at some point. You need to have the belief, positive attitude and determination that the next dial could be a 'yes, it's that simple.

If you can't approach every day with this type of outlook, the world of sales is not for you. Too many people 'fall' into sales, and I think you can be far more scientific with your approach and attitude, which will give you a huge competitive advantage, and positivity is the main ingredient.

If people could stop feeling sorry for themselves or their situation and take a moment to think of the opportunity they have in front of them, they would be infinitely more successful.

The grass is never or at least rarely ever greener, and inevitably it's only ourselves that are holding us back.

If you will do one thing differently this year after the last 12 months we've all endured, only one thing – Approach every situation with positivity, and you will be a hell of a lot more successful!