ATTITUDES FOR WINNERS

A Review

Larosa, Alexis V.

Phinma Cagayan de Oro College

Institute of Graduate Studies

Dr. Jonathan de la Pena

January 24, 2018

 Bibliographic Citation
Pelae, N. V. (2013). Six Attitudes for Winners.Acts 29 Publishing, Sucat Paranaque, 90 pages.

Introduction

The book I choose to review is entitled Six Attitudes for Winners by Norman Vincent Pelae

(2013). In this book, Pelae conclude that to succeed, one should do an attitude check because one’s

attitude is the key to success. Pelae cited six attitudes that can boost the success of a person, whether a

teacher or a student. I choose this book simply because I agree. I believe that students today, must be able

to have the right attitude to face their fears, put excitement to their lives, confront their worries, learn how

to throw away their personality crutches, anticipate their future and solve their problems creatively. In the

age where millennial students live, teacher should be able to find creative ways to penetrate in their world

and be able to understand them.

Pelae provide a practical approach on the competence of an effective person. His book is written

for people who has been searching for practical ways and advices from professionals on how to be

successful in their endeavors. Whether a teacher or a student, this book will give them the relevant

insights on how one’s attitude could have a great impact in achieving their dreams. Grounded in the

current and developing principle of Emotional intelligence and relevant insight on the psychology of

behavior, the book is suitable for teachers seeking to better understand the proper and effective role of EQ

and attitude per se in teaching the millennials.

Summary

The book starts by directly giving its reader the first of the six attitudes for success: Thinking POSITIVE.

He cited a conversation he had with a friend J.C. Penny on his philosophy of a problem. Which was

answered as “problems make us stronger”. In handling problems, a positivist would find ways how to

solve it, he can choose to go around it or under it or over it or hit it straight on. On the other hand, a
negativist would easily accept defeat. Sometimes knowing the facts behind every problem gives us the

solution on how to solve it. “Every problem contains the seed of its own solution.” Stanley Arnold. A fact

is a fact and that is that.

The second attitude given to us by Pelae is being courageous. He stated that any emotion is

removable. Depression is removable. Hatred is removable. Prejudice is removable. Greatest of all, FEAR

is removable.” The first duty for a man is still that of subduing fear…… A man acts are slavish…. Till he

got FEAR under his feet.”—Thomas Cartlye.

Being ENTHUSIASTIC is the third attitude Pelae talked about. He stated that like a child who

thinks that the world is terrific, a person should think like this and carry its spirit throughout his lifetime.

Retaining enthusiasm is one secret attitude of living a full life. Starting the day right each day and having

a relationship with your God, love and live life are ways in developing enthusiasm. “The worse bankrupt

is the man who has lost enthusiasm. Let a man lode enthusiasm and he will come through again to

success”-H.W. Arnold.

PEACEFUL. Being peaceful with yourself and to others. Revamped the natural tendency of

worry in our life. Convert life’s perception to positivity as much as possible. Add your blessings, subtract

your worries, Pelae added. At times worries takes over, PRAY.

Pelae, for his fifth attitude talks about the power source of our personality: CONFIDENCE that

he can change for the better. He said that some people, being insecure, depend upon crutches to prop up a

filtering personality. The feeling of inadequacy and believing they are unable to cope with problems, they

go for crutches. And this crutches are carried on throughout their lives.

You’ve got a future! Being an expectant. This attitude should be embedded in the mind of each

and every person. N matter how tough things maybe or how hard the going, or how discouraged you are,

you’ve really got a future. Regardless of how old, or tired, or sick you feel, still you’ve got a future.
However unjustly you think you have been treated by life and by circumstances, remember, always

remember, you’ve got a future. This according to the sixth attitude of Pelae.

Being the seventh is geared towards having a guide to become a winner. One should have a to do

list, to who list and to what list. Having a guidance buddy to talk to, family to lean on to, and friends to

laugh with to.

Critique

The central ideas contained in this book closely parallel Daft’s treatment of emotional

intelligence. Daft defines emotional intelligence as “a person’s ability to perceive, identify, understand,

and successfully manage emotions in self and others” (2005, p.191). These are the same attitude that a

person must have in order to have a greater chance of success in life.

According also to Nanda “Our attitude is what influences all our actions. It is only the right

attitude, which gets us good results. All the smiles and hand-shakes are not going to get you far, if you do

not have the attitude to help others, without any selfish expectations in return. If you expect something in

return, then it is not help, it is only a favor, and you are only interested in your own selfish desires: (Life

at Sea, Oct. 2017). It all starts within us. The right perception on the things we see, and feel will largely

influence what future we will have.

When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to

leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and

your attitude). According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes

the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way. Attitude over Aptitude.

As an educator, the molder of todays youth, we often forget that the students we are teaching

have emotions. Skills can be memorized but attitude is hard to transfer. A greater effort which need deep
passion on the part of a teacher is needed to overemphasize the value of attitude. The love for teaching

means a wholistic approach in molding our students. It is supposed to be total human formation.

Recommendation

I have to say, that in the end, I would not recommend this book to someone who wants a shortcut

in achieving success. I believed that main point of the book is that this just serves as practical guidelines

on the common experience of a person. The seven attitudes of success are a combinational theory of other

attitudes that is actually needed in achieving one’s goal.

Although I agree that the emotional intelligence of a person is a crucial aspect of anyone wanting

to become a successful, and that most people simply ignore this fact, I believe that there is much more to

it than that. I believe that to be a successful person in today’s society, one must possess a combination of

qualities and traits that result in a person who is communicative, diverse, influential, and capable of

developing a strong, solid, strategic direction by developing a trusting culture within which will

eventually give him/her self-understanding. I don’t believe that after reading this book, someone would be

achieve success easily, as Pelae have stressed, the book is just a practical approach, suggested attitudes

are just selected attitudes that he might have personally experience.

References

Nada, V.G.-N. (2017) Life At Sea. Retrieved February 14, 2018 from

(https://www.marineinsight.com/life-at-sea/the-importance-of-having-the-right-attitude-in-life/)

Bradberry T.(2016, October), Contributor. Why Attitude Is More Important Than IQ. Retrieved February
25, 2018 from https://www.marineinsight.com

Pelae, N. V. (2013). Six Attitudes for Winners. Acts 29 Publishing, Sucat Paranaque.