Yesterday I was at a networking meeting where a friend shared the results of an interesting study about the impact of mental conditioning on life expectancy. Before I tell you about that, I want to give you a little background.

He began talking about his recent trip to Australia’s Steve Irwin Zoo and how he witnessed a miracle in the tiger enclosure. He saw a young trainer swimming about in the man made pool with not just one but several tigers playing with her in the water.

I am assuming you have seen and appreciate how big tigers are. You really don’t want to be messing about with them!

So amazed was he that he asked one the other trainers how this was possible. “It’s all about attitude” he was told. “You have to have positive mental attitude because these amazing cats can smell fear.” He was told that the training team approach the tigers with love each morning and play with them and at night before they sleep the same happens. He was also told that if on any day any member of the team was not feeling 100% they were not allowed to interact with the tigers.

So what has all this go to do with business?

Well, isn’t it true that at times we feel like the people out there we do business with are like tigers on the prowl? Now, if you were to approach these people whether they are sales prospects, suppliers, debtors or partners with an mental attitude which was even just a little negative, what do you think happens?

Human’s can ‘smell’ that fear too. We can see when someone is not 100% confident. We get a gut instinct that tells us that something is not right. don’t we?

So a key to our success is adopting the a positive mental attitude. We have to think and act like a champion. I say act as well because just thinking it is not enough.

What happens when you try and sell when you’re not feeling 100% in your mind? What happens when you try and have those difficult conversation and don’t believe 100% in what you are doing? How much time do you spend giving yourself “love” or do you spend all day beating yourself up?

Mohammed Ali always told himself “I am the greatest” win, lose or draw. AND he acted like the greatest. He trained like the greatest, he spoke like the greatest, he walked like the greatest, he thought like the greatest, what did he become?

The Mayo clinic in the US did study that showed that optimists are healthier, recover fester and live long then their pessimist counterparts. It was calculated that on average some one who is an optimist will out live pessimist by 16 years!

Just by adopting a more positive attitude in life can increase your life expectancy, all you have to do is think about it!