Penta’tude – the five ‘tudes of your success
By Tracy Brinkmann

In 1941 Major General Hugh ‘Pat’ Casey designed the Pentagon in only three days. Construction began thirty days later and sixteen months after that on January 15, 1943 this now world famous office building was completed. The Pentagon is the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense and the nerve center for command and control dedicated to protecting the US national interests. You have your own Pentagon of sorts within yourself. This Pentagon, or Penta’tude as I have come to call it, has direct impact on your protection, growth and success and is made up of these five ‘tudes: Multitude, Magnitude, Latitude, Attitude and Gratitude.

Let’s take a look at each of these supporting walls to your own personal Penta’tude.

Multitude
As we go through our daily lives a multitude of opportunities present themselves. However, a multitude of challenges also come along for the ride. If you spend you time fretting about the challenges you will end up blotting out those opportunities. To give you an example of what I’m talking about – take a dime and look at it at arms length. Small, thin not to ominous. But if you put all your focus on it and bring it in close to your eye then it will blot out the world as you see it. Worse yet the closer it gets the more you loose focus and the more the edges blur. Now you don’t really know where the challenge ends and the opportunities begin. Focusing on opportunities instead of challenges increases your chances at success, not to mention increasing the level of success you can and will attain.

Magnitude
This works closely with Multitude. As you go through your opportunities and challenges in life and business, you need to magnify the important things. Focus on the magnitude and impact of your core values, desires and major definite purpose. Reduce the magnitude of challenges that seem insurmountable. “Don’t make mountains out of molehills” apply strategic thinking and brainstorming techniques to breakdown those seemingly impassable obstacles. (I have an article on using brainstorming to solve problems. If you are interested send me an email at mailto:tracy@tracybrinkmann.bizhosting.com?subject=brainstorming_article). On the other side of this coin, do not let one major win in your success make you think your set for life. Every good businessperson knows that if your not growing your business then it is dieing. Because if your sitting still while everyone else is moving forward then respectively your are falling behind. Enjoy that major success; bask in the glow and pride it gives you. Then sit down and plan for the next big win.

Latitude
This is your permission to dream! You have the latitude to be all you can be, to accomplish any task that you desire as long as it is within the bounds of human decency and the letter of the law. This is a liberating freedom that is given only to humankind. We are the only creature on this great planet (that I am aware of) that has this ability to create it’s own destiny and then to fulfill it. Regardless of your color, creed, religion, upbringing, or circumstances you can, if you decide to and take

Attitude
This is the starting point of your success journey. Whether you call it your disposition, manner, temperament, spirit, approach, position, posture, outlook or opinion your attitude has a major bearing on your level of success.

Attitude is defined as:
1.Personal view of something: an opinion or general feeling about something
• a positive attitude to change
2.Bodily posture: a physical posture, either conscious or unconscious, especially while interacting with others

Your attitude, feelings, or moods will infect or effect the actions, moods, and feelings of those around you. If you face the world with a cheerful expectant attitude, the world (and those in it) will know you expect more from it and will perform accordingly. If you face the world with a negative, down trodden attitude it will know you expect poor action from it and will give you those actions. Remember that the world will reflect your attitude back to you. Your attitude to the world will determine its attitude towards you (cause and affect). So one of the main rules to a successful life is to know that the world is a mirror, often a merciless mirror, of our selves and the habitual attitude we carry within us. (I have full articles on attitude send email to mailto:successarticle_2@sendfree.com, on staying positive send email to mailto:successarticle_4@sendfree.com, and 4 ways to stay motivated mailto:successarticle_7@sendfree.com)

Gratitude
I saved the best for last. As always the grandest rules are the simplest, like “Do unto other as you would have done unto you.” The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more you have to express gratitude for. You will never find a happy person who isn’t a grateful person, so gratitude is a marvelous place to start. Expressing gratitude for what you have versus whining about that which you are lacking keeps you focused on the positive. Remaining on this positive side positively impacts the four other walls of your success Penta’tude. As we all teach our children, the magic word is “Thank you!” You are a wondrous breathing, thinking, creating self-actualizing creature, take time to sit and ponder all the wonders that are already in your life, and how you can build upon them.

Use these five key walls of your Penta’tude to build and secure your growth and success in both you personal and professional life. Sit down now and review your current walls. If you find any holes or weakened sections of your Penta’tude, give them all your focus. Making this Penta’tude a part of who you are will do wonders for moving you towards your desires, dreams and major definite purpose

Think successfully!
Tracy

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Tracy Brinkmann and Success Atlas provides motivational and educational material spiced up with humor and entertainment. Informing, educating and listening to keynotes does not have to be boring! We will put every effort to see to it that it is not.