The Positive Dog: A Story About the Power of Positivity [Hardcover]

Jon Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Discover the benefits of being positive.

We all have two dogs inside of us. One dog is positive, happy, optimistic, and hopeful. The other dog is negative, mad, sad, pessimistic, and fearful. These two dogs often fight inside us, but guess who wins the fight? The one you feed the most. So begins the story about a negative mutt named Matt and a big dog named Bubba who teaches him how to feed himself with positivity each day and in the process Matt transforms his own life and the shelter they call home.

The Positive Dog is an inspiring, heartwarming story that not only reveals the strategies and benefits of being positive but also an essential truth for humans: Being positive doesn't just make you better. It makes everyone around you better.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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"Eleven Benefits of Being Positive," by Jon Gordon, Author of The Positive Dog

Jon Gordon

1. Positive people live longer. In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived an average of 10 years longer than those who didn't (Snowdon, 2001).

2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments (Goleman, 2011).

3. Positive, optimistic salespeople sell more than pessimistic salespeople (Seligman, 2006).

4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure (Institute of HeartMath, 2012).

5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5-to-1 ratio of positive to negative interactions, whereas when the ratio approaches 1-to-1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce (Gottman, 1999).

6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges, and adversity.

7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture, which helps them identify solutions, whereas negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems (Fredrickson, 2009).

8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. You can't be thankful and stressed at the same time.

9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level (Institute of HeartMath, 2012).

10. Positive people have more friends, which is a key factor of happiness and longevity (Putnam, 2000).

11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace.

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From the Inside Flap

Discover the benefits of being positive. We all have two dogs inside of us. One dog is positive, happy, optimistic, and hopeful. The other dog is negative, mad, sad, pessimistic, and fearful. These two dogs often fight inside us, but guess who wins the fight? The one you feed the most. So begins the story about a negative mutt named Matt and a big dog named Bubba who teaches him how to feed himself with positivity each day and in the process Matt transforms his own life and the shelter they call home.

The Positive Dog is an inspiring, heartwarming story that not only reveals the strategies and benefits of being positive but also an essential truth for humans: Being positive doesn't just make you better. It makes everyone around you better.

Jon Gordon has shared the simple, powerful strategies found in this book with Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, college athletes, school districts, and non-profits and the proof is in the countless success stories shared by Jon's clients. The strategies in this book have grown sales, motivated sales people, improved team performance, developed positive kids, enhanced careers, inspired promotions, improved marriages, and lead to greater individual and team success.

For anyone looking to overcome negativity and challenges to become more positive, The Positive Dog provides the inspiration and action plan to feed yourself and your team with positivity. When you feed the positive dog and feed others, everyone benefits!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470888555
• ISBN-13: 978-0470888551
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.5 x 7.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Gordon's best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA, and college coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and non-profits. He is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller "The Energy Bus," "The No Complaining Rule," "Training Camp," "The Shark" and "The Goldfish," "Soup: A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture," and his latest book "The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work."

Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Wells Fargo, State Farm, Novartis, Bayer and more.

When he's not running through airports or speaking to businesses, hospitals or school leaders, you can find him playing tennis or lacrosse with his wife and two "high energy" children.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#54 in Books > Business & Investing

#69 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

#54 in Books > Business & Investing

#69 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A positive fable for positive results May 3, 2012

By James Andrews

Format:Hardcover

Every once in a while a book comes along that synthesizes decades of psychological research, packaging it all into a handy story that teaches a valuable, life-enhancing lesson. The Positive Dog is such a book. When the author freely admits that many may feel the book is "not serious enough," his point is that he doesn't want you to miss the highly-applicable advice inside.

I don't know how many people take fables of talking dogs seriously. Probably more should -- for thousands of years, animal fables have been used to convey valuable wisdom. So the approach Gordon takes here has plenty of literary precedent.

One caveat: this is definitely a positive-thinking book. So it's not as much geared towards facing the most difficult issues in life. That's another kind of book, which questions our most deep-seated assumptions -- such as Carlson's I Walked to the Moon and Almost Everybody Waved: The Curiously Inspiring Adventures of a Free Spirit Who Changed Lives. This book is about changing your thoughts about the situation you are in. But any reader that begins with this expectation should be well pleased with this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable read. April 30, 2012

By Robert Busko TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

According to Jon Gordon in The Positive Dog: A Story About the Power of Positivity we all have two dogs inside us. One is negative and barks angrily. The other is positive and is happy. Given all else is equal, guess which one gets adopted and taken home? Or, even more importantly, guess which one gets to stay home and not be taken to the pound.

I often wonder why I didn't think of this way of making a point. But, alas, I didn't.

The story involves two dogs. Matt, is the negative dog that is always barking and snapping. Bubba, the positive dog takes Matt into his confidence and shows him how to add positivity to his life.

We all know people who are negative. If you've ever worked in a group setting, you've seen the person who shoots down any idea that is proposed. That's a Matt and they're an impediment to progress.

This book is a must in the college classroom and group training sessions. It's a wonderful story, and best yet it's very short. You can read it in a few hours.

I highly recommend.

Peace to all.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting June 5, 2012

By realestatelady

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book is interesting, pointing out stuff that everyone knows (or should know) but tend to forget about the righjt attitude. This is a good and gentle reminder to be postitive with a new look at how to do it. I would recomend it