Thank you for the comment.

Please elaborate on this, JB, as it’s unclear to me how I’ve misinterpreted the saying, or how your interpretation is substantially different that mine.

I suppose your interpretation is a general one. It is true that in general a “negative attitude repels people – a positive attitude attracts them…”.

It’s also true that relating to someone in a certain way, simply because we believe that is how they wish to be treated (even if we perceive we’re being positive) doesn’t guarantee that we will attract them.

Said another way, if the bee doesn’t like honey, expecting to attract it with honey (or what a person subjectively believes is a positive, sweet disposition) is wasted, unproductive effort.

The saying relates to someone’s attitude, i.e. you’ll make more friends / allies through a sweet disposition as opposed to acting sour. In other words, a negative attitude repels people – a positive attitude attracts them…