Are You Willing To Get Your Hands Dirty?

When I sit down to write, I often think to myself that writing is very much like life.

Sometimes you sit down to write and there’s nothing there.  You have no inspiration.  No words flowing from your pen (or keyboard).  And that feeling sucks.  You feel uninspired and empty.  And in the same way, sometimes that’s how life is too.  Your job sucks.  Your relationships suck.  Everything just kind of sucks.  But that’s when you have to find a way to dig deep and focus.  It’s so easy to lose sight of the empowering fact that everyday you get the opportunity to wake up, breathe in the fresh air of possibility and go pursue your dreams.

It’s always “easy” when things are good.  Everyone’s happy.  Everyone’s comfortable.  Not a care in the world.  But that never lasts.  The very nature of life means you will have your ups and downs.  So what happens when things are not good?  Then what do you do?  How do you find the opportunity?  How do you navigate your way through the unknown?

First thing is to not resist, but embrace these uncharted terrains.  These are times where you are forced to be uncomfortable.  It’s when you’re challenged.  It’s when you grow.  It’s when you struggle, fight, scratch and claw your way though the debris to find your way… to the next challenge you will meet head on and overcome.  It’s where all the good stuff happens.  It’s where all the excitement lives.  It’s where leaders are made.  It’s where innovation and success is born.

It doesn’t matter how much crap you think you have to deal with, somebody, somewhere has it worse.  Much, much worse.  So there’s no use in complaining or worrying about how bad you think you have it.  Instead, resolve yourself to have a great mental attitude.  Then, start focusing on what you can learn, what skills you can acquire and how you’re going to overcome your current situation.  And don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty with experience, because the world belongs to those who are willing to get their hands dirty… really, really dirty.

Happy Wednesday!

(Chad)

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The Alchemist

This past weekend I read The Alchemist.  Honestly, it took me about 3 hours to read because it was just really hard to put down.  The story just pulled me in and ignited my imagination.  I highly recommend you click on the link above and buy it right now.  Sparing you a review of the book I’m just going to highlight some excerpts from the book that sparked my own thought, hopefully they spark meaningful thought in you too.  Note: there are so many inspiring words in this story that I couldn’t possibly highlight them all without just copying the book into this post, so get the book for yourself and read it!

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“What’s the world’s greatest lie?  […]  It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.  That’s the world’s greatest lie.”

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“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property.  But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”

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“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future.  I’m interested only in the present.  If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.  You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race.  Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

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“There is only one way to learn.  It’s through action.  Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

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“Wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”

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“Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart.”

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“You have been a real blessing to me.  Today, I understand something I didn’t see before: every blessing ignored becomes a curse.  I don’t want anything else in life.  But you are forcing me to look at wealth and at horizons I have never known.”

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“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer.  […]  Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.  And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.”

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“The darkest hour of night came just before the dawn.”

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“Don’t give in to your fears.  If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”

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“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

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“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

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Now go get the book and read it for yourself.  Honestly, might be one of the best investments you ever make in yourself.

Happy Wednesday!

(Chad)

Do You Have The Characteristics Of Success?

Great article outlining skills that we should all have.  Salesperson or not, giving yourself a 10 in all of these categories will set you apart as a leader.  For the items in the list that are really sales oriented, use your brain for a minute and translate the point to your industry and your job.  It will translate.  Find out how.  Then start doing it.  These aren’t just characteristics of sales success, they’re characteristics of all success.  Period.

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Do You Have The Character and Characteristics of Sales Success?

by Jeffrey Gitomer

NOTE WELL: If you want to succeed, you better be somewhere between 8 and 10 (on a 1-10 scale) on every one of these characteristics.

With that in mind, here’s a list of 12.5 individual characteristics that would make any person a “hire-able” and “succeed-able” salesperson (you included).

1. Smart.  Salespeople have to be smart enough to think on the spot and deal with every kind of situation as it happens.  CAUTION: Very experienced salespeople, who think they know everything, are most vulnerable to be beaten by a smart person with hustle.

2. Self-starting.  Great salespeople don’t need “motivation.”  They have a built-in fire that’s somewhere between a double espresso and a Red Bull.  Nobody has to tell them what to do.  They know what to do.  And they do it.  They make the first call of the day and the last call of the day.

3. Great Attitude.  Great salespeople believe they will make every sale.  Great salespeople take “no” as “not yet.”  Great salespeople accept every lemon thrown at them by management, customers, and accounting-and they use those lemons to open up a lemonade stand.  A great salesperson is able to take everybody else’s crap and somehow turn it into money.

4. Excellent Communication Skills.  Great salespeople are not “good” communicators.  They’re great communicators.  Their message is both compelling and transferable.  Their passion and their belief system are as contagious as their enthusiasm.  And they’re able to articulate in a way that gets customers to buy more often than not.

5. Physically and Mentally Fit.  The statement speaks for itself and implies that you work out on a regular basis by working your mind and your body.  You exercise your mind and body before you get to work (push-ups and brain-ups) so you feel good – and that good feeling is projected every time you interact with a customer.

6. Computer Literate.  There’s no excuse for a lack of computer literacy other than stubbornness and laziness.  The Internet will rule the economic world in less than a decade.  And those who ignore this fact will find themselves completely unemployable after they get fired from their present job.

7. Focused and Goal Driven.  Having a goal is a basic fundamental element.  Having a plan is a basic fundamental element.  Keeping your eye on the prize, and steadily working toward it, is what separates those who do and those who don’t.  “Goals without focus,” is like an automobile without gasoline.  It looks pretty, but it can’t get you anywhere.  Focus is the fuel that will take you from where you are to your goal: your destination to where you want to be.

8. Dedicated to Succeeding.  With great salespeople, it’s not just a matter of goals – it’s a matter of achievement.  Multiple achievements lead to success and a self-confidence that keeps the momentum going from sale to sale.

9. Past History of Success.  Every time a great salesperson makes a sale, it remains in their self-confidence memory bank and can be called upon for positive energy in any situation.  The more you succeed, the more your success is likely to continue.

10. Looking For a Career, Not a Job.  If a salesperson has a base salary and a commission, the person with a “job” wants a raise in base pay.  The person with a “career” wants a raise in commission.

11. More interested in personal success and personal development, than money.  Salespeople who work for money rarely achieve it.  Great salespeople work to be their best and dedicate themselves to that process every day.  And as a result, they earn tons.

12. A Constant Student: Willing to Learn and Adapt.  Great salespeople know there is always more to learn.  They dedicate themselves to being better, being best.  Great salespeople know that learning from their past allows them to adapt and be ready for new encounters and new challenges.  It’s the difference between “already knowing everything” and “lifelong learner.”

12.5 Taking Joy in Serving Others. This is the “master” quality. One of the best salespeople I’ve ever known is Mark McDonald. He signs his letters, “I love to serve.” And he does.

Notice one characteristic missing?  Sales skills.  I’d rather have attitude and brains than selling skills any day.  I can teach someone to sell.  I can’t teach them to be smart or happy.

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Happy Wednesday!

(Chad)

What Your Professors Didn’t Teach You About Choosing A Career

In an age where lifestyle design is possible, the most important questions to ask yourself is what, when and how?  We can live anywhere, do anything, be with anyone…

Start thinking differently.  Gain a different perspective.

Creating the life that you want can often be a tough task.  But it doesn’t have to be.  Having a happier and more fulfilling life can be achieved by changing the way you approach your lifestyle design.  Lifestyle design methods of the past are outdated and flawed.  Unfortunately, they have become accepted as the only way – primarily out of routine.  For some people this way still works.  But, for most, I don’t think it does.  Instead, it has bred generations of unfulfilled people.  Things have changed, our way of thinking needs to as well.

So what is the problem?

The problem is that the way we design our lives is backwards – we find a job, then we build a career then we figure out based on the resources we have (read: time and money) what type of lifestyle can we lead.

What is the cause of this problem?

The cause is rooted in the way we are brought through our education system.  We are all taught to go to school, to get good grades so we can get into a good college, to get a college degree so when we graduate we can get a good paying job.  Once we get that job, what’s next?  We grind at that job so we get promotions and 3% raises every year, so that in 40 years we can retire.  That is how our system is designed.  I won’t say this is wrong – I’m just challenging it.  In many ways it has to be this way because you can’t have 300 million people doing their own thing.  There needs to be a system and there needs to be cohesiveness.  But the real question is this: is that the lifestyle you want?  Is falling in line what’s best for you?  It depends.  What lifestyle do you want?

What is a viable solution to the lifestyle design problem?

The underlying issue is in the order we design our lives.  As outlined above we think – job > career > lifestyle.  What we need to do is flip that around and think – lifestyle > career > job.  What lifestyle do you want to lead?  What career would support this?  What job can you get now that will get you there?  Think of the labor system as a resource, which will help you to create the lifestyle you want.

This may not seem like a big deal, but give this a try.  I mean really think about what life you want to lead.  What does a perfect day in your life look like?  Get specific.  What time do you want to wake up?  What do you want to eat for breakfast?  How many hours a day do you want to work?  How many vacations do you want to take?  Where do you want to live?  The questions can be endless but when you really start answering them honestly you may find that what you’re doing doesn’t support your desired lifestyle at all.  If it doesn’t, it then becomes a matter of finding (or creating) the job that does support your desired lifestyle.

Viewing your life in this manner can be one of the most powerful mindset shifts you can make.  The important part of this is that you are taking control.  Demand from your job and career what your lifestyle needs and like water carving out a path down a hill your career (the hill) will eventually conform to your lifestyle (the water).

You have nothing to lose by demanding from life what you want of it.

Happy Wednesday!

(Chad)

Do You Want It This Bad?

I could make a few different comments about the posted video this week, but I’ll stick with the most obvious.

It’s about focus.

It’s about work ethic.

It’s about wanting it more.

It’s about stopping at nothing until you get what you want.

It’s that fire that burns inside of you that continues to burn no matter what happens.

And you have to listen to that internal fire.  You have to block out everything else around you and let that fire fuel your life.  The man in this video is letting his fire light his way towards a clearly defined goal.  That goal is also very important to have.  Without that vision or goal, you’re just throwing darts in the dark.  You’re navigating a ship at night with no compass and no map.

Sometimes it takes time to define your vision.  But you have to continue to be your best day in and day out and believe that if you do the right things and you are the best person that you can possibly be every day, in every moment, at every opportunity that you are presented with, then you will find your way and you will become your vision.

Be more concerned with where you’re going then with where you’re at.

Let your fire burn.

Never give up.

Happy Wednesday!

(Chad)