|
Here is my first attempt
at this blogging thing, where I will offer ramblings that the rest of the world can read. I will also pull
articles from competent experts in various fields, they will be acknowledged at the end of their articles. Drawing
from experience, family, friends and customer problems & solutions, we can look at the world together. Hopefully you will find it interesting, informative, sometimes humorous
and at times brutally honest. Feedback is always appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
-rex
|
|
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Commitment To Excellence
I believe that the great NFL Hall of Fame coach, Vince Lombardi, had it right when he
said, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their
chosen field of endeavor."
Do you agree with Coach Lombardi or are you the type of person who has difficulty
staying focused and keeping commitments? Do you allow the negative influences of fear, anxiety, self-doubt and worry to dominate
your thinking and sabotage your results?
Sadly, most people fail to achieve their goals, not because they're
lazy or lack self-motivation, but because they were never fully committed to succeed. I can't think of a single great
achievement that has ever been attained without first a plan of action and then an unshakable commitment to its accomplishment.
Burn The Boats!
The ancient Greek warriors
were both feared and respected by their enemies. In battle, the Greeks established a well-deserved reputation for their unsurpassed
bravery and unshakable commitment to victory. The key to their overwhelming success on the battlefield had far more to do
with how the Greek commanders motivated the warriors than it did with issues of tactics or training. The Greeks were master
motivators who understood how to use a dramatic demonstration to infuse a spirit of commitment into the heart of every warrior.
Once the warriors had been offloaded from their boats onto their enemy's shore, the Greek commanders would shout
out their first order, "Burn the boats!" The sight of burning boats removed any notion of retreat from their hearts
and any thoughts of surrender from their heads.
Imagine the tremendous psychological impact on the soldiers as
they watched their boats being set to the torch. As the boats turned to ash and slipped quietly out of sight into the water,
each man understood there was no turning back and the only way home was through victory.
A Deep Commitment
In your sales career your battles are not fought with weapons on foreign shores, but within
the confines of your own mind. A truly committed salesperson does not have the luxury or the time for the self-indulgence
of negative thinking. The true underlying motivation for all success is a deep and unwavering commitment to the task at hand.
The sales profession is a demanding and challenging career, but it is also personally rewarding and financially lucrative
for those who are fully committed to becoming successful.
If you are being pushed around mentally by thoughts of
fear, anxiety, self-doubt and worry, it's time to "burn your boat" and become fully committed to your sales
career.
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence
moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues
from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no
man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power
and magic in it. Begin it now." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Source: John Boe presents a wide variety
of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. He is a nationally recognized
sales trainer and business motivational speaker.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Finding Strength In The Face Of Adversity
How can you stay self-motivated and productive in the midst of turbulent times and a sluggish
economy? How do you persevere as a salesperson when times are tough and customers seem to be holding on to every penny in
fear of economic uncertainty?
Every challenge, setback and personal difficulty you encounter in life also brings
with it the seed of equivalent or greater benefit. The key to overcoming adversity is to avoid the temptation of panic and
instead, focus on finding the greater benefit. Adversity will never leave you where it found you; it will either strengthen
your character or weaken your resolve.
Pushing Forward With Confidence
During the early years of World War II Nazi submarines, operating in wolf packs, roamed the frigid waters of the North Atlantic
with impunity sinking an alarming number of British military and merchant ships. Hitler was confident that his U-boats could
blockade England and eventually starve the British people into submission.
In the summer of 1940, while the
Battle of Britain was being played out over London, the Germans unmercifully sank more than 300 British military and merchant
ships. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing the negative impact these devastating losses might have on the nation's
morale, ordered the information withheld from the public. In an effort to reduce the appalling number of casualties lost at
sea, Churchill instructed the British Royal Navy to begin a study to determine what, if anything, could be done to save more
lives during sea rescue.
While interviewing the survivors an interesting discovery was made. To their complete
astonishment, the researchers noted that the survival rate for the younger, presumably more physically fit sailors was remarkably
lower when compared to their older shipmates. The study concluded that the older sailors had a significantly higher survival
rate due to the fact that they had overcome more adversity and therefore, had developed greater confidence in being rescued
than the younger, less experienced sailors.
A Carrot, An Egg And A Coffee Bean
The head of the research project, Kurt Hahn, was so moved by this discovery that he created the Outward Bound program. Hahn
designed the Outward Bound program, utilizing a series of progressively rugged challenges, to mentally and physically prepare
young British sailors to cope with the adversity of naval combat. Today, the Outward Bound program works with young people
to help them develop confidence and a better self-image.
I find it interesting that people faced with similar adversity
often experience remarkably different outcomes. Some people become weakened, some become hardened and some become stronger.
If you place a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean into a pot of boiling water, each reacts in a completely different manner
to their conditions. The carrot goes into the boiling water firm and comes out soft; the egg goes in fragile and comes out
hardened; while the coffee bean turns the hot water into coffee by releasing its flavor and aroma!
While
you may not fear a U-boat sinking your ship, you may find yourself challenged to stay afloat in today's unpredictable
and choppy business waters. Selling in these challenging times demands determination and personal fortitude. Having the will
to persevere when times are tough is a characteristic commonly found among self-made millionaires. Are you a quitter? The
last time you failed, did you stop trying because you failed or did you fail because you stopped trying?
Seeing The Light
Thomas Edison documented 10,000 failed attempts to develop the electric
light bulb. A reporter asked the inventor how it felt to have failed 10,000 times trying to invent the light bulb. Edison
responded, "Young man, I didn't fail 10,000 times trying to invent the light bulb, I simply documented 10,000 ways
that it wouldn't work." Imagine how different our world would be today if Edison had been a quitter.
You must expect to encounter detours, roadblocks and potholes of adversity along the road of life. The next time you are
faced with adversity, learn from it and know that you are becoming a much stronger person because of it.
Source:
John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions.
He is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker.
|
|
Click the XML button to subscribe to this blog
and keep up with marketing news and articles.
|
