Pause for a moment each morning and ask yourself, “What do I need to do or think to stay in the state of mind I need to be in to succeed happily today?” People in the sales profession can reach emotional peaks if a call goes well. In the next minute, your mental state may be in the gutter, due to a bad call or a missed appointment.
In truth, we all face such situations throughout the day, especially when dealing with other people who don’t do what we want them to do. Let’s be honest. We all have potentially hundreds of disappointments every day… but we also have hundreds of possible opportunities to feel good, or at least keep our attitude and emotions in balance.
When your email is full of spam, when someone yells at you on the phone, when you drove for an hour and your date doesn’t show up… you have a golden opportunity to work on your mind and improve yourself and your prospects for the future. . Life is all that is good… and not so good.
You can’t change the fact that sooner or later you’re going to have a flat tire or a dead battery. One day, the phone will ring and the school nurse will tell you that you have to pick up your son because he is sick. Someone close to you is going to die without warning.
Just the other day we received an email from a guy who wanted a type of product that we don’t have. He was irritated even before getting an answer. He said something like “Don’t be a “#%@^*” product snob.” Before even feeling an answer! We told him we didn’t have what he wanted. He found it elsewhere and emailed me and started another rant about how horrible we were. Thank goodness this guy found the self-help product he was looking for, I thought, because he’s going to hurt a lot of people before he’s done in this life… and THEY need intervention!
Personally, I emailed him back and said that we would be happy to send any future requests for this type of product to the same place you found it, if you would tell me where to send it. He started another tirade about how condescending I was and the poor service we provided. She went on and on.
Tell me… Do you let go of people when they make mistakes on the road? Do you yell at people on the phone? When people do it to you, do you have to go have a cigarette or a drink to calm down? Does your heart start to beat faster? Do you get nervous and become unable to think clearly? Understand that everything is part of life… of daily life.
When you wake up tomorrow, there’s a good chance someone will do something stupid along the way. Don’t shake your fist at him. You will feel even worse and less able to perform your daily tasks. Plus, you’d be entertaining his attention from the road again! Think about the consequences of YOUR actions.
I learned about the power of concentration and mental focus years ago when I was selling face to face. I would chant a mantra for about 15 minutes before arriving for each appointment. I sang the same before I started making phone calls. My focus was complete. I couldn’t distract myself. I learned, by not being able to concentrate, that I would starve if I didn’t keep my mind clear of all the junk that the day would undoubtedly rain down on me if I allowed it.
The net result was that I made more calls than anyone in my industry and my close rate was the highest in the world… four times the average. If I had let those little things get me down and upset, I would not have been able to enjoy the success that I did. Those lessons are still with me today. Because? Because every minute of the day, I tried to remember the “EMPOWERMENT QUOTE” below.
When bad things happen, there is always some kind of lesson in it. Either you discover the lesson or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t, you’ll keep getting PO on the silliest things, keep holding your little grudges, fighting fire with fire, and your mood immediately after these mental episodes. it will keep you from performing at your best and/or keeping your peace of mind.
Today, notice what is happening around you. (It’s okay to do this tomorrow too.) Ask yourself if it is normal. Don’t ask if it’s desirable. Just ask if it is normal, expected, typical, predictable, natural, common, and likely. If your answer is yes, then there’s no point in getting mad about it, is there? It’s called life.
So… find the lesson. Learn. And move forward happier and better able to keep your focus and your spirits up. You just turned a “problem” into an opportunity. Your path has just changed. Learn a lesson from everything that happens to you and from everything you witness, and you won’t recognize yourself or your life a year from now.
WINNING BELIEFS:
— I see the opportunity to learn in every situation
— Life is fun and interesting now
— I am in control of my mood today
— I accept the possible as probable today
— I have put aside all anxiety about today’s results.
— I am growing rapidly in my skills now
EMPOWERING QUOTE:
“Every experience you have that doesn’t kill you can make you stronger.” -A stranger