What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

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How our expectations, preconceived notions, and insecurities shape and color our marketing efforts. Those who fine tune their psyche & welcome an occasional skinned knee when playing outside, in order to have fun; will reap the ultimate rewards. 

When it comes to marketing & putting yourself out there, are you like tempered steel or like a stick of butter? I hear it all the time from people I am coaching – “I’m not a salesman.” “I’m not as good at it as you are.” “I’m too shy.” “That’s not something I’d be good at.” “Why am I kidding myself?” “What was I thinking?” Sound familiar?

The truth is that marketing savvy is a skill learned over time & through practice. Salesman aren’t born, they’re made. Now granted, certain people have personality traits more conducive to marketing, at least on the surface. Like beauty, however, these skills are skin deep & can only take you so far. The truly gifted marketers are those who work at their craft.

And the type of ‘work’ I am referring to may surprise you. It’s more about psychology than engineering. More about  personal growth & development than reading from a script. And more about trust & relationship building than a numbers game.

In other words, do you have an attitude of gratitude? What’s your relationship IQ? Do you frequently interrupt other people when they’re talking ’cause you feel you have to finish making your point? Sales is hard work not because of the tasks involved, but rather because of what it requires of you! You must become a good prober, questioner and clarifier. You must develop your listening skills. You must be constantly learning & refining your knowledge base. As Jim Rohn so eloquently put it, ‎”Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.” And you must also be a cathartic thinker and eager storyteller.

When you truly understand the incredible power of your own ‘why’ & the why’s of others, fear of rejection, procrastination & analysis paralysis; you will be a highly effective marketer, as long as you keep growing & embrace renewal.

And one final point here. I’s not all about becoming more & adding things to your life. There is also addition by subtraction at work here. You’ve got to get rid of your ‘stinkin thinkin.’ Allow the paradigm shift to take place by eliminating old baggage. T. Harv Eker talks about seeing the human mind like a file cabinet. And all file cabinets must be cleaned out periodically & old files removed in order to make room for new ones. Are you willing to clean house to facilitate easier growth & development? Make “out with the old and in with the new” your new mantra.

We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore

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Economic shift: Has risky become the new safe in the job market? More people than ever are taking charge & putting their professional destiny in their own hands.

Fueled by Gen Y and a new breed of workers, along with seasoned overworked employees, people are increasingly uttering these 2 magic words: ‘I quit.’

In today’s tough economy, at first glance, this may sound foolish. But more and more job holders are coming to the same conclusion: saying ‘I quit’ can be good for you. The government’s own numbers bear this out. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, resignations increased at a steady pace in 2011. For the month of September last year, almost 2 million gave notice, the largest number of resignations for a one month period since November 2008. And more recent data show this upward trend continuing. A recent survey of recruiters found that 28% of the job openings in January of this year came from employee resignations. And the BLS’s latest report of 2/7/2012 indicates the number of people quitting is steadily rising, since it bottomed out in December 2009.

http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/06/10592147-more-workers-saying-i-quit

Are all these employees who are pink slipping their bosses just playing with fire? Hardly. As Randy Gage points out: “Playing it safe is the new risky, and being risky is the new safe,” said Gage. “When I was growing up, my mother told me to go to school, get an education, get a job with a big company, and you’ll get paid lots of money. But today, staying with one company is the riskiest thing to do. I think what’s happening is a lot of people are saying, ‘I don’t trust corporate America is going to take care of me anymore.’”

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1xKPWl/www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/ct-tribu-weigel-more-resignations-20120110,0,4093197.column

This shift in thinking is leading many people away from the decades long service with one employer & gold watch syndrome. People often see staying in one place as stagnation & artificially inflexible, in today’s modern world. For those reasons, people keep all their options open. As Gage puts it: “People are really finding a way to be lucrative with things like network marketing and starting their own companies, which used to be considered dangerous. But branching out on your own isn’t any more risky than working for a company.” Gage goes on to list 4 steps to follow for mastering your own professional destiny.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1xKPWl/www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/ct-tribu-weigel-more-resignations-20120110,0,4093197.column

I would add a 5th step as well: Adopt an ‘abundance mindset’ where you truly expect success as well as work hard to achieve it. And constantly nurture this mindset by studying the works of Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, Stephen R. Covey, etc. That way you are maximizing the risk reward principle in your favor.

“Ain’t To Proud To Beg”

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I heard this song played on the Motown reunion edition of Dancing With The Stars the other night and it got me thinking. Not just when it comes to romance, but also in many other types of relationships, we tend to have blinders on when it comes to asking for help. I know I used to be that way.

There’s the old saying, ‘if you want it done right, do it yourself.’ Often we feel pride in getting the job done without the assistance of our bosses or co-workers, a sort of personal achievement – we may even say to ourselves or others “I did it all by myself!”

Those of us who are shy or more reserved often feel reluctant to ask someone else to give us a hand, and even if we do get up the courage to ask for help; we say things to the other person like: “sorry for the interruption”, “I know you’re really busy” and “I didn’t mean to impose on you.”

But I have 3 little words that I often utter to myself and I say to you now: GET OVER IT!

You don’t diminish your personal power in any way or lower your self-esteem by asking for help. On the contrary, you communicate a sense of confidence, approachability, caring and utter humanity when you open yourself up and reach out to others. People like being asked for their help. It makes us feel competent, seasoned and well rounded. Especially if you are in a relationship business as I am, even if you enter the dynamics of your initial encounter as the bonafide or so-called ‘expert’; the strength & depth of your new bourgeoning relationship dramatically increases in proportion to your willingness to involve the other person by asking them to help you out.

Think back to when you first learned how to ride a bike. You may have needed training wheels at first. And you definitely needed a little push along the way. And the guidance and support of a trusted friend or family member. Now imagine learning how to ride all by yourself. There’d be a whole lot less people riding bicycles today, if that was the norm. And likely many more shut off and close-minded people as well. This shared experience brings us closer to each other and strengthens the bond between us. Didn’t you feel closer to the person who first taught you how to ride? Did you feel any less of a sense of accomplishment in being able to ride your bike, because someone else taught you? This is a valuable life lesson for us all to keep in mind as we go through our daily lives. So the next time you hesitate, justify or start making excuses for why you shouldn’t ask somebody for their help; think back to when you first learned how to ride a bike!