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April 7, 2015 by Brett Leave a Comment

You DO Have a Choice

There are some things we don’t have a choice about.

We didn’t choose our mom or our dad. We didn’t choose any of our blood relatives.

We didn’t choose the town we grew up in.

We didn’t choose the color of our skin or the color of our hair or the genetics that determined our general physical structure.

But we always have a choice in the way we respond to each one of those things above, especially if you’re old enough to be reading a blog post like this one on the internet.

You’re not an 11 or 12 year old still stuck in a horrible home situation. You’re not a 3 year old born into poverty in a third world country.*

If you’re reading this particular post, you must be wealthy enough to have a smart phone, computer, or tablet. You’re smart enough to read words on a page. You have plenty of freedom to access the internet.

My assumption, then, is that you’re doing okay for yourself.

Generally, speaking you have a lot of choices.

You Choose Every Response

I have six year old twin boys and an eight year old daughter. One of the biggest lessons I try to teach them is that they have choices regarding the way they respond to things that happen to them.

At least once a week, one of them will encounter some situation that overwhelms their little emotions and brings a variation on this theme: “I can’t stop crying! I can’t! I can’t!”

Then they might hit the couch a few times or otherwise act out with the excuse that they simply can’t help it.

I do my best to cry “bullcrap” on these little outbursts (in a sweet, gentle fatherly way, of course). When I first became a Dad, I was unaware that one of my chief roles as papa bear is to teach baby bears how to make good choices in how they respond to their emotions.

In so learning, I’ve discovered that this guy (two thumbs pointing back at the blogger writing this piece) also needs to be more intentional about every response I have to emotional input.

Human Americans struggle with emotional bad habits. We assume it is our God-given right to behave poorly when something touches off anger, frustration, sadness, or envy. Consequently, choosing negative responses has become such a bad habit that we mistake these choices as inevitable.

But we do have choices in the way we respond to emotional situations. We just need to realize it and start empowering ourselves.

This is lesson one about choice: We can all choose the way we respond to things that come our way.

If we ever say the words, “I didn’t have a choice in how I acted”, we have to ask ourselves if that was really the case.

[Tweet “If you say “I didn’t have a choice in how I acted” you owe it to yourself to confirm whether that’s true.”]

You Choose Your Decisions

People often feel squeezed when circumstances are stressful. Finances get you down and you choose bankruptcy over doubling down and working your way out of a hole.

You choose an unreasonable car lease because ‘you have no choice and need a car.’

You choose to pay too much for a house because ‘I had no choice because I have to keep up with my buddies on Facebook.’

Those are all false constructions about our lack of choice. While the statement “I had no choice” appears to let us off the hook, it, in truth, further enslaves us. It jails us. It restricts us. We rob ourselves of the power we have in our lives.

This is lesson two about choice: We choose these types of decisions. And these decisions, over time, form our character.

You Can’t Choose What Others Do, But You CAN (and do) Choose Every Response and Every Decision

It might not feel like you have any choice over your responses, but you do.  Some responses are so ingrained and habitual that it will take a lot of work to pull yourself out of the vortex of your tendencies.

And we also make most of our decisions from a position of power – from a position of choice. We very, very seldom are so backed into a corner that we have no choice in the decisions we make. Consider very carefully before you make a decision in such a way that says “I had to do it this way…. I had no choice.”

It’s empowering and freeing to choose how you will handle the good, the bad, and the stressful that inevitably will come your way.

[Tweet “It’s empowering to have the freedom to choose how we handle the stressful things that come our way.”]

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*I do realize that some come from supremely horrible backgrounds. Many of us have been inspired by individuals who have come from such backgrounds and made use of their ability to make choices to pull themselves out of those background against all odds. Sometimes, those of us who were coddled have a harder time choosing greatness than those who are running from the very opposite of greatness in their personal histories. It’s not easy to make choices, but it’s vital we learn how to do it, regardless of our circumstances. 

Thoughts based on the 48 Days podcast “But I didn’t have a choice” 

Filed Under: Mindset Experiments, Sales Experiments Tagged With: 48 days, 48 days podcast, choice, dan miller, mindset, you have a choice

November 18, 2014 by Brett Leave a Comment

Keep Your Eyes Open

One thing I never learned as an English major or as a seminary student was to keep my eyes open for opportunities.

You’d think I’d pick this skill up while studying to be a pastor, but I have a hard head.

Nope. It’s taken five years of pounding my brain with a steady stream of sales, leadership, and, yes, personal growth content to help me realize two things about keeping my eyes open.

  1. There are opportunities everywhere.
  2. There are people who could use a hand everywhere.

Usually, the two go hand in hand.

Since I’m currently (through March 1), working through what I’ve called the Dan Miller Challenge, I’ve had to be even more observant… on the lookout for opportunities to act on what I’m reading and listening to which, in turn, keeps me on the lookout for problems to solve, people to serve, and potential to stretch.

If the quality of our life depends on our ability, willingness, and availability to create value for others, then keeping eyes open for opportunities is nearly identical with giving people a hand (and being willing to accept some value in return in the form of money – since we’re talking business and sales).

Opportunities that popped up today

I’m currently in the middle of attending a conference, so I went with the goal of finding new opportunities.

Here are a few that I stumbled upon. Most of the opportunities were seed-planting opportunities, but I wouldn’t have noticed them 6 months ago.

  • I met a vendor at the conference whom I thought could benefit from one of my prospect’s products (a software to help mental health professionals who specialize in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). I’d met with this prospect just yesterday, so I approached the vendor and mentioned my prospective client’s software. She immediately recognized the creator’s name and let me in on a secret. My prospect, apparently, is a groundbreaker in the field of behavioral therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders.  I never would have known.
  • Many of the vendors at the conference are national child-serving organizations. I’ve normally considered those who work solely within my state as potential clients. This time through, I’m considering the possibility of serving these national organizations. Why not?
  • I had the opportunity to help encourage a colleague in her sales efforts, uncovering niche opportunities and focuses (at least I was giving it a shot).

Those three items might not seem like a huge deal. But the biggest takeaway for me is the fact that I was being much more intentional than I’ve been in the past.

If I want to 10X my business or if I want to exceed expectations or double revenue in just over 4 months from now, then I must learn how to help and serve more people.

I must be a value creator.

The same goes for you, incidentally. I know this sounds more like a journal entry than a blog post, but you do know that I’m just guinea pigging myself, right?

You, too, should keep your eyes open. Look for opportunities. They’re there. You might not make bags of cash each time, but you’ll be exercising the right muscles.

Let me know what opportunities your ran into today. Leave a note in the comments.

Until tomorrow….

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Reading and Listening Today

 48 Days Podcast: October 17-Nov 7, 2014 

Much of the content above comes from an overflow of power-listening to Dan Miller’s stellar podcast. It’s a special experience listening to 4 or 5 in one day (I had a long commute today).  The concepts and Dan’s creative way of viewing opportunities and shedding our self-imposed limitations make for some powerful car time.

Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections – Derek Coburn

My approach at this conference is being informed by Coburn’s book.  His is a wonderfully fresh approach to networking.  

See You at the Top – Zig Ziglar

I’m still making my way through Zig’s book. Today, I got into the chapter around marriage, that if you’re marriage is rough, then everything else will follow suit. My wife thanks you, Mr. Ziglar.

Filed Under: Networking Experiments, Sales Experiments Tagged With: 48 days, 48 days podcast, derek coburn, networking, see you at the top, the dan miller challenge, zig ziglar

November 13, 2014 by Brett Leave a Comment

When Do You Start Planning for the Next Year?

Does it ever feel like creating a plan for your year in January is too late?

Today, I was challenged twice to start planning for 2015.

The first time was by Dan Miller himself in his September 12th episode of his 48 Days Online Radio Show.

I’m a little late for his 48 day challenge, but I love his suggestion to begin well before the end of the year.

The second time was by the CEO of the firm I work for. He didn’t necessarily encourage us to finish the planning early, but he did propose that we start now (in order to be ready the first week of January with a clear plan of action.

Why Start Now? 

Since the focus of this blog is sales, let’s talk about why it’s a good idea to create a sales plan well before January. The concepts should be transferrable to most other areas of life.

Planning early helps end the year well

Sure, planning early could be a distraction from ending the year strong, but more than likely, it will put you in a productive mindset. Dreaming of what you want to accomplish in the next year will get your gears turning.

Planning early gives you a prospecting head start

In light of ending the year well, you might get a prospecting head start. If you start identifying your benchmarks for the new year, will you not begin focusing on potential new clients? Make a call or 100. Ask for referrals. Get your first two weeks of January stacked up with appointments. Heck, calling in December for January appointments will relieve your prospects from having too many commitments over the holidays.

Planning early helps identify needed tools and resources

All plans require resources. If your sales plan includes sales training opportunities, target niche conference and networking, or other additional resources, planning early gives you some breathing room to find what you’ll need for the new year.  Or it will help you to identify the conferences, training events, centers of influence, or vendors who can help you execute.

Planning early allows for a rest the last week or two of December

I’ve been guilty of ‘cramming’ between Christmas and New Year instead of relaxing and giving my mind and body some down time with my family.

If your plan is done by the middle of December, you can simply review it and put yourself in the mindset to hit the ground running in January. You can be done with it and give yourself a season of rest.

Waiting until January often feels too late

I’ve been guilty of this too. I’ll start planning at the beginning of the new year only to let any planning go as urgencies mount quickly in January. Or worse, the beginning of January gives way to the middle of the month and it almost feels like it’s too late. It never is too late, but it’ll feel that way if you start executing your year’s plan in the latter part of January. It’s more of a mental thing.

Sitting down on that first work day of the month and pulling out the first task of the first project that will propel you toward your goals is a powerful thing.

Do You Plan for the Next Year?

Are you a planner? Or do you lump the process of creating a plan for the new year in with New Year’s resolutions?

I’d love to hear about your process in the comments below.

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Today’s Listening (In addition to the 9/12 48 Days Radio Show)

Just start walking? – 48 Days Online Radio Show with Dan Miller

Between the two of these shows, I’m at 96 minutes of high-end content!

Thanks Mr. Miller!

Filed Under: Productivity Experiments, Sales Experiments Tagged With: 48 days, 48 days podcast, dan miller, new year, new year planning, new years resolutions

Hello!

Brett the sales experimenter and the challenge accepter Brett - Sales and Marketing Experimenter. I'm a reluctant sales professional. I didn't start out my career in sales and marketing, but I've grown to enjoy it. Here I discuss marketing, sales, productivity, and mindset experiments that will hopefully yield greater results and a more deeply satisfying sales career.

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