Perspective is Everything
Change your perspective and you change your mind!
Every moment of our lives we have a choice of how we will view a situation and how we will react – not reacting is also a reaction. Instead of running away from the things that scare you it is actually easier to learn not to be scared.
We are scared of too many things.
When we bump up against our edges, our limits, our comfort zones, we can embrace the discomfort and play with our edge by pushing gently and stretching or we can react! We react by eating, becoming angry, drinking, abusing what is best about ourselves and we become destructive.
Consider how light changes the view of the woman in the photo below. Nothing changes but our perception!
Yoga philosophy encourages participants to be gentle with their bodies and minds but to always be touching the edge. Push less or push more but always pushing and mindful that the practice is life long – given time we will all become our full potential. “Practice, practice, all is coming.” Are the words of Ashtanga Yoga founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
In business, selling is the edge for most people. In selling and business we don’t need to win everything today but we need to win!
Selling is a challenge for most people in business (even salespeople) and the result is avoidance. Business owners don’t want to sell and so spend money on expensive marketing instead hoping to make the phone ring – this rarely works effectively. Money is spent on joining network membership clubs, SEO, continuous review of marketing and branding, which are all fine activities but they are not selling and selling is what builds business!
1) Selling must become your priority and every aspect of the business must be geared toward getting more business and building deeper connections.
2) Get out there! Use powerful on-line tools like Linkedin to build connections and raise your profile and then meet people face-to-face. Every time you have a meaningful connection with a potential business contact move it forward and suggest a meeting over coffee. Don’t be pushy but let them know what you do! Forget the ‘how can I help you find what you’re looking for’ line. It is a line and although it sounded good the first time I heard it now it is simply lame and lets me know the person doesn’t really care. You’re in business tell them why your business excites you and ask them about what they do. If you really think you know someone who might benefit tell them and get them the details – don’t make a drama over the process. Be real with people – they know!
3) You wear two hats. If you are a business owner, you wear the hat of doing the work and the hat of business ownership. Know what hat you’re wearing. When you’re selling you’re not the business owner and selling should be your focus. Sell! If they are not interested or cannot buy then thank them and move on! Don’t waste your time or theirs. Nothing wrong with building connections but be realistic about the amount of time you’re going to put into a vague outcome! Really!
4) If you are afraid of selling then recognize it, admit it and deal with it! It will kill your business if you don’t. If the owner of a business cannot sell then nobody will sell for you and you won’t be able to effectively hire or manage salespeople. Unless you can invest in hiring a sales manager then learn to sell yourself. Identify what the fear is and face it. Do whatever it takes to get rid of the fear and get back to selling! Toastmasters is a great, cheap start for many people!
5) Avoid avoidance! People who are afraid to sell do all sorts of things to avoid selling – marketing, networking, trade shows the list goes on and on! Sit down and figure out who you want to do business with and then figure out the shortest route to connect with them and then connect!
6) Schedule your toughest activities for the first of the week and give them the highest priority. Design your week’s schedule on Friday and book as many meetings as possible. Look at your advance week and ask yourself if that amount of sales activity will generate the business you need down the road!
7) Never wait for the phone to ring! If you ever catch yourself looking at the phone or checking emails hoping to discover someone chasing you then you are avoiding what you need to be doing!
8) Love your business and get passionate about telling the world why you are the best – whatever you do – and if you are not the best then get working on that but at least be the most passionate!
Don’t let selling be the wall that holds you back from achieving your goals and dreams. Figure it out and get good at it.
Honestly, I see too many people who have given up on life and their business – and it shows! They put in enough effort to pay the bills and then avoid everything else.
Look in the mirror! Is this the ‘you’ that you always wanted?
If the answer is yes then fine and live your life according to your rules. If however, you are not pleased then change it today. Fears are perception so change your perception – it really is that easy!
‘Find your edge, be your best, be bold, be wise!’ Make life work and be happy! Your customers will love it and you will be happier!
Being happy just makes life better. We have a better time, people like us more, business improves, health improves – hey, life becomes worth living.
So why are so many of us unhappy?
Walking through the streets on London, taking the Tube and quickly observing the passers by it is hard to imagine that many people are happy. Heads down, a scowl on the faces and a generally disappointed look suggests that few people are happy.
Generally, people seem disappointed with life and angry at the whole world.
It is easy to imagine why people might be unhappy. With most people in debt, divorced, overweight and with disappointing trends on the immediate horizon life does not always seem brilliant.
The problem with being unhappy is that depression – even mild depression – tends to lead to behaviour that supports and reinforces unhappiness.
Being unhappy makes us unhappier.
The world – especially a city like London – holds all the possible opportunity for anyone to change his or her circumstances. Depression and unhappiness makes those opportunities difficult to spot.
The answer, like most answers to complex problems is simple.
To be happy you just need to be happy! To be happier you need to be happy more of the time. Too simple? Let me explain my approach.
I begin with two basic assumptions:
1) We are capable of being rational
2) We accept that we have free will
By rational I simply mean that we can follow and accept a logical concept.
By having free will I mean that we accept the idea that we have complete choice over how we respond to the world around us. We cannot, necessarily, change the world around us but we do have control over how we feel about it.
We can look across the living room at our spouse, whom we once loved, and decide to love them again – that is our choice. We can decide to love our jobs, spouses, noisy neighbours, barking dogs and delayed trains. We don’t have to but we can – that is free will.
We cannot control all of the things around us but we do have one hundred percent control over how we feel about those things. No matter how difficult a situation how we respond is always our choice. If a loved one is in trouble we may not choose to be happy but that choice is always our and ours alone.
We can bemoan life or we can revel in it – it is all good really – even the bad stuff. Take a breath – feels good to be alive doesn’t it?
So we have a choice to be happy or sad! Every moment that you feel upset at something ask yourself if this is how you really choose to feel – then choose to be happy. It is your choice, to make that choice, every moment of everyday!
Try it for a day and see if the world responds differently to you.
The train is a good time to read or make plans, enjoy your customers and your work mates. Love your work (or love finding a new job)! Cherish every moment with your children, spouse, and mates or just enjoy your own company. Try it for one day and I bet you’ll have a great day!
I have recently made the decision to make the choice to be happy every moment of everyday – to stop fighting life and to just live it with a smile on my face and for everyone around me.
Guess what?
I am having a better time and my life is going much more smoothly! Nothing like the obvious!
Remember, if you want more of something then do more of that thing! Want to run faster? Do speed work. Want more energy? Exercise more! Want to become more productive? Take on more everyday? What to become a more honest person? Stop lying!
Change is easy! You just need to change! Get happy!
Take Away – We ultimately chose our life so why not chose a powerful, interesting and happy life. The past is gone and doesn’t exist except in our own minds – let it go and choose the powerful future you want! Make a decision to change!