Celebrating 45 Years… Psychologically Unemployable

On October 31, 1978, I rented an office, “put up a shingle” (hung my insurance license on the wall) and declared myself?“psychologically unemployable.“

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Today, 45 Halloweens and 100,000 unemployable hours later, I’m scratching my head, blinking my eyes and wondering… where did the time go???

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Reflecting on the journey, I’m grateful for what I’ve experienced and thankful I’m still around to share it.

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In the summer of ’78 I made 5,000 cold calls in my first post college gig, knocking on doors in the garment district of Manhattan. [I didn’t make a single sale.] At night I had meetings with people to begin building my own business on the side.?

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I got up at 6 to go to my day job in Manhattan, and left at 4 to start my night job making house calls until after dark. I worked Saturdays and studied on Sundays for my insurance license. My days were long and the weeks longer.

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Little did I know that Halloween would begin a lifelong adventure that would take me to five countries and 42 states, speak 3,500 times, train one million people, reach a million more on radio, TV and podcasts, and teach at Harvard, Notre Dame, USC and NYU.?

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All the while doing what I’m good at and love most.?

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Seriously, pinch me!

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It’s beyond anything I could have imagined when I was trudging up and down the NYC skyscrapers drenched with sweat seeping through the vest of my 3-piece suit.?

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The number of people I have to thank would fill an auditorium.?

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I started working at 15 in the Mill Road Sweet Shop, a luncheonette in Irvington, NJ.

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I earned $1.50/hour plus tips, mostly nickels, dimes and quarters.?

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One day a customer started raving about how his eggs were perfect and my service was fast and clean. He grabbed my hand and stuffed a dollar bill in it.?

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It was my first $1 tip.

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Then he said three words that changed my self-perception forever:

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“You’re worth it!”

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Nobody ever said that to me before.

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When was the last time someone said to you, “You’re worth it?”?

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How often do you tell others, “You’re worth it?”?

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His words shifted my thinking and boosted my confidence. It revealed to me that I play for the love of the game. From that encounter I adopted my ethos and have been chanting this mantra ever since:?

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“I love and serve people, and they reward me with their money!”

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It may sound corny and old fashioned. Yet through good times and bad, wins and losses, wealth and bankruptcy, elation and disappointment, successes and setbacks, exhilaration and heartbreak, love and loss, even a stroke, brain tumor and paralysis…?

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I could always count on loving and serving people to rebound, reboot and reignite.?

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So it is today as it was two score and five years ago.?

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With automation, mechanization and the potential for dehumanization with the rise of AI, people want to be loved and served even more today.

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As I say in Chapter 2 of my book, The?NEW?Game of Business?…

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“It’s?NOT?just business – it’s personal!”

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Stop right now!

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Take a moment to appreciate your work and the value you bring to the people you love and serve.?

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Take time every day to celebrate what you’ve accomplished and the benefits, payoff and transformation experienced by those you have served.?

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Return to and remember the?why?behind it all.

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Be honored by people’s trust and humbled by their faith in you to do right by them.?

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I embrace?Albert Einstein’s credo,?

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"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

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Recovering from a stroke, brain tumor and right side paralysis in 2020, I’ve spent more time the past few years outside the business game than inside. Some people ask if I retired.?

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Creativity doesn’t retire.?

Curiosity doesn’t retire.

Collaboration doesn’t retire.

Consciousness doesn't retire.

Compassion doesn’t retire.

Conversation doesn’t retire.

Contribution doesn’t retire.

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I’m still creative, curious and collaborative, conscious and compassionate, eager to have meaningful conversations and make a contribution.?

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I want to continue to be of value and do more of what my mentor and long time friend Brian Tracy said…

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“Mitch has boosted more men and women into the ranks of the top 10% than almost any trainer alive today.”

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I’m gratified that my work has had an impact on and made a difference for people from all walks of life.

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I’m not done yet!

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Every day I’m gifted?with another 24 hours of breath, I ask…

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Who and how can I love and serve today?

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I treasure the gifts of life, work, family and friendships.

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I’m fortunate to celebrate 45 years.

Here’s to the next 45!

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Unemployably yours,

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Mitch Axelrod - October 31, 2023

45 Years Psychologically Unemployable

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P.S. Find out more about what, why and how to win, The NEW Game of Selling?

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Here you can read the Ultimate Profit Model? Insider Confidential and download our Billion Dollar Playbook?, watch the 6 Leverage Points that generate Push Button Profits? and complete the intake form to receive a profit improvement 2nd Opinion:

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www.thenewgameofselling.com