Don't Make Another Boring New Years Resolution!

The other day I was listening to an exchange between a famous CEO and a 'wall streeter' I downloaded on my iPhone when something he said caught my attention. The guy apparently immigrated to this country with his parents and he realized that, to get a good job, he’d have to improve his ability to speak English.

So he thought, what better way to do that than to work in a fast food restaurant. And that’s how his business career began.

What I learned from listening to his experience - Understand your weakness. Sounds like a blinding flash of the obvious, doesn’t it? But it got me thinking, how many people really...

1) know what’s stopping them from being unstoppable,

2) force themselves to do something about it?

You know, 1/3 the people reading this right now are saying to themselves, WOW, I should change something about [fill in the blank]. But will they … actually do it? Probably not.

Another third are in denial, blaming everybody and circumstances for why they didn’t get ahead instead of doing something about some fear or limitation they were almost surely aware of at one time but have since buried under layers of jealousy and anger targeted at all the wrong people.

The last third are individuals that will 'feel the fear' and do it anyway! I love this group of inspired 'disrupters'.

Whichever group you’re in, we all have at least one major fear or limitation holding us back. Facing or improving that one thing will almost surely open the door to new opportunities and success. Here are a couple of stories to inspire you to do just that:

One of my mentors told me a story about how, when she was younger, she was so shy that just the idea of speaking and, later on, in a business setting, was so terrifying that she almost passed out from fear. She learned to 'face her fear' every day of her career, and went on to become the President at a large healthcare organization.

Another successful leader of a large organization executive was, at one time, stuck in a teaching role - high school to be specific. And while she’d become an expert at presenting to groups, she was amazed at the ease with which she interacted and negotiated with customers. So she gave up her 10+ year teaching career and took a step forward to become a one of the most successful salespersons in the history of this famous computer hardware firm. 

So the next time you find yourself exploring the Dr Phil show or your local bookstore for your next quick-fix of advice, or feeling sorry for yourself or jealous of someone else because she made it and you didn’t, simmer down, relax, and ask yourself: When's the last time I did something for the first time?

When you do that, this event will happen:

- Lots of new opportunities will present themselves and you'll increase your success potential.

No, it won’t be easy. Yes, it will take work. But the reward will far outweigh all that. So don't make another boring new years resolution, start a sales revolution inside of you, first.

Be Well!