Life-lesson – Personal Responsibility

I was young, cocky and a bit full of myself when I had one of the most humbling experiences of my life, and learned a lesson that has stuck with me for decades.

I had been the number one sales person in the nation for a company – my first full-time professional sales job.

I had it made…

adequate salary, good benefits, company car, bonus potential, and the respect of my employer and colleagues.

But the long term opportunities were limited, and I decided to move on to a job that was 180 degrees different.

I took a position selling surgical staplers to hospitals.? It was a leap from the secure job I had to one that paid straight commission, required you to buy your own samples and literature from the company, and provided only six months of a draw to begin.

From one perspective, it didn’t look like a match made in heaven.? It involved selling a technical product to surgeons in hospitals.? I had no medical experience and my gifts were on the opposite end of the scale – instead of math and science, I was good at, and interested in, literature and social studies.

In addition, as a child growing up in a family of six boys, my father had a heart condition which landed him in the hospital a number of times.? As a result, I had an aversion to hospitals.? I didn’t like them, and didn’t want to be in them.

But I was cocky, filled with the success of my previous job, and sure that I could make this work also.

It wasn’t hasty.? I looked at the amount of existing business in the territory I was slated to get, and determined that if I could double the business within six months – a doable task, I was assured – I’d be back making about what I was used to earning.? Then, as I increased the business, my income and lifestyle would evidence the difference.

It all sounded attractive.

I left my old job and arrived in New York City for six weeks of intensive training on the new one.? During the time that I was there, my district manager – the person who hired me — moved on to another job and was replaced.? When I arrived home after the training, my new manager was anxious to meet with me.

In our first meeting, before I had a chance to begin working, he informed me that he had revised the sales territories. ?The territory that I thought I had – the one for which I was hired – was not the one I was going to get.? Instead, I was going to receive just a fraction of that territory.

OOPS!

The new territory only contained about 1/3 of the existing business of the previous one.? This change meant my plans for making a living were shot. ?It now became an impossible task. Instead of having to double the business to be back where I was, I had to multiply it by a factor of six!? In six months! Just to make ends meet!

I was upset and angry.? How could they do that to me? ?I immediately began to look for another job, determined to quickly leave this unethical, uncaring company.

Things got worse.? As I interviewed with several companies, I discovered that they saw me as the problem.? Instead of understanding what the company had done to me, they thought I was an opportunist who was looking for an easy way out.? It became clear that no one else was going to hire me!

I grew more and more angry and bitter.

In addition, I had little success selling the staplers.? After six months, my temporary draw came to an end. ?I owed the company over $10,000! I was making almost nothing and had no prospects for another job. I had a family to support and was caught in a miserable place. ?I felt squeezed between the proverbial rock and hard place.? I was a victim of a dirty deal. I couldn’t make this work, and I couldn’t find another job.

A Solution

Then, out of the blue one day, I had an inspiration. I don’t remember if I had an experience or someone talked to me.? Regardless, it suddenly dawned on me that the problem was me!

It was me!

Yes, the company had treated me poorly.? Yes, they had been unethical and uncaring.

But, the product was still exciting, and the opportunity still great. ?The real problem was my attitude – my bitterness and anger were getting in the way of everything.

I was responsible for my own behavior, my own thoughts, and my own attitude.

When I had the realization that it was me, I felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted from my shoulders.? If the problem... CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE