My Mom, The Inadvertent Sales Expert

My Mom (who reads this publication AND hates having her picture taken sooooo hi Mom!), is a sales genius.

But I first discovered that she’s also a Zen master.

“Jonathan, when you cook; cook.”

She shared that Zen insight with me when I was young & first learning how to get around in the kitchen.

It’s too easy to fire up the stovetop or the oven, get distracted with something else because you think “I have a bit before I can do the next thing,” and before you know it you’ve scorched whatever it is that you’re making.

Focused, steady, and diligent concentration on the present moment is the lesson.

Very Zen.

But that’s not the sales secret. That’s just good advice you’re getting for free.

This is the sales advice.

“Jonathan, if you never ask, the answer is always no.”

Genius.

The thing that blows my mind?

You don’t even know what you didn’t get when you were too scared to ask for anything.

Instead, you guaranteed that you’d get nothing based on the chance you might get turned down.

What a brutal way to go through life; being your own worst negotiatior!

Conclusion

If you’re not in the habit; get in the habit of asking for what you want.

Ask for business. Ask for the date. Ask for the raise. Ask for the time off. Ask for the project. Ask for the world.

And here’s my ask. If you get anything out of reading these notes; tell a friend. I don’t mean just post on Facebook. I mean, say (with your mouth) “I’ve been enjoying these notes that this guy Jonathan posts every day. Yeah, I can’t believe he writes so much & it’s actually not bad. He’s constantly sharing cool stuff that’s helped me out a lot, and I figured you might think it’s cool too. You can check him out at i Can Read Minds dot com and you can sign up for his substack from there.” to someone in your physical proximity in the next week.

Something like that. If you do that, it would mean the world to me.

Best thoughts,

~Jonathan “modest proposal” Swift Pritchard