Wanting It Like There’s No Tomorrow

"It’s about wanting it like there’s no tomorrow - because there might not be.  It’s about thinking of everybody else before yourself and developing your own code of ethics that sets you apart from others.  One of those ethics is the drive to turn every negative into a positive and then when sh*t starts flying, being prepared to lead from the the front."  -David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

Let’s break this quote down into three parts and then look at this from a business and sales aspect. And just to be clear, in this quote, Mr. Goggins is talking about life.  But the word it, for you, for right now can be anything you want it to be. Replace “it” with your it.

ONE:  "It’s about wanting it like there’s no tomorrow - because there might not be.

We hear this question often and then answer it with a loose grip on the reality of it all.  If today was your last day, how would you spend it? What’s the real answer? Well, most likely, it’s not our last day so how do you actually take that question seriously?  Also the idea is pretty terrifying when you really think about it, so it’s no wonder you don’t really answer that question.

Here’s the reality.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed.  Additionally, your birth certificate doesn’t have an expiration date.  So how do you use the terror of today being your last day to propel you into taking the appropriate levels of action to create a future you can be proud of?

This leads us to number two...

TWO:  “It’s about thinking of everybody else before yourself and developing your own code of ethics that sets you apart from others.”  

In Grant Cardone’s book Sell Or Be Sold, we learn that service is senior and the core value of give, give, give.  You’re also shown how to service a client past the close and to operate from the understanding that until they have your product or service and are winning with it, you haven’t actually served them.

And speaking of service, you better be going to work for your dreams and your goals and those dreams and goals need to much bigger and deeper than a selfie with a Lambo.  

Take the necessary time to answer the following questions:

• What kind of world do you want to leave behind after you’re gone?  
• What will be written on your headstone?  
• How are you different?  
• How are you special and unique?  
• What do you stand for?

You really need to know the answers to these questions.  We spend too much time getting offended for the wrong reasons and never stop long enough to get extremely clear on who we are and what we’re doing with our time here on Earth.  

One thing is for sure, who ever your higher power is, they did not deliver you here to just get by, be ordinary and live an average life.  

On to number three...

THREE:  “One of those ethics is the drive to turn every negative into a positive and then when sh*t starts flying, being prepared to lead from the the front."

Returning to Sell Or Be Sold again, Grant Cardone teaches that problems are opportunities.  Anything that looks like a problem in reality is an opportunity. The better you can solve problems, the better your impact will be on planet Earth.  

In Can’t Hurt Me, Goggins quotes the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said, “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

Which one are you?  Be brutally honest with yourself because if you’re not, especially when it comes to this, you’ll never be able to change it.  You have to recognize and identify your location and your position. And it is a brutal truth. No one wants to realize they don’t belong.  Who the hell wants their value to be summed up to just a target? So that means you must be a fighter first in order to become a warrior.

Fighters train.  They train daily and they train hard.  They study their craft. Fighters look to get and to be better.  Fighters are proud but never satisfied and the warrior is the one setting the tone, leading from the front and elevating everyone else around him or her.  

If you’re in sales and business, where do you want to be?  Is sales just a hobby for you? A pastime? And that might be the case.  You’re content with being an amateur and you do it part time. You may desire to reach professional status.  Meaning, you want to get PAID for your efforts. Not just get by, not barely make it, PAID. That means, like all professionals, you work on your craft, you prepare for your day, you nurture your brain and your body.  You work daily to be your best. Showing up early, staying late.

Now the warrior doesn’t want to just be their best, they want to be the best.  Look at any industry, any team, any group and there will be that industry’s version of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.  These are the warriors.  Tim Grover calls them cleaners.  

What if that “just isn’t you?”  

You may be questioning yourself.  Or you may be saying that with full certainty.  You may be content where you’re at. And that’s fine until the sh*t starts flying and it will.  And at that point, you will revert to your level of training. You’re far better becoming a at least one of the fighters because you and I both know you belong and you’re so much more than a target…  Question is, will you give yourself permission to allow your greatness out? Then will you dedicate the time and energy to forge your iron?

I’ll leave you with a very simple (not easy) morning ritual that you can use to become a fighter in the boardroom or on the sales floor:

• Wake up at 4:30 am.  Start your day doing something that sucks.  Builds character and puts you in control of you.
• Write down 4 things you’re grateful for having in your life right now (5 minutes)
• Write down 4 goals you have yet to realize as if you have and from a place of gratitude (5 minutes)
• Exercise (20-30 minutes of controlling your body - get after it)
• Read (20 minutes of personal development)
• Video Study (20 minutes of video based training specific to your craft and where you need to improve)
• Practice your craft (20 minutes - role play handling objections, presenting product, making cold calls, etc)

If this happened daily, who would you be in 90 days?  

David Bradley is a Sales & Marketing Manager with Cardone Training Technologies. For more information on creating a culture of learning, development of proficiency, handling objections and real time situational training solutions, call 310-777-0352 or fire off an email to [email protected]