I look forward every week to reading Mark Potter’s email. As usual this one was insightful and hit home. Thank you Mark I love to share your thoughts with others. Ruben S. Gonzalez/ Dot Fulfillment Services
CANVAS Weekly Newsletter - June 22, 2009
“So, You Want to be Successful?”
Back in October of last year, I was on cloud 9. We had just completed the first full year of CANVAS, made some dough, and were busy pursuing our vision of building a stewardship to this community.
In November, I found myself on about cloud 2. Advertising budgets dried up, people were operating from a position of fear and I wondered, just for a moment, if people really understood that CANVAS readers are the leaders of the new day.
After sulking a bit through the holidays, I thought about John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach who won 11 straight championships. “The Wizard of Westwood” was well known for his “Pyramid of Success” and other fascinating leadership ideas. However, one specific idea of his stays with me today and will continue everyday. Adversity is your Ally!
Seriously, did I think this would be easy? Was I really going to use the economy as an excuse? Excuses are for losers. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to accomplish. More sales, losing weight, or building a successful business. I told myself, if you really want to build a successful platform for the brightest people in our industry, then get over yourself and stop making excuses.
Imagine a new recruit for the Marine Corps making an excuse about his boots being too tight or the weather not cooperating with his training. Wouldn’t his sergeant just laugh and say, “So, you want to be a Marine huh?”
So, you want to be a great sales professional huh? Well, if it were that easy, then everyone would be doing it! Adversity builds character. And believe me, those people who just want things to go back to normal and are using the economy as an excuse not to innovate, incubate, and create will ultimately be cast aside. Those that remember the heroes that built this country and the challenges they overcame will be reminded that excuses are for the weak.
We have a choice. Some of us will embrace the obstacles that we are all encountering and use them as launching pads. Unfortunately, others will view them as excuses and retreat. Choose!