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Dear Todd,
Toddism
of the month:
"The character of a man is not how far he falls, but how quickly he gets
up."
Progression, not perfection--Achieving
your goals
"Progression, not perfection."
In selling, much as in life, we talk about having goals, big goals. We
talk about having a vision, a mission and a purpose for our life. We say,
"You can't get where you are going if you don't understand where you want
to be."
But, while all true and important, too often we fail to recognize these
goals are nothing more than the results of tiny, microscopic items we
achieved on lesser levels.
How big are your goals? They are huge, right? And indeed they should be,
as we have said many a time.
Daring to dream is what makes life worth living.
But
having a goal, for instance, of making $100,000 in income or doing 150% of
quota one month can be overwhelming.
Even running 10 appointments a week can be nerve- racking, especially if
your activity has been down. But what about making 10 phone calls? What
about sending 5 e-mails? How much more effective will you be if you have
miniscule objectives where the only way you can fail is to not try?
The answer is: Quite a bit.
Top professionals often ask me the secret to getting out of a slump.
It's not about getting that one big deal or that one great appointment.
It's doing the small items you realize are part of the big picture that
triggers top production.
Case in point #1: Working out
I'm a runner. For the past year, I've run two days a week along Lake
Michigan in Chicago for an hour and a half at a time. Before you get too
excited, be aware that I used to run very, very slow--try a 20-minute mile
pace. I'd run so slow the dog walkers would pass me by as if they were
Speed Racer.
That change when I met with a personal trainer. He pointed out that while
running for a long time sounds good, it's more effective to run shorter
distances faster, even if it means resting during the workout.
Wow! Today, I run four days a week for 20 minutes at a time.
I run toward a tree in the distance, normally about 100 yards away, at an
8-minute mile pace. I then stop and catch my breath almost to the point of
where I want to faint. I am panting and constantly spitting up.
I then walk for a minute with my hands on my head. When I'm ready, I find
another target in the distance and run to it. I often am able to run even
further, and when I do, I applaud my efforts. I arrive home after a mere
20 minutes, gulp 4 bottled waters and am on my way to tackle the day.
Since this regime, I have am in much better shape, am more mentally alert,
and feel better than ever before.
Even better case in point #2: The
Fighting Illini's miracle comeback in the NCAA Tournament on their road to
the Final Four
(Our most recent game isn't relevant as they won by a healthy margin).
You tell me what kind of team could possibly come back from a 14-point
deficit with a little more than 3 minutes left or 8 points down in 54
seconds?
If the Illini looked at the goal that way, they would have failed. No,
what they did, according to interviews afterward, is break down their
desire to win to much smaller tasks. They planned to take it one shot at a
time.
They players knew they could score two points on one possession. They knew
they could get one defensive stop. They knew they could get one steal.
Indeed, for any one who saw the game, once the players stopped going for
three point shots-- at the 4 minute mark-- their amazing comeback began.
When they just went for easy baskets, they scored. Not surprising, once
the scoring of two points started, three pointers came in droves.
The rest (we will see tonight) is history.
Action Exercise:
1. Write down one large, measurable specific goal you want.
2. In this large goal, write down 5 tasks you will do where there is no
way you will fail in these tasks--where literally all you have to do is
show up.
Examples, as noted above, may be making 10 calls or sending 5 e-mails.
"Too many people spend their lives waiting for that one big moment to
realize all their dreams, when, in actuality, life is nothing more than a
series of little moments with multiple dreams."
Go
Illini!
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