More on achieving those goals

You are what you think about most.  You are a reflection of what you spend your thoughts and money on.  You are a reflection of your environment.  Who you hang out with and the attitudes and culture of those you hang out with every day.

I had a good friend who’s been through alcohol rehab 6 times in less than 12 years.  He’s averaging a rehab every 2 years.  One thing he mentioned to me that I never had thought about was the two basic problems he had with alcohol. 

Problem number one was he would go back to the same life (environment) that encouraged him to drink.

Problem number two was he could not get help until he reached “rock bottom”.  He added that NO ONE could help him until he decided he had enough.  He would hide his alcoholism from everyone.  He became (as he told me) a very good liar.

The solution?  He had to change his environment.

I love this analogy for sales people.  If you continue to do the same thing you’ll continue to get the same results.  You may not be in an extremely noticeable environment but you are, never the less, in an environment.  YOU choose your environment.

What environment do you find yourself in?

Who you surround yourself with and what you spend your time thinking about and where you spend your money says everything about you.

“…our normal reaction to environment is to act, think and talk like the people by
whom we’re surrounded.  Since only 5% achieve financial independence during their
lifetimes, the odds are 95 to 5 that in any given case a person is surrounded by those
who are not thinking and working toward financial independence…” 
— Earl Nightingale

As my friend will tell you it takes a lot of courage to change your environment. 

In, “Lead The Field”, Earl Nightingale said,

“….people simply go along with the environment in which they find themselves.”

We tend to underestimate the power of repetition of our exterior influences.  We really become what we think and what we think is heavily influenced by our environment.

Garbage in Garbage Out

Only you can stop your progress toward your goals.  No one else can stop you.

“Others can stop you temporarily. 
You are the only one who can do it permanently.” 
— Zig Ziglar

Only you can make it happen.  I’ve often said that many Pre-Need Sellers I’ve known have been this close to success only to give up at the door.  Few of us are successful at anything the first time.  Heck, if you’ve played sports how many hours and days, and months and years did you have to practice to get really good?

Selling is much like Doctoring.  Doctors practice and so do Sellers of Pre-Need.  The more you practice the more you learn and the more situations you find yourself in the more likely you are to gain valuable experience and nothing can beat that combination.  Knowledge and experience are powerful.

The answer to achieving your goals is to take a look at yourself and answer the question of what you are doing.  Are you doing what’s necessary to achieve your goals?  Are you changing your environment to fit the life style you truly want?  We’re not trees.  We can certainly pick up and move away from the wrong environment.

“Our world tells us about ourselves…reveals who we are, what we’ve learned, how much we’ve served.”  — Earl Nightingale

When you begin to look at your goals for the new year begin to think about who you surround yourself with and the culture you live within.  My brother has a saying about parents.  We can’t choose our parents but we can choose our friends.

It isn’t your goals that matter as much as what you do every day to achieve your goals and the environment and culture you surround yourself with.

We are what we think about most and spend our money on (take a look at your checkbook).

Happy Selling!

David…

…