For most of us; Success means WORK

So many will never reach their potential because they are not willing to do the work required. Success means work. Mark Twain was to have said, "Tell me what you want and I will tell you how to get it. The problem is, most people don't know what they want."

I looked that quote up on Google and could not find the exact quote. I don't like misquotes but even if Mark Twain did not say it; it is still a good quote and a good idea. Still, it is not enough. The reason it is not enough is because so many will eventually determine what they want and know how to reach the goal but don't put in the work required to reach the desired result.

The bell curve is well in every measurement and the old 80-20 rule is alive and well; 20% of the sales people get 80% of the business. Back to the bell curve; I observe out of 100 sales students, perhaps 20 are willing to do the assigned class work and perhaps 5 are willing to do the class work with enthusiasm.

Back to the problem. So many never determine exactly what it is they want. In October, 2007 I spent time in Hawaii and it took me more than two weeks to set my 2008 goals. It can take a lot of time and thought to really decide on your goals. Now, the second part. Twain says, "I will tell you how to get it." We have thousands of self help books and hundreds of excellent motivational guru's who are giving us good ideas of how to get it, once we determine what it is.

The real problem. Of the 100 who take a sales or motivation class, most continue to take class after class. They are hooked on classes. They are hooked on sitting in a class but they are not hooked on their own success. Fifteen of the hundred will try some of the ideas some of the time and improve a little each time. The five percent will listen, will apply the ideas and will work until they have reached their goal. Teachers are always excited when they find this 5% population.

In truth, most sales people never have to take another sales or motivational class. They only need to do the work but that is not glamorous. Want to really succeed? Then take the time to determine your true goals and make the commitment to do all of the work that is required to reach that goal.

If you are willing to do the work required, you will succeed.

Everything is an Affirmation

Occasionally I overhear someone say, "Affirmations don't work." Of course, they work. Think about the statement that affirmations don't work. That in itself is an affirmation.

What the person probably meant is that a goal was set and was not achieved through affirmations. The problem is that every thought produces effects at some level and that we do not guard our thoughts closely enough. I have read that we think 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day. If we think 100 positive affirmations and then go through our day with 20,000 negative thoughts and feelings, then, our results are going to be negative.

Imagine a glass 3/4 filled with clear water. Then we start adding food colors to the water. After a while we will have added so many colors that the clear water will become very dark.

All affirmations are not equal. On a calm Monday morning an assistant came to me and stated that the bank had just called and we were $20,000 overdrawn. That was a Tornado affirmation. My solar plexus immediately felt the impact and an impact was made on my subconscious and conscious mind.

Sometimes we will write out the affirmations and really not even think much about them. This would be a light rain affirmation; it really may not have much impact. Therefore you may need to write thousands of light rain affirmations to make an impression on your subconscious mind.

I said that the problem is that all thoughts produce at some level and all thoughts have results. This is also the solution. By knowing that all thoughts produce then our job is to protect and guide our thoughts; not be guided by them.

How do you know when you have done enough positive affirmations? When you are getting the results that you want. The proof is always in the pudding.

Doug Jones www.salesmagic.biz

Some thoughts to ponder

Our brain and nervous system cannot tell the difference between a 'real' experience and one which is vividly imagined. Maxwell Maltz

It is a well known fact that one comes, finally , to believe whatever one repeats to one's self, whether the statement be true or false, Napoleon Hill

The subconscious acts first on the dominating desires, which have been mixed with emotional feeling such as faith. Napoleon Hill

Repetition is the main rule in making suggestions work. Leslie LeCron (Clinical Psychologist)

The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. William James, Father of American Psychology

I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and incipient arthritis. I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns. But I was convinced the best was ahead of me.
Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds

If a visual image can be formed and added to a verbal suggestion, it will make the suggestion more potent. The visual image should always represent the result desired. Leslie LeCron