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Tag: courage

Selling and cold calls

Call 1: The worst.
Call 5: Still pretty bad.
Call 10: You care less if someone says no.
Call 12: Someone might be interested.
Call 15: You make a sale.
Call 16: You make another sale.
Call 17: You feel pretty great until someone else says no.
Call 18: You feel bad but make another call anyway.
Call 22: The person asks you to call back next week.
Call 24: Sale.
Call 25: You begin to realize the yes/no/maybe answers have nothing to do with you.
Call 30: Your pitch is better. You can clearly talk about the benefits your product/service provides.
Call 35: If someone says no, it doesn’t ruin your day.
Call 37: Sale.
Call 40: When someone says no, you refine your pitch.
Call 48: Sale.
Call 50: When someone says no, you recognize that person wasn’t the right fit for your product/service.
Call 52: Sale.
Call 53: Sale.
Call 54: The no response is no longer a Big Deal, and you keep going.
Call 55: Sale.
Call 56: Maybe. Appointment set.
Call 57: Sale.
Call 58: Sale.

The first calls are always the hardest. Keep going.

What do you stand for?

How do you define yourself?
Who (and what) are you committed to?
When do you say No?
When (and how) have you failed?
Which decision would you remake?
Where do you spend most of your time?
Who (and what) do you love?
When was the last time you redefined yourself?
Are you afraid of change?

Restoring health

An ayurvedic center in Nepal offers one month programs for people who have fallen out of good health. The team of practitioners systematically target different elements in the body in the belief that once balance is restored, the person will return to a calmer, more peaceful state of wellbeing. Throughout the month, clients receive weekly recommendations designed to detoxify and restore the body. Therapies incorporate diet, yoga, cleansing, and a series of ayurvedic practices. Participants are discouraged from engaging in unnecessary work — especially online — and follow a daily schedule, waking around 6:30am and sleeping by 10pm.

The center is simply decorated, a table of organized bottles of herbs and oils resting beneath a bright window. “What happens when clients return home?” I asked.

“One of two things usually happens,” the manager replied, his smiling eyes gentle and kind. “The person returns to same challenges with a renewed perspective, better equipped to make decisions, or they make changes after realizing their situations no longer serve them.”

The truth is we all have some habit that could be reevaluated. I don’t think you need to come to Nepal and spend a month in a health facility to make adjustments in your life, but you will need focus and a commitment to yourself. And if you need guidance, please don’t hesitate to find a suitable health practitioner near you.

By bringing mindfulness to each day, it is possible to assess whether the decisions we make are helping us become healthy, informed, and balanced.

Reassurances for the emerging entrepreneur

1. Stop pretending. You don’t need to have everything figured out, you don’t need to be someone you’re not. Be authentically, completely, fully you. Direct your energy towards what you’re good at and what brings you joy. When you are able to step into your own and confidently accept your unique talents and quirks, you will be richly rewarded.
2. It is perfectly fine to take a slow beginning. Make cautious choices and weigh decisions carefully until your path and vision become clear.
3. Beat perfection. There will never be a perfect circumstance, and there will always be an obstacle waiting to derail you off course. Don’t let it. Sometimes you’ll need to ship before you’re ready, sometimes you’ll need to pitch without preparation. Go.
4. Nothing happens overnight: success, change, failure, pivots. Play the long game and keep your eyes fixed on your goals.

Feel lost? Do what excites you.

“Find your bliss” has become the cliched guidance for those trying to find purpose in life. Bliss can be just as elusive as trying to identify your life mission. If you’re feeling lost or uncertain, try following your excitement.
Watch movies that quicken your heartbeat.
Read books you can’t put down.
Immerse yourself in company and environments that are stimulating.
Talk to people who are passionate about living.
Do work that you like.
Soon, the answers will come. You will know which path to choose and the decisions you need to make.
Take pressure off of finding eternal happiness and choose adventure instead.

Do that thing you think you can’t

A small voice whispered, “Don’t bother, it’s a waste of time, it will never happen.” I listened. But thankfully, just for a day. My mind kept swirling, dreaming, going back to the idea. After last summer at the Byrdcliffe Artist in Residence program, I have been fantasizing for more uninterrupted time to devote to my manuscript.
My fingers hovered over the application. Why should they pick you? What are your chances? I revisited the site again and again, closing the browser, reopening the page, googling pictures of the area and reading reviews of past participants.
This tiny voice often appears. Sometimes I listen, other times I ignore. But it seems when I risk those scary words — EXPOSURE, FAILURE, REJECTION — beautiful things happen.
“Apply,” I told that voice, “You will regret it if you don’t.”
Do that thing you think you can’t. Even if you fall short and your efforts are flat, you’ll be glad. You’ll always wonder “what if” if you don’t at least try.