Sales tips for the aspiring rock star!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

When The Odds Are Clearly Against You!

TweetIt from HubSpot

There is a time in each of our lives when we question the road we have chosen. Logic and reason arrive as uninvited guests, unsolicited advice pulls us over in a speed trap and that damn inner voice sneaks up on us in the rear view mirror trying to catch our ass at the next rest stop!

Sooner or later, these things corner us, our car stalls out and we begin to question several things:

1) If we are truly deserving of the prize. Study after study tells us that one of the top reasons people do not attain what they deserve is because deep down they feel they are not worthy. I think this is the deadliest of all because of its subtlety.

2) If we could even attain the prize in the first place!

3) If we can reach the destination that seems so damn far away by this point.

Hope appears in the form of roadside assistance who hands us a fresh bag of excuses and a new road map toward the town called mediocrity.

The next time your inner voice hands you a line of crap, I'd like for you to think about some people who decided to defy the odds.

For those of you who believe its the recession:

Half of the companies which comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average where formed during recessions or depressions!

HP was born during the depression of 1939

Microsoft was born during the recession of 1975 and even survived this photo shoot:



Too old?:


The oldest person to scale Mt Everest was 77 years old. I can tell you, without reservaton, that the thought of falling off a mountain scares the shit out of me!


Too young?:

Michael Dell started Dell Computer from his dorm room at the ripe old age of 19!
Richard Branson (actually Sir Richard Branson) started the mail order business which would later become Virgin Records at 20 years old.

Didn't go to college, finish college, go to the "right" college.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ted Turner, Tom Hanks, Woody Allen never finished college.
H.G. Wells, self made billionaire Jim Clarke, W. Clement Stone and Peter Jennings all dropped out of High School

Yours truly went to a crappy community college and . . .

Like the others I mentioned, totally enjoy the PhD in results I have hanging on my wall!

And for those of you facing rejection, criticism, ridicule and lots of other words I can't think of because of my community college education, I offer you this:

Sylvester Stallone was turned down more than 1400 times on the Rocky Script. The SOB even sold his dog at one point to make ends meet. Note: Hey Rocky WTF???
Chicken Soup for The Soul was rejected by 144 publishers
Colonel Sanders was told "No" 1009 times before the "YES" which launched KFC
The Beatles were turned down by Decca Records because they felt "Guitar music is on the way out" 1 Billion + records later I think somebody made a boo boo!

When the phone was first invented, Bell turned to Western Union for funding. He was quickly rejected with a note that read something along the lines of there not being a need for "an electrical toy" such as the phone. Hmm, can you hear me now?

So here's the deal gang. There will always be a reason for us to back down, back off, step down, hold back and let go of the dreams we have. Doubt, negativity and nay sayers will always show up ready to crash our party but . . .

We control the magical ability to assign meaning to their words or reject them, evict them with a good kick in the ass for good measure!

I will leave you with the words of an African proverb: "If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm"

Rock on and may the road to your success rise up to meet you!

You deserve no less!

Want cool, free sales tips delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to Paul Castain's Sales Playbook by Email









16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the pep talk.

    ReplyDelete
  2. True Inspiration...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you both for stopping by to comment!

    Rock on!

    ReplyDelete
  4. boy did I need that shot in the arm right this second. Thank you so much for your commitmement and your heart. Hard times are good times to prepare for better times! and I figure if I can survive and thrive in this time ( I am just starting out in this industry this year)I can do ANYTHING!!!!Thanks again for all of your support.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Uncle Paul:

    You've done it again! Great Message! Remember the line from Risky Business, "Sometimes you just have to say WTF"

    I used to have posted on Linked IN that I've decided to NOT to participate in the recession and listen to the biased liberal news media. Guess what? Business is great! Make it happen!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Peggy: Always a sincere pleasure to give back (helps me keep my attitude in check)You certainly can do anything. Go forth and kick ass!

    @ Anonymous (how did so many people get the name anonymous? What ever happened to names like Paul and Peggy etc but I digress) Thanks for stopping by with some kind words. "WTF" should be this community's mantra!

    Thanks again and WTF? just trying it on for size.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice timing, a disappointing morning, uplifted by a great matrix workout.
    now it's drop back and punt.
    am just finishing off a blog on desperation.
    jim

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is without a doubt the Truth as we all know it. The Negative inside our heads is our worst enemy...and I for one am Guilty as Charged!
    The minute I chase that NO out of my head I get to a YES that much faster. But...the No lingers in the background just to mess with me.

    You Can't afford that Car!
    You will Never get in that Account!
    You can't sell a million your first year!

    You CAN'T give up or you will NEVER succeed!

    This is what I am trying to get through to my inner negativity.

    Thank You Paul...For Rocking My World Bro!

    ReplyDelete
  9. @ Dr Sellner Thanks for stopping by to share that. Proof positive that we can turn around our day!

    @ Ron Young: Tell your inner negativity to get out and stay out! Then change the lock on that son of a bitch! Thanks for the kind words amigo!

    Rock horns to you both!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Paul, I needed this. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Damn funny AND inspirational. Thanks, Paul.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @ Partha: Always a pleasure!

    @ Jess: An honor to give back!

    Thank you both!

    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  13. This was a wake up call for me to "get moving" and stop the swirl of negative thoughts that creep in every once in a while. Thanks for the shot in the arm!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Paul,

    Thanks for the reminder. So often we forget that the real movers and shakers, the real success stories aren't created by the blue bloods, the Harvard graduates, the 160 IQ folks, or those born with the "luck of the Irish." It's the ‘ordinary’ men and women who overcome disappointments, setbacks, and great obstacles with persistence, commitment and innovation that make the discoveries, create the opportunities, and reach their goals.

    ReplyDelete
  15. thanks.. i totally needed to read that around now!

    ReplyDelete
  16. African proverb: "If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm"

    Great!! Like this and very true..WTF

    ReplyDelete


Free Sales Tips By Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Shades to hide my true identity! :)

Join Our New Linkedin Group! Click On The Picture

Add Me

View Paul Castain's profile on LinkedIn
Twitter Button from twitbuttons.com
Top 10 Sales Articles nominated author widget

Followers

Castain Guarantee

Castain Guarantee
Alltop, confirmation that I kick ass

About Me

My photo
Paul Castain is the Vice President of Sales Development for Consolidated Graphics (CGX) one of North America’s leading general commercial printing companies. Paul has over 25 years of sales and sales leadership experience. He has trained, mentored and coached over 3,000 sales and sales leadership professionals. An accomplished public speaker, Paul has delivered numerous key note addresses. He has authored numerous training manuals, articles, blog posts and is currently working on his first book for release in 2011. Feel free to email Paul ctstrainer@yahoo.com. This has been a paid announcement by the friends of Paul Castain!

About This Blog

Paul Castain's Sales Play Book is blog dedicated to strengthening our sales game, supporting rock star development and developing jedi like skills. All that is required is a willingness to learn and a sick sense of humor!

Topics Discussed: sales, sales leadership, cold calling, networking, telemarketing, presentation skills, social networking, twitter, linkedin, facebook, google, technorati, digg, training, sales tips, SEO, job hunting, hiring, recruiting, best practices, pipeline management, CRM, goals, time management, motivational, inspirational, social media, online marketing, ning, job openings, speakers, trainers, associations, blogs, bloggers, articles, sales management, onboarding, NLP, SPIN Selling, Unemployment, news, wordpress, dress for success, inside sales, call center,

Blog Archive

Technorati

Add to Technorati Favorites

BlogCatalog

Sales Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory