We have to go beyond mere motivation to achieve success in selling and entrepreneurship.
Don’t get me wrong. Motivation is important. It is essential. Without it, you don’t have the fuel to power you through the tough hits, the slams, the criticisms, and the setbacks. Yes, you need motivation, like the late, great Zig Ziglar described it. Paraphrasing Zig, he said that motivation is like taking a shower. It doesn’t last long, and that’s why you need it every day.
Successful salespeople and entrepreneurs use motivation to achieve results. You get paid for results, not just motivation. Too many people stop at the motivation alone. They get that good feeling like you get at a wonderful seminar. Hey, I know about that as a professional speaker. Yes, it is good to have motivation. Some say you have to have that. I believe you do.
Combine the motivation with skill-building through reading. Reading has been my secret weapon. It gave me the ability to learn important lessons fast. I could learn on my own through painful and often embarrassing lessons. However, reading helped me to learn from others what they had done right —- and even more from what they did wrong.
Then I had to apply myself. I had to test. I had to fail and then get back up and try again and again. In fact, I’ve learned in my years on this planet that you never stop learning. As soon as you think you can stop learning, you’re toast. It is finished when you stop learning. You need to be willing to endure the “yuck” that confronts in situations and with less honorable people.
A can-do attitude
I think of the story of Amelia Earhart. She wanted to be a great aviator, but in the 1920s, women were considered unable to do it “like a man.” She had to settle for a job she didn’t really want, but was biding her time.
Then one day she got a call from a man with a very disagreeable attitude and curt way of communicating. He offered her the opportunity to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, but she would be accompanied by two men as chaperones. The men would get paid a lot of money and she would not get anything. Couple that with the physical risk of flying across the Atlantic back then, and you get the picture that would make most people reject the offer outright.
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