Month: December 2014

One of my favorite essays by the master of motivation, Emmet Fox:

Take It Easy
By Emmet Fox, Find and Use Your Inner Power

Don’t hurry. You are going to live forever—somewhere. In fact, you are in eternity now; so why rush?

Don’t worry. What will this thing matter in twenty years’ time? You belong to God, and God is Love; so why fret?

Don’t condemn. As you cannot get under the other fellow’s skin, you cannot possibly know what difficulties he has had to meet—how much temptation, or misunderstanding, or stupidity within himself he has had to overcome. You are not perfect yourself and might be much worse in his shoes. Judge not!

Don’t resent. If wrong has been done, the Great Law will surely take care of it. Rise up in consciousness and set both yourself and the delinquent free. Forgiveness is the strongest medicine.

Don’t grumble. Consume your own smoke. Your own concept is what you see; so treat and change that.

Don’t grab. You cannot hold what does not belong to you by right of consciousness anyway. Grabbing postposes your good.

Don’t shove. You are always in your right place at the moment. If you don’t like it, change it scientifically by rising in consciousness. This will be permanent.

Happy New Year, 2015, everyone!

This is going to be a short article because I’ve found there is an easy and sure way to develop a positive and giving attitude. I call it, “Get into gratitude.” If you will just take 10 minutes to follow this suggestion, then regardless of how you feel about the holidays, a transformation will take place for you. After you complete a gratitude list, you will find yourself in the holiday spirit.

Here’s how it works:

Whenever you’re not feeling particularly in the holiday mood, or if you’re in fear (any kind of fear – financial, emotional, professional, etc.), all you have to do is make a list of 25 things you’re grateful for. I like to use a notebook myself, but I suppose a computer or smart phone would do. The point is to write down 25 things you are grateful for today.

Your gratitude list can contain many different kinds of items. Here are some of the things you may be grateful for:

Having a loving family
Having a job
Making money yesterday or last month
Having your health
Having access to fresh water
Being in a position to help others through your work
Going on a vacation or just coming back from one
Being able to spend time with your kids
Having your kids be healthy
Your ability to enjoy a good meal today
Your ability to be able to afford a meal today
Working for a company that creates or sells a great product that helps so many people
Being able to walk without pain
Being able to sleep without pain
Having a home to go to
Having access to all the technology we have
Knowing that the NFL playoffs are right around the corner!
Having faith in God
Being blessed with good friends
Living in a country where you can do and become anything you want
Having options to completely change your life
Having access to great books, CD’s and other material to help you accomplish your goals
Having money in the bank today
Being able to read
Being free to act, think and do as you please

And so many more things. I’m sure you could add some really great things to be grateful for in your life, couldn’t you?

By acknowledging all the things you DO have, rather than the things you DON’T have – or are afraid you’re not going to get – you’ll realize that you are already blessed. In fact, the biggest blessing you have is that you’re alive. If you’re healthy, alive, and able to write a gratitude list, then the sky is the limit as far as what you can accomplish. And that in itself is something to be grateful for.

And if you’re not healthy right now, or if you’re in fear about something, or if some situation isn’t to your liking, just remember that it will change. Just try and think back to something you were worried about last year, or five years ago. What does that thing mean to you now?

The quickest way to get into the Holiday Spirit, or to develop a positive, healthy attitude about anything is to write a gratitude list. Start yours now and see for yourself.

A while ago, I got a chilling reminder of the bad “Ghost of Christmas Future” I narrowly avoided all those years ago. Here’s what happened:

I was on my way to work with a new client when I stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. As I stood in line, I glanced out the window and saw a city bus stop and a bunch of people got off. One guy – mid 40’s, tall and lanky – started walking towards the Starbucks, and there was something about the way he was walking that was familiar to me.

When he entered the store, I recognized him from many years before when we were both struggling inside sales reps trying to sell investments over the phone. His name was Mark. After I got my coffee, and he got his, he came up to me and said, “You’re Mike Brooks, right?” “Yes” I said. “Hey, we used to work together!” he said. “I remember,” I said.

He asked me what I was up to these days, and I told him I had become a consultant in inside sales, and that I was off to work with a new client. I asked him what he was up to and this is when the chill hit me. He said he was starting a new sales job today, and then he rolled his eyes as if to say, “And this one will suck, too.”

We walked out of the store together, and said goodbye and went our separate ways. He went to wait at the next bus bench, and I got into my Mercedes and drove away.

As I sipped my coffee and listened to the tunes in my plush car, I thought about how different our lives had turned out and wondered what happened to make them so different. As I did, I knew exactly what it was.

During our time together, the owners of the company brought in a superstar in inside sales, a guy named Stan Billue, to motivate us. Stan spoke to us for an hour about what makes up the difference between the top money earners in sales versus all the other sales reps. He said that you had a choice that very minute to either commit to learning and using proven scripts and techniques that would double or triple your income, or you would just keep doing what you were doing, and then you’d just keep getting what you’d been getting.

Stan said: “If you’re willing to do what most sales reps aren’t willing to do, then soon you’ll be able to enjoy the things, the lifestyle and the future that most sales reps will never be able to enjoy.”

I was sold. Mark wasn’t. I invested in Stan’s cassette series, “Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.” I committed to learning, practicing, and doing what he suggested. My sales and income soared.

Mark thought what Stan taught was just a bunch of old sales techniques that wouldn’t work for him. Mark thought he knew better. Mark didn’t believe in using scripts, “I’ll sound like a telemarkerter,” he said. “I have to go with the flow because each prospect is different,” he said. Mark didn’t believe in putting in the time, energy or money to get better. So he didn’t.

Fast forward to our Starbucks encounter. Over 20 years had passed between that Stan Billue talk, and I realized that, that seminar was the moment I made the decision to change my life. When Mark showed up that day, he was the Ghost of Christmas Past that could have become my Ghost of Christmas Future.

My life had changed because of Stan’s material, my commitment to investing in it and then using it diligently. My life is infinitely better because I did, and I have no doubt that had I not bought it and studied it and used it, it would have been me that was taking a bus to my next, new job. It sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it.

The moral here is that you, too, can avoid the Ghost of Christmas Past from becoming your future. Stan just went back into the studio and produced another masterpiece of sales training that can and will double or even triple your income in 2015 – if you get it and use it.

You can get it here.

Now I know only a select few of you will actually invest in this, but I also know that those of you that do, have a good chance of driving a Mercedes next year rather than taking the bus. It’s really up to you. If you want to avoid Mark’s “Ghost of Christmas Past,” then Act Now.

Believe me, there is not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful I did…

The Holidays are finally here. To most sales people, this means extra days off, and half days before Christmas and New Year’s; it means holiday parties, year-end bonuses (if they’ve been good and made their quotas), and even promotions if their company offers them. It means holiday cards from vendors, and it means long lunches spent at malls trying to avoid the crowds.

It also means gifts. There may be gifts from co-workers, bosses, department heads and clients. There may be gifts from themselves (the best kind), but also from family members and friends. It’s a wonderful time of year, as many of you know, and if only we could make these feelings last the whole year…

Well, maybe you can. What if you were to receive some gifts that could make all the feelings you have right now last throughout 2015? What if you were to receive some gifts that would guarantee that you would have a better year in sales next year than the one you just had?

Here are three gifts you can give yourself that will pay you back over and over again for years to come:

Gift #1: The gift of a positive, expectant attitude. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important than a positive attitude. Zig Ziglar said it best all those years ago: “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude that determines your altitude.” This is true in life, of course, but especially true in sales.

The number one thing you can give yourself this December is a resource to help you nurture a positive attitude. There are scores of books out there, and my favorite is still, “The Advanced Formula for Total Success,” by Dr. Robert Anthony. It’s out of print, but you can still find some used copies on Amazon.

My favorite way of developing a positive attitude, though, is through the use of subliminal recordings. I especially use these at night to fall asleep to, and they always work for me (and millions of other people, too). Click Here to find a recording that resonates with you, and then start listening.

Gift #2: The gift of proven, specific sales techniques that will improve your sales skills. Let me ask you: Do you believe that practice makes perfect? If you said “yes” then you’re wrong. Practice only makes permanent. If you are adlibbing and using ineffective sales techniques, then you’re just going to keep getting substandard results. And that’s what most (unfortunately) sales reps do.

If you want to truly have a better 2015, then you have to improve your sales skill set. And the way you do that is by investing your time, money and energy to get better. It’s kind of like setting a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight. If you want to do that, then you have to invest some time, energy and money (if you’re going to join a gym or buy new sneakers) to get the new result, right? In other words, you’re going to need to change what you’re doing.
It’s the same with your sales results. If nothing changes, then nothing changes. Here’s an easy way of making more sales next year: Invest in my eBook of Phone Scripts, or take advantage of this incredible holiday deal on my powerful 5-CD program. Remember, only practicing good techniques is what’s going to make you a better sales professional.

Gift #3: The Gift of Gratitude. Want to know the fastest way to improve your attitude and your life? Become grateful for everything in your life. Yes, I mean EVERYTHING. Oh, it’s easy to be grateful for the good things in your life, but what would happen if you became accepting and even grateful for the things that are not going your way right now?

Being grateful for everything in your life means you are grateful for being alive. My first mentor used to say that every day he woke up on this side of the grass, it was a great day. The same is true for you: If things aren’t going your way right now, or if there is a problem you’re dealing with, be grateful you get to go through it – it means you’re alive and on this side of the grass! And on this side, the grass is always greener…

Another mentor of mine seemed to be happy all the time. I once asked him how he maintained such a good attitude, and he told me it was simple. He said, “I don’t expect anything, and I accept absolutely everything.” Sounded pretty Zen like to me.

There are many books and CD’s you can invest in to help you “develop an attitude of gratitude,” but the easiest way is to simply make a list of 25 things you’re grateful for right now. Do it after you finish reading this article, and you’ll know what I mean.

So, do you want to extend this holiday feeling into 2015? Give yourself any one of these gifts and you will be on your way. Give yourself all of them, and you’ll live each day with this holiday feeling!