Artists have BIG balls

Artists have BIG balls in my opinion. Why?  Because they are themselves. Nothing more, nothing less. When we're kids, we're free to be ourselves...free to jump, free to scream, free to pee!! (sometimes gladly on ourselves :) As we get older, however, freedom diminishes.  Society continually stuffs our lives with sets of rules, parents, teachers, and more rules devoted to building us into people that can live within society with acceptable character traits.  "NO!!", "Don't do that, do this", "What are you thinking?" "Your boss is going to be pissed"..........all said and done....bye bye peeing-on-yourself days. It stings the first few times being told NO, (you cry), but eventually you get less emotional, (few tears), to even unaffected (rock face). In the corporate world, it's very easy to fall into a trap of achieving what is expected.  Nothing more or else it looks like you're unfocused.  Nothing less or else it looks like you're not working hard enough.  I think many fear hearing someone say "NO!".  That would imply still being a kid, and obviously that will not accelerate our career paths. That's why I love artists.  They take large amounts of criticism, back lash, rejection, disappointment, .etc...and yet they continue doing what makes them so unique.  It's almost as if they said, "I don't care what you think.  I care what I think." Well many of us may dream to be artists.  We commonly think of being a painter, photographer, or the next Justin Timberlake (sorry ladies, but Justin Bieber is before my music generation).  But I like to think of an artist as simply being "a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill" (oddly the fifth definition).  For me, this is something that anyone can be. We are all artist if we believe it. A side note, next time at work when you get knocked down or frowned upon for trying to push your creative ideas that you feel passionate about, maybe you should consider whether or not you want to become such a person.

Who Wins?: Preparer or Go-Getter

Sellers have one ultimate goal: they must sell!  Sell an idea, sell a product, and when possible, find ways to sell a little more.  And NO to people who like to blow things out of proportion: I'm not suggesting selling your body, lunch money or your neighbor's dog. When you begin in sales, nerves tremble especially during your first few sale attempts.  I know this very well from experience, and it's completely natural.  Nerves cause hesitation! "Let's have some dry runs", "let's practice until perfect" , "let's do whatever to stall me from having to place a call"...again, completely natural nerves. So how do you move onward?  From here, there are two types of people that emerge:
  1. The preparer (qualitative): This person practices the hell out of scripts to the point that his/her pitch becomes a second language.  Cover every possible element that may arise by the prospect or client.  Focus on top-notch quality, never show a sign of weakness.  This persons strives for no stutters or embarrassing moments.
  2. The go-getter (quantitative): This person accepts that failure is inevitable, especially at the beginning.  Realize that there's no way on Earth that a perfect answer can be provided for any question or scenario.  Be less prepared, but willing to jump quicker into sale attempts just to try.  Experience and repetition counts for this person.
So who wins? Which type of sales person will pull ahead in the short-term or long run? Imagine your boss asks you for an update about how you're doing in regard to sales.  Which would you rather tell?
  • "Boss, I haven't made an attempt yet because I'm making sure that my "pitch" will be flawless.  I just need a little extra time to smooth out the wrinkles of xyz."
  • "Boss, I crashed-n-burned a couple times.  I tried xyz but realize that I need to change my approach to XYZ."
Success or failure, it's been much easier and better received by higher-level colleagues when I say that I tried.  Why? Because just like them, experience teaches improvement.  How much improvement can you accomplish when you are stuck in preparation? Don't spend too much time preparing.  Too much may be perceived as cowardly.  Disagree?  Have this conversation with your boss and please tell me he/she disagreed.  And do you agree with the following statements below?
  • Preparation produces flawlessness, but inescapably causes delay.
  • Go-getting produces flaws, but inescapably causes progress.