Changing our behavior to achieve better results is the most important
challenge we face in trying to compete in this chaotic world. Maybe
you are in a slump or know deep down you have accepted an average
performance when a great one is possible. When you’re ready to change–
to increase your sales, to take some calculated risks, to improve any
and all aspects of your life–you may not know how to begin beyond
crossing your fingers and hoping for a lucky break. What can you do
differently to create more positive results in your work and personal
life?
First, accept the fact that if you are not getting the results you
want in any aspect of your life, it just might be you! It’s not
somebody else’s fault. To achieve real change in your results, decide
that this is your year. You must believe in yourself and your ability
to make change happen. When you do, you’ll find that your belief
naturally leads you to take action, and action is the only thing that
brings results.
True change requires you to develop clear reasons why you will not
fail yourself and your family. So when you know what drives you,
write it down. The process requires introspection, which you may not
be used to, but in order for it to work, you need to take the time to
quietly consider every aspect of your life (past, present, and
future) and commit it to paper.
To embark on this process, consider the following:
Where have you been?
If you feel as if disappointing results are your destiny, they will
be until you are able to see the behaviors that lead to those
results. So take ten minutes to reflect on your accomplishments and
your disappointments, big and small, and then write everything down.
Consider and answer these questions for your career, family, health,
faith, self education, finances, and recreation/fun.
- What accomplishments am I most proud of?
- What specific results have I achieved?
- Have I been willing to do what I know it takes to do better?
- What have been my biggest disappointments?
- What did I learn from my disappointments?
Where are you now?
To change, you need to know where you are in the present moment, as
well as where you’ve been. Make an honest written assessment of where
you are in your life right now in the areas listed above. Where have
you lowered the bar and accepted it? Think in terms of keeping score
and getting clear on the actual numbers you have right now. Look at
the truth! Getting disgusted with your current situation is a heck of
a motivator.
Health and energy level is the Achilles heel for most people. The
number one killer in the nation is heart disease, and almost half of
those who have a heart attack die from their first one. So you can
see the necessity of getting honest with yourself right now about
your heath, as well as other aspects of your life. To draw a detailed
health picture, go to a professional and find out:
- What is my current weight compared to where I want to be?
- What are my blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride level,
and EKG readings?
- What is my standing heart rate? Can I run a mile? How quickly do I
recover after exercise?
- How often do I work out a month? Am I too tired at the end of the
day to enjoy myself?
- Is fifty-percent of what I am eating water-rich live foods – fruits
and vegetables?
Repeat this process in the other key areas suggested, considering
every aspect of your life as it
really is, right now.
Where do you want to go?
Allow yourself to fantasize about what specifically you want most in
your life. First consider what you’d like to do immediately, then in
the near future. What are the top specific, measurable outcomes you’d
like to achieve within those time frames? Look to clarify and raise
your personal standards of conduct. Make sure you have each of the
key areas represented. It is not the quantity, but the quality of the
goals you set!
For someone in sales, good questions to establish immediate, short
and long-term goals would be:
- What am I committed to earning this year?
- What percentage of my sales is from referrals?
- How many new prospects will I contact a day? How many current
clients will I contact?
- How can I better document my successes with testimonial letters,
quotes, and pictures?
- What company award and/or incentive trip am I committed to winning?
- What will I do each day to enhance my expert status and give more
value to my clients?
- Have I been doing what it takes to be great or have I been making
excuses and fighting to be average?
What is my action plan and tracking method?
Break your bigger goals into monthly and even weekly achievable
steps. But keep in mind that the time-worn old advice to take gradual
“baby steps” is seldom effective; you’ll get frustrated and
discouraged if your new results don’t come quickly enough. Be bold!
Making more radical changes will simply yield quicker results and
establish forward momentum.
Next, create a goal sheet and action plan in any format that suits
you: a time line, a monthly calendar with target dates and notes,
pictures of the outcome you want with a simple list of the steps it
will take to get there, or any other creative format that works for
you. Make it easy to review your goals and higher personal standards
daily by laminating your action plan and putting it in your shower,
on your bathroom mirror, or in your briefcase for easy daily review.
Radical changes you can make for better results include:
- Get up thirty minutes earlier at least four days a week for aerobic
exercise.
- Make ten prospecting calls for new business every day by noon.
- Contact three past customers everyday and ask questions to uncover
new opportunities.
- Send one hand written card a day keeping in touch with clients or
praising an employee.
- Limit fast food intake to once a week. Bring a small cooler of
healthy food to work/in your car.
- Eliminate soda from your diet. Eat seven to nine servings of fruits
and vegetables each day.
- Focus only on positive things your family is doing or has done the
first thirty minutes at home.
- Write a written outcome before you make every sales presentation.
Tape it and review.
Take the time to write down why you are committed to stick with these
radical changes. Focus on the joy of when you make the change not the
fear of failing. Write at least a paragraph to yourself. What kind of
person do you want to be? How will you behave to become that person?
The Rewards of Change are Many
Whether you make change happen or not, it’s going to happen; that’s
the way life is. And the results of passively waiting to see what
happens next—of letting life decide for you—can be completely
opposite from what you’d choose for yourself. Do not wait for a crisis!
While making a radical change can be an intimidating prospect at
first, the rewards are many and will come quicker than you might
imagine. When you’re in control of your destiny, achieving your
optimal results and beyond, you’ll look back on that decision and
realize it was the moment everything began to change. Mastering the
ability to confront reality and make a change isn’t just a key
strategy for business. It is a necessity for life and perhaps the one
skill most worth learning. 
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