Defeat them

At a very young age , my dad said to me ...son when you grow up , give your life to a cause bigger than you, defeat your demons and all your non believers , because one day you will be a man. What will you give the world? because the world will give you whatever you ask of it,the world will give you what you deserve , not what you want.
What a powerful statement huh? We secretly attract what we think , As a man thinketh by James Allen is one of the most powerful books there is, written more than 100 years ago, as true today as it was then, all of this "new age" concepts are natural laws, they will not go away, you can choose to ignore them, but that doesn't mean  it will not apply to you.
It has taken me many years to find out and realize true happiness, it is amazing how easy it really is to have a happy existence. Finding true purpose which only comes from spiritual growth is paramount for you to achieve happiness....
that was step one of the equation, look within you, really look deep and find your inner voice, what is it saying? Follow it..

Greatness

Each one of us is called to greatness. It is not the exclusive domain of
the famous , or those in positions of power. If you choose, no matter what
your current situation, you can have an extraordinary impact on the world.
You can craft an extraordinary life, and make a real difference in the
lives of those around you. Here are some powerful ways to embrace your
highest potential and awaken your best self.

Drink Tea With Gandhi
Reading is one of the best disciplines I know of to stay “on your game” and
at your highest. Reading from a great book is really all about having a
conversation with the author. And we become our conversations. Just think,
tonight — by reading Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My
Experiments with Truth, over a cup of tea — Reading a book
by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you.

Get Some Skin in the Game
Failure is the price of greatness. Failure is an essential ingredient for
high achievement. As innovation guru David Kelley wrote: “Fail faster,
succeed sooner.” You can’t win without leaving your safety zone and taking
some calculated risks.

If you keep doing what you are doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been
getting. True joy comes when you put some skin in the game and take some
chances.

Be a Happier Human
If you want to be happier, do more of the things that make you happy. I
know that seems like an obvious point — but it’s not. As we leave the
wonder years of childhood, most of us stop doing the things that make our
hearts sing.

Listen Twice as Much as You Speak
Listening intently to someone is one of the best ways I know of to honor
that person and forge a deep human connection. When you listen to someone
it sends a message: “I value what you have to say, and I’m humble enough to
listen to your words.” Most people’s idea of listening is waiting until the
other person has finished speaking before answering.

Align Your Schedule With Your Values
To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What you’re doing speaks so loudly I
cannot hear what you are saying.”
Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth. Because your schedule
doesn’t lie.
There can be no authentic success and lasting happiness if your daily
schedule is misaligned with your deepest values.

Be Wildly Enthusiastic
The people I love to be around are generally those who have a simple,
heartfelt quality: They are enthusiastic. Wildly so. They are open to life.
They are curious. They love to learn. They have a lot of fun. . Be energetic
and alive. See the best in people. You can’t control what happens to you
each day, but if you have an abundance of enthusiasm, I have no doubt that
whatever the coming hours bring, you will handle them with grace, strength
and a smile.

To Be More Productive, Kick Back
Spending all your time working will not make you more productive. In my
experience, and I’ve been at this for more than 10 years, few people get
their best ideas at work. I invite you to take a moment to think about
that. Checking your email on your BlackBerry every 60 seconds will not make
you more productive. Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t tap into your
natural pool of creativity.

Get Big on Self-Care
Leadership begins within. Organizational leadership begins with personal
leadership. You can’t be great at work until you feel great. You can’t be a
source of positive energy if you have no energy. The doorway to success
swings outward — not inward.

Make the time to care for yourself. Get into great shape. Plan and improve
your skills. Work with a coach. Spend excellent time with your loved ones.
Commune with nature. Enjoy life while you chase success. By caring for
yourself, you will be able to give more to others. By ensuring that you are
on your best game, your leadership effectiveness will be guaranteed. And by
taking the time to enjoy life, you will be more enjoyable to be around.

2011 GOALS

No matter how this year was for you… next year can be even better.
If it was great, you can parlay that success to make next year truly
extraordinary. If it was less than great, this is your chance to punch the
reset button and start fresh.
When the page flips on the calendar and you wake up on January 1… THAT
could be the day… the first day of your BEST YEAR EVER.
A new year gives you that chance… the promise that no matter what’s happened
in the past or where you are today, you can recreate yourself. You can decide that
THIS IS IT… THIS IS the year you set out to accomplish your dreams. THIS IS
the year you live the life you were meant to live.
You can design this year to be your best year yet. How? There is a formula.
We all have the ability to achieve the seemingly impossible. The key is properly
inciting your creative power, revving up your inner drive, and channeling your
focus over a sustained period. It’s all about setting goals.
If you came short on your goals like most people did, like most people have , what are you going to do different this year in order to achieve them?
We have 62 days before this year is over, start putting together your list now,do not wait until December 31st to put together some half baked list with ridiculous goals.
Have 3 main goals
1) Personal/Spiritual
2) Professional
3) Fitness
Then have sub-goals for each category, give them a time line , but please do not write December 30th on them,you want to be done with your goals by December 1 so that you can start preparing for January 1.
I achieved 75% of my goals so far, my fitness is where I lagged because i focused on my personal and my professional , its OK , for many years I focused so much on my fitness that the 2 other areas of my life suffered.
I'm writing down my list.....Are you?

TIME WASTERS

Whether you work for a salary or hourly or even your own business, wasting time is a sign of weakness and a definite sign of non commitment to your own cause.
Sabotaging yourself is a sure way to failure, if you make 50-75K and lets say you work only 8 hrs a day ( if you're at 70K and up you are working longer hours,but let's say 8) your hourly rate is between $30-$40 dlls an hour, ask yourself this : would anybody payme 330 dlls an hour to do what i'm doing right now?
Hey we all do from time to time, the problem is when this is a habit and you do it often, don't let ytour mind wander , when you are at work wherever you are be there 100%
In sales , we make our own hourly rate , how much money do you want to make? As a sales person you wake up unemployed every morning, it doesn't matter if you have a base salary or not, you are unemployed and to find employment you must talk to enough people to make something happen, you must "MAKE RAIN" don't procrastinate making calls, don't procrastinate picking up the phone, the best way to stop wasting time in minutia is to first be prepared, be knowledgeable in your offerings, be knowledgeable in your servivices.
The way I look at the business of selling is simple, you are an educator, you educate people on the benefits of your service and products, you make sure that they have all the information needed to make the best decision possible, and you know what? that's all you can do bubba, that's all you can do, you will not winn all the deasl, if anybody tells you that you can , they are lying to you, convert 4 out of 10 No into YES and you will be well on your way to stardom, easy enough right? The secret is that you have to talk to enough people to get to 10 , and that is everyday, Can you do the activity day in and day out? My guess is that if you have a burning desire to succeed you will.
In the words of Zig Ziglar....See you at the top

Are you a Lion?

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better
be running.”

I have always instilled in my daughter that we are a family of Lions, as a kid, my grand father always taught me that being a victim is for the weak, it doesn't matter if someone actually does you wrong, the minute you accept it and act like it, you are doom, you are now a victim , and the world belongs to the winners,not the whiners.

Ben Franklin said "the harder I work, the better luck I have"
so how do we make more luck? followed are some simple suggestions that I believe are instrumental:

1. Prepare. Work hard to be ready for the opportunities that are important to you. Research. Practice. Perfect.
2. Be awake. Pay attention to the people, events, and things around you. Evaluate logically and trust your gut instinct.
3. Take action. Put yourself out there. Explore. Be vulnerable. Make contact with people. Take risks.
4. Expect positive results. Optimism improves your chances. If (when) you fail, embrace the lesson and continue on, smarter.

How many times and how much do we complain about our bad luck? or boast about our good luck? My mentors have always taught me that hard work makes good luck, and hard work always gives you back more than it takes from you.
Hard work at our job makes for more revenue, hard work at our fitness makes for better results and looking great in your bathing suit , hard work on your faith , makes for a closer and more personal relationship with God ,trust me on this one....hard work makes for a better life.
In the words of Zig Ziglar...see you at the top.

Who's in charge?

Closing sales is the main  goal for any sales professional. What is your closing ratio? Is it tattooed on your brain? Bringing home the bacon is closing the sale without the threat of buyer’s remorse and possible cancellation. Indeed, many top sales people can close a high percentage of sales but the power of their subtle coercion just brings about a cancellation once the salesman has gone. All was for nothing. A great performance but “no gravy bubba”.
Here is a general idea of the basis for consultative selling technique Most clients have the pre-conceived notion that a sales person is there to game them….because if they like the sales person they might buy the product or service. . Most people deeply fear rejection in any form.
Successful sales professionals know that it’s not about being like-able but is about identifying the need(s) and want(s) of the buyer. If the buyer sees no need for what you have to sell, chances are highly probable that you are wasting your time trying to make what your selling become a need. So, the first step in the consultative sale is to present yourself as an objective expert on how-if the buyer has the need-your product or service might represent a solution. An effective consultative sale will result in the client asking for the sale.
Building Urgency
Key to closing any sale is building urgency to make a decision. You do this by establishing upfront in the presentation that the buyer will give you a yes or no at the end of the process-either it makes sense or it doesn’t. Assure them that it won’t hurt your feelings if they say no. Rejection is no problem for you. The facts will make any decision apparent.
By not setting the expectation of a decision at the end of the presentation not only loses the opportunity to get a decision and save wasted return visits with the “hope” for an eventual sale, but also the sales person loses the opportunity to take control and bust the view that the sales person is there to do a song and dance. If you come in with a no nonsense, needs assessment approach-and mean it-you position yourself as an adviser and not a sales person.
A consultative sale depends on presenting a logical reason to buy. However, the buyer must first agree that they have the need  and that they want to satisfy the need. It then becomes a matter of presenting facts that logically support what you have to offer. If done properly, at the end of the presentation, the buyer will ask for the sale: “So, what’s next?” or “What can you do for me?When a client asks for help or the next step in the process , it demonstrates the following:
* You are not a salesperson in the traditional sense. Your job was to help facilitate a decision. You presented yourself as an expert on the subject-not a sales person.
* You help the buyer admit that there is a problem or need and that it should be resolved now.
* You set the ground rules that if your presentation makes sense, the buyer will give you a yes or no. Either it makes sense or not.
You kept the sales person out of the room. It was all dispassionate logic.
You showed that your main interest was helping the client meet their needs-not yours. If your product can meet the need, so much the better. But the decision was totally in the hands of the buyer.
* The buyer was under your control from the time you set the expectation of giving you a decision.
Always have your pen and contract at the ready when they ask for your help.

The Time is Now

How many times have we heard this in our lifetime? People use it and drop it as a call to action every time that a sense of urgency is needed. But when is it appropriate to use on yourself? when do you talk to yourself and say "the time is now baby"
Every goal , every dream and every action has to have a start time , and the time to start is now, there is no better time bubba, why wait and prolong it? Old chinese proverb that says "the 1000 mile journey starts with one foot step" its absolutely right.
The easiest thing to do is to do nothing,status quo is your biggest enemy my friend, and there is no better time to start than now.
Having said that, patience is definitely a virtue that must be cultivated and embraced, sometimes in order to achieve our dreams and our goals, fifty thousand things must happen, sometimes painfully slow, but as long as you are moving forward and you know that you are, the results don't have to be visible.
There was a tree in my backyard that looked dead, its branches were ridiculously dry and no leaves or flowers were on it, while all the other trees in the yard grew awesome and big and full, this one was "doing nothing", I wanted to cut this stupid looking tree, I mean you're ruining my yard papi , move out of the way right? well I decided to leave it alone for a while, but it was getting as much water and care as all the others, one morning it seemed like over night, that tree was just full of life, leaves green, beautiful vibrant purple flowers and strong trunk.
See what I was not seeing, was happening, this tree was getting its roots ready to support it and it became the best tree in my backyard , doing nothing and being still are two completely different things.....always remember that.
Follow your dreams, start on your dreams.....THE TIME IS NOW.

LIVING WITH CANCER

I was 33 years old that May 6th of 2004 , the news came like a bucket of cold water , when your doctor tell you " listen , the good news is that you are going to be ok, the not so good news is that you have cancer" holy shit right? what do you mean I have cancer, my daughter is 10 fucking years old I can't leave her alone, I'm way too young to go through this.
He said we have to operate today, you wait you die, is that simple.....well I have to call my mom , I have to talk to my wife, what about my business? figure it out boy, none of that will matter if you're dead.
Next morning 6 am I am at the operating table, surreal was to mark on my body the side where my surgery was supposed to take place < left side, like any bad shit that has ever happen to me.
The following days were a nightmare,not being able to piss or walk, or eat or breathe was just horrible.
I remember 2 weeks after my surgery trying to walk from my front door to the gate of my house, 30 fucking steps and it was the single hardest thing I could have ever done, what happen to that strong man that could run 26 miles? what happen to that animal that would ride 100 miles on his bicyle and then come home to swim for an hour on the ocean? I was beaten, and my journey hadn't even started.
what followed was 16 weeks of excruciating pain between radiation treatments and jtests and injections, not being able to hold any food but still gaining weight as if I was eating for 3.
I had the love of wonderful people and the love of not so wonderful people (or at least it felt like love) but my indomitable spirit kept me afloat, my spirit made it to where the pain and the fear never took hold of me.
sometimes I feel like cancer is just around the corner, listening to me, waiting to hear me say "I'm cancer free" just so that it can come back.
There are 28 million people sufferingg this horrible disease,this disease that does not respect if you are a young stud , or an old grandma , or a young mother of 3 beautiful kids, we must come together to say NO, I said NO, I will not die this way! Not today not this year not at 34!
Join the american cancer association, help where ever you can, when ever you can, join the fight against cancer, say NO, unfortunately , statistics show that somebody you know will be affected with this disease.
I apologize for this non business blog, but ultimately, my blogs are abput winning are about surviving, and I, I am a survivor.
Art Hagopian

The business of business to business

We have all heard this one before right? the business of business to business sales is people. People buy from people they like and trust, all things being equal people like to do business with friends,all things not being equal,people still like to do business with friends.

So in order to make sales,so we need to make more friends? essentially yes,the more people you know the more sales you will make,but you must remember that in sales is not who you know,it’s who knows you.

The secret to selling is not in the selling, it is always in the prospecting, you don’t get to sell to new people if there are no new people to sell to, it works like a pyramid , Prospects at the bottom then appointments then sales at the top, so how many prospects do you need to make to get 1 sale? .

knowing your numbers is extremely important, you must know how many calls you need to make in order to get 1 appointments and you need to know how many appointments you need to make in order to get 1 sale,without this data it is virtually impossible for you to do it consistently, oh yes you will Forrest Gump into it from time to time,but to be truly consistent, to be a super star , you must become a numbers person.

It is so easy to say that keeping track of our calls just slows us down right? that we would accomplish so much more if we didn’t have to keep a tic sheet, or write notes in our crm, what a joke, without this data you are not much different from 90% of the sales people out there,there are very few super stars,to become one,you must be willing to put in the extra effort and the hard work that it requires to make sales easy.

Have a great sales day!

Bad day? Get over it......

"I need a hug!" said the voice of one of my sales people at the other end of the phone.
"How can I help?" I asked.
"I don't wanna whine, but I need some inspiration. You know, some encouragement. Someone to put some wind in my sails (sales)."

Feeling down? Having a bad day? Dealing with the blues? Well, take heart , You are not alone. You are far, far from alone.

"You don't need a hug. You need a SALES hug," I said.

Ever go to the doctor when you're sick as a dog? You talk to the doctor. She asks you questions, examines you, and says you'll be fine. And what happens? You leave feeling better. She did nothing but REASSURE you (and collect your $20 co-pay), so you walk out of her office feeling better.

Well, it's the:

same with life.
same with work.
and especially the same with sales.

Sometimes you need someone to tell you everything is OK. But that's just a
Band-Aid.

Here's the cure:

The first thing you have to do is discover WHY you are down. Having the blahs is one thing, but understanding where they come from is another.

To understand what's causing the blahs, write down your "down thoughts" and your "down reasons." What's causing these feelings? Is your mood influenced by people (arguments, disagreements), or is your mood self-induced (money worries)? Focus on the cause.

Is it because of-

lack of money?
lack of sales?
bad work environment?
bad boss?
fighting or arguing with your spouse, kids, parents or friends?
customers telling you no?
quality or delivery problems?
coworker problems?
price-too-high problems?

These reasons are not problems-they are symptoms.

"Prospects think my prices are too high" is a symptom.
"Sales are slow" is a symptom.
"I don't have enough money" is a symptom
"I need a vacation" is a symptom.
"I'm down" is a symptom.
"I'm having a bad day" is a symptom.

To make the symptoms go away, you gotta uncover the problem and work on fixing it (just like doctors do).

To get to the heart, the root, the meat, and the cause-you need to ask yourself three or four WHY questions to uncover the real problem. And the focus of those questions needs to be on YOU-not on outside influences.

NOTE WELL: Even if you think you know the cause of your problem, you may not. For example, maybe you're down because sales are slow or dropping. But that's not a problem-that's a symptom. The real problem is WHY they are slow in terms of YOU. It's not about high prices, competition, the boss, or the economy. Why are they slow in terms of YOU? What can YOU do to make the blahs go away?

It's all about you, or what I call "you action."

If you get caught up in feeling down, here are the consequences:

Negative blocks positive.
Negative blocks creative.
Negative blocks solution.

Don't tell anyone you're having a bad day. Why give off bad vibes? No one wants to be around a "bad-day" or "bad-mood" person. Not even you. And, when you share your negative feelings with others, you prolong them for yourself. You need to get rid of the mood or feeling as soon as possible.

So, what can you do to hug yourself? Start with these 7 solutions:

1. Call the most positive person you know. Start the conversation with small talk. Casually mention your mood and ask this person how he or she gets rid of a bad mood.
2. Act upbeat and talk "positive things." Set or reset your internal mood. Don't whine or kick cans.
3. Call your mentor and ask what he or she does when feeling down. Then discuss your specific symptoms and see if your mentor has any ideas.
4. Listen to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. Twenty minutes of "You become what you think about all day long." (The BEST piece of personal development information ever recorded.)
5. Read or re-read How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. This is a guidebook to the positive side of life.
6. Surround yourself with some form of humor. Read it. Listen to it. Watch it. Laugh. Laughing is the best medicine for redirecting your feelings.

And the big news you already know.
7. Get to work! Start working on the problem and the symptoms will disappear. Ask the WHY questions until you get to the truth. Then take action to solve, resolve, change, enhance, create new approaches, mend fences, make a plan, and DIG IN!

The keys to blah removal are support, self-discovery, reversing your thoughts, laughing, and taking action to recover. All of these things are completely under your control.

Control. It's yours for the taking. So is action.