Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year. So much preparation has been underway in the hopes of bringing good fortune and prosperity to one’s life. People all around the world who celebrate have been busy cleaning, decorating and arranging their life in such a way to welcome in as much good fortune as possible.
I can’t help but think that we should have this kind of fervour towards planning for our success year-round, for now and in the future.
I’m reminded of a story I recently read from Tom Ziglar, son of the world famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar:
Tom recounted a time when he accompanied his father to a speaking gig. By the time the event was finished and Zig had autographed all the books, it was 10:00 pm when they hit the road. Having missed dinner, they spotted a Denny’s off the side of the highway and decided to pop in for a bite to eat. Their server that night was a nice senior lady about 70 years old.
After taking their order, she walked away and Zig turned to Tom,
“Son, what a shame. A salesman didn’t do his job.”
Tom was a little perplexed, “Dad, what do you mean, a salesman didn’t do his job?”
“Son, it’s close to midnight on Friday night. Do you think that nice 70-year-old lady is working here because she wants to?”
Zig explained that had she met a superior sales person 50 years before, they would have convinced her and her husband to invest a small amount of money every month into an insurance retirement policy and she would not have to be working this late at night if she didn’t want to.
I couldn’t agree more with this philosophy!
Ivor Kellett, my Prudential salesman did exactly that for me over 50 years ago and today I work for the sheer joy of interacting with clients and the community. The money is a by-product of what I do.
And no, I didn’t start out with the discipline I have today but I did learn discipline over the years. I’m no Joe Segal or Jimmy Pattison but unless I want to, you won’t find me waiting tables at Denny’s any time soon!
