Design Your Life
“You must learn a new way to think … before you can master a new way to be.”
That’s one of my favorite quotes from Marianne Williamson. Too few people in the sales profession know this incredibly valuable secret: that to create success in your business, regardless of your company, product, service, region, or experience, the single most important action you can take is to engage in Personal Development. This is your key to learning a brand new way of thinking.
If you entered the sales profession with no history or concept of Personal Development, years may go by before you take notice of its acceleration power. Or, perhaps when you do hear about it, you may confuse Personal Development with business development, such as learning more about sales and presentation skills, customer service, or subject matter expertise about your products or services. These are important areas to study, but it’s not Personal Development by my definition.
Personal Development means working on yourself: your dreams, goals, strengths, weaknesses, and your willingness to step into your greatness and live your life to its full potential.
As I began my sales career, my mentors insisted I embrace Personal Development. I’m happy I took their advice. The first book I read was The Power Is Within You by Louise Hay, and her words made an immediate impact. For the first time, I became aware of my thoughts and my ability to direct them.
I suddenly understood that what I think about, I bring about, and this empowered me to design my life. I realized I could transform any area of my life, including my sales career, by shifting my mindset through the power of Personal Development.
With over two decades in sales, I’ve experienced many highs and lows of success. Yes, there were difficult times when I could have focused on all of the reasons why I should fail. But thanks to Personal Development, during those challenging times I was able to focus on all the reasons why I would persevere and create success. And as those cycles came to a close, I found myself back on top. These experiences changed my perception of what I’m capable of and what’s truly possible.
Out of the Blue
Another favorite Marianne Williamson quote captures what can happen when you allow yourself time for Personal Development, shift your mindset, and claim your personal power:
“The miracle of illumination does not come from rational evidence; it comes literally from ‘out of the blue,’ a consummate visual symbol for the realms of pure potentiality. The potential for infinite breakthrough emerges when our proactive embrace of the light is even greater than our fear of the dark.”
Whew! I read that paragraph three times, put the book down and immediately knew I wanted to tap into my “Out of the Blue” potential.
But I had to make the words my own. I had to personalize Marianne’s powerful thoughts. So here is what I wrote in my journal after I read her paragraph:
“The miracle of my illumination, my willingness to light my world and see things differently, does not come from the way things are or have always been in my life; it comes effortlessly ‘out of the blue,’ and into my life as I purposefully and courageously shine light on my unlimited potentiality.
“My potential for infinite breakthrough becomes my reality when I proactively turn to my light and away from my fear. When I simply turn from fear to light … anything is possible and can show up in my life ‘out of the blue.’”
BADA BOOM, right?
I think each one of us would love to experience our own Miracle of Illumination that effortlessly turns our fears into insight, hope and confidence.
With regard to your Direct Selling business, I’d say the most empowering kind of illumination – or breakthrough of the light – is being able to see the potential for the highest and best in the circumstances of your business, and see it so clearly and brightly in the center of your attention that fear recedes to the edges and eventually drops out of the picture entirely.
It may be hard to believe, but the less fear you have running through your mind, sapping your energy and attention, the more energy you have to move into your unlimited potential.
When you simply turn from fear to light, anything is possible and can show up in your life “out of the blue.”