"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
Thomas Jefferson
Uncovering what defines you is your own personal journey, not anyone else's.
Grab a pad of paper and a pen, now answer the following questions:
- How would you define yourself?
- What makes you tick?
- What are your top three values and how can you apply them to your career?
How many of you have spent the time to unpack who you really are?
Defining yourself, it is knowing who you are, what you stand for, what your identity is, and what rules you operate by. This could be the morals you live by, what you define as integrity, the importance of your word and beliefs.
I believe defining yourself is one of the most important things you can do. What defines you impacts the direction you head in life, where it takes you with your career and how you interact with your clients. This is tough work but oh so necessary for long term sales success.
"Strong people define themselves; weak people allow others to define them."
Ken Poirot
We live in highly competitive sales world. We have all been experiencing chaotic, cumbersome and crisis filled moments.
That being said, you must be able to clearly differentiate yourself from all the other empty suits.
If you don't know yourself then how can you help your clients?
This may sound a bit harsh, no one cares about you, at least not at first. You must make them care about you, and you accomplish this with the how you define yourself.
I believe you must be able help them answer these questions:
- Who are you?
- Why should I care?
Stop looking in the dictionary for words that define you.
What words come to mind when you think about yourself?
How would you define yourself right now?
DEFINE YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR STORY
We can all agree that stories sell. Stories are powerful. They give you a narrative to live by and lessons to pass on that shape who you are and will become. Your story calls out your best self.
How would you tell the story of you?
Is your story fixed on the past, the present or is it focused on the future?
Past stories do not dictate future success. Think about this one for a moment.
When we fixate on the past, we become limited. We hold ourself back by what we have been and what we have done. It is hard to break out of it and imagine something new, to embrace new possibilities.
This is why I am concerned with tenured and well experienced salespeople. The current state of affairs has many of them looking at their past successes and wondering what the hell has just happened.
We must change the perception of ourselves in order to change our story of what we will become.
We all have baggage in the closet. The sooner you come to grips with it the better.
Make a concerted effort to stop defining yourself by what you are not. Stop beating yourself up (lord knows I have learned this the hard way). Every day starts a day filled with new opportunities, so start living a better story.
I encourage you to grab a sheet of paper and a pen, start rewriting the story of yourself. Redefine yourself as the hero and set aside the cast members. Focus on defining you.
How many of you know your story?
DEFINE YOURSELF THROUGH SELF-AWARENESS
Quite simple, self-awareness means you knowing yourself so well that you become amazingly happy which in turn allows you to live a wonderfully balanced life.
- Are you living as the real you?
- Do your thoughts match your actions?
- Does your walk match your talk?
- Are you trying to impress others?
Knowing yourself is the process of understanding you. Knowing yourself brings you face-to-face with self-doubts and insecurities. Self-reflecting upon this allows you to take a serious look into how you have been living your sales life.
“How much we know and understand ourselves is critically important, but there is something that is even more essential to living a Wholehearted life: loving ourselves.”
Brené Brown
Knowing and defining yourself is a conscious effort; you must do it with intention and purpose.
DEFINE YOURSELF THROUGH "I AM" STATEMENTS
What is the one word that defines you?
"I Am" statements are a direct way to tell the story of yourself. These statements become the story of your life.
Every single day, reading out loud, “I am this” or “I am that” you give a specific and direct instruction about you.
Creating "I Am" statements does you no good if you don’t put it to regular use.
Reciting "I Am" statements every day, now this is a game changer.
You are solely responsible for the thoughts your mind produces.
One of my favorite quotes by a near and dear friend of mine, Kody Bateman.
In his book, "Promptings, Your inner Guide To Making A Difference" He states,
"You learned that the stories in your mind become the stories of your life and that you have control over the stories you put in your mind."
Kody Bateman stresses,
"When you create an 'I AM' statement, visualize it, and state your compelling 'why,' your subconscious mind goes into action delivers exactly what you tell it."
How will you ever breakthrough when you play mental gymnastics with your mind?
How will you ever breakthrough if you struggle to clearly define you?
By now, many of you may be asking yourself, "Larry, what is your one word?" It is quite simple, AUTHENTICITY. I proudly fly the flag of authenticity.
In a world of empty suits, I’m leading a revolution of authenticity, integrity, and substance in the sales profession
Brené Brown says it best,
"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen."
UNCOVER THE WORDS THAT DEFINES YOU?
I encourage you to become your own Sherlock Holmes. The words you use to define YOU matter.
Become your own detective and uncover that one special word that defines you.
Deepak Chopra nails it,
"Be willing to redefine yourself every day."
In a world where perception matters, clearly defining yourself and being able to articulate it, will elevate you above all others in sales.
We live in a world where our digital self competes with our real self. We live in a world where social dress up is alive and well. We live in a world where many chase vanities rather than chasing value. We live in a world where trust is at an all-time low.
Don't be afraid to look in the mirror and say to yourself, "This is me. This is the real me"
"People that have to say they are real are never real! You can not be real if you have to keep saying it. You only recognized as being real because you show it!"
Merle Rutledge, Jr.
The road you take to define yourself will be filled with roadblocks and potholes.
I will leave all of you with this,
The way you connect and relate to people, is how well you define yourself.
I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and heartfelt strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback, kindle and in audio. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
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