“I’ve always been an optimist. Frankly, I never saw much use in being anything else.” Winston Churchill
Psychologist Martin Sigelman discovered a strong link between optimism and results in a detailed study with sales professionals at Met Life Insurance. The study concluded that those who ranked in the top 10% of the organization when it came to optimism outsold by 88% those in the bottom 10% of the company.
That statistic may not surprise you, but think through the underlying aspects of the study. These were salespeople, and they were hired because they were optimistic people in the first place. Those in the bottom 10% still would have considered themselves to be optimists, and compared to a lot of other professions they probably were.
What does this mean for the top 10% of the salespeople in the organization? It means they were more than optimists – they were super-optimists. These were people who did more than pretend. They were optimists in their core, and they carried that optimistic purpose into every sales encounter.
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I ran across this great article on www.dumblittleman.com that I thought you’d enjoy. (It’s true – I sometimes visit a website called “Dumb Little Man”. It’s actually a pretty good site.)
I think this is a topic we all struggle with sometimes. I’m hoping you’ll read it, learn from it, and add anything you do to get motivated.
- JS
8 Ways to Motivate Yourself (When You Just Don’t Feel Like It)
Jason Barr
So, how do you motivate yourself if you’re not feeling motivated? I think the feelings are key to understanding the root challenge. You’re not always going to feel like doing something. You have to lead your emotions, not let your emotions lead you. Take one or more of these 8 eight concrete steps to inject some purpose into your situation. Read more…
Kathy Klinger in Fort Wayne, Indiana this week sent me an outstanding quote from the great Winston Churchill. Check it out:
“For myself, I am an optimist. It doesn’t seem to be much use to be anything else.”
Let’s analyze.
1) That statement shouldn’t be nearly as profound as it is. The quote demands an “Oh, man!” and a “No duh!” at the same time. How can something so obvious be so profound? It must be (at least for me) that it cuts too close to the bone, that it too often perfectly depicts my faulty thinking.
2) The statement stands alone as an outstanding gut check whenever negative thoughts enter my head. When I negatively pre-judge a prospect that just got out of their car. When I adopt someone else’s negativity as my own. When I buy into the dour news coming from the television or newspaper. Decision time.
3) Inherent in the statement is the idea that pessimism is a choice. Likewise optimism. It is up to me, and me alone, to adorn my attitude in finery or in shabby rags.
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