Will future-you respect today's you?

Today I was confronted with a dilemma.
Someone had gone out of their way to lie about who I am, to make matters worse, they did this publicly.  I was mad, really mad even,  for about 3 minutes.

Then it hit me; the bullies will always be there.  The people who hate you will always exist.  All we can do to keep ourselves sane and happy is to not let another person's misery and vile thinking penetrate our sense of who we are. 

The price we pay for the poor choices we have made is infinite. 
When you look back and feel that you want to give your younger self a beating; stop.  Use that energy and passion to ensure your future self approves of who you are today.

Bumper Sticker Business.

I'm the type of person who prays for something and then goes out and gets it myself.

Ever heard that before?

I have. Lots. Usually by people who I would consider wiser than myself.

Planning IS important. However, Too often business people and sales pros alike get too caught up planning as opposed to doing. Take action! Motion creates emotion. All success is emotional. Stop dreaming, start doing.

And so ends Joshua Haddon's midnight aggressive bumper sticker wisdom rant.

Shameless Promotion.

When is promotion shame-filled?
I spent the last few days using my time to promote or ‘spam’ if you will, everyone I know regarding, what I think is the greatest product ever.

Discount Savings Network has a three tiered approach to helping restore Windsor, Ontario’s economy.
First, our savings card ensures that consumers get the best value for their dollar when they spend money here in Windsor.  This hopefully cuts down on the amount of cross border shopping that is done.  Second, we donate almost 20% of our revenue to local charities to help our fellow Windsorites.   Thirdly, Discount Savings Network increases loyalty to local businesses, which should help them grow and employ more people.  It truly is Win, Win, Win!

When you believe in something as much as I believe in this, shameless promotion doesn’t exist.  The only shame would be if you didn’t do everything you could to tell everyone about it.

Check out the website and let me know what you think.
You can also like us on facebook.

The Internet shows growth.

I wrote this 5 years ago. It's amazing how we can grow so much in such a short period of time.

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In my current position I work with a sales team on improving closing percentages and lowering cancellations during the 10 day rescission period. The sales team consists of men and women age 19 to 45, with the majority of them being 20-25. They have a marketing department that directly markets individuals, and invites those who are ‘qualified’, to a sales presentation. In sales, qualifications vary service to service and product to product. Generally, a ‘qualified’ prospect must be between the ages of 28 and 70, be working or gainfully retired and have a significant other that they bring with them to the presentation. This particular sales team is fielding 80-120 qualified tours every week. All the sales team has to do is show up for work and the potential sale is waiting to be closed. Would you believe a lot of them complain about their job? I just laugh and think of how many car salespeople would beg for this job given today’s economic state.

When I started this position the team was closing 1 in 8 qualified prospects. Those are dismal numbers in this industry. I took to the sales floor to see what was going wrong. Over the next week I observed, researched and learned everything I could. I couldn’t help but notice the age difference between the prospects and most of the sales team. During my second week, I worked the sales floor, closing 4 out of 11. Now that may seem like an improvement, but it was still barely the industry standard of 1 in 3. I still had a lot of work to do and hadn’t even begun thinking about how to close the age gap.

I was moving to a new condo and was packing. I came across some family photos from my High School and University days. There was one of me during a debating tournament shaking hands with the director of the tournament. I was surrounded by deans, principals, city officials and other people of apparent high morale standard. In my private time, I was your typical 18 year old; drinking on weekends, smoking the odd joint and chasing girls. Somehow I had won these people over. Normally I avoided these types of people like the plague. However, in this picture I looked so innocent, so trustworthy and if a picture really says a thousand words, this one would give a speech on my strong morale fiber and constant altruistic deeds.

The next week I wore a sweater vest every single day. I looked like a preparatory school boy, the honest and trustworthy boy from the picture. I closed 9 out of 11 that week. I equate this to humanity’s subconscious desire to seek out truth and purity. My next contract is in the financial education field. I can only hope that In Vest They Trust.

Feedbacking not backpatting.

The people in your circle who are consistently agreeing with you are not helping you. Earlier today, I asked a good friend of mine his opinion on a business idea I had. After five minutes of us debating back and forth, he apologized for disagreeing while standing his ground. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, I knew that no apology was necessary. At that moment, I knew I had made the leap to a place where I wanted to be professionally. I realized the ideal mindset for success was the one where I believe; the people who disagree with me are the ones I should be talking to.

Sometimes a different road will lead you to the same castle - only faster.

When you go out in the world and tackle 2013, do your best to get more feedback than back pats. It'll show in your bank account at years end.