Never Slow Down.

Today was our team's first full day back from holidays. This morning's meeting was a special place to be. It's nice to see determination and excitement in people's eyes at eight in the morning. Especially since December was below par by my standards.

We spoke at length about what we learned last year and how we can apply what we had learned this year. They had this new, 'I'm going to take 2011 by storm' look in their eyes. By nine o'clock I was certain these men had evolved into Sales Professionals. They started making their follow up calls and I could hear in their voices they meant business.

Around one o'clock, I could see the determination and excitement fade in some of them. They looked like the 2010 versions of themselves. It was as if their 2011 dreams had been defeated in only three hours of follow up calls. (Which in the sales world is really only about 20 calls.)

I sat there in shock. You can probably tell I'm rarely at a loss for words. In this case though, how was I to point out to these grown men that they had just given up on their dreams of a great year because of the immediate results of 3 hours? Less than .008 of the year!

The key trait of a person who is great at something is their ability to always keep moving. Like the shark, who's intake of oxygen would cease if ever they were to stop moving, a true great-anything is one who finds a way to keep moving, no matter what. I told one member of my team today to never slow down, 'keep pushing' I said. His eyes lit up. He knew what I meant, he knew what he had to do and he did it.

My best friend says to me once a month when I ask how he is, 'I'm just moving the ball forward man, moving the ball forward.' It wasn't until today that I realized how important that expression is in life. To see your wildest dreams come true, you must always keep momentum, never lose hope and have a short memory.

Strive on no matter what. The marathon runner began with a single walk around the block.
Believe that you are capable of anything - and you will be.
Learn from your mistakes and quickly forget them. Failure is just research.

With the whole world moving around us, if you're standing still, you're going backwards.