Flipping the Switch from Slog to Intentional Focus
The summer before my ninth grade year, I decided that I was going to join the cross country team. I didn't want to play football, and a couple of friends and I decided that we could have fun and "get into shape" for basketball season. That was our teenage explanation for why we were going to participate in a less than glamorous sport. Ego is such a big factor in high school, isn't it?
I showed up every day, logged my miles, went to practice, had fun with the rest of the team... but I was really just going through the motions. I was taking the fall season completely for granted- it was really about the basketball season anyway, right?
The week before the first meet of the year, we had a time trial to decide who was going to represent the varsity team the following Thursday. About halfway through this competition, I'm still going through the motions, and in about 15th place. For whatever reason, 25 years later, I still remember the conversation I had with myself in my head...
"Jeff, what are you doing? Are you just going to go through the motions or are you going to take this seriously?"
I decided right in the middle of that race, that if the team was worth being on, then I was going to put real effort into it. With a little less than a mile to go, I picked off a handful of people and finished 10th. More importantly, I had a better idea of what I was capable of and had I put that kind of effort in for the entire race, I had a real shot of making the varsity squad. The switch had flipped.
Over the course of that season, I did, in fact, earn a spot on the varsity team. I think I only ran one or two JV races that year, and over the course of the next two months, I took about four and a half minutes off my 5K time. I was the most improved runner on the team that year. Most importantly, I was named a team captain as a sophomore, and every year after that.
If you've met me in person, you know I probably look more like a running back than a distance runner, but I was always a very good athlete. Cross country to me was not so much about running longer and faster than the others. I couldn't compete on those skills alone, but I could be a better athlete than you for 17 minutes on a Saturday. I could be a tactician during a race and finish where my team needed me, and ahead of the runners on the teams that we needed to beat.
I had to be engaged in order to be successful. I had to maximize the skills and talents I possessed in order to do it the best way I could. I consistently finished ahead of a lot of runners that went on to run at the next level, even though I never would have succeeded in college.
Once I decided that it wasn't worth my effort to go through the motions, to look ahead to the next season and ignore the opportunities in front of me, I found a lot of success in a very unexpected place. Four varsity letters, three seasons as a captain, two state meets, and a varsity jacket so weighed down with medals that you could hear me coming from around the corner.
Ironically, I only played one year of basketball in high school. I gave it up after my freshman year.
Years later, it took a similar decision for me to succeed and excel in the sales profession. I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to intentionally pursue growth, and dedicate myself to getting better. In a job with no formal time clock, I had better make sure that I at least punched in.
It makes a difference.
The collective consciousness in sales is focused on goals and objectives. It's centered on sales targets and revenue quotas. What's it going to take for you to exceed them? You probably don't need to develop a completely new set of skills or tools. What you likely need to do is set your intentions and dedicate yourself. Ask yourself, "What are you doing?"
Are you willing to make a commitment? Will you take ownership of the outcomes so that your efforts are worthwhile? Or instead, are you just going to slog through another year and get results that are less than what you're capable of?
If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well. I suggest you dig into your chosen career with an eye toward success, or change directions and do something else.
That mindset shift may make all the difference in the world, and a whole new set of possibilities will come along with it.
Jeff Bajorek
Real. Authentic. Experience.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to sell and being able to. Jeff Bajorek spent over a decade in the field as a top performer. He’s been in your shoes. He knows what it will take. He can help you succeed.
Join the Community
Related Posts
