Baby Steps

Taking baby steps is often the most effective way to achieving our goals.

Baby steps is waking up 1 minute earlier.

Baby steps is instead of buying a big packet of snack, buy a smaller packet the next time.

Baby steps is if changing from white bread to wholemeal bread.

Baby steps is to start reading by reading just 1 page.

Baby steps is doing just 5 pushups and going for a stroll, instead of a jog, around your neighborhood.

Most people think that they’ll never succeed because of the amount of change required but it is simply not true. All it takes is by taking baby steps.

Baby steps isn’t just tiny steps. The significance of it is major. It is moving from nothing to something, from casual to serious, and from it’s impossible to it’s possible.

Schools and Meaning

We can all agree that, despite all the complaints we have, schools are an essential part of us.

But there’s something big that’s missing in school. What’s it?

Motivation.

Without motivation, kids will not know why they need to go to school. Without motivation, they will not understand their purpose in life.

Too little have been done to help our kids understand themselves in a deeper sense.

Kids are not robot. They have a need to understand the deeper meaning of life and it is our role to help them find it.

Vessels

Often, we think that we are the center of the universe. We think that the whole world is observing our every move.

But it’s not true. We tend to think too highly of ourselves. Others have their own egos to stroke and problems to deal with.

The truth is that we are simply empty vessels. We can choose to remain empty or to bring goodness through our work to the world.

Don’t over-concern yourself with petty worries and stopping yourself from achieving your big goals and success in life.

The 3 Types of Salesman

In every industry, there are 3 types of salesman. The bottom, the average, and the top.

The Bottom

Most salesmen belong in this group. They are here because they are afraid.

They are afraid that their propsects would say no to them. So what they often do is to sell based on price.

They go to their prospects, thinking that there are no reasons for their prospects to reject them because they have the lowest price.

And of course, most of the time, their prospects reject them.

Cheap things seldom need salespeople. They sell by themselves. Things that need salespeople are rarely cheap.

Bottom class salesmen simply do not understand that people do not take out their wallets just because things are cheap.

Sadly, most bottom class salesmen will not survive for long if they do not realize this.

The Average

A good proportion of salesmen belongs to the average group.

The average group of salesmen based their selling on needs, aka needs based selling.

This is the safest route, after price based selling. After all, that’s why society defines as “ethical”. The government approves it, especially in the financial services industry. You can’t sell above what the prospects need, right?

Needs based selling isn’t exactly wrong in the ethical sense but the problem is that if you sell solely based on needs, you should not really call yourself a salesman either.

Rather, you should call yourself a customer service staff. Because you are just processing a transaction.

Needs based selling seldom excite the customers enough for them to pull out their wallets.

The Top

Then, you have the top. These are the masters of sales. The big question is how do they do it?

Top salesmen don’t sell based primarily on price or needs. The top salesmen sell based on helping their prospects realize their dreams.

Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Wouldn’t you get excited if someone can help you realize your dreams? Rather than just meet your price and needs?

Selling customers on their dreams can be done through sincerity and honesty. And helping customers achieve their dreams isn’t too different from helping them achieve their needs either.

Here’s an example:

A prospect is looking for a home. He says he only has the budget for a 10th to 15th floor unit.

The bottom salesman will propose a unit on the 10th floor.

The average salesman will propose a unit on the 15th floor.

And the top salesman will take his prospect to the highest unit in the building and take his breath away with the sunset across the horizon.

Great Films

I always enjoy a good flick. Some of my favorites are The Truman Show, American Beauty, Click, Notting hill, the Mission Impossibles, Life, and Interstellar.

Recently, I came across a brilliant film. It’s an 8 episode title called the Naked Director.

The first thing that comes to people’s mind is probably it’s explicit mature content.

But I love how the producers are able to integrate the sex part with it’s deep plot.

I love how the people involve in the film pushes the envelope. Just when I thought they can’t push any further, they surprise me time and time again.

These days, films are filled with CGIs, actions, and cheap tricks to gain reactions. But you hardly can find one that will live in people’s mind for decades.

This makes one, like The Naked Director, something that is worth our appreciation.