Recently I went to the beach and took along a book called What Would You Do If You Had No Fear? by Diane Conway. After a year and a half of trying to sell in a recession, I needed the energy. I’m assuming you might as well. The following story reminds us that the combination of true curiosity and enthusiasm create a powerful salesperson.
” If you want to fight fear, be passionate — it’s the express lane to your dreams. Passion and fear are not compatible, but curiosity is the second cousin to passion. Some people just have an attitude that won’t take no for an answer; these are people for whom ‘No Trespassing’ signs mean ‘Come on in, Welcome to the Party!’
I interviewed [a woman named Janet]. She explains her life this way: ‘I don’t really have much fear because I’m so curious. I have a fire inside that gives me a passion for life’s experiences. I’m not sure I was raised with a ‘try everything’ philosophy but I sure developed it as I traveled.’
She’d been to forty countries by the time she was twenty-five and sampled adventures everywhere. When talking to Janet, I’m reminded of the saying, ‘If you want to G-E-T, you must A-S-K.’ Janet says, ‘I always ask for what I want. All they can say is no, and if they do there’s always someone else to ask.’
Because she asks questions, she has had experiences that most people will never have or dream of having. A whole world of adventure can begin with Janet’s requests, such as: ‘Can you teach me that? Can I try? Can I come along?’ She acknowledges the fear and risk but she does what she wants to do anyway . . .
[Janet says] ‘I want to look back and say I did something that improved the quality of someone’s life.’
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You can use this story:
- At a sales meeting to remind your salespeople that the desire to help others will drive more sales
- In one-on-one coaching sessions to help a salesperson that is lacking the curiosity or confidence to ask questions
- As part of a training session on asking questions – to remind people that true curiosity drives the right questions and makes a client feel you are truly interested in adding value to them!
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That’s a great outlook. I don’t know if you ever knew Rise (pronounced Risa) Peters or not. She went to Cave Spring with us and had an intellectual curiosity I absolutely admire still. And, of course, she was always curious. About everything, which probably explains her voracious appetite for reading. Rise graduated from Harvard Law School largely because of her passion to learn. To her, learning must have been an exploration -an adventure. I look up to her, which is hard to do since I’m taller than she was. I’m not sure what my passion is yet, but when I grow up I hope it’s writing stuff that makes people laugh, or at least smile. What a great way to go through life.
Thanks Rob – There is nothing more glorious than helping somebody laugh. Rise sounds amazing – I’d love to have known her! I think you should start writing stuff to make people laugh . . . right now. I’m waiting. 🙂
I’d love to write. I wish I knew how to get started.
My perception of writers is that they’re all very well read and attend parties with other writers, where they stand around with other writers. There they stand, all dressed in the finest dresses. (For the men, neatly trimmed beards, tweed jackets, and wistful smiles perfected from years of practice in front of mirrors).
How DOES one ever get published? Whom do I ask? Your compliment is very nice, and I appreciate it. The only thing I’ve discovered yet is publisher’s organizations that want ME to pay to have a book published. Heck, writing a weekly column would be good fun and, in addition, might provide a sustainable income.
Rob: LOL – the writers. When I worked on my Masters in writing those are the people I was in class with . . . or they all dressed in black and looked very serious. I would start with a blog. You can go to blogspot.com or blogger.com or posterous.com or WordPress and set one up for free (my daughter set one up in about ten minutes). Once you start getting a following, then you think about getting published. Most people are spending about $599.00 with iUniverse.com to get their books published (good package – includes ISBN and copyright and getting you on shelves at B&N). But if you want to start cheaper and see how people respond to you, start your blog!! I’d read it every day!
I can imagine! I can see them now: the skinny blonde guy with the black turtleneck and jeans with the ponytail (complete with receding hairline, but it’s okay because he DOES have Peruvian Monkeyfoot Latte from Starbuck’s in his hand). The avante garde redhead with the 60s style hornrimmed glasses named Sylvia (soooo retro). And the self-expressing 62 year old man sitting in the corner, wizened with scraggly beard ala Papa Hemingway and experimenting with new behavior (his therapist told him to, you see): with the new beard and the correct posture, he’s now that wacky archetype Jung referred to as Wise Old Man.
The zinfandel is flowing by the tenth of an ounce -and the cheese! My God! Who KNEW Kroger had anything so strongly resembling edam from the UK?
Thanks for the tip regarding publishing. I’ll give it a try and see what happens.