WORK IN PROGRESS
(Life, Me, You, This Newsletter)
Vol. VI, Issue 13, July 15, 2002 ><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><<>>
In this issue:
--- Tough times... how tough are they for you?
--- Recommended reading
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TOUGH TIMES...
How Tough are they for You?
There are tough times, and there are tough times. Some of them are temporary and can be out-waited, some of them will last for ever. Some of them occur through no fault of our own, and some of them are self-induced. Some people fold up, take the easy route, and are sure that whatever goes wrong is the fault of tough times. Some people persist regardless.
Bill Porter, for example, has always known that for him times would always be tough, yet he has never quit.
When I am speaking in front of a group that includes sales people, if I, seeking a topic on which to demonstrate coaching, ask what is holding them back from being as successful as they wish, the first and most frequent response is "cold calls." By cold calls they mean calling upon people who don't know them, are not expecting them, and who may or may not be interested in whatever they have to sell. In this day and age cold calling is usually done by phone, so the worst that the individual can expect is to be yelled at by someone s/he does not know and will never need to contact again, or to hear the loud click of the phone being hung up. The best they can expect is an eager response and an eventual sale. Yet most people fear making cold calls to the point that they are paralyzed.
Bill Porter does not make his cold calls by phone. He was until recently a door-to-door salesman of household products. That means looking people in the face as they slam the door on you. It means walking up every set of steps to every front door regardless of how much your body protests. It means being polite even when other people are rude, and smiling even when you know that they are lying, or that they are causing their little children to lie about them not being home.
Bill Porter has cerebral palsy. Because he has difficulty articulating his words, many people assume he is retarded. He is not. Because of what most people might call his disability, for him every task is slow and laborious. Getting ready for work takes hours. From his waking to his arriving at his sales area could take five hours. Walking door to door is slow and difficult, accompanied by constant pain and frequent migraines, yet he usually walked ten miles in a day. He cannot do up his own shoelaces or tie his tie. Yet, refusing to depend on the disability payments for which he could easily have qualified, he walked his way to being a top salesman in all of Oregon, Idaho, Washington and California, for a company that did not believe he could sell at all. (And you think YOU have problems?)
This summer he is the subject of a television movie, "Door to Door," that is showing several times this summer on the TNT cable channel. There is also a book about him, "Ten things I learned from Bill Porter" (see Recommended Reading below).
Why do I feature Bill Porter in this issue, when it seems he is getting plenty of publicity without me? Partly because not everyone can see cable TV. Not everyone can see American TV. But mostly because everyone can be inspired by his story. Compared with Porter, most of us have lives of ease. Most of us (not all) can use our keyboards with eight fingers and two thumbs, not with just one finger. Most of us (not all) do not live in constant pain. Most of us can tie our shoelaces. Yet how many of us use the problem of the day, or the week, or the year, as a reason why we are not keeping on keeping on toward our goals?
Is there really a reason why we don't go the extra mile in reaching our goals? The life of Bill Porter suggests that, whatever that reason is, it may not be sufficient.
Have you re-examined your goals lately? Checked out the efforts you are making to reach them? Are the efforts worthy of the goal? Are the goals something you really want? Really look forward to attaining?
If they are... what more can you do to move forward toward them?
If they are not... perhaps they are more "shoulds," suggested to you by others either explicitly or implicitly, than they are something that you really chose for yourself. Is it time to think again, and to choose what it is that you REALLY seek to enhance the life you live?
(Bill Porter's increasing age and health problems have forced him to ease up on his grueling routine, and he now also sells via the internet, where his web site is at www.billporter.com.)
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What's happening at ChoiceCoach.com?
Summer is here and my beloved daylilies are ablaze with color. (If you have not seen them, take a look at the top left corner of most, though not all, of the pages of my web site at www.ChoiceCoach.com. Each has a picture of a different flower, taken from my favorite daylilies at home.)
Work continues on my book.
Since several clients have taken off for the summer, so that I do have some open slots at the moment, should you want to check out the extent to which coaching might help you to choose and/or reach your goals.
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RECOMMENDED READING
"Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter" by Shelly Brady (see previous article)
Shelly Brady was hired by Bill Porter to help him to deliver the products he had sold and they have become firm friends over the years.
To learn more and/or order, click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1577312031/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-380480
"It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life"
by Lance Armstrong
While on the topic of inspiring stories, few can be more topical than that of Lance Armstrong, three-time Tour de France winner despite testicular cancer. As I write this Armstrong is second, eleven seconds behind the leader, in the 2002 Tour de France. This book goes into some fairly explicit medical detail, and may not be for the squeamish, but for another inspiring demonstration of how determination and grit can keep one headed for success it is highly recommended.
To learn more and/or order, click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0425179613/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-380480
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Copyright 2002 Diana Robinson, PhD., PCC. Work in
Progress may be reproduced in its entirety only,
including this copyright line. Disclaimer -The contents herein are solely the opinions of Work in Progress owner, and should not be considered as a form of therapy nor advice. There is no guarantee of validity or accuracy. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought.
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