The following is an excerpt from my book Always Forward! Discover the 7 Secrets of Sales Success
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Growth takes risk, and risk is accompanied by uncertainty and change. Uncertainty and loss are fear’s elixir. We fear change and we attempt to avoid loss. But to grow is to lose the illusion of certainty and take a chance on change—success is earned outside of our comfort zone.
I am living to the spirit of the words that you read. As I begin a new adventure, one that is a marked departure from the business I started twenty-three years ago, I risk ego at a stage in my career where some are retiring on a remote beach. I think I have ego in perspective. I separate my self-image from the external and its unpredictable, uncontrollable vacillations and vicissitudes. There is something inside me that compels me to do what I love, and I am following my heart by living my purpose. The pages of this book are stamped in the ink of heart and framed by the design of purpose.
Life does not flourish in a vacuum. Step out of your circle and face your fear. Success is earned outside of your comfort zone. You will learn, if you haven’t already, that you can’t please everyone. Trying to please everyone is a recipe for frustration and failure. Give up the illusion that you can please everyone, honor yourself first, and respect your value system. Before you can earn the respect of others, establish, maintain, and remain anchored to your own self-respect. Self-respect can be diminished by desperation. Self-respect can be given away to those whom we believe have some magical power over us. There can be a referred power we assign to position, authority, or title. For some, those with celebrity status or deep pockets of material wealth seem to exist in a rarefied air. Understand that the magic is all in our minds—people are just people. We all end up the same way. Apply this and you will find new horizons, new friends, new mountains to climb—maintain your self-respect and go forward to create the best in life.
