On the way back from the Arcade one evening my son and I passed three teenagers sitting on a bench along the boardwalk. They could not have been more that fifteen years old. Adam and I greeted them and they responded with a friendly, "Hi, where are you going? We replied, "Going home, how about you?" Their reply was, "We are waiting for some other kids to come by". Here is how the conversation went on...
Us: What kids?
Teenagers: Oh, any kids.
Us: Any kids?
Teenagers: Yeah, we are just waiting for some kids to come by.
Us: Really, why?
Teenagers: So we can have some fun.
Us: What do you mean by fun?
Teenagers: We are waiting for some kids to come by so we can go to the Arcade or get some ice cream.
Us: Well, what if they don't come by, then what?
Teenagers: Well I don't know. I guess we will do something.
Us: Really, like what?
Teenagers: I don't know. I guess something.
I could not resist the opportunity to get these incredible people in touch with who they are and what their capabilities are. So, here is the message I delivered to them. You can learn from it as well.
Do you know what an incredible being you are? The day you were born you had no experience on this planet, you did not know the culture, could not speak the language, and did not have a network except for your family. You had no history and no belief systems. All you had was YOU (who we will define later), your subconscious mind, your conscious mind, your body and the outside world. Your subconscious mind is responsible for managing your bodily activities such as breathing, respiration, etc. Your conscious mind is where you store your knowledge and memories and where you do your cognitive processing of information. So, who are you? You are an incredible entity living on this planet dealing with life situations so you can get in touch with who you really are and what you are capable of.
Let's look at the first five years of your life. You learned how to speak a language, manipulate your environment including your parents, ride a bike, use a computer, text message at lightning speed, go from crawling to running, and by the way never stopping because you fell a couple of times. You were a master in your universe, were successful and never quit once. THAT SPEAKS TO WHO YOU REALLY ARE.
So, why are you waiting for something to happen? Why aren't you doing what is so natural to you? Doing so will make things happen.
I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads. I asked the question, "Am I making sense, am I getting through to you?" Their reply was, "Mister, we get it. You are so cool. Thanks, but you are so cool."
We never saw those teenagers again. On the way home Adam said, "Dad, you are so cool. That was so great. You should write a book for kids so they can get it." I replied, "Adam, I am. And you are so cool too. I will write the book and you do the drawings". Adam replied, "Can I make some money?" At which I informed him he could.
Now, let's look at the business applications of this story. First let's clarify something. I do not sit in judgment nor am I voting. I am raising what I believe to be an important point.
How many people are out there waiting for the real estate business to change, the mortgage business to change, the election to happen, the economy to change, or for good news from Wall Street indicating things will change? How many are sitting on the bench waiting for something to happen.
How is it that there can be two salespeople in a company? One is successful and the other is not. Is it the economy, etc., or is it how they think, feel and act that makes the difference?
How many are in touch with who you really are? The YOU who learned how to speak a language, manipulate your environment including your parents, ride a bike, use a computer, text message at lightning speed, go from crawling to running, and by the way never stopping because you fell a couple of times.
You were a master in your universe, were successful and never quit once. AND THAT STILL APPLIES NOW.
Don't let the illusions get in the way of what you are capable of. GO FOR IT, CARP DIEM.