In this post, I’d like to write a little more about the Psychology of success using an example from my past. I’ll try to keep the story brief, so here it goes but I do think my point of vue is worth reading.
In the early 80′s after moving to Alberta from Quebec, and leaving my position working on IBM systems, I started my own business (1981). It was a Multi-Level Marketing business and I ended up making a decent living out of it like quite a few others did with Amway -contrary to popular belief about MLM’s.
Amway was interesting in many way, people either loved it or hated it… Some people loved it almost like a cult, others hated it often without understanding the legitimacy and potential of multi-level marketing as a business. Ignorance ruled at both end of the spectrum. The words Multi-Level and Amway still ring alarms in the mind of people. (may I add that it is unwarranted)
Anyway, I found a niche in the janitorial supplies business and started selling Amway products like hot cakes to restaurants, hotels and small businesses all over northern and western Alberta. The part-time business grew to a full time business in no time and rest is history . The interesting part of the story however, is NOT the success in sales but the other activities I became involved with that were to change my life.
One of the memory I cherish from those years is meeting Zig Ziglar, listening to great motivational speakers and trainers. I also remember the many sales and personal development training seminars I went to. I lost count but I probably went to over 100 seminars with guests like Ken Blanchard, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Bobby Hull, Tony Robbins, Robert Schuller, and many more. I was always learning, always taking notes, buying tapes (remember those?), later VHS and so on.
Then one day, I don’t remember exactly who was on the stage but I thought I could do what he did, maybe even a better job that he did with the training session at the time. Now, let me clarify this, I am not talking about the person sitting in the stands watching Bobby Orr, Jean Beliveau (showing my age) or Gretzky and thinking that they could simply hop on the ice and do better -as soon as they finish their hot dog and beer. I am talking about that feeling you get when you look at someone and you get this vision of yourself doing that job. You suddenly know that this is what you would love to do. Have you been there? It does not have to be a public speaker. It could have happened to you watching s sculptor, a surfer, a singer, a musician, a carpenter, etc. You also know that you will need some training and practice but you KNOW that you NEED to do this, or at least try ‘some day’
WOW ! It was a life changing moment for me. Some day was not soon enough for me. What about you? What did you do about it? Did you bury it? Did you move on it?
Public Speaking, Professional Coach, Business Trainer ??? You said what? Hey, I’m the guy with a face for radio, a voice for writing books and a broken english, and that was even worse then. It was not easy to tell others that this what I wanted to do. I got laughed at, I was told to stick with sales and be “content”. I was told that it was “unchristian” of me to want to be on stage and “tell people” how to run their business. I was only 25 years old. Too young according to many and I needed to grow up! The fact that my business outsold room full of these naysayers did not matter to them. They had a million of ‘good’ reasons for me not to pursue that dream and I was convinced…
Well, almost convinced. You see I am a pretty stubborn guy. I hate conflict so I studied ‘in secret’. I read piles of book on writing, on public speaking. I read the dictionary tens of times, so that I could spell the words of my third language that is English a little better. I went to more seminars, mostly on train the trainers, or public speaking… I went back to school…
—- continuing on the next post….
