Celebrating

     Sales is a tough career and certainly not for the faint of heart or the thin of skin.  It has been said (and I generally believe it) that about 10% of sales people make 90% of the money.  To be good at sales is very hard work and requires great and excruciating dedication to detail at all times.  Mistakes are costly in a very personal way. They affect your earnings directly and quickly and painfully.  In the trucking business a mistake by a dispatcher generally has no affect on their income but can affect the income of the person who was paid to bring on the customer in the first place if it results in a lost customer.  The picture I am trying to paint is one of stress and pressure of a very high degree on a daily basis.  You cannot "rest on your laurels" because you will be left in the dust by someone who is running not resting.
     I have been blessed over the years by being in the company of some really great sales people and I mean REALLY GREAT!  They all share many of the same characteristics such as being astute observers and quick thinkers, possessing  keen senses of humor and desire to serve their customers well.  One thing that stands out in my mind in every single great sales person I have known is that they know how to have fun and can immerse themselves in having a good time for a long enough period to rejuvenate themselves for the next challenge.  They all like to celebrate. To use a well worn phrase: "They work hard and play hard as well."
     It is really not much fun to vacation or party if you are not really working hard to be successful however you define that.  You are not vacationing from anything if you are not putting your full effort into your career.
When you get that time off or opportunity to celebrate, it should not be an entitlement or "benefit" but something you earned.  You will enjoy it to a much higher degree if you earn it with "blood sweat and tears".
     I have worked hard for about 40 years now at this profession of sales and along the way I have learned a few things. You have to make the good times yourself. Take the little times and make them big times, and save the times that are just alright for those that aren't so good.  I guess that is why I celebrate my birthday for an entire week still at age 69 and love every minute of it.
     This morning the CEO of our company said something that I believe wholeheartedly.  Live a life that will not result in a bunch of regrets when you "punch out" that final time and I add to that ....work hard and play hard!