My nine-year old wanted a Whoopie Pie.
I wanted him to clean his room.
We both got what we wanted.
But he got what he wanted after he did what he needed to do.
Is this how you run your business, or do you eat your dessert first and maybe then not clean your room?
We as human beings want immediate pleasure, and deferring it when we have the capacity to immediately indulge is not normal. The sort of not normal that attracts people to build Introduction Based Businesses in financial planning or real estate because we are willing to do the things others won’t so that ultimately we can do things that others can’t.
We are the type of not normal that is willing to be told NO repeatedly because that YES feels so good, but we aren’t masochists that enjoy the pain so we look for more efficient ways to get more YESes. That is why we practice our language and expose ourselves to the potential rejection of asking for introductions so that we can reduce the rejection on the phone. So we can get more positive feedback, more acceptances.
We clean our room because we want the Whoopie Pie. It’s just that instead of putting away Legos we run feeder lists and break down resistance to assist our clients, then expose our ego and ask for Introductions even though we don’t want the pain of being told NO. Which is less pain than stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night by the way.
We do what we must in our businesses.
Then we get the rewards, be it the cool car or bigger house or accolades in the office.
We do what we don’t like to get what we love.
Do you leave the office when you feel like it, or after you have completed what you need to for the day?
Do you go out for drinks on Friday but not do the activities to earn the right to do so?
Stop eating the Whoopie Pie and telling me you will then clean your room, because you won’t. Reward before the effort and completing the task rarely works, so don’t BS yourself and say otherwise.
Figure out those hard things you hate to do (like picking up the phone two dozen times a day to call for new appointments, or getting six introductions every day for the week, or calling those five potential clients that scare you), and then figure out your little Whoopie Pie. For me when I started my career it was 10 new appointments set for a week, and I would get a four pack of Guinness. It could be a nice bottle of wine on Friday or dinner out with your sweetie or a massage on the weekend. Figure out that little reward for doing your core function for the week to drive your production and achieve your goals. Then do the activity and enjoy your reward.
Because my nine-year old loved his Whoopie Pie even more than he hated cleaning his room. Shouldn’t you?!
