| Back in the days when I was employed by a | | | | And this is the truth, friends. This is why real leaders |
| corporation, trading hours for dollars and slaving away | | | | must cleanse themselves daily of this pervasive and |
| my existence, we used to have a phrase around the | | | | perverse paradigm known as procrastination. I'll let |
| office. When you think about it, it was the ultimate | | | | you in on a little secret! THERE IS NO TOMORROW. |
| "employee mentality" in the worst form. In fact, it | | | | Not for real leaders, anyway. Because they know |
| was evidence of a deadly disease, corroding our very | | | | that whatever they don't finish today will ruin them |
| souls, and oozing out of our intellects, infecting | | | | tomorrow! Little by little it creeps in, innocently at |
| everyone we came in contact with. The phrase we | | | | first, diabolically after, and then suddenly, in a hurry, |
| proudly (if not ignorantly) spouted was this: "Why do | | | | we lose everything. Do you get it? |
| today what you can put off until tomorrow?" | | | | So what crossroad do you stand at today? What is |
| Do you feel it? Did your skin crawl when you read | | | | it that you have been putting off in your business? |
| that? Did the hair on the back of your neck stand | | | | You may have a choice to make. Do I get it done |
| up? Did your blood boil a little, and did you just want | | | | right now, and profit from it? Or do I put it off, wait |
| to shout, "NO!" and set me back to task? | | | | until some later opportunity, and potentially find |
| If not, you, too, may be infected with this malady. | | | | myself in ruins as a result? I would like to make a |
| It is not uncommon. In fact, if you look closely I bet | | | | suggestion - don't wait. Do it today. Make whatever |
| you will see the devastation of this despicable | | | | sacrifice it takes to get it done now, and while I can't |
| disorder everywhere you look! The indications of this | | | | promise you riches as a result, I can tell you that |
| infectious illness are all around us. The neighbor's yard | | | | your odds of success are incredibly increased, and if |
| piled high with junk and overgrown with weeds. Your | | | | nothing else, your soul will be free of the inexorable |
| coworker's office with papers everywhere. Your | | | | infection of procrastination. |
| child's incomplete book report, the book only half | | | | Here are some steps you must take if you want to |
| read. And heaven forbid that I talk about the pot | | | | find success and avoid the death grip of |
| belly I have noticed that you have added in the five | | | | procrastination: |
| years since you last visited the gym. And all of these | | | | 1. Take a little time and write down your goals. This |
| things crying out to be dealt with and completed ... | | | | sounds basic, yet only 3 percent of people do this. |
| QUICK! | | | | Lot's of people have goals, but very few of them |
| But our universal condition often gets the best of us. | | | | commit them to paper. And studies have proven that |
| Let's just call it what it is. We PROCRASTINATE. "I | | | | those who do tend to be far more successful than |
| don't need to do it now, I can do it later. There is | | | | those who do not. So write out the goals you have |
| always tomorrow." Besides, we have better things to | | | | for your business over the next month, year, and at |
| do, right? We have places to go, people to see, | | | | least out to five years. Commit them to paper, and |
| things to do. We're so busy. The kids have practice, | | | | then write a business plan to define how you will |
| the boss has yet another project, the TV has reruns! | | | | achieve these goals. |
| And so, we go from day to day managing our lives | | | | 2. Once you have the goals defined the task of |
| on the perception that 'someday' we'll get to that. | | | | prioritization begins. This is a difficult step for most |
| Someday I will learn to play the oboe. Someday I'll | | | | people. The most important part of this step is to |
| take my kids to the park they love to go to. | | | | define those tasks that are most critical to the |
| Someday I will start my own business. And most of | | | | success of your business. As a sales professional, I |
| the time we manage a series of minor crises in our | | | | knew that of all the things I could be doing (writing |
| lives because we wait and wait until the last possible | | | | letters, defining financial strategies, balancing |
| minute, and then hurry to complete what we should | | | | portfolios, developing seminars) the most important |
| have started hours, or days, perhaps even weeks or | | | | thing to my business was the phone calls I made to |
| months ago, all the while justifying it to ourselves by | | | | prospective clients. So that task had to be number |
| saying, "I work better under pressure." (The Zoloft | | | | one, everything else could wait until that had been |
| prescription helps a little, too.) | | | | completed. |
| Every once in a while that someday really does | | | | 3. Define the purpose of this priority task! The reason |
| become today. Occasionally we really do stand up | | | | you are doing something is more important than the |
| and make something happen. For me it was moving | | | | act of doing it. One of the most common mistakes |
| from the world of corporate employment to self | | | | that sales professionals make is to give in to the |
| employment. I spent months preparing for the | | | | temptation to provide quotes over the phone, and |
| change, or so I thought. I trained, I studied, I got | | | | answer a prospect's questions, when they should be |
| licensed, I was mentored, I practiced, and then I | | | | making more phone calls. The desperation sometimes |
| jumped. The only problem was I hadn't yet changed | | | | sets in, and someone showing interest on the phone |
| my mindset! You see, the same stinking thinking I | | | | feels like a bird in the hand, so to speak. But the |
| had as an employee came with me, only now I was | | | | purpose of the time making these phone calls is to |
| the boss, the owner and the CFO. It didn't hurt me | | | | schedule appointments, not to sell products or |
| when I was an employee ... but now I took it in the | | | | services. Do you see the difference? The real |
| chin. I gave it to the man, and the man was me. | | | | disappointment is that after you have spent an hour |
| Oh, at first I pressed in, worked late hours, took no | | | | or more with this prospect on the phone, they may |
| prisoners. I felt new again, as if a capitalistic | | | | decide not to come in to see you after all. And the |
| chemotherapy had cleansed my body of the | | | | thirty or forty other phone calls you sacrificed to |
| unconscious cancer. But after a while, the disease | | | | answer those questions are lost, and that hour can |
| reared its ugly head. Once again, I began to think, I | | | | never be regained. So, don't let anything come |
| don't need to do that right now, I have time. "Those | | | | between you and the purpose of the task at hand. |
| continuing education credits aren't due until license | | | | 4. Revisit your goals regularly, and adjust as needed. |
| renewal anyway, and that is still two months off!" | | | | This doesn't mean you should modify your goals to |
| Then I found myself desperately trying to complete | | | | fit your behavior! If you are slipping back into old |
| all 24 credit hours through online courses the week | | | | habits, by all means, fix that first. But you do need to |
| my license renewal was due. And some of my | | | | have a reality check and when necessary make |
| customers started to suffer a little, when I could | | | | adjustments to the goals. Maybe you were unrealistic |
| have requested medical records at the time of | | | | and needed two months instead of one to set up |
| application, but thought, I'll wait and see if | | | | that marketing campaign. Or, perhaps you should |
| underwriting really needs them or not. It became | | | | have set your sights on 3 seminars instead of just |
| fatal when I started to think, "I don't need to call | | | | one this quarter. Allow yourself the flexibility to |
| those prospects today, after all it is a Friday before | | | | realign your goals with the success or struggles you |
| a holiday weekend, they probably aren't in the office | | | | are experiencing. |
| anyway." | | | | There is only one thing left to do from here - Act. |
| I remember once hearing an interview with a well | | | | And that is not just a quip. You would be amazed at |
| known CEO of a failed business. When asked how his | | | | how many people will read this article and then say, |
| company had gone into bankruptcy and his financial | | | | "Sure, I'll do that; tomorrow." But one thing that |
| life into ruins, he answered, "It happened little by little, | | | | makes true leaders stand out is their ability to make |
| then all of a sudden in a hurry!" | | | | decisions and then to act on them quickly. |