I recently read The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino, initially published in 1968. While the story is premised on a man wanting to become a great salesman, there are many life lessons. I know that most of us do not consider ourselves in sales, but if you look at it, we are.
We work to convince people of something regularly. For example, getting your child to clean their room, getting your colleague to support you on a new project, or getting a promotion. As Ken McElroy says, “sales solves all problems.” It is true.
If you expand your sales definition from spending money on a product or service to getting whatever you want in life, we are all in sales.
The book talks about 10 scrolls and explains how each scroll is to be used. I am not going to spoil the story-it’s a good one. Let’s start with the first five scrolls and what they advise…
Scroll 1
I will form good habits and become their slave. The author explains that only a new, good habit can devour an old, bad habit. He implies that thirty days with the new habit should have it instilled.
There are different theories on how long it takes to form a habit; this article by Heartline cites anywhere from 18 to 254 days to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.
Scroll 2
I will greet this day with love in my heart. It is difficult to love the challenges we face. It is especially difficult when those challenges are people in our lives. Mr. Mandino asks, “Is it not so that the birds, the wind, the sea, and all nature speak with the music of praise for their creator, cannot I speak with the same music to his children?”
Since I read this, it is always on my mind when I am speaking with someone. I am working hard to be grateful for what people are doing, praise them. It does not mean that we don’t discuss better ways to get things done, when necessary. Everyone is doing their best at any given moment.
Scroll 3
I will persist until I succeed. Persistence is an art. Some persist on the same course, knocking things over, bullying their way to what they desire. You can see that this goes against scroll number one. Scroll two talks about the continual pursuit, continually adjusting. It doesn’t say that you will not fail. It talks about persisting despite failure.
Learning the lesson of failure and adjusting your course. We are not created to fail, we know it happens, but it only counts as a failure if you let it define you. If you look at it as feedback, you course correct and move forward. You cannot know when success will come, don’t give up. You may be only three feet from gold.
Scroll 4
I am nature’s greatest miracle. There is no one else like you, and you are the greatest you. Everything about you is unique. This scroll talks about loving your uniqueness, explaining that no one else can do what you do the way you do it. No one else thinks exactly like you. You are here to contribute something in your way. Do not deny the world your gift. Get to it.
Scroll 5
I will live this day as if it is my last. I love this one. How many times a day do we put something important off until tomorrow? What if there is no tomorrow?
Don’t panic; most of the stuff we think is urgent or important really is not. We have to look at what we are doing and ensure that it needs to get done before we leave the earth.
This scroll also talks about living in the moment. Depression is caused by living in the past, anxiety by living in the future. Right now is really all that there is.
I recently spent a weekend not sleeping, worrying about something that happened on Friday, that I could not make sure was taken care of until Monday. When I say not sleeping, I really mean it. I even spent some time crying about it. On Monday, when I could deal with it, everything was fine. It had been taken care of appropriately. A weekend, 2 days of my life wasted with anxiety. Live in the moment.
Og Mandino says, “tomorrow lies buried with yesterday. I will think of it no more.”
Next week I’ll share the rest of Og Mandino’s scrolls; his wisdom can be a great motivator no matter what stage of life you are in.
