Continuing our series on the sales mindset, let’s dig a little deeper and see that the mindset is a learning process.
In our last article on this subject, I pointed out that people often stop growing holistically, especially mentally, when their body stops growing. Some are in the body of an adult but still act like little children and are quite irresponsible. Others, having stopped growing inside years ago, are even dead internally.
It should be just the opposite because everything in life is about learning. Having grown in our bodies, should we not also grow in our minds and spirits?
Getting Involved
Since life is a learning process, it would be wrong to disengage from life. Yet many people have this ambition—they want to separate themselves from negative thoughts, from their family, from their past experiences, and from their own thoughts about themselves. Some even take this kind of detachment to the extreme of physically harming themselves because they cannot accept who they are.
In this self-criticism, many people are constantly comparing themselves to others. In fact, our society seems to be built on doing just that. Such a comparison is completely unrealistic. No one has the same genes, background, upbringing, education, parents, or social environment, yet we end up comparing ourselves to others based on what they have that we don’t, either in terms of material possessions or success.
Rather than run away or detach from things, thoughts, feelings, or goals, the better mindset would be to move toward higher goals or principles. One should not work to detach from life, but to move towards and embrace it.
The Mindset and Decisions
A wrong mindset can lead to wrong decisions—decisions that can set in motion factors that last for generations. A wrong mindset, in my opinion, is at the root of the significant problems we face globally today. We have inherited the problems of those who made bad decisions long ago.
Take, for example, the never-ending problems in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. At the end of World War I, the “winners” of that conflict met at the Paris Peace Conference and decided how the “losers” would be punished. First, Germany was blamed for starting the war (which it didn’t) and saddled with enormous financial reparations. This action economically collapsed Germany and set the stage for Adolf Hitler and World War II.
But more to the point, another “loser” was the Ottoman Empire, which included all the territories involved in today’s conflicts. The Ottoman Empire was dismantled and divided into new, invented states, made the property of the “victorious” countries, France and Great Britain. The Arabs and the Jews were equally betrayed in this “agreement.” The whole region became a catastrophe.
What was the mentality behind these actions? Colonialism. The Paris Peace Conference divided up the conquered territory with a colonial mindset.
Win Together
Once again, we are all in a learning process together—and we should finally learn to win together instead of being in constant opposition. Because we had “winners” and “losers” in World War I, we inherited the results of the next war more than 100 years later. We could have chosen to negotiate with dignity for the losers and create an outcome where everyone could still look each other in the eye with respect and not total hatred, instead of the “winners” crushing the other side.
Polarity
But how do we change such a mindset? Is it even possible? Is it inevitable?
The truth is that we all live in different polarities: good and bad, left and right, black and white. Every day each of us has the opportunity to go left or right, but the truth is we will never transcend these polarities. We will never have a completely healed world.
But there is a chance to make it better through selling, because selling, as we have pointed out many times, and as the Austrian School of Economics has mentioned, has a peacekeeping component.
Sales Mindset
This can work as long as the person selling has the right mindset, which a salesperson must have to survive. The new currency of commerce is referrals, and a salesperson lives by referrals. If you are deceitful or mean, no one will recommend you. You can’t hide anymore, which is both a blessing and a curse for some.
Sales requires a real mindset, not a “put on” one. For example, you cannot be a nice person during the day and go home and be abusive to your family. People will begin to see behind your mask if that is who you really are.
Many people think that when they have a negative feeling, it is there to stay. They wake up one morning and feel bad, so they decide they are going to have a bad day.
You can change how you react and how you feel. Nothing in this world is set in stone. You have the power to create the world around you—no one is like a puppet on a string. You can wake up one day and say, “I have a bad feeling, but today could be good. And I can change my feelings. If you don’t allow negative thoughts to settle in your mind, you can begin to make such a change.
The Wrong Advisors
A person is not only influenced by his own negative thoughts—those around them also influence them. The “wrong counselors” can advise them and lead them in a destructive direction.
A good example of this is a story from the Old Testament. One of the wisest kings who ever lived was Solomon, who gave us the book of Proverbs. Solomon successfully ruled ancient Israel for many years.
When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king. There were many domestic problems at that time, not the least of which were taxes, about which the Israelites complained bitterly.
Rehoboam met with the elders, former advisors to his father, and also with younger members of the government. The younger people advised Rehoboam to oppress the citizens of Israel—he was told that the citizens should pay more so that those in power could have a better life. Unfortunately, Rehoboam chose to follow this advice. Israel was divided and fell apart, and Rehoboam lost everything.
Going back to the beginning of this article, a similar pattern was followed after World War I when the victorious powers decided to crush the Germans and destroy the remnants of the Ottoman Empire.
It’s a mindset we’ve certainly inherited, because that’s exactly what we’re doing today.
Behavior of Salespeople
At Pipeliner, we believe that if you behave like this as a salesperson, you will be crushed. You should behave differently.
The first reason is that we always meet twice in life. You don’t want to meet someone whom you mistreated and have them take it out on you.
The second reason is that if you are friendly, positive, trustworthy, and loyal as a salesperson, and if you practice humility, no one will crush or trample you.
Create Your Own Reality
Why is it that some people cannot behave this way? I believe it is because they feel unworthy and unappreciated. A person lives in a negative reality.
A mindset change begins with the realization that you are the creator of your own reality—no one else. You create how you are perceived and recognized as a salesperson. You create the reality of your career.
I believe I created the reality around me, and I created a beautiful, great team. The reality I created came about because I took responsibility for my feelings, for my thoughts, for what happens in my company, and for what happens with my clients. I take responsibility for these factors, and I do not put them on others. This makes me strong.
Quality of Being
Reality is created out of my thinking, which means that the quality of my being is the quality of my thinking. This is also true for you—the quality of your being is the quality of your thinking.
What do you think of yourself? Of course, everyone has to answer this question for themselves. How realistic is your view of yourself, positively or negatively? Some people see themselves very unrealistically—I would call this “the balloon effect”.
In summary, mindset is a learning process throughout life. A mindset is changed by our own thinking. So our own thinking leads to the creation of our own reality.
How do you want your reality to appear?
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