Happy NOvember. Happy crazy election year. Happy Thanksgiving Month.
My first J.O.B. after college was as a termite control salesman.
Basically what we did in those days was cold canvassing. We would go to a likely neighborhood that might have a lot of termites in the ground. Knock on the doors and try to get the homeowner to let us make an inspection to see if they had any termite infestation.
Your sales could be approximately determined by a simple mathematical formula.
If you wanted a sale, you had to find three homes that had termites and the owner would listen to what you had to say. (Two of the three would want to get another bid, did not care about the property enough, could not afford to do it now, etc.) Basically you hear 'no' twice in order to hear one 'yes'.
To find those three people to talk with, you had to find five houses that were infested.
To find 5 infested, you needed to inspect about 15.
To inspect 15, you needed to knock on about 45 doors.
Thus you had to knock on some doors with no one home, some with only children home, some who just said no, etc.
Very simple: If you are willing to knock on 50 or so doors a day, you will average a sale a day. (And a sale a day was a good living.)
Think about it: To find that ONE sale, you need to hear people say NO 44 times! It was not always said verbally - a "not home" counts as a 'no'. An "all clear" inspection is a 'no' as far as the sale is concerned.
If a person was lazy and not willing to hear enough noes in order to get to 'yes', he or she would not eat well.
This principle is true in much of life.
For the ads on TV, newspaper, internet, or wherever, many more people say NO than YES.
Looking for romance?
You can find many, many more people that are not compatible than the few that are.
For those of us who use revshare sites, our ads are seen by hundreds or even thousands of people in order to find the ONE person who wants what you are advertising. Same thing is true if you are selling a product online.
Want to sell your old car instead of taking the small trade in allowance from the dealer? Be prepared to have dozens of people look at it before anyone says "I'll buy it."
Yet there are some things we just need to say 'NO' to. And some things we should say 'YES' to.
Just say no to the extra dessert.
Just say yes to getting off the couch and going for a walk.
Just say no to the person who wants you to participate in an illegal activity.
Just say yes when your neighbor needs a helping hand.
Just say no to all the negative campaign ads.
Just say yes to working for a couple of hours at a soup kitchen.
Just say no to your fears.
Just say yes to finding the cause and conquering it.
Just say no to negativity of all kinds.
Just say yes looking at the good things that are all around you.
Just say no to the bad habits you want to break.
Just say yes to the good alternatives.
Just say no to doing less than your best.
Because...
"Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible." Mary Mcleod Bethune
Since this is Thanksgiving Month, remember...
YOU ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH.
Your dilemma goes deeper than having a shortage of time, it’s basically a problem of priorities. Most people leave undone those things that should be done, while they do things that they shouldn’t be doing.
Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in your ability to put first things first.
Most major goals are not achieved because people put second things first. Is what you're doing getting you closer to your objectives?
Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. Don’t serve time, make time serve you.
Just say no to being short of time. We each get 24 hours every day.
Just say yes to counting your blessings.
You have more than you can enumerate every day.
Enjoy all of your NOvember.
James Sloan
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