I say secret, but it’s not. Somebody shared it with somebody else. They shared it again and eventually, somebody shared it with me. I believe some stuff has made me different in a positive way. I’m gonna share them as  think of them. No particular order. Varying levels of importance. As a matter of fact, I’m sure that someday, somebody will read one of my success secrets and think, “That was a waste of time!”. I only hope that someday somebody reads one of my success secrets and enters the comment, “Thank you.”

OK! Success Secret #1. Just Do It! Okay, that’s Nike, but it’ll work for you, too! I was talking with a guy that I really respect and he was telling me about a conversation that he was having with somebody. During the conversation, the prospect gave him a pretty simple stall and my friend immediately knew what to say. It was a great question that was insightful, on point, and would have shown the prospect that my friend was paying attention and that the prospect response was bull! Now, remember that my friend knew what to say.

So, I asked, “What happened when you asked the question?” He didn’t. Why? My friend didn’t want to upset his prospect. He needed his prospect to like him and approve of him. When I asked why he didn’t do it, he recognized that he let his need for approval keep him from doing his job and that he should have asked the question, IMMEDIATELY. So, then I suggested that he use my pen and write on his hand, “If you think it, say it.” He said, I’m not writing on my hand. I asked. He refused. I asked. He refused. I asked. He refused. Then I asked, “How about writing, ‘Why not?’ on your hand?” He said, I’m not writing on my hand. I asked. He refused. I asked. He refused. I asked. He refused. I said, “How about if you write it on a yellow sticky and put the sticky in the palm of your hand? and when you’re talking with people today and they say something stupid, you open your hand look at the sticky. Think, “Why not?” and ask the question that’s in your head?” He said, “I’m not putting a sticky in my hand.”

OK, 2 hours later, we’re networking together. He reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a yellow sticky. On the yellow sticky, it reads,  “If you think it, say it.” “Why not?”. He’s not totally convinced that he’s gonna do whatever it takes for him to be successful, but I see my friend a lot and I want him to be successful. At some point he’s gonna decide that he’s gonna do whatever it takes. He’s gonna step away from his need for approval. He’s gonna do whatever it takes to remember to do whatever it takes even if he has to write it on his hand. He will no longer worry that someone will notice that he writes on his hand. He’ll know longer care because he approves of himself and he will tell me thanks, but I can go now!

If you think it say it!

Just do it!