Ei, Sales and IM - Lesson #2 Optimism

“Optimism is the foundation of courage.” ~Nicholas M. Butler

As I climbed the hill towards my Ironman, there were numerous moments that I second guessed my own abilities.

When I was out training for over 6 1/2 hours, the physical and mental fatigue began to dig into the core of myself. Within that core was doubt and the negative self talk which can control how we function.

During these times, I had to dig deep from within to overcome. It reminded me of the times while growing sales in my companies, and the moments when it felt like ground hog day. I was conducting the same tasks with little results. It was at these moments, the negative self talk begins to take control.

How do we overcome this negative internal banter?

A good friend of mine and fellow Ironman athlete describes building the sales in his financial planning business to the long miles on the bike while training for an Ironman.

You spend countless hours pedaling down a lonely road. When have we spent countless hours getting coffee and going to networking events, countless more making cold calls and connecting on social media. You put in the time to have the opportunity to shine and sell your services. The countless hours on the bike, is only giving you the opportunity to be at the start line and race with confidence. 

These long hours with no reward of competing or closing the sale can wear on you mentally and physically. This is when optimism plays the role in helping you to wake again and do it all over. The optimism of who you are and what you are going to accomplish rises above all the negative banter.

I want to be crystal clear that optimism without action, is not optimism, but hope. The only place I see hope achieve is with the lottery and we know how those percentages work.

Optimism with hard work and consistent training gets you to the finish line. When you arrive, you get to hear the words as thousands cheer you down the finishing shoot, “Matt Rowe You Are an Ironman.”

Be optimistic about your hard efforts even though at times you may feel alone on your bike with endless miles ahead.