Challenge...

I have been reading a book by Og Mandino for the last few months (it is a slow, one chapter at a time kind of read) called "University Of Success". He has compiled writings from some of the most influential and key speakers/authors of the past from Dale Carnegie to Benjamin Franklin to Napoleon Hill etc.

I read a chapter this morning that has got my soul stirred once again to live a life of satisfaction and meaning. The author was Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and in the quote that killed me was this:

"Look hard at you life. Are you doing what you'd choose to be doing if you had six months to live? If not, you'd better begin doing it because, relatively speaking, that's all you have. Given the eternity of time, thirty years or six months makes no difference. Your total lifetime is a mere speck. Delaying anything simply makes no sense."

Once again, I am left with this feeling that perhaps living a life that is not fulfilling really doesn't make sense. I know that this flies in the face of what most of us have been taught to believe (i.e life is pain, nobody is truly happy, fulfillment is merely a dream, etc.)

I guess the challenge that I am issuing is this: evaluate your life. See if there just might be something that you could be doing with it that would bring ultimate pleasure and fulfillment and maybe, just maybe you should go after it despite the naysayers. Despite the risk of failure and the potential pain that disrupting your current life may bring. Perhaps we should not simply settle for what we have and what we are but instead we should be going all out after the lives of our dreams now, today.

I find myself, so often, saying "when we retire", or "when the girls get older", or "once we have more money", maybe I should stop saying those things, stop allowing myself to put off life and starting trying to figure out how to live today?

I don't know, just a thought from a man that is so awfully tired of the same old same old of life and dreaming that perhaps life could be full of fulfillment, love, adventure, happiness and true success.

No More Prospecting!

I had a great chance to get to know the CEO of Invite Systems yesterday by having lunch with him. As it turns out he has been very impressed with my sales style and abilities and is going to start supplying me with prospects/appointments that the company generates... this means no more cold calling for me!

That is very exciting for me because that is the part of the job that I like the least. I have really enjoyed doing sales presentations and meeting business owners but the initial contacting and appointment setting just kills me for some reason.

Anyway, this all very good news to me. I just have to hope that I can continue to close at a 20% or greater rate so that they keep on sending the leads my way instead of to another rep.

On top of that, if I can prove that I can close company generated leads at a 20% closing ratio for 30 days, Invite is going to open up an office in Boulder/Broomfield and give me the Sales Manager position for the HWY 36 corridor/Boulder area!

1st Invite System Sales!

I sold my first two Invite Systems marketing packages this week! It has been a struggle for me to go out everyday and give presentations that don't result in sales but actually having a couple of people say "yes" in the last few days has been very encouraging!

Learning To Be Grateful

Gratefulness, what an elusive state of being! I am trying desperately to learn to live in a constant state of gratefulness. Those of you who know me, know that this is a hard one for me as I am always trying to get more, gain more ground, achieve more, be more, have more, more, more, more! In my constant need to more and better life (not just stuff but experiences, happiness, love, adventure etc.) I loose sight of all that I have.

My life, our lives as Americans, are so full of great things and opportunities! Even the "poorest" American is "richer" than 97% of the worlds population.

I really should have nothing to complain about. Yet, everyday I find something that doesn't go just right or experience something that rubs me the wrong way and I forget that I really have it made.

It's quite amazing how easily we loose sight of how great our lives are.

Anyway, I am trying to learn to live in gratefulness. When people think about Josh Lanier, I want them to think "wow, now there is a man that is grateful".

That is not to say that I am not going to continue to strive for the things listed above. But what it does mean is that I am not going to wait until I have them to be grateful. Because the reality is that even if I never achieve what I would label "success" in this life, I am truly blessed on a fundamental spiritual level and want for nothing...

Join me and be grateful towards God for what you are and for what you have been given.