The One Thing You Need to Overcome

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There’s of course the one thing you need to know about selling. So many people have their opinions on this. Listen better. Build trust. Be authentic. The list of “one things” is long.

What about the one thing you need to overcome?

I think I can speak for salespeople, marketing managers, office workers, and a whole host of other other occupations when I say the one thing, in this day and age, that we’ve got to personally conquer in order to be more successful is…

distraction

Distraction is the great destroyer of careers. It’s the neutralizer of otherwise talented, intelligent people.

It leads to so many other traits and habits that will tear you down: lack of self-discipline, lack of focus, lack of staying power, lack of persistence, boredom, and so on. Let alone what it does to your skills as a professional in any field.

Spending your time on what matters most, hour by hour, in the face of so many interruptions (both unexpected and self-inflicted) has become the great challenge of our time. And while countless books and articles and presentations have been built around overcoming it, the reality is it will ultimately come down to your ability to make the right choices moment by moment.

You can multi-task. You can spend 8 to 5 time filling out company activity reports and compiling your expenses. You can surf the net. You can spin your wheels in conversations with colleagues about what you don’t have to help you become more successful. You can get caught up in how your manager or marketing department or pricing department or operations managers or others should be doing things. You can watch TV at night over sharpening your skills or researching new prospects. These are all choices. And they distract you from real success.

Overcome distraction this year, and 2007 and beyond looks awfully good for you.