Author: Garth Beyer

How To Become 3+ Billion Times More Connected, Successful, and Happy

Garth Beyer

If I asked you who taught you to speak English, you would say your parents.

If I asked you who taught you how to think, you would say your parents.

Am I wrong when I say that people who teach you language, teach you how to think?

 

I doubt the educational system realizes the greatness they are producing by requiring the youth to take language classes. I even more so doubt that YOU realize the greatness.

  • Learning a different language than your native tongue opens your mind to the possibilities of exploring the world.
  • Hearing a language makes you feel connected with the world even in your home town.
  • I love Improv, so knowing another language allows me to really work new personalities and different cultures into an Improv show. I can imitate Hitler in a humorous way, I can reenact the German language parts of movies, I can create any type of German person I want, all because I learned another language.
  • With another language, you rarely learn negative vocabulary, so you do not know how to produce negative feelings – Stay Positive
  • As a more fun reason to learn another language, you get to become someone else. You have just opened another path that you can walk while you walk your current path. A double life of excellence. You can make up a common German or Italian name (Mine is Gregor, in German).

While language gives you a new way of thinking by having you analyze, articulate, write, and explore a certain language, it does something far greater for you.

On the base level, you open your mind to growth, the more you understand about language, the more you can comprehend about life. Yet there is something even greater… not only does it expand your mind for greater understanding, but it expands it to “Not understand” — Not understand why so many people limit themselves in their learning. It compels you to “not understand” why people can think they can be one of the most successful people on the planet without being able to talk and understand the lifestyles of people on the other side of the planet. The reason I am writing this post is because I do not understand why anyone is content with knowing one language. Language allows you to connect.

If you talk to a woman in a language she understands, that goes to her head.
If you talk to her in her language, that goes to her heart.

Which person do you think learns more and is more successful? The person who only knows english and can only connect with less than 3 billion people? Or the person who knows two, three, four, five languages that can connect with 6+ billion people. Twice as many as the single language speaker. The ability to speak and connect with 1 billion more people than you can now, would dramatically improve your life. Traveling would not be a dream, it would become a reality. Job opportunities would open across the globe. You would be exposed to millions of more women and men to find your true love. (Maybe you wont find someone in a foreign territory, but when you find one near your home place, you can serenade her with the language you now know!)

A Manual Aptitude For An Einstein

With language, you are not only open to connecting with billions of people, but also billions of books and information. With a better understanding of the world and the endless amount of knowledge it provides, you can become a genius.

Language is the archives of history. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the world of learning a language and how to think, it does not matter what “success” is to you. The fact is, that no matter what success means to you, learning another language will get you there 3+ billion times faster with 3+ billion times greater of an experience, a journey.

Learning a language is like being born again. You are now able to make all the decisions you made in your native language. But this time, you can make the right ones.

 

Stay Positive, and 3+ Billion Times More Positive Than Before

Garth  E. Beyer – Like Confucius, “In his speech, he wishes to be sincere”

Traceurs Are Not The Only Ones To Acquire Calluses

Garth Beyer

Callus: An especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction or pressure,

While there is only one definition of Calluses, there are multiple forms of Calluses and of all the forms, they can be  summarized into two categories: The Good and The Bad.

The Bad

When things do not go the way we want, we often consider it a failure. With repetition, this will cause friction and eventually we will quit expecting great things for ourselves and no longer take any risks. We build a resistant callus of comfort toward the world. In addition to these mental calluses, we often form emotional calluses. We become tougher on others, sometimes so much that it produces more of a negative outcome than a positive one. Even in relationships, we may form calluses that prevent us from getting close to others again. In summary, when bad experiences begin to add up, the calluses formed in our minds and hearts become thickened. The real question to ask is are we really protecting ourselves from more bad than we would expose ourselves to greatness by becoming vulnerable?

The Good

“What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger”, “Failures are stepping stones to success”, “Being strong does not mean avoiding the truth. It means accepting it, learning about it, and dealing with it head on.” I could spend days listing all the famous quotes and sayings about strength. What it breaks down to is the strongest of individuals build calluses around their failures and their weakest points. Whenever they are exposed to one of their faults, they allow a callus to grow in its place. Instead of growing calluses that prevent us from failure, it’s a positive behavior to grow calluses where their was a failure.

With enough failures, there will be no limitations.

On a handout titled “What To expect At A Wisconsin Parkour Class” the following was written..

“There is a saying in Parkour, that ‘Our fitness is our armor.’ This is the rationale behind our safe, incremental progressions, and also behind why we don’t wear gloves for training. We climb and crawl on concrete, railings, cement, gravel, and other urban and natural surfaces. As such, your hands will likely experience small cuts/scrapes, blistering, and some discomfort during class. Over time these will toughen up and will provide ‘natural gloves’ to protect your hands while doing Parkour. Many new students are surprised to truly feel concrete on their hands the first few times they train, and are also surprised at how quickly the discomfort goes away with regular practice.”

The Great

Isn’t the last line the absolute greatest? “and are also surprised at how quickly the discomfort goes away with regular practice“. Parkour remains a constant reminder to me that in order for me to grow where I am weak, to repair where I have faltered, I must continuously practice my behaviors in order to strengthen them – to acquire positive calluses. I look at it as this, whatever hell you come out of, whatever scrapes and scars you leave with – you will always become twice as strong. So who’s up for round 2?

Stay Positive and Acclimate To Your Strength

Garth E. Beyer

Out-Of-The-Box Relationship Bonding Activities

Garth Beyer

If you are reading this, then you know how important it is to have activities to do with your life partner. “Bonding now, is what makes you bound for life.” I suggest reading that  every day otherwise you won’t have a very long relationship. No relationship should be held together by going to the movies once a week or having a date night every Saturday. Relationships need to have constant activities or ones that last for a longer duration than a day.

Other than the general benefits to participating in bonding strategies, here are 6.5 benefits you may not have captured.

1 It becomes a filler for those moments when there is nothing else to talk about

2 It feeds the relationship a constant positive energy that prevents fights from occurring

3 It produces an “inner”-bonding form rather than an outer

4 It provides a constant stream of memories that are much less forgotten than “that one movie we saw two years ago”

5 It serenades the primary-self out and holds the disowned-self back  – More on this at Understanding Relationships

6 It is far greater for your psychological health than you already know

6.5 It increases not only the quality of your life and relationship, but also your longevity

Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives. – C.S. Lewis

And when is the most affection shown? When there are bonding experiences taking place. Something funny I came across while I was researching for this post was that I had to go through dozens of articles about the importance of bonding with your newborns and the importance of touch, communication and constant attention. At first I ignored it but then I thought I could use it as an analogy. — No matter how mature and long a relationship has been, it must be treated as a baby. You have to rock it to sleep every night, you have to feed it and clean up its messes, you have to set it as your top priority and keep it there, and you have to constantly play with it and make it entertaining.

Now, for you, here are the Out-Of-The-Box relationship bonding activities for you and your love to do together.

  • Print out a map of the U.S that only shows the states. Now, when driving to places together, keep an eye out for state license plates and highlight each state which license plate you have seen. (I have seen 39 out of all the states) If you can, throw in the Canadian Provinces too! Now this is something you can do every time you are out together and it offers a burst of excitement each time one of you see it. It also encourages the two of you to travel! Note: Both must see it together. This will keep the other from sleeping during the road trip or it will give you a reason to wake the other up. – I’m experienced with this.
  • Each of you choose a relatively short book you want to read. Give it to the other and have them read it. Instead of designating a certain time each week to sit down like a book club, just share what you have learned and what the other might have wanted to known about the book you are reading. Be their brain and get involved in their interests. Both need to take part to make it work.
  • A picture a day will make it okay when nostalgia comes your way. I have experienced, as well as heard others talk about their feelings when nostalgia hits in the relationship. After a duration of time, one’s memory can only collect the most special moments of the beginning of the relationship. I encourage you to take a picture of your partner each day so that you can see how they change and it helps with remembering the smaller moments. It does not have to be a professional picture, just snap a picture and keep it in a file on your computer. Do it even if your love doesn’t want you to, they will eventually just go with it. They don’t have a choice and they will understand why you did what you did when you show them two years from now.
  • The note. Have a long piece of paper that you tape up to a cabinet or the fridge for you and your partner to write on each morning. Whoever wakes up first, writes in it first. Let it be the first thing you do in the morning to start the relationship off on a positive note. The second person will write a response and compliment the other on what they love about them. Keep them short, to the point and sweeter than chocolate. Once a week you should have to replace the paper and start fresh. Keep this up and make it a ritual. Save the pages, they are perfect remedies to nurture each other after a fight.
  • The above is primarily focused on the gratitude of each other, but now it’s time to be grateful for something in your life unrelated to the relationship. Each day make it a goal to share with each other one thing you are grateful for that day. It can be having a powerful vacuum, Starbucks, comfy pants, caring parents, food in the fridge – anything. Let it come to you as the day goes on, catch yourself thinking “Wow I’m happy for this” and share it with your partner. If it doesn’t happen during the day, search for the one grateful thing before sleep and tell your partner. I am sure you have heard that you can’t love another until you learn to love yourself. The same goes with gratitude. You cannot be truly grateful for the actions your partner takes to improve the relationship if you can’t first be grateful for the positive occurrences in your daily life. Not only will this boost your individual optimistic energy, but you are now connecting and sharing that energy with your loved one.
  • Lastly, be weird. This one truly is out-of-the-box. In every relationship one forgets how they acquired the attention of the other in the beginning. Generally, the lady loved the man’s humor. But as the relationship extends, men become less humorous. We get comfortable and forget that we have to constantly “keep the baby entertained”. Be weird, be crazy, be different and make your life partner laugh. If you don’t do any of the other bonding activities, do this and do it constantly.

Have you heard of the magic relationship ratio of 5:1?

Bonding is central to relationship success. Let these activities be your strategy to maintain the strength of your union. You now have your constant 5 positive daily interactions (Plus One For Continuous Improvement), the rest is up to you.

Stay Positive and Well, Stay Positive With Your Ratio Too

Garth E. Beyer

Parkour 1 Life 3: When You Succeed In Parkour, You Are 3 Lessons Closer To Succeeding In Life

Garth Beyer

A few weeks ago, as I was typing into Google “Parkour in Madison WI”, I had high hopes and was begging for their to be results. Real results, because I wanted (No, NEEDED) to join a Parkour group in Madison. Google once again provided what I had searched for and I arrived at this website: Wisconsin Parkour

After jumping through the links and getting information, I arrived at the conclusion that for the winter, I could join Gymfinity. They provided Parkour classes for an hour and a half each week twice a week. Could I have gotten any luckier? Of course.

That week I had to take a ride out  to Apple Wellness in Fitchburg to replenish our stock of recovery drink mix. The reason we drive 30+ minutes to get our recovery drinks there can be found in my post, An Apple A Day, Will Make Success Stay! The reason I state that, in addition to finding a place to practice Parkour, I was lucky enough to discover that the place I would be training is right down the street from Apple Wellness.

The day we took a trip to Fitchburg, we stopped at Gymfinity to get more information. The first bit of information was that the class was only being held once a week, not twice. But they still had the Parkour workshop every other Saturday. The second bit of information was that the first class was free. The third bit of information was that there are two trainers and only a few participants each week.

Vaulting to the present, it is three days after I participated in the first free session of Parkour training. I can’t say I am still sore from the workout, since I lifted weights today, but I sure remember how my entire body was sore the day after Parkour training. A bit of quick information so you can follow the rest of the post easier; Gymfinity is a large gymnasium typically for gymnastics. It has everything. I would be happy to list all it has, but I am not an expert gymnast and I have yet to learn the proper names of all the training equipment. I will definitely learn the right names of the equipment for next time. Now, I am going to run through the list of activities I participated in and summarize with a Life Training lesson. Afterall, the reason I write about Parkour is to tell everyone that it is much more than a physical sport, it’s a life sport.

7:30 – 7:40 Learned new stretching methods that the two trainers used with our warm-up.

7:40 – 8:00 Trained endurance with core workout moves. Ex: Everyone had to hold a plank while the first person in line would crab walk around the large square line that surrounded the area we occupied. When they reached the kiddy corner of the square, they would have to do a side plank and hold it while the next person in line transitioned from his plank to crab walking around the square. They would then have to do a side plank and hold it while the next person in line went. We did this three or four times with different exercises.

8:00 – 8:20 Practiced balance techniques by stepping and periodically jumping to small semi-spherical squishy balls and landing on the balls of our feet. We would have to jump to each one as quickly as possible without falling over or stepping on the floor. We did a few different unique activities with this and it seemed to really tune in foot-eye coordination and balance.

8:20 – 8:45 Exausted ourselves by vaulting continuously over and under polls in different methods. We also spent a short time leaping off a 5 foot box to bars, cat walking up and shimmying across. While I excelled in the vaulting since we got to do my favorite (Monkey Vault), I received some extra advice from one of the trainers with the cat walking. I was using my muscles instead of momentum to get up, exhausting myself even more.

8:45 – 9:00 Played on all the different gymnastic objects and set up obstacles for ourselves. Quite plainly, it was free time that we got to jump, vault, run, and Parkour however we wanted.

So far in this post I have used the plural, “we”. It’s time to fess up that I was the oldest of the group of four participants. The other three were 12 and 13 year olds. It was quite a shock at first and I did not think I would want to go back. I was hoping to find a place to Parkour that I could make friends, not get a babysitting job. In the end, I think I had higher energy and got more enjoyment out of the hour and a half because of the passion, freedom, and overall exuberance that was continuously radiating from the kids. So, what lessons other than Parkouring lessons did I learn?

1. Just because we can do something easily, does not mean we are doing it easily.

We often pride ourselves a bit too much with our strengths. For example, while performing the cat walk, I would muscle my way up as if I were doing a pull up. The correct way would be to kick your foot and propel yourself up and then bend forward so that you are only lifting the bottom half of your body over the edge instead of all of it. I suppose you can make this directly proportionate with the saying “Work smarter, not harder”. Though, even for those who tend to always work smarter, I find that they fail to use their intelligence in the ways they are already strongest.

2. Being young, you actually have the advantage.

In the workplace it is always suggested that because you may be young, that you are underqualified and can’t play with the “big boys”. However, you can see in my post that boss’s, worldwide, are making a huge mistake. Not only are they making a large mistake, but they are losing productivity, losing employees positive attitudes and self-assurance, losing the efficiency and quick-twitch mentalities in the workplace. How? Because they are avoiding the younger generation. I succeed so well in my office with the other older co-workers (I’m 19 and they are 40+) because I motivate them to stay on the level of work ethic that I perform at. I bring out the best in them, their younger versions of themselves. Call me naive, but I am not as down on the world as those who have lived on the planet 40+ years. (Actually, I’m not even as negative as most 19 year old’s). Surrounding yourself with whomever is “young” to you will always be beneficial, whether its in a gymnasium, at home, or in the workplace. No doubt, whatsoever.

3. Cushion, lots of cushion! Others, and maybe even you, will call what I am about to tell you, planning to fail. I however, believe it to be creating a safety net because I am going to make a risk. (A huge risk) During the last 15 minutes of Parkour training, we got to move the equipment around and I got to really test myself. With a running start, I jumped onto a 5 foot box to jump up to the 12 foot box and vault over it (only using my hands to touch the 12 foot box that had roughly a four foot width that I would have to vault across). I had a trainer hold the 12 foot box so that it would not tip over as I used my hands to vault over it. However, he held it in one direction but not another and it tipped over as I pushed off of it. The result: Instead of landing on my feet, I landed completely on my side. Luckily, I landed on the cushioned mat that was there for that exact reason. I was safe. Having that cushion there allowed me to take a bigger risk than I thought I could honestly accomplish successfully.* Now I have to ask you. Instead of avoiding the risks in life and in business, what are you doing to cushion your landing?

*On a side note, I would have made it, had the trainer held the 12 foot box from both angles.

Stay Positive and Just Because You Place A Cushion Before You Make A Risk, Does Not Mean You Will Need The Cushion

Garth E. Beyer

Poetry Night 009

Garth Beyer

For a Moment I Forgot We Were in the Jardin des Tuileries

 

A thought carries as much weight as a ball thrown in the air, suddenly pulled by gravity.

My thoughts of love finding safe haven in your heart, like that of a turtle in its shell.

 

I feel your hands closing on that love, like the closing of swan’s wings when it lands beside its mate.

 

Our hands and hearts entwined, and tangled like the roots of beautiful flowers near the Judas tree.

A walk with you in the garden and suddenly I’m drawn to an aroma.

 

You’re perfect in the sunlight.

 

I caught your scent in the breeze,

The smell of an almond tree.

I can taste its sweet nectar and not be harmed.

The alchemy only lips can provide.

 

The sun right above, but you are the heat.

 

–          Everett

Improv-e Leadership: A Toastmasters Collaboration

Garth Beyer

Making leaders is a lot easier than most believe — and it’s FUN. It is not so much about teaching others how to become leaders. I could write hundreds of posts about leadership that you will shake your head in agreement with. Although, even after reading all the leadership lessons, I know that you still wont be a leader. Why not?

Improv Leadership was the theme I created at last nights Toastmasters meeting, as I was the designated Table Topics Master. I, just as you are doing now, have been studying all the leadership lessons and qualities I can get my eyes on. We all know the most successful people in the world were great leaders.

Leaders create legacies.

Note: You will need to understand the art of Improv before reading further. Click here to get the definition or visit my post on Improv Writing. You can skip your exploration of the art of Improv if you feel you are capable of getting your creative juices flowing.

All leaders were creative, without the skill they could not have created a legacy.

As a member of Improv Anonymous in Illinois, I learned to play a game called “Story Story Die”. The leader of the group would ask the audience to come up with a situation and an object and then create a quirky title out of it. Then the game begins as “Once Upon A Time..” and the leader would begin to point at each member of the Improv group. The Improv member who the the leader points to would have to start telling the story, focusing on the audience suggestions. In the middle of telling the story, the leader would then point to another member and they would have to take up where the last member left in the story. When one member takes too long to respond, has no clue where they are in the story, says something ridiculous, or flat-out chokes — everyone laughs and yells out “DIE”. The leader then asks the audience how they want them to die: poisonous snake bite, death by dandelions, thinking too hard about why the sky is blue, etc. The member acts out their death and the game continues until only one person remains. Then they have to successfully end the story. There you have it, the theatrical game of “Story Story Die”.

The Humorous Way To Open Up And Find Your Personal Leadership Qualities

Normally this activity is outrageously funny because the topics are ridiculously crazy and the members of the team are experts at humor. However, for the Table Topics, I wanted to turn a fun activity into a fun semi-professional learning experience. Thus, I joined Improv with Leadership. I opened the floor with the game and made sure everyone would try their best to revolve the story around leadership. Here is a short synopsis of it, written by our Toastmaster of the evening.

“Garth performed his first table topics, “Impromptu leadership.”  As a group we told a fun Piece-by-piece story (with the pieces being very short from each member) about a group of hikers (Kevin) on the Appalachian trail (Matt) who find themselves confronted by a hunter (Xiao Lei), stumble upon an heretofore unknown desert (Shirley), become confused and start hallucinating (Chris and others).  Joan plucks out the map and realizes they are just a half mile from shelter and storms off (Margaret), but they don’t have enough water to get there (Jill), and they all perish (Garth), because they don’t have good leadership.”

During the story told by all the Toastmasters members, I did not have anyone “Die” so I had to make all the characters in the end die. It’s Improv; make it up as you go.

Leadership Cannot Be Taught, Leadership Comes From…

As I said, you can teach someone all the qualities of a leader but that will not make them a successful leader. Leaders become leaders because they recognize their best qualities and exploit them. It is not about teaching leadership, it’s about bringing out the leader within. So after the story, I began asking questions to have members of the meeting acknowledge their own independent leadership qualities. I asked questions like the following:

1. Who is a leader to you and why?

2. What would you do if the club, job, or organization that you are part of, made you the leader for a day?

3. Tell me a story of a time when you had to take the lead.

4. Define leadership.

5. Who wants to be a leader? What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

6. What three qualities do you think a leader must have?

7. What advice would you give to someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Now I think you should answer the questions yourself. Realize that becoming a leader is not something you can become by reading books, listening to cd’s and attending seminars. Becoming a leader comes from within. When you realize your greatest potential, your best qualities, what YOU define as leadership, only then can you become the greatest leader of all — The Leader of Your Self

The First Hand Fails: This Is How The Second Hand Succeeds In Sales

Garth Beyer

Do you want first hand experience with the philosophy and tactics of selling?

I do!     Err, I did.

Somewhere between not wanting to pay $250 dollars for a Seminar on selling and getting restless when I would read 200 pages of business/selling advice every day, I found World Financial Group. Better yet, they found me.

Side Note: Did you know that almost as many people who secondhand smoke end up with as many health problems and issues as someone who does the smoking? You can even agree that those who second-hand smoke, typically end up smoking. I never thought I could take such a terrible relationship and create an analogy out of it, but I am going to give it a puff, so read on.

The “I’m Gonna Make 500k a Year” Adrenaline Rush

It’s time to kick the adrenaline and excitement of selling out of your system. You can go to school, seminars and read as many books as you want on selling, but you still won’t be the best salesman. All that the knowledge will create is an adrenaline to sell, and when you go out to make your first few sales, you will most likely be unsuccessful>feel beat>not want to put the tad of extra effort to succeed>give up>go back to trying to be what your parents want you to be>and feel out-of-place the rest of your life. Unless…

You soak up the concept that I am going to share with you.

1. For the beginners in sales or those who simply want to learn the strategies of a salesman, this concept is perfect for you.

2. For those who are on the unsuccessful sales track that I presented above, this concept is the tad of extra effort you need to succeed in all your future sales.

3. For those who consider themselves experts in selling, congratulations on failing enough to turn your experience into something remarkable. This concept I am about to share is very much like your process — but in this concept, you don’t fail.

The concept: Become the second-hand smoker of sales.

I mentioned World Financial Group (WFG) and this will be the basis of explaining the concept you need to follow to skip failure in sales. If you have not heard of WFG they are a national seller of insurance, investments and financial advice.

I received a phone call from them about two weeks ago. The sales-field adviser in IL wanted to ask me a few questions related to my direction in life and thoughts about assisting families by providing financial advise. He told me one of my good friends recommended me for the position and he would like me to come to the office in IL for a presentation. (Remember, I live in WI now)

I thought to myself, “All the greatest leaders in history were at once involved with sales.” On top of that, if you can’t tell by the majority of the information on my website, I want to be a broker and financial advisor to families and individuals so this opportunity seemed like I could combine the two.

I went to the presentation in IL and really enjoyed the message and point of the company to help families with all financial variables, not just selling insurance. After the presentation I had a private meeting with the Field Advisor. During the meeting he began to talk more about the company and how it seemed that I would fit in and then he started asking questions about me. (Quick tip about me, when you meet me, you know immediately how much I love to talk) I began getting more excited, telling him about all my qualities that would be perfect for the company. I then started sending a torrent of questions about the company at him. I am not easily persuaded, I think things all the way through and I allow time between information intake and decision making when possible. He did not know this though…

75% of my excitement and energy came from the great position that I could place myself in, it’s a little bit of everything I want to be: My own business, financial advising, life improving, etc. The other 25% of excitement and energy came from acting like every other person that has walked through the door. (It is said WFG calls around 10,000 ‘friends of friends’ to come in and check a presentation out every month)

To shorten the rest of the story, I did not apply to become a WFG associate (yet). Instead, I wanted to check out the WI branch and see what they have to offer. To reiterate, I am going to check out the WI branch primarily because It seems like something I really want to do (75% of excitement and energy). It’s also another opportunity to learn selling techniques (25% of acting).

I Hope The Smoke Is Starting To Clear

You have just been given a very short summary of my experience. If I told you to go back and read it and tell me the selling techniques that were used on me, you could find at least 7. Don’t think so? Then let me pull them up for you.

1.  He networked. He used my friend whom I trust to gain my trust in him.

2. My friend and him had talked so he knew that I was ambitious and I made it clear when I answered his questions that I enjoyed talking about myself and my goal sand accomplishments. Quick personality background check.

3. I was recommended. Who doesn’t like knowing that they got recommended for something?

4. Presented the best qualities and mission of the company through a simple Powerpoint presentation. Exploiting the best parts of the job and not mentioning the money making aspect of it.

5. Square peg into square hole. How I fit perfectly into the picture.

6. Brought up questions the right questions. About me.

7. Answered as many questions as I threw at him (Trust me, I asked A LOT).

Multiply 7 by 3 and the Smoke Better Be Gone

7 x 3 = How many sales techniques were used in total on me. The reason I mentioned the 7 above is because that is all it took to get me in, I really wanted to become an associate (I still may). Once it was unveiled to me that the Field Advisor was selling me the position and that I was the prospect, I began playing my part even more. (25% acting). Later that evening, once my excitement began decreasing, I was able to note all that I learned from the endeavor. Once the 75% energy and interest began to dwindle, the 25% of acting started to provide me results and I discovered the other 14 selling techniques that were used on me.

Look at it like this: The field advisor is the smoker and I just got done second-hand smoking.

I knowingly and excitedly became the second-hand smoker of sales. I just learned 21 techniques of selling in one session by becoming the prospect.

Why Learn From Your Failures When You Can Be The Failure Of Others

I do not at all support the fact of purposefully creating failure for other people. I do however promote experiences that teach both parties lessons that will improve each parties talents. In this case, I provided more selling experience to the WFG Field Advisor along with clearly showing what techniques worked best. (They really did work. As I said, only 25% was acted. He was the one who inspired and excited the other 75%) As my reward for my contribution to his increase in talent and experience, I got to second-hand smoke his sales techniques.

Every mentor in “Sales” will tell you to listen to listen to CD’s on reading and understanding people, read books on connecting with people, and browse examples of successful sales. All of this is what you should already be doing, but no mentor is going to tell you to go out and become a prospect.

I am telling you otherwise.

To only study the philosophy of selling is not enough, you have to become part of the philosophy. The best way is not to go out and sell — this will lead you to learn from YOUR failures. The best way is to go out and be the one who is sold to!

You do not need to be the primary smoker… I mean seller.

Stay Positive and Inhale The Benefits of Second Hand Selling

Garth E. Beyer

Interested in the 14 other sales techniques that were used? Email me at TheGarthBox@gmail.com with the subject line Sales Techniques