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Problems

Written by: Zig Ziglar

Article Overview: Got A Problem? Find A Problem! Many years ago Dr. Karl Meninger of the world-famed Meninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, was asked the question: "What would you do if you feared that a nervous breakdown was coming on?" Without hesitation Dr. Meninger said, "I would find somebody with a bigger problem and get involved with helping him solve his problem; in the process I would forget about my own."

Problems

Got A Problem? Find A Problem! Many years ago Dr. Karl Meninger of the world-famed Meninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, was asked the question: "What would you do if you feared that a nervous breakdown was coming on?" Without hesitation Dr. Meninger said, "I would find somebody with a bigger problem and get involved with helping him solve his problem; in the process I would forget about my own."

This brings me to a major point that I will use periodically in this column, which is "you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Please understand this is a philosophy - not a tactic. It is the philosophy upon which I have built my company and upon which I run my personal life. Recently, a reporter for a medical magazine asked me how this philosophy would work in medicine. I explained to him that if I was ill and went to a doctor who cured me, I would tell everybody in town what a marvelous physician he or she was. The reality would be that the doctor had given me what I wanted - a return to good health. Because the doctor helped me get what I wanted, I had - without him or her saying a word - told others what a marvelous physician he or she was. Bottom line: That doctor's practice would, in all probability, expand.

Problem: How do sales people sell more goods and services so they can earn more money? Solution: They sell a product that solves a problem (that's what their prospects want) and those prospects will become centers of influence and help them sell more of their goods and services -which is what they want. It works, so buy into the concept that you can have everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want and I really will SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

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Article Tags: bottom line, centers of influence, doctor who, dr karl, good health, hesitation, medical magazine, medicine, meninger clinic, money solution, nervous breakdown, personal life, philosophy, probability, prospects, tactic, topeka kansas



Related Forum Posts
Entrepreneurs come up with "The Big Idea" - A question we have been asked more than once recently, by both aspiring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship researchers, is: How do entrepreneurs come up with "The Big Idea"? The most recent case was an MBA student who really wanted to become an entrepreneur but felt he could never come up with a "big idea". Well, in our experience the reality is that most successful entrepreneurs didn't think they were going to come up with a big idea either! Our advice to this MBA was straightforward. Don't look for big ideas, look for problems that need solving. Problems are a much easier starting point and act as a focus for creativity and innovation - providing you can be passionate about it and are prepared to devote an obsessive level of attention to the important details. At our core we are all resourceful, creative creatures once we have a problem in front of us. Ideally the problems that you should seek should be in an area where you have experience / expertise. That will help ensure you really understand the problem and increase the likelihood of you being able to formulate an intelligent and practical solution, incorporating the potential for a competitive advantage. Virtually all the ventures we know arose out of dissatisfaction with the current state of things. Viewing innovation and entrepreneurship as the process of identifying problems, devising potential solutions and then implementing those solutions is often more useful and productive as a perspective.


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