Lesson #2: Make A Commitment To Be The Very Best
Lesson #2: Make A Commitment To Be The Very Best
Before realizing that his dream of becoming Miles Davis was unattainable, Gardner had spent nine years studying trumpet. “I wanted to be world class at it or world class at something,” he recalls. “At 18, Miles Davis was in New York playing with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. At the same age, I was playing with some cats named Pookie and Ray Ray. It wasn’t going to happen.”
Gardner attributes his rise to the top to his mother and her “spiritual genetics”, which encouraged Gardner to dream big dreams for himself and strive to become the best. “We all understand genetics,” says Gardner. “You get your eyes from your dad, your mom’s nose, there’s nothing you can do about that. But your spiritual genetics you can choose, pick, embrace and commit to. That’s what I did.”
Gardner’s mother was a natural born teacher; she both loved doing it and did it well. But, after being abandoned by her husband, she found herself in the position of having to care for 12 children all on her own. She sacrificed her dream of teaching to take numerous part-time jobs that could better support the family. “Though my mom had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred and destroyed, she instilled in me that I could have dreams,” says Gardner. “And not just have dreams but had a responsibility to make them reality. My mom taught me from a very early age that I could do anything I wanted to do.”
One day while the two were watching a college basketball game, Gardner said, “Wow, one day those guys are going to make a million dollars.” His mother replied, “Son, if you want to, one day you could make a million dollars.” Gardner recalls being stunned after hearing that statement. “Until she said it, it wasn’t a possibility. I always knew I wanted to be world class at something. I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t run and catch a ball, and I couldn’t dance. But I was pretty good at reading and writing. So that was my ticket.”
To this day, Gardner maintains the attitude that not only can he do anything he sets his mind to, but he can succeed and become the very best at it. “We bag elephants,” Gardner says of the high-powered investment deals he negotiates on daily basis. “That's our motto. We go after the big deals because it takes just as much effort to land a $500 account as it does to land a $5 million one.”
Lesson 2 Make A Commitment To Be The Very Best
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“My first ambition in life was to be Miles Davis,” recalls Gardner. “I didn’t want to be a trumpet player, an artist or a jazz musician – I literally wanted to be Miles. My mom said to me, ‘Baby, you can’t be Miles. There ain’t but one, and he got that job.’ But I made a commitment at an early age that I wanted to be world class at something,”
Before realizing that his dream of becoming Miles Davis was unattainable, Gardner had spent nine years studying trumpet. “I wanted to be world class at it or world class at something,” he recalls. “At 18, Miles Davis was in New York playing with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. At the same age, I was playing with some cats named Pookie and Ray Ray. It wasn’t going to happen.”
Gardner attributes his rise to the top to his mother and her “spiritual genetics”, which encouraged Gardner to dream big dreams for himself and strive to become the best. “We all understand genetics,” says Gardner. “You get your eyes from your dad, your mom’s nose, there’s nothing you can do about that. But your spiritual genetics you can choose, pick, embrace and commit to. That’s what I did.”
Gardner’s mother was a natural born teacher; she both loved doing it and did it well. But, after being abandoned by her husband, she found herself in the position of having to care for 12 children all on her own. She sacrificed her dream of teaching to take numerous part-time jobs that could better support the family. “Though my mom had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred and destroyed, she instilled in me that I could have dreams,” says Gardner. “And not just have dreams but had a responsibility to make them reality. My mom taught me from a very early age that I could do anything I wanted to do.”
One day while the two were watching a college basketball game, Gardner said, “Wow, one day those guys are going to make a million dollars.” His mother replied, “Son, if you want to, one day you could make a million dollars.” Gardner recalls being stunned after hearing that statement. “Until she said it, it wasn’t a possibility. I always knew I wanted to be world class at something. I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t run and catch a ball, and I couldn’t dance. But I was pretty good at reading and writing. So that was my ticket.”
To this day, Gardner maintains the attitude that not only can he do anything he sets his mind to, but he can succeed and become the very best at it. “We bag elephants,” Gardner says of the high-powered investment deals he negotiates on daily basis. “That's our motto. We go after the big deals because it takes just as much effort to land a $500 account as it does to land a $5 million one.”
Lesson 2 Make A Commitment To Be The Very Best
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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