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Lessons from Bonnie St. John

Guest post by: Brian Sullivan

Article Overview: How YOU can champion even the toughest of setbacks.

Lessons from Bonnie St. John



People fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster.

-Bonnie St. John



Bonnie St. John lost a leg at the age of 5. Several years later, she would go on to become the first African-American to win an Olympic medal in skiing as she was awarded a silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. This week on my radio program, I asked Bonnie, "How did you train to become a champion?" She said, "I trained with Olympic athletes who didn't have the physical limitations I had. Because my goal was to be the best skier, NOT to be the best Paralypic skier."

Bonnie then went on to describe how she won her silver medal. "I was leading in the slalom after the first run. Then in the second run, I slipped on an ice patch and fell down the hill. I thought for sure this would cost me a medal, but I got up and continued racing. Several other competitors hit the same patch of ice and also fell...even the one who eventually won the gold. The only difference, however, between her and I, was SHE got up faster...and THAT won her the gold.

So the two lessons this week are:

To be a champion, surround yourself with people who ARE what you are trying to be. Seek out top performers in your company or industry and schedule a breakfast, lunch or beer. Then ask who, what, when, how did they get to the top. Then actually USE what they teach you.

If you have "slipped on a patch of ice" in your business or career, NOW is the time to get up...and get up FAST. Because there is only one gold, and it's either going to you or your competition. Getting up fast could mean getting out of bed 30 minutes earlier each morning and using that time to learn something new about your Product, Industry or Competition. Or it could mean making 10 more sales calls each week.

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Article Tags: champion, communication skills, competition, gold medal, insurance sales training, medical sales training, olympics, precise selling, sales tactics, sales training, setbacks



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