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The Power of Ambition

Written by: John Brennan

Article Overview: Probably like many of you, recently I found myself drawn to yet another Horatio Alger story; this time it´s the remarkable story of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Put aside for the moment his politics, whether you happen to agree with them or not. I would ask you also to put aside for the moment, and I do not ask this lightly, his highly questionable attitudes towards women. But for the purposes of becoming better sales people, it is worth reflecting on some of the attributes that have led Arnold Schwarzenegger to a successful career.

The Power of Ambition

Arnold´s story is a lesson in the power of ambition. Here´s a guy who was a farm boy in Europe, came to this country as a young man, learned to speak the language (well - more or less) and won world championship bodybuilding events. Recently he switched careers and became a famous, if not skilled, actor. Then recently he switched careers again and won the governorship of the largest state in the Union. The best sales people are not happy to come in second, they want to win.
# Discipline
Bodybuilding takes enormous discipline (if you have ever lifted weights you will appreciate that). Immigrating to another country takes ambition and courage. I can relate to that one, having immigrated to the US myself at about the same age as Arnold. But I spoke the language, or at least the Aussie version of it. I can only imagine the added pressure of trying to find your way in a new country with Arnold´s distinctive accent. Success in sales requires that we focus on our goals, ignoring distractions, putting in the extra effort, becoming aware of our shortcomings and working around them. I was fortunate to learn the value of self- discipline early in life. My High School´s motto was "Vincit, qui se vincit" which you Latin scholars will immediately recognize as "He conquers, who conquers himself".

# Enthusiasm
Arnold is full of enthusiasm and energy. The big smile, outstretched hand, and ready laughter are truly contagious. People gravitate towards enthusiasm because it has an almost spiritual quality about it. (The word itself comes from two Greek words "en" = in and "theos" = God.)

It is also true that "Nothing happens without enthusiasm". In another life I sold franchises for a start-up company. I loved the franchising concept, I was impressed with the owner, and I felt that my entire career had been a preparation for this particular opportunity. The entrepreneur who hired me assured me that I would sell the first dozen franchises on enthusiasm alone. He was right. And after six months, when the enthusiasm was waning, he gave me another piece of good advice "fake it until you make it". That worked, too. Just because you don´t feel particularly enthusiastic does not mean that you cannot act that way, A funny thing happens when you act enthusiastically - the feelings seem to follow the behavior.

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# Confidence
Confidence and enthusiasm are brother and sister. Arnold looks confident in himself, and can inspire confidence in others. Like most successful sales people, he does it through body language. Note how straight he stands with his head held high. When you are tall there´s a tendency to stoop, which communicates a certain lack of confidence. I´m forever telling my son, who is tall, to hold his head up and push his shoulders back. My daughter on the other hand, who is short, walks with a bounce in her stride, her head held high, and projects self assurance and confidence.

# Straight talker
I´ve met many sales people who erroneously believe that the best sales people are fast talkers. Quite the opposite is true, if you study successful B2B sales people. They tell it straight. There are no false promises, vague assurances or highly exaggerated claims. Good sales people do however have the gift of the gab. They are eloquent, colorful and mesmerizing in their choice of words. They also speak from the heart (that "en theos" again) and the meaning of their words is rarely cloudy. Despite the accent, when he speaks, Arnold is forceful, clear as a bell, and authentic. Again, it comes through control of his body language. The best communicators have complete awareness and complete control of their every hand movement, every gesture, and every eye movement, and in intonation of their voice. They know how they want to come across and they marshal all their faculties to accomplish it. It takes two things, sincerity and practice. You cannot practice sincerity, but you can practice the behaviors that signal it. I don´t really know if Arnold is a straight shooter.

I guess we´ll find out soon enough.

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Article Tags: ambition, arnold schwarzenegger, attitudes, horatio alger story, remarkable story



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