Winners

Perception

William Barker relates the story of a bishop from the East Coast, who many

years ago, paid a visit to a small, Midwestern religious college.  He stayed at

the home of the college president, who also served as professor of physics and

chemistry.  After dinner, the bishop declared that the millennium couldn't be far

off, because just about everything about nature had been discovered and all

inventions conceived.

The  young college president politely disagreed and said he felt there would be

many more discoveries.  When the angered bishop challenged the president

to name just one such invention, the president replied he was certain that

within fifty years, men would be able to fly.

“Nonsense!” sputtered the outraged bishop.  “Only angels are intended to fly.”

The bishop's name was Wright and he had two boys at home who would prove

to have greater vision than their father.  Their names were Orville and Wilbur.

                       The father and his sons both lived under the same sky,

                               but they didn't all have the same horizon!

                             This writer from SUCCESS Magazine...asks:

                                                  How can this be? 

                         Why is it that two people can be in the same place

                      at the same time and both see entirely different things?

                                                          It's simple. 

We see what we are prepared to see, not what is. Every successful leader

                     understands this about people and asks three questions.

                                                  What  do others see?

                                                  Why do they see it that way?

                                                  How can I change their perception?

One Great Salesman

Most of us think of Christopher Columbus as a great discoverer, but he was also

a great leader and salesman.  Before he could begin  his voyage of discovery

that changed the world, he had to see what, to his contemporaries, was an

utterly ridiculous  idea!  And that was so no “one call” sale!  Consider the

circumstances  and conditions that were stacked against him.

First:  There was absolutely no market for a transatlantic voyage.

           And hundreds of years of tradition and superstition practically

           guaranteed there never would be.

Second:  Although Columbus had made sea voyages as a passenger,

               he had never been captain of a ship.

Third:  Columbus was a foreigner (an Italian) living in Portugal

            and then in Spain.

Fourth:  Columbus did not have sufficient money to fund such an adventure.

               In fact, the only one who could legally fund a voyage of discovery,

               was a head of state ~ a king or queen.  So his prospect list of

               benefactors was rather short.

Fifth:  His price was not cheap.  In addition to needing ships and support,

           Columbus had a long life of personal demands, including...

            A 10% commission on all commerce between his discoveries

            and the mother country.

            A title ~ Admiral of the Ocean Sea.

            The permanent position of governor of all new territories

            All of his honors and rights passed on to his heirs.

Remarkably, Columbus made the sale and did it on his own terms!

Modern sales people could learn a lot form Columbus's sales techniques.

He was propelled by a single-minded passion.

He wholeheartedly believed he could reach Asia by crossing the Atlantic.

(Even though his belief was wrong, it gave him the stamina, the conviction

and confidence to convince others.)

He never stopped selling!

He didn't mind asking for the order again and again and again!

He spent seven years asking King John of Portugal to fund the voyage.

Then he went to Spain and worked on Ferdinand and Isabella for

seven more years before he finally got his Yes!

Columbus had to see...before  he could sail.

Any successful person  knows this truth.

People must buy into You...

before They buy into your Dreams!

Words of Wisdom from Einstein:

I am thankful to all those who said, “NO” to me.

It is because of them, I did it myself!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Complete” or “Finished”

No dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between

“Complete” and “Finished”.  However, in a recent linguistic conference held

in London, England, and attended by some of the best linguists in the world,

Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese, was the clear winner.

His final challenge  was this:  Some say there is no difference between

COMPLETE and FINISHED.  Please explain the difference between

these two words...in a way that is easy to understand.

“Sam” thought about it a minute, then rendered this astute answer:

“When you marry the right woman, you are Complete!

But when you marry the wrong woman, your are Finished!

And when the right one catches you with the wrong one,

you are Completely Finished!”

His answer was received with a standing ovation lasting over five minutes and it

entitled him to receive an invitation to dine with the Queen, who decided to

call him  after the contest.  He won a trip to travel around the world in style

and a case of 25-year-old-Eldorado Rum...for his answer.

                                                                      "Pearls of Wisdom"

                                              The Winner is always a part of the answer.

                                              The Loser is always part of the problem.

                                              The Winner always has a program.

                                              The Loser always has an excuse.

                                              The Winner says, “Let me do it for you.”

                                              The Loser says, “That’s not my job.”

         

                                              The Winner sees an answer to every problem.

                                              The Loser sees a problem in every answer.

                                              The Winner says, “It may be difficult, but it’s possible.:

                                              The Loser says, “It may be possible, but its too difficult.”

Merle Baird-Kerr...written December 31, 2012.

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