Be Better Than Yourself!

Is this your first job right out of college? Welcome to the big leagues of selling. You can have a great career selling life insurance if you want it badly enough. It is not what you might earn that is so important; it’s what you become. William Faulkner said it best when he wrote, “Be better than yourself.”

One of the reasons the card game bridge still fascinates people is because, in order to be good, you have to be willing to be bad when you start out.

There is a good chance you may feel as though you are overworked and underpaid — this is a good sign. Years from now, you will look back knowing you learned things in selling you would not have discovered anywhere else. You may hear the word “no” a lot. You will have a lot of lousy rainy Monday mornings, and a few people will forget to show up for their appointments.

This is all part of the process of building a career.

Make a commitment to hang in there for at last three years and put this in writing. You will be a better person three years from now if you want it badly enough.

Selling life insurance is a hard-won dignity. It always has been and probably always will be. In life, what is rewarding usually starts with being difficult. Winston Churchill was right when he said, “Success is moving from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.”

Imagine what you want to look like three, 10 and 25 years from now. Then draw an imaginary line forward from today. What do you ardently desire? Do you want to live in a beautiful home? Take exciting trips with your family? Paint a picture in your mind of what you truly desire.

Taking Your First Steps

Start with written goals and carry them with you. Be tougher on yourself than a demanding boss would be. This is the difference between someone who has a job and someone who builds a career. What are you willing to do or give up to obtain what you never had? Find someone to emulate. Everyone needs someone to admire.

The paint store in our hometown sells 42 shades of white paint. Who wants to be part of a herd? Expand your thinking with the dogged determination that you do not need to be all things to all people — just a few important things to the right people.

Achieving Success

Now you are in the big leagues of selling because your contract has no stated limit on what can be earned. In this life, you do not get three wishes; you get an abundance of them. How’s that for good news?

One snowy afternoon in South Bend, Ind., right after he was hired as the University of Notre Dame’s new head football coach, Lou Holtz told a packed room of players: “I know you did not select me to be your football coach. That is not important. What is important is that I selected you.” His words were so simple, they were brilliant. Three years later, the team he selected earned the 1988 National Championship.

A career in the life insurance profession has selected you, and inspiration never goes out of style. It is not what society owes you; it is what you owe society. Call on people now.

Leadership begins with you — so get out of your own way. What will you need on this new and demanding journey? Remember, well done is better than well said. Have a bias for action. A busy agent is a happy agent, and activity breeds activity. Find people who are doing well. The numbers are on your side. For every 10 new people you may call, three will see you and one will buy.

What do you do on days when you don’t sell anything? Kindly forgive yourself. Remember that this is not a job — it is a career.

Your attitude will probably end up being the average of that of the five people you spend the most time with. So avoid complainers, and associate with people who take the long view and are willing to sacrifice something today for a larger reward. Always look for what is right about any given situation you find yourself in. This is called having positive expectations, and it is the mindset of a winner.

Building Good Habits

Have faith and turn the following thoughts into daily habits:

» Focus on progress, not perfection.

» Be on the lookout for small victories.

» Go to bed early and get up early.

» Do not accept any space between what you say and what you do.

» Be where your feet are (especially with family members).

» Be upbeat. Abundance is a state of mind. It is impossible to be thankful and depressed at the same time.

» Do great things, think great thoughts and delegate the rest.

» It is not always what happens to you; it is how you handle it. How’s your attitude?

» Play detective. Good things always happen when you call on people you are just a little afraid of.

» Drink the first, sip the second and skip the third.

» Treat life as a generosity contest.

» Go ahead. Be better than yourself. That noise you hear is me cheering for you.

D. Scott Brennan is a career MassMutual agent in South Bend, Ind. He is a past president of the Million Dollar Round Table and is the 2016 recipient of the John Newton Russell Memorial Award. He may be contacted at [email protected].