Let’s pick up directly where we left off last week and rejoin Mark Ford for the conclusion of his piece on banishing fear and change in your life, today! If you missed Part I, you’ll find it here.

Humility in SalesHumility Is Nature’s First Gift

Pride prevents us from admitting we are incompetent. But we’re all incompetent when we’re learning. Think of how a baby learns to walk. He begins by crawling, then advances to “forward falling” (as my brother calls it), then to walking like a little drunkard, and then, finally, to walking masterfully.

Babies don’t feel shame, because they’re not proud. There’s a reason pride doesn’t invade the human psyche until 6 or 7 years of age: There’s simply too much to learn before then. If toddlers had pride, it would take them years, or even decades, to walk and talk properly.

Humility is a much-underrated virtue. It provides us with at least three significant advantages:

It makes us more endearing. Humble people, especially accomplished individuals who remain humble, are well-liked.

It makes it easier to get cooperation. Humble people get more cooperation from others because they don’t try to force strong-minded people to accept their ideas.

It makes learning easier and faster. Humble people are able to ask questions, make mistakes, and experience failures without embarrassment. This attracts good people to them who want to help. Humble people get the best teachers and get the most from them.

——————Another Satisfied Customer——————-

“Doug came to our rescue at just the right time! We were not hitting our sales goals so he began meeting with our sales staff for 30 minutes once a week, using segments from his book as lesson plans. Within two months we began exceeding our sales goals and are on a seven month streak of sales budget beating. I would recommend Doug to anyone who wants to increase sales.” Jay Pollock-Partner, Invision Technologies. Go meet Doug here.

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If Humility Is the Solution, How Does a Proud Person Become Humble?

Now we are coming to the most important part of this discussion – a practical plan for defeating the fear of failure. Here’s how you can do it:

Begin by accepting the truth. You’re a good person, but that doesn’t mean you are naturally good at everything. Look in the mirror and think about the skill you want to accomplish. Say out loud, “I accept the fact that right now, I am incompetent at (name the skill).” Repeat this exercise until it doesn’t hurt.

Admit your incompetence to an indifferent audience. Once you can say it in front of a mirror, say it in front of a living human being. Begin by admitting your incompetence to someone who doesn’t care. Admit to your Spanish teacher you are incompetent at public speaking. Admit to your public speaking coach you are incompetent at speaking Spanish. Repeat this exercise until you can do it with grace and good humor.

Next, admit your incompetence to a judgmental audience. Admit you are no good at languages to your Spanish teacher. Admit you have two left feet to your dance instructor. Do this not once, but every time you make a mistake or fail in some way. Do it with grace and good humor. As pop psychologists say, “own” the feeling.

Admit your incompetence to someone who can punish you. This is the ultimate test. The next time you volunteer for a difficult assignment at work, admit to your boss you might fail before you succeed. Do it with grace and good humor, and you will be amazed at the result you get.

Your boss won’t can you on the spot. (Unless he is really incompetent.) Rather, he will admire you for your humility. After all, he knows you are not yet competent. All he wants is your commitment to carry on until you are.

Failed Over and Over -Sales TrainingI’ve found the most productive and successful executives are very comfortable about saying, “I’m going to try such and such. I’ll probably screw it up completely. But if I eventually succeed… just think what good will come of it!”

Defeat your fear of failure by being happy, and even eager to try and fail until you succeed. That’s how Edison invented the lightbulb. That’s how Michael Jordan, a very mediocre basketball player in high school, became the greatest hoops player of all time. They weren’t afraid of failure. You shouldn’t be, either. Regards, Mark Ford

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I hope Mark Ford’s thoughts on this subject have been beneficial to you over these last 2 weeks. If you are interested in learning more about him and his organization, go to www.palmbeachgroup.com.

©2015 Robinson Training Solutions, LLC