Sales trainers and strong leaders know that helping one another is a key ingredient in overcoming obstacles and walking in sales victory. We must be "other centered."

I remember a few years ago when I was the senior pastor of a church I wrote a sermon for Thanksgiving. After some thought and prayer I titled my sermon: “Who's thankful for you?" I asked the church members to take a moment and determine whether they could make a list of the people who would thank God for them! It seems that sometimes we spend a lot of time being thankful for our things, our possessions, our family, etc. Today I ask you, "Who's thankful for you?"

I like to share the following story as I travel and work as a motivational speaker and sales trainer…

As sales training professionals, we need to teach our people the importance of turning disadvantage into advantage. It is a powerful skill to develop and a helpful state of mind.

As a motivational speaker, having spoken to over a million people in my career, I know all too well that some people moan and groan because of their adversity or handicap. High level leaders and achievers rise above and live successfully because of and in spite of them.

People react differently to any given situation. Empowered people and empowered leaders react with a determined positive spirit that says, "I will overcome! I will not be defeated!"

As a seasoned motivational speaker, I’m always looking for good stories to tell about people and their victories. Abraham Lincoln has such a story. He had a 35 year history of failure before being elected President of the United States. Lincoln failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for the legislature in 1832. He failed in business a second time in 1833. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836.

He was defeated for speaker in 1838, defeated for elector in 1840 and defeated for Congress in 1848. He lost the election for Senator in 1855 and was beaten for Vice-President in 1856. He was defeated again for Senate in 1858. Finally, after all that defeat and struggle, he was elected President in 1860!

I fly a lot as a motivational speaker and sales trainer which takes me all over the world. In the last two months alone I’ve been to Dubai 3 times, Kuwait once and all across the USA speaking. What fun! But when I think of flying, I never imagined what could have happened to Captain Timothy Lancaster. He knows about overcoming obstacles and "hanging in there," quite literally.

On June 10, 1990, Captain Timothy Lancaster was piloting British Airways Flight 5390 out of Birmingham, England. At 23,000 feet, the cockpit windshield of his jetliner blew out and he was sucked out of the cockpit window onto the nosecone of the jet. He would have plunged to his death had not his co-workers grabbed his ankles until the plane landed safely fifteen minutes later. Nigel Ogden and Alistair Atcheson landed the plane.

Can you even imagine what might have been going through his mind during that fifteen minute ride?

Sales trainers and motivational speakers know that one of the most exciting challenges in life is to rise above misfortune and walk in peace and prosperity. I've dedicated my life to teaching people skills that will allow them to do just that. I'm often encouraged by the heroic stories of others.

Each Christmas I think of the Lutheran traditions that were a part of my childhood. One of my favorite memories is singing and listening to the music of George Handel's Messiah, including the Hallelujah Chorus. What an extraordinary piece of music!

What makes that particular musical masterpiece so valuable to me personally is that when George Handel wrote the Messiah, he was recovering from a stroke and was still partially paralyzed. He rose above his misfortune.

Sales trainers know that if their sales team believes a problem has destroyed their lives, their careers or their health, it often will! One of the great skills a good sales trainer has is the ability to encourage people to decide today (as George Handel did so many years ago) to rise above that which seeks to destroy you.

Build, strengthen, use and rely on your faith!

As a sales trainer, one thing I have taught sales people and audiences for the last 30 years is this: “In every situation, crisis, or tragedy that comes your way you have a choice.”

Every good leader and sales trainer knows that the two most common choices are to:

1) React in FEAR; or

2) React in FAITH.

It's a choice!

Let’s suppose you’re standing on the railroad tracks like the old newspaper cartoon. Your feet are in cement, you can’t move and the train is coming. The light from the train engine is getting closer and you’re about to get run over. You’ve got two choices; choose FEAR or choose FAITH.

Before I was a sales and leadership trainer/speaker, I was a minister. During those years of ministry, I was no stranger to funerals. I was a chaplain at the local hospital for a time and one of my duties was to be available for emergencies. I had to be on call for the Emergency Room. Today I’m on call for training and leadership emergencies all over the globe! Ha!

During my hospital chaplain days, some patients were flown into the Emergency Room by helicopter and did not survive. When people did not have a church home or pastor, I was often asked to help with funeral arrangements. Funerals are a great occasion to talk about the many accomplishments and faith successes of one’s life, and they are a great time to talk about the future of those still living!

Years ago, my good friend, Paul Anderson, invited me to travel to Singapore with him and share the stage at a huge insurance and sales event. It was an awesome experience which was ultimately the start of my career as an international speaker and sales and leadership trainer.

While on the airplane to Singapore I met a man who told me about the funeral he just attended. It was a funeral for one of his “bad habits” he said. I was intrigued so I listened intently. He told me of his life long struggle with smoking, and said that for too long he had given himself permission to “try” to kick the habit. However, sadly, he failed time and time again.

Seasoned sales trainers know lots of good stories and here’s one of my favorites. . .

For 25 years, Captain Waterman was in charge of a large international shipping vessel and traveled across the continent delivering all kinds of goods and materials. Every day Captain Waterman started his day by going to the pilot house of his ship, unlocking a safety deposit box and reading the contents of that box. He then replaced the contents, locked the deposit box and carried on about his daily business.

The contents of the secured box were always confidential. For years, the crew speculated and wondered about the contents of that box, but no one had the nerve to ask Captain Waterman. Shortly after his retirement and departure from the ship, the crew and staff gathered in the pilot house, found the keys to the deposit box, and anxiously waited to see just exactly what the Captain had been looking at all of his years.

Having spent over 28 years as a sales trainer and motivational speaker, I’ve learned that if given a choice, most people would rather succeed than fail. Today, I’ll share two essential ingredients in the “Sell More” recipe for success. Those ingredients are called the “PH Factor” and are excerpts from my recent book entitled, Personal Empowerment III, now in it’s 4th U.S. printing.

“Productive and Happy” (PH Factor) people make the best friends, spouses, parents, employees, sales trainers and leaders. It means that they are well on their way to being stronger leaders, more empowered at work and within the family, and selling more!

Three men were trying to come up with a definition of success.

The first man said, “I would consider myself successful if I could have a private, personal conversation with the President of the United States in the White House Oval Office.”

The second man said, “I would consider myself successful if, while I am having a private, personal conversation with the President of the United States in the White House Oval Office, his hotline rings and he ignores it.”