Some of my best sales training experience came from years of marriage. I’m reminded of an argument I had with my wife some years ago. We were going through some kind of innocent discussion that led to an argument that led to a fight that led to the silent treatment! Both of us were declaring victory, but there seemed to be no clear winner!

Suddenly I realized that the very next day I would need my wife to wake me up at 5:00 AM for an important early morning business flight. I’m a very heavy sleeper and need to actually be shaken to wake up!

I like to think of myself as a rational sales trainer and leader. I like to think I'm a straight shooter and not one to mix or water down my thoughts. That's one reason I enjoy my career as a sales and leadership trainer so much. I can tell you what I think and go home. In sales and leadership, my responsibility is to share what I know while the listener's responsibility is to decide what to do with that which I share. I also don’t lie to my audiences. You won't hear me tell an audience that “they can do anything if they just put their mind to it!” I can say that all day long, but if I entered Spring Training Camp for the Green Bay Packers football team, I'd be thrown out on my ear! I simply don't have a body that can play professional football! It would be a lie to say otherwise. For that matter, I won't ever get elected to the White House. I will never be President of the United States of America! I'm not smart or wealthy enough!

I graduated from my high school in the half that made the top half possible! I smoked pot in high school too, and I inhaled every bit of it! My point is this; let's focus on the things we “can have a victory over,” and not get everyone hyped up just for the sake of a short lived motivational high!

Sales trainers, leadership gurus and sales professionals are like every other person on planet Earth. Like so many individuals, perhaps you get up each morning angry because you don’t like your job. Maybe you start each day frustrated because your marriage fell apart and you did nothing to stop it. Maybe you are feeling disappointed that your kids are struggling and they didn’t turn out the way you had planned. Maybe you get up in the morning and feel helpless! If that person is you or someone you are training, there is hope!

Successful sales trainers and leaders have trained their minds and thoughts over time to think about the amazing possibilities that still exist, not the impending defeats that seem to lie at hand. No successful leader or sales trainer ever got to the top of Mt. Everest by resting! Those who make it to the top plan ahead and work hard.

One of the reasons successful sales trainers and leaders overcome so many difficult obstacles and sell more is because they tap into the power of feeling special. When I was nine years old, I had a life-changing conversation with my mom as we sat in our kitchen. My dad was a Lutheran pastor and mom was a school teacher. We lived in the church parsonage next to the church.

As a kid, I would often sit on the window ledge and watch the neighborhood kids play in the large grassy area between our house and the church. They would play kickball, football, baseball and all kinds of athletic games.

As I sat watching them through the window, I would often look down at my crippled and deformed legs, constrained by heavy knee-high metal braces. My feet were wrapped in big ugly black leather boots and I could hardly walk without the aid of crutches.

I am reminded of a story I read on a long flight home from Australia some years ago. I started to get antsy because the flight was very long. We spent over twenty-eight hours in flight. I had read my books, watched my movies and finished my study. Soon I found myself walking back and forth in the aisles getting some exercise in hopes of shaking off the boredom. The life of a motivational speaker is not always glamorous.

I came across a senior citizens magazine and much to my surprise I really enjoyed reading it. In my sales training work, I often help companies re-train or coach their “more mature” workers. While in flight, I read a story about a young man heading to Africa for his first safari. He was understandably anxious because he knew the jungle held many mysteries. He remembered with great trepidation, stories of those poor souls who had been eaten alive in the jungle. He had no intentions of being the next meal for a hungry lion!

My friend Wally Cato is the founder of Cato Inter-Group in Atlanta, Georgia. He recently told me about a street vender he met on the streets of New York who was selling flowers. His sign read, "Buy a Flower, Only $2.00!” As the vendor and Mr. Cato visited, the vendor complained that sales were limp and not many people even bothered to stop and smell the beautiful roses. Many a sales trainer or company leader can sympathize but on a larger scale!

The next day, Cato, a famous celebrity promoter, walked down that same street only to find the street vendor in the same predicament as the day before. Sales were lagging and the vendor was discouraged. Mr. Cato, a veteran sales trainer and corporate leader then offered the following advice, "Change your sign; I'll tell you what to write and sales will skyrocket!" So the vendor changed his sign to read, "Want to feel important all day long? Buy a flower today! Only $2.00!" He sold out of flowers in just one hour.

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!"

Prior to my career as a motivational speaker and sales trainer, I started a career in the life insurance sales industry. I was 19 years old. I attended college for a year prior to that, but I didn’t like it. I guess it helps if you actually attend classes! It was a tremendous and rewarding opportunity. After my first day on the job, however, I wasn't sure about my new career.

That day I went to my boss and I said, "If I’m going to be a top producer in the life insurance business, what do I have to do? (Doesn’t every sales training professional want to hear that? Ha!) He said, "Big Al, if you want to be really successful, you have to go out and knock on doors. You’ve got to see people face to face. No telephones! Go out and see your prospects eyeball to eyeball." I did exactly what he told me to do.