What Are You Willing To Change by S. Anthony Iannario

The full title for this post is 'What Are You Willing to Change to be the Best Version of Yourself?' I read it on S. Anthony Iannario's The Sales Blog. If you would like to read the original blog post, click here. While this post is geared towards the skill of selling, the info can be applied to life in general. What changes are we making as we continue on our journey of change?

What Are You Willing to Change to be the Best Version of Yourself?

June 8, 2012 By S. Anthony Iannarino

What are you willing to change in order to achieve the results that you want? What would make you the very best version of yourself?

The results that you are producing right now, whether you are happy with them or not, are being produced by the actions that you are taking (or not taking). Those results are also the result of your beliefs. It isn’t enough to want different results or better results. To produce different and better results you have to make changes.

Are You Willing to Change What You Are Doing?

Certain actions lead to certain outcomes. If you want different outcomes, you have to take different actions.

If your pipeline of opportunities isn’t what you want it to be, then you have to change your prospecting. If your deals always end in you being challenged to justify your price then you need to change something about how you sell. You have to make changes.

As you’ve undoubtedly guessed, this isn’t only about sales. This is about making your life rock. If you unhappy with the level of energy you have at work, you have to make the changes to your lifestyle that will allow you to generate more energy.

What result are you getting now that isn’t what you want it to be? What do you need to change in order to get the outcome that you really want?

Are You Willing to Change What You Believe?

The actions you take are the result of your beliefs.

If you believe cold calling makes you to “salesy” or something less than consultative, then you will act in accordance with those beliefs. If you believe that your dream clients will only buy price, you will act in accordance with that belief, and you will work to sell price.

You get to choose what you believe. You can think about what you think about. Rationalizing poor results and justifying them with a poor belief system doesn’t produce better results. Rationalization is resistance to change, and resistance to change kills the possibility of better results.

You could believe that prospecting (in all its many forms) is one of your primary task in sales. That belief would support a different set of actions than some other beliefs. You could believe that your dream clients are willing to pay more where more value is created. That belief would support a very different set of actions than the belief that price is the only thing your dream clients value.

Your beliefs support your actions. They underlie the actions. To believe something and not act in accordance with that belief is the same as not believing it.

Are You Willing to Change Who You Are?

What you believe and the actions you take make you who you are. The actions you need to take to improve your results might not be inspiring. Most of the time it means hard work, dedication, and doing the quiet work that you alone can do. It’s the disciplined actions of making the calls, reading the books, hitting the gym.

What should inspire you is the question: “Who do you have to be to produce a better result?” Would the best version of yourself take the actions that you are taking now? Or would they take a very different set of actions to get the outcomes they need?

Would the best version of you rationalize their present results? Or would they own the responsibility for better results? What would the best version of you believe? How would the best version of you act in accord with those beliefs?

When Anticipation Is Tough, Hang In There

Waiting.  One definition according to Merriam Webster online is to look forward expectantly.  However looking forward requires patience.  It's fun looking forward but dealing with the opposition of waiting isn't. 

In the same online dictionary patience is defined as steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.  During our waiting period, "What is taking so long," is a question repeatedly--if not often--asked.  Good things may come to those who wait, but is this much waiting necessary?  If I could hurry up and get 'there', wherever 'there' is for you, life would be better.  Then I could hurry up and do those things that would be so beneficial to me and those around me.

While this seems like a good thought, quick isn't always good and neither is it always the best.  Things created too quickly cannot be built as well as they could have been.  Shortcuts are taken that although fun at the beginning cause major problems in the future.  Quickly processed doesn't always mean ready to handle the pressures of success.  Think about the many one-hit wonder artists or people blessed with fortunes overnight to lose them within 1-5 years' time.

We can't take today's bad habits into tomorrow's successes.  Those habits will either limit or reduce the amount of time we will be able to spend when we reach new found success.  In other words, taking our current bad habits with us into the future will decrease the amount of time we would have to enjoy our new success.

While waiting, patiently endure with yourself (and others!) as you continue to grow and change as a person.  You're not waiting just for your dream to become a reality or for your goal to become a success...you're expectantly looking forward to becoming the person you've envisioned yourself to be.


2 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  
3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  
4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  
5 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. (James 1:2-5, The Message Bible translation)

I read the following this week and just wanted to share.

A flower starts deep under the dirt and has to fight against gravity in the darkness before finally breaking free and opening its bloom to the sun. You may feel like you're in darkness and everything around you is muddy, but keep pushing toward the light and when the time is right, you will burst into blossom.

Keep pushing forward during your time of change. It would be easy to stop where you are. More than likely you're a different person than you were when you started, so ending the journey of change here wouldn't be so bad. If nothing else, you're wiser and more knowledgable than you were before you began. However, how much greater would be the worth of this journey if you continued to struggle through the darkness towards the light of your goal or dream? Traveler, take a breath, regather yourself, and keep moving forward.

"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it?" (Luke 14:28 The Message translation)

The following post is by Michelle Hanisch. The original post can be read on her blog 'Healing. Growth. Transformation' by clicking here. During our time(s) of change, sometimes we need to refocus by not looking at what we're gaining materially but are we improving/growing towards the person we desire to be.

Do You Want Success or Achievement?

By Michelle Hanisch

I have a lot of clients come to see me despondent at their lack of ‘success’.

“I should own my own home by this age.”

“I should have a career and a nice car by now.”

Or even:

“I have the big home, nice car, prestigious career ....and I still feel like something is missing.”

Somewhere along the line these people have mixed up success with achievement.

Easy to do right?

Achievement is so easy to strive for. You can set goals for it. Goals that tell you exactly how to get there and exactly what you’ll get at the other end. Goals that once met you can comfortably say “I did it!”

Success on the other hand is much much harder.

Much harder to define. Much harder to strive for. Much harder to know when you’re there.

And that’s because:

Success is something that we feel.

Success is something that is beyond words.

Success is something that gives us meaning.

Success comes from our WHY.

What if our WHY was not to own the biggest house on the block but to be the best parent we could be? Would buying the biggest house on the block make us feel successful? No way!

What if our WHY was not to own the fastest car but to inspire and help others? Would the Ferrari parked in the garage make us feel successful? Definitely not!

We might feel like we achieved something but we wouldn’t feel successful.

Often we start on the Road to Success only to be distracted and derailed by the Path to Achievement.

We start with our WHY in mind. We don’t just want to make a 6 figure salary at our executive job – we want to steer this company to make a big difference in the world. We want to be a change agent. We want to make the world a better place for our children and for us.

Then we slowly get conditioned to following the Path to Achievement. We start to measure our ‘success’ by the tangibles – the big house, the fast car – the tangibles that represent achievement. The tangibles that most of our colleagues are also focused on. We think “If I could just achieve more then I’d feel successful.” But without our WHY as the rudder steering our ship, the ‘success’ will feel hollow.

Success comes when we wake up every day with our WHY in mind. When our day is filled with reminders of WHY we’re doing what we’re doing then our achievements are indicators that we’re on the right path. Our achievements are the bonuses that accompany our feelings of success.

So if you’re the best parent you can be but you don’t own a house – you’re still a success. You’re just looking in the wrong place for your achievements. Is your child happy, well-adjusted, loved, and healthy? There are your signs of achievement and therefore your signs of success.

If you’re inspiring and helping the people around you but there’s no Ferrari in your garage? Then you’re still a success. You’re just looking in the wrong place for your achievements. Are the people around you taking ownership of their lives, do they light up when they see you, are you surrounded by their love? These are your signs of achievement. And definitely your signs of success!

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (Colossians 3:23 New American Standard Bible)

The Importance of Sharing Your Story by Brook McGlothlin

The following blog post was written by Brook McGlothlin. If you would like to visit her website called 'A Life In Need of Change' click here. And while this post is aimed towards Christians, it is applicable to all.

the importance of sharing your story {or Come See a Man!}

How long has it been since you heard someone shout out what Jesus has done for them? How long has it been since you did the shouting?

The importance of sharing your story

The world loves to hate Christians, don't they? Those who don't share our beliefs love to prey on us, seeking out opportunities to destroy us by our own testimonies. Finding a Christian participating in sin is like finding a shiny $50 bill on the ground. The media takes every opportunity to make us look like nuts on television and in the news. And Christian leaders? Whew! To find one of those guys in sin is like winning the lottery. They'll be newsworthy for years to come, maybe even landing themselves a place in the history books (or Psyc books) so that students for ages to come can know how silly it is to make radical professions of faith about a God Who can't really change people.

What the world doesn't understand, is that failure is a vital part of our testimony. Failure is the very reason we need a Savior. And every single one of us has failed in the arena of life.

Each of us guilty before a holy God. The world sees our failures as proof that there is no redemption, no healing in Christ. But as Christians, we know that our failures are what drive us to the Cross. Our failures are what give us the opportunity to see God working and know His loving kindness. They allow us to feel the depth of His grace, unmerited favor for those of us who believe. Our failures lead us to repentance, and repentance leads us to forgiveness. Forgiveness is worth any amount of public ridicule or unfavorable infamy. Forgiveness is worth our all.

Come See a Man!

The Samaritan woman knew the weight of failure. Much like the weight of the water jug she carried in the heat of the day, her failures hung about her shoulders pulling her down and reminding her of who she was. An adulterer. Married five times and living with a man not her husband. She went to the well at the hottest part of the day to avoid the stares of the people who had watched her fail over and over and over again. She thought that day would be just like any other. Until she met Jesus.

In a world where Jews and Samaritans didn't mix, the man Jesus saw into her heart and gave her a drink of living water. With a few words from the One Who changes everything, the Samaritan woman went from hiding her failures to bursting forth into praise and shouting, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (John 4:25). Shedding the weight of her shame she came out of hiding that day. She no longer cared to hide her sin. No, now she was proclaiming it! Giving glory to the One who knew her, loved her, changed her, redeemed her. And in her excitement she ran to tell everyone else.

Can't you just see her? Free from that heavy water jug. Free from caring what others thought of her. Free to dance. I picture her skipping, jumping, dancing in that freedom into the town...right into it shouting, "Come, see a man!" Like a little girl dancing carelessly in a field of flowers...

When was the last time you danced in the freedom of your forgiveness? When was the last time the joy of your salvation overwhelmed you such that you shouted to anyone who would listen, "Come see a man!"

Come see a man! (Who has saved me from my sin!)

Come see a man! (Who has saved my marriage!)

Come see a man! (Who has provided for my needs!)

Come see a man! (Who pays my bills!)

Come see a man! (Who has brought back my prodigal child!)

Come see a man! (Who has healed my sickness!)

Come see a man! (Who loves me and gives me favor!)

Come see a man! (Who shed His blood to give me righteousness!)

Come see a man! (Who gives me peace in the storm!)

Come see the man Jesus! The One Who changes everything. Who has changed everything for me, and can for you.

So what's your story? What has God done for you? Of what have you been forgiven? Of what have you been redeemed? Share it now, so that others can come see a man, the man Jesus, Who can do the same for them.

What's your story?

It's Time to Forgive Yourself

Have you ever been through or are you going through a period of change? I am. I haven't been updating this blog because the reason for writing had left me. Change isn't easy, and admittedly I allowed it to wear me down. Instead of standing resilient and firm I gave in to the pressure. I say that I gave in because we always have a choice in life. For example, we can go left or we can go right. We can give up or we can keep going. We can determine we're not going to do something or we can give into the temptation. The choices go on and on.

I write this not as a catharsis, but maybe to help someone else. In giving up I made some mistakes. There are issues that come with making a mistake, and one of them is unforgiveness. The unforgiveness of yourself weighs heavy on your heart and mind. It reminds a person of their wrongdoing constantly. Like a scratched CD, by repeating it over and over in your mind, unforgiveness keeps the guilt from the mistake alive and well. You want to move past the mistake but you can't seem to let it die because unforgiveness keeps etching its sad song into your brain with its constant repetitions of, "Why did I quit? Why did I give in? Why did I make that bad choice? Why did I have to make that mistake?"

Guess what? Unforgiveness is not our friend. It is not a humble form of penitence. Instead, unforgiveness blocks progress. It hinders you and me from moving forward in life. For those who read the Bible and believe in the words written therein, recall the story of Judas. (For those who do not believe in the Bible, you may want to skip to the next paragraph.) Judas gave up Jesus for 20 pieces of silver. After understanding his wrong, Judas had a choice: forgive himself or die to the crushing weight of guilt. Judas chose death by hanging himself. Jesus is willing to forgive us our wrongdoing (i.e. sin). If He wasn't, the cross wouldn't be the pivotal point of salvation. Yet, despite Jesus' willingness to forgive us, are we willing to forgive ourselves?

How truthful the following is I do not know, but it is an example of how an unwillingness to forgive yourself works. It is an illustration on how to capture a monkey. First, a hole is made in a coconut or a gourd and the object is attached to a tree with a string. Then peanuts are placed inside of it. Monkeys like peanuts, so the monkey will reach in the coconut or gourd to get them. However, the hole isn't big enough for the monkey to pull the peanuts out with its hand. Not wanting to let the peanuts go, the monkey will hold on to them--sometimes for days. By the time the captors come for the monkey, it is too weak to fight back. It has given up its strength and freedom for a handful of peanuts.

That is how we are when we are unwilling to forgive ourselves. We become so focused on our mistake until we lose our freedom. Our freedom is in the knowledge that even though we made a bad choice, we still have the ability to make a good one. We don't have to continue making bad choices, and it is not required to constantly rehearse a bad choice. An unwillingness to forgive yourself decreases your freedom in life. When you're focused on your mistake, opportunities for progression pass you by. They pass you by because you're stuck thinking, "I made a bad choice once, and the cost for that choice was high. Will I do it again?" Hence, as you continue to replay and relive that mistake due to unforgiveness, your freedom in life is passing you by.

So go ahead. Forgive yourself. Continue to move forward during this time of change. Progress lies ahead, but holding onto unforgiveness will only leave you where you are.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:12, 14-15 KJV)

"Releasing the Old" inspired by Adrian Rogers' devotional

The title of this devotional by Adrian Rogers caught my attention. The devotional is listed below, but you can find it online by clicking here.

Releasing the Old—Taking Hold of the Best
February 10

“I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.” Psalm 18:1

Have you ever tried to get a bone away from a dog? It’s not too easy, unless you have something better for him. Try offering a T-bone steak, and that dog will drop his bone like a bad habit.

In the same way, the writer of Hebrews tried to encourage the Jewish Christians, new believers who had a tendency to cling to the old customs of the Old Testament, to leave the dry bones of ceremonies and feast upon the delights of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s a lesson we all must appropriate in our lives. It can become comfortable for us to hold to our traditions, rather than try something new. But friend, there is no one and nothing that can compare with Jesus. You may learn to love Jesus better, but you can never love anything better than Jesus. Ask God to begin showing you the delights of a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

My aim is to encourage both those who do and those who doin't believe in Christ. Let's take these words a step further and apply it to our lives--that is, our daily interactons. How have we viewed this time of change? Have you arrived where you expected to be? If so, congratulations! Your time of change was worth it and now you are at a place in life where you can handle the duties before you responsibly and without damaging the lives of those around you that look up to you.

But for those of us who aren't where we expected to be yet, have you gotten stuck where you are? I mean, you know that you're a different person than when you started, but have you gotten rid of those actios and habits that keep you from moving forward? You know, like procrastination, laziness, an easily frustrated personality, etc. Where we're headed, where we think we want to go, will not permit us to bring these mannerisms along. Living in our dream and maintaining that dream is going to take more than we've ever given before, and bringing these mannerisms along will only help to quickly shatter dreams we've envisioned for so long.


"Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17 KJV)