Oh, The Freedom!

Years ago, I remember being frustrated in my sales career.  It’s not that I wasn’t working hard, or even having success, but I knew I could and should do more.  As a sales guy, I had no problem understanding intellectually what I should be doing to grow my book of business.  And the top priority was lead generation.

Keep in mind, this was in the early 90s, and email, texting, websites, for the most part, didn’t exist. So, lead generation was primarily old school. Knock on doors. Get a contact. Drop something off, but not everything. And call back to set an appointment.

I didn’t like to knock on doors, but I especially didn’t like to call back within 3 days.  It was the furthest action from a new sale, and yet, to me the hardest.  In sales, we define this as “call reluctance.” I did the calls, but not consistently. It was sporadic and painful – and so the pressure was on me 24/7.  Like carrying anchors.

Then I learned about time blocking and self-discipline and had just been in a workshop about values. I identified one of my top values as Personal Integrity.  Eventually, that became Integrity.  Between my thoughts around time blocking, self-discipline, and personal integrity, I decided I would always do what I said I’d do. No exceptions. Once the commitment was made, it was done.

Why? Because I hated regrets. Not doing what I knew I should be doing.

And I followed through – setting dedicated blocks of time in my calendar for making those calls.  I didn’t set a quantity goal; I set a time goal.  I scheduled a personal appointment to make calls. And as long as I honored that time for its purpose, regardless of results, I had no regrets.

Well, the results were fantastic. But that paled in comparison to what I really learned. By executing on this habit, I became much more confident in myself because I did what I said I’d do. I was personally accountable.  I didn’t carry the burden of calls all week long, just for 2 designated hours.

The habit of self-discipline led me to an “identity” of personal integrity, and that was the ultimate success.  Identity goes much further than planning and making calls; it’s who I am. And who you are.

Following through on all your commitments will lead to a remarkable sense of freedom because you don’t have to think about it. You just do it. Because that’s who you are.

What regrets do you have? These are things you know you should be doing and that you know you’re not doing. Something is holding you back. Build self-discipline. Do it for a few months. Don’t look back. Regardless of outcomes, you’ll begin to change your identity by following through.

And our identity drives our beliefs, which drives our behavior, which is what we are all trying to improve in the first place!