What makes YOU so different?

I went to New York City this past summer for a convention. I really do enjoy going to programs and seminars but it can be hard for someone that is new in the business...there is just SO MUCH information. Given that there is way too much to take home and implement, I like to write down key ideas and thoughts that I feel are important to my success, at this stage in the game.

I also enjoy writing down quotes from people because they are normally small phrases that communicate big ideas. In one of the sessions I went to there were quite a few "newbies" in the business and the speaker started off by addressing their mentality going into the business. He said, " I know many of you are here because you know you have a lot to learn and I will do my best to give you more than you expected. I also know that there are some of you who feel like you are the new speaking prodigy! For those of you that feel you are "the prodigy"...you aren't...if you were we would have already heard of you!"

Although bold...it was true!

There is a great deal of talent in this world but there are few prodigies!

Think about it in NBA terms...

How often do you see a talent like LeBron James come along?

Let's be honest...its a rarity!

When we come into an industry we must understand that, while we may be talented, we are nothing out of the ordinary!

We only become special when we begin to do the things that others won't do!

With the talent pool getting deeper and deeper with time we must learn to do things that differentiate ourselves from others.

What is it that you can do to set yourself apart?

What is it that makes you special?

Something to think about:

Look at the individuals in your organization, that are considered the best, and do your best to determine what attributes/characteristics set them apart.

The next step is becoming clear on whether or not you are willing to do what they do...

"The difference between winners and losers is winners pay a price that losers won't pay! Sometimes that price is very little...but only the winners know that!" - Jim Jacobus

Grow Wise Before You Grow Old!

Obviously we cannot turn back the hands of time to give us more "real world" experience...so what can we do to gain experience? Maybe we should address that question with a couple more questions...

Do you know how Warren Buffett went from selling golf balls to buying private planes?

How did Mark Zuckerberg balance his finals, at Harvard, and the launching of his billion-dollar website, FACEBOOK?

Why are white headphones responsible for the overwhelming rise of the iPod?

While the answers would be neat to know the real gift is knowing why Warren Buffett was so resilient, how Mark Zuckerberg put the Facebook concept into action, or what branding had to do with the white headphones that seemed invade every college campus across the globe!


The point is...we cannot create experience out of thin air! All we can do is to become experienced through studying the experiences of others!

"Smart people learn from their mistakes, however, the smartest people learn from the mistakes of others!"

How do we become students of success?

...We make a conscious effort to become lifelong learners!

This begins with making continuous learning a priority in our day to day lives! Whether it is through reading, seminars, research, or audios, we must understand what makes people and companies so successful!

It wasn't until an interview I had my sophomore year in college that I realized why reading was so vital to success...

When coming to TCU I immediately got involved in a program that helped incoming freshmen make a smooth transition from high school to college. This program became such a major part of my life that I had decided to pursue a position on the director board for the following year.

My interview for the board was going smoothly up until they asked me a question that completely caught me off guard...

"So....Jason...what books are you currently reading? Not for school...but for yourself?"

I tried answering the question like a political candidate..."Wellllll...you know...I am glad you asked that! That is a question that most of this country wants answered by their future leader. Its one of those questions that I have been looking to address since starting this campaign."

...ok...not really! But I did try hard to delay it for a few seconds so could come up with my escape plan!

The fact was...I wasn't reading any books for myself! I didn't even like reading!

After admitting that I wasn't "half-way through Harry Potter and looking forward to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", I decided to question their choice of interview questions...

"So...just out of curiosity...why do you care what book I am reading? All of your questions have been driven toward my potential position and my ability to satisfy its requirements...why a a question about books?"

The answer to this question would shape my approach to reading and learning from that point on...

The interviewer, that asked the question, said " I understand your confusion Jason but it may be the most important question we've asked in the entire interview. When we decide on someone for this position we are not looking for the person that has all the answers...we are looking for the person that knows they don't... but is willing to go get them! The one way that we can encourage others to grow is to let them see us grow! We grow by learning from others and what better way to learn from others than to read about their lives!"

I think I read 10 books in the next month! From that point on I was hooked...not hooked to reading...but to learning!

I now make it a point to read, at least, an hour a day. If I want to be the best, I must study the success of others.

Call to Action:

Find a book on a company or individual that intrigues you! Read their book and begin drawing a connection between their success and your opportunities!

If you cannot think of a book on an individual or company, here are a few business books that I recommend...

- The Snowball - Warren Buffett
- Buy*ology - Martin Lindstrom
- Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden
- Grown Up Digital - Don Tapscott
- Made To Stick - Chip & Dan Heath
- Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
- Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
- First Things First - Stephen Covey

I will do whatever it takes!

I have been around the speaking/training/consulting business for almost 20 years due to my dad's investment in the industry. He has been a full-time speaker and consultant for about 18 years now and the one thing I know is that the speaking industry is HARD! It is one of the most competitive industries out there and it chews up a mass of dreamers and spits them out...

When I was about 7 years old my dad had been speaking for a while and he was really struggling! He sat down with me by the window, at our old house, and he told me that he thought he was contemplating putting and end to his career in speaking! I know it was hard for him to tell me this because he felt like a failure and he felt like he was teaching me to give up on your dreams! If he only knew the impact that conversation had on my life...

Fast forwarding about 12 years from that day by the window and 12 more years in the speaking industry...

My dad, stepmom, and I were sitting on the first teebox at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii... After we putted out on the first green I asked my dad, "Do you remember that time we sat and talked by the window in our old house? You know...when you told me you were considering ending your speaking career? Did you ever imagine we would be playing golf in Hawaii due to all of your hard work?"

The neat thing about kids is they know how to catch you off-guard!

He stopped and smiled at me ...

Which could have been because he was already down one stroke after the first hole or it could have been because he recognized the magnitude of the lesson he taught me 12 years prior!

He just said, "It was worth it! I didn't know it at the time but...it was all worth it!"

I went on to ask him what it was that took him to the next level in his career and he said, "I had to make up my mind to quit or to dig in and do whatever it takes!"

Since then, my dad has sent that message to thousands of people around the world and encourages them to make up their mind and decide to do whatever it takes to be successful (within moral, legal, and ethical boundaries)!

This was the thought going through my head when he challenged me at the start of my career with the company... Am I willing to do whatever it takes to be successful at this? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to be an expert in this field? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to overcome my inexperience?

The overwhelming answer was YES!!

My decision at that point in time will always be, in my mind, the first step in whatever success I achieve later in life. It wasn't an action...it was a decision to do whatever it takes!!

After I communicated my decision to the team they assigned me with my first task as a member of the team...

My assignment: What is it that, the world of purchasing professionals, focuses on to be successful at what they do? How do they approach the sales battle? What are they like, personally? What motivates them? What classes do they attend? What books do they read? What tactics do they use? How can a salesperson negotiate with professional negotiators?

At least this was the verbalized assignment...

The real assignment was...

How much are you willing to do? Are you willing to disregard the expectations and do what YOU are capable of doing? What can you do to become the expert in this field?

My journey started with me asking myself..."If I wanted to be the worlds best purchasing professional...what would I do? If I wanted to be the YOUNG GUN in the purchasing arena, what preparations would I make?

That is when I decided to go to every association website that supported purchasing professionals...

I read every book and every article on all of their websites (which turned out to be over 20 books and 100 articles)...

I interviewed every purchasing professional that I could get an interview with for over 2 weeks straight...

I took online classes that educate purchasing professionals...

After nearly a month of doing everything I could to learn about this profession and the people that occupied purchasing positions I sent in my notes... that could have been passed of as the manuscript for War and Peace!

It was then when I realized that I was on my way to becoming an expert...not just in the field of purchasing professionals but becoming an expert in whatever I chose! This was now possible because I knew what it felt like to do whatever it takes...and I was addicted!

Bridging the Gap!

Ok...let's face it...there are many things we can control and many we can't. One thing we can't control is the level of our experience at this point in time. There is a positive though...there are two good times to do something...when you should have and NOW (this is welded in my mind from years listening to my dad...thanks dad)!

So...How do we address this idea of not having the benefit of 20 years experience in our field? How can we overcome this setback in the world of selling? Is it even a setback?

These are the questions we will address in my next few entries...

When I graduated from Texas Christian University I decided to go into business with my dad...

I'll give you a few minutes to get all of the stereotypes off your chest... (most of you are probably calling me an SOB aka Son Of the Business)

To disclose all information though...I was excited about working with my dad not because I felt that it would be smooth sailing but more because I knew my dad could push me harder than anyone else! He knows my potential more than anyone and I knew he would push me to accomplish what I was capable of.

Now back to my introduction into the world of business...

I graduated in December of 2007 and in January of 2008 I was fully engaged in the development of one of the biggest projects our company had ever taken on. It was overwhelming at the beginning because I felt like I was the black sheep of the group...like I didn't belong in the same room with the experts.

I have never had serious issues with self-confidence but I was experiencing a big case of it at this point in time. After 5 straight days of developing material for this massive sales training, my dad recognized that something was up with me. He pulled me aside and asked why a talkative individual like myself had only said a few words the entire week.

Now...I could have done this one of two ways...

1. I could have come right out with my feelings of insufficiency within the group

or

2. I could try and act like nothing was up and have my dad call me out on my attempt to mislead him!...and then eventually tell him my thoughts.

So...I bit the bullet and told him that I didn't feel worthy to be contributing information along side people that were clearly more knowledgeable than I was. This turned out to be one of the most important conversations I would ever have with my dad...in a business sense!

My dad asked me..."Do you want to become an expert? Do you want to be as credible as them? Are you comfortable with being good or do you you want to be the best? If you want to be the best then you must OWN the solution! Not just kinda know it or know it pretty well...but know EVERYTHING about it! If you want to be the expert in a certain field you must constantly search for more information and become innovative with your own ideas! This comes when you make up your mind to be constant learner...and that means books, audios, seminars, online classes, workbooks, interviews, etc. You must make a habit of doing what others won't do. When you decide that you are willing to do these things...that is when you will be confident to stand in front of people and share your thoughts!"

What a piece of advice that was...That day was the start of my journey to bridge the gap between myself and my mentors!

In the next entry we will discuss my initial steps to achieving my potential in the world of business and selling!

What is a Young Gun?

"There is no substitute for experience!" ...I disagree! Whoever said this was obviously not in Augusta, Georgia in April of 1997! On this day in history a 21-year old, rookie, golfer named Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green, at Augusta National, with his first Masters victory...but this wasn't any normal victory...Tiger Woods, in only his 9th month on tour, had demolished the field by shooting an 18-under (270) and had won by 12 strokes over PGA veteran Tom Kite! So let's return to the cliche "There is no substitute for experience!"

In this story of one of the greatest sporting performances in history we must understand that Tiger had very little professional experience and NO Masters experience, yet he was able to dominate a field of experienced professionals! So what can we attribute his success to, since it was obviously not his experience? The answer to this question is what makes Tiger Woods a Young Gun!

So...what is a Young Gun?

A Young Gun is an individual in their 20's or 30's who is competing in a world of experience and wisdom...yet they make a habit of living at the top!

Now I am not taking away from the impact that experience can have on our success but I am saying that there are many other components to being successful that go beyond our years of experience in a given area!

In this blog we will discuss those components and how to implement them into our lives, as professionals. While I will make many references to sports, movies, and other aspects of our daily lives, this blog will discuss what it takes to be a Young Gun in the world of competitive selling!


p.s. If you saw the focus on a certain age range and thought, "Well, this won't apply to me because I am not in my 20's and 30's anymore" don't go away just yet...

...this blog will also share many ideas of what it takes for us to influence the "young talent" around us!

I also encourage you to let me know if there is a certain topic you would like addressed through this blog because we would love to make this great, interactive, source of information for you and your team!