Greg Bennett Sales Blog

The Crazy Passion That Drives Crazy Horse (Dusting Off One of My Favorite Posts)

Note:  I wrote this post about 4 years ago to the day, and it's still one of my favorites.  Not because of my chimp-like writing style, but more for the story itself.  Whenever I think of mountains I have to climb, or challenges I have to face in my life, I think about the man and the mountain. 

Can you point to moments in your business life where you were profoundly moved by an idea, concept or vision?  I mean monumentally changed?  So much so that you can almost mark time as Before this moment...and After this moment?   

And it doesn't even have to happen in a business setting.  Perhaps you see something in nature that stirs your soul, or something happens within your family that impacts your being.

I personally have had several of these moments...of course I am always on the lookout for them, as I believe there are several to be had if you are in the mood to accept them...and I believe it is these moments that stir our passion, and it's our passion that causes greatness in any venture (especially sales).

I had another of these moments this summer when my wife Rosemary and I took a short jaunt up to the Badlands of South Dakota to chill out and do the tourist thing.  We saw Mt. Rushmore, and Deadwood, and the Black Hills...then we came upon it -- "The Thing" that IS Crazy Horse Memorial.

Seeing it up close was part of it...but learning about the crazy passion that was involved in creating it, to me was the IT that changed my life.

If you don't know the story, I'll give it to you in a nutshell. 

Korczak Ziolkowski was a self-taught sculptor of Polish descent, born in Boston. Korczak got the invitation from Chief Standing Bear in 1939 to come and create a monument to the great Chief Crazy Horse.  After about seven years of thinking about it, Korczak accepted the offer and moved his family from Connecticut to the Black Hills of South Dakota. He left his home with approximately $149 to his name and a vision to start the biggest undertaking of his or anybody else's life...the creation of the largest sculpture the world has ever known...of Crazy Horse on his stallion, pointing out to the lands where his people are buried. 

We're talking a sculpture the size of the entire mountain (with Mt.Rushmore being about 1/10th the size!), from the top of the mountain to the bottom and at the bottom he envisioned an entire Native-American culture center and university!  This was a project that would not be completed for 100 years!!   And this guy leaves the comfort of his life as a top, well-renowned sculpture, to follow this crazy vision...one that he won't see completed in his lifetime, or probably his grandchildren's lifetime!   

In June of 1948 (when he was 40), Korczak built a 741-step wooden staircase to the top of the mountain (6,740 ft above sea level) and strategically inserted four sticks of dynamite into it. Those 10 tons were the first of millions to come. He then took the equivalent of a paint brush and a gas powered jackhammer, and started carving a mountain, by himself.  Day after day he walked up those steps (sometimes 10 times a day!), dragging his tools and attacking the mountain top. 

He would not accept any government money so he was always living hand to mouth, relying on donations and selling a few pieces of work.

Over the next 30+ years he suffered several injuries, including 5 back surgeries and 2 heart attacks... but he kept going and going and going...back up the hill...working on the masterpiece..until he died at the age of 74...and he is even buried in a tomb at the base of the mountain!

I stood at the bottom of that monument, looking up at what he started, (and now his family is continuing) and I read this story...and just couldn't believe what I was reading --what he did was "crazy":

• At 40 years old he starts something so huge he'll never see it completed!  Why not just do a 50 foot log carving and call it a day?
• He moves to the wilds of South Dakota, lives in a tent, then builds his own house, gets married and he and his wife raise 10 kids on that mountain, while every day he climbs up there and pounds on a mountain top, like a raindrop on a huge boulder...tink...tink...tink
• He never has any money, is always scrambling for support, and yet turns down multi-million dollar grants from the US Government, saying he believes in free enterprise and says this is something that should come from the people for the people...always working to keep this dream alive and driven by the thought that he would not simply be "another white man that lets down the Indian people"

My God above -- what crazy passion!!   When I first looked at that mountain, then read his story...a series of questions came flooding into my mind about my life:

• Where is the Crazy Horse Memorial in MY life?  What mighty vision drives me every minute of every day?
• Am I so focused on creating only what I can experience before I die?  What am I working toward that is bigger than me?  Bigger than just my one lifetime?
• Am I so focused on comfort that I've said NO to things that I am passionate about?

I don't think we all have to have something as crazy as Korczak's vision...but we CAN search for what makes us passionate. 

If we can become passionate about what we sell, and more importantly how we impact people with what we sell...and see it as not only our life's work in THIS lifetime, but perhaps the success I experience will do greater work in future generations...then we too can be blinded by this crazy passion and do magnificent things.

Don't just live..."Dent the Universe!" (quoting Steve Jobs of Apple)

GB

"My lands are where my dead lie buried." - Chief Crazy Horse

What ARE Our "Comfort Zones"?

In my conversations with sales managers and business owners...and when I do my one and two-day training camps with salespeople, there is often a lot of talk about breaking out of our "Comfort Zones"...(or CZ's as we on the inside like to call 'em)....but what exactly ARE these "CZ's"?   What do they consist of?  How do we establish them?  Why do we need to break out of them?   And how exactly do you do that?

As someone who has come face-to-face with thousands of sales folks and their comfort zones (not to mention dealing with my own) over the past 20 years,  I'm going to be giving my take on these questions over the next few weeks.

Please check back regularly...

GB

Camp Has Begun!! Day 1 -- Getting Started

Each day of this camp experience I am going to write a short little post and perhaps some day I'll compile them all into a book on the whole camp experience.  If you're joining me on this journey by doing a camp of your own, please shoot me a note during the month and let me know how it's going for you!

Getting Started

The first day of this month-long adventure known as Camp I know is is going to be a bee-otch...I've purposely "lived it up a bit" on a week-long vacation just prior to camp and totally let myself go last night with a "last supper" - consisting of all the good stuff I won't be letting near my mouth for the next 30 days.  Not sure that was such a great idea, but what's done is done.

I'm writing this post prior to the initial morning workout, which I've designed to be tougher than the normal routine I go through, and that will be followed by a structured day (and night) of doing tasks and activities in my work life, as well as my personal life...all designed to improve myself a little more each day.

Theme of Day One -- Planning and Stategy Development

My natural "default setting" is to have a plan...a set of goals and objectives...I like to know where I'm heading and what I'm attempting to accomplish...but where I need to improve is in stopping long enough to develop a road map. 

So today's theme is planning the daily and weekly activities of the rest of camp. 

The skill sets associated with this are:  discipline, patience, attention-to-detail, project-management and organization

Activities for Day One

In addition to a "Theme for the day"...every day of camp must include activities to move me closer to the goals I've defined. 

Today's business development activity will be:

• Make prospecting calls to 30 professional sports team executives to schedule initial phone meetings
• Make contact with 10 local businesses regarding new products we're rolling out

That's all the time I have (have to stay on this schedule)...I'll report back on today in tomorrow's post.

GB

Deciding to Keep "Camp Bennett" As Part of "The Strenuous Life"

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks back, I recently read a biography of Teddy Roosevelt and was greatly inspired by TR's (yes, we're close enough now to just use initials) belief in living a "strenuous" life in order to truly LIVE.   His definition of strenuous was taking on great physical and mental endeavors...pushing yourself to the extreme...not just sitting on cruise mode in your personal or professional life.

And keeping my house, "aka Camp Bennett" (here is the Google Earthed view) vs moving is a decision that has also been inspired by TR.  If you've been to our house, you'll know what I'm talking about...it's a complete freakshow sitting in normal suburbia, USA.  It sits on about an acre of land (the guy was a builder and bought two lots back in the day when they actually had large lots around homes) and has just about everything you could imagine on it... a lighted tennis court, a basketball court, a pool, a horseshoe pit, a playhouse, about 100 big pine trees, etc. etc...all sitting in a normal suburban neighborhood...very odd.

Well, the house is older and there is much to do on a regular basis INSIDE the house, let alone outside in playland.  So I'm always busy trying to fix this or that, or hire people to do it. But it's outside where the work gets hard...I'm talking about mowing and trimming and constantly picking up pine needles, trimming the tons of shrubs and bushes, nailing, fixing, patching, repairing, building and destroying, carrying and dragging...and of course buying, buying, buying more stuff...it NEVER ends.   

And as we've thought about it, my wife and I realized it would be SO much easier and less expensive to move into a townhouse and just go on cruise mode.  But after reading TR's mindset, and thinking about my situation, I'm really afraid that "cruise mode" would destroy me.  I've realized that --  I'M TOTALLY ADDICTED TO THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF KEEPING UP CAMP BENNETT! 

It may sound pretty "wack", as my teenagers would say, but I believe this addiction is a major part of what keeps my mental conditioning sharp, and rekindles my passion and energy for doing what I do...and I love what I do...teaching, coaching, writing, speaking!

And I believe in this concept so much I'm going to try and introduce it to every group I work with over the coming years!  Because unfortunately, I see too many people who've opted for the "cruise mode" in life...and they're miserable!

I can TOTALLY relate to what Teddy was saying about all this (you can read the original post on TR by clicking here)...I see so many salespeople around me in a sort of resigned, zombie-like, "cruise mode"...they're just existing from month-to-month, year-to-year...it's as if they've just plodded along and eventually found themselves in "jobs" and "careers", not the ones they'd dreamed about, or imagined for themselves, but things just sort of happened, and now they've got bills to pay and mouths to feed...and it's easier (and safer) to just pick up your feet and float along.

Well...I don't believe anyone has to "settle" and become resigned to just "getting by".  I believe each of us can re-discover the dream and the hopes we once had for doing something special in the world.  And I don't believe you have to necessarily switch jobs or careers to do it.  In fact, I think that's one of the misconceptions we have in life, that we'd be fulfilled if we had that dream job, or could work in that dream industry.

I think you can rekindle a passion for life no matter where you are or what you're selling...if not, this is America baby, you can decide to move on tomorrow and get into something that feeds your soul and ignites that fire.

What are you waiting for?  Your REAL life to begin?  There IS no practice round...this is it!!

Do me a favor and just set about seeking a more strenuous life over the next 30 days...both physically and mentally...get into a new workout plan, read 3 new books, take a new class, buy new clothes, hang with some more "out there people"...do it for 30-days and see if things don't start to change for you... color returns to the world...new oxygen...new life!  And if you keep it up, chances are you too wlll become addicted to the feeling, to the rush, the excitement...the passion of living on the edge.

I'm still on vacation, and getting ready for my "camp" experience next week...I can't wait!!!!

GB

Getting Ready for Camp

Over the next week I'll be on a Griswold-like summer vacation through Vegas on to California (dropping my daughter off at UNLV is the only reason I'd even venture to drive through the desert in August)...but it will be a fun time and a chance to focus on what I'll be coming back to -- a month of intense focus with my "personal training camp" happening the entire month of August.

To be honest with you I've spent the last 3 weeks getting into much better physical shape than I've ever been in...working out, changing my diet, etc...

But I'm going to crank it up another notch during camp.

The same thing with my business...

• I'm going to contact 200 new prospective clients...
• The goal is to add 5 new clients in August (which is a lot in my world)...
• I'm going to successfully launch my B.O.S. (Bennett On Sales) on-line training program...

I'll have some other goals to lay out, but that's a good start.

I encourage you to join me...no matter how successful you are now, I encourage you to find your "next gear"...your "higher level"...

I'll have more thoughts for you from the road...stay tuned...

GB

All I See Around Me Is a Product of My Decisions

Here's a concept that will blow your mind --  what if everything you see around you right now, every thing, every one, every situation...is a product of the decisions and choices you've made?

• Where you work...
• What you sell...
• Who's in the other offices or cubicles around you...
• Who you have waiting for you at home...
• How much money you have...
• Your client list...
• Who you're going to call on today...
• What your body looks like...
• How you feel overall...

What if you realized that ALL of these things were products of choices YOU made?  Now you may be thinking, "wait a minute, I didn't choose that jerk in the cubicle next to me"...while that may be true, you still made the choice to work there...and you make the choice to STAY there, right?  I mean if you really hated the guy you could either confront the situation or just pick up and move on. 

Unfortunately, there are many people (dare I say MOST people) who walk around thinking the exact opposite of this concept?  They think everything is happening TO THEM...they control NOTHING.  The danger in this mindset is that if the world is happening TO you, your situation can't improve until things around you improve.  You'll make your budget when your manager gives you better accounts.  Your income will improve when the economy improves.  You'll lose weight when they create a diet pill that allows you to eat whatever you want and it does all the work. etc. etc.etc...

While we can't control EVERYTHING as it happens, we TOTALLY control how we respond to what happens...THAT is the choice we make!   

So my challenge for you today is to look around you and just say to yourself, "All of this is a product of choices I've made"...do you like what you see?  What would you like to change? 

Take ownership!!!!!

GB

Just in Time for the 4th of July -- A "Goosebump Moment" in Atlanta

This is a goosebump moment I won't soon forget...

I had just arrived at the airport in Atlanta and was walking into the center courtyard area when everyone started clapping and whistling...I couldn't figure it out until I looked up on the second floor balcony that surrounds the center area, where about 150 soldiers were standing all around the circle looking down...we all stood and cheered for like 5 minutes! 

What struck me is that they didn't wave or smile, just nodded, because I think they knew it wasn't the sort of applause like at a football game, but more one of deep respect for their personal sacrifice. 

As they walked down to their concourse the applause continued with people young and old on both sides standing and paying tribute.

No matter how you feel about the war, you have to respect the dedication to service of our military and their families.

Totally cool to see in this day and age....

GB

To Live the "Strenous Life" of T.R.

I just read a biography of Theodore Roosevelt entitled, "The Strenuous Life"...and it's changed MY life!  I have to admit, up to this point I'd had only a passing understanding of who TR was...knew he was one of the heads squeezed in to Mount Rushmore, etc...but I never really knew much about him.

First of all I liked the fact that TR lived in the same "end of the century" time frame as we do, but of course his was 100 years ago at the end of the 19th century (he was born in 1858 and lived to 1919).  And I found it somewhat soothing when reading about the "monumental" struggles of his day, to realize that the struggles we face in the world, though they seem so unique and extreme, are basically the same struggles folks faced 100 years ago...and probably 100 years before that...going back to the beginning of time.  The generation of the moment always feels they're going through "once in a lifetime" events and the events of the day MUST BE more vital to all mankind than those that have come before it, and those that will happen  in the future.

Anyway, on with my "life changing moments"...it seems that TR was a freak about trying to live a "strenuous life" and his belief that human society actually broke down when seeking comfort over pushing oneself to points of extreme, both physically and mentally.  Though he had lots of health issues from early in life, he was constantly seeking ways to exert himself physically...whether in war with the rough riders...or on bear hunts out here in Colorado...or even in his years in the White House where he was known to challenge Senators and Foreign Dignitaries to wresting or boxing matches!! (Can you imagine W and Hugo Chavez just getting after it for 3 rounds)...

TR gave several speeches on this living the strenuous life, and I've read a few...they are really inspiring, especially when I make the translation to my life in sales and sales training.  Check out one of the quotes from a speech President Roosevelt made on the subject: (a link to the whole thing is at the bottom of this post)

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat...

We could translate this into our world sounding like:

Far better it is to dare mighty things, like committing to blow away every number we're given, by making more prospecting calls, by boldly asking for the order, all to win glorious triumphs...even though in doing so, we will face constant failure and potential conflict... than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy surpassing their goals nor suffer much rejection and pain...because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat..

Here's another great quote:

I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the person who desires mere easy peace, but to the person who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph

One of the great secrets of sales (one most people never learn until very late in their career)...is that if you seek only peace and tranquility in sales through playing it safe, you'll end up with neither...the key to peace and tranquility is to boldly venture into the challenging, scary...aka strenuous...areas...THAT is how you find peace, joy and tranquility.

As I've said many times, I've yet to meet the salesperson who's burned out after 20 years from too much success and making too much money!

So as part of the Training Camp this year I'm going to thinking about TR and his attachment to risk, and adventure, and pushing myslef to the extreme as a way to find life!  Please join me...

Bully!!  Here's the link

http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trstrenlife.html

GB

My Annual Sales Trianing Camp Is Coming July 30th This Year

"Back to the Streets 2007" 

Training Camp Is Coming -- August 1 - August 31, 2007

This will be the second official year of my annual training camp for myself (and salespeople around the country).   I try to coordinate it with NFL training camp dates just to make the experience more realistic.

The purpose is to remind salespeople that part of being a complete "pro" (and not just a pretender) is the need to revisit the fundamentals at least once a year and to sharpen your skill sets for the coming year.   That's why every year even the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA and World Series Champions are back in camp, going over the fundamentals and preparing to raise their game back up to competitive levels.

I'm going to call it "Back to the Streets", because the "streets" is where most of us started...walking the streets...beating the bushes...doing whatever we had to do to get started in the sales biz.  Over time we can start to lose that edge, that passion for the kill, that desire to just get out there and prove yourself.  We start getting lazy...and can turn into proposal and negotiating machines...

This year I'm going to invite people to get involved with the camp with me...which is basically committing to 4 weeks of "hell"...pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones and discovering what we're made of all over again.   You can participate live here in Denver or over the internet.

I'll be rolling out more details coming up shortly, stay tuned...and I hope you're having a GREAT summer

GB

Just a Reminder...This is the Only Tuesday, May 1, 2007 We'll Ever Get

Sometimes I remind groups I'm speaking to that the day we're in presently is the only THAT day we'll ever see...and we have a choice...whether to be EXCEPTIONAL or to be AVERAGE.  No matter the circumstances...no matter the situation you may find yourself in...no matter what others may do, or what life may throw your way...there is ALWAYS the choice...will I be exceptional, or average?

I see too many salespeople living their life as if it were a "practice life" for the real thing...they approach May 1, 2007 as if there will be another May 1, 2007 at some point in the future...and THAT'S when they'll really go for it...put it all out there...play to win, etc etc...

Some cult-cha for you to ponder TODAY...

Trust no future howe'er pleasant;
Let the dead past bury its dead;
Act,—act in the living present,
Heart within and God o'erhead! ~ Longfellow

Gather the roses while the bloom is still on them; for tomorrow is not today. ~ Gleim, German Poet

History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that's worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today. ~ Henry Ford

Get r done - Lawrence the Cable Guy

So live for TODAY...then check back later this week when I'll will be starting a little series on what I call "the GAP"...about the moment between stimuli and our reaction to it...stay tuned

GB