First Be, Then Do

Who takes the action is as important as the action being taken.

Two people can both call on the same prospective client. One of them can have deep business acumen and situational knowledge, while the other lacks both of these. The results will be as different as you might imagine, with one succeeding, and the other failing. It’s important that you be someone who knows how to create value and make a difference.

Two salespeople can both have a face-to-face sales call with that same dream client. One of them is an exceptionally good listener, is prepared, and has carefully crafted questions that will help them and their prospect discover things together. The other is winging it, hoping to make a connection. The professional always outperforms the amateur.

Two different people both want success. One is an optimistic, abundance-minded person who believes that opportunity is limitless. This person believes that their success is going to take hard work and dedication, but that that success is inevitable. The other person is a scarcity-minded person who waits for luck to find them and bestow upon them her riches. Your attitude and your belief systems are your operating system. It can’t be full of viruses.

Actions alone doesn’t always dictate the results. The reason some people produce better results is that they have done the work to become someone who can generate those better results. They worked harder and longer than others were willing to so they could become a person who can produce the results you see, even though you didn’t see the years of work they put into chipping away at the parts that weren’t the best version of themselves.

Who you are counts for more than what you do. You have to be someone worth buying from, someone worth doing business with, someone who acts a positive force. Character counts for far more than any tactics, tricks, or hacks you might be tempted to employ to produce better results faster.