Getting What You Want And The Counter-Intuitive

Have you ever noticed how “counter-intuitive” life is?

I mean, when we WANT something, we like to pursue it in a way that seems logical and sensible to us. But that “logical, sensible” path almost never works as well as it should!

Here are a few examples:

1) Toddler “A” wants to pet a cat. He follows the cat around so he can pet it as much as possible. The cat does whatever necessary to avoid him. Toddler “B” sitting nearby is playing with his toys and doesn’t care about the cat. The cat soon saunters up to toddler ”B” and repeatedly rubs against him, begging to be petted.   

2) You want to lose 5 pounds of fat. You stop eating breakfast to cut calories. You gain 10 MORE pounds of fat within six months. It didn’t work, so you give up and start eating a healthy breakfast every morning. Who cares about the calories. Six months later, you’re shocked to realize that you lost not only the 10 extra pounds you just gained, but an additional 5 pounds as well. You met your goal “without even trying”!

3) A woman goes to a bar…she wants to meet a wealthy, good-looking young guy who’s already living a fun lifestyle. A good-looking young guy who meets her criteria perfectly walks into the bar, sees the woman, introduces himself, and mentions to her throughout the conversation how rich he is and what a great life he’s leading. He asks for her number. She says no and turns back to her friends. He walks away rejected. Two hours later, an “average” looking guy with a boring job approaches the same woman. He strikes up a conversation with her, and walks away several minutes later with her phone number and tentative date plans.

4) An extremely wealthy man who is famous for his ability to help people become financially independent admits that one of the most VITAL secrets to becoming wealthy is “to not care too much about becoming wealthy”.

It seems like almost EVERYTHING in life is counter-intuitive!

When I first started selling cable door-to-door, I worked 6 days per week. Heck, even my 1 day off was filled with phone calls, paperwork, and planning.

This habit continued, but soon my numbers started swirling downward, getting worse and worse by the week.

So I started working HARDER. Not only did I continue working 6 days per week, but I began working almost double the hours!

My numbers returned to an acceptable level, but I was wearing myself out and beginning to hate my job.  

It wasn’t until a wise co-worker of mine mentioned the importance of taking time to rest and rejuvenate that I realized what I had been doing wrong the whole time.

Immediately, I began taking two FULL days off per week…to the point that I actually turn my work cell phone off on Sundays and Thursdays (my days off).

My numbers didn’t just stay in the “acceptable” range. They got better.

Like, WAY better.

…and I started loving my job again.

After several weeks (and a good bit of strategizing), I took it a step further and actually decided to stop knocking doors for an additional 2 days per week! Instead of knocking doors, I used those 2 specific days to call leads and upgrade current customers.

Now, I only knock doors three days per week, and my numbers are higher than ever (not to mention my income).

In fact, since I made these changes, I rarely EVER drop below 1st or 2nd place out of 15 salesmen in the office performance rankings. 

This is what I learned:

If you’re trying really hard to achieve/do something and it’s just not working, trying harder is rarely the answer.  You’re most likely doing the wrong things!

Think about it. If you saw someone trying unsuccessfully to pound a nail into a block of wood with a SCREWDRIVER, would you suggest that he simply pound harder?

Of course not! You would tell him to use a hammer, and he would realize that pounding a nail into a block of wood can be far easier, and much less time consuming than he ever imagined.

Reconsider your methods.

Ask yourself if there’s an easier way that just might work better. And consider every option with an open mind, realizing that the BEST answer may not even logically make sense at the moment.

Could success be a lot easier than we think?

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~ by doortodoorsalesman on December 29, 2009.