Daily Good Moodivation #4 - What Will You Accomplish?

What do you hope to accomplish?
This day? This week? This month? This year?

Do you have an ultimate vision of what it is you would like to do? Is that vision clear? Think about it.... What would the perfect life look like to you? What does a day look like from waking to going to bed?

Have a clearly defined image of what you hope to achieve in the long run, and it becomes much more realistic by backing into it. Too often we make big, lofty goals but do not understand the next steps necessary to move towards those goals.

The Impact of Reading....
I suggest if you have not already, read Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich". Looks like you can get a Kindle edition for 0.99 cents. Check Amazon here. This book has really cemented some of my most productive and motivating habits. Although I do not consider myself ultra-successful, I do feel that I have come very far over the past couple years, and I cannot speak highly enough about this book for helping me along the way.

My Story
Shameless self-plug: I graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University in May 2012, with a degree in Business Administration. School was easy. I believe the only poor grade I got was a D in Macroeconomics my freshmen year because it was a 7:30 AM class that I only showed up for on exam day, thinking I could wing it. I remember I did this on the first exam and checked the (wrong) grade in the online grade book, seeing an A for Exam 1. I continued to check the (wrong) grades throughout the semester, thoroughly fascinated that I could barely study and get such remarkable grades. Lesson learned - when an online grade book posts grades next to your STUDENT ID - make sure you actually KNOW your student ID.

I think due to the fact that graduating was nearly effortless for me, I lacked any real motivation beyond my own physical fitness. I had no job lined up, and honestly had not even really tried searching. Through school, I was living off of the excess of a scholarship fund each semester, (which would always rapidly dry up within the first couple weeks) a small allowance from my father, and side cash I made through working super part time as a 'Party Entertainer'. The extra money from the scholarship was mostly supposed to go to books but I thought that spending over $100 bucks on a book for each class was a waste and always found a way to do the homework and study for the exams without one. I only purchased a handful of books during school and almost never the big textbooks.

The Party Entertainer job was just a ridiculous way to get make some extra money and no, it was NOT what some of you may think. I always laugh thinking back on it. That is a story for another time, but basically that job involved dressing like a super hero and painting faces at kid parties.

Anyways, I really had no concerns but partying and lifting weights through college. Even with a rapidly approaching graduation date and a father who kept questioning me about what I was going to do, I kept deflecting his questions with half-assed answers.

I really, truly, had NO idea what I wanted to do.

The sad part was - I didn't care. I was so apathetic at this point, and looking back it kind of blows my mind at the lack of drive toward success I had at that age.

All of a sudden - boom, May 2012, I am graduating. I have my degree, and somehow graduated honors... We throw a big party at the Bullmoose Palace (the house I've lived in since the first day of ASU back in August 2008). I take a tequila shot with my dad at the beginning of the party, and I think I remember him saying specifically "when are you going to start paying the bills?" I just laugh it off. End up getting so wasted at this particular party I peed on the edge of bed while kneeling in the middle of it. I am sitting here laughing recalling this moment. Now I'm not telling you this because I am proud of this moment, but I am hoping to share some insight as to what is going on at this point in my life.

Fast forward a couple weeks. My father is getting pretty serious about the 'job' thing and I am wondering what the hell I am going to do. I had already quit my other part-time job as a party entertainer, but I don't think my parents knew at this point. Now I was living off of graduation money and savings primarily. I hear from my (at the time) girlfriend's father that State Farm was hiring, and they were having a career fair somewhere nearby.

I was honestly scared to go.

I hadn't really even typed up a resume yet, but with the help of a mentor of mine, I was able to get motivated and confident enough to show up to this thing wearing a suit that my dad bought for me from an auction. Yes, I am wearing someone else's use suit that was probably hand stitched in 1950.

It is the middle of summer in Arizona, quite a few degrees over 100, and the AC in my car totally sucks. I walk into the hotel where this event is being held, sweating uncontrollably, totally clueless as to what I am going to expect. I had prepared somewhat, but being able to pretty much wing everything in college, I never really learned how to truly prepare for something as serious as a potential job.

The first person I interact with has a State Farm polo on and asks me some questions, gets me signed in, and we make small chat. I am instructed to go into a backroom where I speak with a recruiter. We sit down and he asks me a few more questions, we talk back and forth for a bit. I feel like I am being interviewed. I hope I am saying the right things. Crap - can he see that I am still sweating? What does he think about this hand-me-down suit that smells like a giant mothball? I remember him asking if I had any questions for him... This must signify the end of the 'interview'. I can't remember what I asked specifically, but I do know I showed a genuine interest and passion for the job so I had some sincere questions for him.

Whatever I said during the short pseudo-interview process, must have worked. I was sent into a back room where I was told I would actually be formally interview by another recruiter. We go through more in depth questioning and at this point I am so nervous and stumbling over words I have no idea how I even formed answers to the questions I was being asked.

At the end of the ACTUAL interview, I am extended a contingent job-offer for a Sales Rep position for State Farm insurance. The job is to start August 20th, 2012.

I am ecstatic. Somehow I landed a job!!! I didn't even care that it was part-time, paying an hourly wage of 12.90/ hr, or that I would be answering the phone in a call center to sell insurance - something I knew NOTHING about. I did not care at all that it had nothing to do with my degree, really. I was so proud of the fact that I had been offered a job on the first interview I had out of college.

Fast forward to almost EXACTLY two years after that job interview. I am sitting here writing about it, comfortable with how far I've come.

So, I started selling insurance for State Farm. In Napoleon Hill's book, he makes it clear that you must have a definite, major purpose. To have a clear vision of where you want to be. Well, for me, my purpose on this job was to be the top sales rep in my department so that I could establish credibility and be recognized by others, and help my peers become better. I went on to be the best in my operation, and I had a clear vision of what this entailed.

I went in to work everyday taking that job very seriously. I answered that phone every time a call came in like it was the only call I would ever take for State Farm again and I wanted the person on the other line to hang up extremely satisfied with the service they were provided. I went out of my way to make sure those around me were able to perform well in their role also, and I wanted to motivate the entire team through my actions.

Within 9 months of starting at State Farm, I was called at home by my supervisor on my day off and he told me I was to get my ass in the office before the end of the day, because they had opened a posting for supervisor position and I was permitted to post for that job. Fortune had it that I was not busy, and was able to go in and put together a hasty request for consideration, and submit my posting for the promotion. I was optimistic, but also realistic about the situation. Leadership is a right, not a privilege, and although I had on my 1-year plan a specific goal to be a top performer AND achieve a job promotion, I understood that moving into the supervisor position was a massive jump, especially after less than one year with the organization.

I post, and wait an excruciating two weeks to wait for a possible interview. I start forgetting about the whole thing but am still pumped I was actually permitted to post out, bypassing the 12-month incumbency rule for my current job. Obviously, I was being recognized somewhere higher up as having potential, so that motivated me to continue doing the job I was trained to do.

My boss informs me that I got the interview. Holy crap - another interview! I remember my last one.... This time it will be totally different.

I prepared my ASS off for this interview.

I have never taken anything as seriously as I did preparing for this interview, in my entire life.

I wrote and re-wrote responses, and refined and edited greetings and closings, and practiced and mock interviewed with several different people. I was so damn ready for this thing and my boss did such an awesome job helping the entire way.

Interview day - I wake up early, get ready, avoid coffee prior. I go into the interview and there is a panel of 3 people, which were all different from who I expected it to be. One of the people is the Director of the entire Phoenix department for sales. Doesn't matter. I am ready. They ask questions, I answer them. Interview done. I feel good about it.

Every day for the next two weeks while I am waiting for them to finalize all the interviews and make selections, I am telling myself literally out loud "I got the job". I remember going for a 20 or 30 minute jog in the summer heat and zoning out completely because I would repeat "I got the job" every other step on the pavement.

Yes - the law of attraction is real. I am extended an offer for the job and receive the promotion to supervisor level, at the time a nearly unheard of advancement in an organization for someone who has been only a rep for less than a year. This is the second time in a year that I am astounded at the capabilities of the human mind when putting it to the test.

Do I consider myself lucky? Hell yes, I am the luckiest man in the world! If you refer to the above quote, that is something I live by. I believe that through intention, we are able to live our lives in accordance with who we truly are, and we are prepared for each opportunity as it presents itself.

The first thing I did was call my dad and tell him about it. The reason for this call was two-fold: 1) He is my number one role model and I was very proud of myself, and wanted him to know ASAP and 2) I forced him to agree on buying me a new suit when I got my first job promotion. By the way, the mothball suit's crotch ripped completely in half when I left the first job interview with State Farm and I haven't worn that thing since. So you better believe I cashed in on that offer, and picked up a brand new Hugo Boss.

The reason I tell you this story is so that hopefully you can draw out of these events and experiences some valuable insight and knowledge as to what it takes to achieve. I know that by reflecting on this timeline I am able to draw out some extremely valuable motivation and remind myself of how I was able to cross off one of the biggest goals I had set for the year. While some of the details are lost, the main events are still there.

Set a Vision
Set a vision. Identify clearly where you want to be a year from now. What would make the biggest difference in your life? Once you know specifically what it is your hope to achieve, remind yourself of that daily, or as often as you can. Your subconscious mind works in mysterious ways and when your mind is set to accomplish a task or goal, things unravel themselves and the path unfolds before you even though it may be unclear at first. Be confident about your goal and commit yourself to achieve.

Stay motivated folks. What will you accomplish this week?