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“There are a few mainstays to learning that anyone can use to improve their lives. The first is to read books. The second is to learn from successful people by observation. And the third is to constantly reflect on your own experiences and learn what went right and what went wrong.”
‘It isn’t what the book costs. It’s what it will cost you if you don’t read it.’
Have you ever wanted to sit down and have dinner with great leaders or famous thinkers? You can when you read their books. You open yourself to new ideas, and new ideas are the seeds that grow in our hearts and minds, and when applied, become our achievements and successes.
how will you ever grow and expand if you aren’t consistently and proactively pursuing knowledge and ideas that will move your life forward?”
Books Everyone Should Read: 1. The Bible 2. How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler 3. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers 4. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen 5. Seeds of Greatness by Denis Waitley 6. Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn 7. The Pursuit of God by Acden W. Tozer 8. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 9. Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peal 10. Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz 11. Greatest Salesman that Ever Lived by Og Mandino 12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 13. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 14. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor
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8: All of Life Is Sales
“One key to having influence with others is to have others perceive you as a person of talent and virtue.”
The first thing to realize is that everything is sales. And to better understand it, to give a broader application of this principle, it is better to understand sales as the concept of influence.”
influence is the key to a successful life. Anyone who wants to succeed must learn the art and skill of influencing others. When they do that, they will be successful.”
all of life is lived with other people, not in a vacuum. When you need to succeed, it is usually dependant upon working with or through other people. That is why you must influence.
From the time we are born, successfully reaching our goals is dependant upon influencing others. And as we grow, we hone those skills. A baby must influence his or her parents to feed him. A child influences his or her parents for a bike. A teenager has to influence the person they fancy so they can get a date. The person who graduates college must influence their potential boss to give them a job. Salespeople must influence prospective buyers—if they want to eat well! You see, all of life is sales, and all of sales is influence.”
if you want to sell more and make more money, you have to become a better influencer. And the key to influencing others is to have others perceive you as a person of talent and virtue.
Be a person of strong character and increasing skill, and you will always be growing in your influence.
“Talent and virtue are the foundation of successful influence and sales, whether you are selling a product or selling yourself—and a successful person is always selling him or herself.
What are the skills of sales?” “Know your stuff. Talk to lots of people. Be persistent and never take ‘no’ for an answer.”
If you are going to sell a product, you have to know it, believe in it, and feel it. And the same is true if you are selling yourself.
law of large numbers, which means that a certain percentage will work with you or buy from you. If ten percent do, then you will sell more if you call forty people a day than if you call ten people a day.”
“Never take ‘no’ for an answer.”
salespeople should take lessons from their kids. What does the word ‘no’ mean to a child? Almost nothing!”
“The idea is that most people just aren’t persistent enough to succeed in sales, or life for that matter.”
9: Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development
“What you become directly influences what you get.”
‘Profits are better than wages.’ ”
Ninety-nine percent of the wealthy became wealthy by working for themselves and capturing the profits.
‘Work full time on your job and part time on your fortune.’
10: All Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding
“Communication is two or more people working together to find the common ground of understanding. And when they find that common ground, they are positioned to have tremendous power together.”
success is based on human relationships, and communication is the foundation for people working together, it is extremely important.
Communication is hard. But one of the reasons that it is hard is because so many people aren’t looking at it as a practice wherein two people are trying to find common ground. Most of the time, each person is fighting to get the other person to give up their ground and come over to his or her ground. Then it is a turf battle. Instead, each should look for the common ground.”
‘Communication isn’t just what you say. It is also how you say it, when you say it, and the receptiveness of who you say it to. And that’s just the half of it. The other half is making sure you really listen.’ So it isn’t just the meaning of the words. It is tone—are you talking down to the person? It is timing—I’ll
“And you have to make sure that the person is ready to hear what you have to say. If they aren’t, save it. Say it later.”
“But the most important thing about communication is listening.”
11: The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader
“To lead others is to help them change their thoughts, beliefs and actions for the better.”
Most people, when they hear the term ‘great leader,’ think of people who lead nations, corporations or social movements. Mr. Davis says that anybody can be a great leader because all leadership means is that you have mastered the art of influencing others—sort of like the principle we talked about when we talked about all of life being sales. To lead others is to help them change their thoughts, beliefs and actions for the better.”
“It means that if you are in a position to influence others, say Amy and the kids, or people at work, or your clients, then you should desire and work on becoming a leader in life. Not only because you will make a difference, but it is also leaders that enjoy the most out of life. Leaders make a difference, rise to the highest levels, enjoy the bulk of the wealth and have the best relationships. Leaders experience life to its fullest.”
Sales and leadership are similar, both rooted in influence.
‘Managers help people see themselves as they are. Leaders help people see themselves better than they are.’
If you want to get paid more, bring more value to others by becoming a better leader.”
Leaders talk about what could be. And then they take the steps to help the people become what could be.”
‘The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind but not weak; be bold but not a bully; be thoughtful but not lazy; be humble but not timid; be proud but not arrogant; have humor but without folly.’
‘Learn to help people with more than just their jobs: help them with their lives.’ Great leaders are interested in people in general, not just for what they can get from them.”
The leader-follower relationship is built on trust. No one will follow you if they don’t trust you. So take a close look at your life and make sure it is filled with integrity. Make sure you practice what you preach, as they say. He also talks about optimism. People want to know that where you want to take them is better than where they currently are.”
vision. ‘Great leaders have optimistic vision,’ he says. A leader knows where they are, that’s realism. But they also know how to get to a better destination. That is an optimistic vision.”
12: Leave a Legacy
“Live a life that will help others spiritually, intellectually, physically, financially, and relationally. Live a life that serves as an example of what an exceptional life can look like.”
The brevity of life is its biggest surprise,
You cannot choose how long you will live, Michael, but you can choose how well you will live.
