The Power Of Choice-Jim Meisenheimer

Just for a minute, think about where you are today, think about where you have been, and think about where you will be going.

Where you are today with your life is a result of the choices you've made in the past.

What you will become in the future will be the result of the choices you make today and tomorrow.

Scary proposition - isn't it?

Here's a short list of choices you are faced with almost on a daily basis.

Yes I can't! That's a choice isn't it, believing and feeling that you can't do something.

Yes I can! That's also a choice - choosing to believe that you can do anything within reason.

I can't. I can. I will. Can you see the subtle and powerful difference at work here? There's a huge difference in outcomes between I can't, I can, and I will. You get to choose!

You get to choose your expectations everyday. For example, you're scheduled to make a sales call with an especially difficult customer. Do you walk into the sales call thinking you'll get hammered on your pricing, or do you walk into the sales call expecting this sales call to be your best ever with this particular customer. You get to choose!

You get to choose your career. If you don't like your work, change it. If you don't like your career, change it. Forget about the economy and the recession because they have little to do with the choices you make. You get to choose!

You get to choose to be prepared. Funny thing about preparation is that it takes more work than improvisation. Funny thing about the results too, preparation generally achieves far superior results than improvisation. You get to choose!

You get to choose excellence over mediocrity. Why is it that a majority of salespeople choose mediocrity? If you always choose excellence you'll never, and I mean never, be a part of the mediocrity brigade. You get to choose!

You get to choose whether or not you want to exceed your customers’ expectations. You can be slow to commit and quick deliver. You can go out of your way to make every sales call a magic moment for your customers. You get to choose!

You get to choose to be ordinary or extraordinary. You realize of course it only takes a little extra in everything you do to be viewed as an extraordinary salesperson. You get to choose!

You get to choose by design to leave people feeling good when ever you meet with them. You recognize their accomplishments. They show gratitude for their business. You always walk in with a smile and walk out leaving them smiling. You get to choose!

You choose to keep learning instead of mental stagnation. You are an avid reader. You read the Wall Street Journal daily. You listen to CDs as you drive from account to account. You get to choose!

You choose to be rich or choose to struggle financially. You get to choose!

You choose to be cheerful or choose to be grouchy. You get to choose!

You can choose to be happy or choose to feel sorry for yourself. You get to choose!

You get to choose your attitude. Some people think the glass is half full. Others think it's half empty. A person with an extremely positive attitude believes his glass is overflowing with opportunities and possibilities.

During the Vietnam War, Air Force Colonel George Hall was shot down and captured in North Vietnam. He was a prisoner of war for 5.5 years.

“Though he was barefoot and dressed in his black prison uniform, shut up in a tiny cubicle, he discovered that through his mind he had an amazing freedom.

He was able to leave his prison cell clad in a Polo shirt and slacks. He wore clean black and white golf shoes. He could feel the thick green grass of Pebble Beach golf course in northern California.

The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze coming off the Pacific Ocean. The Colonel played each hole, starting with the first and ending with the eighteenth. He studied each shot, measured each swing, felt each blade of grass between his fingers as he replaced every divot.

He noted the sand in each bunker, hit each shot, sank each putt and strode on to the next hole - all in his imagination.

Every day for five and a half years he played a perfect game of golf on the Pebble Beach course. The Colonel realized that only he had the power to make a choice between being resigned to his fate, of fear and hopelessness, or he could replay his happiest moments from the past, taking his mind off solitary confinement and setting it free upon a beautiful and famous golf course.

When he returned from his captivity, in his first golf game he shot a 76-not a bad score for a professional golfer, but even more amazing for an amateur. When asked how he had accomplished such a feat, he said, I never putted a green in more than two strokes during the last five years.

All those years of playing perfect games in the recesses of his mind, had produced a near perfect performance on a real golf course!”

You see, your attitude is everything about everything.

When it’s all said and done according to Joyce Nidetch, “Your choices determine your destiny.”