_____ FEATURED ARTICLE _____________________


             That's Where I Was Aiming!
	              Part I


How many times in your life have you heard some version of the 
"luck" expression?

"Good luck to you."
"Boy, you sure lucked out."
"You lucky dog, you."
"What luck you had in landing that big sale."
"How lucky can you be?"
"You know, I think today is my lucky day."

Wouldn't it be great to eliminate luck altogether and simply 
make success happen on demand?  That's the purpose of this 
2-part article - to encourage you to make it happen.  

My first exposure to this way of thinking occurred some years 
ago.  As a friend Bill and I stood at the tee at a par three 
hole (a short hole), Bill took a 5 iron out of his bag, teed up 
his ball, looked at the green, and swung.  The ball landed on 
the green, took one bounce and dropped into the hole.  A 
hole-in-one.  I'd never seen one before, and I've never 
personally seen one since.  But I can remember exactly what 
happened next.  As Bill turned to me I exclaimed, "What a lucky 
shot!"  With that Bill dropped his club onto the tee, glared at 
me in disbelief and said, "Look, it had nothing to do with 
luck, that's where I was aiming."  

As you read this, keep in mind that the success you set out to 
achieve is a direct result of where you were aiming.  When you 
get what you're going after - the big sale, that new account - 
what does luck have to do with it?

Fishing is one of the most popular sports in America.  I love 
to trout fish, and I can tell you what luck is.  If I were 
sitting at my computer and fish jumped from monitor and landing 
in my fish basket.  Now that's incredible luck.  But if you and 
I go to the stream near by, we have a good guide, we have the 
proper equipment, we have the right bait and we catch some 
fish, what does luck have to do with it?  After all, isn't that 
what we are going after?

So what do you want to happen in your life? What good things do 
you want to have happen in your selling career?  

Whatever it is that you want, don't wait for luck.  Luck is 
rare.

Another part of this concept of luck has to do with what some 
people call timing or being in the right place at the right 
time.  Do you believe that?  Do you believe that for you to 
achieve the success you want that you have to be in the right 
place at the right time?  Well, that's ridiculous.  

Another quick story.  About ten years ago, Bill and I were 
driving down one of the main streets in Park City, UT, where 
some of the 2002 Winter Olympics events were held.  Bill 
pointed to a lot where a new building was going up and 
reminisced, "I could have purchased that land for practically 
nothing, and I understand it went for hundreds of thousands of 
dollars an acre.  If I had only bought that land years ago."

Now, was Bill in the right place, at the right time?  
Absolutely!  He had seen the land.  He knew it was for sale, 
but, he didn't do anything about it.  See, the real statement 
should be, "You have to be in the right place at the right time 
and know that you are in the right place at the right time."  
Knowing is key.  Then, you must apply your knowledge.  The 
application of knowledge is powerful, it's not luck.

When you make a call on a prospect, whether it be a referral, a 
cold call or some type of a lead, do you ever think, "Gee, I 
hope I get lucky.  Maybe today's my lucky day."  By doing this, 
you are leaving it up to chance and circumstance to choose your 
fate.  Remember, luck is rare.

I mentioned earlier about fishing, which I like to do a lot.  
My first recollection of summer vacation was spending summers 
fishing with my Grandpa on the Snake River in Idaho.  As we 
would float down the river and pass other fisherman, we would 
often be asked, "Having any luck?" Grandpa was always polite 
and answered, "Sure are!"  And we were.

But Grandpa knew luck had nothing to do with catching fish.  He 
would say to me, "There's no excuse for not catching fish.  
Luck has a very small role in fishing.  In fact, luck has 
nothing to do with it." He had four simple reasons why 
fisherman don't catch more fish.

#1 Fisherman refuse to listen.
#2 Fisherman won't change their poor fishing habits.
#3 Fisherman don't study the fish.
#4 Fisherman keep thinking it's luck.

Now what does this have to do with you?  Well let's change 
Grandpa's four answers to why fishermen don't catch fish to why 
businesspeople don't make more money.

First, businesspeople refuse to listen.
Second, businesspeople won't change unproductive business habits.
Third, businesspeople don't study their prospects and customers.
Fourth, too many businesspeople keep thinking selling is luck.

So forget luck.  Make it happen.  Eliminate that word from your 
vocabulary.

How often do your hear somebody say after wrapping up a sell, 
"Ok, now if we're lucky, we should have delivery for you about 
the 15th?"  Or they might say, "Well if we get lucky, 
everything should work out as planned."  Don't make it luck.  
Make it happen.  Accept the responsibility.  Luck should have 
no role in your business.

Now, if you make a practice of eliminating luck, imagine what 
can happen for you? 

In part 2 next week, we'll explore the many scenarios that go 
with this question.  

Between now and then, if would like to eliminate luck and begin 
making it happen, consider placing a classified at 
http://www.homebusinessonline.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/links/add.cgi
Or place your discounted ad in HomeBizBytes at 
http://www.HomeBusinessOnline.com/subscriberspecial/adinfo.html

------
About the Authors:
Successful entrepreneurs Heidi and Dave Perry are founders of
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