Delivering Solutions for Creating Wealth

Don’t Get Trapped in Time

March 31st, 2010

By Tom Reilly, author of “Value-Added Selling”

Your past is not your potential. Today is only one-part yesterday and even less for tomorrow. Your future has more to do with your potential than your history, if you choose to live that way. Those who are trapped in time deprive themselves of the joy of today and the hope of tomorrow. Those who are trapped in time are unable or unwilling to move forward because they spend too much time looking backward—we tend to move in the direction of our thoughts. The past is the path you chose to get to today. Today is the path you choose to get to tomorrow.

Salespeople who cannot or will not let go of the rejections they receive get stuck. Some take these rejections as proof that they do not deserve better. Some hang on to these rejections and remain bitter. Some use the past as an excuse for not trying. Hearing “No” is a big part of selling—a major part of selling. It is a sign that you are fully engaged in a profession that rewards achievement and punishes failure. You cannot judge your potential by your history. Things change.

Where you came from is an interesting story. Where you are headed is much more fascinating. Failure, like success, is learning. You learn what works and what does not work. Feel the disappointment of the past, but do not deprive yourself of the excitement of the future. You are who you were, but who you are is not only who you were.

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