THE PRIMARY KEY TO ALL PERSONAL SUCCESS

I owe EVERYTHING I have to one very important skill. If it weren't for this one skill, I would not be able to help anyone discover the tremendous Power that lies within them, nor would I have been able to reach a level of success where I enjoy as much happiness and joy as I do today. When I was in high-school, I was a very insecure kid - full of self-doubts, and scared out of my wits to reach out and make friends. In my mind, I was a nobody, and before I would be interesting enough for people to accept me, I had to become more than I was. Because of that belief, I started reading self-help books and anything I could find on personal relationships. Luckily, I stumbled on a book that opened my mind to a concept I'd never considered. It was called "The Greatest Salesman in the World" and was written by Og Mandino. In the preface of the book, the author talked about some of the 1000s of letters from readers telling about how the book helped them find their niche in life and reach personal success in areas that seemed to have nothing at all to do with sales. In some cases, the book literally saved their lives. At that time of my life, I didn't want anything to do with selling anything, so this was a radical concept to me - that selling was in some way related to personal success. Very quickly, I discovered the truth of it, as every situation in life requires that you 'sell' an idea to someone. When you want to make friends, you have to 'sell' yourself as someone who is enjoyable to spend time with. The same is true when you want to ask someone out on a date. When you go in for a job interview, you have to 'sell' yourself as the best choice for the position. When you counseling a friend, you're 'selling' them on taking your suggestions and acting on them. When you negotiate to buy a car or house, you're 'selling' the seller on the idea of lowering the price. And if you're the one selling a car or house, you're very definitely selling. Selling the idea that what you have is worth at least as much as you're asking for it. And if you have a business, your ability to sell will spell either success or failure for that business. In short, sales skills are the most important key to success in all areas of life.