LockDown LIVE: How Can You Stay Motivated When Things Get Tough?

What? Everybody, welcome to another lockdown live down all the things we deal with in sales. Hey, guys, Adam here, the roof strategist. Thanks for joining me for another lockdown live. Super stoked to have everyone here. I am super, super stoked to see my email inbox filling up with just really rich conversations with people reaching out, sharing stories, sharing success, asking for help, and inspiring what is coming forth in these lockdown lives. So, yeah, I also have some really exciting stuff planned for this year that I think is going to really step up and change the game for some of you who are interested. So more on that later. It's too soon to spill the beans, but I got some cool stuff coming, so. So today's topic, I'm gonna keep this one a little shorter, and then anyone that's here and wants to drop some questions, feel free. So how can you stay motivated when things get tough? Now, listen, I'm gonna hit this from a couple angles today because it's not only in this COVID 19 pandemic that has really thrown a curveball that kind of none of us have expected or predicted, but also just in general knocking doors. It seems to be a common trend. The companies that I work with, one on one that come out by me and we meet with their either owners or get the same question. It's coming up a lot right now. Like, dude, what do you do? How do you stay motivated when you show up at someone's door and they kick your teeth in or they curse at you or they insult you, or it's a low blow? And how do you, like, get back in your truck, put a smile on your face and go hit the next one. So I want you to think of all this advice to apply no matter where you're at, whether it's dealing with rejection in sales, dealing with some difficult work situations, and then dealing with this pandemic stuff, this all applies. So there are five things I'm going to hit, and I'm going to bring this up here again to show you shortly. So how to stay motivated when things get tough. First and foremost is weekly goals. Now, so many people, I am really into the personal development thing. Brian, you've heard me say it. Brian Tracy's book Goals is the reason I am where I am today. And I wrote him a letter to to share that. And I know I'm like a drop in the bucket compared to a lot of people he's worked with and the success that they've achieved. But I went through as a first book I read on Goals and actually did all the exercises. I printed them out. I flagged every single page to do the exercises. And the reason that the success worked is I had goals that I could measure on a weekly basis. And one thing that many people do wrong is they'll sit there and they'll say, hey, my goal is a hundred thousand. Everyone wants to get into this business to earn a hundred grand, and then it's the next a hundred, two hundred, then it's the next hundred, three hundred, and so on. And so many people set their sights and they're like, well, I'm going to earn 100,000 in a year. And their idea of bringing that to life is working hard. But then you don't have any benchmarks to know if you're on track. So if you think of it this way, I like to use weight loss an example because we've all, most of us at least, have tried to either lose or gain weight at some point. And how do you know when you're losing weight? You weigh yourself weekly. You don't like, say, hey, I'm going to start losing weight, and then jump on a scale in six months. You jump on it every week, if not daily, to see what you're doing. And the same goes for staying motivated with your own goals is measuring yourself weekly. Now, I know that we might not be able to hit our sales numbers in the same way that we could under normal circumstances, but I'm going to touch on that in a minute because that's going to go into to my tip number five, which I'm going to touch at the end. So weekly goals, and again, for right now, maybe they're not all personal goals. By the way, I'm going to just share a short story that I touched on yesterday or in the Live today Tuesday. Oh, my gosh, I don't even know what day it is anymore. It's Tuesday. So I shared this yesterday. Stakes that led me to a burnout in the industry was having all of my goals be financial. So I was chasing. And I vividly remember this, I'd be working out and I'd be running on the treadmill, and I had that income goal in my mind. And I literally would run after it like, I'm gonna hit it, I'm gonna hit it, I'm gonna hit it. And every single decision I made was, how do I get to that income goal? Now, given at that point in my life, I was earning 20 grand a year. I needed it. You know, it was not in a good spot when my rent and Utilities with thousand dollars a month and you're earning 20 and you gotta pay. Anyway, I hustled and hustled and hustled and I was driving up to our office. So I managed two offices in the state of Wisconsin. I was driving from home up to the office. It was about 7 in the morning, it was the second day. My chest was killing me. Really freaking weird guys like that. I should have pulled over and I ended up walking into the office, thought I was having a heart attack before I was 30 years old. And I flagged one of the managers name was Wyatt. I was like, wyatt, you got to bring me to the er. Something's going on. And I think I'm having a heart attack because I have cardiac issues in the family. Turns out it was this rare viral infection of the sac of your heart called pericarditis. And they don't know for sure the science of it, but there's really no other viral issues and they said a lot of it can be stress related, like, oh gee, wonder why. So anyway, don't only set your goals on money is the moral of the story. Have goals in all aspects of your life. Your personal side, your fitness side, your relationships, investing in yourself and your own development, whatever that means. So anyway, number one, how to stay motivated. Set weekly goals. Oops, I hit the wrong button. Here we go, There we go, number one, weekly goals. Okay, let's hit number two, finding your why now. I had a few people reach out to me and saying, hey, you know, this goes along with like how do you stay motivated? What kind of gets you up? So everyone has a different driving force or driving factor that keeps them in this field doing sales. And ultimately it comes out of opportunity, right? Wanting to find an income stream and a way to apply yourself and earn more as you develop personally. So I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about your why because that becomes like your North Star, so to speak, when things get tough and you're faced with things that are unpleasant. So for me, when I first got into the industry and your why can change. So mine's evolved. I'm going to share my story. Maybe you'll relate to it. Imagine you probably will. I fell into it because of a desire to chase real income in a way that I could apply myself and earn more as opposed to showing up every day getting paid the same check whether I did a shitty job or a good job, left five minutes earlier or four hours late. Like I didn't want that. So I loved sales because I knew to me, when I say game. I don't mean gaming or playing anyone. I mean a game as in the more that I developed my skill of playing the game, which was work, communicating with people, earning trust in relationships and earning confidence from people and winning business. And I could do that better. The reward was increased financial gain that I could control. That was late. I was, I think it was like eight or nine weeks late on a storm. And it was a later storm and I didn't know what I was doing. And it was a short season. First, first year ever in it. It's like, wait, if I could do it, then what could I do if I work smarter? And I just started thinking about it. So to me, that why was about developing personally. It was a challenge. Not just to go make sales. It wasn't work. It was the first time I ever landed in a job, now obviously a career that when I worked from 6 in the morning till 9:30 at night, I was like, I enjoyed it. And I was like, where'd the time go? I wish I had more time in the day. Later, I just, I realized that wasn't the smartest way to work. And I was busy for busy. But my point is, like, I was applying myself. I was always learning. So that was my. That was my why. All right, so point number two, staying motivated. Number one's weekly goals. Number two is finding your why. Okay? I want to focus on number three, which is refueling. It is so, so important. This industry is really far too easy to burn yourself out. I've shared this with only a few people. I burned out in the industry. I took a little break. I worked myself. It was shortly after I thought I had a heart attack and I needed to change my why evolved. This right here, this is my why. I've written it down. It's to help people distill complex thoughts and ideas into powerful communication and action plans that motivate their life. Okay, that's my why is really helping people do that. And you all who are here watching the channel in sales are trying to take these ideas of what you want to do with your life, these ideas of what we do in our profession, our industry and our business with our customers. And we try to match those in the most powerful way to drive change, to inspire customers to choose us, to provide incredible service that makes our customers want to send more referrals, to build relationships, to enjoy the dinner table, or, excuse me, the kitchen table conversation with salespeople, and to do it in a way that's going to reward us financially and reward our families. So that's my why is being here to do this? I look forward so much to these. I've never made this commitment to do these lives this long. You know, who knows how long it's going to last with the stay at home orders. But I know that for everyone here who's watching live, who's watching the replays, there's gems that you're going to get, there's motivation you're going to get that's going to apply to helping you be a better version of you in work and life and personal life, whatever it is, as things go on. So that's my why. And I just got distracted because we were talking about refueling and burning out. See, why is important refueling. If you don't have a recharge, whatever that is for you, you'll burn out. I promise you. The industry is addictive and it's fast paced and it's really important to stay grounded and to have boundaries. So my tip number three is to refuel. Now, everyone that's different. I know there's like for me, mountain biking is my fueling. You'll see that picture. It's actually my father and I out in Moab, Utah. I keep this picture because I do a lot of my thinking on a bike. This is a quote from Einstein says, I thought of that while riding my bike. I do that a lot. I go recharge. In fact, a couple hours after this, I'm going to get out for lucky enough to be able to jump on my bike and go hit some mountains from home. And that's the way I refuel. That's the way I control my brain power. Before that, it was powerlifting. And then when I was in the business and it was tough because I was working like cooking, it was my outlet. Some people it's music, some of it's travel time with family. It doesn't matter whether it's a spiritual practice, religious practice, finding that one thing that can really help balance you out is really, really important. So again, that's tip number three. So we hit how to stay motivated when things get tough. Weekly goals. Number two, finding your why. Number three is refueling. Let's hit number four. There's no one in the canoe. All right. This was one of the actual more popular videos on the channel was how to stay motivated when going door to door canvassing. And I shared a story. I've looked high and low for this source. It's an old Chinese proverb, I think, or haiku. I can't find. If anyone finds it Please tell me. Like, I have searched. I don't remember if I heard it in the PODC or book. So I have to just disclaimer. This is not my original story, but I want to share it with you. And the story is of a guy sitting in his canoe, okay? And he's paddling up river, and he looks up river and there's a canoe coming down towards him. And the canoe in this big, wide river is going, barreling straight towards him. So he gets up, he's like, man, get your head out of your butt. You're coming right towards me. Watch out. And the dude doesn't. Doesn't move. The canoe keeps coming and keeps coming. So he freaks out. He's like, man, you're. You're gonna hit me, you idiot? And he keeps coming closer. And finally the guy stands up in the canoe and he yells at him, you flipping moron. He's cursing at him. You're gonna hit me. And before you know it, boom. The canoe smashes him head on. He tumbles, he falls down the canoe, he pops up, turns around, looks over his shoulder, and there was no one in the canoe. It was an empty canoe. So what is the moral of the story? What is the symbol, the symbolism of a guy screaming in an inanimate object that there was no one in the canoe, that all of the frustration and anger that was projected upon this canoe, there was no one there. We personalize it, right? The guy in the canoe is personalizing the fact that he's getting attacked, that there's some idiot coming towards him who's not thinking, how dare he interrupt his day? How dare he be a moron and jeopardize him? But ultimately, no one was there. And the reason that that story is so powerful is it shows those times where you might accidentally get out of your truck, smack your head on your own ladder. You're like, you know, you're screaming and you're like, wait a minute, there's no one there. Who am I actually upset at? But if we think about this in the opposite way, it's the same with our customers. You knock on a door, someone racks a shotgun. Get the hell off my porch. They're screaming at you and calling you a dirtbag and a slime ball for being in this business and industry. Like, it has nothing to do with you guys. You know, that you are the empty canoe that they're yelling at. And that's a great story that I think about whenever times are tough, whenever I've been at the mercy of someone's belittling personal attacks. You know, whatever it is that can beat you down is to think of that story that no one's in the canoe, that it's really not about you personally. So whenever times get tough, remember it's not. You don't personalize it. There's no one in the canoe. All right, so quick recap. How to stay motivated when things get tough. Weekly goals. Measure them. Find your why. Okay? That can evolve. Refuel, whatever helps you refuel. And especially right now, if you got a little more time. Have fun, man. Do it. All right, remember, there's no one in the canoe. And number five, doing what you can. Now. So many things. One of the books I read not too long ago, I forget the author's name. The Subtle Art of Not Giving Enough. What I really like about that book, the Subtle Art of Not Giving an F, is that as humans, we are solution oriented. That's what we've evolved to be, where we are today. And whenever something's upsetting or challenging to you, the people who end up struggling the most mentally and emotionally, who get anxious, stressed, depressed, are because they're not actively seeking for a solution. Now, I know that there's mental health things that absolutely can come into play. And this isn't to downplay any of that because that's so serious. And at the same time, it is so important that we focus on solutions. So imagine this. Imagine you come into work and your boss says, you don't have what it takes this year. Are you going to sit there and say, you're right, I don't. And then sulk? No. You're going to flip the bird and say, screw you, man. I'm going to prove it to you. Watch. And that's going to be the fuel and the fire. And you're going to say, what can I do? What can I control? So the idea is that when things are tough, like right now with the COVID 19 pandemic, which is no secret, what can you control? Right? Make a list, write it all down. You can pre scout neighborhoods. You can identify three tab roofs. You can start using your direct mail, printing them out, stuffing envelopes. Don't address them, just get them all ready to go. You can role play. You can still meet with your team and collaborate. You can start to work on referrals and networking with agents. Right. Again, all this stuff's available in my battle pack and I'm providing a discount for anyone who just email me if you need some payment assistance. I'm offering a discount right now. And I'll happily send you that link. But either way, there's things that you can do. And if you sit there and you just want to wait this thing out and just see what happens, it's not going to be a good ending for you. You got to stay on the gas and think, what can I do? What can I control? Right? So remember, I used this analogy before roofing sales. Like a battlefield, okay? And if you're on a battlefield and you're under fire or you're facing a threat or a situation, you don't sit there. You don't sit there and say, well, this sucks. I'm going to just sit this one out. All you're doing is thinking, what can I do? What can I control? How do I get on the offensive? And that's what I want to leave you with today, is to help encourage all of you to be on the offensive. Focus on what you can control. And when you do that, your mindset shifts. Your motivation will shift, and it can help you through even the toughest of times. So before we call it a wrap, I'm going to just do a quick recap. How can you stay motivated when things get tough? Set weekly goals, okay? Monitor them just like you would weight loss. Figure out your why. Remember, that can change. Are you doing this for your family? Are you doing this to develop personally? To me, it was a game to figure out how I could communicate better, to get my message across, to get people to say, yeah, I want you to do it. And I knew that I was coming into the rescue, especially for, like, older families and stuff that I knew could get taken advantage by others. Like, I wanted to come in because I felt like I was the safest choice. Refuel your body and your mind. Do what you do. Find your passions. Pursue them. Make time for them. Remember, no one's in the canoe. Don't personalize it. And then do what you can. Control what you can. So that's all I got for you for today's lockdown. Live. I'll be live again tomorrow. If you haven't done it yet, subscribe to the channel and click the bell for notifications. It'll notify you when I'm live. I'm trying to do these at least an hour or so in advance so you can see if you're on the channel that I'll be live. And if you. If you didn't join the insiders, you can do that. I have it set up right now for anyone that joins. I'm going to give you that discount I talked about automatically right away. So there's a link to join the insiders in the description. I think it's there. If it's not, it'll be as soon as the live is done and posted and then you can pop in. And I will also be sending you a series of emails, some brand new stuff I put together that'll be coming out yet, so it will be soon. And the other thing is, you'll get notifications of these lives. So submit your questions, drop any comments, email me, and I look forward to seeing all of you on the next one. Remember, stay motivated. We will get through this stronger than ever. Thank you all for making this happen. I appreciate each and every one of you and I will see you on tomorrow's lockdown Live.