Learn from the past but don't relive it. Your past doesn't equal your future.

Today is a new day, a fresh start.  

Before I left tobacco behind permanently, I'd quit dozens of times and failed to stick with it. During those times, there was undoubtedly a good amount of self-criticism. I was mad at myself for falling off the wagon, but I never defined myself as a quitter, a failure, or a loser. Instead, despite the body of evidence against it, I woke up EVERY DAY believing that THIS was the day I would quit for good. Eventually, that day came.

Mindset is mission-critical. If you ruminate with thoughts like, it's over, I'm stuck; I suck, there's nothing I can do about it, it's too late, I don't have what it takes, I'm not built for this, I GIVE UP, those thoughts will shape you and your outcomes.

Not long ago, a wonderful organization hired me to do a keynote and a breakout session for their annual convention. 

After signing the contract, I looked back in my CRM and found that I had reached out to this organization 12 times over 18 months before they hired me. That isn't atypical in sales or life. There are very few things worth pursuing that click on the first attempt, but the swings and misses will not define us unless we stop swinging.

Own Your Sales Gene…