Quantcast
Channel: Gregg Hawkins » Reality
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Listen to Your Heart

0
0


Photo by DeviantArt User ~Silvery-Lily

I wanted to write something that portrays the feelings and emotions running through my head these past few days. Upon moving down to Huntington Beach, California I was graced with an opportunity to work for a company called The Southern California Group doing outsourced marketing and sales (a fancy name for door-to-door sales). This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for life after college, but since I wasn’t having any luck finding anything else I said what the hell and went with it. Let me tell you, it’s been one of the best and worst experiences of my life. I’m glad I went through a solid four months with David’s crew, whom I consider family now, and matured looking at it from a professional standpoint and a personal development aspect.

After four months with The Southern California Group I decided to thrown in the towel and call it quits. I could walk door-to-door all day long if I wanted to. I don’t have a problem with that. However, after pondering for about two weeks I came to conclusion that there were too many variables that weren’t within my control. Aside from the variables beyond my control everything else was great. I didn’t know jack diddle squat going into the job and came out with a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience that I would have found hard to come by at any other job. This was raw get your hands and feet dirty stuff. You grind it out until you make it. What I love about it is that I have the experience and skills to take with me anywhere I go in life. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that on a daily basis, we as individuals or business owners, are selling our dreams, visions, ideas, products, and services to others. In doing so it’s a transfer of our enthusiasm that makes or breaks a deal. Just like Ted said, if one of your friends called you up and said to get over to the party because no one else is there and bring friends along you probably wouldn’t go. BUT, if a friend called you up and was yelling with excitement to get over to the party as soon as possible that there were a lot of girls, the alcohol was flowing, and it was going off you’d be jumping off the couch in a heartbeat. Sold.

The knowledge, skills, and experience I gained from my time with The Southern California Group was priceless. I learned boatload of stuff in such a short amount of time. I gained knowledge of sales, developed leadership skills that were hiding deep within that I didn’t know I had, and now carry with me a thick skin that’s difficult to penetrate. I built relationships and gained friendships that will last a lifetime.

It’s funny how you can tell your friends and family what you do for a living and everyone can nod or say that they understand. I laugh because I know not everybody in a roomful of friends or family really understands or have experienced working 60-70 hour work weeks going door-to-door. A salesman can look at another salesman in the eye and both knows and understands exactly what each has been through. There’s a common ground that we can all relate to and understand the hardships and difficult times through the highs and lows of our job. One of my favorite quotes, “Never criticize a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” You don’t know and you probably will never know.

Going in on Monday (November 1, 2010) was more difficult than I could imagine. When I got out of my car and started walking towards the building I had to stop for a little bit to gather myself. I felt anxiety. “Wait, what? Why am I feeling like this right now?” was going through my head as my heart kept beating faster. In a few moments I was going to tell David and Ted, both of whom I look up to, admire, and consider friends, that I was calling it quits. It was hard to go one-on-one with David in his office, look him in the eyes, and let him know of the news. I felt guilty and to some extent like I was letting David down. I felt pain, sadness, and maybe even somewhat a little depressed on the drive home. A million thoughts were running through my head about whether or not I made the right decision. In the end, what I’ve learned, is that you have to look out for yourself. Bottom line. You make a decision and move on or the world is going to pass you by.

Now that my time with The Southern California Group is over I can look back and appreciate everything I learned and experienced first hand. I have the future ahead of me and can only hope for the best. Things always work out. It’s weird how they always do even when you don’t think they will. I guess it’s all about faith. Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.

Looking back, I have calmed down quite a bit. From that I mean that I am a very optimistic individual, but also a realist when it comes down to it. I used to think that I was going to get rich fast. That all my dreams and fantasies would come true overnight. What I’ve learned the past four months is that nothing comes instantly (success for this post’s sake), without hard work. When reality hits, it hits you hard. The shitty thing is that it keeps hitting you and you have to learn to get back up. Over and over again or you lie on the ground defeated and a failure. Take a moment and think about someone you look up to, see as a model figure, or a mentor. They didn’t get to where they are at by sitting around doing nothing. They were proactive and gave it their all to get where they are today.

Here’s a little rant I hope you don’t mind in the middle of this post. Take a look at star athletes. Many of them never started on their high school teams and were told they weren’t good enough to play. Now, we see many of those athletes and hear about their stories in the media. Many athletes have natural talent. They take that talent for granted and don’t work as hard as other athletes. A naturally gifted athlete misses a shot, strikes out, or fails in some way or another they brush it off and wait for the next game. Many of the star athletes miss a shot, strike out, or fails in some way or another they’re taking shots, hitting balls, or practicing when everybody else has showered and gone home. Why are the misfits usually better? Because they had to work twice as hard to get where they were at. It takes a strong will, strong work ethic, and dedication. You can’t let others pull you down to their level. They wanted to prove the critics wrong. So what did it take? Laser focus on the goal at hand to be the best. An unrelenting work ethic. Their goal had to be higher than any obstacle in their way. In their mind the end picture was 100% clear.

When making a decision you must follow your heart. You can’t let anyone hold you back from your true potential. Remember, you are what you say and believe you are. If your heart is telling you to do something… heck freakin’ go for it. You’ll never know what could have been unless you tried. What you make of life is totally up to you and the decisions you make. Control your destiny by taking action now. You can’t wait for something to happen you have to make something happen.

Cultivate and encompass a mindset that you are what you say you are. That you can become what you say you will become. And lastly, act as if. Act as if you’re anything you say you are. When you believe in something it becomes your perception and what your perception of something is becomes your reality.

In due time success and happiness will cross paths in my life. For now, I understand that it truly is in due time. All the small things I do today, tomorrow, a week from now, will get me to the end result I desire. “Victory is not always winning the race. Sometimes it’s simply beating your best.” (Gloria Plaisted)


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images