Wanna be wildly successful? (pretty sure the answer here is “yes”)

I have a secret for you.

Pick your boss.

When I was seventeen, I got my first job in sales. I sold shoes for a national chain (NO, Do NOT stop reading – selling shoes can be a proud profession!)

I lucked into a position, frankly.

I just wanted a job. What I got was a mentor. My manager was amazing! He was a wizard! He was completely invested in my success. He taught me how to make buying a pair of shoes an EVENT for the customer. It was wonderful training and I thrived.

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I was made the Assistant Manager of the entire store as a seventeen-year-old student. I out-sold everyone ‘cuz of him.

Enter CARS

Then, right out of college, I got a job with a major car company as a Manufacturers Rep.

By sheer LUCK, I was assigned to a very special dealership in California. The family who owned this dealership was WILDLY successful and a pillar of their community.

(Aw, geez, I lost you on car sales, didn’t I? Come back. It’s worth it.)

This family was AMAZING. They took me under their wing and taught me how to sell a car so that people feel like coming back, year after year after year.

I became #1 of nearly 200 reps because of them.

AND THEN THE LIGHT BULB TURNED ON

I had been lucky. I had great bosses and great influences. They PROPELLED me.

For my next jobs, I took what I had learned (from my sheer luck) and started interviewing BOSSES, rather than interviewing for jobs.

I wanted someone who would SHOOT me to the NEXT LEVEL

So, I started interviewing with two things in mind.

FIRST, do I like the company I am working for? Do I value their values?

SECOND, is the person I will be working for interested in my success?

These were critical questions

What I found was that I could get paid a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY for working  with slimy companies and nasty managers.

BUT What I “picked” instead, was working for great companies with ambitious leaders who valued my growth and valued the work we did. The money came in time.

And it has worked! 

Year over year, I am number ONE in sales – no matter where I work.

I am satisfied. I am happy. I am a leader. I am confident.

MORAL OF THE STORY

Today I was on a call with Jack Canfield. He said that when he was first getting started, at VERY low pay, he worked for W. Clement Stone (a Big Deal in that time). Jack credits his roots of success from the things he learned from this very powerful man. He didn’t even mention the nature of the work he was doing, just the man he was working for.

Forget the money, forget the hours, forget the benefits…PICK A GREAT MENTOR.

AND YOU WILL GO FAR! 

Love your career UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl