Who Calls Your Shots?

We all need help in life.

Whether you are building bio-tech nano-robots in a Stanford laboratory, filling ice cream cones at your neighborhood Dairy Queen, or negotiating IPO deal terms for a Wall Street law firm there are always ways to do your job better.

Ways to be more amazing.

And there is no shortage of ways to do that.

There are books and seminars and experts, webinars and ebooks, even online universities.

But that brings up another issue.

Who do you listen you?

Are you listening to the guy who wrote an ebook so he can get 15 minutes in the spotlight?  Are you listening to the zealot who feeds on confusion and disruption at all costs?

It might not be that clear.

You might be looking to the recognized expert in your industry.  You might come to the easy conclusion that the guru with the most books is the guiding light for your business growth.

Sales is one of these big knowledge industries.

Over the years, leaders like Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, David Ogilvy and Jeffrey Gitomer have paved the way for business development ideology.  Everything from marketing philosophy to sales tactics to high-performance attitudes.

And it’s good reading.

But you need to ask your yourself if the experts you are listening to are really the experts you need to help you be successful.

Maybe you just need more inspiration.

In early 335 B.C., Alexander the Great began his quest for world domination.  No other ruler had the passion for conquest like Alexander.  Not even his father, Philip II of Macedon, who had expanded the Greek empire further than any king before him.

After ten years of fighting, Alexander arrived at the edge of India without having lost a single battle.  His army controlled most of the known world at that time — Greece, Egypt, and what had been the Persian empire.   But Alexander wanted more.

The problem was that men were tired.  They had followed him for ten years — fighting thousands of miles across lower Europe, into Africa, and to the edge of the Middle East.    Far away from families and wives, they languished in fatigue, without the rage to conquer another empire.

Alexander gathered his men together and delivered an impassioned speech :  “I observe, gentlemen, that when I would lead you on a new venture you no longer follow me with your old spirit. I have asked you to meet me that we may come to a decision together: are we, upon my advice, to go forward, or, upon yours, to turn back?”

The king’s speech inspired his men to push into India, wrestling control of a country that no other ruler had been able to master

You need more than facts.

Maybe what you are missing is the raw, gritty gusto of a warrior king who had a zest for battle.

Maybe you need fewer tactics, less conventional strategy, and more passion.

You can get the answers from the experts.  But the answers probably aren’t your problem.

The problem might be that you don’t care enough to keep battling.