What does it mean to love your work

Finding the dream job:

The best description I have found around the idea of loving what you do, comes from Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement. To be fully engaged (i.e. to love your job), "we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest." (p. 5) Notice how that sentence is basically the same as the sentence I ended yesterday's essay with from Stephen Covey: "I will tap my talents and fuel my passions, in a way that rises out of a great need in the world that I am drawn to by conscience to meet – for therein lies my voice, my true calling, my soul's code."

Another way to say the same thing would be do stuff you love to do (emotionally vested, passionate), stuff you are good at (talents, focus, drive, energy), and stuff that someone will pay you to do (what the world needs.) That is the place to be if you want to be a champion sales professional.

Next week we continue this series with a look at what it means to be 'unique' when selling. ELU to the power of two: Energy, Enthusiasm, Likability, Love, Unique, and Urgent.

Love what you do and know it well

Are you in your sweet spot?:

I believe the champion sales professional truly loves their job. They love the product they sell and the company they represent. Furthermore, the champion sales professional knows their product in great detail. They know the features and benefits of their product and more importantly they are able to find out how the product or service can meet the needs of the client. This does not mean that their job, company or product is perfect, but it does mean that they enjoy their work and that their love for the work overshadows any shortcomings or challenges.

I have seen sales people who sell products in an industry where they don't consider themselves an expert. Some are even very good sales people, because they have what it takes to persevere in spite of the fact that they don't enjoy the  industry. For example, a person who does not enjoy technology, might be a good technology sales person if they have the other tools (of champion sales people) and if they are surrounded by talented technologists who they can lean on for assistance. While this may be okay, it is not ideal, because these individuals are not matching their talents with their passions.

Remember Stephen Covey's quote that I like so much: "I will tap my talents and fuel my passions, in a way that rises out of a great need in the world that I am drawn to by conscience to meet – for therein lies my voice, my true calling, my soul's code."

Managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance

Energy oscillation is the key:

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, in their book The Power of Full Engagement teach that managing energy (not time) is the key to high performance. Listen to the first paragraph of the book:

"We live in digital time. Our rhythms are rushed, rapid fire and relentless, our days carved up into bits and bytes. We celebrate breadth rather than depth, quick reaction more than considered reflection. We skim across the surface, alighting for brief moments at dozens of destinations but rarely remaining long at any one. We race through our lives without pausing to consider who we really want to be or where we really want to go. We're wired up but we're melting down."

Successful selling, maybe more than any other profession, requires a complete understanding of energy management. Energy management is an entire science in and of itself. We can't do the subject justice in short blog posts, and thus stress the importance of studying a book like the one mentioned above. Another great read, with very similar teachings is Stephen Covey's book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. Reflect on these two sentences, the first from Loehr's book and the second from Covey's book:

"To be fully engaged, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest."

"I will tap my talents (mental capacity) and fuel my passions (emotional capacity) in a way that rises out of a great need (physical capacity) in the world that I am drawn to by conscience (spiritual capacity) to meet - for therein lies my voice, my true-calling, my soul's code."

Tomorrow we will focus more on the word 'oscillation' and the importance of moving in and out of each of the capacities, and learn how we build emotional, mental and spiritual energy in exactly the same way we build physical energy. When we understand this, and put rituals in our life that allow us to rhythmically move in and out of each area, we can then (and only then) succeed in the other key characteristics of successful selling.

Churn - Oscillation is the key to happiness and success

If it's not butter yet:

This is the sixth and final post in my series The Four C's that launched churnOn.com and this blog; as well as an ecosystem of social networking tools in just four weeks.

• Read part one: The Four C's that launched churnOn.com
• Read part two: Create, Connect, Complete, and Churn
• Read part three: In corner number one - Create!
• Read part four: Connect - It is still a who you know world
• Read part five: Complete - Keep your attention on the essential task

If you have followed this series, you know I am a big Stephen Covey fan and also have drawn inspiration through the years from Jim Loehr and his work at the Human Performance Institute. One of the basic tenets they both teach is that when we are living life from a place of purpose, when we are hitting on all cylinders, we move in and out (in a daily rhythm) of the four capacities that make us human. Here are some of the ways these four capacities can be defined, all listed in this order: mind, heart, body, and soul.

• mind, heart, body, soul;
• mental, social, physical spiritual;
• talents, passions, needs, conscience;
• to learn, to love, to live, to leave a legacy;
• vision, passion, discipline, conscience;
• create, connect, complete, churn;

We have looked at how I 'created' the website by first using a vision board in order to set the project in motion. Then we studied how the site gained momentum by 'connecting' with those who could cheer me onward, such as my buddies at the Apple store. Next we studied the third cornerstone in the model, ‘complete’ by discussing ways you can keep your attention on the essential task. This week we will look at the fourth component: churn.

The timing is perfect, because this is the week I will answer the question family, friends, and professional contacts have asked throughout this process. What is churnOn? What are my goals for the website? What are my goals for the blog? Some have suggested that I need a ‘call to action’ and I know they are right. I have appreciated this feedback and I plan to answer the bell.

In short, ‘churn’ is our conscience, our soul, our spirit. It is our desire to do what is right and what the world needs, and in some cases what the world might even pay us to do. We find our churn (what Covey calls, “our sweet spot, our soul’s code, our voice”) by oscillating in and out of each of the four capacities on a regular and rhythmic basis. We create, we connect, we complete, and we churn; and round and round it goes. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we mess it all up, but in the end it is about the process, about the journey, about putting yourself out there in a way that says, ‘Hello world, here I am, G. Page Singletary, now a half century smart, twenty years married to wonderful Georgia Peach, three amazing kids, pretty good juggler of the mind, the heart, the body, and the soul – though certainly not catching all the balls all the time.’

Stay tuned as we continue to explore:

• churnOn talents
• churnOn passions
• churnOn disciplines
• churnOn spirituality

And also learn why my father taught me, “If it is not butter yet, keep on churning.”

This blog series (The Four C's) dedicated to Coach Dean Smith and the four corners offense. churnOn Heels - Sweet 16 for NCAA tournament-record 24th time!

Complete - Keep your attention on the essential task

Head down, complete the task:

This is the fifth post in my six part series The Four C's that launched churnOn.com and this blog; as well as an ecosystem of social networking tools in just four weeks.

Read part one: The Four C's that launched churnOn.com
Read part two: Create, Connect, Complete, and Churn
Read part three: In corner number one - Create!
Read part four: Connect - It is still a who you know world 

If you have followed this series, you know I am a big Stephen Covey fan and also have drawn inspiration through the years from Jim Loehr and his work at the Human Performance Institute. One of the basic tenets they both teach is that when we are living life from a place of purpose, when we are hitting on all cylinders, we move in and out (in a daily rhythm) of the four capacities that make us human. Here are some of the ways these four capacities can be defined, all listed in this order: mind, heart, body, and soul.

• mind, heart, body, soul;
• mental, social, physical spiritual;
• talents, passions, needs, conscience;
• to learn, to love, to live, to leave a legacy;
• vision, passion, discipline, conscience;
• create, connect, complete, churn; 

Vision Board

We have looked at how I 'created' the website by first using a vision board in order to set the project in motion. Then we studied how the site gained momentum by 'connecting' with those who could cheer me onward, such as my buddies at the Apple store. Now let's look at the third cornerstone in the model, 'complete' (i.e. discipline, needs, physical, body, to live.)

I was recently at the golf course with my daughter Emily. Emily is a junior in high school and a member of the highest ranked 5A girls golf team in Texas. She plays to about an 11 handicap. We are proud of how she has embraced the game and how golf has taught her many life lessons at such a young age. I am also blessed to be able to 'hang out' with my daughter on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the golf course.

Golf is a game that teaches the importance of completion. One of my favorite 'how to play' the game books is called Conscious Golf: The Three Secrets of Success in Business, Life and Golf by Gay Hendricks. The first secret, and what Hendricks spends over half of the book discussing is: "Keep your attention on the essential process until it's complete."

Here are three keys to completion, using golf as the teacher:

• Keep your eye on the ball
• Head down until the task is completed
• Perfection is the enemy of completion 

Emily has developed an exceptional putting stroke, as well as outstanding chipping, pitching and wedge play skills. When putting, chipping and pitching she understands the importance of finishing the stroke, holding the finish, and slowly turning her head to see the results of the shot. She is always coaching her dad on this very subject.

Yesterday, we were hitting some wedge shots into a flag approximately 40 yards away and directly into a setting sun that was quite bright. Emily hit the first shot and when she turned her head to see the result she was literally blinded by the light. She said: "Dad, don't look up, it will blind you." So I stepped up to the next ball and hit one of the best wedge shots I have ever hit. A beautiful pitch with purpose that landed six feet from the hole, took one bounce and stopped dead cold inside of a foot. I hit a second and third shot with nearly the same result. The blinding sun had literally forced me to stay on task. The blinding sun had taught me the lesson: eye on the ball, head down, don't worry about the result.

This was the same lesson I used when developing churnOn.com. I went underground for four weeks and broke the site up into sections. I would spend a couple of days on each section, head down, only responding to email and phone calls if absolutely necessary. After completing a section, I would review it with family and friends for feedback and then go back to work on a new section, head down and never worrying about perfection. To me, this is one of the key attributes of successful entrepreneurs. Someone who creates, connects, and completes and then puts their product or their ideas out into the world, without fear of rejection and without being paralyzed by perfection.

Can you create? Can you connect? Can you complete?

The series is dedicated to Coach Dean Smith and pays tribute to the four corners offense.

Create, Connect, Complete, and Churn

The Four C's that launched churnOn.com

The Four Capacities:

I am a big Stephen Covey fan and also have drawn inspiration through the years from Jim Loehr and his work at the Human Performance Institute. One of the basic tenets they both teach is that when we are living life from a place of purpose, when we are hitting on all cylinders, we must be moving in and out (in a daily rhythm) of the four capacities that make us human. Here are some of the ways these four capacities can be categorized, all listed in this order: mind, heart, body, and soul.

• mind, heart, body, soul;
• mental, social, physical spiritual;
• talents, passions, needs, conscience;
• to learn, to love, to live, to leave a legacy;
• vision, passion, discipline, conscience;
• create, connect, complete, churn;

As we continue through this series, let's next look at the ‘create’ piece of churnOn.com. But  first, here are some questions my friends have asked. Why create a personal website? What are the goals for the site? For the blog? Here is a four part answer to these good questions:

• A personal website is a unique way to highlight a professional career, including (in my case) creative abilities as a salesman and as a leader, so as to best explore career opportunities in education, educational technology, or early stage technology companies that need someone to deliver the sales piece.
• As a launching pad for my eBook, Releasing the Churn, that will be given away to those who wish to learn more about their personal journeys.
• As a launching pad for a blog, where we can explore and share with others on topics such as entrepreneurialism, golf, raising girls, fitness, writing, social media, and spirituality.
• As a home base, around which to surround and master the ecosystem of social networking tools (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and others.) Entrepreneurs, executives and especially great sales people need to use these tools effectively and efficiently, but not excessively, in order to operate at peak capacity in the world in which we now live.

If these things are of interest to you, you might enjoy learning how to 'churn' your way through this process. Do you have a website creation in you? What about a book? Stay tuned to learn how to bring these thoughts from idea to reality.

This blog series (The Four C's) dedicated to Coach Dean Smith and the four corners offense. Go Tar Heels.