Then I figured there were a lot of unbalanced people who won’t unplug even on a holiday. So I’m writing this for the people who will be reading it. If you’re not reading it that’s okay too because I didn’t write it for you.
I remember years ago asking for some advice from one of the most successful people I’ve ever met. He was an insurance salesperson. Not just any insurance salesperson mind you but perhaps the most successful salesperson in the history of selling.
He sold insurance for over 40 years and for each and every one of those 40 years he was his company’s top salesperson. He once showed me one of his quarterly commission checks that was well over $1,000,000. A quarterly check! He averaged over $6,000,000 annual income, selling insurance!
Now he didn’t show me that check to brag or boost about his success. He showed me that check so I would understand what was possible if I was willing to work for it.
The advice I was seeking was in regards to an upcoming presentation that was of great importance to me. I asked what I could do to improve my odds of success. His advice confused me until I asked him for further explanation.
The advice he gave me was to go home and take a nap each day until the day of the presentation. I remember thinking “that’s it, a nap” – that’s the best you got? That’s bizarre!
I asked him to explain and he responded with a series of questions. He asked if I knew what I was talking about – I answered “of course”. He asked if I had succeeded with this type of presentation in the past – I answered “frequently”. He then asked when I was most likely to make a mistake – I answered “when I’m tired”.
He just smiled.
It was in that moment that his “bizarre” advice made perfect sense. He went on to explain that the most successful people he knew had balance in their lives. They worked hard but they also worked hard at not working. They very intentionally stopped what they were doing from time to time in order that they might do nothing. Or at least do something very different than they did to earn a living.
So if you’re on holiday I hope you’re not reading this. If you’re on holiday and you’re reading this I hope you relax and enjoy the rest of your day.
If you just can’t make yourself stop then ask yourself this: if you can’t stop working long enough to enjoy your success are you really successful?
That’s it for this little post – I’ll be busy doing nothing until Tuesday!
BTW….I’ll write more about my friend Tom, the insurance salesperson. Every conversation with him was filled with life lessons I’ll share in future posts.