Stop focusing on the bad

June 22, 2011 at 08:00 PM
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marvin leblancWhen people meet you do they think, "Wow, this person is on their game. They seem to never have a bad day"?

If so, you are doing it right. Many of us have a tendency to allow bad moments to turn into bad days, and bad days to turn into bad months, and then suddenly, you're focused on how hard and unfair life can be.

Fact is, we all have "stuff." We always will have stuff. The key strategy for you is to find a way to quickly move from one pile of stuff to the next. That is the secret weapon you and your team can use to overcome and overachieve.

You must realize that what you expect is what you will get. Therefore, if you expect a lot of yourself, you will get a lot more from yourself than if your expectations are low. Same goes for your team, your prospects, your family and your relationships.

To be successful in sales and in life you must examine these questions.

  • What do you expect out of yourself?
  • Are you getting what you expect?
  • Are you giving what you expect?

I take pride in being one of those people known for rarely having a bad day. This is not to say I don't have bad moments, but I have found ways to shift my focus so that bad moments are just that — moments.

For example, on October 20, 2007, my daughter and I were riding my Honda Goldwing. It was a gorgeous, sunny, dry day. We decided to take the scenic River Road instead of taking the interstate. We were listening to Buddy Guy on my iPod, and a split second later, we were catapulted directly over the front of my Goldwing. A careless, elderly driver had t-boned us. Many of you may be thinking, "Now that is a bad day for sure."

My daughter lay motionless, face down on the asphalt in the lane of oncoming traffic. Immediately, I looked down to see the bones in my right wrist displaced and broken from the impact. We had both been hurled over the top of the car. Thankfully, we were heavily protected with proper bike gear. Other than some lower back pain that my daughter had, she was fine. I incurred 32 stitches and got two screws in my wrist.

The point is — this was not a bad day.

It was a bad moment, and we are both fine. In fact, we were able to make it home in time to watch Louisiana State University beat Auburn, allowing LSU to keep its national championship hopes alive.

It truly is what you focus on that matters most. We could have focused on the bad moment and turned it into bad days and — even worse — bad months. Instead, we moved on and focused on the many positive events, people and blessings in our lives.

If you have had a tough month in business, one of the best ways to turn that month around is to quit obsessing about what you don't have and start obsessing about what you do have.

Start obsessing about what opportunities you can capitalize on.

If you're in a bad work relationship or you're in a bad personal relationship, make a move. Realize this thing called life is not a dress rehearsal. It's show time every single day.

This is your opportunity to be massively successful and to reframe the handful of bad days in light of your many marvelous days. You may be having one of those right now — and here's to many more!

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun who is obsessed with life performance and overcoming adversity. Marvin has been a fully licensed insurance professional since 1986 and is president of Marvin D. LeBlanc Insurance Agency. Marvin is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and the founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops and individual coaching programs. His Katrina comeback memoir, "Come Hell or High Water," will be available in the fall of 2011 through New York publisher www.bloomingtwig.com. To rent Marvin's brain or inspire your underperforming group, contact him at www.marvinleblanc.com or (225) 938-4177and request a free, fun conference call. He returns all voice messages within 24 hours unless he's no longer alive.

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