Cary Grant grew up as “Archie Leach,” the son of a poor working class family in Bristol, England. Once bitten by the acting bug, young Archie seems to have done his level best to get kicked out of school (according to Nancy Nelson who probably wrote the best biographical volume on Cary Grant — “Evenings with Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him.” Highly recommended!)

Although an excellent student early on with a superior attendance record, he seems to have deliberately engineered his formal dismissal in order to devote all his time to stage arts.

Acting is not exactly the proper term for his early vocation since we see him leaving his house at age 14 to learn pantomime and acrobatics as a part of Bob Pender’s circus troupe.

We see him arrive in New York City in 1920 when he was just about 15 years old with Bob Pender’s troupe.

We are treated to some of the tricks he learned during those early years when he rewards us with a number of effortless cartwheels and somersaults in HOLIDAY (1938).

Did you know that the 15 year old Archie Leach crossed the Atlantic in the same boat with Douglas Fairbanks, who was then at the zenith of his fame and was returning home with his new bride Mary Pickford?

It is said that little Archie, yet-nameless Hollywood star of the future, had actually his photo taken on the deck of the ship while playing shuffle board with Douglas Fairbanks but I haven’t seen that picture yet at this time of writing.

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When was the last time you were asked, what is your “Definite Life Purpose“?

It is not like everyday we go around asking friends or family what their definite life purpose is or even talk about it. However, knowing what your definite life purpose is, will help you stay focused, accomplish your goals faster, and bring about the kind of results you would like to have in your life.

One way it pays to know what your life purpose is, is that it weeds out all the distractions that come in your way. How many times have you been working a particular goal and before you know it you are working on something else that has nothing to do with your goal? It seems to be the little things that catch us off guard and then it takes a whole lot of effort to get back on course. When you know what your goal is, your life purpose, you are able to stay focused and not get side tracked. You will begin to filter out all the things that don’t keep you moving towards your goal, and continue to focus on those that do.

Another way it pays to know your life purpose is that it’s YOUR life purpose. No matter what your life purpose is, you would be more willing to pay the price. Only those that are willing to pay the price will accomplish their goals. When it’s YOUR life purpose you will stand and fight for it no matter what. Also, once you know your life purpose, you can start living it.

Can my life purpose change over time?

Sure, your life purpose can change over time. You can also think of your life purpose as your own mission statement. Most, if not all, businesses will have a mission statement. It will usually cover what the company stands for and the quality they will provide their service in. Many people live their whole lives wondering what their purpose is. Not you. Once you know what your life purpose is, your goals get accomplished faster, and you will have a sense of purpose in your life.

How can I discover my life purpose?

There are various steps that you can go through to help find what your life purpose is. Some people make this part hard when it really isn’t. Many people find their life purpose by looking at what they are passionate about. Take some time to listen to your heart. You will find it.

Anthony Treas is a Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Mentor,
and Writer. He is the President of Activate Your Potential Institute, dedicated to helping young adults, and individuals to reach new levels of their full potential. For more information visit: Activate Your Potential Institute

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One of the best qualities of the successful sales professional is that when they play, they play hard, and they play to win.

I remember being introduced to a potential customer many years ago, as we were exchanging personal information it came up that we both played golf, the person who had facilitated the meeting said, “Bill is a real student of the game.”

Bill and I did meet on golf course a few times, and I came to find that he really was a student of the game. Bill not only constantly tried to improve his golf game, his swing, and keep up with equipment changes; he also studied and appreciated the history of the game. I was and still am just a little better than the average hacker (as an active sales representative, you don’t want your manager to see your handicap to low, they will wonder how you spend your time).

Bill had a partner in his business, and it was a somewhat successful business, however they were in a niche that was at that time growing very rapidly, their business was also growing but not at an astounding rate. I remember thinking that if Bill devoted as much energy to his business as he did to his golf game, he would be very successful.

This same analogy applies to sales people. A few years back I was running a monthly sales meeting for our group. One of our new sales reps had come to the sales force from another department, he had no formal sales training, and however someone in our organization saw some promise for him.

This “rookie” sales person did enjoy some early successes in a territory that had up to that time been relatively ignored.
I have always believed that sales is a learned skill and that the learning never stops, as such I stated that there was no such thing as a “natural born salesperson”, our new “rookie” sales rep looked as if he was going to be ill, he really thought that he was the answer to sales, that he knew all he needed to know, and we should all emulate him, we would then have his success.

I’m sure you can guess the eventual outcome, he was not nearly as successful in the long run, and in fact is not in sales today.

The moral of the story; become a true student of the game, the learning never does stop, each week, maybe even each day, a new book, a new theory, or a new training regimen hits the street. As real students of the game, we need to devour those offerings constantly searching for that one little nugget which will reenergize us and make us better sales people.

To Your Success

Jim Newell

Jim Newell a Security Professional, salesman and Consultant for over 35 years, writes articles covering many different topics, including home, business and property security, sales and marketing, health and fitness and others. He operates web sites who’s missions are educate, and to bring additional information about these topics. The goal is to help you to make informed and educated decisions about securing your personal property, your home and your business property, live a more healthy lifestyle, and help on the road salespeople better manage their time and resources. Visit http://www.RoadWarrior101.com for more info.

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Right now, I have two messages in my voice mail, awaiting my instantaneous reply.

And they will be awaiting that reply for the better part of this morning.

I’m sending them a message of my own, one that is powerful and highly potent.
But my message has no words or tones, or specific content.

My message is SILENCE.

Silence is golden; the expression says, and it is on target, especially during certain negotiations.

If you want to express your power, your position, your options, doing it instantly and verbally may not be the best approach. Here’s why:

(1) You’re going to seem too eager to get a deal done. Enthusiasm is great in lots of business situations, but negotiation isn’t one of them. Once somebody knows you’re hot to trot, he’ll exploit it.

(2) Silence promotes anxiety and uncertainty in your counterparts, and that’s good for you. They’ll become more impulsive, more likely to overcompensate you, just to put the deal behind them.

(3) Silence says you have other options, you don’t NEED this deal, or else. Always, a person with options is more attractive and powerful to a suitor.

(4) Silence will determine just how serious they are. Will they communicate again, and how long will it take? If they can wait, they’re smart, and they’ll be turning the tables on you. No problem, you can snap the drought by contacting them, without losing clout.

(5) If you lose the deal, because you waited and they had viable number twos and threes waiting in the wings, you were not in a very strong position with them, anyway. You and your offer came across as generic, as interchangeable commodities, and this is a positioning problem that should be corrected.

Remember, though, there is a difference between silence and rudeness.

If you promised to follow-up at a specific time, good manners require you to do it, so it’s better to just say, “I’ll get back to you.”

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

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