Speedy Gambling

When you’ve been a student for so long, sometimes it’s hard crossing that line into
the professional world. Of course, we should keep learning no matter “what” we are,
or things can get boring pretty fast.

But I remember having a hard time with this transition, and it wasn’t until my (brief)
return to grad school that I felt I broke through the wall separating student and pro.
You probably know that the line between those two categories often has nothing to
do with level of playing, but attitude.

There are students that play amazingly better than some professionals, and there
are students that are “pro” long before their time simply because they get paid to
play. But, I think the difference is mainly in how you perceive yourself.

I had a wonderful time in college at Eastman, growing and learning and changing all
of the time. With the help of my fabulous teacher, I was just starting to get a
glimpse of myself (and not his carbon-copy) as an oboist.

I left school and it quickly became overwhelming. I had never been completely on
my own before, and there I was in a brand-new city, supposedly a professional. But I
really didn’t feel like one.

Reeds became a struggle again, and they hadn’t been for the last few years.
Suddenly I was on my own and I realized I didn’t know what I stood for. I missed
being at school terribly, and felt an insecurity that I was sure would go away if I just
had someone to guide me again.

Well, somehow in the midst of that I managed to win a 2nd oboe job (Knoxville
Symphony). It was a whirlwind year, living the life of a pro with an actual job. Still, I
felt like I didn’t know myself yet as an oboist and I considered all kinds of things.

Ultimately, I ended up in grad school for just one semester at the Manhattan School
of Music, and it was there that somehow I found myself. I’m sure you are thinking
that it was the school itself, or the famed oboe teacher, Joseph Robinson. And I
suppose it was, in a way, but not how I expected it to be.

I started to hear my playing as different and special (everybody’s is, I realize now!)
and I found myself almost unconsciously trying to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of
everything Robinson told me to do.

I am generally a very accommodating person, but I realized that I didn’t believe what
he was saying, and I couldn’t pretend. It just wasn’t me, and it wasn’t until I felt
something so WRONG that I realized what I had in me was right. Right for me, that
is.

Absolutely everything I heard, oboe playing and otherwise was completely different
than how I thought of it, or heard it in my mind’s ear. I know he was frustrated that I
wouldn’t conform, but I just couldn’t.

IT was the first time in my oboe career that I had to reject someone’s teaching
purely because it didn’t fit me, and I had the guts to do just that. I realized that the
entire time I felt like I didn’t know myself, I was actually developing who I was.

And one day it was just there, and I could distinguish it from everything else.

So, if you are on this road, don’t be discouraged. Just keep trying to find the oboe
player in you, and don’t conform because you are supposed to. Despite what we
learn sometimes, there is NO right or wrong in music. It’s all about who you are, it’s
just finding “YOU” that is the challenge.

——————————————

Oboist and online entrepreneur Maryn Leister helps beginner and professional
oboists to be more productive and have more fun on the oboe. She publishes the
weekly Oboe:Space newsletter, the Oboe Insider, and gives away more FREE oboe
reed tips than she can remember with her Reed Guru service.

Sign-up for the Oboe:Space newsletter and start getting your FREE oboe reed tips
now at http://www.oboespace.com

A few summers ago I started running Triathlons. At my age, simply crossing the finish line alive is a real thrill. As my training continues my focus is on aerobic conditioning. Simply stated this is the ability to perform some form of exercise for longer and longer periods of time.

The method recommended by all of the professional trainers and doctors is Long Slow Distance, LSD. That is swim, bike, and run for longer and longer distances while maintaining a relatively stable heart rate. The results should be a stronger ability to perform at higher heart rates. As you maintain this training regimen, you will perform faster because your ability to replace oxygen increases. So, you will be able to swim, bike and run faster while maintaining the same heart rate.

Now, simply apply this idea to Prospecting and you can see the value of making cold calls on a regular basis. As you maintain your Prospecting efforts you get better and better at the skill. Also, you begin to build up a large reserve of potential customers with whom you will need to follow up in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

It doesn’t take long to realize the benefits from simply persisting at your Prospecting efforts.

Let’s consider how many real Prospecting/cold calls you make in any year. Now when I say a Prospecting call I mean that you “talk to a potential customer with the intent of making them a customer.”

When you stop in a talk to a receptionist, get a name, leave some literature and a card, but, don’t talk to the actual prospect that is only half a Prospecting call. You simply have another lead. When you call back or get that person on the phone, then you have made a Prospecting call.

Now with those parameters in mind how many Prospecting/cold calls did you make in the last year? Could you have made more? If you had, would your have been more successful in your mind?

Most of us have about 40 full weeks available in the year for selling. Vacations, holidays, meetings, etc. take up the rest of our year. Please consider the following idea.

In aerobic training, we are supposed to swim, bike, or run for a set period of time everyday of the week, weekends we can rest. For a few weeks of the year we need to add Anaerobic training, which is “speed work.” This builds up our ability to go faster in the long haul.

What would happen if you made one or two Prospecting/cold calls everyday you were selling? That would be 5 or 10 new prospect calls a week, 200 – 400 per year. That could be your “aerobic selling.”

Next, you could add a few “anaerobic” weeks to your selling by making several Prospecting/cold calls a day one week a quarter or so. You choose when.

What I suggest is that you simply decide IF you would like to do this or not. If yes, then start. Use our System for Prospecting and Making Cold Calls, or your own, or someone else’s. The important thing is that you actually DO the calls.

The more I train the more I see the similarity between athletic performance and selling performance. Unfortunately for me we have to go out there everyday, we can’t just think about it. If you don’t train or you don’t Prospect the results are obvious. The next time you show up at a “Triathlon” you may have trouble finishing.

Now you know why I feel that Persistence in Prospecting is Simply the Aerobic Training of Sales.

Sell Well and Often

Bill Truax

Bill@BlitzCall.com

© Copyright 2006 WJ Truax

Bill Truax is a Sales Management and Field Operations Consultant living in Cleveland, Oh. He conducts Sales Team Assessments, Management and Leadership programs, and works with Field Sales Professionals and Managers both in the field and in workshops. He has written 3 books and recorded 2 CD’s on Prospecting and Making Cold Calls and conducts a variety of skill based seminars, workshops, and train the trainer programs.
Bill has spent literally thousands of hours in the field making cold calls with sales professionals to teach his BLITZ CALL System. When Bill is in the field he actually makes many of the BLITZ CALLs himself, regardless of the industry. This is to demonstrate that anyone can prospect you just need to know how.
Bill writes a Free weekly Prospecting Succes Tip for subscribers at his website http://www.BlitzCall.com The site also details all the materials and programs Trufield offers.

Pilates exercises are a favorite fitness choice for many people including movie stars like Danny Glover and Gweneth Paltrow, professional dancers, and even some professional baseball players. Why this fascination with Pilates? What can it do that other forms of exercise can’t?

I began doing Pilates several years ago when I was searching for a different look for my body. I had been exercising for many years when I began to experience a level of dissatisfaction with the way my body looked. While I was lean and muscular, my body had a packed, crowded look to it. The more I used weights, the thicker my muscles looked. In addition, no matter how many crunches and reverse curls I did, I still had this abdominal bulge that would not budge. It drove me crazy.

I began to yearn for the body I had as a dancer – trim, strong, with elongated muscles. That’s when I stumbled upon Pilates. The people who did Pilates exercises had the long, lean look that I craved. So I began to do Pilates exercises and I have never looked back.

What are Pilates exercises all about?

They focus on your core.
Pilates focuses on strengthening the core of your body – the deep abdominal muscles and pelvic stabilizers, the back, the butt, and also creating flexibility in the spine. This continual focus on the core has helped me get rid of my belly bulge and also develop ’six pack’ abs .

They work your entire body as one unit.
Many people ask how Pilates exercises relate to yoga poses. In many instances, the poses overlap. However, while in yoga you often hold a pose, in Pilates you are always moving. In addition, no matter what area of the body you are focusing on, you are still engaging your entire body. For example, if you are doing an exercise for your legs, you simultaneously hold in your abdominal muscles and maintain proper body alignment while executing the movement.

They focus on quality, not quantity.
Pilates exercises are focused on quality, not quantity. With some exercises such as The Saw, you might only do 2 or 3 repetitions. In most cases, you will usually only do 10 repetitions of any given exercise. Yet because you are focused on the quality of each movement, you get a greater benefit from each exercise than with traditional strengthening exercises.

They focus on muscle balance and coordination.
Many people who do weight lifting have muscle imbalances. Strong muscles get over trained and weak muscles get more strained. That is because muscles are worked in isolation. With Pilates, you use many muscles at the same time. You also stretch and strengthen muscles during the same exercise. This helps correct imbalances and develops better body alignment. In addition, you learn how to more effectively coordinate movements in your entire body, which will help you as you go about your daily activities.

They focus on body awareness.
In Pilates, you are always focused on your body – your alignment, your breathing, the way you are doing your movements. This increased body awareness can help you maintain better posture, it can help you relax muscle tension through proper breathing, and it can help you reduce stress.

They are energizing, not exhausting.
With traditional weight lifting programs, your body often feels depleted after you finish your workout. An interesting thing about Pilates exercises is that after you do them, you feel more energized than before you started. The combination of deep breathing, high quality, low quantity movements, helps your body function better as a whole. The result — you have more energy to go about your day.

I love doing Pilates. I have seen dramatic changes in my body and I exert much less effort than I did when I was using traditional weight training programs. I have significantly strengthened my abdominal and back muscles and I have improved my overall posture. I also look better in a bathing suit.

Try doing some of these exercises for yourself. When you do, I’m sure you’ll be hooked on them too.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Her website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life. Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book.