The bus was taking us to the famous Second City Comedy Club.  There were 60 CSPs (Certified Speaking Professional members of the National Speakers Association) which included several hall of fame speakers and many whose names you would recognize.  Pretty heady stuff. 

 I sat down next to an unknown on the bus and introduced myself.  “Hi, I am Kordell Norton.”

 “Good to meet you Kordell.  I am Jill Konrath.” 

 “Are you kidding?  Jill I am rereading your books right now.” 

 Jill IS one of the hot properties for the sales training world .  Her books: Selling to Big Companies, and SNAP Selling are must reads.  As we talked on that bus, I shared frustrations with to the “next level”.  True to her reputation, Jill had words, and words, and more words of wisdom.  She too had been where I am now.  The right insights at the right moment.  Incredible.   I counted the weekend event worth the many dollars I invested, just to have talked to Jill for those 10 minutes.

 AND THEN . .

 I got back home and she wrote me a very personalized email.  It codified her insights and the lightning rod strike of information that connect for me.  I asked for her permission to share (is it possible that you too could benefit?)

 So here you go.   The wisdom of Jill Konrath

Don’t look back. A big mistake I made was trying to re-create my past success. I tried to go after the same customers doing the same kind of work. It didn’t work. I truly believe that the good Lord crashed my business so that I would go in a different direction — one that was of much higher value. Please note, that I would not be doing anything that I am today if it hadn’t happened. 

What’s fun to work on.  At this stage of your life, you have lots of capabilities. But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. You need to identify what kind of work gets you excited. What kind of problems are people facing? What are their issues? What are you doing to help them? This is where you belong — working on stuff that makes you happy. This is where you’ll be most effective. 

Change problems to challenges. Too often we get so scared and think, “Am I ever going to work again?” And all our thoughts revolve around our perceived miserable life and how horrible things are. We can’t think creatively from that position. Instead, turn it into a challenge that starts with “HOW CAN I…” Your brain can’t resist going to work then. And, new ideas will start popping into your mind.  

Focus on serving. Define who you want to serve. What kinds of organizations do you feel called to help? When I really decided that I wanted to help the Small and Medium Business (SMB) community, then I could start mobilizing. 

For more insights on Jill Konrath go to www.JillKonrath.com