"The 5 Second Rule" and Me . . .

Wow, my first blog post ever! What prompted it? Mel Robbins. Technically it was Mel's book, “The 5 Second Rule”, that I just finished. I don’t usually post about my personal life but this story is the intersection of both my personal life and my professional one, so I thought I’d throw it out there in case it’s encouraging for anyone else at the start of a new year.

There I was listening to this book and thinking about how my own book, "How to Lose a Buy in 10 Ways", is about to potentially change the lives of so many people, including my own! How exciting is that! I was so close to the end of the book when I remembered that my day job pays the bills . . . and it's January for sales reps across the world. That typically means back to square one. All the glory of your great accomplishments from last year has vanished and it’s time to start over once again. As I hit pause on my audiobook, hating that I couldn't just get to the end right that second, I looked at my forecast for 2025 and fear crept over me. The outlook was hazy. Not a terrible blizzard, but definitely not a beautiful sunny sky. I had some work to do. Some being a bit of an understatement.

Although I’d hoped my prospecting days might be behind me at this point in my career, alas I was wrong. I needed to dig into my rolodex once again and try to convince old customers of mine about why they were missing out if they weren't buying their Cyber Security technology and consulting services through me. I proudly implemented my new 54321 GO rule from Mel's book and began sending out my requests to my old clients for a quick chat. A day went by. Crickets. I emailed a few more creative pleas to other folks. Still nothing. Fear and frustration began to set in. Nothing? No reply at all? Not even a No thanks! What if nobody buys from me this year? What if I get fired? What if I've written this book about how to be a bad ass Sales Unicorn, a term I created for myself, but I actually suck?! I thought to myself as I was on the verge of an anxiety attack.

I decided to take a break from my self-deprecating thoughts and see if I had any matches on my dating apps. Nope! No matches there either! I’ve been on and off dating apps for six months and have had a total of THREE first dates, none being a good fit. Why is dating so hard this time around? I thought as I paced back and forth in my kitchen contemplating whether or not I should eat some of the organic 70% dark chocolate bar I just bought from Whole Foods for emergencies. Trying to be healthier when depression-eating in the new year of course. When I got divorced from my kid’s dad in 2017, I was 36 and still felt young and beautiful. I could go on five dates a week if I wanted to. Not this time. Not at 44. Had I changed THAT much? I thought. Yes, I'm picky and the available men in the generous 10-mile radius I'm willing to look in are . . . hmmmm . . . let's just say I'm picky. But that's because I feel like I'm still a catch! I'm not willing to settle. Why is it that the very few men I swipe YES on don't swipe Yes in return? My head sank. Tears began to well up in my eyes. Not because I'm afraid to be alone forever, but because I fear I'm not wanted anymore. My youth has finally faded. Is that all I ever was? A pretty face? What about my witty humor, my surprising intelligence, my amazing career success, the fact that I'm only a 2 or 3 on the Crazy scale and I’m amazing at darts?  I said to myself while reading the nutritional information on the chocolate bar, still contemplating devouring it for a quick emotional high.

I’m not a big crier, but everything sort of hit me at once. Fear of failure at work. Fear of failure in my personal life. What if I'm just a huge failure? I grabbed the paper towel that my glass of ice water was sitting on and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I hit play once more on my Audiobook. The last chapter, "The Power of You". By some miracle, this was exactly what I needed in that moment. I "54321 GO" got up, looked in the mirror of my beautiful powder bathroom inside my beautiful home that I bought on my own, and saw an amazing woman looking back at me. I gave myself a good pep talk right then and there. I am NOT a failure. Failure has never been in my vocabulary before, and it will never be an option in the future. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be, even if I don’t understand why at this very moment. Amazing things are in store for me. I just have to keep working hard and doing the things I love, and success will follow, as it always has. Patience, Persistence, Passion and Perseverance will get me there and I can't wait! I dried up my tears, sat at my computer and began again. It’s only January 8th. Deep Breaths. It’s gonna be a great year!

If you haven't read "The 5 Second Rule" by Mel Robbins I highly recommend it. It can change your life if you let it. Thank you Mel!

Stay tuned for my book, “How To Lose a Buy in 10 Ways”, coming to Amazon and Kindle in March (hopefully)! It’s a sales advice book like nothing you’ve ever read before. There are a lot more parallels between our personal lives and our sales careers than you might think!