YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL If Genie showed up at your front door and gave you one wish, what would it be? And what if I told you that you could make that wish come true without a genie? It's true and I'll show you how. Hello, my name is Tom Monson and I became mega-successful in my first career, selling life insurance. And with all my other careers since. I've made million-dollar sales - where I made millions of dollars on a single sale. When I started in the life insurance business, I was young, inexperienced, and socially awkward. Less than a year later, I was the leading agent in my office and a leading agent in the biggest insurance company in the world. And surprisingly, the only thing I knew about life insurance was that when my dad died, we didn't have enough. My manager asked me to do a presentation to the agency and tell my teammates how I was able to sell more insurance in one month than the average agent did in a year. I had to think about it for a while. I finally came up with a couple of reasons. The first reason was very simple, I did so well because I wanted to. Not in just a passive way, because I really wanted to make a lot of money so I could take care of my family. I wanted to because I was this awkward kid, who didn't know much about insurance, and no one thought I would do well. And then there was the fact that I wanted to because "I wanted to." As my friend Les Brown always says, "I WAS HUNGRY " Hungry wasn't just a word to, it was what I was. It was like, "If I didn't make my goals, I wouldn't be able to breathe." But being hungry wasn't enough. I told them the real reason I crushed it was because I had made a total commitment to my success. I told them "I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to be successful." (I have to add here that I wasn't willing to compromise my integrity.) But looking back, I have to admit there was much more than even I was aware of. It wasn't as if I didn't want to share a secret, it was that I didn't realize why I was so successful. Sure being totally committed and hungry are important, but by themself, they aren't enough. Think about it this way, if a boxer steps in the ring being hungry and committed alone, he is going to end up on the mat in short order. It wasn't until years later that I understood the real reason I was so successful. When I was 12 my father passed and left my mom with four young children to take care of. Times were tough so when I was 16, I quit school to look for work. That's when I caught my first really big break. Here's how it happened: my mom was driving home one day, stopped at a red light, and a drunk driver crashed into her car. She wasn't hurt but had to take the car in for repair. She asked me to follow her to the body and fender shop to give her a ride home. That's when I met him. His name was Lane Schultz. He owned AAA Auto Body. He was talking to mom and me about how long the job would take and so on. I really liked him and when he finished, I asked if he had any jobs I could do. He looked me over and asked me what I knew how to do. All I could do was shrug, "I don't know," I said. On second thought, I said, "But I'll work hard." He smiled and said, "I'll bet you will. Can you start tomorrow?" I said, "Sure." and from there my life went in a whole different direction than your typical high-school dropout. Because for the next four years Lane became my mentor and my personal sales trainer. He spent hours coaching and teaching the skills of being a great salesman. Over the years, I've studied successful salespeople and found that there are a number of traits they have and a number o things they do and I've put them in this book. If you read one of the short chapters every day and put it into practice, you will change the trajectory of your career in a most positive way. So order your paperback copy today and set your course to success.
