This Is What You Look Like

It’s a 102 degrees in Austin right now and very humid!

On days like this, which are common in Texas, I can still hear my mother saying, “Do you have sunscreen on?” A few years ago riding in the Hotter n’ Hell 100, I forgot to slather sunscreen on before riding my bike 100+ miles in the hot Texas sun. I won’t forget it anytime soon, because it resulted in severe sunburn that had an affect on my body for well over a year!

Videographer Thomas Leveritt asked people on the street to take a look at themselves under an ultraviolet light, exposing sun damage beneath the skin that hasn’t revealed itself yet. But it’s when Leveritt offers his subjects sunscreen that we see the true effectiveness of that dreaded sunscreen lather over the face and body.

The truth is we all have blind spots that prevent us from seeing reality. We all know it’s true that the sun causes damage to our skin, but until we see the effects of the damage of the sun for ourselves, we won’t make necessary changes. It’s like experiencing kidney stones and hearing the doctor tell you the result is from not drinking enough water. But if you’ve experienced kidney stones, like I have, guess what? You will drink lots of water. My Fitbit is my constant reminder to drink water. Every 90 minutes it will buzz which means drink 9 ounces of water!

Is it possible to have other blind spots? In your business maybe?

Following are some thoughts to consider:

1. “What do you do for a living?” Your professional occupation is the wrong answer.
2. Do you really know the things you need in place in your business to appear credible and professional?
3. The mistake many service professionals make in their business is thinking that quality of service, responsiveness, credentials, and lowest price are the main ingredients to helping them stand out from the crowd.
4. When you begin to develop clarity in your future, you become more productive in your present.
5. You must practice more than you play. Most salespeople are not prepared to earn a customer’s trust, so they generally don’t. That’s why the average salesperson has to make dozens of sales attempts before landing one sale.
6. Trust doesn’t just happen.
7. The person you become tomorrow has a lot to do with the books you read today.

Resources and References

Robert B. Cialdini, Influence – Allyn and Bacon, 2001

Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone – Doubleday, 2005