I Make Stuff Up.

I read this on my sons T-shirt as if Id never seen it before, yet on this particular morning, it looked much different and even made me laugh at the simplicity of it.

When I first bought the shirt, I pictured a child simply making up stories. You know, telling a few white lies. Not that my son lies (not my angel!), but more that this was a function of what kids do. On this particular morning, though, I pictured other ways that children Make Stuff Up. Have you ever see a child become engrossed in the box, quickly tossing aside the gift? Or the child in a clothing store, finding sheer entertainment in the racks of clothes, the cracks in the floor or simply the tickets that have fallen astray? I once witnessed my children make an entire day of entertainment from the tickets theyd found: making them into money, passports, golden ticketsyou name it, they had created it.

At what point did we decide that we have to be more realistic and see things as they are, not as we want them to be? At what point were we only able to see the gift for the gift, unconsciously tossing aside the packaging it had come in?

I recently had a discussion with a client of mine about his sales staff. He had noticed that the longer his staff was with him, the less energy they seemed to have. He recalled the enthusiasm they had as they walked in the door on their first day and the first few weeks that followed, and how each no they were faced with, took one more notch off their enthusiasm platform.

How do I help them hold onto that excitement on each call they make? Its a good question and one that most managers have to deal with on a daily basis. Although there are high producers that maintain that energy with each call, most have trouble recreating it day after day. But the answer is so simple, it is often overlooked.

Think about what creates the enthusiasm that comes with a new job. There is the excitement of getting the job, the hope of being successful and of making money. As you think about it, you can almost taste it and feel it. Yet if you really look at where those feelings came from, you would see that you simply created it through your own desires. Some of it even came from the meaning you created in simply being hired. Surely knowing that someone believed in you helped to create a spark of energy, though it is difficult to hold on to.

Difficult, but not impossible.

In order to have that same enthusiasm each morning, you will simply need to create it. You will literally need to "make it up". When your eyes open each morning, tell yourself all of the things you told yourself when you first were given the job. Imagine your success. Imagine the money in your hands. Imagine what you will do when you become as successful as you had hoped. Dont focus on what they will say, but what energy you will create when in front of the prospective client.

Making it up, as if it really exists, will have an amazing effect on your results. People will feel your confidence and enthusiasm and buy into your anticipated success. So put down that gift (closing the deal) and start looking at the box (selling yourself) and you will find a renewed energy in