Blog

This past Monday I was taking a half a day off to go out to Stinson Beach with my husband. I was driving up to Montclair to do one last errand before we left. I looked down and saw I had a quarter tank of gas left. I remember hearing a little voice that said get more gas. Did I listen to that little voice? Nope. Totally forgot about it. Until I was on Highway 1 driving to Stinson Beach. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of being at Stinson Beach, it is truly a small town. One grocery store, a couple of restaurants, an amazing book store and a super fun burger shack with soft serve ice cream. Gas station - nope. The nearest gas station was back in Mill Valley, 15 miles away - uphill.

Every once in a while I work with someone who specifically wants to work on improving their sales. I have been in sales for over 25 years and I still resist fully marketing this offer. I play the hokey pokey with my sales offer. I put one foot in and then I take it out. When I say that I am a sales coach and do sales training, I get a sick feeling in my stomach. Probably because at some level, I dislike salespeople as much as everyone else.

In the last month I have taken up a practice of walking in the Oakland Redwoods once a day. Usually it is early in the mornings, when there are few people on the trail. Most mornings there is fog and dew dripping from the trees. Every once in a while I get to see the sun rise through the redwoods. The quiet and space that is available to me is mind boggling. I must say when I go on the weekends for my hike I get a little persnickety because there are so many more people. I have come to think of the Oakland Redwoods as my private space.

She was the client of my dreams - a prominent ER doctor, also a Harvard grad, beautiful house, amazing art collection, three children in private school. “Wow,” I thought, “I’ve finally hit the big time!” Or so I thought.

“Please, oh please don’t make me do it!”….That’s the oh-so-familiar thought we all have when we know it’s time to follow up on a lead.

Growing your own business isn’t rocket science but it takes honesty and practice. It’s not always comfortable seeing the truth. Nor is it necessarily fun being accountable all the time. As my mother used to say, “You can’t always wear a comfortable bra, so you might as well get used to it.