To Know What You Want, you have to let life show you

Yesterday, I talked about knowing what you want. It's a great feeling when you do know exactly what you want - whether from your next conversation, or from life in general.

Top salespeople make it their business to get what they want by helping others getting what they want.

But what happens to top salespeople - or in fact persuasive types in any industry - when they realise they can make anything happen that they want. Does it take the excitement, the randomness out of life?

I've got to admit, I don't know. Y'see, I'm not naturally one of these master persuaders (despite studying the subject for years!).

However, I have met at least two fantastic people who can sell proverbial fridges to proverbial Eskimos (sorry, Inuit), who feel a sense of dissatisfaction with their current state of life. They want to experience something bigger than themselves - something that happens without them making it happen.

While they know what they want on the micro- level, they don't know what the ultimate "desire" is. Or they think they know, arrive, and are disappointed.

As for me, I've been through enough ups and downs to know that my imagination in any given moment is often not as good as what's waiting around the corner.

If I'd called the shots sometimes - if I could have anything I wanted - I would've missed out on the totally unexpected surprises life had for me. There is great treasure in the unexpected.

I'll leave you with that thought today: if you're a strong personality who prides yourself on making things happen, let life show you something bigger than yourself.

I'm not much of a country music fan, but there's a John Denver song I love: Sweet Surrender. While Denver and I would probably disagree about who we're surrendering to, I love the idea of the song.

PS: I found I'd touched on this subject before, with my post Systematic and Serendipitous, way back in 2004. Seems I've stumbled on a recurring theme.

Tags: Personal Development, Sales, John Denver