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Can you tell me the story of your prior successes, challenges and major responsibilities?
My prior successes include being the #1 sales representative in Canada for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies; giving talks on famous stages such as Harvard University’s and recently starting my own sales coaching company with a business partner. Growing that company from $0 to $10 million within the first 9 months is definitely a notable success story, and considering I was the kid always told he’d never graduate University, being asked to speak at one of the world’s most prestigious Universities – Harvard – was extremely momentous as well. As far as challenges go, I faced multiple challenges throughout my life. Whether it was due to being the underdog, being bullied or being ridiculed, for years I carried self-limiting beliefs with me wherever I went.
Even when I gained confidence, there was always someone attempting to dim my light. Other challenges included people constantly thinking I was too loud, too vivacious, or bothered by my positive energy. Throughout my life, people were always trying to pull the rug from under my feet or hold me back because they were intimidated by me, which only goes to show how threatened they felt by my conviction. Some of my major responsibilities have included being the Director of Sales for a $10 million dollar company, for which I was leading over 5,000 closers. In my current business, I am responsible for everything because it’s my business and I oversee every department of every single operation.
I always have to be several steps ahead of the game – whether it’s in my business or in my personal life – so that I’m always at the forefront of change. I always have to be a leader – even on the days I feel off or unwell. On the days I don’t feel like being a leader, I still show up and push forward, because that’s what leadership requires. That’s why leadership is one of the biggest responsibilities one can have.
Can you tell me about a time when you almost gave up, how you felt about that, and what you did instead of giving up?
I remember this moment like it was yesterday. I was in $150,000.00 in debt, waiting in line at the bank to declare bankruptcy. I was lost, I was scared, I was broke, and I was broken. In that dark, terrifying and lonesome moment of my life, I almost accepted failure. I almost decided to finally accept that what everyone had been saying to me my whole life was true: I wasn’t good enough; I wasn’t going to make it. In other words, I was on the brink of allowing everyone else’s pessimistic predictions of my future to come true. I felt hopeless, ashamed, and defeated in every way.
In that same moment, however, I realized that this is exactly what I needed to happen. I needed to hit rock bottom so that I could find the motivation to change my story. Even though I came close to accepting defeat and giving up, I chose not to surrender. I chose to take the other path, the one where I don’t give up on my dream. I knew that I might dim my light forever if I didn’t walk away from that lineup. So, I went home, started researching, and started thinking outside the box. I stopped looking at what people were doing, and started looking at what people weren’t doing. I started looking at what was missing, and figuring out where I could add value to the marketplace. Instead of following trends, I knew this was the time in my life when I had to become the real leader.
Through mentorship, I fell back into alignment with my core strengths and I found myself again. The better version of myself surfaced. I returned to the marketplace as someone who felt certain about his skills and truly believed in what he had to offer. This allowed me to enter the marketplace with raw power, raw strength, clarity and unwavering conviction. This time, the market took to my approach very readily; I quickly became one of the top closers in the high-ticket space over the phone; and soon the media would call me ‘The One Call Closer’.