Insomnia

Last night I couldn't sleep...

The more I thought about it the more frustrated I became.

"I'll be knackered tomorrow if I don't drop off soon." I kept thinking.

We all know if you can't get to sleep and keep thinking about that as the the objective, you won't sleep.

So instead I focused on my breath.

I breathed deeply and slowly.

I felt better.

I eased my levels of anxiety and it felt good.

I de-stressed and de-compressed my whole mind and body.

I don't even remember falling asleep.

The next thing I knew it was 7:30am.

It's exactly the same in sales.

If I call a CEO with the sole objective of booking a meeting, I may well not meet that objective.

It's too outcome obsessed.

If, on the other hand, I call a CEO to have a quick conversation about a potential problem they may have - and genuinely explore that with curiosity - then a likely outcome might just be a meeting.

Similarly, if I want to close a deal and obsess over that as the outcome, I may well lose out by missing something fundamental along the way.

Obsessing over outcomes can come across as self-serving and desperate.

Be careful in how you set your objectives.

Often, what we want needs to be coaxed out by focusing on the process...the critical steps along the way.

Forget the outcome.

In fact, detach yourself from it and focus on the step right in front of you.

The results will follow.