Stop Focusing On The Bad

By: Marvin Leblanc
I take pride in being one of those people known for rarely having a bad day. This is not to say I don't have bad moments, but I have found ways to shift my focus so that bad moments are just that -- moments. 

When people meet you do they think, "Wow, this person is on their game. They seem never to have a bad day." If so, you are doing it right. Many of us have a tendency to allow bad moments to turn into bad days, and bad days to turn into bad months, and then suddenly, you're focused on how hard and unfair life can be. The fact is, we all have "stuff" going on. We always will have stuff. The key strategy for you is to find a way to move from one pile of stuff to the next quickly. That is the secret weapon you and your team can use to overcome and overachieve. 

You must realize that what you expect is what you will get. Therefore, if you expect a lot of yourself, you will get a lot more from yourself than if your expectations are low. Same goes for your team, your prospects, your family and your relationships. To be successful in sales and in life you must examine these questions:

▪ What do you expect out of yourself?
 ▪ Are you getting what you expect? 
▪ Are you giving what you expect? 

I take pride in being one of those people known for rarely having a bad day. This is not to say I don't have bad moments, but I have found ways to shift my focus so that bad moments are just that–moments. For example, my daughter and I were riding my Honda Goldwing. It was a gorgeous, sunny and dry day. We decided to take the scenic River Road instead of taking the interstate. We were listening to Buddy Guy on my iPod, and a split second later, we were catapulted directly over the front of my Goldwing. A careless, elderly driver had t-boned us. Many of you may be thinking, "Now that is a bad day for sure." My daughter lay motionless, face down on the asphalt in the lane of oncoming traffic. Immediately, I looked down to see the bones in my right wrist displaced and broken from the impact. We had both been hurled over the top of the car. Thankfully, we were heavily protected with proper bike gear. 

Other than some lower back pain that my daughter had, she was fine. I incurred 32 stitches and got two screws in my wrist. The point is -- this was not a bad day. It was a bad moment, and we are both fine. In fact, we were able to make it home in time to watch Louisiana State University beat Auburn, allowing LSU to keep its national championship hopes alive. It truly is what you focus on that matters most. We could have focused on the bad moment and turned it into bad days and -- even worse -- bad months. Instead, we moved on and focused on the many positive events, people and blessings in our lives.

If you have had a tough month in business, one of the best ways to turn that month around is to quit obsessing about what you don't have and start obsessing about what you do have. Start obsessing about what opportunities you can capitalize on. If you're in a bad work relationship or you're in a bad personal relationship, make a move. Realize this thing called life is not a dress rehearsal. It's show time every single day. This is your opportunity to be massively successful and to reframe the handful of bad days in light of your many marvelous days. You may be having one of those right now -- and here's to many more!

Peace, Love and Gumbo,
​
Marvin

Author

​Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Kindle best-selling book, Come Hell or High Water: Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Marvin not only brings wisdom and insight gained from his three decades in the insurance and finance industries, but he also empowers others through his unique sharing of lessons and techniques from years of corporate and leadership training and motivational programs. A vibrant entrepreneur who makes the stage his own–and yours, Marvin’s humor-filled stories bring inspiration, heart-warming truths and tangible, strategic takeaways you can bring back to your organization.