Over the years, I’ve developed my own disciplinary pillars, a set of steps that have helped me tremendously throughout my career. I wasn’t raised in a business-minded household and didn’t graduate from business school, so I had to cultivate my own set of tools to be able to make it in this world. The way I see it, life is a series of opportunities to learn from. And we learn equally from both our failures and our successes.
When I was a young man, I took a job in a boiler-type salesroom and was instructed I needed to follow a sales script. I told them that it didn’t feel natural to me, but they insisted and I followed their script. I was fired at the end of that day, not surprisingly because I didn’t close any deals. That experience turned out to be one of my most defining moments. I swore to never again read from a script. And in my next few jobs, I was the top salesperson, working half the hours the rest of the team worked and usually closing twice the sales.
That is when I started to develop these steps. They don’t only work in sales but in any career or craft you are in. Of course, these steps don’t include the path it takes to choose a career or the dedication it takes to perfect your craft. But what it does do is help you succeed at whatever it is you are committed to and think you should be paid to do in life. I call these steps the 4 Ps.
Step 1: Planning
It’s imperative that you map out a vision of your plan and think through what it will take to achieve your goals. It’s highly likely that you will adjust your plan many times as you progress, but you need to start somewhere with something.
Let’s say your plan is to become a director one day. The plan may include all of the various jobs and skillsets it will take along the way to move up the ladder, understanding all aspects of the business so you can feel confident with that big directing opportunity when it finally comes.
Setting out a plan and pushing yourself to achieve the goals along the way will help you self-gauge where you are in the process, pushing you to get there. Seems pretty logical, right? So let’s move on to the fun stuff.
Step 2: Persuasion
No matter where you are on your ladder to success, you’ll need to learn and understand how to master the power of persuasion. What will it take to persuade someone to give you that first shot outlined in the example above, starting perhaps as a lowly production assistant on set? How will you convince people to give you higher jobs on the ladder as you move your way up? And how will you finally convince the powers that be to give you your first director gig?
Aside from hard work and talent alone, it requires persuasion. Persuasion can come in many forms. I always say use what comes naturally to you. It’s a mix of confidence, charm and passion for the work. Practice the art of persuasion every chance you get, because it is a skill set that will serve you well.
Step 3: Persistence
People underestimate the power of persistence. I would say it has probably been one of the greatest reasons for my achievement. Let’s say you are at the top of the ladder and trying to break into that first director gig. What happens if you try to pitch yourself as the director on a huge project and you bring forth the best persuasion performance of your lifetime? You really believe you can handle the job and kill it. And guess what? They turn you down and choose another director. Bummer, right?
Now, what do you do? Give up? Quit trying? Or do you persistently try and try again until someone gives you that shot? Well, that’s exactly what you have to do. Of course, you need to understand what is too much and too soon. But one thing is for sure: Persistence will expedite the process if you give it time. This is a perfect segue into the last step.
Step 4: Patience
Understand that things do take time, especially if your goals are lofty. Not everything happens overnight, or even within a year or two for that matter. Study what it really took others to succeed within your industry. At the same time, notice others who aren’t equally succeeding and attempt to learn from the differences.
Ask yourself every day if you are doing absolutely everything you can to continually be better at your trade. Dig deep to be sure that you are really trying your hardest to succeed. Push forward day in and day out, and if it still doesn’t come your way, tell yourself to be patient. As the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait.” I would add that this is only true if you adhere to the steps I’ve outlined and have worked your absolute hardest and smartest up until that point. No matter what business you are in, you will see the rewards it can reap.
