Work, school, and other things

So I started working at a Japanese steakhouse.  It's amazing!! it's called Asuka and I love it.  The people there are actually all Chinese which is funny.  I wait tables...sorry i don't do the hibachi grill.  

School is starting to get hectic with all of the mid terms and what not.  I also haven't written a blog in forever.  There are so many things I want to write about but can't because I do'nt really know who reads and does not read this blog anymore.  I have so many stories and things on my mind which include poor choices, changes in my life, and all kinds of stuff.  I just simply don't want to post them on here for the world to see.  It's strange, because this started out as a private journal and now it's more of an abandoned building.  It has the potential to be useful, but also the potential for exploitation.  Pray for me.  Pray that I have discernment in life and that I remain focused and motivated.  Thanks.

Catching up

I feel like I should apologize for not writing, but I never promised anyone i would.  Anyway that may sound a bit harsh.  I was just trying to rationalize in my own mind whether or not it would be appropriate to apologize.  

Getting back to what I wanted to write about...I've had a lot on my mind recently.  There have been so many opportunities, situations, consequences, and new ideals that I have experienced.  Since working with Southwestern I have these goals and these plans to reach those goals, but it seems like I'm just not motivated and running like I did during the summer.  Granted part of that is the obligation to friends, school, intramurals and etc, not just selling books.  

One thing in particular that has bugged me this whole year is this relationship concept.  It's as if I want to date, but at the same time like being single.  Really I think what it boils down to is having someone right next to you at all times that loves to be around you, while at the same time, I enjoy being around them.  That should be my significant other who I would like to have now, but also enjoy my other friends' company.  I'm looking into it in a way that chooses one or the other instead of combining the two.  There has been one person who I would love to date...I think.  Exactly.  My confusion is just out of the roof.  I want to date this person, but really know very little about her.  We talk some, but not too much.  She's shy.  I don't know if she's shy around me because she doesn't like me or if she does.  It's so strange.  I've never had like a one on one personal conversation.  Nothing where I truly got to get to know her character.  It's always just like simple surface things. 

The more I think about it the more I just want to get to know her.  However, when I get around her in person, my conversation skills just diminish.  I can't keep it going.  I also feel that if I can't keep conversations with her then how can I feel that the relationship will be worthwhile.  That may sound weird but here's my thinking.  I don't want to date someone that I can't just carry a regular conversation with.  I want to get to know her, but how do I get the time in her and my schedule to do that.  It's all kind of crazy.  Things have been going better as far as interactions and talking, but I just want it to keep going.  I want to get to know her and to find a way to make sure that I should or should not date her.  crazy i know.  i gotta work on a paper.  peace

Back to real life

Sorry guys, I know it's been forever.  A lot has happened.  I could write about so many things but there is one main thing on my mind.  I worked with a girl named Amber during the summer.  Well on Thursday she was checking out after a looong summer in NY.  The checkout was in Nashville, and from there she was going to go down to Destin with some other people from the company.  She headed out and was around the Birmingham area.  She and two other girls got into a pretty bad car wreck.  The other two girls turned out with a couple minor injuries, but Amber suffered major head trauma.  They told me last night that the only thing sustaining her pulse was some medication.  If she didn't have the medication it would be over.  So last night all of her friends and family had to say goodbye to her.  

That really opened my eyes because of how close in age she was.  This is the first time that a friend of mine, who was about my age passed away.  It's mind blowing.  We always said to work each day as if it was our last.  To give 100% everyday and to never give up.  Now it's strange that these things can happen to anyone.  It's been tough for me to think about her family and friends from Southwestern that really cared about her.  I can't imagine talking to her in the morning and then realizing that it would be the last time.  

If you would, just keep her family and everyone who knew her in your prayers.  She was an awesome girl and always so encouraging.  

Week 11

7-29

 

So today I had a zero day, but tomorrow is a new day.  I came home and there were two cops in our driveway.  I came in and Simba and Austin told me to say a prayer because Matt was being arrested in our driveway.  I didn’t believe them but they were being totally serious.  It’s been an interesting week, but I really need to kick it in gear tomorrow.  I want to finish strong and really be able to say I worked my hardest this last week.  I want to carry this momentum into my school year.  All I have to do is work hard and not worry about sales.  That is when I’ll be most successful. 

 

7-30

 

Well today I think I figured a part of my not success out.  I took a short break after my first goal period and just tried to figure out what I was doing wrong.  I started the day with 6 contacts, 3 sit downs and no sales.  Usually if I have 3 sits, someone buys.  So tomorrow I’m just going to work on being in the zone and really focusing on God.  My mom gave me the order of prayer so that will help keep me occupied throughout the day.  I really do want to finish strong.  There’s no reason why I should go back to Asbury with low momentum.  I want to finish strong and I want to know that I tried my hardest. 

 

7-31

 

I have a new routine.  I wrote down a prayer that basically says that I’m going to work my best because whatever I do today, I am exchanging a day of my life for it.  I did not work very hard to day, but I did make 2 sales and felt very good about the people I sat down with.  I have some good appointments for tomorrow and I feel confident that I will finish strong.  I essentially had 77 units today, but they were both weak.  If they come through that’s a big help to my check.  Tomorrow I have to make myself work hard all day, no thinking about home because I only have 2 days left of true selling.  It’s hard to believe and it’s hard to hold in the anticipation that I have for going home, but I need to really focus and not get distracted.  I need to not take breaks and be the very best that I can be so that I will feel good about the work and job that I have done this summer. 

 

8-1

 

Today was weird.  I had two customers, low units, and a pretty normal day work wise.  However, I had to get my books set up, and I also ripped my shorts while unloading the books so I had to buy new shorts.  It was hard to keep my head in the game and not think about going home.  Especially since I got my books in today.  I keep thinking about delivery week and not about selling books right now.  I think that’s why I didn’t have a very big day today.  I just need to really focus tomorrow and realize that it’s my last day.  So then I will be able to finish strong and feel good about my summer. 

 

8-2

 

Well Today was my last official selling day.  It was disappointing.  I had 42 contacts, 12 presentations and 0 units.  Yep that’s right.  I did work hard though.  I worked really hard, and I think that I was putting too much pressure on customers and that’s why they weren’t buying.  They could tell that I really wanted them to buy.  Next week is delivery week and then I’m going home.  It’s really tough to grasp that I’m almost done for the summer.  The crazy thing is, I have 1200 units which is 600 away from sizzler.  This week I could definitely hit sizzler because not only do I have to deliver my customers, I am delivering Chris and Jenny’s customers.  So there is a lot of potential out there for me.  I feel a little disappointed that I haven’t quite met my goal for the summer, but I feel that the things I learned have been the mostvaluable thing from the summer.  Because even though my summer may not look as good money wise, it’s still plenty of money.  Not to mention I completed my internship as a sophomore.  I like the Southwestern company and I am looking forward to next summer.  

Week 10

7-21

Monday, a work day. Today was kind of slow presentations wise and units wise, but it was a good work day. I’m going to map out a ton of territory tomorrow. I was trying too hard to think about presentations and customers during the day. Amber told me that I should think about customers only during morning and evening gravy. Now I’ve been told to think about customers during the day as bonus, but I still thought about having to have customers during the day. What it comes down to is that I should expect customers during gravy, and be thankful for anything God gives me during the day. I should work hard all day and then gravy will be good because I’ll be able to just roll with customers. I prayed today and had a pretty good burning desire, but I still didn’t work very smart. Tomorrow I need to keep it close and together. My territory is getting more and more spread out. I just need to find a neighborhood and work it tight. I cannot wait to meet some cool moms tomorrow.

7-22

I had a pretty big breakthrough today. I only sold 3 units. I had one customer for a my fun with words. It was kind of negative, but at the same time I wasn’t really here. I’m going through the contacts and everything, but not really trying to help families. I’m just being lazy and coasting through the last two weeks. So my mom suggested that I give everything that I make in these last two weeks back to God. I started this summer not needing the money and saying that I was doing this job to get my internship done. I’ve definitely done that so now I’m giving the money back. He’s given me plenty to go back to school with and now I just need to focus on doing the work for him to get in the top 100. It’s going to be an amazing week. I’m serving God all week.

7-23

Wow, I’m impressed that I’ve done my journals everyday, however, I’m not satisfied with my work ethic this week. I had a zero day today. I think God was showing me that I’ve been not being genuine with Him. Not to say that God is “teaching me a lesson.” I think it’s sometimes easy to write off our failures on God’s plan. Instead of taking blame. The past couple of days have been me thinking I’m working hard, but truly my mind is not here. In fact, it’s everywhere but here. I want to be back home, and back at school hanging out with friends. When I think about those things now, I’m wasting the opportunities that God has for me right here and now. It’s like wanting greener pastures. It just doesn’t make sense to always wish to be somewhere else. I take my time for granted so much. Everyday, every second I have truly is a gift. I have no purpose apart form God, but by being out here and talking with these families I become part of God’s plan for those people’s lives and my own. I really focus on being here with the people of Latham and really try to care about them. If I do that I’ll enjoy the last two weeks of my summer. Otherwise I’m going to go back with the pain of regret for my summer. I refuse to quit on that kind of a note. I will enjoy everyday that I’m out here.

7-24

I followed Cash for half the day today because I checked out yesterday. It really helped my to get my head back in the game. I just really need to focus on the here and now and not worry about what’s going on at home, or even with the other guys. All I need to think about is what God’s plan is for me tomorrow. If I do that and pursue his will, I know I will finish strong. I’m really enjoying my time that I get to spend with other people. Taking stat calls this week has been awesome. I genuinely like it. It’s easy for me to motivate myself to be positive when I’m around them, but not when I’m by myself. Which is a bit frustrating, but I’m slowly going to let God reveal to me how I can retain that motivation. I’m going to work hard tomorrow and just be happy and positive at every house.

7-25

Today I was out of control. I was so happy and positive. After breakfast, we were doing execs and I went absolutely crazy. We did a dance instead of doing the regular execs. My first goal period I was on fire. I didn’t have sales, but I was putting in the work. I got tons of pre-approach and I had 11 contacts with 5 sits. I was so pumped and just rolling. Tomorrow is going to be even crazier. I learned today just not to care about the negative people and to really care for the people that are interested. If they aren’t interested, move on. I’m going to work on doing more door demos and trying to close people at the door. I’m going to show anything and everything at the door. I have sooo many people to catch up with tomorrow. Today was just a fun day. Even though I only had 2 sales, it felt good just to know that I am good at this job. I sold to a woman who didn’t speak English very well. If I can sell to her, then I can sell to anyone.

7-27

Want to know the most frustrating part of this job? The disappointment at the end of a day knowing that you didn’t work your hardest and still had a decent day. I only had one customer today, but I had 24 units. Granted that’s not great, but that just shows how easy this job is. I did the work but didn’t try to get people really excited about the books and so I only had one customer. I need to really focus on getting them to talk to me and express some feelings of how the books will help them. Once I do that I’ll sell more books. Until then I’ll continue to have zero days. Which I had 2 of this week. I just thought about how I didn’t really want to work today, and therefore I didn’t make any money. I really need to get here this last week and make it my best week ever. That way I can really feel like my summer went well. I want to end on a positive note so Monday I’m going to go out there and just do it. But tomorrow is Sunday, which means that I don’t think about books. Good night.

Week 9

7-12

Well today wasn’t the best day ever, but it was a good training day. There was a competition to see who could have the quickest close, and so my first 2 goal periods I tried to close as quickly as possible. I sat down with 7 out of 10 people I saw. Which was cool except that I didn’t sell to any of them. Haha. Oh well. Nate came today! It was awesome. He stayed with us tonight so that we could enjoy his company. I honestly believe he likes us more than other groups, well at lease enjoys hanging out with us. He may like other people just as much, but he just really enjoys hanging out with us. It’s a good feeling. I also learned that he lives in Cincinnati and I’m going to go visit him in the fall. It’s going to be so positive. Another day with great lessons to learn. I need to learn to pick myself up and figure out a way to wake myself up. I’m starting to understand how to get more sit downs and I believe I can get my close percentage up. We’ll see though. I’m going to bed now because I’m freakin tired.

7-13

BEST WEEK OF THE SUMMER!!!

That’s right, I had 249 units this week!

As I said Nate stayed with us last night and we got to hang out a lot today. In fact I got to drive him to the airport today which meant that I got to have a one on one with him for about 2.5 hours. It was amazing. He’s just such a cool guy that everyone loves, and he genuinely loves them back. I learned a lot today and to be honest, I signed up to work next year. Greystone treated me well, but Southwestern is teaching me so much more. One day I might go back to camp, but for now, the pay and the lessons that I’m learning with Southwestern are just so awesome. Sorry that I haven’t been writing as much, it’s tough for me to remember, but I need to write these not only for my own records, but I have to write journals for the end of the summer for my internship. I really cannot describe how much I appreciate this company and the lifetime habits I’m learning. I just feel so ahead of my peers, not better, just better prepared. I have put myself in tough situations and overcome them. Nate shared an idea today that was really cool. He said, at the end of the summer we will face one of two outlooks. We will either look back and see that the disciplines were tough, but we made it through. The disciplines were only a short time, just during the summer. However, if we don’t give it our all now, then we’ll be faced with the feeling of regret, which lasts a lot longer than our tough times. That’s how life is, yeah it’s tough, but after you go through the tough times you gain so much.

7-14

Today was a weird day. I was totally not here. I didn’t get up when my alarm went off, and my day was just slow. I did start off the day well. My first goal period contained 4 contacts with 2 presentations and 2 customers, but that was the extent of my success for the day. Also, I had a customer a few weeks ago tell me she was going to send me an electronic check, but didn’t think she would. Turns out she sent me a nice $220 check today. So that was an extra 30 units for the day. POSITIVE!

Back to my attitude throughout the day. I could feel my attitude slipping and tried to bring it back, but just couldn’t. Tomorrow is a new day and 10 days from now I won’t even remember how many customers I had today. So I’m going to go out there and apply what I learned today to tomorrow. If I do that and truly try to learn from my mistakes I believe that I will be successful tomorrow. I need to take like 5 minutes after each goal period and really forget everything I just did. I think those 25 minutes throughout the day would really be worth it to me. I also need to walk more, because the less time spent in my car the better.

7 – 15

Well again today I was so lazy. I’ve got to snap out of it. I mean it’s stupid for me to spend my last 3 weeks as a bum. I need to be working extra hard and overtime these last weeks. I’m working now so that I don’t have to do anything in the fall. I want to have 10,000 by the end of the summer so that I can take my friends out to eat. I will not be lazy tomorrow. I will get 30 contacts and 15 presentations. I’m committed to that goal tomorrow and the rest of my days here. I will do everything in my power to find people that are home and show them my books. Simba told me that these last three weeks are how I will remember my summer. I want to have good momentum going into the school year as well. I don’t want to have any regrets, and to do that I’ve going to suffer or work through difficulties here and now.

7-16

I finally think I have it. The past couple of days have been just like a Chinese finger trap. Coming off of last week I felt so confident that I could really explode this week. I still can, but not on my own. You see, I’ve been so focused on what “I” did last week that I forgot why I did so well last week. I gave my entire week last week, $1245 to charity. Think about that for a second, 25% of what I’ve made all summer, I gave away…This week I’m sucking because I’m trying to control everything and do things on my own. This job is so basic and simple. All I have to do is knock on doors and talk with the families, saying a sales talk I’ve said all summer. The key to all that is my motive. Instead of being out for money and myself, I need to actually try to help the people and let God reign over every second of my day. It seems like all my success comes and then flees because I try to take the credit for it. God has to keep reminding me of his power. It’s amazing really to think that he keeps trying to help me, but I keep refusing. You would think that I would learn. Haha. Ok now I need to sleep.

7-17

I was right last night. I needed to truly trust and rely on God. I genuinely gave my day and myself to God today. I prayed that God would not let people see me at their door, but rather to see God through me at every door. He confirmed He was working by giving me an early sit-down sale first thing in the morning. The mom’s name was Maria. She immediately was excited to see me and was just a joy to be around. At the end of the presentation I always ask, so what did you like best about the books. She looked right at me and said, “Honestly, it was you. Your manners and not being pushy really made me want to get the books.” I was totally shocked and amazed. God showed me himself through Maria. It was as if he said, “Hey, I’m still here. Don’t forget about me!” I’m not trying to boast or sound arrogant, but instead to show how God works and really shows up in our lives. That one sit down pumped me up for the whole day and honestly the whole summer. I honestly don’t care if I don’t make another sale the whole summer. Seeing God work today was just utterly amazing. Tomorrow I’m going to focus on the same things, keeping God first and relying on him to give me everything I need from strength to stamina to sit-downs, to sales. He’s going to be in control of everything. No matter what. The only thing I can control is my attitude, and to be honest, I still need God’s help with that.

7-18

Today was tough. I really struggled towards the end of the day. I sort of stopped talking out loud and made a lot of stops. For example, early this morning I had to go get a check that was post dated. I also had 2 sales during the first two goal periods. I just need to keep letting God take control. I don’t really feel like writing anymore. I just need to work hard tomorrow.

7-19

Again today was a tough day. What I realized was that truly, one day does not make or break my summer. I mean I made 1/5 of my whole check in this week. $1000, and I had 2 bad days! That’s crazy. If I just turn my attitude around and only focus on things that are pure, true, and positive, then there’s no reason why I can’t reach my goals for the summer. I want to win. I want to succeed. I want to go back and have finished strong. I don’t want to face my friends and tell them that I barely made enough to cover my expenses. I want to truly be able to show that I can be successful no matter what my situation. Although I was extremely frustrated with my day, I still had a sale. God showed me today that this day, in the long run just helps me to learn and build character. Sometimes I become so caught up in sitting down or getting contacts that I really forget why I’m here. I’m here to help people by showing them helpful educational products. This next week I am going to hit Mort. I want to show the guys here that I’m not just an average first year. I’m going to work hard and be me.

Sorry week 7, oops. Here's week 8

6-29

Today I learned that I need to just tell people no. I need to make time for myself on Sundays. I need to make Sundays what I need them to be. There should be as much God time as possible. I let all the little things build up on me and cause me to make everyone around me feel drained. It was definitely not a positive day. After having a long venting talk with Travis I feel that I’ve relieve the pressure and I’m ready for tomorrow. Right now it’s almost 12 and I’m preparing myself to go out and put in my absolute best in order to let God take care of the rest. I’m in control of my attitude and schedule. That’s it.

7-7

Ah the joys of a new week. This past weekend I actually went over my internship papers and found that I had some papers to turn in during the middle of my internship. Thank goodness I found them. It may affect my grade a little bit, but it will be alright. So about today. I had 26 contacts and only 7 presentations. This was disappointing because last week I had 11 or more everyday! However, I did try a new map cycle which involved working new territory until 7:30 and then going back to houses. That way each day I’m a day ahead on my gravy. It was a great idea and I can see how it is really going to help me build momentum this week. This week I’m going to give everything I make back to the lord. It’s going to be awesome because I’m going to make a ton of money this week. All in order to give it back to him. I know I don’t deserve this money, opportunity, etc, and my mom suggested that I just dedicate all my earnings of this week to the lord. So I may double my summer, but half of it will go to the lord. I cannot wait until tomorrow, I kept a fairly good positive mental attitude today, but tomorrow will be even better!

7-8

Interesting that today would be one of my worst days. I had 35 contacts, however only 6 presentations. I had one small sale, it was a college prep pack. I really think that I psyched myself out. I need to just relax and remember that it’s not what I say at first, but how I say it. Once I establish some rapport with the families then it matters what I say. Today was a learning that was not totally unsuccessful, but no where near where I should be. Tomorrow I’ve got to keep my positive attitude and really try to work my absolute dead level best. My approach just has to be relaxed instead of feeling like I’m pressuring them into sitting down with me. It should just be automatic. I learned that Jay Williams sat down with everyone he contacted today. That’s pretty awesome in my book.

7-9

Today was an awesome day. It would have been my best day of the summer if I could have had one more customer or made my weak customer a strong customer. Tomorrow will be even better. I’ve got to keep my focus on being service minded and actually trying to help people. I learned today that I really just have to make myself be positive in order to make other people positive. If I control myself and learn to deal with situations, then God will handle the rest. He sees my efforts and knows what I need at every moment. God sometimes puts us through tough times in order for us to reach big rewards. No matter how bad a day is, God always puts something positive in there for us. We just have to look for it. The bad days we have are only because we refuse God’s blessings. That’s free will, that’s the idea of being able control our own attitudes towards God and his blessings. Everyday from now on should be me thanking him for every detail of my life. Ultimately without him I serve no purpose in this life, and I am living a useless life. By confiding in him I can truly be happy and make a difference. I talked with Tiny tonight, he’s basically the handyman around here, and it was very interesting. He’s a character anyway, but he’s so smart. His knowledge of history and his philosophical views of life are really quite amazing. He inspires me to want to become more of a thinker and reader than I am now. I want to become intelligent and be able to create new ideas from known knowledge.

7-10

BEST DAY OF THE SUMMER!!!

That’s right, today rocked. Even though I didn’t have the most sit downs or contacts, I had 77 units. 5 strong customers! It was amazing. The crazy thing is that if I had sold annuals, I would have had over 100 units today alone. I am going to finish strong. My main focus today was that I just prayed for everyone and everything. I prayed for each house that I left and each family that God would help them or just be with them. It’s the 8^th week, which is also mind blowing. I only have about 4 weeks before my summer will be over. It’s flying by and I need to really focus in these last few weeks in order to serve God and truly finish with a good experience. There’s still so much to learn, but the biggest thing about today was that God controls everything. Even when things seem tough, He’s only preparing us for a greater prize.

7-11

Well I didn’t try hard enough today to get my second best day. Tomorrow however, will be by far the best day of my summer. There is no doubt in my mind. Today’s biggest struggle was waking up during the day. I got really tired from 3-5. I also was a little cranky at some doors because of the tiredness. So tomorrow I’m going to get myself pumped up especially early. I’ve got so many people to see that my morning gravy alone will prove to beat my previous day. I will also have my best week this week if I just go out and have some fun tomorrow. I really want to be sure to leave everyone in a good mood if possible. I also need to pray more. The more I pray the more my mind is focused on others and less on myself and my needs. I cannot describe how many people I have to see tomorrow. It is going to be unreal.

Week 6

6-22

Well I’m getting a little frustrated with our Sunday’s. They are supposed to be our day off’s but we are getting less and less time. Now we are meeting 2 hours away, almost to Syracuse. So 4 hours of our “day off” is spent driving on the road. This wouldn’t be so bad except I have to drive if we want to sleep an extra hour because of the 3 first years, one doesn’t have a car and the other has a V8 truck. So obviously, mine is the best option. However, it is annoying to have to drive that whole time, so today I let Joe drive the way back. This week is my week for Mom. To be honest, I’m going to feel really bad if I do really well this week because I didn’t do so hot for my Dad. Although I still want really bad to start being a professional at this job. I’m at week 6, I’m a fast learner and so now I’m ready to take on the world.

I also learned that Travis is giving me some of his territory, which is sweet because North Colonie, the new area I’m working is loaded with kids and money. Two vital components to me having a successful summer. This week will be awesome because I will choose everyday to have a great day, no matter what. Bed time. Peace

6-23

Today I moved to my new territory and I’m not going to lie, it kind of sucked. I thought I had about 3 prime customers, but it turned out, I had none. The first house I pulled up to today had their own tennis court…so money is not going to be the issue in Colonie. I don’t know what I did wrong today, but I really need to figure it out. Positivity was good today, but I dunno I just couldn’t get the people to buy. Maybe it’s just the transition in territory, or maybe I’m doing something wrong. Either way it’s getting frustrating. This week is mom’s week, and I’m not off to a good start, but if I just keep plugging, it will get better.

6-24

I thought I was going to have a follow day today, but Travis said I didn’t. So I was totally stoked about going out there and catching up with people today. My plan did not go all to well, but I did have one customer. She was a cool mom, and I thought I was going to lose her because her husband got home right as she was handing me the check. She said, I bought some books! And he simply said, “Oh cool. Great!” So that went well. I think they would have bought more if I just would have showed them, but oh well. I’ll catch up with them at the end of the summer and sell them the rest of the stuff I have. I cannot believe this summer is half over. It is really starting to blow my mind how much I need to get with it, to reach my goals for the summer.

6-25

The follow day caught up to me. I actually got to follow Matt today for only a half day. I was really pumped up after I followed him. I got 17 contacts and 7 presentations with one sale from 3-9. I just have to keep working, and once I get some names on my list, I’m going to steam roll the town of North Colonie. I met some really cool families today so that was good. Tomorrow I’m going to tear it up. Without a doubt.

6-26

Wow today was amazing. I may not have had the best sales, but it was one of my best days mentally and sales wise so far. God just kept me so motivated through most of the day. After lunch and a little bit at 3 I was a little tired, but he kept me moving. I had 33 contacts, 9 presentations, and 2 sales. Both of my sales were only small sales, but the best part is that both of my customers paid in full today. So I picked up $304.12 today. How positive is that! I have been listening to a Christian Radio station on XM and it has really helped me out too. It just reminds me that I need to keep my focus on God in order to get my head in the right place. Travis had a follow day in Virginia today. The guy he followed had 6 strong customers for 200 units. Just to put that into perspective that’s $1000 a day. He said that the key was just being goofy and really connecting with the families. I met some really cool families today, but I also didn’t act as confident. So for the next couple of weeks I’m going to blow up the town of North Colonie.

6-28

I’m getting really bad about forgetting about this journal. Today was crappy, but good. I had 40 contacts, 10 presentations, but no sales. So yeah it was a rough day, I worked my butt off and saw no results today. The keyword in that sentence was today. I rewrote my approach and intro so that it really fits me and helps me to connect with the families I’m talking with. So sit-downs will become part of my day just like knocking on doors. That is going to be the key for me from now on. As long as I get sit-downs I’ll blow up. Until then I’m going to make small weeks like 50 units. So, this next week is going to be awesome because I’m going to switch my style up and let the haters hate and watch the units pile up.

wow. week 5?

6-16

Marvelous Monday. That’s what today was. I started my week with two sales. One was a weak sale, but he told me he would have cash for me on Friday and he has bought books before, so I trust him. It will only get better after today. It’s been a tough transition not hanging out with Chris and accepting the new people, but I think it’s going to make me better. To battle through that struggle and still make this my best week will prove that I can adapt and not let things get me down. I met two very positive people today. The first was a dad who looked pretty rough. I didn’t even think he would let me talk, but he was so into his kid’s education. He wanted the very best for his kid because he had dropped out. He loved the books but didn’t get them. I have no idea why. I mean seriously he was the most excited out of all the people I’ve seen that looked at the books. After it was over, he apologized for not being able to “help” me and then offered me 10$ bill. I walked away and refused it, but just thought how cool he was. The other dad I met was very snobby and conceited. He was drinking wine and talking about how horrible the schools were. He said that his kids were doing math before kindergarten and that he could teach them math better than the teachers at the school. However, at the end of all that, he did say that he wanted me to send in my resume to his company. He works for a place called ipix.com. It’s a virtual touring company that allows you to view something online as if you were standing in the room. That’s about all I know about it. It really shocked me that he said that and then it hit me. This job is just what God wants me to do. I’m not trying to sound arrogant, but many people have told me that the pitch was good and that I delivered it well. I am starting to believe them, this is what I like to do and people think I’m good at it. So there’s no reason why this week won’t be my best week ever on the book field. Goodnight.

6 – 19

Wow so I totally forgot to write this. When I moved rooms, I just forgot about this journal. My bad. The new roommates are good and I found out that I can call my parents at night. So those were both positive things. This week has been pretty good, besides the zero day today. The area I’m working in is pretty poor however. Everyone loves the books, but seriously, the places I’m talking to have noooo money whatsoever. They don’t even have checking accounts. I was thinking about that just now and I have 3 checking accounts…interesting. Anyway, I really need to get some sleep and be excited because tomorrow’s Friday which means the next day is Saturday which means the next day is SUNDAY!

6-20

Today I followed Matt. It was good, but I was really hoping that I could just go out and work today. I wanted to catch up with everyone I missed during the week. However, because I didn’t work today, my gravy day tomorrow will be amazing. I’m going to finish strong this week and do my absolute best. God will take care of the rest. I’ve realized that I’ve let myself become bored and apathetic with this job. That self dies tomorrow and I will pull myself out of this hole of procrastination. If I’m going to be here, I am obligated to give it my best and to say that I did everything I could to make this a great summer. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be.

Funny stories: dog on door, I don’t believe it, digging ditches, terrified

6-21

Today, was an awesome day. My positive attitude today made all the difference in the world. I woke up about 10 minutes before time to go and just made myself have a good day. The day actually went really well. All the families I talked with, it really seemed like I connected with them and was able to help them. Here’s an interesting story, I almost skipped over this one lady because I didn’t think she would have any money. The funny thing was, she was waiting for me outside, and she was 1 of my 2 strong customers and she paid in cash. It’s just so weird to see the people God puts in our lives. He knew that I was going to be able to help her and she was able to help me realize how important it is to trust God. This next week is going to be a lot of fun because I’m going to make it fun. I don’t really feel like writing much more, sorry for the short post this week. I’ll do better next week.

Week 4, disappointment haunted (past tense, that's key) all my dreams

6-8

I’m just saying it now. This will be my breakthrough week. I’m running through the red tape of failure. This week is Father’s week. Because Sunday is Father’s Day, SW devoted this week to show the appreciation that we have for our dads. Our work and units this week will reflect our dads’ work in our lives. This job really makes you understand how hard parents work and the sacrifices they make just to please us. It brings them so much joy just to see us do well. After I told my dad that this would be my best week for him, he thanked me and said that all the work he put in for me had become worthwhile because of who I am becoming. That will resonate all through this week as I get 300 units this week. That means I’ll make $1500 in this week alone. That’s more than all of my first 3 weeks combined. I have also decided to devote this week to God. I want to genuinely help other families. This week should only be about others and none of it should be for myself. If I go out and help others then the units and sales will come along as a bonus. Everybody’s getting’ ‘em this week!

6-9

Today I followed Jes. Even though the practice weeks are over, I still learned so much. She is so good at taking people’s angriness and turning into serenity. The people would just calm down and be like, Oh ok, cool. It was really neat to watch. It was however, blistering hot. My shirt sleeves were discolored from me wiping sweat off my face the whole day. I got in late tonight, but it was ok. I had to pick up Chris in Albany. It turned out to be great because I got to talk to my mom and sister a lot on the way down. It was weird but I got to help Virginia get into a system. I took the principles from the book field like starting out slow and then building on them. It was really neat to see how much I’ve learned and how I’m putting those ideas into practice.

6-10

Well to be honest, I wrote 6-9 tonight. Haha. I was so tired and it was late last night so I didn’t write one. I tried to recall everything that happened yesterday in the best way I remember. However, today was a disappointing day. I came into the week so pumped about Father’s week and had to follow my first day. Then today, I had a zero sales day, only 27 contacts, and 6 presentations. I think I figured it out though. Because it’s father’s week, my mind is so set on getting sales that I’m not really focusing on serving others. I would talk with non-prospects like older people and they were all very nice today. Then I would go to a mom and I would get denial after denial after denial. The mindset is the biggest thing I need to work on. I just have to really not care whether or not they even want to talk to me. Some people will, but most won’t. That’s just how this job is. Once I really begin to figure that out, I’ll be alright. The sales will come if I just focus on helping others, and not being prideful towards myself.

6-11

The combination of prayers, a little hard work, and a servant mindset helped me get a sale today. I had 25 contacts, 11 presentations, and 1 customer. The customer got 3 handbooks so that was good. I’m really going to try to get handbook customers tomorrow. I need to finish strong to have my best week and get to recognize all the appreciation for my dad. I really want to achieve this goal this week. Today I was walking up to a house and was looking at the ground. When began to walk up on the porch I found myself literally 6 inches from this massive dog’s face. I immediately turned around and ran for my life. Luckily he was tied up or else I would have been his lunch. I’m not kidding, this dog was huge and pissed off. Another funny story, Chris and I tried to get free donuts tonight, but my friend Mike wasn’t working. So we decided we would just go look in the trash to see if we could see the leftover donuts. As soon as we opened the dumpster we changed our minds. The smell was terrible. Chris got hit on by a gay guy today and a 48 year old mom. Interesting…Both are very funny stories with very funny quotes. The first was,(what Chris thought he heard,

Guy: “Are you okay?”

Chris: “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Guy: “No…are you a gay?”

Chris: “Oh. No sorry to disappoint you.”

The other one was just a one liner.

Chris: “I’ll just stop by later on tonight.”

Mom: “I’ll be sweet for you tonight.”

6-12

Today contained a sale, but it was still a disappointing kind of day. I mean I was satisfied with everything that happened and what I learned, but I just want to do so well for father’s week. It’s so frustrating to know that I’ve done really well in the past, but now can’t get back to that point. I want so badly to have my best week for my dad, and I think that I’m almost too focused on that. I feel like last week my focus was on God helping me and this week I’m saying the words, “God take this and use it for your good,” but I’m not really meaning it. Which is also frustrating. Tomorrow is Friday and I really need to just let everything go to him. I need to get out of my car and get on my knees and just give up everything. Today was cool to see how people are seeing the real me. I know this because after I left their house, even if they didn’t buy or even look at the books, they would always wish me a happy day or something like that. This morning at about 9:30 I went back to some old territory to try to catch a mom and she was out of town. I was kind of bummed about that, but then saw a car with its hazard lights on. About 50 yards down the road I saw a woman walking. I put two and two together and realized she had run out of gas so I stopped and offered her a ride. She agreed and I stayed with her until she got back on the road. It was so cool to see how God used that disappointment of that mom to turn it into something positive and a way for me to help this woman. The cool part was, later on in the day I was about to go knock on this door when I recognized the car was the same one I helped get gas for earlier in the morning. She didn’t answer, but it was still cool that it was her. Anyway, it’s almost midnight and I need to get some sleep and give the rest of the week to God. As I was typing that I realized that at the beginning of the summer I gave all of it to him, which was great, but I didn’t really do it. I thought that since I did it that one time that it would be taken car of. The truth is that I need to genuinely give everyt day to him in order to really mean it. It’s the same with our faith. We need to serve him daily, or break it down een everysecond should be devoted to God or else we’re not doing what we were made for. So that’s what I will start doing. Giving every day, goal period, customer, whatever, to him.

6-13

Today I had another pick up experience. I was on my way to get gas and as I was coming off of the exit ramp I saw someone walking. I immediately felt the urge to pull over and had noticed a car on the interstate. So I just did it. I gave this guy named Bob a ride. Turns out, his car had a flat and he didn’t have a tire iron or jack. To add to that stressfulness, he had no phone and was on his way to work. Keep in mind that this was about 9:30 p.m. His job for the night was to make auto parts deliveries to shops all night long. He said that he would probably be working until about 6 in the morning. I really felt bad for him. I mean, yeah my job now is tough, but I can stop whenever I want and my life would be fine. If he just decided to not work hard one day, his family would feel the consequences of that. He told me that he was taking care of his mother, trying to help a friend who just lost a son, and balance his own family all at the same time. Again I just felt sorry for the guy. He was so real though. He was like a dose of straight reality. That’s real life for some people. Bob told me that he didn’t care if went “up there” or down to hell. He just wanted to go somewhere. He told me that just before I stopped to pick him up he was thinking to himself, “why am I the one eating dirt right now.” I wanted to talk more about God with Bob, but didn’t know what to say. At the end of our ride all I could think to say was “I’ll pray for you.” He said, “thanks, I need it.” He handed me a $20 bill even though I insisted that it wouldn’t be worth it because I just drove him seriously like 2 miles. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer and left it sitting on the middle console. It’s cool to see how God used me tonight on my way to get gas. Talking with Bob just added to the realness of God. Everything happens for a reason and God is always with us. Today my goal was to meet 3 cool moms. I met that many and so many more. Even dads have been awesome to talk to. For now I should go to bed. If you’re reading this and you have everything you NEED, then be thankful because others don’t. That’s the main lesson I’ve learned all week. God has taught me so much about selflessness, but it would take waaaayyyy more than a week to uncover how much I still need to learn.

6-14

It’s the end of Father’s week and I did not reach my goal. I had 94 units this week. I was 206 units short of my goal. I wanted so bad to get it, but just couldn’t get things to go. It’s ok though. I called my dad and tried to apologize for not hitting my goal, but all he did was reassure me that the units aren’t what he was proud of. He said he knows that I want to do well this summer, but the changes that have taken place in the past four weeks are what he’s proud of. He told me that just being here and doing the work makes him proud. Tonight was just another reminder of how much my parents care about me. I’m really glad this week is over. I’ve got to put it behind me and move on. I just looked at the pace-setter (a book that tells how everyone is doing this summer). I missed being in the top 100 by 13 units. I want to be in the top 100 next week. I’ve got to really work hard this week to do that however. I’ve been wasting a lot of time recently and that needs to stop. I need to get organized. Tomorrow Nate will be here and our whole organization will meet together and there will definitely by some Frisbee playing going on. I’ve got a little bit more paper work to do, then I can go to bed. I can’t wait for next week.

Week 3

6-1

June already? How did it come so soon? Ok so to be quite honest the end of May went quickly. I mean if you think about it I’ve been doing this job, training included, for 3 weeks now. To me, that’s kind of crazy. It seems like a lot less. I’m super tired tonight, and I have a ton to do tomorrow. This week I’m reaching for higher goals. I want to feel like I’ve put my best foot forward. By the way, really random, but we don’t have water right now because our well is being primed…so no shower or bathroom use…interesting. Today we had our Sunday meeting and played Frisbee, that’s pretty much it. Oh!! I got my car washed finally! It looks a million times better. Ok I’m falling asleep.

6-2

My attitude today was awesome, however, my stats did not reflect them. I only had 28 contacts, 10 presentations, 31 units. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get back up to my good numbers. I want so bad to hit 300 units this week and get 78 presentations. I need prayer for my family. Things are becoming different because we’re all over the place and some of us are lonely. Sometimes we give so much to others that we forget about our needs. Pray for those that do this, and help them by showing them we love them. Tomorrow is a new day, and I reallllly need to go to sleep. Goodnight.

6-3

The tiredness is beginning to catch up to me. The lack of sleep and the 12 hour days are wearing me down. That’s why I’m going to catch some good sleep tonight. My day was productive statistically, but it was like I wasn’t really there today. I had 36 contacts, 10 presentations, but no sales. Tomorrow will be different. It’s going to be hump day, which means I’m just skiing down a mountain now. It’s really cool to see my forearms getting darker…I just wish the rest of my skin matched it. I want to do well this week, I want to have at least 300 units. There’s no reason why I can’t do that. We’ll see how the rest of the week plays out. My biggest problem is leaving parts of the sales talk out. I forget important parts like the intro, and I’ve also had trouble finding a need. Most people just say that they have everything they need. Anyway, my eyes are closing.

6-4

Well I had the exact same stats as yesterday, with the exception of one sale. Which shouldn’t really count because it was only software. I think I’m so concerned about getting my contacts and presentations that I’m not really going through my sales talk. I’m just doing demos to get a stat. Hopefully I’ll be able to turn this around tomorrow. WE picked up internet tonight, which could be bad…I also got 48 bottles of VitaminWater in the mail today :D. Today we had some Europeans come stay with us. They were really cool. I wasn’t aware that SW recruited people from other countries to sell, but it makes sense. It’s an awesome opportunity. I still have to make my lunch and fill out some paper work so I think I’ll go for now. Hopefully this will keep you entertained for the night.

6-5

Today was a pretty good day. I had 40 contacts, 12 presentations (the most ever), and3 small sales. I also got to experience the fun times of the job. I met a mom who said the classic, “I’m not interested” and so I told her it would only take 5 minutes and then immediately sat down. She slowly followed and we got around to talking about all kinds of stuff. It was really cool to just connect with someone and completely change their attitude towards me. My bank account got really fat this week which is cool. I also get to deposit two more checks tomorrow. They were right, it gets better. This week started slow, but it’s going on the upward curve now. One sad note, Beth left today. I knocked on a door today and the dad said they just had a death in the family. I graciously apologized and then went to the next house. I found out that the previous family with the death had his wife just pass. They had about a 10 year old daughter and the mom died at about 6:00 that morning. I felt terribly sorry for them. I also met a guy that was building something out of some wood so I asked him what it was for. He told me that it was a casket for his dog. He was going to have to put him down tomorrow. I told him that I had done that his year, and I was sorry. Both sad stories I know, but that’s what makes this job so cool. You can see tiny glimpses into what people go through and see how they keep going. Love God and Love people, that’s what will get me through today and tomorrow. OHH a funny story. I pulled up to this gas station to look for a map. The car next to me had stickers all over it. No seriously like covered in quotes and stickers. The guy inside had a huge beard and kind of looked like he could have been a hippie. When I pulled up beside him he was sleeping, and he seriously had like 3 inches of snot hanging from his nose. He woke up when I pulled up next to him and got out of his car, but he hadn’t noticed the 5 pounds of snot hanging from his nose! Crazy I know. Anyway hope that cheered you up.

6-6

No sales today, but I met some awesome families. I found this new neighborhood that wasn’t on the map, but was absolutely loaded with kids. I know that sounds creepy, but it was one of the most positive things ever. Only about 3 houses in the neighborhood of 20 houses didn’t have kids. Like I said no sales, but my contact to presentation ratio was a little less than 50%. We also picked up a new member to our team today. His name is Josh. Chris and I talked with him a lot tonight about how the first weeks suck, but how it gets better. He said it was encouraging, and it was strange for Chris and I to be giving advice, because we have only been here 3 weeks. However, we’ve learned so much. Sunday is never going to be so good.

6-7

I almost quit early today, but I didn’t. Gravy days for me so far have not been that great. It was 7:00 and I thought I was pretty much out of houses, but I went back over my territory and then went up a new street. I just talked with Travis and I know why my Gravy sucks. I had been setting up appointments during the middle of the day and the appointments are only for gravy. (Now the light bulb is coming on in my head). He also gave me some really good approaches for teachers. Today was freaking hot. The bank thermometer said 91 and I believe it. I sweated more today than I have all week combined. It was unbelievably hot today. My stats for today were 31 cont. and 13 presentations. It was my best day for presentations so far, but 0 units. So that kind of sucked. The best part about all that is that next week I start to really DO this job. Instead of just getting numbers I’m going to start actually talking to people. It’s going to get even better this next week.

Week 2 minus a couple days, sorry

5-28

Alright well I know I missed two days, but I did write them. My freaking computer didn’t save them though. Oh well. They were good days. Yesterday I learned the importance of trusting everything to God.

Today I just had to motivate myself to keep going. I got in this crazy mode where I was just talking with everyone and really connecting with different people. It was a good feeling, and I’m going to try to continue that same attitude tomorrow. I will admit, it’s getting a little bit tougher. I’m doing ok at the talk and everything, but I just am having trouble just being here. Being at home, sleeping in, seeing my family, all that would be absolutely amazing right now. But like I said, oh well. I am exhausted today so good night!

5-29

The lesson of today involved recognizing the numerous positive little things and giving back to others. There are so many positive instances that happen throughout the day that I take for granted. I found that if I pause and try to think of everything positive in the day, there really isn’t much room for the negative stuff at all. I encourage you to all try it. Every time you think of something negative, just name 2 positives that counter it and you’ll find it very easy to forget the negatives. Ok so remember that story of the guy at Dunkin’ Donuts who gave me the two free donuts? Check this out, I figured that if he just gave me those donuts that late at night that they probably just threw them away each night. I rolled up to the drive thru and asked them about what they did with the donuts. Sure enough they said they just threw them out. I asked him, his name is Mike, if I could just come by and get all the donuts and he said sure. This is probably one of the top 5 most positive events of my summer so far. We honestly had at 4 dozen donuts to split between 6 people. It was awesome!! As for the giving back, I met a family today that loved the books. They weren’t the richest family, but the mother cared deeply for her children’s best interest. You could tell that she wanted the books, but saving the money might be tough. She agreed to get the books, but later called me and told me her husband wouldn’t let her get the books. So I decided that since she and her kids liked the books so much, that she deserved to have them anyway. One week we get to choose a family to give a set of handbooks to as part of the company’s plan. That family will probably get the set, unless I meet someone who is equally excited, and wants the books like they did.

5-30

Today was kind of a crappy day. I had some sales fall through that I thought for sure were going to work. Something is happening, I’m not getting into doors very well, and when I do get in, I’m not really getting the sales to go through. I did get more demos by just sitting down and getting them to follow me. It really does work if you just sit down, they feel obligated to follow you. I’m trying to keep my head in the right place. It’s just so tough to stay positive when door after door keeps saying no, or you run into older family after older family. I also talked with Tiny a little bit tonight. He’s an amazing guy. At first I kind of judged him because he is a gamer, and exactly how you would picture an ex military gamer would look like. But he vacuumed our room today because he wanted to save us from Beth’s wrath. He didn’t have to, but it was just to keep the peace. He’s the type of guy that just does little things so that everyone is happy. And yet he is sacrificing so much to keep it. God is awesome, goodnight.

5-31

Saturday, aka all day gravy. Which means that we are supposed to be catching up with families we missed during the week. I didn’t do a very good job organizing my families so I didn’t have much gravy. I actually had to go to a new area today, which normally people don’t do. I wanted so badly to have my best presentation day today, but just couldn’t get it to work for me today. I also quit a little early, which I look back on as a disappointment. Today was very eventful however. After I ate my lunch I had a really bad stomachache and ended up puking. So that kind of sucked. The majority of the weather was nice, but there was this one time…I was looking down the street and saw someone’s garden getting what I thought was watered by a sprinkler. Wrong. I was witenessing a huuuuuge downpour coming right at me. Before I could pull out my rainjacket, which was neatly packed away, I got doused. I just stood there and soaked it up. This had already happened once today. Then on my way home it was rain and hail. But on a more positive note, I filled out my BAR and noticed that I had improved dramatically. I went from about 49:35 hours to 75:13 this week. I had 109 contacts my first week and 228 this week. 18 presentations the first and 43 this week. I also had 4 customers the first week and 11 this week. I collected $372.36 last week and $1,196.17 this week. My first week units were 74 and this week it was 168. So total I’ve made about $1,000 of profit this summer. Pretty sweet for two weeks worth of work huh? Wow it’s almost 1 o’clock and I shouldn’t be getting less sleep on a Saturday night than I do during the week, so I will talk to you tomorrow.

Week 1 aka hell and back

Alright guys sorry this is sporadic and random, but you have to keep in mind that all I'm thinking about is going to bed when I write these. They are basically just quick highlights from the day. Enjoy.

Well on my way down, or I guess I should say up to New York, I hated life. I mean honestly, the drive did suck. However my stops along the way turned out really cool. I got to stop in Cincinnati to eat a meal Tyler owed me at P.F. Chang’s. It was really good. It was also funny to hear how they were living with each other and sounded like they were in a relationship. Anyway, then one of my sister’s friends let us stay at her place so we wouldn’t have to buy a hotel room. So that was awesome. I did happen to have a slight run with some car problems. Actually they were more human error than anything. The first happened near Cleveland. The traffic was stop and go and realllly slow. I reached down to get my sales talk and then felt a little bump…Yeah I was all up on the car in front of me. Thankfully we weren’t moving fast and the guy was really cool about it. There didn’t appear to be any mechanical damage, just really light scratches on my bumper. I’m not sure you could see any on his. Mine is barely noticeable though. Then at a rest stop I was parked near a sidewalk. As I was backing out and pulling away my front left tire popped up, then shortly after the rear did also. I then realized that I had just run up on the curb. Again, thankfully no damage. When I finally arrived at the house in Troy, NY, I got to meet Beth. She is the kind lady that is opening up her house to us so we don’t have to have an apartment. I drove around for a while trying to get a feel for the town of Troy and the surrounding area. I’ll be working in a town called Mechanicville, and it is going to be a blast. That’s all for now.

5-20

Today was my first day out in the field. Luckily I got to follow Travis and continue to expand my knowledge in how to sell these books. We start everyday eating breakfast together at a place called Mannery’s. It was established in 1913 and has great breakfast foods. Then we do some crazy inspirational dances in a nearby bank parking lot. They are called execs and just get our adrenaline pumping. Then I headed out with Travis to his area called Colonie.

The first day is obviously kind of slow because you are in a brand new area. We began by meeting a great man named Frank. He was older, but very helpful in getting us off to a good start. He was kind, like many people we met today and was willing to help us out. We also met some unfriendly people, but I mean you can’t blame them. Half of the people thought we were just pestering the neighborhood not helping their kids out with their schoolwork.

It became very apparent to me that if you wanted to just make a lot of money this summer, then it would prove to be a very difficult summer. People may begin by doing that, but to truly grow and learn from this job, you need to make it about the people. Travis showed that by just continually praying and talking with God throughout our day. He would pray for people we talked to, others in our group, and a lot for himself. Not that he would be successful, but that God would shine through him and for people to be blessed through Travis. This showed me what kind of a mindset you have to have. You can’t control who’s going to be nice or not, but you can be nice to them as much as possible. Generally if you were polite to people they would be polite to you. Even if they weren’t interested, they still treated us with respect. It was great. That’s all I feel like writing about tonight. I want some sleep because tomorrow is my first real day. Pray for me. No really I’m gonna need it.

5-21

Well today was my official first day. Wow. If you don’t feel completely useless, lonely, pissed off, and sad all the same time, then I salute you. I did feel all of those things today. I wasted gas, time, and money. The thing that helps the most is knowing the amount of support I have. My parents first are foremost are there. They always have been and they will continue to be, because that’s how awesome they are. My fellow workers here and my group leader, Travis also keep my spirits lifted. Things only get better with practice, and I believe that. So much so that I’m going to go practice sleeping. My first sale was with a great guy named Kyle Lloyd. Everything that could go wrong did, but somehow he still bought the books from me. Amazing. .

5-22

So today was basically a pity party for myself. Even though I had 30 contacts, contacts are talking to people that actually have children, and 2 presentations, my attitude today sucked. I was just brushing my teeth in the bathroom and re-realized that this job is not about me. It’s not about the money I make, God blesses me with money at the end if I really connect with other people and show them kindness and patience. This week my goals are to see 30 people, get through my sales talk (without leaving out parts), and to work until 9. If I do those things for 3 weeks, then it will become easier for me. Until that time, I just have to tough things out. I found today that driving to a spot and then parking does me better than just driving house to house. It’s like I told Matt tonight: When you run a race and you slow down and walk, it is a lot tougher to motivate yourself to run again. So why put myself in a spot where I’m comfortable. This summer is about growing and doing uncomfortable things. That’s how I’ll form truly good character and discipline. In the words of Bone Thugs and Harmony “Ain’t nothing come easy. You gotta try real, real hard.”

5-23

Wow, what a day today. It was tough, but I’m slowly but surely seeing the changes that are happening in my life. For example, I’ll be honest, after I got off the phone with my parents and just balled my eyes out. My mom told me to let my prayer be that if God wanted me to stay there then I needed help. After that little emotional episode I decided to go to Dunkin’ Donuts and get a boston crème filled donut. Turns out that they were out of those so I settled for a jelly donut. The funny thing was that the guy just held out the bag out the window and told me to have a good night. Yep that’s right, he hooked me up with not one, but two free donuts. What a way to end the night. It was like God was saying, there you go. How’s that for a clear sign. God really is amazing. I slept well that night knowing for sure that God exists. Without him, my family, and the people I work with, this job would prove to be an extremely difficult job.

5-24

Saturday is supposed to be all day Gravy. Gravy is usually like the time from 5-9 when parents get home from work, and basically it’s just better because people are home so you can talk to them. Well this Saturday was tough because I think it’s odd to talk with people about sales on the day they have off. I found that almost every time I talked with someone outside while they were working in their yard that I got denied pretty much every time. So I’m going to try to only catch those families that are in their house. Dinner time is kind of tough to go knocking on doors also. It is very much outside my comfort zone to interrupt. It just feels rude. But anyway, we also had to fill out our BAR’s which are business activities reports. These help us keep track of what we need to order, our expenses, mileage, and that kind of stuff. Our goal as far as hours goes is to work at least 75 hours a week, have 30 contacts a day. That’s it. If we get in the habit of doing those things then we will make money by the end of the summer. This job works 100% of the time, but only if we put in the hours.

The Brave, New World

So i've never read that book, but i figure hey it sounds pretty much like what i'm doing this summer. I just finished sales school in Nashville and Sunday I'll be traveling either up the Western, KY pkwy or the Bluegrass Pkwy. It will be a looong freaking drive. Then Monday I have to try my first sale. I'll be staying near albany. I believe the town is called Mechanicville...no joke. Sounds like the town for me huh? Like I said this is brand new experience, but here's what I think is funny.

My sisters both attended Camp Greystone. During those summers they got talks about how important their attitudes were and that the you choose your own attitude. It all depends on the choices you make. Even though I attended that camp for several years, I never really got that. Now I understand how much control I have in my choices. This summer is going to be awesome because I want it to be. Sure it's going to be tough, I mean there is a 95% rejection rate. However, that 5% of success gets you some pretty good money. You have to learn not to take things personally. There's so much more I could say, but I don't have time. Brotherly duties of helping my sister get married are keeping me busy :). Keep me in your prayers this summer please.

Here's a cool quote: "I am as good as any other person, but no better."

Better than iTunes

alright so I was just randomly looking on amazon for onerepublic's CD because it is amazing. Well I stumbled upon amazon selling Mp3's. They are $.10 cheaper than iTunes, the albums are $1.00 cheaper, and best of all there is no right-protection garbage. I also saw something about pepsi points. So you can get free music if you get your friend's pepsi caps and what not. Usually I would throw those away, but now that I know you can actually get free music, why not you know?

Also I met my sister's fiance this weekend. He's a cool guy, smaller than I thought he would be but definitely a neat guy. He knows a lot more about cars than me, which is great because I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions for him soon. haha. I also cannot believe how fast time is moving. It's like every time I realize that something has gone by quickly, like a day, week, or month, I am farther and farther along in life. It's ridiculous how fast everything moves now. I'm halfway done with my college career. That's scary because that means I'm actually going to have to get a real job soon.

I guess that's all I had on my mind for now.

Has it really been that long?

Wow so I guess I went through quite a drought huh? Sorry. Not really, but maybe a little.

I don't really know what to talk about. I was going to talk about my relationship problems, but decided not to. Instead I'll explore what I have learned about myself. I discovered today that I am not a good coach...at least in frisbee. I know what you're thinking, and yes I do loooove frisbee, but I have no idea what to tell my team. I put together an intramural frisbee team that has a lot of potential, but many of them have never played before, so they do not really know where to run, or how the motion of the game really works. We did do surprisingly well even if the 6-2 score did not show it. Our scoring opportunities were fairly high and our movement of the frisbee was a little rushed, but overall not too bad at all.
I hope i never have to face this situation ^

I did feel really bad that I had nothing very encouraging or inspirational to say to my team. I feel like many of them may not have shared in the enjoyment of the game like I do when I play. I don't know how to send the messages and feelings that I have when I play. I just love it. I also did not play well today. I dropped a pass in the endzone, and made some very stupid careless mistakes.

Oh well there's always tomorrow, no seriously we have a game tomorrow and the next day. Hope that satisfied your blog appetite.