Say It!

P-Word

I gave a quick talk on tips for selling rodeo tickets at our last Rodeo Ticket Sales Committee meeting.  For rookies on the committee, the idea of selling $3,000 in suite and season box seats can sometimes be a little overwhelming.  The first tip I suggested was about soliciting for charity ticket donations.   “Can you donate $18 for a ticket to help send a kid to the rodeo?” As I have learned, most people will give you a $20 rather than the $18.  $20 here and there adds up quicker than you think. 

After the close of the meeting, one of the rookies approached me and asked me the following: “Can you donate $18 for a ticket to help send a kid to the rodeo?”  I started laughing and said, “You listened” and yes I did give her $20.  She was excited and asked for a charity ticket form to turn in her first official sale as a committee member.  I suggested she wait until she had a few hundred in donations to turn in the order. I watched her walk up to the front of the room to tell the Chairman about her first sale: “it really worked.”

A rookie’s sales goal on the committee is $3,000.  The number tends to scare most of them at first, as their nature is to think about making a $3,000 sale rather than making multiple sales to reach the goal.  Making your goal $20 at a time or with a one-time sale of $3,000 yields the same result of making your goal.  It comes back to one of my favorite P-Words: perspective.  I believe keeping things in perspective makes for a happier and more joyful life.  For instance, my current contract assignment with Chevron is about to end as the project is nearing completion.  Now I could be stressed out about being out of work in the not too distant future, or I can choose to look at it, as another opportunity will present itself when the time is right.  I chose the latter of the two options and do indeed see the contract ending as a new opportunity in life.  Who knows!  My upcoming book may go gangbusters.  I am not betting on it nor am I betting against it.  What is going to happen is going to happen.  That is my perspective,  and I am sticking to it.

What does your P-Word look like?

Rodney - Captain Perspective at Your Service