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Appreciation, or Gratitude, is like any other muscle; it grows only in
proportion to how much it is used and exercised. Let's face it though;
it's easy to feel appreciation when things are going your way. In this
article, you'll learn how to "keep your eye on the ball" (the gratitude
ball) when things seem to be going from bad to worse." -----------------------
Question: "In the past you've written about appreciation, but
how do you focus on that when things are going wrong and
getting worse. Could you provide a personal example?" -----------------------
Winning With Appreciation
By Bob Burg
How frustrating when you're far from home at night and your
car won't start . . . no matter how hard you try. The guys at the
valet service, where the car was parked (actually about a mile
from the event) were kind enough to help. They did so for the
next four hours, going above and beyond the call of duty by
using their mechanical skills to try and coax the car to wake
back up.
While lavishing genuine praise for their efforts, I constantly fought
the urge to feel sorry for myself. But it was strange because
everything about which I complained to myself, I found I had just
as much, if not more, reason to be thankful for that very thing.
My new car has broken down (But I'm so fortunate to have a new
car, and a nice one at that. How many people would like to be
so fortunate? -- or, in my case, lucky).
I'm stuck a mile away from civilization (as opposed to all
alone in the middle of nowhere or on a busy highway, and with
some awesome, awesome people who are trying to help).
I'm sweating bullets and physically very uncomfortable in the
muggy, Florida nightime heat (as opposed to the freezing
cold), feeling my soggy skin sticking to my brand new suit
(this one's self-explanatory!).
My cell phone is running low on batteries (another one for the
self-explanatory dept.).
The road-side service people are taking much too long to get
here (but at least they're coming, and paid for by the car
manufacturer).
It's 1:55 in the morning, we've just dropped off my not-
working car at a local dealership (Thank G-d there's one here,
because there's no way I could've gotten it towed all the way
to Jupiter - oh, by the way, for new readers, that's Jupiter,
the city, not the planet).
It's 2:00 in the morning and I have to check into some hotel
instead of sleeping in my own comfortable bed (Again, Thank
G-d there just happens to be a hotel a few minutes WALK from
the dealership so I can get there when they open in a few hours.
And, hey, there's a Pancake House right across the street. I
think I'll get a quick bite).
It's 7:30 am, and the service manager tells me the "thingy"
(obviously, I'm very mechanically inclined ) that needs to
be replaced is out of stock, and it's going to be hours before
another one can be brought in from Miami. Well, there goes
my day of production! (Then again, now I can go back to sleep
in my comfortably air-conditioned hotel room, and maybe even
do some reading after I wake up).
1:00 in the afternoon, and it's finally ready to go (actually,
about two hours before the estimated time of completion, and
the manufacturer pays for the repairs).
How fortunate I truly am! The challenge got solved, no one got
hurt, and I got to practice my appreciation skills. Sure, it
was inconvenient, and a bit uncomfortable, but you know
what . . . it was really no big deal at all. And, I got to meet a
bunch of people that night and the following day who were
extremely helpful and courteous.
The lesson I re-learned? In practically every difficult situation,
we have just so, so much to be thankful for. It's simply a matter
of deciding on which we'd rather focus.
One last thing; yes, the incredible courtesy I received from
everyone involved - the valet crew, the tow truck driver, the
hotel staff, and the service consultant at the dealership was,
without question, due to some Winning Without Intimidation
skills that I employed. But that was secondary.
In the next article, we'll look at some of the specific skills
employed in order to bring out the best in these very helpful
people.
Bob Burg http:www.burg.com is author of Endless Referrals:
Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales, Winning Without
Intimidation and The Success Formula.
He has a full line of books, ebooks and CDs from which everyone
can grow and prosper. Check them out by going to
http:www.burg.com , then click on the
link to his online store.
Bob also publishes a free weekly ezine to which you can
subscribe going to http://www.burg.com/newsletter.html.
Burg Communications, Inc.
PO Box 7002
Jupiter, FL 33468-7002
(800) 726-3667
bob@burg.com
Copyright 1998 Burg Communications, Inc.
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