I recently stumbled upon Harvey Mackay through my recent subscription of Success Magazine. This book is for people interested in learning how to sell. I’ve been interested in the topic of sales for the past few years and this book was a great resource for me. It’s an extremely easy read as it is broken up into nearly one hundred short nuggets on sales and personal growth.

If you are new to the world of selling and personal growth or if you’re struggling with sales, I’d recommend picking this book up!

Buy the hard copy version here!

Buy the Kindle Version Here!

Some Highlights:

• “You don’t sell anyone. You help people get what they want.”

• “Do what you love. Love what you do. And deliver more than you promise.”

• No matter where you go to work, you are not an employee—you are a business with one employee: you. Nobody owes you a career. You own it, as a sole proprietor. You must compete with millions of individuals every day of your career. You must enhance your value every day, hone your competitive advantage, learn, adapt, move between jobs and industries—retrench so you can advance and learn new skills.

• Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.

• In sales, you have good days and bad days. The trick is to convince yourself every morning that it’s going to be a good day.

• Before you post anything on the Internet, ask yourself: “How would I feel if this appeared on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper?”

• Make a list of the 10 people you want to meet in your lifetime. Use the Six Degrees of Separation theory, try LinkedIn or Facebook, write a fan letter and ask for a meeting. But don’t assume everyone is out of reach.

• Find something you can be passionate about, and work at it until you can’t imagine doing anything else.

• Rejection is a part of life.

• • Focus on the moment. Keep your perspective. Rejection lasts only a moment, and once it’s over you’ll be able to move on to the next opportunity. Overcoming your fears can be an exhilarating experience, so savor your triumph. Great athletes and ace competitors of all sorts are masters of deftly moving through both ups and downs . . . and not wallowing in either.

• • Be more assertive. Most fears of rejection rest on the desire for approval from other people. Don’t base your self-esteem on others’ opinions.

• Life is not always fair when it passes out the natural gifts, like looks and talent. But no one was ever born with determination and character. You have to develop those yourself and if you do, all the rewards life has to offer can be yours

• Long ago I learned that there are three kinds of people in the world: • the wills • the won’ts • and the can’ts. The first accomplish everything. The second oppose everything. The third fail in everything.

Who wouldn’t want to read the biography of the man who gave us Apple, iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, Pixar, and so much more? Regardless of Steve Job’s beliefs, you have to respect what he was able to accomplish in his lifetime. I would say he accomplished his goal of “making a dent in the universe!”

This was a great read! Although I don’t agree with a lot of Steve’s beliefs and the way he tended to treat people, I believe you can learn from anyone and after reading this book I can tell you that you can learn a ton from Steve Jobs!

My Big Takeaway: There were a lot of them, but this is the one that hit me the hardest:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Too often, I don’t go after what’s in my heart because of fear. Steve never had that problem! He knew what he wanted and he went for it! Steve’s life has helped me gain the courage and confidence to go after what’s in my heart.

This is a long read, but it’s an excellent one. I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested in leadership, business, or entrepreneurship.

Buy the Hard Copy

Buy the Kindle Version

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As you may know, I am a huge fan of Beachbody. They are the company that are responsible for P90X, Insanity, Turbo Fire, and so much more! As I started researching Beachbody, I fell in love with their company! I started following as many of their staff as I could! That is how I found Chalene Johnson, creator of Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam!

When I start following Chalene on Twitter, I really liked what she had to say. She shared a lot about motivation, productivity, marketing, branding, leadership, and more. Over time, I became a huge fan of Chalene.

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