Everything that's old gets new agiain.

I have been so bad at keeping up with this blog so I apologize to all of you my friends for not being diligent about it.  As of late, I have been posting my thoughts on my Facebook page, and ignoring my blog but that isn't what I should be doing.  Facebook is fleeting, this blog is permanent. 

Life is full of ups and downs, it's no different for the "teacher" than it is for the "student".  I have had to find ways to lift myself out of the depths and I guess that's what I want to write about today.  
In my "day job" I am an insurance salesman.  This is a totally new career for me.  I had never done sales work in my life prior to 2009 in any way, so I had to reinvent myself for that.  I always thought that I would be a good salesman, and I felt my hypnosis/NLP background would be a big help in it.  But frankly I got off to a poor start.  In early June I was very sure that I would lose this job because of lack of production.  To say I was upset, would be an understatement.  I have been fending off creditors and collectors since 2008 and the economic downturn.  If I lost this job it would have been another kick in the teeth that would have been difficult to come back from. 
One day, in mid June, I decided that I had to change the way I was thinking and acting.   My boss brought me into his office at that moment I was sure I was about to be fired but instead said he had heard "through the grapevine" that I had a lot of problems and that if I needed to talk he would listen.    This was very kind of him, aapparently, I was not good at keeping my private life private, and I was walking around with a frown and my head down.  Who is going to buy anything from a guy like that?  Even over the phone, that energy comes through.  I didn't think I was being negative but I was.  After that meeting, I made a promise to myself that I would take it one day at a time.  I decided not to look at the big picture.  I decided that I would not judge myself against anybody else's progress (which is something I was also doing) but only on my own.  It didn't matter if the guy next to me made a sale. I would only be competing against myself. 
My first move was to change the way I looked.  I went out and bought a mirror to put on my desk.  Whenever I would pick up the phone, I would check my look, slap a smile on my face and start the call.  The second thing that I decided to do was take my boss' advise and spend more time on my feet instead of sitting down at my desk.  This brings more air into your lungs and helps your circulation and thereby makes you "sharper and quicker".  The next thing I did was make an appointment to speak to one of our top salesmen and pick his brain and ask him to critique me.  His advise was equally important.
The bottom line is since I did these things my numbers have been steadily improving and June ended up being my best month and I believe that July will double June's production. 
Those good feelings have spilled over into the other part of my life; the hypnosis business.  In mid June, I came across an new Holistic Healing Center in my town, and I went in and asked them if they were interested in adding a hypnotist to their staff.  They were very enthusiastic and I have begun working there and now even my practice is being rejuvenated.  I am very excited about that as this is truly my passion.  I have been getting even better results there than I am used to getting doing house calls and if there is one thing that I am really good at it is being a hypnotist!
So now the next step is to get to work on my physical self.  I need to lose some weight and get more active.  Physician Heal thyself I say.  Soon I will blog on that progress. 
So now, it is one day and one step at a time.   Everything will come to me as I put out the positive energy and practice what I preach.
NAMASTE,
Roch

Racing for Passion!

"When you’re racing with the clock
When you’re racing with the clock
And the second hand doesn't understand
That your back may break and your fingers ache
And your constitution isn't made of rock!
It’s a losing race when your racing with the
Racing racing racing with the clock!"

That is the chorus from a song in the play "The Pajama Game". When I was in high school we did that play. I had a non singing role, but that song has always stuck with me.

It seems to me that for most of my life I have been racing with the clock. I've been doing my best to keep my head out of the water, I’d been running in place and not getting as far as I wanted to. In the past, I felt that I had been losing that race, because the clock is ticking, and I am still looking for the spark that is going to propel me to the top.

I am now embarking on my second (or third or fourth career), but I don’t consider the others failures. I know that every great achiever has had to start over. I guess some people just have to start over more than others do.

I write this blog because I want to help people find the greatness in themselves. We all have greatness within us. The trick is to find the way to unleash it.

On Wednesday morning, we had a sales meeting at my new job. The person conducting the meeting spoke about the difference between mediocrity and greatness. He said that the difference is PASSION. He said that you can never be more than mediocre if you don’t have a passion for what you do. At that moment my mind drifted off to the evening before. I had been conducting a Group Hypnosis Smoking Cessation Session at Plainview Hospital. I realized that in that moment, I was great! I had passion. I had the participants in the palm of my hand and I took them to places that they needed to go. I do have passion for that work; I am in my element when I am doing it. It’s not work for me it was a joy! I realized that I simply have to do much more hypnosis and healing because it’s my passion.

I have a gift for helping and healing by back burnering it I am doing a disservice to myself and to humanity because I am denying the world of my gifts and preventing myself to become truly fulfilled and successful. It was a EUREKA moment if there ever was one.

Honestly, I am very thankful for my new job, and I will find the passion I need to become more than mediocre. With perseverance, perhaps that job will provide the means for me to do more of the other work and then become truly great at what I am passionate about, and I can stop racing with the clock and begin enjoying my time.
Namaste

Roch

Birthday Thoughts

Wow, it has been more than 2 months since I last posted here.  It's been with good reason as I have been very busy.  I started a new job and I had to go back to school and get a licence.  Thankfully I passed the tests so now I can begin to make some decent money.  It will take some more time but I am ready to make it happen.

Anyway, today I am 53 years old.


I have survived a lot this past year. Sometimes I wonder how I manged to do it.

Life has thown me my share of hardships, but somehow I have kept my sanity and my sence of humor for the the most part. I admit to allowing myself some time to wallow in self pity but I did my best to pick myself up dust myself off and start over again.

Like I said, I have just embarked on another new career, I don't know if this will be my road to prosperety, but I am optimistic about it. Maybe not at this particular place but somewhere, I know that I have what it takes to become sucesful and have the kind of life that I desire.

My goals are modest at the moment, I simply want to become solvent, and healthier. I am taking baby steps at first, but in time I will be back on top. This is a promise I am making to myself and I keep my promises.

I have the support of my family, and my friends. I can never repay them for what they have give me.

But for what it is worth, I will do my best to pay it forward and be the kind of man that they will be proud to have as a father, son, brother and friend.

Namaste,

Roch Preite 2/6/2010