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By Percy Chong, 26th November 2014
My first lessons that I learnt after joining the selling profession, was not “how to sell?” But, the meaning of “10 Good Words”.
“Know the real life meaning of 10 good words and it will be better than any university education that you have received.”My mentor would drum that incessantly into my psyche.
These words were to become the most challenging lesson of my life and also the ones that brought me the greatest breakthrough and clarity in my journey to success. Anyone who had some years of schooling would have understood what it meant, but to realize the meaning is another matter altogether.
My mentor meant to educate me not to learn and understand words by its superficial meaning, but by its “real-life” meaning…by appreciating the real life application or expression of these words. Example, the learning of the word “passion” not by its dictionary meaning, but by recognizing what it really takes to be passionate and passionate about. To fully understand it and live by it, we need to be able to recognize it and articulate it with real personal experiences. These expressions of “energy” and emotions that has to be expense in pursuit of one’s believes are unlikely to be mistaken or misrepresented. My own encounter with the word “passion” had elicited an essay of acknowledgement to describe it.
The continuous re-education process with learning of “new” words has also brought me to stare squarely at my own misgivings. Only with awareness, does change starts to follow. I had the opportunity to recalibrate my own values otherwise would have been invisible to me. Values that I initially thought was rock solid were identified to be shallow and questionable. There seems to be many conditions tied to my values, and on closer scrutiny, they were found wanting. And it is all these pre-conditions that have limited my ability to embrace my choice of “good” words and to express it without strings attached.
Though the initial learning process was tough, it soon extended to learning of more words with the continual recalibration of my first few (ie. Sincerity, Commitment and Discipline). With every practice and calibration, I inched deeper and closer to the heart of each word. And at the centre of each word lies a reminder to be unconditional when expressing our chosen words...”how far would you go?” and “what are you made of?” in our quest to live by these words.
Not to focus solely on the depth of meaning of words, there is also a lesson to be drawn from the breadth of application of the words. Apart from applying my “10 Good Words” (ie. Sincerity, Commitment, Discipline, Courage, Love, Respect, Faith, Humility, Honour and Integrity) on my sales career, I found that it can also be expressed laterally towards all other aspect of my personal life as well. Not only did I express my “sincerity” towards my profession and the prospect that I met in the course of my work, I also applied the deeper meaning of sincerity towards my family as well as my self-discovery towards my religion.
The recalibration of meaning to words changed my attitude towards life! And today, I live each day reminding myself if I have lived to the real life meaning of sincerity, commitment, discipline, courage, love, respect etc. This accountability has given me the privilege to live life to the fullest and dedicate myself to other calling.
Years later, I learnt that these words of wisdom that I have been blessed with have been passed down from my mentor’s mentor, and this wise sage had also been a fortunate beneficiary of this ancient wisdom. He had also received the kindness that shaped his life and in turn offered it up to any aspiring individual who craves for success and personal greatness.
So, identify your own “10 Good Words” and be part of this inter-generation movement to propagate this ancient wisdom of developmental breakthrough.
Article contributed by Percy Chong (through Asian Sales Guru) |