Bangkok City, Thailand
I'm an avid Vipassana meditator and in sales; a strange way to introduce myself in a corporate setting but let's run with it for now. I never thought serious meditation and sales would have any resemblance and here I am writing about how similar the two are. The yardstick to measure progress on this spiritual path is the cultivation of 2 qualities that arise in the mind: (1) gratitude and (2) the willingness to serve others without expecting anything in return. You're probably thinking by now "where is this going and how does this relate to sales?" or "this is a bit woo-woo, is this kid alright?" The first point is self-explanatory; a little harder to do when I get told to "piss off" in a cold call but it's an opportunity for me to practice patience and compassion, which I can thank the prospect for. The second point is where I find they strongly relate. Sales can be transactional, however it seems that the top salespeople have this trait, which is the ability to serve others honestly. I used to think you had to be quite the shady character to be in sales (I'm sure they're still out there) but upon learning the top salespeople having this quality - to serve others honestly - it was a light-bulb moment for me.