"What's Your Problem"
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WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?
The Big C While watching the pre-game show on ESPN last night, I noticed that one of my favorite commentators, Stuart Scott, had lost a lot of weight. It concerned me so I went on line and discovered that Stuart has cancer. He won the battle the first time and his cancer was in remission, but again, his cancer had returned. He Still Works What impressed me was his comment on Twitter: "Blessed by prayers, I am back in the fight. C reared its head again. Chemo every two weeks but I will still work and still work out . . . Here's what I do right after chemo. Leave the infusion center and go straight to do a P90X workout . . . That's how you . . . #Livestrong." Stuart has every excuse in the world to sit back and relax, and yet, he chooses to continue working. It is that attitude that will make life easier for him no matter what the outcome. Unexplained Lump I can relate to what Stuart was saying because in 1959 my Dad found out that he had a deadly cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. When he found a lump on his nose that would not go away, he went to four doctors for diagnosis. The fifth doctor decided to operate to see what was causing the lump. Diagnosis Confirmed The next time I saw my Dad was in room 232 at Hotel Dieu Hospital in New Orleans, and he was minus his nose. My Dad was only 39 years old. My cousin, who was a pathologist in Atlanta, drove all the way from Atlanta to New Orleans to look under the microscope because he did not believe that my Dad had rhabdomyosarcoma. He also confirmed the diagnosis and told my Dad to get his papers in order. Back To Work When I visited my Dad in the hospital, he said that he had a goal to retire at 55 years old from the wholesale meat business and he planned to focus on that goal. He returned to work, but one year later, the cancer was back, this time in the lymph nodes in his neck. The doctor removed the lymph nodes and gave my Dad little hope for the future. No Excuses Again, when I walked into the hospital room, my Dad repeated his goal to retire at 55 years old. He went back to work, and did indeed, retire at 55 years old. Today, he is 95 years old and counting. He has lived with a prosthesis for a nose all his life and has never complained about how unfair life has treated him. Before he purchased the prosthesis, my Dad made sales calls with a bandage for a nose. He didn't use the bandage as an excuse to not make sales calls. Get Back To Work My dad had every reason in the world to take it easy while he waited to die. Instead, he went to work and focused on living while he still had the opportunity. I watched him work every day, and he didn't focus on his cancer; he focused on his business. Living With Cancer When my sister developed colon cancer 25 years ago, I sent to her Bernie Siegel's recording of "Love, Medicine, and Miracles," which is also a best-selling book about living with cancer. My sister listened to the recordings every day, and when Bernie Siegel was speaking in Louisville, she came to hear him. She was encouraged to live life with her cancer, and today, 25 years later, she is living her life fully with no sign of cancer. What's The Point? What's the point? I have seen people, with a lot less than cancer, decide to give up on life and business because of a minor setback. The secret for a fulfilling life is to continue to live no matter what the diagnosis. Circumstances will eventually change, good or bad, but if you are patient and moving forward, the outcomes will almost always end up for the better. What's Your Problem So I go back to my original premise for this article: What's your problem? What obstacles keep you from moving forward? Acknowledge your situation, Accept whatever it is, Adjust to the new circumstances, and take Action to change what you can. That sure does beat sitting on the sidelines waiting to die. Do It Anyway Stuart Scott has been fighting his battle with cancer since 2007. He commented, "Cancer sucks, and the effects of chemotherapy suck, and you are going to feel terrible sometimes. But you're going to feel like that whether you're lying in bed or going to work or working out, so you might as well go out there and live your life..." © 2013 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. |
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To see Joe and hear one of his favorite selling tips, follow this link to a video he created to share with folks who are interested in making more sales, or finding a job:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9AyPsDMu0I
REPRINT info: Joe Bonura (502) 553-1746 phone E-mail: joe@bonura.com About Joe Bonura His background is unique. Joe owned and operated a highly successful advertising agency for 18 years. During that time, he found his advertising campaigns were more effective when he educated his clients in the areas of sales and service. He conducted training seminars for his clients as added value. Word spread that Joe was a quality speaker and more and more people asked him to speak. The demand became so high that he sold the agency to three of his associates to start his own speaking and consulting company, Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. Joe is past President of the Kentucky Speakers Association and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a prestigious designation earned by only 8% of the 3,600 member National Speakers Association. Joe presently serves on the board of directors of NSA. He is author of the audio learning systems "Three-Dimensional Selling®" and "Turning Customer Satisfaction Into Customer Excitement®." He is author of the book Throw the Rabbit—The Ultimate Approach to Three-Dimensional Selling. Click here TO ENGAGE JOE BONURA FOR A TRAINING SEMINAR AT YOUR COMPANY
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