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Tallahassee, FL—As anyone who travels by air knows, the safety demonstration at the start of every flight says that in the event of an emergency, you should put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others. It’s a good lesson for many aspects of life, not just on a plane.

In this installment of our series, we discuss the importance of learning how to maintain your level of passion and energy. How many times have you witnessed someone walk away from their sales career when everything seemed to be going well? Often it is because they are burned out and cannot find a renewed passion and energy to continue. At first they thought a vacation might remedy the situation, and they return refreshed with a newfound sense of urgency, thinking all is well. A few weeks later, they feel empty again and looking for answers. I hope to give you some answers to bring your sales career to new heights.

So many things can cause you to lose your passion and energy: financial problems, relationship problems, illness, or even a negative work environment. All of these things cause holes in your emotional tank that allow your passion and energy to leak out, leaving you desperate for answers.

It is important to learn to manage your mind daily, and fill up your passion and energy tank. This allows you to perform at a higher level, and give your customers the ultimate experience. You can't help others if you're not feeling great yourself.

Many problems salespeople have can be repaired, starting with a renewed spirit of passion and energy. Start by looking at your work environment. How much passion and energy do you see? Always remember that people will mirror whatever you put out. Positive energy will bring you positive results. Negative energy will give you negative results. Think of the impact that passion and energy could make in your store environment if you showed excitement towards every single customer that you served. Your customer base would grow rapidly, because the passion and energy that flows out from you will begin to fill up your customer’s emotional tank. You are now giving them a gift that is priceless—and hard to find—these days.

Take a moment and think about that last statement. You are not just selling your customer anymore. You are impacting their lives in a powerful way and sharing something special with them. How could they not repay you with their loyalty and trust? They are indebted to your kindness and the gift that you gave them.

Here are a few things I recommend to help you renew your passion and energy. The first is to show up at work 15 minutes early every day. Examine yourself and set your mind for success. Put aside all the negative things that hinder you from greatness. Fill up your passion and energy tank.

Second, focus on areas of your life that cause holes to appear in your emotional tank and begin to repair them.

I challenge everyone to look within and check their levels of passion and energy. I am pretty sure that many of you could use a fill-up. In my second book titled, The Modern Day Store: Creating a Unified Store, there is a section on “Understanding Life’s Defining Moments.” If you want to learn how to plug those holes that appear in your passion and energy tank, I encourage you to read that section in Chapter 2. Passion and energy are the fuels that drive you to greatness, so it is vital that you master the skill of maintaining high levels of both.

In our next installment, we will address how to create a” show time” experience for your customer. 

Modern Day Selling offers the freshest new insight in jewelry sales training designed to help sales associatse achieve greater success. As a yearly million-dollar-plus sales associate for the past eight years, Brian Barfield practices what he preaches on finding success based on the core principles of trust, honest and integrity. He is a two time published author whose insight is being recognized around the world. For more information or in-store training, visit his website or email brian@moderndayselling.com.