HOW CHAMPIONS WIN

Winners are those who are more than willing to surpass their limitations. They resort to ways that are oftentimes out of the ordinary in order to succeed.

For example, Mr. Fil Barbasa III is not one who confines himself to his circumstances. When he saw a big house with a impressive swimming pool, he said, "I'll also have those for myself-bigger and more beautiful!" Fil was definite and determined when he uttered this. What is admirable is that he said this when he was still earning sixteen pesos a day.

BIg dreams are they not? What is wrong with having big dreams? Everyone is entitled to his dreams. But some dreams are different. They are not based on hope alone. Like Fil's dreams, they are statements of decision and conviction.

A dreamer without conviction will simply say, "Sana, magkaroon din ako ng ganitong bahay balang araw. May awa ang diyos! (How I wish that someday I would have this kind of a house to. God is mercyful!)" How easily he invokes the name of God. What if his dreams are not fulfilled because of his own shortcomings? How will that reflect on God? Lacking in mercy?

Fil's exposure to selling started when he was still in Grade six. He had very humble beginnings, and he is not ashamed to admit it. He has seven siblings; that was why his daily school baon (provisions) at that time was less than meager. Oftentimes, it amounted to nothing.

What he did was pick up guavas in the forest every weekend and exchanged it for paper, which he in turn sold to his classmates during school days. His additional income came from selling sweepstakes tickets.

In 1974, with three long-sleeved shirts and two pairs of pants, he migrated to Manila. He left his hometown in Capiz to look for his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so to speak. But he ended up in a Makati prison for jay-walking.

Fil earned eight pesos a day in his first job. He changed jobs several times and sold various goods in between-bangus (milkfish), Reader's Digest, Life Magazine, as well as other magazines and comics.
The challenge to improve his lot came when he was told that he had no future in comics.

He took the challenge to heart until he succeeded. He built a thirty-million-peso residential mansion, bought a Mercedes Benz and had just about one of almost everything. "If you put your heart and mind into your dreams, your dream will come true," Fil concluded his story with a smile.

In 1984, a leading sales trainer in the US, accompanied by his three children, aged 14, 12 and 10, visited the Philippines. I went with them to the Manila Zoo. His three children meandered to where the elephants were while we chatted nearby.

In the midst of our conversation, the American noted how low the walls were where the elephants were kept and how thin the rope tied around the hind leg of each was. The stakes where the ropes were tied were small as well.

The American in no time approached the caretaker and reprimanded him for what he thought was standard security in the Manila Zoo. "You may not be able to pay the insurance of my children the moment you elephants go astray."

"How come? Who are you, sir?" asked the bewildered caretaker.

"I'm the best sales trainer in the entire US."
"Sir, if you are an expert in training people, I am the best animal trainer here. So you listen to me."

The American was dumbfounded at the caretaker's reply. So, he heard him out.
"For your information, sir, these animals," the caretaker started his discourse, "were still newly born when they were made to roll in the mud. They were stubborn, so they were tied with fat ropes to big stakes in order for them to stay in place."
"Why?" asked the American.
"We wanted them to learn that they couldn't free themselves however much they tried, whenever they made any attempts. We did that for six months. Because they knew no better, they grew up thinking that they couldn't free themselves from being tied, however thin the ropes and small the stakes are."
The elephants in our story are no different from the eaglet that grew up in a chicken brood. They were given restrictions, and they failed to surmount them. It is like putting a barrier on every path that leads to glory.
Will you acquiesce to something like this? I think you will not! You are a man. Just as what I have been telling right from the start, you are a winner-a champion. My job is to make you aware of this fact: THAT YOU ARE BETTER OFF THAN THE PERSON YOU THINK YOU ARE.
Mr Fil. Barbasa III did not allow himself to be shackled by his circumstances then, that is why he is successful now. He was not the only one who did this. There were many others. To mention a few, we have Mr. David Loo, a Malaysion; Mrs. Miguelita M. Terrado of the Turkey-Philippines Export-Import Co., Who underwent a lot of trials in Singapore before attaining success; Mr. Norman L. Goss, a trainor of trainors; Ms. Tine Mendez; Ms. Gina G. Manandic; and Ms. Sally M. Bascara.

Why are these sales champions CHAMPIONS? What has catapulted them to where they are now? How have they created that urgent necessity to really reach for success? How has this strange thing called "madness"? pushed them to the fulfillment of their dreams?
His peers insulted Fil because of his comics business. He was hurt, but he did not get angry. Instead, he worked harder. Lita Terrado was disappointed by her experiences in Singapore, but she did not give up. David Loo was accused of a lot of things, but these did not affect him. Instead, he pushed himself some more. What made all of them succeed? It is simple: THEY DREADED BEING BRANDED AS FAILURES.
As the lyrics of an internationally famous song by the pop group Abba go: the winner takes it all, the loser has to fall. This is true, especially in cockfighting. When you lose, the winner takes your fighting cock home in addition to his winnings. Is this not embarrassing? So, if you are afraid to be taken for a loser, the only thing left to do is WIN!

I have used the fear factor not only once to speed up beyond what is normal the salespeople under me who are just beginning in their careers. I tell them, "If you cannot sell despite all the training and support given you by the management, don't call yourselves salespersons-persons, yes; but not salespersons. If you cannot close a sales, why, we will close the company for you."
As expected, we get almost one hundred percent favorable results. Sometimes we even surpass our expectations. At times, I get the impression that they are people of cheap thrills; that they are content only with hundreds of thousands. But, to my surprise, they have needs, and many of them reach millions in earnings.
In one of his recent convention lectures, Mr. Rene A. Espinosa, vice president for a sales and marketing department of a well reputed management corporation, said: "Peak performance can be achieved even when under peak pressure-by your boss, by somebody or something else. By PEAK, I mean, you should exercise POSITIVE THINKING, have ENTHUSIASM, or the science of action."
This is true, especially with regard to the aspect of positive thinking. With it, you are able to do everything better than with negative thinking.
Zig Ziglar, before becoming a phenomenal sales motivator, was a negative thinker. When he switched to being a positive thinker, he garnered one of the top positions in their organization and handled seven thousand salespersons as a result thereof.
The same principle is being advocated by Mr. Norman L. Goss, trainor of trainors in all his lecture series: STOP WHINING; BE A WINNER SIMPLY BY THINKING POSITIVE.
We all know that negative attitudes, including all its relatives, are definitely detrimental to one's struggle for success. We need to eliminate them right from the start, because nothing good will come out of nurturing them. In fact, we should not even think about negative influences. Why?
"What we think and how we think are what come to us in whatever form they are. If we think we're failures, failures we will be. If we think we're successful, then successful we will be," opined Dr. Jocano.