Goal Review

Right... time for a goal review. Part of me wants to write this... well pretty much all of me does now, some of me didn't before. Taking a bit more time on it than some of my posts- I've got my goals that I set out at the start of the year in front of me and I'm reviewing it.

Wealth wise, I'm doing alright up to press. Decent offensive play in earning money, and good defensive play in saving it. Have to remember in general to keep pushing my comfort zone, trying new ways to earn and save money is fun!

Sales... I think overall so far this year I have performed fairly well. Saying that, I haven't totally smashed it. Let's be direct- pretty recently I left one of the biggest and best companies in the UK for sales. I could have stayed there longer, but I felt that the sales process wasn't ideal (aka it wasn't really workable for the product I was selling... to be honest selling any kind of product in this way in the UK is very difficult now I believe) but more importantly, I wasn't enjoying it.

I left the company on probably the best terms I've left any company and they said they'd be happy for me to work for them again. I've had quite a few other sales jobs ring me up and offer me interviews (some practically giving me the job) but I'm going to be very choosy on what job I take if I'm going to go into another sales role.

Fact is, since then I've been putting more energy into my goals than I have been before really- putting in the hours in poker, surveys and ecommerce every day. Poker has been going pretty well this year... I'm running much better than last year. Cashed in 7 of the WBCOOP events, cashing in a lot of tournaments, cashed in the recent Sunday Storm. SCOOP is coming up and I have plenty of tickets. At my cash game peak, playing very nicely... have to rememebr just to put in the time at the cash tables, the results will come. Truth is, if these things go well enough that will be enough to support me financially anyway- even if I decide to do something else I'm developing great areas to achieve money 'on the side'.

I'm glad I've got a good group of people who're supporting me. Still want to meet more, and I still want my friends to achieve their goals too.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to get in touch if you think we can help each other reach our goals I'm Mark Howitt on Facebook and @MarkHowitt on Twitter.

Breaking Free of Social Norms

You only have one life.

As I've alluded to before, up until around 3 and a half years ago, I over thought things quite a lot. That's what playing chess, writing fiction, studying philosophy does to you. There would be so many thoughts bouncing around in my brain that I wouldn't TAKE ACTION on many of them. I also subconsciously probably had a mentality that I was alright enough to be 'good' at something but not amazing.

Like most people, I was stuck in my comfort zone. Although to be fair, I did push myself more than most. The principles still apply though, I was letting overthinking and social conditioning hold me back from interesting experiences.

As long as subconsciously you know what you want, and you have the right thinking behind wanting it, you should practically always trust your instincts. The default option is to ALWAYS trust your instincts- you will either be right or wrong, and personally my instincts are right about what I want at least 90% of the time.

Malcolm Gladwell's Blink has a more detailed and analytical explanation of this if that's what you're into. I personally found the book a bit complicated and long (although good overall!) and will maybe come back with an Amazon link to it. Not going to do that now though, want to keep the flow.

When a thought forms in your brain usually it's something which should be just acted on. There is a LOT of social conditioning going on in the UK which people don't realise. A lot of it is termed 'political correctness'- in a nutshell, if you're politically correct you're basically giving into a leftist doctrine. If that's what you want, that's OK for you, but it isn't for me. Quite often going around the UK now, when I feel alright at least, I feel like I'm doing what I want, DESPITE an element of 'Big Brother' watching me. Hi CCTV... yeah I'll just do what I want anyway.

I hope you're enjoying this post... now go take ACTION!

2011 Review and 2012 Goals

2011 Year Review


Alright... so let’s review my 2011 goals.

Play amazing poker. I want to play cash games at quite a lot higher level than I do now, and by this time next year I will do. Already deposited more in, tomorrow I start the gradual progression. I certainly will do this.


I didn’t really put much effort into this... more into sales. It’s good that I’m flexible enough to change focus. 2012, I think I probably will play less poker- have more money per hour doing sales. I’ve cashed most of my money out of ps and may even just use the fpps and tickets I have there. Plus poker tilts me too much when I lose. Poker only as an occasional hobby, when I don’t have the chance to do things that pay me more per hour or give me more fulfilment. I played far less poker than in the previous two years. Overall I played well, sometimes very well (in January I scored some pretty big tournament wins, outplaying people of Supernova Elite status), but have run pretty badly all year. This is what poker players call variance, although to be honest I didn’t run great in 2010 either, 2009 was alright. Hopefully there will still be some decent poker wins in my free time- I feel that my overall game is very strong now, and I can even take a bit of time off and come back close to that level if I need to.

I spent more of my free time doing surveys, and these have worked out pretty well. I’m a member of five good survey sites now, and would like to get even better at doing these and get a higher hourly rate doing them.
I’m also looking at ecommerce opportunities, so feel free to contact me if you have some decent knowledge in this field. At the right rate I’m available for any kind of writing. In poker, I need to calculate how much I’m making per hour and compare it properly with other activities. If I decide to put a reasonable amount of energy into poker, I need to work on how to improve my rate per hour.

4.5/10




Reach a high overall wealth. I’m setting myself an ambitious target again, and I’m ready to put all my energy and talent into getting it. I’m ready to do this- this time next year I expect my cash and share value to be a decent figure.


So I didn’t quite make this, although I have put all my energy into getting it. I purposely set myself a ‘stretch’ target so I’d push my boundaries, and although I didn’t quite get there I’m still reasonably happy with how I’ve done. The main reasons why I haven’t got there are not earning enough commission in the sales jobs I’ve had- partly my fault, partly not.

The stock market hasn't been performing too well... I’m long term buy and hold, and although the shares I’ve bought this year have gone up in value, existing ones haven’t. However, I am reasonably confident that in the long term my share portfolio will grow in value, and I do have a decent stream of dividends coming in.

People ask me why I think about money so much sometimes- I probably exaggerate how much I do, but part of the reason is I like the challenges I have to set myself and the person I have to become to get money.

I aim to earn more commission in sales jobs, buy shares wisely, and explore other ways of making more money in 2012. Short story, I’ve been a bit unlucky this year with earning money, but if I keep putting the same effort in, my ‘luck’ will change.

I’ve played very strong ‘defence’ in being careful with spending money, (I’ve done that all my life) but I need to play stronger offence in earning money. This may will involve investing and risking money, and buying things for myself.

7.2/10

Perform superbly in sales. This year in periods I’ve performed the best ever so far in sales. Under very challenging conditions too. Well I’ve learnt from that, and I’m learning every day. 2011 will be my best sales year yet!


I read something from Brian Tracy and it hit home to me:

"Remember, it takes just as long to be great as to be mediocre. The time is going to pass anyway. Your job is to commit to excellence, to get better and better each day, and to never, never stop until you reach the summit."

I love Brian Tracy. He’s like my grandfather guru. He’s right- you’re going to die and become nothing eventually, so you’ve got to make the most of the time you have. This article explains it superbly: http://www.rsdnation.com/tyler/blog/free-tour-3-unveiled-and-top-insights-2011

Comfort zones are for wimps.

Again, I’ve put the effort in. And in terms of actual sales skill I think I’ve performed the best I ever have. The results will come. The failings weren’t in actual sales ability- more to do with things like organisation.

7.25/10

So in 2011 I want to push my comfort zone and meet more GREAT people. Mutual fulfillment is what it's about, so I want to learn from them and provide value to them too.

I’ve done reasonably well in this area. I know a number of high value people who really inspire me, and encourage me to push my comfort zone. Congratulations to them! I've given it my best shot to provide value to them too, and am fairly pleased with how I've done on that. The high value new people I've met this year have the potential to be great, and I'm looking forward to watching them win the future. All the great people I know at the start of the year I still know now. My family have given me great support. Chances are if you're reading this blog there's a good chance you've helped me with my goals, and I appreciate that. I've recommended to friends to write down their own goals, which I think will help them. Whether you publish it for the world to see is up to you, but after twelve years of writing and studying goals, I have been more focused on my goals in 2011 than ever before, and part of that I attribute to sharing them publically. Keeps me accountable! I’ve done fairly nicely in meeting new people, but want to know more!

However, I do need to make sure I recognise people who are stopping me reach their goals and not allow them to, to put it mildly.

The best way to show people I appreciate their support is to succeed.

7.4/10


2012 Goals

2012 is going to be my best year yet. I’m going to blast through my comfort zone and achieve big things. Time to use money I’ve saved as great self investment.

Concrete daily, weekly and monthly goals are good too, will do these.

Here are my yearly goals which I will put all my energy and skill into achieving.

More money- I have an 'at least goal' a 'high goal' and a 'stretch goal'. I wil have no wealth barriers, I know I deserve and am worth it. Monitor money better, check sales performance carefully.

Even better at sales- killing it. I also want to be an expert in influencing and negotiating. Ready to do this in every way, managing, recruiting, training and selling. Better opportunities, more commission. Same effort level or even more effort, more skill. Better personal presentation, more self investment.

Better people. Done alright on this but want to meet even better ones. Have more to offer! Be more social. Help high value people with their goals pragmatically.

I realise the main goals I’ve written down aren’t the only things in life. Being in as physically good condition as possible, and challenging your mind intellectually with new experiences are important, and I will aim to incorporate these within my goals.

I'd like to calculate the amount of fulfilment I receive per hour... quite hard to quantify, but I should at least make sure what I am doing in my 'spare time' is consistent with my non monetary goals.

I want to write more quality content, potentially audio or even video content too, providing authentic and original value, which should lead to increased hits.

I want to improve my level of health, eating better foods.

Less internet drama, focus more on positivity.

Breaking the Boundaries... who says you can't sell to someone you've only just met?

A lot of my sales jobs have been what some people call "door to door".

In fact, one of my first 'proper sales jobs' was selling gas and electricity for the biggest company in the field. Being honest with you... even I was slightly surprised I got it- but as in practically every job that's been decent in my life, it took one quick interview then they offered it to me.

Still, just before the job started I was wondering "But... how can you walk up to a random person's door and expect them to buy a service from you that could cost them a thousand pounds per year?" For sure, this kind of approach hurdles over a lot of 'sales theory'.

Thing is though, practically everyone in the UK could save some money on gas and electricity. And you have to believe that. Plus most people don't understand the industry much, (I didn't when I just started). So you have the chance to actually educate people, AND save them some money.

One thing I would say about this industry... it helps having a strong brand. Nobody is going to like everything about a company, but if they know who you are, you've got a much better chance.

Anyway, let me tell you my typical opening line, "Hi it's Mark from xxx, (shows ID badge), just a quick call..."

Let me explain that last part for you. Even one of my managers thought it was wrong, but it isn't :). You see, when people open their door they usually are at least a bit apprehensive. They're worried that you could stay there for hours, or that you might be trying to "take money from them". Beauty of gas and electricity sales is, you don't take a penny from them. All you're actually doing is saving them some money- so this phrase puts people at ease. Also, you're establishing the frame- this will be a quick call.

Usually, you can tell right away if you've got a chance of a sale. If you have, sometimes it's just a matter of building a "Yes ladder"... sometimes very simple...

"I believe we've supplied you in the past at some point, is that correct?"

"Yes." (You can usually tell from the body language here if they were at least satisfied with the service.)

"Great, well would you be interested perhaps in saving some money?"

"Yes."

Anyway, that's an example of how easy it could be... being really honest again, I would say that only happened in around 5-10% of cases of people you actively talked to, still happened though :).

The Art of Face to Face Sales

I was never trained to be a salesman.

I never even imagined myself doing it until I was about twenty... then I discovered that a LOT of successful people started in sales. Those self development books you might have heard of or read? W Clement Stone, author of The Success System That Never Fails got started at around four. Dale Carneige sold bacon, soap and lard.

Chess and fiction writing are... pretty different from sales. Most people who do these kinds of things are not too hot at selling themselves or products. But the character traits you develop in these kinds of areas can actually help you to be excellent in sales. You see, and this is the kind of thing which surprised me when I started out, most salespeople don't study sales at all. They just get by on being naturally sociable people. This comes as a shock to a chessplayer. Quite comical looking back at it, in my first proper sales job asking bewildered colleagues if they had "heard of NLP?"

So... you're making a decent living (and this has been your profession for years) but you haven't heard of NLP? Ironically, some of them were using it in a way without knowing.

Anyway, forget money for a second, sales skills you develop can help you in all areas of life. Sales is a real life test of your body language reading skills, memory, vocabulary and often physical endurance. There is no hiding place. You are responsible for your results, and there is no rule that says just because you "turn up for work" you will get anything.

So anyway, as with a lot of what I do, I read a ton of theory before I even started DOING the subject. Probably too much, but it all helps in a way. Ironic thing is, if you're doing a sales job for fourteen days in a row, you don't have much time to read any theory then. Which is good in a way, because you only "get good" at sales by doing it a lot. Rinse, repeat. Do it over and over and over again.

Doing this, over time you become really sharp at reading body language. Within a fraction of a second of somebody opening their door to you, you just know which tone of voice to use, which words to say. Key point here, and those of you who've read me writing about this before may have guessed this already, a lot of it comes down to being none needy.

Even if you are saying all your nice sales lines you have learnt in a book, or even been taught in the field, many people can reject you just because your body language or tone of voice is slightly incongruent. It's happened a lot to me. But now when I get anywhere near the peak of my performance, doesn't happen too much, at least compared to other salesmen.

You should set yourself goals, your own goals like in Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, not just "management targets". Short term goals work for me... I usually set myself ones that are a bit 'unrealistic' so even if I get close, that's pretty good. This allows you to keep your frame, even after constant rejection. If your subconscious mind really wants it, everything you do will bring you closer, even when dog tired. That's how it's been for me this year.

Copywriter

I'm currently looking for copywriting, editing and proofreading opportunities. I'll even consider interesting free or lowly paid assignments at the moment, to gain some experience. Let me know if you want me!

Oh and this too... all companies or people who I write for will be provided with a link to this blog, and I will recommend you to my friends. I also have extensive sales experience which will help monetise your product. Check out www.steviepua.com- a site I have helped with concept and editing.

Discounted Playing to Win for ECF Forum Members

Quick post here.

A lot of traffic I get for this site is from ECF forum members. Obviously my 'politically incorrect' views attract some attention. I do bitch quite a bit on that to be honest, but I'd rather be a bit controversial than boring, especially if it reveals something about the chess world.

Anyway, because I know chess players like to be thrifty with their money, for one week I'm going to offer Playing to Win at half price for ECF forum members. If you get in touch with me via the comments or elsewhere, I'll send you the book for £4.75- you don't get many chess books that cheap!

Playing to Win