By Danny Bowling

I have spent endless amounts of money over the years purchasing books and going to seminars to learn the art of sales. I wanted to be the best salesperson in the world!

Experience leads us to learn the truth about who we are and what we need to do to succeed in life. This article is about my five truths as I have lived them.

“Out with the old; in with the new,” my dad would say.  I remember when I was 15 years old we moved into a new house.  Before that we rented.  Moving into our new house was so exciting.  It was a simple house, a rancher.  It had three small bedrooms, a small living room, a small bathroom, and a reasonably sized kitchen.  But it had a great yard that backed up to state-owned property that was an open field.  So my sister and brother and I had lots of room to play.  We didn’t miss the “old.”

All the great ones know the value of consistency.  Practice, repetition, and habits are the tools used to build consistent performance.  Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyewski claims consistency, in his case consistency of message, as a leadership skill.  Diligently practicing each game plan, repeating shooting form and rebounding techniques, and building success habits are methods Coach K uses to consistently teach his coaching philosophy to his team.  His quiet message of consistency is displayed in his team’s daily workout regimen.  As the team moves from drill to drill, an occasional coach’s whistle signals a change in direction.  A focused instruction to help a player improve devolves into a team learning activity.

Inspiration is the secret to your success. Every time you walk on to the stage and prepare to perform your job, the manner in which you inspire your performance will determine your success that day and for days to come. 

I’m so excited.  For years I have wanted to attend a PGA event.  Over the 4th of July Tiger Woods will be teeing it up for the first time in a tournament carrying his name.  It is the AT&T National and it is being played at the Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C.  As the host, Tiger has committed to set aside 30,000 tickets for members of the military who want to attend.  He’s a class guy and his tournament will be a class event.  I’ll be there to watch.

An 11-year-old told me that he would rather play video games than have to work hard to achieve a goal.  Unfortunately, he appeared to be serious.  I was shaken by that comment because it lent credibility to what theretofore had been just an ugly supposition.