Treat your goal as a North Star and chase it

As I watched the television news, the farmer, his wife, a reporter and a cameraman boated across flooded cornfields toward the farmhouse and buildings that stood at the center of this 1,000-acre Iowa family farm.

Of the 800 acres of corn planted this year, only three acres were not destroyed by the flood. All 200 acres of soy beans were lost.

The few surviving pigs from the 3,500 raised would need to be pulled from the water and euthanized.

The farmhouse they built just 10 years ago stood in water deep enough to lap the second-floor window trim.

The family had no crop or flood insurance; and the corn had been sold in advance on the futures market. So the buyer has a right to compensation from the farmer if the price of corn rises above that agreed upon in the contract.

The only bright spot in this sorry story was that no one died or was injured.

'We'll start over'

The reporter asked the farmer's wife what would they do. Through her tears the wife replied, "We'll clean up and start over."

The reporter asked if they expected help from anyone to get back on their feet. "No," the woman replied. "We're farmers; we're in charge of our own destiny. We chose to farm in the flood plain. We chose not to get insurance based on the history here. We'll be glad of any help that comes our way. But we don't expect it."

I was genuinely impressed by her attitude. Even when one of her worst nightmares had come true, this woman understood that she and her family are in charge of their own destiny.

She didn't blame The Almighty for the weather, the engineers who built the levees that failed, the governor for not providing more rescue resources or anyone else.

She mentioned only those aspects of the situation that had been in the control of she and her family. She took accountability for the dire financial circumstances that she and her family face. And I wanted to help her.

In charge of our destiny

The truth is to the extent that we have choices we all are in charge of our own destinies.

Success comes to people who accept that they are in charge of their own destiny, who recognize that almost every outcome is a consequence of a decision they made:

• They understand that they are faced with a set of choices every day; every hour of every day.
• They choose how they spend their time.
• They choose with whom they spend their time.
• They choose which business invitations to accept and which to decline.
• They choose to invest in activities and relationships that serve their purpose, their goals and their personal vision of success.

In sales, the necessity to live by the truth that we are in charge of our own destiny is probably more obvious than it is in many other professions.

Being proactive

The people who succeed in sales are the ones that are proactive:

• They are the ones who work the room at networking events.
• They are the ones who are planning several steps ahead.
• They are the ones who are assessing and evaluating the changing circumstances around them, and tweaking their strategy and tactics to make the most of the new situation.

Sales people who live by the truth that they are in charge of their own destiny are as independent and self-reliant as those Iowa farmers.

Securing a future

They work hard every day to secure their own futures; they don't expect help, they generate respect and goodwill as a result of their hard work and energetic pursuit of their goals.

And when they genuinely need help, it comes to them. Because almost everyone will help those who help themselves before turning to others.

In this tough economy, when even the weather seems to be against you, set a realistic goal based on where you want to go, and be honest about where you are starting from.

Treat your goal as your North Star. Henceforth, every choice you make can be evaluated by how it will serve you in reaching your North Star.

Create check points along the way when you will evaluate your progress. Strike out knowing that you are in charge of your own destiny.

And make the most of the help that comes to you along the way.

Jacqui Sakowski is president of Sakowski Consulting, a Middleton-based sales coaching, training and consulting company.