Today I'm 60. How I avoid growing old

In fact I’m celebrating two anniversaries today. It’s my 60th birthday and 30 years ago in July 1985 I started my career in being a trainer-consultant specialized in Sales and Leadership.

So what’s so special about this?

I’ll tell you: there are people who tend to change with age and become less “people friendly”. Some say this happens because they ended up being frustrated about the way their life slipped through their fingers. They then tend to get the feeling that there is not much to expect any more in life and become miserable.

There is also another breed of human beings: those that believe that life has a lot to give no matter what their age is. These people have a different mind-set and enjoy every day in their lives.

So what do you need for this?

Here are some ideas that will help you stay young and enjoy every day for the rest of your life.

Pursue your passion. Sales has always been a driving force in my life. Discovering what I wanted and pursuing this helped me to specialize myself in assisting companies in their growth. So, pursuing your passion never ends. You’re never too old to make a difference.

Accept your age. It’s no use fighting the process of aging. What you can do is to have a positive mind-set and be happy with the person you are.

Ignore retirement. Yes! Often when people retire they go into a kind of hibernation. The brain tells the body that there is not much to think about. The body then stops being too active. Not retiring does not mean hanging on to a job you hate. It means keeping your brains active. By doing so, the brain tells the body it is still active which has a positive effect on your physical health.

Surround yourself with young people. My experience with young people is that they have a positive effect on more mature professionals. By having the right mix of people in your team, you stimulate the input of new ideas and get an exchange of experience and learning. Change happens in a more natural way and the team keeps each other highly motivated and active.

Don’t think you know it all, listen and keep on learning from others. Experience and routine are often the pitfall for mature managers. It creates a lot of assuming and blocks the ability of learning from others. Big mistakes were made because of this.

Love people. I’ve seen people disliking the people around them. With age their frustrations grow, due to their attitude towards others. Change this by finding the positive in those around you and if you think their behaviour is not OK, try influencing them by using a more constructive and positive behaviour. Remember: behaviour breeds behaviour!

Eat and drink healthy and listen to your body. When progressing with age it’s even more important to listen carefully to your body. If you listen well you will identify the signals your body transmits to you. These signals also tell you what’s good or not good for you. Interpret them and change bad habits that will harm you.

Enjoy life, have fun and be happy with the person you are. Avoid turning into an old and grumpy person. Positive people in general live longer and have a better quality of life. Isn’t that what we all want?

Want to know more? Contact me.

What flying and selling have in common!

Although most sales people see the Sales Process in general as an instrument to monitor and steer their daily activities by management, the opposite in fact is true. The Sales Process is there for the Customer and the Sales Professional!

Compare this to a pilot who is ready to embark on a flight from Amsterdam to Boston. Before taking off, the pilot first does the walk around of the aircraft using checks and balances to make sure that all is OK. He then goes through a series of checks and balances in the cockpit and with the crew on board.

After all has been checked and found in good condition, he considers the aircraft ready for a safe flight.

Just before take-off both pilots again perform one last safety and technical process before lining up on the runway for take-off.

In business the Sales Process works in the same way for the Sales Professional.

It helps the Sales Professional to have all the checks and Balances in place and working as to perform professionally time after time. It does even more:

• It helps increase effectiveness and efficiency continuously.
• It helps avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.
• It helps improve the success rate of your efforts.
• It boosts continuous improvement of your actions.
• It has a positive effect on your career.
• And it helps make your life easier.

And remember this: just as with the pilot, it helps you avoid catastrophic situations that can get you in trouble!