Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

I am SO sick of hearing the word "Surviving" and all of its cousins (survive, survivability, etc) when it comes to the economy. All of the upcoming conferences for our industry are on surviving and it is making me NUTS. What a self-fulfilling prophesy that is. Let me give you an example.

I got a call last week from one of the PIA Affiliates. They want me to write 3000 words for their upcoming magazine, which is to titled "From Surviving to Thriving." Gag me. I couldn’t stand it any longer, so as we were talking I said, "Can we PLEASE find a better way to say what it is we are trying to say? How about, ‘The Top Profit Opportunities in 2009!’? That has such a better spin and sound.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all get it. We all know how crappy the economy is and how negative the environment is these days. WE GET IT! It is everywhere. It is unavoidable. Do we have to attend a conference or read a magazine whose headline thought is, "Business sucks. Come talk/read about it."?

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the glass is half full. Opportunity to succeed abounds. Things ARE getting better. Get it? Put that thought in your head and believe it. Feel that it has already happened and see what that does for your attitude, especially your sales attitude. Do you think people really want to get a sales call from Eeyore? Don’t you think they’d rally around someone who brings a message of "Yes we can!" instead of "Oh no, we’re doomed!"?

Why do people buy from you? Make a list. At the bottom of the list, add the word "Optimism." Do it. Do it now. It will help you to survive! 

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