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BIG PICTURE
I
Am a Professional
A simple way to build your self-confidence that really works.
by Cheryl Strickland
| FAVORITE MOTIVATIONAL TAPES |
One way to motivate yourself and help build your self-confidence
is to listen to advice from professionals. Motivational tapes
can help us feel better about ourselves, achieve more, sell
more and profit.
Ginny Conner submitted this list of her favorite tapes to Cheryl
Strickland’s SewWhat? newsletter.
• “The Aladdin Factor” by Jack Canfield and Mark
Victor Hansen
• “Goals” by Zig Ziglar
• “The Universal Laws of Success and Achievement”
by Brian Tracy
• “How to Master Your Time” by Brian Tracy
• “The Luck Factor” by Brian Tracy
• “The Psychology of Achievement” by Brian Tracy
• “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill with
interviews with other top achievers
• “Unlimited Power” by Anthony Robbins
• “Getting Rich in America” by Brian Tracy
• “The Psychology of Selling” by Brian Tracy |
It is important
to learn as much as we can about the mechanics of making window
treatments, but we won’t get very far in our businesses if
we lack self-confidence. My own personal motto has always been:
“Go for it!”
You certainly won’t succeed if you don’t even try. And,
yes, you might fail. But we all learn through our failures, so don’t
call them failures; call them “educational experiences.”
I’m sure that all of you know that Babe Ruth for many years
held the record for the most home runs hit during a baseball season.
But many people do not know that he also struck out the most, too!
When you think of it, it does make sense. The ones who succeed the
most also are the ones who try the most. Did you know that Abraham
Lincoln lost many elections before he finally became president of
the United States? Makes you think, doesn’t it?
DRAMATIC CHANGE
I am happy to say that in the last decade or so I have observed
a dramatic change in the overall self-awareness and self-confidence
of workroom personnel. Many are actually starting to think of themselves
as professionals! (As they should!)
As a result, others outside our industry are starting to recognize
us as professionals, too. The mental picture of the “little
old ladies sewing in their basements for something to do” just
isn’t going to work any longer. And I say, “Three cheers!”
and “good for us!”
SAY IT, FEEL IT
For those of you who would like to continue—or to begin—to
build your self-confidence, I’d like to share my favorite way
of doing it. If you’ve been to my seminars or the Custom Home
Furnishings Industry Trade Show and Conference, you’ve heard
me share it before, but it’s great, so here it goes:
Say to yourself in the mirror, “I am a professional,”
with the emphasis on the word “I.” Now, with even more
conviction, say it again, but with the emphasis on the word “am.”
“I am a professional.” And now, with even more conviction,
say it with the emphasis on the word “professional.” “I
am a professional.”
Just hearing yourself say it helps you feel that way! Practice it
as often as you like. Really get into it and really believe it.
And the next time you see me at a seminar or trade show or at the
school, come right up to me and say, “Cheryl, I am a professional!”
 Cheryl
Strickland is owner of Professional Drapery School, Swannanoa, NC,
and is an internationally acclaimed speaker with 20 years experience
in the window coverings industry. She is the publisher and editor
of Sew WHAT?, an international monthly newsletter for professional
drapery workrooms. |
