E31: Creativity, Part 2: Sales Cure Everything

Sales cure everything, but not for the reason you think.

There’s a faded sticky note that hangs on my writing desk with these words scrawled across it:

“Be the one who changes everyone else’s luck when you walk in the room.” 

It’s a quote attributed to Hafiz. I hung it there to remind me of how I want to show up in the world. These words remind me that it is my role to support the work of others. We like to think of ourselves as the heroes of our stories, but when you are called to lead other leaders this is what I know to be true:

Shining brightly means you are the spotlight, not the star of the show.

When I shine, it creates a bright space for your genius to step into the light.

When you do the same, who are you creating space for? (Reply to this email and let me know).

Reading Donald Miller’s book, Story Brand, helped me articulate this. But it didn’t answer the most important question for me and almost every business owner I know:

How do I find ease while serving my vision?

For me, ease meant finally getting my finances in order. For you, it might mean finding the time to go fishing once per week or detaching from your phone for a few hours. Whatever it is, most of us have fallen into the trap of believing that the only way growth happens is through constant hustle. So, we sacrifice ease for the painful pace that we think will buy us greatness.

What did answer this question for me, was combining Miller’s wisdom about my role as a leader with a firm grip on what has become my number one business rule:

Sales cure everything.

If that sentence reads cold to you, hang with me.

Too many of us are uncomfortable with money, for a multitude of reasons. For me, it was a verse from the Christian Bible repeated like a mantra by my family throughout my childhood: 

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The message was communicated to us like this: Money makes you sinful. The more of it you have, the less pure you are.

But this is dead wrong. That belief held my personal kindness revolution back for years until I finally realized that money only amplifies what we already are. 

The reason that sales cure everything has nothing to do with how many vacations you go on, what kind of car you drive or the size of your company. Sales cures everything because of what it buys you:

Sales buy you the freedom to shine big enough for everyone you want to serve to stand in the light.

Sales make hiring that brilliant Mom at a respectable salary possible.

Sales make providing benefits to your employees possible.

Sales make sponsoring your favorite non profit possible. Sales make the vacation that renews you for another round of work possible. Sales make buying the building that revitalizes a downtrodden neighborhood possible.

Sales are the tool you use to change everyone else’s luck when you walk in the room.

The reason the first pillar, the Sales/Marketing arm,  of your business must be strong before we move on to anything else is that it makes everything else possible.

To change anyone else’s luck, we must first fall in love with sales. 

In episode 31 of Small Stage, Big Impact we discuss:

• [2:35] What it really means to shine brightly as a leader
• [3:48] Why “hustle” is not the answer to achieving our dreams and goals (and what is)
• [5:43] How our view of money could be holding us back from living our best lives
• [7:21] How sales are a tool for transforming the world around us and leaving a legacy of kindness

Resources mentioned by Renia in the episode:

• Purchase Story Brand by Donald Miller
• Don’t miss any of our Summer Strategy Sessions.