Selling cars challenged me to make some personal changes as well. These changes have been physical, mental, and spiritual, and are certainly continuous and evolving.
Part of the purpose of this blog is to explore some of my experiences with people, with new things and ideas, and to to explore how these help to mold me to become better at my job and hopefully to become a better person in general as well.
Buddhists (among others) believe in reincarnation, and although that is not my personal belief, selling cars has been a reincarnation for me. (Plus I liked the chance to emphasize "CAR" in the title.)
This kind of thinking says that each life is a continuation of a previous life, one which provides opportunity after opportunity to build and learn from previous experiences.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, selling cars was a completely new experience for me. Yet I was and am able to draw from previous experiences and learn from them.
Although I had never worked where my pay was based completely on commission, I had held jobs in which I received some or most of my compensation through commissions and/or bonuses.
While my pay may not have been based upon my product knowledge and abilities to rapidly establish relationships with people, my effectiveness in those jobs as well as my opportunities for advancement certainly were.
And while in the past my compensation was not directly related to prolonged contact with so many people with such diverse backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, my own background and history definitely provide me with many experiences from which I am able to reflect upon and use every day.
Not only was this new job of selling cars a type of reincarnation for me then, it remains so now. No 2 days are exactly the same. No 2 car deals are exactly alike.
Buddhism teaches that humans suffer because we are always striving for things which do not lead to lasting happiness. To end suffering, one must strive to truly understand the world.
Well, to be the best I can become at selling cars, I have to understand what my clients' needs, wants, and means are. However, even if I am able to provide them with the car that is perfect for them, it can only provide temporal happiness and frankly a possession which is simply temporal as well.
If my client and I are both willing, we can provide each other with something far greater than a car deal. We can build a relationship, one that has the potential to be long lasting, with benefits far greater than a set of wheels and a paycheck.
I have the ability to experience a reincarnation of sorts each and every day, an opportunity to learn from the previous day. In fact, this ability extends itself to each and every contact I have multiple times throughout the day, whether with clients, co-workers, or tire-kickers. (More on those in another post some day.)
Perhaps the same holds true for each of us regardless of our job or particular life situation. There is an opportunity for each of us, every day, and perhaps even every moment to be better guests at the "inn".
Buddhists (among others) believe in reincarnation, and although that is not my personal belief, selling cars has been a reincarnation for me. (Plus I liked the chance to emphasize "CAR" in the title.)
Life is a journey. Death is a return to earth. The universe is like an inn. The passing years are like dust. Regard this phantom world as a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream. - Buddha
This kind of thinking says that each life is a continuation of a previous life, one which provides opportunity after opportunity to build and learn from previous experiences.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, selling cars was a completely new experience for me. Yet I was and am able to draw from previous experiences and learn from them.
Although I had never worked where my pay was based completely on commission, I had held jobs in which I received some or most of my compensation through commissions and/or bonuses.
While my pay may not have been based upon my product knowledge and abilities to rapidly establish relationships with people, my effectiveness in those jobs as well as my opportunities for advancement certainly were.
And while in the past my compensation was not directly related to prolonged contact with so many people with such diverse backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, my own background and history definitely provide me with many experiences from which I am able to reflect upon and use every day.
Not only was this new job of selling cars a type of reincarnation for me then, it remains so now. No 2 days are exactly the same. No 2 car deals are exactly alike.
Buddhism teaches that humans suffer because we are always striving for things which do not lead to lasting happiness. To end suffering, one must strive to truly understand the world.
Well, to be the best I can become at selling cars, I have to understand what my clients' needs, wants, and means are. However, even if I am able to provide them with the car that is perfect for them, it can only provide temporal happiness and frankly a possession which is simply temporal as well.
If my client and I are both willing, we can provide each other with something far greater than a car deal. We can build a relationship, one that has the potential to be long lasting, with benefits far greater than a set of wheels and a paycheck.
I have the ability to experience a reincarnation of sorts each and every day, an opportunity to learn from the previous day. In fact, this ability extends itself to each and every contact I have multiple times throughout the day, whether with clients, co-workers, or tire-kickers. (More on those in another post some day.)
Perhaps the same holds true for each of us regardless of our job or particular life situation. There is an opportunity for each of us, every day, and perhaps even every moment to be better guests at the "inn".
