My Story and Why I Decided to Invest - Part 3
There was a point early in Greg's tenure with the company where Brian almost let him go. Brian didn't see the value in what Greg was doing. Dialing 300 times a day and not closing any deals was not a strategy for paying the bills. But I saw something in Greg: work ethic and consistency.
Brian and I had an interesting relationship. Although he called me a loser that couldn't even hold a job at Walmart (which was true), he still somewhat valued my opinion. One day, he and his wife (who handled the company finances) told me that they were going to let Greg go. They had good reason, Greg wasn't closing deals plus his condition was becoming a distraction to everyone else. I told them they would be making a mistake. I didn't have a solution for them, but I told them Greg was good for the company, that he worked hard and could be used as a lead generator.
Brian took my advice and kept Greg. He put him in the corner office where Greg could close the door and pound the phone all day. Greg produced 15-25 leads consistently per day.
I am not telling this story to brag, or saying that I changed Greg's life. He probably would have gotten a job somewhere else and gotten similar results. I am telling the story because at the time I was a loser who knew nothing about business, but a successful business man listened to what I was telling him. Brian didn't think he was above me in that sense, he understood that good advice could come from anyone.
Brian played an instrumental role in my career. He would give me advice daily, whether I wanted to hear it or not. I listened to some, and others I ignored, like when he told me I would deeply regret buying my house. One big thing he said that stuck with me was: "One day you are going to wake up and be 30 years old, just like that" as he snapped his fingers. He told me this weekly. This had a profound effect on the way I looked at life. Did I want to wake up a 30 year old loser in debt, having done little with my abilities?
I guess Brian saw a lot of himself in me. Although his methods were harsh (he fired me 4 times), I don't think I would be where I am today if I had not crossed paths with him. He taught me sales methods that I didn't know were possible. He seemed to thrive when the pressure was on the most, which I admired in him. He didn't teach me this, I just learned it by watching him.
I did not learn these skills from Brian immediately. In fact I was doing just the opposite. I continued to have problems with my relationships, and was using drugs, alcohol, anti-depressants, ect to cope with it. One particular night it all came crashing down. I had been drinking heavily and consuming copious amounts of cocaine and other party drugs, along with taking anti-depressants unsupervised. I was driving home, mind racing and my heart pounding in my chest. I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but I later found out I was having a panic attack.
My parents were out on a trip, so their house was vacant. I decided to go to their house because I didn't want to be around the people living at my house. If I got home, I figured I could settle down and my heart pounding would go away. About 15 minutes went by and my heart was still pounding, so I called 911. I told the person everything. I remember her basically calling me an idiot, and told me how reckless it was for me to drive under the influence of all these substances. She was right. She called my parents, who were not excited to get a call at 4am on vacation. They then called our neighbor friends, who came and brought me over to their house.
Sandy and Jeff had known me since my birth, and had been around for almost every part of my childhood. I can remember our conversation that early morning pretty vividly. They were trying to get me to eat toast, which I had no interest in eating. Sandy was telling me how I needed to get my life together, and I could tell they were disappointed in me. I know they really cared about me, but I didn't want to hear it. I just wanted the feeling I had to pass.
I eventually went to bed around 6am, and woke up the next morning around 11am feeling a little better, although I was still pretty upset. My parents had come back from their vacation early because of what I had done. I told them that I needed to make a change. They agreed with me, and my dad said they would support me in anyway he could. We agreed that I would stay with them for a week and get completely clean. I was blessed to have the constant support of my parents growing up (and still today). If I had less supportive parents I couldn't even fathom where I would be.
I didn't do much, just watched TV and played board games with my family and friends. The most important thing was that I wasn't doing any drugs. I was turning my life around. At the time I thought this would be the last time I would do all these drugs, but my battle with them wasn't quite over.
Looking back, this was probably the lowest point of my life. I was so confused about how the world worked and didn't even know where to begin as far as turning my life around. I knew I had to make a drastic change, which I ended up doing in the next six months.
I went back to work the following week, and Brian immediately called me into his office to talk. He didn't look happy.
Brian and I had an interesting relationship. Although he called me a loser that couldn't even hold a job at Walmart (which was true), he still somewhat valued my opinion. One day, he and his wife (who handled the company finances) told me that they were going to let Greg go. They had good reason, Greg wasn't closing deals plus his condition was becoming a distraction to everyone else. I told them they would be making a mistake. I didn't have a solution for them, but I told them Greg was good for the company, that he worked hard and could be used as a lead generator.
Brian took my advice and kept Greg. He put him in the corner office where Greg could close the door and pound the phone all day. Greg produced 15-25 leads consistently per day.
I am not telling this story to brag, or saying that I changed Greg's life. He probably would have gotten a job somewhere else and gotten similar results. I am telling the story because at the time I was a loser who knew nothing about business, but a successful business man listened to what I was telling him. Brian didn't think he was above me in that sense, he understood that good advice could come from anyone.
Brian played an instrumental role in my career. He would give me advice daily, whether I wanted to hear it or not. I listened to some, and others I ignored, like when he told me I would deeply regret buying my house. One big thing he said that stuck with me was: "One day you are going to wake up and be 30 years old, just like that" as he snapped his fingers. He told me this weekly. This had a profound effect on the way I looked at life. Did I want to wake up a 30 year old loser in debt, having done little with my abilities?
I guess Brian saw a lot of himself in me. Although his methods were harsh (he fired me 4 times), I don't think I would be where I am today if I had not crossed paths with him. He taught me sales methods that I didn't know were possible. He seemed to thrive when the pressure was on the most, which I admired in him. He didn't teach me this, I just learned it by watching him.
I did not learn these skills from Brian immediately. In fact I was doing just the opposite. I continued to have problems with my relationships, and was using drugs, alcohol, anti-depressants, ect to cope with it. One particular night it all came crashing down. I had been drinking heavily and consuming copious amounts of cocaine and other party drugs, along with taking anti-depressants unsupervised. I was driving home, mind racing and my heart pounding in my chest. I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but I later found out I was having a panic attack.
My parents were out on a trip, so their house was vacant. I decided to go to their house because I didn't want to be around the people living at my house. If I got home, I figured I could settle down and my heart pounding would go away. About 15 minutes went by and my heart was still pounding, so I called 911. I told the person everything. I remember her basically calling me an idiot, and told me how reckless it was for me to drive under the influence of all these substances. She was right. She called my parents, who were not excited to get a call at 4am on vacation. They then called our neighbor friends, who came and brought me over to their house.
Sandy and Jeff had known me since my birth, and had been around for almost every part of my childhood. I can remember our conversation that early morning pretty vividly. They were trying to get me to eat toast, which I had no interest in eating. Sandy was telling me how I needed to get my life together, and I could tell they were disappointed in me. I know they really cared about me, but I didn't want to hear it. I just wanted the feeling I had to pass.
I eventually went to bed around 6am, and woke up the next morning around 11am feeling a little better, although I was still pretty upset. My parents had come back from their vacation early because of what I had done. I told them that I needed to make a change. They agreed with me, and my dad said they would support me in anyway he could. We agreed that I would stay with them for a week and get completely clean. I was blessed to have the constant support of my parents growing up (and still today). If I had less supportive parents I couldn't even fathom where I would be.
I didn't do much, just watched TV and played board games with my family and friends. The most important thing was that I wasn't doing any drugs. I was turning my life around. At the time I thought this would be the last time I would do all these drugs, but my battle with them wasn't quite over.
Looking back, this was probably the lowest point of my life. I was so confused about how the world worked and didn't even know where to begin as far as turning my life around. I knew I had to make a drastic change, which I ended up doing in the next six months.
I went back to work the following week, and Brian immediately called me into his office to talk. He didn't look happy.
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