It’s true; youth really is wasted on the young. Why is it when we’re young we can’t wait to grow up and have responsibilities? And once we grow up, we long to be young again? Of course, you can’t return to your childhood, but if you can go back and find a little of your leftover inner child, it can make this whole responsibility thing you finally have a whole lot more fun. Here are a few suggestions.

Ask questions like a 3-year-old

Have you ever marveled at the ability of a 3-year-old to ask questions? Have you ever really stopped to wonder why so many questions? I think it’s because everything is so new to them, it’s exciting, and they have a truly insatiable curiosity about the world around them. It can be exhausting as a parent, but, at the same time, you have to love the enthusiasm they have to question and learn.

We approach most sales opportunities from our very serious, very adult, very “me focused” perspective. We tell ourselves, “They allowed us in; they must be dying to know everything about the history of our agency, about all of our experience, about the great level of service we will provide, about blah, blah, blah.” Boring! Unimaginative! And, just plain wrong!

Now, just imagine how powerful it would be if you could take that same level of insatiable curiosity you had when you were three into every prospect/client meeting. How much more would you know about your clients, their issues, their fears, their opportunities? With that type of understanding, how much better prepared would you be to really make an impact on their business? Don’t you believe they would be equally impressed and comforted by your insatiable curiosity about them?! Don’t you think they would rather end the meeting exhausted from your questions than bored to tears from hearing your story?!

Be as optimistic as a 10-year-old

I have a 10-year-old at home, and I shake my head at times at the level of optimism he brings into each day. If I shared with you with you some of the things he just knows he is capable of doing, you may suggest a battery of tests. What he has isn’t the arrogant type of optimism and confidence that turns people away. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s the type of optimism and confidence that attracts one person to another. You find yourself rooting for him and expecting him to succeed even though what he is attempting violates three laws of physics and multiple laws of common sense. I think its because at 10 years of age he doesn’t carry the baggage of everything that “can’t be done”; he just assumes that because he wants it to happen, and he believes in his ability to make it happen, that it will, well, happen.

Again, how powerful would it be for you as a producer if you could eliminate the head trash that keeps you focused on everything that you can’t do? Your level of optimism/pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Tell yourself you don’t deserve that “unreachable” account, that they will never end that current relationship, and you will never get it. Worse than that, you will never even make the attempt. However, if you approach every opportunity with the conviction of using every resource at your disposal to make that new account yours, and proceed with the passion and determination of you inner 10-year-old child, there is a very real chance it will happen. Crazier than that, when you have the optimism/confidence to make it happen, others will sense that in you and help to make it happen for you.

Feel as invincible as a 21-year-old

I’m a few years away from having any 21-year-olds around, but I can remember that age myself, and the thought of having one of them in my house scares the crap out of me. You remember being 21, don’t you? For some, the memories from that year may be cloudier than others, but I’m sure that you can remember the sense of invincibility from back then. When you’re 21 you feel as though you can survive anything. Minor setbacks are seen for what they are, minor setbacks. The thought that something could go wrong rarely keeps us from trying something new. Why, as we grow older, do we start seeing these potential doomsday scenarios in trying something new? How come being “double-dog dared” ceases to be a challenge that has to be accepted?

Start reminding yourself that there is nothing about the sales process, nothing about changing how you work, nothing about trying something new, that is life threatening. (Okay, except for that thing where the skateboarder rides the board down the handrail and doesn’t make it all the way to the bottom before he ends up riding the “handrail pony.” That one scares me, and I won’t be trying it anytime soon.) Of course, there will be minor setbacks along the way, we will be rejected from time to time, there will be deals we won’t win, but they are still just that, minor setbacks. In the end, we always survive and are better prepared for the next time.

So my challenge to you is to bring a little of your inner child to work with you.

• Ask questions with the insatiable curiosity of a 3-year-old.
• Have the belief and optimism that you are going to be successful like you did when you were 10.
• Approach each day with the fearless attitude you had at 21.

Do this and wrap it with the responsibility you now have as a result of your experiences and, wow, wouldn’t that be powerful?! Not only would it be powerful, wouldn’t it be fun to play/work like a little kid again?! Go ahead, I double-dog dare ya!

If you could spend one day at any age again, what would it be and why? Feel free to comment below.

About the author Kevin Trokey is President of Benefits Growth Network, a firm specializing in growth strategies for Employee Benefit agencies, departments and producers. He can be reached at [email protected]

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