Photo by: Scott Snyder

In a previous post I discussed the process of putting “Victory Focus” into action in order to manifest results. This process involves:

1) Imagining the results we wish to experience

2) Visioning with emotion and power what a reality containing those results would feel like

3) Believing with absolute certainty that our dreams are possible

4) Finally, co-creating those previously “imaginary” concepts, dreams, and intentions into physical reality.

These techniques and tools have never been more essential and necessary than precisely at this moment, considering the “financial crisis” that we are seeing all around us, especially when we focus on external stimuli like the evening news, the internet, talk radio, and newspapers. Ironically, when one looks at this problem through the lens of prosperity consciousness, one realizes that the perception of the problem is as much of the problem as the problem itself. In other words, a commonly accepted spiritual maxim of prosperity consciousness states that what we focus on expands. So if we focus on lack, if we focus on debt, if we focus on fear, if we focus on crisis, if we focus on greed, all of those things expand.

While no sane person would advocate or recommend practicing denial in order to cope with this “crisis,” a more healthy way of dealing with the current financial situation in the country would be to avert our attention away from the car crash, keep our eyes on the road ahead of us, and focus on the things that we wish to manifest in our lives, instead of the things we don’t wish to experience.

I cannot explain why this is, but many of us are programmed to automatically shift into fear mode when it comes to a multitude of circumstances in our lives. How often when considering a business move or financial decision do we first entertain the thought of failure? For example, let’s say a person is planning on listing their house for sale. They might look up and down their street and notice dozens of other “For Sale “signs, silently calculating in their head how long those signs have been up. They might remember that a friend or realtive had their house up for sale for a year or more, and if they did happen to sell, they lost money or barely broke even. Taking all of these cues, or mental blueprints into account, that person will probably conclude: “I’ll never sell my home.”

If that same person is considering buying a new home, they might remember that news report from the night before talking about the tightening of credit and might say: “I’ll never get a loan with everything that’s going on right now.”

If a person is considering a career change, they might consider the “fact” that CNN reported many companies are not hiring right now: “I’ll never find a new job.”

This pattern goes on and on and informs so much of our thinking that most of us never question it and simply assume that being habitually disappointed is just a part of life!

What’s incredible is that if we logically examine this phenomenon, we will discover the following: thoughts fuel results. If we assume lack, adversity, and difficulty, those things usually manifest in our external experience. Don’t believe me? Here’s an exercise: think of the happiest, wealthiest, healthiest person that you know. Go on, do it, you probably know somebody who has achieved some form of success. Now, recall your conversations and experiences with that person and ask yourself: “How often has person x complained about not enough, has felt sorry for themself, or has blamed their problems on others?” The answer you will probably come to is: not very often. While many of us experience moments of weakness, those of us who are manifesting extraordinary life experiences are also creating extraordinary visions for how we wish to live our lives.

But what if we habitually go to the negative? Well, recognizing this habit is a powerful first step, so congratulate yourself on that. The cool thing is that we have the power to change our habits. The only prequisite for change is belief in the possibility of change. And this begins with another simple question you can ask yourself, despite your present circumstances: “Do you believe it is possible to manifest prosperity in your life if you only had the tools, the help, and the guidance?” Most people will probably say yes to this, which is a huge first step, but then go right back to an error in thinking when they assume that the “help” they desire will come from the outside.

In order to advance from this first step to actually manifesting the changes we desire is to simply believe that what we want is possible, and then completely detach ourselves from the how. The how is none of our business, only the what. We believe that the sun will rise, that our hearts will continue to beat, that it will get warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter. We believe all these things and so they are. So what if we chose to incorporate other beliefs, positive beliefs, into our mental blueprint? Isn’t that revolutionary?

I mean literally imagine this, dream it up, play make believe. Many of us have heard the phrase, “Fake it ’till you make it.” What this means is that if we are embarking on a path and using tools with which others have achieved success, but we’re still not convinced that we’ll be able to experience the same success, what if we simply pretended that we were on the right path? This technique is used all the time to overcome addictions in just about every 12-step program there is, but can also be used very effectively to manifest any outcome we desire.

And why not, because it doesn’t cost anything to simply believe something, does it? So going back to the question above, which many people will answer yes to: What if we simply imagined that we already possessed the tools, help, and guidance to manifest our dreams?

The logical construct of this new “blueprinting” is as follows:

I. We accept that we would be able to manifest our desires if only we had the tools.

II. We accept that belief is the cornerstone of our reality.

III. We consciously choose to believe that we already have the tools.

IV. Since we already have the tools, we accept that will be able to manifest our desires.

It’s that simple. The only wrinkle to this whole process is the concept of time. How long are we willing to persist until the miracle occurs? Many people read articles like this, get all excited, begin the visioning process and then get frustrated that their results don’t manifest immediately. Well the old adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” comes into play here. If it took an entire lifetime to build our negative and destructive belief structure it might take more than a few days to tear the city down and build anew. The crazy part is that the concept of time is as much of a belief as anything else, so it can be manipulated and “wrinkled” according to our desires if so only we can believe that achieving results in a manner that requires less and less physical time is possible. A tip for beginners is to start with “small” desires that you will reasonably expect to be accomplished in short order, if only you had the tools. From success wtih small things, we can build towards to bigger and better dreams and goals.

This whole process should be fun and exciting. And it helps to have additional tools at your disposal. I recently started using some audio programs from Melissa Zollo. Melissa Zollo is an “Imagist” who runs a personal development business called Present Memory and her instructions are powerful, clear, and inspiring. I began with her program “Discover the Power of Imagination” and have recently begun her money-attracting program, “How to Unleash the Power Within to Attract Money.” Over the course of about 30 days, I was able to sell my current home at a substantial profit within about three weeks, manifest my dream house, and also register a personal record in terms of revenue and sales in my business. Currently I am visioning to get substantial repair work done on my car without having to pay a penny for it. All of this during an “economic downturn,” and a “housing burst.” I simply chose not to identify with these negative concepts. I highly recommend these powerful products. You can buy them by clicking right here.

Paul Davison is the Founder of OrganicGreenDaddy, the Co-Founder of OrganicGreenMommy and also runs a blog at Monkey In My Mind, commenting on personal development, politics, sports, and culture, and whatever else the Monkey has in store for him.

This article originally appeared in Monkey In My Mind.

I recently successfully negotiated a pay raise and thought I’d share some things I learned during the process…

Background

Just about six months ago I was offered a rather substantial promotion and pay raise from my previous employer. Everything was great about the package offered except for the fact that my wife and I were a little worried about the extensive travel that went along with the job (2-3 weeks a month). At about the same time I received this offer I received another offer from a different company in the same field for a similar financial package, except without the travel. After several days of introspection and analysis my wife and I decided to take the job at the new company, as we were concerned about the frequency of travel considering the fact we had a little girl at home and my wife was in the middle of starting up Organic Green Mommy and would need lots of support from me that I wouldn’t be able to give her if I were constantly away from home on the road.

The catch, if you will, was that this new job was a 100% commission sales job, while the old job was salaried, with a smaller percentage of the compensation in the form of a bonus. The good news, though, was that it was an account management-type sales job with very little cold-calling, and established accounts with yearly sales of approximately $1.3M. In other words, the fact that the company was an established industry-leader mitigated most of the risk. Further, through my research, I had learned that most Account Executives were well-paid and extremely satisfied employees. The other good news was that for the first two months I would start off with a substantial commission “guarantee,” while I learned the products, presentations, and personalities of my accounts.

Decision: I made the jump. Reality Sets In

Not long after starting the new job did I begin to notice the effects of the economic downturn that this country is currently facing, particularly in the Northeast. While the company had been growing at a pace of 20% per year, it quickly became apparent that this year would be different. Almost immediately my projections were adjusted to reflected this new reality. On one level, this was good news, as one of the ways I was to be evaluated concerned whether or not I could hit my monthly sales projections. But the flip side to this was the fact that my commission rate had been set against loftier sales goals, and with lower projections came lower commissions. After about a month into the job I became concerned that once my two-month salary guarantee period was over, I wouldn’t be making nearly as much as I had originally thought. In fact, based on current sales, I figured I would be making about the same, if not slightly less, than my “pre-promotion” position at my previous employer. Ooops!

Step One: Recognize Frustration.

At first I became upset thinking I had made a poor decision, leaving a company and products I was comfortable working with. But realizing that this line of thinking was counterproductive, considering the reality of my situation and the fact that I couldn’t turn back the hands of the time, I began to perceive this frustration as what it really was: a call to action.

Step Two: Heed the Call to Action.

One of the lessons I have learned in life is that overcoming challenging situations requires careful preparation. One of the most important aspects of preparation is to conduct rehearsals. I can’t tell you how many times my wife and I have role-played with one another when it comes to be fully prepared for job interviews, contract negotiations, and presentations. After rehearsing what I was going to say several times until I felt totally comfortable overcoming potential objections, I made a call to my immediate supervisor to explain my concerns.

Initially I was challenged when I pointed to the projections, which had been lowered but were still higher than what my territory was currently yielding. My commitment and confidence in my abilities were questioned. Since I had prepared, I knew exactly how to counter these arguments, and by the end of the call, he was asking specifically what I wanted so that I would be happy. I said I would like a larger commission but also suggested that I would take an extension on my guarantee until I had an opportunity to improve my territory. At the end of the call, he agreed to speak to his boss and assured me that they would take care of me.

Step Three: Commit to The Long Haul (The Art of Persistence)

In my view, one of the most important elements of success is the quality of persistence. I will one day write a separate post about persistence itself, but time and time again I have realized that virtually no success arrives at the first attempt, and that when I look at others who achieved success in their field, one of the most ubiquitous commonalities between all of those people is their undying persistence. In my case, my desire for an extended guarantee was the most important thing for me, but wasn’t the most important thing for my superiors. In other words, every week or so I had to force myself to check in and ask the status of my request.

It was sometimes difficult to do this because my ego was telling me that I shouldn’t come across as a whiner or someone who was greedy. I had to constantly realign myself with my intention, which for me wasn’t to simply make more money. As the sole bread-winner in the family, I had huge responsibilities. Earning the compensation I was originally presented with wasn’t a luxury. It was a neccessity if I wanted to simply pay the mortgage and all of our bills. When I continually realigned myself with my intention, I felt more comfortable being persistent with my bosses because I felt comfortable knowing my intention was pure.

Step Four: Take It to The Top

While initially my boss told me he would take care of extending my salary for me, circumstances would have it that I had to take up my case not with my boss, nor my boss’s boss, but with my boss’s boss’s boss, the co-owner of the company and the head cheese of the sales force. I had to be totally on top of my game in this situation, as this person is a skilled salesperson who himself can effortlessly overcome just about any objection. I knew that if I were to achieve success I would have to sell my case using one of the most powerful, yet often underused techniques in sales: creating a need.

Step Five: Create a Need

Most salespeople try to close a sale by trumping “features and benefits” alone. The problem is that this technique ignores the idea that successful sales is really the art of transferring emotion about something. Because I had done my research I knew that creating a need was the only way to appeal to this person’s judgment. I literally rehearsed out loud in the shower that morning, presenting my case for an extended salary based on appealing to his emotions and his need to have the best sales force in the country out there confidently representing his brand without worrying about whether or not they’ll make the mortgage that month. When I appealed to his emotion, the case was closed nearly before it began and I walked away with a four-month extension on my guarantee, with the agreement that this grace period was intended for me to go out there and rebuild the territory feeling confident that my company had my back. Not long after securing a four-month extension to my salary did I realize that this solution was temporary. As I mentioned earlier, my territory was underperforming, and even with lowered projections the commission rate was inadequate. Fortunately I backed up my calls for a more fair compensation structure with strong performance in the field. In fact, without strong performance, or “walking the walk,” all of these negotiations will eventually become moot if you’re not actually the superstar you claim to be, who deserves the best possible compensation package.

Step Six: Create a Vision for Your Life: Self-Worth Part I

The month after sitting down with the head honcho I went out and hit my sales projection, the first time the territory had done that since before I took the job. The flip-side to this was that since the projection had been lowered, hitting goal still resulted in a monthly commission that was still less than my salary guarantee and less than my previous job’s salary. Since my guarantee was established to be the low end of my compensation package I had grounds to reapproach my bosses, this time to readjust my commission rate. Now I would have the opportunity to look at my goals and decide for myself how much I was worth. Admittedly, this was a tough exercise because I found myself constantly leaning towards a rate that would produce a compensation that would simply help my family to survive, rather than to thrive. I had to do a lot of introspection to realize that I deserved to thrive and that meant I had to take a hard look at my self-worth.

I realized that this whole situation was an opportunity for me to change my personal karma and embrace a life of abundance. Coming from a military background, abundance and material success were never part of the equation when it came to career choices. I had to realize that my personal success was entirely up to me and that I could feel proud asking for more, because I was simply asking for what I had now come to accept I deserved. I wasn’t greedy asking for more money. I was finally getting honest with myself and that meant beginning a life of happiness and abundance.

So I called my boss again, pointing to the fact that I had achieved goal the previous month but was still earning less than they had promised me. This time it was a much easier sell because I was came across as successful (achieving goal the previous month) and rational (pointing to the fact that I was simply asking for what was promised when I was hired). I asked for a 2% bump in my commission, accounting for the fact that they would probably counter lower and we would settle somewhere in the middle. I made the smart move of asking for slightly more knowing that sales is always a negotiation and I would most likely have to give a little in the natural give and take cycle that is sales. They came back with 1%.

Step Seven: Know When It’s Over: Self-Worth Part II

Because I had done my homework and was willing to continue to come from a place of equity, fairness, and positive self-worth, it soon became apparent that 1% wouldn’t do it from me. While some people might throw in the towel at this point, after asking about 4 times for a pay raise, I had the self-confidence to realize that my job was still not complete. I crunched the numbers, and 1% was still less than what they offered me when I left my previous employer, and knew that in all fairness asking for what they offered me was not only fair and reasonable, but required if I were to be able to continue to look at myself in the mirror.

This time, instead of calling my boss to discuss it verbally, I wrote out a very rational, reasonable argument for an additional .5% commission raise and sent it in an email.

(FYI: I normally don’t recommend resorting to email for important negotiations as it is more difficult to transfer emotion in this medium. However, since I had laid the groundwork verbally, I deduced that at this point, a written arguement was the most effective way to state my case. More often than not, email is something of a cop out because it allows us to not have to face our fears in a more immediate context).

I included several excel spreadsheets showing my original offer, what the current package looked like, and how my proposed package equalled my initial offer. I also included a chart showing how I was already turning around the territory, taking it from -11% growth two months previous to my joining the company to +11% growth three months after taking the job, and on pace this month to achieve 15% growth.

Success!

Since my argument was well-researched, reasonable, and came from an energy field that was completely aligned with my feelings of self-worth and confidence, getting final approval on my commission package was the easiest step of the journey. It took about three months of elapsed time, hours and hours of preparation and rehearsal, clear-mindedness, and enormous persistence to pull off getting the pay package I wanted and deserved.

Step 7.5: Never Give Up

The bonus step here encompasses the idea that once you achieve success like this, it is of paramount importance to back up all of that talk and negotiation with solid results in the field. I am doing that, on my way to achieving oustanding growth and meeting sales projection for the second consecutive month, a great accomplishment for a person so green in the territory.

I always go back to something I picked up during the interview process, when my boss’s boss told me that all he wants from his Account Executives is 100% effort. If I can look him in the eye and honestly tell him I am doing all that I can to grow the business, than that is good enough. When you hire talented people who perform at a high level on a daily basis, success is virtually assured. Granted, there are some factors that are currently beyond our control in today’s economic climate. But a willingness to work hard and achieve creative solutions on a consistent basis in complicated times will almost always result in consistent success.

Paul Davison is the founder of www.organicgreendaddy.com. He also operates a blog about politics and culture at www.monkeyinmymind.com.