by Eno S. Macabuag - BM Tektite

Sometime in our life, we ask questions that cannot be answered on that particular moment, questions, such as,

Why am I here?

What am I doing here?

Where will I go?

What does the future hold in store for me?

Let me share with you a story that happened twenty three years ago when I was starting out as a life insurance agent.

From the position of a national sales manager of an ice cream company I was convinced to join a life insurance firm because said company was sold to another multinational company.

During my first year with the life insurance company, I encountered low sales simply because of my call-reluctant attitude. I justified my low sales with so many excuses not knowing that I have placed myself in the stage of denial (first stage).

Why should I work hard when inflation eats my income?

Why should I excel when I do not have a car for my client’s visit?

Why should I work hard when it is raining very hard?

Why should I work hard when the sun is at its peak and it is quite dusty?

Why should I excel when my company will require another set of high standards next year?

I am not interested in management position, I need not work hard.

Why should I join the manager’s lunch/ breakfast, when I can have my own manager’s lunch/breakfast? At any given day and time?

Why should I submit three cases when I am comfortable in submitting one case every month?

Yes, I had been asking these questions because I was justifying my low sales brought about by my reluctance to call clients.

Yes, I was denying success.

After three months, there were changes,

Yes, I thought I have changed; I became angry (stage of anger).

Little did I know that I went to another stage in my life.

I now asked a different set of questions, such as;

Why is it that I easily get angry?

I spend time and effort to be in front of my clients just to receive a “no, not yet” response.

Why is it that, at the end of the day my wife got mad at me because I came home late? I spend time with my clients but the people around me cannot understand me?

Why am I angry?

Why is it that I get angry easily when I ride a bus or a jeepney?

Why do I get angry with my manager when he asks me to produce more? I think I am exerting my best efforts yet he cannot appreciate what I am doing.

I entered the second stage (the stage of anger).

After three months of continuous “exertion of best efforts”, I graduated to another stage, from stage of anger to stage of bargaining (third stage).

Then, another set of belief lingered.

If my company will change its high standards, maybe I can excel.

If my manager will not pressure me in producing more, perhaps I can produce more.

If my clients will change, maybe I can change.

If the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) changed its standards, maybe I can be a member.

The less clients I talk to, the better, because of the less possibility of getting a “no” answer.

If the economic situation improves, then, maybe, my production will improve.

In short, I was expecting that the change must come from the outside, not from the inside. Little did I know that that attitude was incorrect.

Then, I experienced inner suffering.

Due to limited calls, I encountered low sales, low income, less money to spend, more bills piling up.

All the people around me could not understand me,

My self confidence sunk to a new low.

My first claimant was my younger brother, Stephen Macabuag, who died at an early age of 36 years old.

Since then, I entered into the stage of acceptance.

I had to change from within.

I had nothing except time and effort and I might as well use them to the fullest of my capability. And, by staying out of my comfort zone, I will was able to learn more about other people. The more I learned about their lives, their needs, their future plans, the higher my self confidence grew.

The more clients I visited, the sooner I was able to conquer my high reluctance level and fear of rejection.

The more clients I visited the more opportunities I had to learn why I succeeded or failed.

The more clients I visited, the more I was able to polish my behavior, my actuations, my way of handling my presentation and my concern to be of service to other people. My self-confidence continued to improve.

The more clients I visited, the more sales I had. I was enjoying without me consciously knowing that I was pushing myself to excel with my attitude of, “May I help you?”, or “I want to serve you.”

In parting, we must leave a legacy behind. And with more clients to serve, we are making a better world tomorrow, for the future generation.