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The next time you observe a sales star order
a turkey sandwich, or an big dealmaker step up to the cheese
tray, rather than seeing them do lunch you might just be viewing
the new frontier of personal performance enhancement --- MOOD
ELEVATION.
Fast-paced business rewards an aggressive, naturally optimistic
temperament, yet only one in twenty people is born with it. If
you're not one of them, you should take a look at mood elevation.
MOOD ELEVATION uses two connections: Between
FOOD and MOOD, and from MOOD to MONEY.
Here's how FOOD determines MOOD:
Your inner states depend on the neurotransmitters in your brain
which your body produces naturally from the foods you eat. Generous
levels of certain foods and supplements increase your inner boldness,
optimism and self-esteem. Eating the wrong foods can reduce you
to timidity, often within hours.
Some sufferers from timidity or depression use antidepressants
like Prozac to manipulate the natural ebb and flow of neurotransmitters
--- but at considerable risk of dangerous side effects (see The Dark Side of Prozac). There are
the natural methods which produce the same effects by natural
means (while boosting many other aspects of health). International
performance coaches and trainers call these methods "NATURAL
PROZAC" or "NO-ZAC".
Here's how MOOD determines MONEY: Timidity is a
well-known obstacle to business success. You don't have to ask
anyone whether this is true --- you know. One of the many negative
effects of timidity is CALL RELUCTANCE --- blocking you from
reaching out to new contacts. Zig Ziglar's brother Judge Ziglar
even titled one of his books "Timid Salesmen have Skinny
Kids" (Backup Data).
How strong is this link between MOOD
and MONEY? We have been told (and sold) that shyness and
reluctance could be overcome through training and effort. The
billion-dollar motivational industry offers us books, tapes and
seminars to psych ourselves into a bolder attitude. There is
disturbing evidence that training and effort aren't enough: In
a '86 study of two groups of sales professionals, one call-reluctant
and one not, the bold group earned five to eight times the annual
income of the timid group.
That's amazing in itself, but here's the HEARBREAKER:
The timid ones had spent far more time and money preparing
themselves, but they sold less and made less money.
The link between MOOD and MONEY
was again confirmed in a '90 study (Backup
Data) designed to find out whether timidity was an illness
or a personality style. Two groups of subjects were observed
for two years. The members of the first group were timid, those
of the second group were perfectly matched in intelligence, memory
and other talents --- but were not timid.
The scientists found that the bold group was more likely to initiate
social contact and showed less fear of negative evaluation by
others. The bold ones were also better at coming up with new
solutions and strategies. All these useful qualities were weak
or absent in the members of the timid group, who ended up having
"---significantly fewer friends, significantly fewer social
contacts, significantly smaller incomes, and significantly less
living space per household."
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