3 LESSONS FROM SALES
The Obsession
Edition - 018
Welcome to The Obsession, glad you're here.
I've been in sales for a few years now, and the thing nobody tells you going in is that the job teaches you way more than how to sell.
It teaches you how to handle the parts of life that most people try to avoid.
Here are three lessons that have stuck with me.
Rejection
Rejection, one of the harder things in life.
Might be that girl you asked out, that job you applied for, that car you wanted, those plans you made, the dream you had.
In sales, rejection is constant. You get told no to 30 seconds of someone's time. You get hung up on mid-sentence. You put in the work and still come up short.
And you learn something from it. You learn to regulate your emotions. To pivot to what's next. To be politely persistent. To not let one conversation dictate your entire day.
Most people spend their whole lives dodging rejection. In sales, you don't get that option. And over time you stop fearing it, not because it stops stinging, but because you've built the muscle to absorb it and keep moving.
That's a rare skill.
Uncertainty
Nothing in sales is guaranteed, and that's the part nobody prepares you for.
It's the unknown that keeps you up at night. The deal you thought was close goes quiet. The pipeline that looked strong dries up. The month resets and you're back to zero.
It becomes an art form making the uncertain more certain, through managing relationships, adjusting your approach, and trying new things over and over again. Nothing stays consistent and you have to be comfortable with that.
What it gives you in return is something most people never develop: the ability to operate without a safety net. To trust your process when the results aren't there yet. The people who last in this game aren't the ones who avoid uncertainty. They're the ones who learned how to move through it.
That's a rare skill.
Growth
Rejection and uncertainty are the hard parts of sales. They're also the parts that help you grow the most.
I believe growth does not come from comfort. It comes from the things that stretch and test you.
The opportunity to grow in my current role is my favorite part about it. It's allowing me to become a professional and build a foundation for the future.
Sales is just one avenue that's worked for me. There are plenty of others that do the same thing: entrepreneurship, leadership, public speaking, analytics, consulting, recruiting, coaching. Really any role where you have the chance to take a risk, face resistance, and find out what you're made of.
That's what leads you to becoming dangerous in your field.
That's a rare skill.
THE WEEKLY 3
One Question I Asked Myself
Where in my life am I avoiding discomfort instead of learning from it?
One Idea That Shifted Me
The skills that matter most aren't taught in a classroom. They're built through repetition in environments that don't let you hide.
One Challenge to Take Into Your Week
Pick one thing this week that makes you uncomfortable, a conversation, a pitch, a decision you've been putting off, and go do it. Not because it'll be easy, but because that's where the growth is.
