There is an old saying that good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.

In the car business we often think of aggression as something used to control the Customer and get them to do what we want.  This kind of aggression is not good and has no place in our industry.  We certainly want to be aggressive on behalf of our Customers, but never aggressive toward them.

The aggression I am talking about today is the commitment and energy you must have if you expect to achieve great success in your life and career.  Do you have what it takes to make yourself win against the odds?  Are you willing to lay aside your immediate desires for pleasure and ease in order to achieve the life of personal freedom that comes when you are truly successful?

Most people spend their whole life working hard to make someone else’s dreams come true without knowing it.  They grind away at another person’s goals just to make a living while others reap the fruits of their hard work.  The facts are that if you are not working on your own dreams you are probably working on the dreams of someone else.

But it is not enough just to have a dream, you must have a plan if you want to see your dreams come true.  That does not mean that you have to run out and start your own company.  It is not always WHERE you work that makes the difference as much as it is HOW you work.

Are you investing in your dream right where you are today?  Do you consider your work done when you leave the job at the end of the day or are you devoting some time and effort to your personal growth to advance your skills and thus enhance your abilities and your value to the company you work for?

Do you have a vision for where you want to go and a clear set of goals for how you are going to get there?  Are you aggressively and intelligently pursuing those goals or just expecting them to come to pass on their own someday from sheer longevity?

Fifty years ago the average person went to work for a company, stayed there for thirty years or so and then retired with a pension.  Those days are gone.  Today you have to know where you are going and know how you are going to get there if you want to someday lay down your sales book, retire to the mountains, or board your new motor home for an extended cross country trip with family or friends.

What gets you out of bed on time every morning?  Is it your alarm clock or your dream for the future?  Does your day end when you leave the job or will you go home and devote some time to advancing your skills by additional education or training that will make you better prepared for tomorrow than you were for today?

When you speak about growing and changing do you say to yourself I can and I will . . .  or . . .

 I would if I could?

You are the master of your ship.  You can float along where the wind takes you or grab the helm and take it to your desired destination.  Plan you work and work your plan with the enthusiasm of someone who fully expects to get where they are going.  That way when you get there it won’t be a surprise; it will be a hard earned victory.