Have you ever noticed when you only have 7 days left in the month, everything seems to matter? As the sands of the hourglass mark the passing of the remaining 168 hours, it is at that point that you miraculously can account for every one of your Ups, Demos, Write-ups, Sales, and Deliveries. First in, last to leave; fewer lunches; no more huddles-nothing matters more than your working feverishly to cover your draw. Mentally exhausted; not knowing whether to giggle or cry from exasperation, you live to see the end of another month, only to face the daunting task of having to start it all over again in 8 short hours.

As the dry-erase boards are wiped clean and the dawn of optimism breaks through the horizon of rejection, your new month begins now. It wasn’t by accident you pulled your month out, it by focus; instead of glaring at the remaining 7 days of your month, alternatively choose to focus on the 7 days beginning your new one.

The greatest debt owed on the blacktop is your draw and the faster you can pay it back, the more control you will have over the rest of your month. With the beginning of a new month, many of us vow to work Bell to Bell, working from sunup to sundown in order to maintain a winner's edge, but that edge is short-lived because we are not in the “sales shape” required to maintain such an unforgiving pace-it’s like going jogging for the first time by entering the Boston Marathon. Despite your noble intentions, you cannot keep up with the grueling pace and end up quitting within the first mile-markers of your month. With your pride battered and beaten, you being your worst critic, you settle into what you know best, hurriedly working the 2:00 offense in order to pull out another month.

No one wins a marathon running full speed; equally, you cannot have a sprinter’s mindset for the entire month; instead focus intensely on the first 7 days-getting ahead quickly will allow you to settle into the remainder of your month. In the first 3 days, strive to be “on the board” with your first sale and by the 7^th day,have your draw covered. After that, The Month is now Your Month- you are debt free! When you are released of an obligation, you can afford to take risks-every Up is not a Do or Die situation-your month no longer has to hang on the lips of every customer saying, "Yes." When you are released of an obligation, you now can focus on being more creative with your presentations-allowing your true personality to shine through, becoming other’s focused in lieu of being ME-centered.

An impoverished month begins with an indebted mindset. Live free, not hard; seven days owed, 18 left to live freely.

I’ll see you next time on the blacktop.