From page 7...

I have an old pair of brown shoes I nearly tossed in the trash. I didn’t dump them, though. I kept them. They still sit today on a dusty shelf in my bedroom closet. Their soft leather is faded and scuffed. Their soles have holes.

If you saw them, you might tell me those shoes have seen better days. Actually, they’ve seen worse days. Much worse. That’s why I keep them. They remind me of the bad old days—and how I escaped.

Way back when, I used to wear those shoes every workday. I put countless miles on them. I marched around town. I knocked on every door on every floor. I cold-called until my throat was raw. I pushed and prodded to make sales.

I used to think sales was a numbers game—all about hustle and more hustle. Wear down your shoes. Knock on more doors. Cold-call again and again. That was my sales and marketing “strategy.”

I made some sales in those shoes, but I paid the price with raw knuckles, a sore throat, and ruined soles. I was a weary soul, trapped in a pitiful cycle. I was as worn as my shoes. I was frustrated. And I wasn’t having fun...

...Hustling in those shoes was inefficient, difficult, unpredictable, and tiring. Marketing and sales felt more frustrating than fun. I spent more time than I wished pitching products and services. All I wanted to do was serve clients.

Sound familiar?