Sales Success. Mark Bowser
position with the largest auto dealer in the area. He was now one of the select sales representatives for Frank’s Auto World, which represented Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Volvo cars. Talk about variety. This should be easy. He is just glad they didn’t ask about his previous job in the interview. Frank’s Auto World was so impressed with his college career that they hired Jack on the spot.
Now, all Jack had to do was prove that he could sell….which he didn’t. He sold only three cars in his first six weeks. In fact, that isn’t quite true. He only sold two. The third sale came when a couple came in and bought a car in ten minutes. They were sold before they had walked on the lot. They knew the make, model, color, and features that they wanted. In fact, they knew more about that particular car than Jack did.
That was the highlight of Jack’s life as a car sales professional. In his second six weeks with Frank’s Auto World, Jack only sold one car. They let him go shortly after that. Now, it looked like the same thing was going to happen again.
Jack’s current job was selling Professional Training DVD and Audio Programs for Success is Yours Incorporated to businesses and individuals. Jack loved the product. Every time he watched or listened to one of the programs, he got motivated and began to believe he could succeed too.
Jack’s thoughts finally brought him back to the reality at hand. “It is just so hard,” he thought. “Well, it is about 4:30 PM. I may as well go home, get a good night’s sleep, and give it another try in the morning.”
As Jack walked into the entry door of his dingy apartment building, he opened his mailbox. “Junk mail, junk mail, what is this?” It was a light green envelope that just had his name on it. Someone had obviously just dropped it into the mailbox.
As Jack opened the plain envelope, his stomach sank. It was from his landlady, Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris was a sweet lady around 65 years of age. She had lost her husband about three years ago and had been running the apartment building ever since. She had salt and pepper hair, a plump figure, and always wore a warm, caring demeanor on her face. More than once, Jack had enjoyed sitting with her on a warm, sunny afternoon on a bench under the old sweet gum tree adjacent to the apartment complex parking lot.
Mrs. Norris seemed to understand Jack’s feelings about how hard of a struggle he was having with his job. She had always been so supportive. It was always comforting to talk with her.
As he opened the small envelope, he saw a short handwritten note inside it. Jack unfolded the note and began to read:
Dear Jack,
I hate to write a note like this, but I really have no choice. I know how hard your job is for you right now and I understand you are under a lot of stress. However, I am trying to separate my personal feelings for you and run my apartment complex like a business.
Please know that you are like a son to me and I love you very, very much. If you could at least show intent to pay your rent. You haven’t paid anything for the last two months. Can you at least pay half of your rent this month? If not, I will have no choice but to ask you to move out. I am so sorry about this Jack.
God bless,Mrs. Norris
“Great.” Jack said out loud in a muffled tone. He understood of course. He also was embarrassed. Where was he going to get $350 in the next two weeks? His entire rent was $700 a month, and he knew that would be almost impossible for him to get a hold of in just two weeks. If only he could make a couple of big sales in the next two weeks.
As Jack made his way upstairs to his one-bedroom apartment, he felt as though he was totally alone. He felt no one completely understood…or at least cared. Jack knew these thoughts weren’t true, but that is how he felt.
Sure, he could ask his parents to float him a little loan. But, he had done that before. He didn’t want to do that again. He had to do this on his own. He had to figure out a way. For the first time in a long time, Jack began to feel the twinkle of a little determination.
He needed some air. Maybe a walk would clear his mind. As he thought about his parents, Jack knew where he needed to go to clear his mind. Jack’s parents had given him a Christmas gift of a season pass to the Cincinnati Zoo. Jack loved the zoo. As a kid, they would go to the Cincinnati Zoo about once a week during the summer. It is a wonderful zoo and one with a good bit of history too. It is the second oldest zoo in the United States.
Jack only lived about two miles from the zoo. In fact, Jack has lived in the Cincy area all his life. He grew up in the beautiful Cincinnati suburb of Loveland, OH.
As Jack entered the zoo entrance gates, he could already feel a bit of the stress leave his body. He walked past the entrance and headed to his favorite spot, the gorilla exhibit. He loved the gorillas. They are so majestic with such strength but also such poise as they climb up the trees and other elements in their zoo home. Everything Jack wasn’t and wanted to be.
Jack walked into the exhibit and his eyes immediately caught the big guy, one of the main attractions to the zoo itself. Sam, the large male gorilla, was huge. He was snorting and pacing for the crowd. As he did, his blackish, gray fur bristled. He was larger than most male silverbacks, and he ruled his kingdom without question. Such confidence. “Boy,” thought Jack. “If I had just a tiny piece of Sam’s confidence, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Jack moved to the series of benches directly in the middle of the exhibit and took a seat. It felt good to sit down. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was. For a moment, Jack closed his eyes and let the thoughts and stress ease from his weary presence.
Jack was knocked out of his inner reverie by a voice. The voice said, “Is this seat taken?” Jack looked up and said “What?” An older gentleman was looking down at Jack. The man must have been in his seventies, maybe even eighties. He had stark white hair with just a touch of black in the back. His skin was wrinkly with the miles of successful living behind him. He was wearing a pair of business casual style Khaki pants, a solid baby blue golf shirt with just a hint of a stripe, and stark white (looked like he just took them out of the box) tennis shoes. But his eyes, there was something about his blue eyes. They sparkled with an energy and aliveness that Jack had never seen before. The old man said again, “Is this seat taken?”
Jack shook off the cobwebs in his mind and remembered his manners. Jack gestured to the open seat next to him on the bench and said, “Ah, no. Please.” Before Jack could get the words out, the old man sat down right next to him.
Now, Jack felt uncomfortable. He felt like this man could see through the façade he showed the world and peer directly to the depths of his starved, despaired soul. He felt as though the old man was staring at him. Jack just stared straight ahead and watched Sam down a banana in one big gulp. “Should I turn my head? Should I glance his way?” thought Jack. “I don’t know. This is uncomfortable. What is with this guy?”
Finally, Jack took a slight glance toward the old man. The old man immediately said, “Powerful, isn’t he? Such strength.”
“What?” asked Jack.
“Sam, the gorilla. He has such powerful strength. If we all had such confidence, success would be inevitable.”
Now, Jack was beginning to freak out. He had had those exact thoughts a few minutes ago. “Is this guy in my head? Who is this guy?” Jack’s thoughts were going a mile a minute trying to connect this seemingly impossible puzzle of an old (or should he say odd?) man.
The old man held out his hand, “The names Digger; Digger Jones.” Jack reached out in instinct and grabbed the old man’s hand. He was shocked at the strength of the old man’s handshake. It was firm, but not too firm. It was confident, but not arrogant. But those blue eyes were what really caught Jack’s attention. He couldn’t stop focusing on them. They were like a breath of sweet energy that burrowed their way into his soul. On arrival, a warm calm would envelope you down deep and soon encompass you with peace. Again, Jack thought, “Who is this guy?”
“So, what brings you to Sam’s house today?” asked Digger.
“Oh,