Belief. Not Expectations.

Confidence isn't the same thing as conviction. One is a feeling. The other is a decision.

I’ve been glued to coverage of The Masters all week. What I love in the run-up to the year’s first major championship is the discussions with top athletes about their mental approaches to the sport.

On Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee said something about Rory McIlroy on Tuesday that I haven't been able to shake. He described how Rory has managed to be arrogant enough to be a great champion, while also being humble enough to still be a great human.

That's a razor-thin line. Most people fall off one side or the other. You know them when you see them.

Scottie Scheffler, in his Tuesday press conference, put it a different way: "I believed that I could make it out here, but I never expected it."

Believed. Never expected. Read that again.

And he’s the best golfer on the planet… by a lot.

That distinction is everything. Belief is what gets you on the range at 6am. Expectation is what makes you petulant when the putt doesn't drop. The best players in the world carry both at the same time. Absolute conviction in the process, zero entitlement about the outcome.

I had a conversation last week with Matt Ferguson, a former PGA teaching pro turned sales leadership expert, about the biggest daily challenge for most sales reps.

Spoiler alert: it’s not opportunity creation or closing.

It’s that they don’t know what to do first when they get in the seat every morning. If you’re uncertain about what’s most important, about what absolutely has to happen next, you’re leaving yourself open to drift and being carried away by the shiny objects and whims of the day.

It’s kinda like your short game on the golf course. If you’re not decisive, you can’t commit, and if you don’t commit, you’ll make a poor swing.

That's not a golf problem (or a sales problem). That's a clarity problem. Clarity isn't something you feel your way into; it's something you build deliberately.

The world’s best golfers in Augusta this week aren't winging it. Neither should you.

This Week's Read

Five people a day. Not five cold calls. Five real conversations with people who could buy from you or refer you.

Alice Heiman gave me that advice like it was obvious. It kind of is. And yet.

Read it →

Deeper Thought

Last week's prompt: What drains your energy?

Fog. That's the honest answer.

Working hard because I believe it's supposed to be hard, but without enough clarity to make the effort pay off — that's the thing that empties the tank. I've got a lot in reserve when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. When it gets foggy, it's tough to keep going.

The irony isn't lost on me that this week's Observation is about conviction and clarity. I'm not writing from the finish line. I'm writing from the middle of the course.

This week's prompt: What gives you energy?

Take a walk. Think about it. Reply and tell me yours — I'll share mine next week.

What I'm Into 

There's something about Augusta National that makes every other tournament feel like a rehearsal. The history, the silence in the crowd, the way the course exposes you. You can't fake your way around it.

The leaderboard is going to be absolutely electric this afternoon, and my schedule has been cleared.

I’m headed to Chicago for a few days this week. Among the meetings I have on the calendar, there’s an informal group discussion for sales leaders that I’m attending Tuesday evening downtown. My colleagues at Growth Matters International are putting it on, and there might still be a few spots left if you’re interested.

Here’s the link to that LinkedIn Live I did with Matt Ferguson.

I was also on Kyle Jager’s podcast talking about what good looks like here.

Both are worth your time if you want to go deeper on what I've been building.

The Shoutout

I gave away The Little Red Book of Selling probably five times before I finished reading it. It was that good, and still holds up, that I just had to share it. The reason I have my copy today is that my wife inscribed it when she gave it to me.

Jeffrey Gitomer's in-your-face style was exactly what I needed when I needed it. Irreverent enough to be authentic. Intuitive enough to make you think.

Over a decade ago, I spent a weekend in Charlotte at one of his seminars. I wasn't quite sure what I was walking into. At some point during that weekend, Jeffrey looked at me and said, "You get it."

That validation meant more to me than he realized.

Today I'm grateful for the relationship I never thought I'd have with someone who's had that kind of influence over so many of us. The books. The lessons. The kicks in the ass when I needed them most.

Who was that person for you? Hit reply. I want to know.

The Nudge

Conviction requires clarity. Clarity requires knowing what good looks like for your team, in your market, with your best customers.

That's exactly what this brief self-assessment is designed to surface.

Take it here →

Cheers,
JB

P.S. "People don't like to be sold, but they love to buy." Still one of the best lines in sales. Thanks, Jeffrey.