“How do you guide your inner reasoning? That’s the key to everything. Everything else, whether it’s under your control or not, is nothing but smoke and illusion.” - Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius reminds us that everything outside our control is just “smoke and illusion.” What truly matters is how we guide our inner reasoning, the mindset that drives our decisions and actions.
In sales, it’s easy to get distracted by rejection, competition, or uncontrollable outcomes. But none of that matters as much as how you respond.
Your mindset is your anchor. Like an athlete blocking out the noise of the crowd, focus on what you can control, your effort, attitude, and actions.
A steady, disciplined mind keeps you resilient and on track.
Actionable tips:
- Control your responses. When a deal goes sideways or a prospect ghosts you, pause before reacting. Ask yourself, "What’s in my control?" and focus on that.
- Practise mental clarity. Before important meetings or calls, take a few moments to clear your mind and set your intentions for how you want to show up.
Remember you will die.
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Disclaimer:
The Sales Stoic draws inspiration from the profound wisdom of Stoicism as presented in Ryan Holiday's "The Daily Stoic." As avid readers & fans, we deeply respect the work of Ryan Holiday, and acknowledge the significant impact of Stoic philosophy on our own approach to sales and life.
While The Sales Stoic applies the core principles of Stoicism to the unique challenges and opportunities faced by salespeople, it is an original work with its own distinct voice and focus. We aim to build upon the timeless wisdom of Stoicism to empower sales professionals with practical guidance and actionable insights for success in their careers and personal lives.
Jack Frimston
Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting
Zac Thompson
Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting
Mind over matter matter over mind mind mind over matter matter matter over it's the 26th of March And it's mind over matter. You really can turn it on. I really can turn it on I've got something for you right now that you are going to like it's Marcus Aurelius How does your ruling reason manage itself? For in that is the key to everything whatever else remains be it in the power of your choice or not, but
corpse and smoke. You've had a few corpse and smokes in your life, haven't you? I have, but listen, I don't kiss and tell and I certainly don't biz and tell. this is a business podcast. Yeah, I'm going to biz and touch. Okay. So I to take it to a different direction. Right. We talked a little bit about mindset in March, but I think I want to talk about the controllables, the controllable variables and the salespeople. I think we forget the things that need control.
So we get to the end of a discovery call. I'll tell you about what it's what it's all about. And you go, you know, I like this. I like it. I like it. Give me a week. I'm going to go away. Talk to the people I need to talk to. I'll come back to you in a week and I'll let you know how I get on. How does that sound? OK. Where's the control in that? Where's the control? So you need to just put a little element of commitment on that little bit of control. What would you do? What would Wham do? So.
It's all about next steps. When we look at our pipeline, we want to know that there is something that's diarized in there, the next steps. So we have a very, very famous phrase in our office and we say, I'm a sucker for a next step. It's about getting the next steps in the diary. So letting them lead the dance a little bit. It feels like they're driving, but actually your hands are over here on the steering wheel. Don't worry about it. If you've been involved in a traffic collision that wasn't your fault. No.
Well, maybe you should be. You've seen me drive. I think also when we think about salespeople and cold calling, one of the most common objections that they're to come across is send me an email, call me back, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Why are you smiling? Because you keep looking so sleepy. It's really making me laugh. I'm not looking sleepy. It's really making me laugh. Send me an email, call me back. Yeah. So like send me an email.
You get to the point of the call and you have to send an email. Yeah. They're like doubling down. You have to write. Well, look, I'm a bit of a sucker for an extra sucker for an extra. I was having an extra. Tuesday, you said you need to call you back two o'clock. I'll put it in the diary. I'll call you back. So diarise in your call. I follow up activities. If it's not diarise as a follow up and accepted by the party, can't be the follow up. What's going on? I'm going bring you back on Tuesday and say, do you remember me? No, no.
Actually, it's the wrong time. You me just going to a meeting bank. See you later. What does what does Meg do in your office when she when she calls back? Maybe if it's like three months down the line, she says, tell me a secret on your wife knows a lot. And then she calls back or a Julia leaning into the stereotype of being Italian. He says, this is a good girl. What's your favorite topping on a pizza? You know where you got that from? You.
Yeah, me and all things come full circle because you know who I was is for us. I was what Marcus Aurelius used to you get with me No good from Marcus Aurelius curly chops and chaos action-packed with suckers for next steps if you enjoyed this episode There'll be more tomorrow and the day after that I've been Jack Frimston. I've been Zack Thompson. Remember you will die testing for something. Will you I'm offering that?
