by kennethfsk

Created on: August 07, 2008   Last Updated: August 20, 2008

As a salesperson, working on commission only a positive attitude is crucial. This was a point I had been trying to make with my wife from day one. Like most married couples, we have our disagreements at times. The one thing I always tried to stress to my wife was how important it was for me to have a good positive attitude every day. When you meet with your first client, the last thing you need is to be stressed out about something.

Until about 2 years ago, I never thought she would figure it out. She doesn't work, so at times she would just be sitting home, and bruiting about something that happened a week ago. Then all of a sudden, my cell phone would ring, and on the other end of the line, my wife would start in about something that I had forgotten all about. She would never stop to ask me if I was with a customer, or was I busy right now; no she would just start getting things off her chest. Usually by the time she finished I felt so bad that I would lose any motivation I may have had.

When I came home those evenings, I would try to sit down, and talk to her about how much damage those type of phone calls caused for me at work. In the beginning, I think I was just talking to a wall because it never stopped, in fact sometimes it would be the very next day we would have a similar incident. Most of these conversations were not real pressing issues, and could have waited until I got home that evening.

One of the things she would do that really upset me was, she would make one of those calls on a given day , and when I got home the first thing she would ask was did you sell anything today. I don't have the right words to express what I felt at that moment in time. I just knew I had to find a way to get through to her, but I just didn't know how I could.

Then it hit me, I was going to a motivational conference in a couple of days. Even thought I knew she wouldn't have gone if I told her why I was taking her so, I had too; well let's just trick her into going. After the conference ended, and we were walking out of the building, she turned to me with a tear in her eye, and said honey I'm so sorry I just never knew what it was doing to you. Today she tries to tell me a joke before I leave.

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