I recently got the wake up call of a lifetime. ![wake up call]()
You see- my “real job” (i.e. the one that pays the bills), is as an insurance agent. I don’t really scream it from the rooftops, because y’all can read my bio. But in case you didn’t know, now you do 
It’s also highly important to the story I’m about to tell.
It started out like any other work day
I was just plugging along doing a variety of marketing activities, as well as reviewing policies and returning correspondence. Next thing I know, my dad (my partner at the agency) said, “you better quit what you’re doing and take a look at this.”
It was “The Letter”
If you’re an agency, you dread getting “The Letter.” The Letter comes from one of the insurance companies you represent and it basically says “You need to produce more business or we’ll have to part company.”
This from the largest company we represent, with no warning and no indication from any of our previous meetings that something was wrong.
I felt like one of those magic tricks where there’s a table completely set and you pull the tablecloth out from under everything. But, instead of everything staying put, it all crashes to the floor. And my mojo suddenly went south for the winter.
I Felt Like A Complete Loser After Reading That Letter
Crushed. Devastated. You choose your adjective, but I felt like complete shit. I ended up having one of the shittiest weeks EVER. Bad attitude, depressed, pessimistic, you name it.
Which, if you’ve learned anything about me from reading this blog, you’ll know I am the complete OPPOSITE of this.
I moped, I complained, I even went into a rant of “Those Dirty SOB’S- who the hell do they think THEY are????”- along with several other choice words And let me tell you, no matter how high of an opinion you have of yourself, a situation like this knocks you off your pedestal and back into reality pretty damn quick……. Humbling- hell yes…..
But once I calmed down, I realized something.
They were right.
Not that I was a loser, of course. But that we had slacked off our production considerably. We should be doing more. We had gotten complacent. We had quit trying so hard. We had lost a bit of our fire. And it showed in our less than average production (by like 2/3 the average of other similar agencies).
We had forgotten what our main job was- selling insurance policies.
We had lost our focus.
Shiny object syndrome had long since taken over- mostly on my end. I love my online activities, my social media interactions, but it had become clear that I was spending far too much time on activities that were taking me away from the primary way I put food on my table.
All of my online activities weren’t supplementing my main work, they were taking the place of my main work. Do you see the difference?
Let me be clear- I’m NOT saying don’t be online or interact or use it as part of your marketing. I AM saying don’t let it take over so that your main work suffers. Unless of course, it is your main work. Again, can you appreciate the difference?
Whatever work puts food on your table and pays your bills, THAT’s what you need to focus on.
Shiny online toys are merely tools to help you “vocalize” your real work.
Focus. Sometimes very hard to achieve, as so many distractions exist. We get caught up, romanced if you will, by the sparkle (and I love me some sparkle no doubt- I AM the Insurance Goddess after all
And a body slam back into reality when you’re called out on it.
We got the wake up call of a lifetime. And are the better for it.
Now that I’ve had time to reflect, I’m actually grateful. We needed a shot in the ass of reality. Perhaps not exactly the way I prefer, but definitely effective. We’re re-energized, excited and ready to work. The amazing thing about this business is that you can truly write your own paycheck. You gotta do the work, but eventually you’ll reap the rewards. And who DOESN’T want a little more jingle in your pocket?
Focus. Do The Work. And If You’re Lucky- Have Some Fun Doing It. Wanna Buy a Policy??? *wink wink*
Your turn- Have you encountered a similar situation? What did you do? Did you refocus? Or did you realize it was time for a change? Have you fallen victim to “shiny object syndrome” at one time or another?
The post My big fat hairy wake up call: What’s yours? appeared first on Carrie Reynolds.