Chapter 2

The Most Important Conversation You’ll Ever Have

If you don’t change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?

—W. Somerset Maugham

A long time ago, a young Navajo boy was brooding over his poor performance in his first hunt with the young men of the tribe. The brooding lasted through the night and into the next day, when his father, seeing his son sulking, sat down with him. The father said, “Inside of us all there are two wolves. From the time we are born until the time we move on from this life, they battle. One wolf is Evil. It is regret, sorrow, greed, hate, inferiority, procrastination, false pride, misery, deceit, hubris, self-pity, guilt, anger, and bitterness. The other is Good. It is love, joy, kindness, abundance, loyalty, courage, honor, politeness, optimism, unselfishness, compassion, empathy, warmth, harmony, and hope.”

The young boy went away and thought about his father’s words. Later, he came back and asked, “Father, which wolf wins?”

His father replied, “The one you feed.”

This is an old story, but it is told anew every day in sales.

In sales, the good wolf is desire, goals, commitment, action, bravery, positive attitude, energy, and responsibility for success. The evil wolf is indecision, lack of commitment, fear of rejection, aimlessness, negativity, procrastination, blame, and hidden weakness.

The idea, as the boy’s father says, is to feed the good wolf and starve the evil one.

Before you determine the feeding habits of ...

Get Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in any Situation now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.