This year, one of our most awaited events is the Closing the Sales Mastery Intensive Training. Since January, we have been conducting a series of preview training sessions for salespeople from the insurance and real estate industries. Last week, we were successfully able to run the said event online. Though, when viewed by attendees who were not part of the team, the sessions seemed smooth-flowing, our preparations were contrary to smooth.
A day before the big event, the laptop computer I relied on for everything, from simple tasks to heavy use (such as zoom calls), suddenly stopped working. I did not know what to do at first. All I did was stare at it for the longest time and pray for it to turn on.
For someone who had been preparing for a significant event, that situation was nightmarish. One would simply advise me to use a different device to offer a solution, right? It shouldn’t be a challenging feat. However, besides the fact that I am not adept at using a different device since I had that laptop computer, all my important documents for the training are saved there. I did not even bother to have a backup anywhere else. Wow! I know, I was too confident.
But, how come the training event still proceeded and ended successfully? I conditioned myself to accept the situation and moved to solve the challenge. The first thing I did was to have my device fixed. I visited the maintenance service and hoped that it would get fixed. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be the favor I hoped for. Since it still did not work, I decided to use a different device, learned how to use it, and created the files I needed for the training again. Despite the time constraints, I was able to complete the preparations.
Though I would never wish to experience the same difficult situation again, I am grateful for that learning and testing opportunity. First, I realized that I should always have a backup plan and not rely on what I am used to. Second, I was able to practice what I always preach – do not stress about situations that are out of your control. More importantly, I have been reminded by this situation of how important it is to pull oneself up and keep moving forward.
Have you had any testing or learning opportunities lately? What are your takeaways from it?
(Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)