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212° Belief
by Mac Anderson |
What happens
when you believe something
with all your heart?
Belief fuels enthusiasm, and
enthusiasm explodes into
passion. It fires our souls
and lifts our spirits.
In 1991,
when Successories
hired Tim Dumler as a
corporate account
manager, he shared his
goal of becoming number
one in the company with
his manager, Neil
Sexton. But Neil, quite
frankly, had serious
doubts that Tim could
make it through the
first month, much less
be number one.
Neil’s
first two interviews
with Tim were conducted
over the phone, and he
passed those with flying
colors. But when Neil
met Tim for the first
time, he was shocked
when Tim told him he was
legally blind. He began
to lose his sight when
he was in the third
grade from a rare
disease called macular
degeneration. Tim
acknowledged he would
have problems entering
orders into the
computers, but he had a
possible solution. He
told Neil about a
machine that he could
hook up to magnify the
letters on the screen to
two inches high. Tim was
willing to buy it if he
could have the job.
After the
conversation, Neil came
to my office and
explained the situation.
I said, “Neil, let’s
give him a chance,” but
I must admit, I had
serious doubts that Tim
could do it.
Well, we
were dead wrong. We
grossly underestimated
Tim’s passion and his
determination to
succeed. Even though it
took him much longer to
enter the orders, Tim
made it work. He came in
early. He worked late.
Whatever it took, he did
it.
In 1991,
Tim’s first year, he was
number one out of ten
experienced corporate
sales reps, with over
$500,000 in sales. In
1994, he was number one
again with $700,000, and
again in 1997 with
$950,000. His customers
loved him because when
you can’t see, you
become a great listener.
His peers loved him
because of his caring,
positive attitude.
He was
certainly an inspiration
to me, too. I asked him
one time, “Tim, how do
you stay so positive?”
He said, “Mac, it’s
unfortunate that I’m
visually impaired, but I
have to tell you that
fighting through the
adversity has made me a
better person. I have
come to realize that I
have a lot more than I
don’t have.
I love my family, my
work, and the people I
work with. I’ve been
blessed in many ways.”
Tim’s
212° belief enabled him
to overcome many
obstacles, and propelled
him to success. Henry
Ford said it best,
“Whether you think you
can, or think you
can’t…you’re right.”
P.P.S. To
find out more about 212°
you can click on the
image below or if you
haven’t seen the three
minute 212° movie, you
can
click here to watch.
