February 2005 Sitting in the audience at what I intended to be
my last Cutco conference, I came to a painful realization: I’ve never fulfilled my potential. Sure, I’d won some awards and broken a few
records, but watching from my seat as the two top performers collect
the highest annual award that Cutco offers—the coveted Rolex—I
realized that I’d never fully committed, at least, not for an entire year.
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I left the company before
fulfilling my potential. I had to give it one more year, but this time I
had to give it my all.
2005 Despite the late start to the year, I set a goal to nearly
double my best sales year ever. I was terrified, but committed. I also
concluded that I had an obligation to write that book and share my
story with the world. I worked 365 days straight, selling and writing,
with a level of discipline which eluded me the first 25 years of my
life. I was fueled by passion to do what I had never done before: to
venture from my painfully comfortable realm of mediocrity—from
which I operated my entire life—into the space of being
extraordinary. By the year’s end, I reached both of my goals, more
than doubling my previous best sales year and completing my first
book. It’s official: anything is possible when you are committed.
