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“Magic” made the transition from great athlete to greater entrepreneur with hard work and a great gift of spotting opportunities. He recognized that urban communities were ripe for commercial and residential development. He partnered with Loew’s Theaters, Starbucks, T.G.I. Fridays, Burger King and 24 Hour Fitness to lead economic booms in neglected communities.

More impressive, Johnson has established a foundation with tentacles all over the U.S. and has built a $4B investment portfolio to re-build affordable housing in urban areas.

32 Way to Be a Champion in Businessis an easy read with some practical advice. The tone is definitely targeted at inspiring minority entrepreneurs, but the strategies are universal and timeless.

His business strategies start with the foundation of mission, vision, passion and one of my favorite “Winning Sales Habits” as well, focusing on your strengths. He gives a lot of specific examples in the “business plays” section that can help with building a brand, forming a team and working with partners and investors. But probably the best part of the book for me was the final “Magic Move” and a story that epitomizes why Earvin “Magic” Johnson has endured as a champion.  Very touching and inspirational.

If you followed “Magic” like I did in the 80′s, you’ll be fascinated by his transformation. If you are building a business, the advice is straightforward and blunt. If you have a few hours, the stories are inspiring. Don’t expect Tom Peters, but do expect to remain engaged.

Key Take-Away Habits:

#1: A larger vision will help you to build your dream. It’s not just about making the money, it’s about your purpose.

#2: You don’t hire people to work for your business, you hire them to “be” your business.

#3: You won’t succeed by trying to be something you’re not. Magic was not a good talk-show host or NBA coach, but has turned into a great entrepreneur.

#4: Training starts with the leader. You can never know enough, learn enough or get good enough. Keep changing and growing to stay on top.

Grade:  B

The key to adopting the challenge response when facing a daunting task is to “reframe” the problem. A great metaphor to use is going from a close-up to a long-shot in cinematography. A close-up places a tight, narrow frame around the scene, often engrossing the viewer in a single face, object, or action.

When you pull back or “re-frame” the scene, however, the viewer immediately glimpses the wider, more comprehensive perspective. This week’s habit looks at how top performers use “reframing” to put challenges in a larger perspective.

Often, our focus on the big challenges that face us has us lose sight of the bigger picture. Here are three ways to take those big challenges and knock them down to size:

1. Ask yourself, “How important will this problem be a month from now or a year from now.” Seeing your tasks or challenges as a minor episode in your overall plan of life releases you from many of the anxieties and worries and opens up new possibilities.

2. Compare it to another situation in your life. Remembering other trials or adversity you’ve come through can help you realize that you’re capable of handling difficult situations. Pat O’Donnell, the CEO of Aspen Skiing Company, often attributes his ability to stay calm and focused in a tough meeting to his rock-climbing experiences many years ago. “When things get really frenetic, ” O’Donnell says, “I think back to being out on the face of El Capitan about 2,000 feet up when my feet were slipping on a piece of glasslike rock. You have to stay there and relax until you get yourself under control.”

3. Consciously consider the ways this problem will contribute, in the long run, to your skills and personal development. In the book The Lessons of Experience, the authors show that people overwhelmingly report that there is no better teacher than a difficult problem. The tougher the assignment, the steeper the learning curve, the more knowledgeable, confident and competent you will emerge.

This post is from our “Weekly Sales Habit” e-newsletter. To subscribe, go to www.winningsaleshabits.com.

So, how do great performers prepare for the playoffs? They train. They train with purpose, deliberateness and drive. They train day-in and day-out … not just for a day, a week or a sales meeting. They train until the desired thoughts, behaviors and actions become habits.

And that’s exactly what we want this Blog to be all about: giving the readers tools, strategies, contacts, information and daily insights we all run across that can help us sell more and have more fun in your career.

That’s right! Just because we’re in the playoffs doesn’t mean that we have to be all stoic and boorish. The current environment offers more stimulating challenges and invites us to stretch our abilities to new heights. So, while we may be facing more rigorous demands, we can face them in an atmosphere that is a hell of a lot more exciting than times past.

In the coming posts, we’d like to share with you interviews with other top performers in sales, reviews on the latest research and books written on sales and business performance, plus tips and techniques to make these habits your own.

Please feel free to share your own ideas, strategies and thoughts as well. Have a great day selling!