MEETING WITH AN ANGEL
It’s the time when I became a Realtor and also worked as an Appliance Sales Consultant at one of the biggest retail Stores in Canada, Sears. In terms of sales ability, I was above par. Despite my love of sales, I was a slouch. I would take lots of unnecessary breaks. My eating habits used to be dreadful. I weighed over 220 pounds and had a waist circumference of 44 inches. My legs and back would always feel fatigued. I used to never go to the gym, ate a piece of cake every other day, and be utterly committed to junk food. One of my favourite methods to relax and catch up on my favourite shows was to take extended breaks in the lunchroom, where there was a big screen TV. The store manager had warned me and asked about my frequent breaks. Since I still had some sales ability and a track record of accomplishment in that position, they didn’t terminate me. In the year 2009, I had an awakening… An angel I met saved me from certain death. A massive freight liner truck came barreling through the crossing, ignoring the red light on the other side of the crossroads, and I was only able to get this Black Gentleman’s attention in time to stop me from turning left at the green light. The thought of what may have happened if I had made any sort of movement then still gives me the shivers to this day. I was given a second opportunity and my life was spared.
As a result of this profound experience, I started enjoying activities I previously despised, such as reading, yoga, gym, eating vegetables (especially broccoli!!), and despised others, such as negative thoughts, complaining, eating junk food etc etc… I found myself devoting less time to television and more towards reading books. When I started acting strangely at Sears, some of my coworkers started making fun of me. When I had a break on the sales floor, I’d catch up with old customers and answer any queries they might have, or I’d start polishing the stainless-steel refrigerators that were in my area of responsibility at the time. Because I was having so much fun, I would occasionally whistle while I worked, and the encouraging words from customers were a potent spur on my next call.
When I was having a rough day, I never got distracted. My personal development was greatly aided by maintaining my new and improved routine. Every day, I would average well over a hundred calls to my clientele. I usually only put my phone down to eat, talk to a customer in person, or to charge it. I started showing up to work an hour early every day and wrote lots of thank you notes to my clients daily.
In 2010, because of my new attitude and thought process, I unintentionally entered the Million Dollar Club and also won a vacation to Cancun in a sales competition hosted by the Whirlpool Corporation. In March of 2011, I visited Cancun and stayed at the Cancun Excellence Playa Mujeres Resort. This vacation trip showed me that there were so many lovely things in life that I have not yet experienced, and that with hard work, I could offer these things to my loved ones and live a much richer life. Before our departure from Cancun resort, Sears asked all the contest winners to write down their thoughts on how the retailer could increase its sales. I recalled writing in that book “If Sears wanted to stay competitive, the company needs to significantly enhance its after-sale service support and introduce more user-friendly and innovative appliances.” My final thoughts were, “If Sears does not change and improve their current business practises, then in few years Sears will be no more…”
In the year 2015 I felt that Sears was not the place for me anymore and it was the time for me to move on and go full-time in real estate.
Guess what happened in 2017: Sears filed for bankruptcy shortly after I put my name on it.
It’s true in our real life as well, if we are not learning and improving our skills consistently then we are going to hit the skids on day… I thank Almighty for giving me that life altering awesome experience with The Angel that gave me another chance to experience, learn, help, contribute, increase my value, expand my thoughts and knowledge, live the life to the fullest and see how much I can achieve in my life before it all vanishes. If you like to utilize my expertise, please call me at 416-356-4891 or email vsengar@yahoo.com