Whether you know it or not, you’re in the business of sales.

— If you’re a parent, you’re trying to sell your children on values and habits.

— If you’re a teacher, you’re trying to sell your students on curiosity and knowledge.

— If you’re a coach, you’re trying to sell your athletes on a sense of team and a way to acquire skill.

— If you’re a human being, you’re trying to present yourself in the best possible light.

Which brings us to the book “How to Sell Anything to Anybody” by Joe Girard. Survivor of a tough childhood and some scrapes with the law, Girard became a world-class car salesman. And he makes it clear that he was not born to be a salesman. He made himself one. (His talent was not innate. He acquired skill.)

And here’s his secret. It’s a secret that you can use in any area of your life.

He did things that no one else was willing to do.

Early in his career, Girard realized that colleagues would resent him because of his success. So he made a deal with the boss. He took himself out of the rotation whereby the salesmen took turns waiting on the customers who walked through the door.

Girard spent the time doing things that any of his colleagues could have been doing: giving out business cards, sending birthday cards to his customers, making cold calls, developing client lists, etc.

Anyone was ABLE to do those things.

Not everyone was WILLING to do those things.

It’s the same way with you. If you want things that other people want, you must be willing to do things that they are not willing to do.

Are you willing to put in more time than your competition?

Are you willing to put more into the time than your competition?

Are you hungrier? Are you more curious?

Read the book. You’ll see that Girard’s tremendous success came from not from fancy, complicated theories, but from simple actions that he took every day.

Make that your success formula as well.

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Mike Tully speaks to sports, business and educational groups. He also works with coaches, athletes and teams to make their practice time more productive and efficient. He and Gary Pritchard are co-authors of “Ten Things Great Coaches Know.” To see Coach Tully and Coach Pritchard discuss “Seven Ways to Prepare for Adversity,” click here.