“Coffee is for closers.”
You have heard this famous line from the sales movie Glengarry Glen Ross. It is part of an over the top tirade from an arrogant representative of Mitch and Murray. Alec Baldwin comes to them on a so-called mission of mercy. It doesn’t sound like it, as he hurls insults and jabs.
Everyone in the room is shocked as he dismantles each person’s desire, title, and ego. He makes it clear, the goal of the salesperson is to get someone to “sign on the line that is dotted.” It all seems over the top and you can see the discomfort on the face of each member of the sales team.
After seeing the film several times over the years, and appreciating the lampooning of it in the sales industry, it became clear to me that the entire goal of the speech was to move this lethargic crew into action.
Maybe he was on a mission of mercy. Was it over the top? Yes, but it was disruptive.
How many times has Jack Lemmon’s character lethargically walked back and forth to the coffee maker like a zombie? How many times has Ed Harris’ character slipped into the office, kicked his feet up, and read through the paper. Each one of those clowns, living in a daily coffin, were allowing their dreams to suffocate.
Maybe they needed someone to come in and scream, “Get Mad!”
Maybe there is a little of each one of the Glengarry sales crew in us.
We go through the motions. We pretend that we are accomplishing something. We shoot the breeze. We move papers around. We call ourselves sales people, when we are really just sleepwalking through life. Maybe we should get mad.
Don’t you deserve more? Doesn’t your family deserve more? Shouldn’t that make us angry?
Maybe you tried all the other stuff. You tried to be positive. You tried conferences. Maybe it is time to get mad and finally do something. Aren’t you tired of strolling back and forth from the office, back to home, in an endless loop with little progress? Isn’t it kind of like Jack Lemmon’s character shuffling with a cold cup of coffee? You deserve better. You were created to do great things. What will it say on your tombstone? “Here lies Joe Smith, an expert paper shuffler. 1972-2023”
I know that this may seem intense, but so is trying to save someone from a heart attack. Maybe for you to finally start winning, you need to attack your heart and make today different.
Make a list of who and what really matters to you. Now make an honest list of when your day starts, ends, and your daily activities. Compare the two. Do your daily activities align with what matters to you? If not, I dare to write across the list of what matters to you, in big bold letters…NOT WORTH IT, OR you can get mad and start making some changes. You deserve it, your dreams deserve it, and the people you care about deserve it.
You are extraordinary, it is time to start living like it. Get mad and finally make today count.
