This kind of selfish pride whispers to us that we deserve more. It’s this selfish pride that causes us to play the “keep-up-with-the-Jones” game (jealousy). This same selfish pride feeds the unhealthy love of money. The root of all evil. As sales professionals we live in a money-driven world. This makes battling selfish pride and resisting temptation our constant battle.
Adam and Eve had everything they could ever want and still, they wanted more. It wasn’t enough. The only thing they didn’t have was to be just like God. Without gratitude for everything they had, they allowed selfish pride of wanting more to cause their poor decision. As sales professionals, we should always be driven to sell more by assisting our customers, but we’ve got to be careful not to let ungratefulness poison our decisions.
Adam and Eve listened to one information source and then decided to act.
The snake didn’t share accurate information, but they both believed it. Then, they chose poorly. As sales professionals we are constantly receiving information from multiple sources. While no one may be out to directly deceive us, we need to confirm our information with multiple sources before we act.
Some people like to point out that Eve actually made the poor decision, not Adam. But, what they fail to point out is that
Adam was standing right there with Eve. He was right there next to his wife, watching this conversation take place, and he chose to remain silent and do nothing. As sales professionals, selfish pride can cause us to look the other way when core values are about to be compromised. We should never compromise our core values just to make a sale. We need to speak up when they’re in danger of being compromised.
"Selfish pride tells us we are entitled to more."
-Russ Peterson Jr.
Leaders and sales professionals with core values rooted in selfish pride may achieve worldly success, but it’s a lonely path that will never lead to true significance.
Still fighting the selfish pride,
Russ
Russ Peterson Jr.
Co-founder, iSpeak
