With a Little Bit of Luck
Anyone who’s ever spent time at a casino “people watching” can’t help but notice the plethora of “lucky charms” carried about.  It might be a rabbit’s foot on a key chain, a stuffed bear sitting a top a slot machine.  It might be a lucky sweatshirt sporting playing card motifs or hidden away it might be a lucky pair of socks.  Gamers are well known for their high level of superstition.  Some slot players even have their own favorite machines or hit the buttons in a fixed, ritualistic pattern.

 It’s Everywhere
Now gamblers are not the only people who perform superstitious ritualistic behaviors.  It happens in sports all the time.  The high school team wins two games in a row and the players decide that their winning streak is the result of their “lucky underwear” and vow not to wash their jock straps ‘til they lose a game.  In the Disney film, Dumbo, the elephant couldn’t fly unless he held his magic feather.  In both cases, there was no reality to back up these superstitious beliefs but there was, in both cases, a belief and beliefs can be very, very strong.

 Interiorscapers Luck
I had a large client once and would call upon this august, important person once a month.  After some time I began to believe that our visits went particularly well if I parked at a certain downtown lot in a certain row of cars.  It became nerve-racking, as I’d rush to secure the favored spot.  Often, I’d drive down early just to reach this special location.  Was it really a lucky spot? I believed so and I wasn’t going to mess with the good karma.  Plus, since I believed things would go well, they usually did.

We’re All Human 
The moral of the story?  I bet that you as a sales person has a “lucky” something or the other.  Don’t be embarrassed about it – it just makes you human.  However odd and irrelevant these superstitious behaviors are, they rarely do any harm.  Wear that lucky suit or pair of shoes and tap into that deep well of confidence building.  Heck, you can slay dragons.

It’s All About Confidence
We’ve all heard about the Psychology experiments that told subjects they possess acertain power and, almost as if self hypnotized the subjects went on to do super human deeds.  A little Confidence goes a long way.  Another Confidence story is about the Coach/Consultant that used the tactics of the Sports World to get his clients to achieve far more that they had expected.  How did he do this?  Well, when they were going on an important meeting he would have them call him right before they went in.  He would then proceed to yell at them, loudly, and even louder, tell them that they were viscious, maneating Tigers, capable of anything.  That like Tigers, they ruled.  That there had never been anyone as good as them, ever.  Hanging up after listening to 10 minutes of rousing confidence building wiped out any lingering doubts .  Confident and energized the guy would go to the meeting and achieve his objective.  That, folks, is why they have cheerleaders.

Whatever Works!
Maybe what we all need is a ‘Scaper Buddy.  A fellow scaper, non competitor whom we’ve met at a meeting and formed a bond.  You call them and they call you.  They give you a pep talk and vice versa.  Remember, whatever works!

Now pick up that stuffed panda and stick it in your briefcase and go out there and get‘em Tiger.