"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do these every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three: you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be joy or sorrow. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week; you're going to have something special."
- Jimmy Valvano, March 4, 1993, Acceptance Speech at the ESPY Awards for the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award
So, here you are mid-year 2026. Are you having fun? Do you find yourself in a position to laugh on a regular basis, or do you take this business so seriously that you've lost your passion in sales and forgotten why you decided to get into professional selling? I've said this often over the last 14 years: "If you aren't having fun, get out and do something else." Life is too short not to have fun doing what you spend over 25% of your day doing.
Have Fun or Get Out
If you start having fun, you won't worry so much about selling, and the people you meet won't worry so much about being sold. It's kind of funny that way. Sure, you do serious things for your clients, but we're not going to remember the sale you made or didn't make. What your client will remember is you, and how you were there for them when they needed you the most. And if it isn't you, it will be someone else, so you might as well be memorable by having fun. Find a way to laugh when faced with difficulty. Find a way to smile and say something light when dealt a difficult situation. Find a way to ease someone else's burden with a smile and a laugh.
Money Isn't the Point
How much time do you spend thinking? Not only thinking about your next sale, or the coverage, or the terms of the contract, or the features and benefits of what you are selling, but also about you, where you are going, and what you will do once you get there. Certainly, most salespeople get into sales for the money. But then what? If you get reasonably good at what you do (selling), then money problems will go away. And by the way, if you really enjoy what you do, have fun at it, your money problems will go away too. So once you've decided that it isn't about chasing the money, what is it about?
I have a good friend, Tim Mackey. We've known each other now for over 30 years, and in our very first meeting we talked about money. Tim's perspective, which has become my perspective as well, is that money is a resource: a resource that buys you freedom, freedom of time and freedom of choice. Once you have all the money you need, what next? What goals do you have that are bigger than you? What goals do you have that would be beneficial to others? What goals do you have that are a testament that you did, in fact, make the world a better place for having been here?
What Passion in Sales Really Means
Is selling your passion? Or better yet, do you have passion for what you do and what it does for others? Selling the right things to the right people changes lives. It certainly changes your life, and if you've approached your prospect or client the right way and focused on them, not yourself, you change their life too. You bring something to the table that maybe, just maybe, buys them freedom: freedom of time and freedom to make choices. Choices like expanding a business, taking more time with family, retiring early from work, and following the passions of their heart.
Passion Is Non-Negotiable in Insurance
If you are in the insurance business, then you may be the most important person in someone's life when they need someone like you the most. When people face the tragedy of loss, they suffer emotionally, and many times physically and almost always financially. If you've done your job, you can eliminate the financial burdens they may be facing, which in turn will help them emotionally. But the key here is that you must be passionate about what you do. You must decide that your calling is to help as many people as possible.
You must decide that you are the one who will have the greatest impact on their life or business. That defines passion in selling.
