Legendary basketball player and coach John Wooden said something years ago that I have adopted as a philosophy of life:

“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.”

Living by this philosophy has enabled me to accomplish much in my life, and was the springboard for the transition to peak sales performance.

For example, I used to complain about potential clients. “The best closers get all the good leads,” I often groan.

Then my sales manager pointed out that the best closers started with the same pool of leads that I had; They had just spent time selecting them, diligently, and after months of extensive work, they discovered, converted, and cultivated a huge list of prospects and customers.

What I discovered is that I couldn’t call their “great leads,” but I could build a list of my own, working longer hours, making more calls, and working hard and diligently on my own.

And I did it.

When I learned that the secret to getting better was to listen to my calls, I discovered that my company did not record calls. So, I couldn’t do it through my company.

What I could do was go to Radio Shack (this was years ago, do any of you remember Radio Shack?), and I could buy a black rubber suction cup with a cord that plugged into a cassette recorder. When I made a call, I pressed the “play/record” buttons.

So I did. I tripled my income in 90 days.

When years later, as a busy consultant, I wanted to write my first book, I didn’t have the time I wanted to write (mornings).

What I was able to do, however, was to diligently write a weekly blog and organize it so that I could write a bit of the book each week. Two years later, I had enough material for my first book.

We all have limitations in our lives. But we can all do something right now to work towards our goals.

Want to get in shape but don’t have 2 ½ hours a day to work out at the gym?

What can you do today?

Eat better (fewer calories), walk/jog, or bike home? Go to the gym for half an hour today and one hour on the weekend?

You see, all top producers, in any walk of life, don’t think about what they can’t do. They focus on what they can do.

And then they do.

And you can too.

Write today’s quote on a 3X5 card and post it in your cubicle at work, on the bathroom mirror at home, and on the dashboard of your car.

And living with the attitude of “What can I do today?”

And then do it.

If you do that, you will achieve everything you set out to do.