Two Lessons from Mitch and Morrie

The best-selling book Tuesdays with Morrie is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year. To coincide with the anniversary, a new edition of the book is being released that includes an afterword from author Mitch Albom. Sales trainer John Costigan recently re-read the book, and shares some insight he learned from the book and author.

"Mitch did not write this book for notoriety or fame," explains Costigan. "It was written with the hope that it would help Morrie pay his hospital bills. In his quest to find a publisher, he received endless rejections and was even told that he "had no idea what a memoir was." Mitch did not give up - and through his persistence and desire to help someone else, he found personal success. To date, Tuesdays with Morrie has been published in 31 languages in 36 countries, and has been read by millions.

Lesson One

"I call what Mitch did selfless persistence," says Costigan. "He had a goal to help someone else, not himself. When you focus on helping others, you "sell" for lack of a better term, from the heart. When you sell from the "head" or let your ego take over, you make it about you. Nothing can replace persistence, true. But selfless persistence is bullet piercing. Nothing can stop it, or you!"

Lesson Two

"When asked what he misses most about Morrie, Mitch mentions his smile, infectious laugh and wisdom, but the one thing that he misses the most is the twinkle that was always shining in Morrie's eyes when Mitch entered the room. "When someone is happy - genuinely happy - to see you, it is like going home."

"This is the second lesson," says Costigan. Be genuine.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, "People may doubt what you say or what you do. But how you make them feel is what they will remember most about you." So true!

"Take a look at how you greet someone," suggests Costigan. "Are you truly genuine in how you treat people or is it simply a habitual pattern of engagement that you were taught as a child in an effort to be polite?"

"I encourage you to apply these two valuable lessons from Mitch and Morrie in your life and with your customers - and you will reap the rewards of greater personal success."

John Costigan, president and founder of John Costigan Companies, conducts sales training classes around the world for a list of clients that reads like a "who's who" in the corporate world, including Hewlett Packard and the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes. To learn more visit www.johncostigan.com