How training in the gym has prepared me for the world of sales.

The gym is not only a place where I go to build muscle and stay fit. Yes, they are up there on the list of motives to go, but the main reason I attend the gym is to train my outlook as well as my body. As a recently employed Sales Graduate at Oracle and passionate gym goer, it has encouraged me to take the positive outlook that I have acquired from the gym and put that into practice in the corporate world. My new position faces me with a variety of challenges and situations where I am pushed out of my comfort zone every day. I truly believe that I have gained an outlook from my fitness experiences which encourage me to approach these challenges with a much more can do attitude. It means I'm excited rather than scared.

I walked into the gym for the first time as a timid newbie with no confidence and terrified of what other people would think of me. I watched as there were people carrying out moves and exercises I didn't even know existed. Thinking in my head that I would never be able to do those exercises - but thankfully I was wrong! And that is the first lesson I took from joining the gym. Looking back I have learned not to look at a challenge as something I can't do. Instead, I have changed my way of thinking to say I can and I will - as cheesy as that sounds!

"It always seems impossible until it's done" Nelson Mandela

Those exercises that I thought were not physically possible as I watched on my first day, are now exercises incorporated into my day to day workout routine. So as a grad walking into another daunting but exciting environment, I am grateful to say that I am not that timid unconfident newbie, instead I have learned that in time I will learn to be able to do what my colleagues are doing and hopefully add much more. I will get better at these tasks - it takes hard work, persistence and time. But that's ok!

Adding on weights and hitting personal bests is almost like what I imagine hitting sales targets will feel like. Hitting personal bests takes hard work and persistence. It requires working on a particular exercise and having the patience to allow your body to build it's strength. Once you work hard and push through the set backs you eventually reach a new personal best and can progress to a higher weight. This process is one that I feel can be used to approach many situations.

In my case I have looked at it through the eyes of a sales person, since starting my new graduate job. With sales, it takes time, hard work and patience to complete a sale or to hit a target that will add to the completion of a sale. By working hard, researching, and allowing time to be added into the mix, I have learned from the gym that these ingredients are crucial and effective with any target you want to hit.

3 Training Takeaways

"Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity"

To be resilient you must learn that everything won't go smooth sailing. Of course we all learn that through many walks of life but while we're on the topic - the gym is a good example to use. Injury is inevitable, trying to fit in the gym during a busy week, lack of motivation - these are all barriers, that can slow down progression. The gym has taught me that although you will be faced with such barriers, it's not the end of the world. Tomorrow's a new day. But don't lose focus. In business when the going gets tough there are two options: quit or keep going. It's so easy to quit because of a bad week or a set back. Keeping the end goal in sight is the key, giving up just means you're wasting what you've already accomplished and what you have yet to give.

"No pain, no gain"

This definitely isn't a new phrase to anyone's eyes, but it makes sense. I've learned from the gym that if you don't work hard and push yourself, you won't notice much of a change if any at all. Breaking a sweat is commonly known to be an unpleasant experience but it makes a difference if done consistently. Similarly, this is the same in the working world. If you sit at your desk and don't push yourself to go that extra mile, unless you have a pot of gold under your desk, the likelihood is that recognition and reward won't come your way. There is no harm in breaking a sweat if it means it pushes you to achieve more, just don't forget deodorant!

"There is always strength in numbers" Mark Shields

One thing that motivates me when I walk into a gym class is the other members joining me in our challenge that we are about to undertake. By encouraging each other and guiding each other on the correct form, or correct equipment to use we are helping each other to reach our goals. Having the humility to accept advice and spot room for my own improvement has got me very far in this case. Humility is very important! Without my colleagues in work, as a new graduate with little knowledge of the company so far, I don't know where I would be right now. Probably still lost looking for my desk! In order to progress you must factor in that it is a team effort it's all about team targets, knowledge & idea sharing and encouraging each other. Something I am very excited to offer to my team mates at Oracle.

By no means am I a Personal Training expert or a Sales expert in any shape or form. I am just writing this blog as I feel grateful to have the experience from the gym and to have gained such a positive outlook before entering my new role at Oracle. I am excited to approach this grad programme with a can do attitude and strive to hit targets like I do in the gym. Of course there will be set backs or a case of not grasping something straight away, but I feel that I am prepared for that and am ready to give it my all and break a sweat!

All views posted on this blog post are my own.