The Scarcity Voice
“Who am I to ask for that much?”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Discounting before the customer asks, flinching when you say the price, rushing past the payment talk, never asking for referrals.
From the Book: Why Do We Live Here?
LJ grew up where money was always short and survival came first. He had to unlearn the idea that money is for other people before he could ask for it with confidence.
Your First Step This Week
Before your first customer today, say your price out loud five times, without apologizing or offering a discount.
The Outsider Voice
“They’re judging me before I say a word.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Hanging back on ups, letting the veterans take the big customers, shrinking in front of confident or wealthy buyers.
From the Book: Birth Defects
LJ lives with vitiligo, and the split face on the cover of his book is his own. He learned that buyers respond to how you show up, not how you look.
Your First Step This Week
Take the next up within ten seconds. Stand tall, smile and say your name first.
The Comparison Trap
“I’ll never be as good as the top guy.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Getting discouraged by the sales board, copying someone else’s style instead of building your own, giving up on the month early.
From the Book: Sibling Rivalry
Growing up, LJ learned the difference between competing with someone and measuring your worth against them. One makes you better. The other keeps you stuck.
Your First Step This Week
Compare yourself only to last week’s you. Write down one number you’ll beat by Saturday.
Taking No Personally
“They said no to me, not to the deal.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Skipping follow-up calls, not asking for the sale so you never hear no, shutting down for an hour after a tough customer.
From the Book: Another New School
Being the new kid again and again taught LJ how to walk into a room where nobody knows your name and win it over anyway.
Your First Step This Week
Collect three no’s on purpose today. Count them like points on a scoreboard.
Nobody Showed Up for Me
“I have to figure this out alone.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Never asking for help, keeping managers at arm’s length, pulling back when someone lets you down, keeping customers at a distance.
From the Book: Parents · Grandparent Gold
LJ sorted the people in his life into two groups: the ones who showed up and the ones who didn’t. His grandparents showed up, again and again. He decided to be that person for others.
Your First Step This Week
Ask your manager or top rep for ten minutes of help on one deal this week.
The Mood Swing
“I’ll make my calls when I feel like it.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Great weeks followed by dead weeks, gaps in the CRM, activity that rises and falls with your mood.
From the Book: Grandparent Gold · I Joined the Military
Grandma Dorothy taught LJ that responsibility doesn’t have a date or a time. The military turned that lesson into a daily habit.
Your First Step This Week
Pick one daily non-negotiable, like ten follow-up calls before noon, and do it five days straight.
Lost Your Why
“Good enough is good enough.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Coasting after a decent month, setting no personal goals, going through the motions on the floor.
From the Book: Stay Hungry · I’m a New Dad
Becoming a father gave LJ a reason bigger than a paycheck. Staying hungry became a choice he makes every morning.
Your First Step This Week
Write down who you’re selling for, and put it where you’ll see it before every customer.
Quitting When It Hurts
“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Replaying bad days, browsing job listings after one slow week, letting one rough customer wreck the next three.
From the Book: Toughness · Keep Going
LJ has been knocked down hard, more than once. The title of his book is the lesson: stripped bare, but unbroken.
Your First Step This Week
After your next tough customer, take a two-minute reset outside, then take the very next up.
Waiting for Better Soil
“I’d crush it if I worked somewhere else.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Blaming the store, the leads, the inventory or the market. One foot out the door, never mastering what’s right in front of you.
From the Book: Landing on Earth
LJ’s story starts where he landed, not where he would have chosen. The first lesson of his life became the first lesson of selling: grow where you’re planted.
Your First Step This Week
Write down three things you control at your store this week, and master one of them.
The Blame Game
“It’s not my fault I missed.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Blaming management, customers or the economy. Excuses in sales meetings. Waiting for someone else to fix what’s holding you back.
From the Book: Thank You, Tom Greene
LJ gave a whole chapter to thanking Tom Greene, and the lesson he carries from it is simple: you are responsible for you.
Your First Step This Week
For one week, end every miss with “What could I have done differently?” instead of “Why did that happen to me?”
The Wrong Circle
“I’d rather hang with the people who keep it comfortable.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Sitting with the complainers in the break room, avoiding the top performers, never watching how the best reps work a deal.
From the Book: Swimming With Salespeople
LJ learned to swim in sales by staying close to people who were better than him. Iron sharpens iron: you become like the people you spend your day with.
Your First Step This Week
Spend 15 minutes this week watching your top rep work a customer, then ask them one question about it.
The Commission Love Affair
“What’s in it for me on this deal?”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Sizing customers up by what you’ll make, pushing what pays most instead of what fits, burning relationships for a quick payday.
From the Book: The Real Cost of Love
LJ looks hard at what it costs to love the wrong things. In sales, falling in love with the commission instead of the customer costs you the repeat business and referrals that build a career.
Your First Step This Week
On your next three customers, decide what’s right for them before you think about what you’ll make.
Promises That Slip
“I’ll call them back... eventually.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Missed callbacks, forgotten follow-ups, delivery dates that slide, customers who only hear from you when you need something.
From the Book: More Caught Than Taught
LJ learned that values are more caught than taught. Customers don’t remember what you said. They remember whether you did what you said you’d do.
Your First Step This Week
Write down every promise you make to a customer this week, and check each one off when it’s done.
Just Another Up
“Next customer, same pitch.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Rushing people, forgetting names, deciding in a minute who’s worth your time, disappearing after the sale.
From the Book: A Special Customer
One of LJ’s core lessons comes from the chapter “A Special Customer”: we all need each other. Every customer is a person first, and the ones you treat that way remember you.
Your First Step This Week
Learn one personal detail about each customer this week, and mention it in your follow-up.
Selling Yourself Short
“I’m just an average salesperson.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
Setting goals you know you’ll hit, shying away from the bigger deal, calling your wins luck, never putting your name in for more.
From the Book: A Better Version of Me
LJ’s message in “A Better Version of Me” is direct: you are better than you think. Most reps stop growing long before they reach their ceiling.
Your First Step This Week
Set one goal this month that’s 20% above your best month ever, and tell someone about it.
Flying Blind
“I don’t really know my numbers.”
How It Shows Up on the Floor
No idea of your closing ratio, no tracking of calls or appointments, dropping a new habit before it has time to work.
From the Book: The Road Less Travelled
LJ writes that most people quit too soon and never track their progress. The ones who keep score can see they’re winning before the paycheck shows it.
Your First Step This Week
Track three numbers every day this week: conversations, appointments and sales. Review them on Friday.
This library is sales coaching, not counseling. If one of these touches a deep hurt, a licensed counselor is the right next step. Find support.