The Ripple Effect Volume IX:

Give Me Your Keys

Do something daring!

(continued from The Ripple Effect Volume VIII, Issue 851, June 22, 2021...)

The summer of 1962, we traveled the hardware show circuit, and lived in hotels at the Crescent Tool's expense.

That fall, we rented a one-bedroom house in Anderson, IN. Donna Lee began her freshman year at Anderson College. We had wonderful friends from Ypsilanti and others from the Norfolk, VA church who were attending Anderson College.

We had wonderful times every weekend, but I left early Monday morning, and didn't get home till late Friday night. Not the ideal lifestyle for a young married couple.

In November, my tool-display truck's engine blew up. I had to go back to Jamestown for a replacement van. While I was there, the Company Comptroller who calculated my commission checks, and I went to lunch. He told me I had sold more tool displays in the past six months than anyone had ever sold before.

We attended the beautiful college Campus Church of God. The first Sunday night of January 1963, our minister challenged the congregation to, "Do something daring in the New Year!" I took him literally and wrote a long letter to Crescent's Vice President of Sales telling him that I wanted my commission percentage increased from 2% to 10% or a raise in salary of about 30%. He didn't even respond. Instead, he asked my Regional Manager to handle it. We talked. He told me he couldn't get me a raise for at least another six months. We agreed to meet so I could give him my keys.

We had wonderful times every weekend, but I left early Monday morning, and didn't get home till late Friday night. Not the ideal lifestyle for a young married couple.

In November, my tool-display truck's engine blew up. I had to go back to Jamestown for a replacement van. While I was there, the Company Comptroller who calculated my commission checks, and I went to lunch. He told me I had sold more tool displays in the past six months than anyone had ever sold before.

We attended the beautiful college Campus Church of God. The first Sunday night of January 1963, our minister challenged the congregation to, "Do something daring in the New Year!" I took him literally and wrote a long letter to Crescent's Vice President of Sales telling him that I wanted my commission percentage increased from 2% to 10% or a raise in salary of about 30%. He didn't even respond. Instead, he asked my Regional Manager to handle it. We talked. He told me he couldn't get me a raise for at least another six months. We agreed to meet so I could give him my keys.

One of the Marsh Office Supply's Factory Representatives had been calling me, "Please come back to Marsh's. They want you back. I'll help you succeed." So back to Ypsilanti, and Marsh's selling office machines on a draw-against-commission.

I worked hard, followed up on every lead, made next door cold calls, and joint sales calls with Marsh's Equipment Representatives. Hard work paid off when I won The National Bohn Rex Rotary Mimeograph & Spirit Duplicator Machine sales contest. The award was a beautiful Fisher Stereo Console record player. It even had a reel-to-reel tape player.

The lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of doing my absolute best every day and to follow the intuition that calls me forward.

The action I call you to take is do something daring in the year ahead.

The benefit you will gain is an adventurous life filled with rich memories of all you dared to do.

"In the end we only regret the chances we didn't take." - Lewis Carroll, author of Alice In Wonderland

Lean forward. If you fall, you'll be that much further ahead!