On Wednesday August 24th a Good Man Died and He Shouldn't Have

If you are not a baseball fan and you aren't in the Mid-Atlantic area then you probably did not see the story that former Oriole and former Cy Young award winner Michael Flanagan was found dead at his Maryland home. Multiple reports cite suicide. I often use this blog as a cathartic process for working through the daily events of my life as a salesperson. I hope that through this process others will learn and benefit from my experience. I have sympathy for the Flanagan family. Several years ago, someone very close to me attempted suicide and it was a moment in my life that truly changed my perspective on many things.
I won't pretend that  I understand what Mr. Flanagan was going through in his personal life. I know the man I saw on television doing play by play for the Baltimore Orioles, was intelligent, funny and he seemed to truly love his work. Whatever his demons in life were, I hope is at peace with them now.
We all have challenges in our lives. A friend of mine was recently telling me about a 2 year  divorce process he is going through. I lost both of my parents at a fairly young age and I deal with the daily struggle of a child with Autism. The economy is terrible and we all know someone who has had the rug pulled out from under them when they least expected it.
So to all this negativity I offer a counterpoint. I have a wife and two children that I absolutely love and I know they love me. I have many friends that when they walk in the room I am greeted with a hug and a broad genuine smile. I have a roof over my head and I don't worry about where my next meal will come from. I have family that loves me and I know that if I called them today for help they would give it.

We all have our unique place in the world. Some of you have a better position in life than mine, some of you are in a tougher spot, but we all have a life to live. In the world of sales it is easy to get wrapped up in quota's, sales targets, forecasts, commissions, bonuses and all the collateral pressure that comes with being in sales.

I want you all to take away one thing from my blog today.

We work to live, we don't live to work.

Remember that, the next time something happens at work and you think that you cannot overcome it. You can and you will.

If you need someone to talk to, you have the person in your life, find them and talk to them. They will help you. For all the negativity and pain in the world, people have the capacity to do good and they want to.

Thanks for reading today

Mike S.

R.I.P. Michael Flanagan, you will be missed