How a Mid-20’s Millennial Mastered Sales to Go From Homeless to Multi-Seven Figures In 18 Months

If you’ve seen “The Wolf of Wall Street” with Leonardo DiCaprio, you probably remember the last scene where, during one of his sales seminars, he asks his audience members, one-by-one, to “sell me this pen.”

Along with death and public speaking, the idea of having to sell someone something probably sends an icy chill of apprehension down your spine.

And it’s no surprise—

Even though we’re more connected than ever through social media, cell phones and online dating, a lot of us are living in our own isolated virtual worlds where the opportunities for face-to-face conversations are less common unless you actively pursue them. Some studies say we’re actually facing a growing “loneliness epidemic,” so is there a way out?

Meet Sterling Griffin

Enter Sterling Griffin, a Gen Z business coach who teaches fitness coaches how to create a six-figure business quickly – without Facebook ads, an email list, or a website.

Sterling explains that he was able to take his own fitness coaching business from $0 to over six figures, an achievement he credits towards his mentor, his speed of implementation, and his willingness to reinvest his profits directly back into his business (to shorten his learning curve and accelerate the growth of his business).

The Power of Persistence

According to Sterling, it’s about remembering what lies ahead:

“I never gave up when times got really tough. I’ve been broke so many times, homeless, had so many challenges and wanted to give up so many times. I’m so happy I didn’t. I feel so driven to encourage others to never give up, because everything I’ve ever wanted was not far beyond my desire to quit,” said Sterling in a special interview where he discussed his failures, successes and common mistakes made by his Gen Z peers.

In “Grit: The of Passion and Perseverance,” Angela Duckworth explains how the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.”

Grit is the consistent application of energy towards a desired goal and it’s one of the contributing factors to sales success. Old school salesman like Zig Ziglar have reiterated this point for decades with the idea that every ‘No’ brings you closer to closing the sale.

So it’s no surprise that Sterling built a six-figure business so quickly. His approach to networking and relationship building is one that I’ve used myself to put clients front and center:

“In networking, most people have one question on their mind “How can get this person in front of me to do business with me?” So in networking when I get asked the famous question “What do you do?” I instantly turn it back around and ask “Well I do a few things, but I’m curious what’s your story?”

This takes the other person completely off guard because most people go off on a rant about how they’re so amazing or what they do for work, that when I ask about them, it’s like Christmas came early and they got an unexpected gift. Then when they finish sharing their story, and ask about mine, I have a much better chance of actually connecting with them.”

The One Mindset Shift More People Need to Make

You’ve probably heard of retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink. Jocko’s become incredibly popular with a book and podcast that emphasize the message of personal accountability, a sentiment that Sterling shares.

He says:

“Take responsibility for your life. Your life is where it is right now because of you. Not your parents. Not your economy. Not your friends. You chose the life you have now, in every way. The faster you realize this completely, the faster you set yourself up to win and create the life of your dreams.

Too many people don’t have the life they want because they blame others. And as long as they blame, they keep their future the same as their past. Stop blaming, start forgiving, focus on you want in the future and take responsibility for making it happen, and your future will be extraordinarily better than your present.”

I have to agree.

I can draw a direct connection between my personal (and business) success and the level of responsibility I’ve accepted in my life.  And I’ve seen the same result in other entrepreneurs.

The Next Step

If you’re struggling to hit your stride in the entrepreneurial world, I highly recommend thinking about how you can apply the lessons in this article. By putting clients first and accepting full responsibility for your successes (and failures), I’m sure you’ll start to see incredible results.

To learn more about Sterling, visit his website at SterlingGriffin.com where you can also download his “Ultimate Sales Script for Coaches.”