The Green Sheet Online Edition

March 14, 2011 • Issue 11:03:01

Inspiration

The mind's the limit - so expand it

A s creatures of habit, we often do not reach our full potential. We drive our cars, but how many of us know how to set up the jack and change a tire?

We print photos using a computer software program, but how many use such software to dramatically enhance the photos' quality?

The truth is learning can be difficult. We restrict how much we learn because, being busy, we tend to learn enough to solve the problem at hand and then move on to the next issue demanding attention. Sometimes, too, we heed self-imposed limits that are so long-standing they seem like inviolate truths.

Limit-itis

But there is a price we pay for arrested learning: lack of knowledge. And this affects all areas of our lives, including our payment careers.

For example, a merchant level salesperson (MLS) may develop a good book of business in a certain vertical but fail to diversify his or her portfolio by not studying new markets. Or an ISO might not offer mobile payment solutions because the boss hasn't endeavored to understand them. The result in both cases? Lost opportunities.

This need not be your story. The more you learn, the bigger your rewards will be, personally and professionally.

Limit-less

Here are four tips to help dissolve learning boundaries:

1. Use your assets: If you are an ISO or MLS, you have formidable, positive attributes you can apply to learning. For starters, you are an excellent communicator and a self-starter. When you have to set up a sales call, you pick up the phone and do it. Do the same for yourself. If you want to learn something new, pick up the phone (or go online) and get the ball rolling. Make contact.

2. Be persistent: As a thriving ISO or MLS, you have set realistic, measurable business goals. Set learning goals, too, and vow to meet them. Do this as though your future depends on it.

3. Give and receive support: Enlist the aid of individuals willing to help you keep tabs on your learning progress. Share your successes, and be honest about challenges that have stumped you. Do the same for others, and notice how helping them inspires you to do your best, as well.

4. Aim higher: Once you've attained a goal, seek a greater challenge. Maybe it's learning the ins and outs of medical offices so you can confidently approach doctors about payment innovations that could contribute to their prosperity. Perhaps it's learning Mandarin so you can negotiate with entrepreneurs in China. Whatever it is, take it on. Don't shy away.

Who knows what lies ahead of you or how much you can master in your life? The only way to find out is, well, to find out.

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