I Wanna Be Sponsored! Part 3
A Sponsored Brain
Words by Dave Norona.
Date: 2008-12-09
There have been people who have criticized me for how I do my job. In fact most of these people have no idea what my job is. Some have suggested that I get sponsored because I am just a good marketer or I have an ‘in’ within the industry or my personal favourite, my parents are rich and that is how I am able to get paid to play. 
Mountain biking is just one of the sports that lights Dave's Fire.
It is funny what people will make up to satisfy their own bewilderment.
I do a lot of writing and most people are excited about my experiences and that I share them. I write to encourage others to get outside and play and yes sometimes there are references to sponsors products or services. I do this because I want people to know what is out there. Some people are not so thrilled about this. They resent any promotion regardless of how it might benefit someone or even themselves. If this sounds like you, it is an important characteristic to notice about yourself.
Kiteboarding is another.
I learned long ago to surround myself with successful people and to learn from them. Along the way I cheer for everyone and I'm truly happy for their success. If others are successful around you then chances are you will be successful too. I thought in this piece I’d provide an excerpt from one of the books that has helped me most; Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. The passage below really spoke to me.
I hope the words below encourage you to go out and buy this book or sign it out from the library; read it and put these practices to good use. If you’re a young athlete this book will help you tenfold and you will quickly realize what many, including myself, took many years to learn.
Text below excerpted from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker.
Successful people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Unsuccessful people sometimes think negatively about selling and promotion.
Resenting promotion is one of the greatest obstacles to success. People who have issues with selling and promotions are usually broke. It’s obvious, how can you create success in your own business or as a representative of one if you’re not willing to let people know that your product exists. Even as an employee, if you aren’t willing to promote your virtues, someone who is willing to will quickly bypass you up the corporate ladder.
Some people have a problem with promotion or sales for several reasons. You may have had a bad experience with someone promoting to you inappropriately. Maybe they were doing the hard sell on you or bothering you at an inopportune time. Maybe they wouldn’t take no for an answer. In any case, it’s important to recognize that this experience is in the past and that holding on to it may not be serving you today.
You also may have had a bad experience when you have tried to sell something and that person rejected you. In this case, your distain for promotion is merely a projection of your own fear of failure and rejection.
Another factor is that your issue might come from past parental programming. Many of us were told that it is impolite to “toot your own horn.” However, if you live in the real world when it comes to business if you don’t toot your own horn nobody will. Please don’t mistake this for ego. There is a big difference in letting people know what you have done, over egotistically defining yourself by it.
Some people feel that promotion is beneath them. If you expect that sponsors will come to you because you are doing so well then you will be waiting for a long time. There are a ton of athletes out there winning races, writing awesome stories and helping others in their sport, and promoting themselves to sponsors; these are the ones who get the jobs.
There is a quote, “build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.” Well this is only true if you add five words: “if they know about it.”
Successful people are almost always excellent promoters. They can and are willing to promote their products and ideas with passion and enthusiasm. They are also skilled at packaging their value in a way that’s extremely attractive. If you think there’s something wrong with that, then let’s ban makeup for women and suits for men as all that is nothing more than “packaging.”
If you had a cure for arthritis would you hide it from others because you did not want to promote it? Of course the answer is no. More often then not, people who have a problem with promotion don’t fully believe in their product or don’t fully believe in themselves. If you believe that what you have to offer can truly assist people, then it is your duty to let as many people know about it. You will not only help them you’ll be successful as well!
Excerpted from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker.
Dave enjoying the wind down in La Ventana Mexico - where he spent the month of November.
I love these words above and they truly speak to anyone who is looking at working as a sponsored athlete. I hope they ignite a flame that lights your path.
Dave
Noronalife.com
How do you feel about self promotion or those who promote themselves? We Canadians sometimes have a hard time on both ends of that. Do you need to be good at self promotion to be a successful adventure sports athlete? Share your secrets of the pro mind here...
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