The Salesman's Little Blue Book of Daily Inspiration

A Gift for:

From:

the

SALESMAN'S

LITTLE

BLUE

BOOK

of

DAILY INSPIRATION

CHRISTOPHER CUNNINGHAM

Copyright © 2007 Christopher Cunningham

Published by Integrity House, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from The New International Version of the Bible (NIV) © 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Other Scripture references are from The New King James Version (NKJV) © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher, and are used by permission. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. The Message (MSG), copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Cover Design/Interiors: Visibility Creative

ISBN-10: 1-59145-535-9

ISBN-13: 9781591455356

Printed and bound in China

Dad, you are my hero and the reason I know God as a loving Father. Thank you for teaching me to swing level in baseball – and in life. I love you.

Mom, you are my hero too. Thank you for always loving me even when I was unlovable and believing in me even when I was unbelievable. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! I love you.

To my Granddads, thank you for being my mighty men of purpose. I’ll see you both again someday because nothing can separate us from the love of God.

And to you, if you sell for a living – do it as though you are working for the Lord!

Table of

CONTENTS

PART ONE

21 DAYS TO A BRAND NEW YOU

DAY ONE Don’t Worry About Your Forecast

DAY TWO Honor God First

DAY THREE Agape Style

DAY FOUR Take Refuge In God

DAY FIVE Commit Your Plans

DAY SIX Do More

DAY SEVEN He Is Faithful

DAY EIGHT Thirst for Living Water

DAY NINE Jesus—Deal Or No Deal?

DAY TEN Be Still

DAY ELEVEN Built to Order

DAY TWELVE You Have Fans

DAY THIRTEEN Lift Up From Below

DAY FOURTEEN Semper Fidelis

DAY FIFTEEN God’s Agenda

DAY SIXTEEN Workaholic?

DAY SEVENTEEN Burning Coals

DAY EIGHTEEN Ask

DAY NINETEEN Your Tongue

DAY TWENTY Let Go. Let God

DAY TWENTY-ONE He Will Complete the Good Work

PART TWO

FAQS FROM GOD’S WORD

How does God feel about abundance?

What is a Christian to do with alcohol or even drugs?

Is it okay for a Christian to be angry?

Does God care about my sales numbers?

What is a Christian to do with the competition?

Is it okay to ask God for courage and sales?

What if my customers don’t like me?

What do I do when I get depressed or burned out?

I feel alone. What should I do?

I compromised my integrity. What do I do now?

Sometimes my job seems so hard. What do I do?

What do I do when stepping out into something new?

I just lost my job! What happens now?

What do I do when I don’t feel thankful or satisfied?

God, will you please help me?

What do I do when faced with sexual temptation?

I feel lost. What do I do next?

What do I do with success?

How can I learn to work hard or stay motivated?

What do I do when I’m exhausted?

What do I do when I’m worried?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A Little Blue Book like this could not be possible without inspiration from something or someone. My chief inspiration comes from the amazing, captivating, never-failing love that God has for me and for each one of us. I am constantly breath-taken by the fact that God’s Son, Jesus, gave His life for me and that God sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of people like us.

Yet, I believe we are also shaped by those who never give up on us: those who are dedicated to nudging, coaching, encouraging, and loving us until we begin to resemble a human being of some worthy description. For me, it has taken more than most.

Thank you Gale Sayers for writing your book I Am Third: it is a book that inspired me as a boy and it taught me a belief-pattern that I adopted then and still hold true today: my God is first, my family and friends are second—and I am third.

Every day my wife, Heather, inspires me with her wisdom, love, and inner beauty. Heather, you are my fleur de lis, my calming force and the reason my heart beats for a life worth living. I love you. In addition, each of my four children give me the courage to go into work each day; to fight for what I believe is right; and to try and close every sale I can. Mark, Rachel, Laurel, and Kate, in my mind, I see your smiling faces before each difficult task and I realize that working for your future is indeed a worthy cause. My family inspires me with their precious love, their boundless laughter, and their perfectly-timed fits of joy. Also, sometimes my kids still think Dad is cool—that is when I know they are nearing perfection.

Thank you to my wife’s parents, Dr. Robert T. Cochran, Jr., and Donna Cochran who love our family unconditionally and who bring us great joy with their wonderful love of life. Bob, thank you for your boundless sense of adventure and your tireless dedication to your patients and our family; and Donna thank you for your love of the things that matter most in life.

I must also thank the following inspirational friends: H. Jackson Brown, thank you for your creative vision and your belief in me and this book and to your lovely wife, Rosemary, for her hospitality and her faith; Dr. Maxie Dunnam for teaching me that the secret is this: Christ in me; Gary A. Willetts Jr., for being the best salesman in the world and the best friend and brother a guy could ever have, In Hoc Signo Vinces Gary; Michael Donahue for being the most rock solid friend and salesman I know; Eddie Carvacho, for being bigger than life but close enough to my heart to always believe in me and my success.

Thank you to my soul brothers who can laugh and cry out loud with me, inspire me with your love of your families, and who make sure I don’t take life too seriously: Dr. Jay Koch, Bryant Tirrill, Chuck Cochran, and