In Chapter 3 of Colosians, Paul lays out his model of personal transformation. In our last article in our series, we focused on verse one. Paul encouraged the reader to get their hearts right. In the very next sentence in the chapter, Paul implores us to also set our minds on godly things. Theologians and philosophers speak of three attributes that one must align in order to have balance. These attributes are the intellect, emotion and will
Aligning our Intellect, Emotion, and Will
To illustrate how this works, think of a young man who sees a beautiful young woman studying alone on the university lawn where they attend college. He is instantly gobsmacked. He asks if he can sit down, and upon looking up and seeing the young man, she is similarly attracted. At this moment, both think this is love at first sight and they are imagining wedding bells and baby carriages.
Hopefully, at some point soon after the first few words are exchanged their minds begin to take the reins, and put the brakes on the sudden rush of emotion. Instead, the couple decides to make plans to grab a pizza and check out a play, gradually spend more time with one another, and the young man learns the woman is just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. His intellect and emotion are BOTH engaged.
The Logos
The Bible Says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Here, “Word” is translated from the Greek word Logos. More customarily, logos refers to the mind or intellect. The Ancient Greeks believed that the essence of a person is comprised of three elements:
- Intellect or Logos
- Emotion or Pathos
- Will or Ethos
The Ethos and Pathos, or Will and Emotion
The painting above by Jacques Louis David is designed to illustrate how a man might have mastery of self. The rider, Napoleon, represents the Logos. He is directing a furious ar horse which represents passion, or pathos. He is commanding the stallion with a bit and bridle which represents his will, or ethos. When a man is in full alignment he is propelled by a powerful passion and purpose, yet his intellect is guiding that passion using his will.
This is the right order. Many times you’ve likely heard well-meaning folks tell you to, “Follow your dreams,” or, “Follow your passion.” This is a bad idea theologically, but it is also a bad move professionally. organizing your life in this manner is tantamount to allowing the horse to guide the rider.
Many sales people think they can survive on their passion. Maybe they have a passion for helping people, or a passion for having nice things and being able to afford them. This will ultimately lead to failure because any person who is guided by their pathos ultimately become lost. The “Horse” eventually passes out from exhaustion. This leaves the person desperate, burnt out, and without any direction to move forward.
Other salespeople rely upon willpower to push drive themselves forward. A salesperson may rely upon her strong will to compel her to make sales calls and client visits each day. She may will herself to do all of the sales activities that her manager and trainer tell her she should do. Yet, without an effective overall business strategy, her passion for what she is doing will soon grow weak. She will ultimately find that no willpower, no matter how strong, can propel her forward without a clear vision of where she’s going and the passion needed to get there.
Closing
To be fully engaged as a salesperson, our hearts and minds must be aligned and bridled by our will. Too many salespeople into the profession the idea that either their motivation and passion is going to make them succeed, they will themselves to do so. The successful salesperson needs a plan. The successful salesperson needs to know exactly how they are going to achieve the financial success that they hope to. The plan must be specific and have a date attached. At that point, the salesperson will be poised to make full use of her passion will succeed.
