I was stuck– and I knew that something was wrong.

When my dealership hired Chris Collins, and I began to be mentored by him, life changed for the better. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that I gave his systems a chance, and didn’t just throw it away in my self-deluded misery. I got an opportunity to start over.

The way he challenged me really got under my skin. He was blunt and very direct: “I will give you every opportunity, and the know-how to transform yourself into a powerful manager and turn around your service department. If you won’t do it, then you might as well go flip burgers instead!”

It really felt like he was seeing right through me and saying, “Well, Mr. X, you’re not on the path you know you should be; I’m offering you all the knowledge of how to do it. Are you going to do it, or are you just going to give up for life?”

I kept thinking about what he said, getting madder and madder each time. I remember thinking, “Who the hell is he to tell me to go flip burgers? I am not a loser!!” I tried to be angry at him, but really, I knew that I was just mad at myself for falling below the expectations I had set for myself.

Right then and there, I made a conscious decision to change my life. I was determined and focused. Chris Collins had issued a challenge. He would teach me how to become an irreplaceable service manager, and I would do my bit by turning the department around and boosting profits through the roof. Finally, I had something concrete to focus on. I was going to crush my goals!

Change tends to make people uncomfortable, and I experienced some initial resistance implementing and executing the things that I’d wanted to accomplish. But, I had help this time. I had Chris Collins behind me. The old me would have just given up and blamed everyone else for why I couldn’t do anything, but this time, I pushed through every obstacle. I quickly realized that where there’s a will, there’s away. It may be a cliché, but all clichés have to start somewhere– and that’s usually because they tell the truth. I started seeing results immediately, and it was astounding! I was gaining my power back. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

I got a ton of compliments from employees and customers on the changes. The naysayers and the
negativity went away, because the results were undeniable.