Voyage Of A Rudderless Ship
At the age of eight I was not thinking about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. However I knew that the allowance my cheapskate dad gave me wasn’t going to cut it.
I don’t remember the details but I do remember that a representative of The Fargo Forum came to Riverside Elementary School and told us we could win cool prizes if we went door to door and asked people if they would like to get the newspaper delivered to their door. That launched the sales career (and rudderless ship) of Robert L. Timm.
Again, in those early years I had no goal of selling Lamborghinis, million dollar mansions, or anything costing more than my little mind could fathom. I sold (took orders for) small things like name plates for doors, engraved social security cards, seeds, and Grit News papers.
“Took orders”, I don’t know if you caught that in the paragraph above but in reality that sums up my career HOWEVER as I took orders I learned a lot about MARKETING and that is where I excelled and I believe I still do today.
I continued to take orders through the vehicle of retail sales where I sold men’s clothing, hardware, and music. Where ever the wind blew my rudderless ship sailed until I was about thirty years old.
Somewhere in the mix around the age of twenty three Jesus entered my life in a very real way. I mistakenly thought the only way to serve him was from the pulpit. I took an extensive course by Finis Jennings Dake.
Soon after completing the course I was in the pulpit of a small independent Pentecostal church. With-in six months I knew this was NOT God’s plan for me so the rudderless ship set sail once again.
I don’t remember what ports I landed in for the next bit of time but somewhere along the line I saw an advertisement for a regional position with United Photographic Industries as a sales rep for their United Church Directories division.
BINGO! This was it, the perfect sales job for me, selling a ministry tool to Pastors and their congregations. In my first year I was one of the top three salesmen in a company that covered the entire nation and that continued the ten years I was with them I was single and making tons of money. I did not mind covering three States, driving 800 miles in one day, or being gone two or three days in a row for business. The owners of the company (two brothers) treated people fabulously and ran the company in a way that was beyond anyone’s scrutiny.
About ten years later a godless monster purchased the company and I left. Adrift once again stopping here and there until a very successful Real Estate Broker said to me “Bob, why don’t you sell Real Estate?” Well the thought had never crossed my mind but if this highly successful guy thought I had the stuff… why not? My ship found its rudder and I sailed home to retirement.
The advertisement above is from the first time I was (basically) on my own in Real Estate. The company no longer exists and I am fully retired from Real Estate.
This is my 2nd entry into the February challenge put forth by Carol Williams . What's Your Story?
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