(Minghui.org) I’ve been working in media sales for a mere six months, but would like to share some personal thoughts and understandings with fellow practitioners in the hope that we can improve in the Fa together. I also need to motivate myself to be more diligent, to maintain a good state of cultivation, and to cooperate well with the media and save more people.
Joining the Media
My desire to take a marketing position in the media was very simple: The media was in dire need of people to work in sales. Fellow practitioners cautioned me that many practitioners have failed to sign a contract for months. I have a four-year-old child to take care of.
I doubted that I could handle the amount of time the work requires, and was of two minds whether to take this on or not. I thought: “I do media work at a regular media company. The reason Master gives me these skills is so I can use them in projects to validate the Fa.” After repeated discussions with fellow practitioners, I decided to take the job on.
As soon as I made my decision, a free pre-school opened up close to the office. It was a year-round, eight-hour-a-day place, where I could safely leave my child every day and concentrate on my sales job.
Master takes care of everything as long as we have righteous thoughts.
With a pure heart and Master's blessing, I succeeded in signing a few small contracts during the first month. In the second month, I was able to meet with clients and negotiate contracts on my own. My sales figures surpassed ten thousand.
Every time I meet with a client, I have to drive for more than an hour. My English is limited but I have no fear because I hold firm to my belief that Master is taking care of everything.
It's just as Master says, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
Placing Trust in Master Without Reservation
1. Deal Done in 20 minutes
I made an appointment with a client who wanted to meet me at 2 p.m.. That was a Friday. I gathered all the necessary materials and started out.
It took me two hours to drive a distance that should have taken only an hour. I knew that the old forces were trying to interfere with me.
I quickly looked inward and thought: “My purpose of meeting with this client is to help them. I have no personal interest, neither do I have any selfish motive. Any slightest notion not within the Fa is not my true self. My intention is to save people, so the old forces are not allowed to interfere.”
I continued to send forth righteous thoughts while driving.
The traffic was constantly stop and go, stop and go. When the traffic did open up for a bit, I could drive fairly fast. I came upon a sharp turn while driving fast and could have ended up in an accident. With Master’s protection, I succeeded in maneuvering the turn.
It was 3:20 pm by the time I arrived for my appointment. I was almost an hour and a half late. My client had to leave shortly to be somewhere else, so I had only 20 minutes with her.
I calmed my heart, and turned to Master for help. I held on to one thought: “My client must sign the contract. This is her best opportunity for salvation.” The client listened to my presentation, then asked me to leave the materials behind so that she could think it over later, as she had to rush off.
I immediately thought: “Dafa disciples’ time can’t be wasted. You need this advertisement. So, just sign the contract now.”
With that thought, just as immediately, the client changed her mind and said, “Okay, just write me up a contract.” I quickly drew up a three-month contract, which she signed and paid the full amount by check.
The whole process took only 20 minutes.
2. Watching My Cultivation State
Another time, I went for a second meeting with a client. It also happened to be on a Friday, a holiday for the preschool.
I lived with another practitioner who also had a four-year-old child. We agreed that I would drop-off and pick-up both children every day, and she would look after them whenever I had to meet clients.
I had already given advance notice to the practitioner about my appointment, but that morning, right before I was to leave, the practitioner suddenly informed me that she had to go out and could only handle one child.
I realized it was interference from the old forces. I made sure I maintained a high level of xinxing and did my best to be compassionate and understanding of the practitioner’s situation.
I thought that it must be difficult for her to take care of two young children. Moreover, each practitioner has different xinxing level and capacity. I cannot use my own standards to demand the same of others. So, I said to the practitioner calmly, “That’s okay. I’ll just take my child with me.”
I took my daughter to the office. I left behind my laptop so she could watch cartoons and wouldn't disturb the others working there. Then, I set out to keep the appointment with my client.
When I arrived, my client’s husband was also present. The client told me that her husband was in disagreement about signing the contract, and had expressed his disdain that my price was higher than other radio stations.
I know the old forces were trying to stir up trouble. I refused to let this affect me. I continued talking with the client while sending forth righteous thoughts.
Then the client wanted to hear what other businesses have said about the effectiveness of advertising with us. Such information was on my laptop, but that was with my daughter at the office.
Resentment towards my fellow practitioner raised its ugly head. I wanted to blame her for my predicament. But I brought a quick halt to that human notion and denied its existence.
I rectified myself within the Fa. I considered the fact that the client wanted proof of advertising effectiveness, but that’s a notion of ordinary people. I walk the path of Dafa, not of ordinary people. Ordinary ways should not work here, nor should they block the signing of the contract, as it’s a means of validating Dafa.
I asked Master to strengthen my righteous thoughts, so my heart would remain pure, without the least bit of worry about my negotiating skills or about any possible mishap. I was there for no other reason but to save people, and that was all.
I felt there were a lot of dark substances behind my client’s husband in other dimensions. I knew that the old forces were controlling him and would not let him sign the contract. I did not fear the old forces, and told them Master's words: “… a tiny finger will be more than enough to crush it.” (Zhuan Falun)
I focused my compassion on the husband, and said to him in my mind, “I’m not here to make money off you. I’m here to save you. If you don’t sign the contract today, it might be very difficult for you to have the opportunity to accept Dafa again.”
As soon as my thought surfaced, the husband said to his wife, “Okay. Go ahead and sign the contract.”
I had a feeling that beings in other dimensions are watching the media sales and me like hawks. In doing media sales, we must maintain pure hearts like transparent glass. With Master's blessing, our contracts can then be successfully signed.
We have to be vigilant in our every thought. Harboring the slightest human notion will provide the old forces with reasons to interfere.
3. Making Sure To Care For Others
When I was meeting a client another time, our initial phone conversation went well and our face-to-face meeting was very encouraging. I became relaxed, thinking that signing the contract would be a breeze.
However, the client received a phone call during our meeting about some work related issues. He went into another room to check with his assistant to see what was wrong, only to find out he had made the mistake on something. He seemed to be getting a little anxious.
I sat there patiently waiting. I realized something was wrong, and thought it had to be the old forces stirring up trouble. I immediately thought, “These are all illusions. I came here today to save people. The old forces have no power to interfere. I’ll eliminate them.”
Immediately, the client started smiling and confessed to making a mistake to someone on the other end of the phone.
When the client finished with the phone call, he returned to continue discussing our contract. He ended up signing a three-month contract and paid the full amount upfront.
When I returned to my car, I held my palms together in front of my chest and thanked Master.
4. “Master Is Behind Everything I Do.”
I drove to meet a client one time and was filled with confidence. However, I barely had time to sit down before I was rejected.
Back in my car, I couldn’t help my tears. I felt overwhelmed. Doing media sales is already difficult, and I also have a child to take care of, plus all manner of household chores.
There's barely any young practitioners at the truth clarification site close to my office, and so I use my lunchtime to be there to participate in activities to save people.
I try my best to do the three things that a practitioner should do each day. In the office, I never waste time to chitchat with fellow practitioners, and seize every opportunity to call prospective clients. I also squeeze out one hour a day to devote to enhancing my professional knowledge and skill in the media work.
I’m working very hard, so why is it so difficult to make some money for the media?
I suddenly realized that I was entertaining a very wrong notion. I am a Dafa disciple who has the ability to handle many things. Master picked me for this job because I can do it. However difficult, whatever the hardship, a Dafa disciple has the capability to overcome anything.
I wiped away my tears, and told myself, “I’ll walk this path even if it gets harder. This path is for me to make money for the media so that more people can be saved.”
I rectified my thoughts within the Fa and pulled myself out from all feelings of frustration and grievances.
Master said,
“When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Zhuan Falun)
I held on to the thought of “saving people.” To carry on no matter what.
And so, I drove to another client but found his office locked. I didn’t give up, and continued to call him. I finally managed to get hold of him and invited him out to lunch. During lunch, I spoke to him about Falun Gong and the persecution. I let go of all other thoughts except for “saving people.”
The client eventually agreed to sign a contract for three months, and paid the full amount upfront.
I firmly believe Master is behind everything I do.
For two consecutive months, my sales record remained in the top three in the sales team. When I received a relatively large commission, I decided to keep enough for my living expenses and donate the rest back to the media.
I believe everything is given to me by Master and I don’t want to take any more than enough to make a living for my child and me. I’m not here to live as an ordinary person. The money I make is to use for projects to save people.
Master says,
“Why are Dafa disciples running a media company, after all? To save people. Don’t forget that your purpose is to save people, and the reason to run a media company well is to save people. Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)
Everything is accomplished by Master. Dafa disciples’ only thought is to save people and do what Master asks us to do.
Sharing a Few Last Words
The old forces use economic persecution on Dafa disciples overseas exactly because of the overseas Dafa disciples' fear of economic persecution, which is tantamount to acknowledging the arrangement of the old forces, thus allowing them to take advantage of this loophole.
We should validate the Fa with an upright attitude and remove this mentality. We should use our pure hearts intent on saving people to work on each and every project. We should cultivate ourselves whenever we run into problems and look at all that we encounter as opportunities for improving in our cultivation - always remembering that: “Falun Dafa is for cultivation practice—it is not a job” (“It is not a Job, but Cultivation Practice” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
If we fail to cultivate away our attachments, the old forces will interfere.
Practitioners who work on media projects should look inward when we encounter problems and measure ourselves in accordance with the Fa.
If wee don't cooperate well and look at others to blame, we will likely be driven by a variety of human notions. The old forces will create gaps among us. Ultimately affecting our performance in a bad way, causing delay in our efforts to save lives.
I caution myself to remain firm on the path Master has arranged for me, and to cultivate solidly. Master has told us in Zhuan Falun: “In cultivation of the Buddha Fa, you should strive forward vigorously.”
Only in cultivating myself well will I be able to do better at the task of saving people.
