Why I originally chose sales

Despite what the title implies, this does not necessarily mean I am choosing sales as a career.  I'll discuss my feelings on that later.  Back in July 2012, I had just returned from a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Alabama.  I was preparing to return to college and pick up where I left off.  The first thing I was looking for was a job.  I found a posting for a door-to-door sales job nearby, and it ended up fitting my needs extremely well (kudos to Brent Reed of Brightly Services).  I figured that since I had spent two years knocking doors and getting rejected as a Mormon missionary (among other activities which were much more rewarding than I could ever describe), I could do it again.

The job itself was enjoyable.  I liked being out moving around and talking to people.  People were generally nice, even if not interested in the service, and it paid better than 90% of other student jobs out there.  But everybody who's done door-to-door sales knows that if you do it for long enough, you, the solicitor, will be solicited for job opportunities.  Especially in Utah, which I came to discover is prime recruiting ground for door-to-door sales companies, due to the high concentration of returned missionaries like me.  After discussing a possible job with a satellite company, I really put a lot of thought into the opportunity and what it would mean to me.  Following is what I wrote in my journal recently after, on October 28th, 2012:

"A lot of opportunities have come up for me lately, which is good, but it also means decisions that may or may not have a huge effect on me.  The one I've been thinking about most is an opportunity to go out of state to do door-to-door sales for a satellite company.  I've been approached about it in the last week or so, and I've gotten a variety of opinions about it (Commentary:  I put an exploratory post up on Facebook about it and got nothing but negative comments).  It's definitely something that I'll have to be all for if I decide to do it, because it'll be a big commitment.  I'm just trying to think about all the things it could effect.  It could affect my schooling a lot, because if it goes well I won't have to worry about financially living semester-to-semester without saving much money, and I'll be able to focus on academics and preparation for higher schooling (this was the main reason I ended up deciding on summer sales).

"More important, though, are the spiritual implications.  I won't ever work on Sundays, so that's not a problem, although its uncertain how long I'll be in any one area, so serving in the church may be difficult.  I'll still have enough time for scripture study, but I may not be able to attend a temple for the entire four-month period.  Institute (part of the Church education system) and family home evening are pretty much out, unless there are Sunday classes or if I'm rooming with active members.

"The thing I'm most worried about, though, is how much it has the potential to take my focus off of the gospel.  The time I've spent already weighing my options about this is enough to make this a fairly significant distractor.  What's it going to be like when 90% of my lifestyle revolves around sales and money?  Do I trust myself enough to honestly say to myself that this won't be dangerous?  This isn't a questions just for this specific situation.  Money and worldly prominence are incredibly tempting, and I'm only beginning to discover the scope and severity of that temptation.  No one is immune to the temptation of pride.  The rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) was righteous and obedient to the commandments from his youth, but missed a chance to follow the Savior (and perhaps entrance into the kingdom of God) because he couldn't take his heart off of his riches.

"The trouble is, I can see myself becoming like that if I'm not careful.  I've always been someone who does what I'm supposed to do.  Furthermore, the Lord has given me talents, skills and abilities (many of them activated and enhanced by my experience as a missionary, but some of them totally created by it) that I feel could cause me to become highly successful in life.  How do I know that if the true test comes 10, 20, or 50 years down the road and I'm asked to give literally EVERYTHING to the Savior, how do I know that I'll be able to do that?  Perhaps I can't know that now.  The danger in wealth or prominence is that it will likely come gradually, like many temptations do, until before I know it, I'll love it more than I love the Savior, or my family, or things that should be most important to me.  I'll work and save and gain myself into complete self-centeredness.

"Who am I to say that my character alone will prevent me from becoming like that?  I don't mean that the temptation of wealth will take hold of me against my will, but if I am to begin traveling down a road that may lead to what the world calls success, I need to be ready to take the necessary precautions to keep it from getting into me.  What those are, I can't say exactly, but I'm sure it includes keeping the commandments the Lord has made clear to us (all of them, strictly), but also following the Spirit to know how to get the world out of your head (for example, occasionally or even frequently sacrificing a favorite piece of worldly media for something that will bring the Spirit into your life and help you avoid the more subtle temptations).

"Being a missionary does teach you how to keep the world out, even if you don't want to, and that may be a spiritually life-saving skill in the future.  Satan can spread his messages SO EASILY and SO SUBTLY through the media that, if it were possible, he could deceive the very elect.  So, as a product of this rant, I'm going to not listen to the radio this whole week.  I will replace it with silence, gospel talks, or uplifting music.  Perhaps I'll see a difference and be able to make decisions better.  I hope so.  I need to have my mind clear enough to make decisions, because I have incredibly important ones coming up very, very soon."