(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. In March 2015, I began working at the Sound of Hope (SOH) headquarters. When I started I wasn't sure what my role was. Then, I read Master Li's words,
“Currently, the world’s people are closely watching the media companies that Dafa disciples have established, and the reputations of these media are growing. What kind of a juncture is this? An everyday person who recognizes business opportunities will realize that this is an excellent time to seize the opportunity. At a time when people have a favorable impression [of your media] and trust them, if you don’t stabilize your client base and lock it in, and don’t put a lot of manpower into marketing, then what are you waiting for?” (“Fa Teaching given at 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
Since the marketing department brought in income I realized that it was important, and I could also tell customers the facts about Falun Dafa. Although I had never done marketing before, I believed that with Master's help, I could fulfill my wish to save people.
Five years passed in a flash. From the first contract with a dentist that a fellow practitioner and I cosigned, I gradually became a mature salesperson. Two years ago I even became a department manager. I was like a toddler moving forward with Master holding my hand during this period.
Reaching Out to Chinese People
I chose San Francisco as the target area to begin my sales because Master told us:“Take San Francisco, for example. I've found that the environment of the downtown area and that of the whole Bay Area still isn't up to par; the evil factors here are still abundant. The fact is, you should make these places the focus.” (Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005)
From Master's Fa I enlightened that San Francisco is an area we should work hard on. We need to develop this market, let people know the facts about Dafa and give them opportunities to support our media.
While interacting with customers I found that people here were severely poisoned by the CCP's (Chinese Communist Party) media. They were biased against the SOH and the Epoch Times, and few people advertised through these two media. Most people here speak Cantonese, making it harder for me (since I speak Mandarin) to communicate with them.
At first, my task appeared very difficult. But when I read Master's words, I felt encouraged, “It's easy to say, but for cultivators, it is very tough to do as you cultivate, and Master sees that. But there is a point I want to make: No matter what, have righteous thoughts and act righteously, and there will be no test that you cannot pass.” (Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005)
I trusted Master's advice and believed that I would find a way as long as I followed the Fa's requirements.
I visited several stores. I made phone calls to get sales leads as soon as I got in the office. My first contract was a herbal store. With Master's support, I signed a three-month contract with the owner on my second visit. I kept thanking Master.
Because she was busy, the owner asked me to fill out the check for her. I was too excited and wrote it in Chinese. When she noticed she could not stop laughing. I knew the contract was Master encouraging me for wanting to expand the market in San Francisco.
It seemed that I went out every day trying to sell ads. When I walked into the office another practitioner asked me to go get some things with her. On the way she said that Master unexpectedly came to visit the SOH office one day. She was so surprised and nervous that she forgot to greet Master and felt bad afterward. She dreamed that Master came back. This time, she heshi'ed and greeted Master. She said Master knows everything in our minds.
I was exhausted after working outside the office every day for more than twenty days without getting any advertisements. I felt so upset that I held her and wept. I believed Master knew my pain too.
I sent forth righteous thoughts before I went out to visit potential customers the next day. Before I left that practitioner came and said, “I'm giving you a present.” She gave me a small bag of tea leaves that Master had given everyone. I felt very warm seeing my name on the package, and I wept again. I felt deeply Master's benevolence and protection.
With Master's help, I succeeded in signing a six-month contract. That customer was not good at Mandarin, so we communicated in English and Mandarin and completed our deal. She hesitated at the last moment and said that she needed to consult her friend. I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. When her friend did not answer the phone, she decided to go ahead with the contract.
Everything Is Arranged by Master
Master arranged people with predestined relationships to see me, in order to encourage me. I did not drive, so I always took the bus.
One night I left a customer's place at 8:30 p.m. To save money, I took an Uber to a bus station. When the car drove away I realized I was in the wrong place, and that my cell phone had run out of charge.
The spot was on a one-way frontage road next to the freeway. The other side was a hill. I wasn't sure where my bus station was, nor did I know which direction to go in the dark. Neither my family nor colleagues knew where I was.
Watching the cars rushing by on the freeway below, I made myself calm down and began to send forth righteous thoughts. I asked Master for help. I soon felt enveloped in warmth, and I knew Master was helping me. My panic and fear subsided.
I began walking in what I thought was the direction of my home. A trail suddenly appeared leading up the hill. I knew it wasn't in the direction of my home, but I felt a strong force pushing me that way. A few shops appeared after a while. They were all closed, but the last one still had lights on. I knocked on the door and asked for help. It was a bakery. Two Chinese youngsters were preparing for the next day. They kindly invited me in and helped me charge my cell phone after I explained the situation.
They kept on working. I thought Master arranged for me to meet them, so I must try to save them. I did not know how to start. I thought of the Dafa pamphlets that I often kept in my bag. I took two out, and asked them if they had heard of Falun Dafa. They nodded but said they did not know much about it.
I told them how amazing Falun Dafa is but that the CCP is persecuting it. They were sympathetic and asked questions. After I explained I asked if they would like to quit the Party and its affiliates. They agreed. My cell phone was partially charged by then. One youngster handed it back to me, and to my surprise, he bowed deeply and heshi'ed to thank me.
In the taxi heading home I kept thanking Master for helping me in my distress, and also arranging an opportunity for me to save people. When I got home around 11 p.m. my husband said he had been sending forth righteous thoughts for me.
In expanding our customer base, I felt that as long as we are sincere Master will make the best arrangements. One potential customer's attitude was bad the first few times I tried to contact him, let alone making an appointment. I waited, then tried again.
After a few phone calls, he was finally willing to talk. He said my persistence moved him. He was a manager for the Chinese department in his company, and wished he had a salesperson as persistent as I was. He said that he would grant me an appointment to reward my diligence. He later became a loyal customer. He also shared his decades of sales and management experiences and his suggestions helped me. I thanked Master for arranging this.
I have worked for SOH for five years. I frequently remind myself of the promises I made to Master when I first joined the media: To cultivate myself well, do my best to help save people, not be lazy and to study the Fa every day. When I study the Fa well, I feel solid and confident.
My husband and I both work at SOH and since we don't have other family members to support, it's easy for us to concentrate on it. Master kept bringing people with pre-destined relationships to us. They were not only our customers, they also became trusted friends.
People in San Francisco are more affected by the CCP's lies and don't easily accept the facts about Falun Dafa. We need to gradually earn their trust and build friendships. I reminded myself not to be affected by their negative attitudes. I knew their knowing sides were waiting to be saved, although their human sides were still blocked by human notions. Unable to distinguish between the CCP and China, and their distorted patriotic zealotry often led to their rejecting the truth.
Master said,
“You should remember that your righteous thoughts can change ordinary people and that you are not to be directed by them. If ordinary people say something or interfere with you, don't take it to heart, and just do what you need to do. The sources of human thoughts are very complicated, and in many cases it is people's notions talking, not their true thoughts or their true beings. So the things they say are often specious and not what they mean. They forget the things they just said right after saying them. They don't even take their own remarks seriously, so why would you? Don't worry about what they say, [but] every word that you say is like a thunderclap to them.” (Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005)
I thank Master for his support and teachings. In the past twenty years of cultivation, Master renewed my life from the inside out. Twenty-three years ago I was diagnosed with late-stage gynecological cancer when I was seven months pregnant. Master saved me, and I became healthy and cancer-free.
My near-nearsightedness disappeared after a few years of cultivation. I used to be weak, sensitive, and sentimental. Now I am strong, optimistic, and cheerful. Master rebuilt my entire body and mind. I know Master has given me so much in my twenty years of cultivation. I cannot express my gratitude enough. I will work diligently to cultivate and save people in this final moment.
Let me cite Master's words as encouragement:
“The closer it gets to the end, the more you cannot let up; the closer it gets to the end, the better you must study the Fa; the closer it gets to the end, the stronger your righteous thoughts must be.” (“To the Canada Fa Conference”)
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented during the 2020 Sound of Hope Experience Sharing Conference)
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