--- title: Don’t Be a Red Shirt | The Sales Blog description: On the original Star Trek television series different characters wore different colored shirts. James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Bones all wore blue shirts. image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_377631802.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Bones all wore blue shirts. Sometimes they wore some weird yellow shirt. But a lot of the characters wore red shirts, and wearing a red shirt meant you weren’t likely to be on Star Trek for long. As soon as there was trouble in an episode of Star Trek, people in red shirts were killed. A red shirt meant you were nothing more than fodder (Except Scotty, I think). People in blue shirts survived, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. Knowing this, why would you ever put on a red shirt? ## Red Shirt Thinking Red shirts wait for the world to act upon them. They march steadily into their fate, believing everything that happens to them is inevitable. They believe the locus of control is external. For a red shirt, everything is outside of their control. When you believe that your results and your fate are determined by outside forces, you dis-empower yourself. Worse, when you believe you are playing an extra, you never live up to your full potential, depriving the world of your gifts. And all because of the color of your shirt. ## Change Your Shirt Why not try on the blue shirt? Why not decide to [be the hero in the story you tell](http://thesalesblog.com/2014/01/26/be-your-own-hero/) instead of the victim? A Blue Shirt acts on their world. They determine the outcome, and when they don’t get exactly what they want, they go at it some other way, exercising their initiative and their resourcefulness. This, instead of marching to their fate as if they were some sort of automaton. Blue shirts are empowered. By who or what? By their [beliefs](http://thesalesblog.com/2012/11/28/four-powerful-beliefs-you-must-hold-to-succeed-in-sales/) about who they are and what they can do. ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2017](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2017) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on March 22, 2017 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2021-09-17T1:53:47 PM", "datePublished" : "2017-03-22 21:07:40", "description" : "On the original Star Trek television series different characters wore different colored shirts. James T. 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