Tag: book review

The 2020 Book List

“Here’s to those who inspire us and don’t even know it.” – Anonymous

2020 was the kind of year that sent you to the wine store or the book store.  

Sometimes both on the same day.  

It was a year of milestones.

It was a year we had to think differently. 

Our homes became our offices.

Outside became the new gym.  

We all had to ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES.  

One of the silver linings of the pandemic was the opportunity to read and listen to some incredible books.

Each year I share the very best of what I came across.  

You can check out the best of lists I shared in 2019, 2018, 2017, & 2016.

BOOKS

These books made me think.

They changed my mind.  

Some got under my skin.

But that’s what great books do.

They help you see the world in a different way.

Can’t Hurt Me (By David Goggins): One of the most powerful stories of self-transformation you will ever read.  Goggins turns a childhood filled with racism, depression, poverty and abuse into a future with the US Special Forces. Goggins is the only person in history to complete the training of the Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Air Force Tactical Air Controllers.  Get the audio book.  It’s one part book, one part podcast where Goggins riffs the backstory of each chapter and drops more “F” bombs than the bar scene in Goodfellas.  

Eleven Rings (By Phil Jackson):  This book is a master class on leadership.  Phil Jackson has won more championships than any coach in the history of pro sports.  He is the winningest coach in NBA history.  Known as the “Zen Master”, Jackson reveals his unconventional leadership style that brought out the best in superstars (Jordan, Kobe), unpredictable personalities (Dennis Rodman) and the average role player.  Favorite Quote:  “Things never get solved, they just come together and then fall apart again, then the process starts over.” 

Shoe Dog (By Phil Knight):  If it is possible to earn an MBA from studying a single book, this would be it.  Phill Knight borrowed $50 from his dad in 1963 and turned it into the $30 billion monster called NIKE.  The stories Knight tells are amazing.  The struggles and obstacles Knight had to fight through were incredible. One of the best memoirs I ever read. 

Greenlights (By Matthew McConaughey):  This book caught me by surprise.  I had low expectations and was blown away.  McConaughey tells the funny and candid stories that led him from a blue-collar family in Texas to one of the most famous people in Hollywood.  The stories resonate with you long after you put the book down.  The audio book is killer.  Narrated by McConaughey, it gives you the feeling of being bellied up to a bar with the actor as he tells stories while you share a bottle of whiskey.

Lives of the Stoics (By Ryan Holiday):  Holiday examines the lives of the most influential philosophers of the ancient world. The book is made up of 26 mini biographies that synthesizes a modern day lesson of each philosopher’s life.  No one is better at making ancient wisdom relevant to the modern world than Holiday.  

The Practice (By Seth Godin):  This little book will challenge you to show up each day to do your best work and share it with the world.  Godin, who has the most read business blog in the world, has a way of getting under your skin and inspiring you at the same time.  

PODCAST

Tim Ferris Show: Brene Brown (#409 – Feb 04, 2020) Striving versus Acceptance, Saving Marriages, and More.  Every time Ferris talks to Brene Brown I learn something about relationships, how to better interact with people, and myself.  An amazing 90 minutes on how to make relationships work while being your authentic self.  

Thank you for reading my blog.

Wish you a remarkable 2021!  

#InspireSomeone

Until next week,

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Find Your Beach

unnamed-2.jpg

“Life takes you down many paths, but my favorite one leads to the beach.” – Anonymous

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that tries to make this quarantine more bearable in 500 words or less.

Each week we discuss ONE IDEA that will help you live a better life.

This week’s topic is how to FIND YOUR BEACH in the middle of a plague.

Good vibes only…

The Vibe:  Find Your Beach  

It’s starting to feel like we’re stuck in the middle of an endless snow day.

But we can’t play with our friends because the snow is contagious.

Spring Break felt more like 1918 than 2020.

We were putting on face masks instead of SPF.

The last few weeks have been like no other.

Stuck at home with no clear end in sight.

We could all use a long walk on a sunny beach.

Unfortunately BEACHES and PANDEMICS don’t play well together.  

With no beach time in sight for the foreseeable future, we are forced to get creative.

It’s like we’re in a real life Corona beer commercial – just trying to FIND OUR BEACH.

Maybe we could use a few extra moments to ourselves each day.

Or perhaps we’re looking for a better way to spend the crazy amount of family time we have now.

Here are 3.5 ways to FIND YOUR BEACH:

1) Get Combative

If you had to pick an activity the CDC would ban during an outbreak, it’s hard to beat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Plagues mean no Jiu jitsu class.

You don’t realize how much you miss getting choked semi-conscious by your friends until you can’t do it anymore.

But as one door closes, another opens.

After years of talking about it, my son and I started training BJJ on the mats in our basement.

Family bonding (and rear naked chokes) at its best.

We have only one rule.

He is NOT allowed to submit me for at least the first year.

2) Go Back To The Future  

This lockdown has given us the chance to introduce our kids to the shows we loved back in the day.

One of them is “Band of Brothers”.

My all time favorite mini-series.

Based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s incredible book, it follows the members of Easy Company 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from basic training, D-Day, and through some of the fiercest battles of WWII in Europe.

My wife and I watched this series during the Fall of 2001 in our apartment in Philly.

The series helped get our minds off of the chaos following 9/11.

Nineteen years later we are watching it again with our kids trying to get our minds off a plague.

History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

3) Be Like Churchill

During the Nazi Blitzkrieg, Winston Churchill started off his day reading to calm his mind.

Churchill said, “It has been a comfort to me in these anxious days to put a thousand years between my thoughts and the twentieth century.”

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Reading just 20 minutes from an amazing book can bring a flash of insight that will help us be WISER and CALMER.

Looking for a great book?

Ryan Holiday puts out a killer monthly book list.

3.5) Up Before The Enemy 

Jocko WIllink says we have to be “Up Before the Enemy.” 

The “enemy” in this case is the rest of our house.

There is nothing like the early morning.

Getting up early creates space between you and the day ahead.

The time is all yours.

You are at your most creative.

At first, getting up early sucks, then once you create the HABIT you’ll never go back.

Own the morning, own the day.

These last few weeks were rough.

Our families, especially our kids, need the best version of us to show up each day.

So spend some time on your favorite beach today.

Even if it’s only in your mind.

Surfs up…

#FindYourBeach

Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

 

Nearsighted

“Do not dwell on the past.  Do not dream of the future.  Concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha

nearsighted.jpg

It easy to fall into the FUTURE TRAP.

“Here’s our 5-year plan…”

“This is what 2021 will look like…”

Just a quick reminder…

The future will bring us a thousand unexpected variables we can’t control.

That’s fine.

We can deal with them when they get here.

In the meantime…

Want this to be an AWESOME YEAR?

Focus on the PRESENT MOMENT.

Be fully engaged with WHAT and WHO is in front of you.

Seth Godin likes to say, “It’s not about what’s next, it’s about what’s now.”

Own the moment.

The future will follow.

#Nearsighted

-Joe Ciccarone

 

 

 

 

JAB, JAB, JAB, HOOK

“The person that gives value first has the leverage.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

jab2.jpg

What’s the worst professional advice you ever got?

In Tim Ferriss’ new book, Tribe of Mentors, Ferriss asks a series of questions to a group of elite athletes, super achievers, & billionaires.

Here’s one question that generated some fascinating dialogue:

“What are the bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?”

This question brought me back to my first SALES job.

During our weekly sales meetings, my manager would walk around the meeting room and say phrases like “Work the close!” and “A.B.C. – Always Be Closing.”

It was like Alec Baldwin’s character “Blake” from Glengarry Glen Ross giving you a motivational talk each week.

SALES was all about CLOSING a deal.

Get the contract signed and move on.

Helping a customer succeed and establishing a long term relationship had little to do with the process.

For my money, “Always Be Closing.” is the worst professional advice I ever got.

EVERYONE IS IN SALES 

Like it or not, EVERYONE is in SALES.

We all have something to sell:

  • Our product to a customer.
  • Your kids on brushing their teeth.
  • Convincing your husband it’s time to remodel the kitchen.

If you really want to CLOSE THE DEAL, focus less on CLOSING and more on VALUE. 

LEAD WITH VALUE

Sales is all about providing VALUE.

It’s HELPING someone get the OUTCOMES they are searching for by using your idea, product or service.

Gary Vaynerchuk, internet entrepreneur & bestselling author, has an amazing philosophy on how to get people to decide in your favor.

It’s called JAB, JAB, JAB, HOOK.

GIVE TO GET

Think of the SALES process like a boxing match.

Each JAB is you providing HELP and VALUE to your customer.

The HOOK, which comes only after a series of jabs, is your ask.  It’s what you are trying to get the other person to agree to.

Your JABS setup the HOOK.

The JABS increases the chances that your HOOK hits the target.

Just like a boxer has a GAME PLAN before entering the ring, each salesperson needs a plan before entering a customer’s office.

SALES PLAN

Before you ask a customer to do anything, HELP THEM three times.

Prove your VALUE. 

It’s not about “Always Be Closing.”

It’s all about: “Always Be Helping.”

It’s:

  • Give Value
  • Give Value
  • Give Value
  • Ask

The JAB, JAB, JAB, HOOK method delivers knockouts:

  • It ENGAGES customers.
  • It creates TRUST.
  • Establishes long term RELATIONSHIPS.

People are way more receptive to take action on new ideas with people they like, trust, and know have their best interests at heart.

This is not just a GAME PLAN for SALES.

It’s also a great philosophy for life.

#JabJabJabHook

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

 

 

The Enemy Within

“We have met the enemy and it is us.” – Walt Kelly

IMG_6004

I was training Jiu Jitsu with a less experienced partner.

I fooled myself into believing I was better than I really was.

My “less experienced” partner caught me in an arm bar.

Instead of tapping, I tried to fight my way out.

My EGO refused to be submitted.

Big mistake.

I did tap, after I heard something pop in my elbow.

Not fun.

Lesson learned the hard way.

Our worst enemy lives inside our mind.

Our EGO.

Ego is:

  • the false story of our own greatness.
  • the unhealthy belief in our own importance.
  • thinking we are better than we really are.

Ego is arrogance and entitlement.

“The first principle” Richard Feyman wrote, “is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.”

It’s the polar opposite of CONFIDENCE.

Confidence is earned.

Ego is not.

Ego is the Enemy within each of us.

Ego has caused BIG crashes everywhere from politics, to sales deals gone bad, to personal relationships.

Nothing will hurt you faster than your own ego.

3 Ways to Keep Your EGO in Check:

Have a Student Mindset

Commit to something hard.

Train Jiu Jitsu.

Take up a musical instrument.

Do something that exposes the massive amounts of skills you do NOT currently possess.

It’s hard to have a huge ego when you are getting smashed on the mat or can’t play Jingle Bells.

Ho, Ho, Ho…

Get Natural

Walk by the ocean.

Look up at the stars.  Get lost in the mountains.

Nature has a way of keeping people grounded.

Know Your History

Look at history.

Chester Arthur, Marcus Aurelius, & Genghis Khan were 3 of the most powerful and famous people on earth.

Now they’re not.

We all do important work.

Value the work you do but stay humble.

There is a sign that hangs over the entrance to our Jiu Jitsu academy.

It’s both a welcome & a warning.

The sign reads,

“Please leave your EGO and SHOES at the door.  Enter with a Beginner’s Mind.”

This is a fantastic mindset to bring on the mat.

It’s even better to bring into your life.

#EgoIsTheEnemy

-Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.net

The Main Event

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” – Steven Covey

priority.pngBrazilian Jiu Jitsu is a microcosm of life.

When you:

  • Don’t execute the BASICS, bad things happen.
  • Lose FOCUS, trouble follows.
  • Get DISTRACTED, you get hurt.

It doesn’t matter if you are training Jiu Jitsu or negotiating in a customer’s office, you have to PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST or pay the price.

This week our series continues on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Habit #3:  Put First Things First

Let’s roll…

There is an amazing disconnect between what we say is IMPORTANT and our actions.

At times we act like a General Manager of an awful sports team.

We trade high value assets for low value items:

  • We give our ATTENTION to Instagram when our family is right in front of us.
  • We give away our HEALTH when we pass the gym to get “caught up” on email.
  • We let people steal our TIME because we are afraid to say “No”.

Take back control by putting first things first.  

It all starts by eliminating distraction.

A few weeks ago I found myself losing focus.

My phone pinged all day.

I was reacting, not initiating.

The iphone was stealing my attention away from what was right in front of me.

This was happening more often than I would like to admit.

It was time to put first things first.

I made 3 changes:

  • Removed all social media apps from my iphone.
  • Turned off all notifications for everything.
  • Limited email to 2 times per day.

The result?

More focus.

Less stress.

A game changer.

There is more white space during my day.

But the biggest benefit has been PRESENCE.

I’m more AWARE of what’s going on in front of me.

200 years before Covey wrote the 7 Habits, Goethe said:

“Things Which Matter Most Must Never Be at the Mercy of Those That Matter Least.”

Maybe it’s time we start acting that way.

#PutFirstThingsFirst

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net