Tag: Just say no

50 Lessons on the Path to 50

50 Lessons on the Path to 50

“If a man looks at the world at fifty the same way he looked at it when he was twenty and hasn’t changed, he wasted thirty years of his life.” – Muhammad Ali

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that believes age is a MINDSET.

Each week we discuss an IDEA that helps you live a better life.

This week’s topic is 50 Lessons on the Path to 50.

But let’s keep this “turning 50” thing between us.

Deal?

The Vibe: 50 Lessons on the Path to 50

Here are 50 Lessons on the Path to 50.

Some of these are lessons that have stuck with me since childhood.

Others were realized only after MISTAKES and FAILURES.

These IDEAS can help you live a better life no matter what age they are put into use.

Your results may vary.

#50For50

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

“Now don’t be sad, cause two out of three ain’t bad.” – Meatloaf, Bat Out of Hell

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that believes the kids should be back in school while still not letting anyone inside their home.

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

This week’s topic is your FIRST DOG.  

And why sometimes “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” 

The Vibe: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

We adopted our first dog.

She’s was an 85 pound lab rescue.

The experiment lasted 68 hours.  

The dog went back with the foster, ready to be adopted again.

Never Say Never

Rewind 10 years back.

The year was 2010.

It was the year the iPad was released.

The cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore fist pumped on the board walk.

And every mom in the suburbs sang along to Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister”.

That’s about the time I went on record saying I had ZERO interest in doing any of the following: 

  1. Move.
  2. Have a 3rd kid.
  3. Get a dog.

So funny…

Let’s start with the fact that I am writing this while looking out to the back yard of the house we bought two summers ago as my 8 year old is doing cart wheels next to me.

The new home is great.

Having a third kid is awesome.

Getting the dog?  

Well…

“Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.“

Pandemic Puppy

I started hearing whispers of us needing a puppy a few days into the COVID-19 shutdown.

Two of our kids talked about it non-stop.

After weeks of them asking, we agreed to start “looking” for a “small, little puppy” on two conditions:

  1. The kids would do the majority of the work.
  2. They would stop asking us about getting a puppy.

We soon found that trying to get a puppy during a pandemic was like buying a house in a seller’s market.

There was very little inventory.

And the good ones went really fast.

We missed out on the first 5 little dogs we applied for.

Then the next thing you know, we are pulling up to a farm about an hour from our house to meet an 85 pound lab rescue.

Her name was Willow.

We spent about 30 minutes petting and playing with her.

Willow was friendly, a bit assertive, and about an 8.5 on the energy scale.

Oh…

And definitely NOT small.

The foster told us there were 2 other families coming to meet her after us.

We got back in the car with a decision to make.

Two of our kids were SO EXCITED.

They were ALL IN.

It didn’t feel right to me.

But I wanted to give our kids an experience I never had as a child.

So I broke the cardinal rule I run decisions like this one through…

“If it’s not “Hell Yeah!”, it’s a definite “No”.

I went along and said “Let’ do it!”

68 Hours

We had a few days before Willow was going to be officially ours.

So we geared up by buying every conceivable toy, leash, and other dog swag at PetsMart.

We also took a crash course in dog training by watching Brandon McMillion’s Master Class.

It was the equivalent of watching a few Jiu Jitsu videos on YouTube before jumping into the Purple Belt division of a BJJ tournament.

Three Words come to mind…

Brace for impact.

The foster, who was fantastic, dropped off the dog to our house late on a Friday afternoon.

To make things extra interesting, our lawn was aerated a few hours before Willow arrived.

We had no idea if we were scooping up dog or dirt.

Willow immediately took to my wife and I.

She wanted little to do with our kids no matter how much they tried to engage her.

We quickly realized our youngest kid, who was the most excited about getting a dog, could not even walk her.

The dog was too strong & energetic.

By the end of the second day, my wife and I were doing the majority of the work for a dog we got for our kids.

By the end of third day, we were realizing that we may have bit off more dog bone than we could chew.

To cap off our third night together, some neighbors started shooting off fireworks.

Uggh.

I heard about dogs not liking fireworks, but now got to see it first hand in our living room.

After the fireworks calmed down, we all looked at each other.

It was time to change course.

We called the foster.

We both agreed it was best if the dog went to another family.

That next day our entire crew played with Willow one last time before the foster picked her up.

Our three days of furry chaos was coming to a close.

When Willow saw the foster in our driveway, she took off, leaped into her car and never looked back.

No offense taken.

As they pulled away I was somewhere between SAD and RELIEVED.

Thank you for being our first dog.

Wish you an amazing life.

#TwoOutOfThreeAintBad

Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Blog

Drop the ‘F’ Bomb

“Starve your distractions, feed your focus.” – Unknown

fbomb.jpg

It was July 9th 1997.

Steve Jobs was leaving his “personal wilderness”.

This was the day Jobs returned to the company that fired him.

Jobs retook the role of Apple’s CEO.

It was a dark time for Apple.

The company was almost bankrupt.

Apple’s customer base (and Wall Street) were jumping ship.

Apple had lost its way.

The pressure was on Jobs to deliver.

What was Jobs’ FIRST MOVE as CEO?

Did he lay off 30% of Apple’s workforce?

Did he travel the country making promises to analysts?

Did Jobs try to sell the company?

None of the above.

Jobs first move was so SIMPLE that it shocked many inside and outside of Apple.

Jobs dropped the “F Bomb”.

He FOCUSED Apple.

Jobs stripped Apple down to only four core products.

Apple would discontinue everything else.

All of Apple’s resources would be FOCUSED on its best products.

Job’s said in an interview, “It means saying ‘No’ to the hundred other good ideas. You have to pick carefully…Innovation is saying ‘No’ to 1,000 things.”

Jobs gives us a powerful one-word SUCCESS STRATEGY:

FOCUS. 

He shows us a killer TACTIC to execute this strategy:

SAYING “NO”.

It means saying “No” to:

  • Low value meetings and conference calls.
  • Invitations to events with marginal friends that gobble up your time and money.
  • Being constantly distracted by social media.

Where there is no FOCUS, distraction reigns.

DISTRACTION has killed more careers than any recession ever could.

The irony is not lost that one of the universe denting products Job’s FOCUS strategy helped Apple create was the iPhone.

Which may be the greatest distraction device in human history.

But that’s a subject for another day.

Seth Godin wrote, “If it’s going to distract you from the work that truly matters, pass.”

Take pass on what’s no longer relevant.

Lean in to what really matters.

BLOW UP your distractions.

Dent your universe.

#DropTheFbomb

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

 

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

“Less is more.” – William Shakespeare

rose4.jpg

What can a rose teach us about life?

Everything.

As a rose bush grows, it creates more buds than it can sustain.

A rose bush does not have the capacity to keep all of it’s buds nourished.

The bush creates so many buds that eventually it exhausts itself and fades away.

The only way a rose bush can thrive is by pruning the unnecessary buds so the essential buds can THRIVE and BLOSSOM.

Sound familiar?

Our lives work the same way.

Less is more.

We all have way too much to do.

When was the last time you took a hard look at what is on your calendar?

PRUNE the unnecessary from your schedule.

Remove One Distraction This Week.

Before you start this week, look at your schedule.

What’s on there that shouldn’t be?

What did you say “Yes” to because you felt bad saying no?

What interaction provides little value?

Have the COURAGE to take it off your calendar.

Reallocate that time back to your TOP PRIORITY. 

Our life, like that rose bush, needs constant PRUNING:

  • There are COMMITMENTS that no longer make sense.
  • There are RELATIONSHIPS that are holding you back.

Where can you better INVEST your ENERGY instead?

Time to PRUNE away.

Cut out the unnecessary so your life can BLOSSOM.

This won’t be easy, but you’ll be glad you did.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, “Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away”

#LessIsMore 

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

Simplify

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

simple7.jpeg

There are 3 certainties in life:

  1. Death.
  2. Taxes.
  3. And people COMPLICATE their lives as much as possible.

My version of COMPLICATED looks like this:

  • OVER SCHEDULED weekends.
  • Saying “Yes” when I should Say “No”.
  • Getting DISTRACTED.   

It’s so easy to COMPLICATE our lives.

The more we complicate, the harder it is to succeed.

Tony Robbins said, “Complexity is a mortal enemy of success.”

A HAPPY and SUCCESSFUL life is based on SIMPLICITY.  

SIMPLIFYING is about:

  • Knowing your PRIORITIES.
  • ELIMINATING the unnecessary.
  • Having the COURAGE to make changes.

HOW TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE:

KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES

A SIMPLIFIED life starts by knowing your PRIORITIES.

SIMPLICITY is about spending our limited time on the people and things we VALUE most.

It’s knowing what is important and eliminating the DISTRACTIONS that get in the way.

ELIMINATE THE UNNECESSARY

A SIMPLIFIED life is about ELIMINATING the unnecessary from our lives.

Clutter crushes SIMPLICITY. 

It must be eliminated.

The other day I DELETED all of my texts.

It felt LIBERATING. 

It makes my iphone feel 10 pounds lighter.

What do you need to ELIMINATE? 

This will make more room for what matters most to you.

SIMPLICITY REQUIRES COURAGE

It’s having the COURAGE to say “No” to an offer that steals your time.

“No” is LIBERATING.

“No” makes SIMPLE possible.

When you say “No” you eliminate distractions and have the time to focus on your priorities.

It’s not easy to tell Aunt Irma that you won’t be at her holiday dinner.

But sometimes it’s necessary.

SIMPLICITY IS POWERFUL

James Altucher wrote, “To live a SIMPLE life is to live a GOOD life.”

What do you need to SIMPLIFY in your life?

It’s a SIMPLE question that can lead to a REMARKABLE place.

#SIMPLIFY

Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

The Master Skill

“If something is not a “Hell YEAH!”, then it’s a “No!” ― James Altucher

nope.jpeg

Warren Buffett is worth $78 Billion.

The “Oracle of Omaha” is the 2nd richest person in the world.

Buffett was interviewed by SUCCESS magazine.

When old Warren speaks, it’s probably not a bad idea to lower the volume on House of Cards and take a listen.

The interviewer asked:

“What is the #1 Key to your success?”

Without hesitation, Buffett answered:

“For every 100 great opportunities that are brought to me, I say no 99 times.” 

Buffett concluded:

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say “No” to almost everything.” 

“NO” GIVES YOU OPPORTUNITY

We make a decision to START a NEW GOAL.  

As soon as we make a little progress, life tests our commitment.

The universe will try to take that time back.

We will be:

  • Invited to an event we don’t want to attend.
  • Asked to take on a forgettable project at work.
  • Picked to be on a group that meets way too much.

Saying “Yes” to the wrong things causes us to DRIFT. 

Lucky for us there is a WAY OUT .

Say “No”.

“NO” IS POWERFUL

“No” may be the most POWERFUL word in the English language.

Darren Hardy wrote, “Saying ‘No’ is the master skill of success.”

Saying “No”:

  • Puts us in back in charge.
  • Buys back our time.
  • Creates space to work on what’s important.

“NO” IS HARD

I have struggled saying “No” my entire life.

When I tell someone “No”, I feel like I am letting them down.

I’ve come to realize when I don’t say “NO” to distractions, I’m just letting myself down.

To accomplish anything REMARKABLE, we have to disappoint some people.

“NO” STARTS WITH GRATITUDE

Saying “No” requires TACT. 

I’ve found saying “Thank you” in front of “No” has real value:

“Thank you for your offer, but I can’t make it.”

Saying “Thank You” shows GRATITUDE.  

It’s also easier on the other person’s EGO.

“NO” NEEDS TIME

Another “No” tactic that works is asking for time to think about.

“Thank you for your offer:

  • “…I just can’t commit to that right now.”

  • “…can I look at my schedule and get back to you?”

  • “…I can’t make it, but if something changes I’ll let you know.”

“NO” CREATES SIMPLICITY

Saying “No” declutters our schedules.

“No” simplifies our lives.

We create more time to work on the things that matter.

Josh Billings wrote, “Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying “Yes” too quickly and not saying ‘No’ soon enough.”

Take a HOT TIP from the world’s greatest investor…

#JustSayNo  

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

 

The Clouds & The Dirt

“I spend all my time in the clouds or in the dirt. That’s why I’m successful.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

clouds1.jpg

Fall is here.

Just walk inside a Starbucks.

Holy pumpkin everything…

I find fall the best time of the year to make CHANGES.

No need to wait for the chaos of the holidays to disappear.

We can get a head start by BEGINNING NOW.

When the conversation at Aunt Nelly’s holiday dinner turns to New Year’s resolutions, we’ll have 3 months of progress to show.

How cool is that?

Besides, I have an awful track record with resolutions.

I don’t do them.

From learning to trade stock options to trying to be less sarcastic, I’ve failed at most of them.

Instead, I now focus on DAILY ACTION.

DAILY ACTION is the secret to accomplishing BIG GOALS.

Gary Vee calls this concept – “The Clouds and The Dirt.”

THE CLOUDS

THE CLOUDS are your goals.

They are the places you want to take your life.

What BIG IDEA do you want to achieve?

  • Create a $1 million customer?
  • Lose 10 pounds?
  • Write a blog post every Monday?

We’ll all have different answers to this question.

But THE PROCESS is the same.

The 1st step is DECIDING what we want to accomplish.

For me, I want to be a more consistent writer.

I’d love to be 2 to 3 weeks ahead with blogs posts.

Waking up Monday at 4:30am to finish this week’s post is not a long term strategy.

THE DIRT

THE DIRT is how you get there.

It’s the DAILY GRIND.

The DIRT are the SMALL DAILY ACTIONS we need to take that make the CLOUDS possible.

THE DIRT is the journey.

It’s the gritty path that leads to our GOALS.  

DECIDE

Decide on 1 daily action you can do that gets you closer to your GOAL.

For me, I need to write more.

My DAILY ACTION:

  • Write 200 words each morning before 7am.

BE SPECIFIC

The SECRET is to be specific.

My goal is NOT to “Write every day.”

That’s too vague.

Our ACTIONS need to be:

  • Simple.
  • Actionable.
  • Accountable.

JUST SAY NO

TIME and ENERGY are limited resources.

We have to be intentional where we invest them.

Gary Vee said, “I don’t spend any time on things that don’t matter.”

This means sometimes saying “No” to people.

Saying “No” is tough.

We think we are letting people down.

But when we don’t say “No” to distraction, we are only letting ourselves down.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

When you look into THE CLOUDS what do you see?

Keep your eyes on the CLOUDS…

But your hands in the DIRT.

Our thoughts are with our friends in TEXAS & FLORIDA this week.

#StayStrong

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net