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

Listen Up

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“The most successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.” – Bernard Baruch

Welcome to The Vibe!

Each week we discuss one idea that will help you live a better life.

This week’s topic is the power of LISTENING and how listening is the fastest way to connect and INFLUENCE another person.

Thank you for reading The VIBE.

If you think this post is helpful, please forward to a friend.

Let’s do this…

The Vibe: Listen Up

We all lead something.

Some of us coach our kid’s sports teams.

Others run companies that hundreds of people rely on for their livelihood.

While some are the CEOs of their families.

No matter the situation, LEADERS need the ability to connect and gain INFLUENCE to be effective.

No influence, no nothing.

What’s the fastest way to influence another person?

By LISTENING to them.

Learning to Listen

A few years after I graduated college with an accounting  degree, I realized something.

I was possibly the worst accountant in the state of Pennsylvania (but that has never been verified).

That career path was just not for me.

After deveopling some SELF-AWARENESS and building up COURAGE, I changed careers.

I jumped into SALES.

Overnight I went from struggling accountant to clueless salesperson.

My livelihood now depended on my ability to sell.

Just one problem…

I had never sold anything to anyone ever.

Things were really looking up.

So I decided to read every book and article on SALES I could find.

I attended every sales training course that came through Philly with the urgency of someone who’s career was suddenly in the balance.

Because it was.

What did I learn?

To be great at SALES you need to posses a SUPERPOWER.

That superpower is LISTENING.

Sales, like LEADERSHIP, is an art.

Rock star SALES PEOPLE, like great LEADERS, all have different styles.

But they have ONE THING in common.

They are awesome listeners.

They have the ability to CONNECT with people by asking meaningful questions, then thoughtfully listen to what that person says.

Asking questions and listening shows you care.

Listening forms a bond between you and the other person.

You get bonus points for not interrupting someone speaking, even when you know what they are saying is off base.

Listening is hard work.

It takes PATIENCE and POISE.

But guess what?

It’s worth it.

And LISTENING works.

Listening may be the most powerful way to connect with another human being.

George Raveling wrote, “What people need most is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a special heart that listens.” 

There is no better time to build your INFLUENCE.  

Someone out there needs you to LISTEN.  

And they want you to LEAD.  

#ListenUp

Until next week,

Joe Ciccarone

SalesVibe.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lean In

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” – Marcus Aurelius

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The guy in the blue shirt was floating down the river.

A few seconds earlier his raft failed to LEAN IN.

He flew into the water.

Now he was waiting to be rescued.

One of the highlights of our summer was a white water rafting trip we took with a group of friends.

Before we got anywhere near the rapids, a man wearing a grizzly bear helmet stood before our group and laid down the law.

He told us there were RULES TO THE RAPIDS.

Rule #1 was to LEAN IN.

Our guide told us when our raft was heading straight for a BIG ROCK, don’t back down.

Take the obstacle head on.

Everyone in the boat had to LEAN IN to the collision.

When you LEAN IN, your raft has a strong center of gravity.

You bounce off the rock.

After the initial jolt, your MOMENTUM will take you around the obstacle and towards your destination.

He told us our rafts (like our lives) are built for these collisions.

If we back away, our raft would be off balance.

The obstacle would FLIP our raft over.     

The look on that guy’s face floating down the river said that’s not the place to be.

LEANING IN is a principle we can apply to our lives.

When an OBSTACLE gets in our way, don’t back down.

Attack it.

Be glad that it showed up.

Obstacles are amazing opportunities to show everyone what we are made of.

Obstacles are there to keep the AMATURES out.

CHANGE and OBSTACLES will never stop showing up.

If we fail to LEAN IN, we might end up in a bad place.

How we handle OBSTACLES will determine the direction of our life.

Sheryl Sandberg wrote, “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by pulling back when we should be LEANING IN.”

Problems will come at us from all directions.

When life throws BIG ROCKS…

#LeanIn 

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net