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

Roll With The Punches

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“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa

Welcome to The Vibe!

The weekly blog that shows up in your inbox while respecting your social distance.

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

This week’s topic is the power of ROUTINES.

If you think this post is VIRAL in a good way, please forward to a friend.

Just Purell your keyboard afterwards.

Let’s scrub in…

The Vibe: Roll with the Punches

There is a haunting Chinese blessing that doubles as a curse.

“May you live in interesting times.”  

A fitting phrase for the present moment.

Schools closed, communities self-isolating and our daily ROUTINES KO’d like an early opponent of Mike Tyson. 

Not to mention we have to watch that guy in jean shorts carry nine cases of toilet paper out of Costco.

Interesting times.

Epictetus said the most important thing in life is to separate the world into two categories:

1) What we control.

2) What we don’t.

The next few weeks will give us a chance to put this wisdom into action.

We don’t control that this virus is here.

We don’t control our communities are shut down.

We don’t control what that guy wearing jean shorts buys at Costco.

But we have 100% control of our own actions. 

We all have some BIG time family bonding on our hands.

A great way to ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES is to establish new ROUTINES.

We are all products of our daily ROUTINE.  

Routines create the rhythm for our lives.

Our routines establish our habits. 

Our habits determine who we become.

It’s time to create some new ROUTINES for times like these.

Here are 3.5 ROUTINE IDEAS that may help:

1) Take Long Walks Outside

Soren Kierkegaard wrote, “Every day, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts…if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.” 

Long walks outside clear our mind.

They get the blood flowing.

Walks connect us with nature.

Some of our best family conversations happen during walking.

2) Establish a Reading Practice

There has never been a better time to be a reader.

There are some mind blowing, perspective changing books out there.

Gather your crew and have them read for an hour in the same room.

Then have each person share one idea from the book they are reading.

Amazing conversations will follow.

3) Declutter

Use this unexpected time together to liberate your house of all that clutter.

Use your free time to free your home (and your mind).

You’ll BE HAPPY you did.

3.5) Be Kind

Everyone is out of their routine.

This is NOT business as usual.

George Raveling wrote, “This is a good time to be good to one another.”

There is never a need to distance ourselves from KINDNESS.

Ryan Holiday said that the version of you who steps out of this quarantine can be a better version than entered it.

Creating new ROUTINES like these can make that happen.

Finally…

BIG THANK YOU to all the healthcare care workers holding down the front lines.

To all the SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS that have people relying on them for their paychecks.

Stand tough.

This too shall pass…

#RollWithThePunches

Keep fighting…

Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

The Next Step

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“Change starts when someone sees the next step.” – William Drayton

Anxiety mocks us.

Vivid images of our future demise play out inside our heads.

We play tense.

This tension keeps us from doing our best work.

Anxiety reloads.

How do you stop this cycle?

Take the NEXT STEP.

You don’t need to leap the entire staircase.

You just need the courage to take the NEXT STEP.

The NEXT STEP starts the process.

The NEXT STEP lays the foundation.

The NEXT STEP changes the momentum.

Anxiety is an IMAGINE DRAGON.

It’s a beast, only in our minds.

How do you slay a fake DRAGON?

One STEP at a time.

Your move.

Step, step, step…

#TheNextStep

-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

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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

 

 

 

 

The Secret

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.” –  Neale Donald Walsch

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Gratitude is the secret.

BE GRATEFUL for the journey that brought you to this point.

BE GRATEFUL for all the things that went your way.

BE GRATEFUL for all the obstacles that knocked you down.

BE GRATEFUL for the present moment directly in front of you.

Love all of it.

It’s the only way.

#TheSecret

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

 

Right Now 

“The present moment is all you ever have.” – Eckhart Tolle

All weeks are not created equal.

Last week I had 2 CHALLENGES to face:

  • A 2 day test for work.
  • A belt promotion in Jiu Jitsu.

They were separated by 48 hours and 1,200 miles.

The 1st took place halfway across the country.

The 2nd happened on the other side of my comfort zone.

This is the type of week that would have gotten inside my head a few years ago.

I would think of all the things that could go wrong.

Seth Godin wrote, “Tell yourself enough stories of your impending doom and you start to believe it.”

To win this week, I knew I had to win the MOMENT.

To succeed in LIFE we have to give ourselves a GIFT

THE PRESENT MOMENT.

Eckhart Tolle wrote, “The present moment is the only thing that matters.”

The toughest battles are the ones we fight inside our our own mind.

Under PRESSURE, our minds wander.

We think of all the bad things that can happen.

Our minds project failure.

Lucky for us 80% of what we worry about never happens.

The PRESENT MOMENT is all we will ever have.

How to Live To In The Present Moment:

BE IGNORANT

We have to free up time to FOCUS on our important work.

We have to learn what to ignore.

I go on AIRPLANE MODE:

  • No email.
  • No news.
  • No social media.

This alone is a game changer.

GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD

To BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT, we have to get out of our heads and into our bodies.

  • Go for an early AM run.
  • Go for a power walk between meetings.
  • Get on the mat and get choked.

It’s amazing how exercising our body focuses us in the PRESENT MOMENT. 

Or as Jocko Willink says, “Get to the gym.”

BREATH

Focused Breathing helps us live in the PRESENT MOMENT. 

Breathing can be done anywhere.

Breathing 101:

  • Breath in your nose.
  • Out your mouth.
  • Deep breaths.
  • Repeat.

THE ART OF LIFE

Emmett Fax wrote, “The art of life is to live in the present moment.”

There is a CHALLENGE waiting for you.

How you respond in the PRESENT MOMENT will determine everything.

We have no more chances to do yesterday over.

The future is a mystery.

The best place to take on life is…

#RightNow

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

Drain Your Brain

“I couldn’t sleep at all last night.” – Bobby Darrin, Tossin’and Turnin

Life gets unbalanced.

Things come at us from all directions.

Our mind wanders.

ANXIETY creeps in.

It gets difficult to stay in the PRESENT MOMENT.

Time to FIGHT back.

It’s time to kick anxiety to the curb.

Elite performers teach themselves how to tame chaos.

One of the best tactics I’ve learned to work through this is called, “Drain Your Brain.”

Jeffrey Gitomer writes about this in the “Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude.”

This idea is simple, but highly effective.

When life gets HECTIC:

  1. Grab a writing tablet
  2. Write EVERYTHING down on paper you need to do.

EVERYTHING.

From the $1,000,000 sales proposal you need to create to picking up your dry cleaning.

Don’t stop until:

  • Everything is on paper.
  • Your mind can’t think of anything else that needs to be done.

What does this do?

There is a therapeutic effect to getting your thoughts out of your mind and on to paper.

Your mind is now free to focus on SOLUTIONS rather than carry the weight of your to do list around.

This tactic literally clears up space in your brain that allows your PROBLEM SOLVING ability to kick in.

Your mind is freed.

CREATIVITY flows.

Ideas pop into your head.

There is a quote that fits perfectly here, “The most tiring project is the one we never get to.”

So true.

Why?

Because our minds drag unfinished tasks around like a 50 pound backpack.

No more!

Empty your mental backpack.

Drain your brain.

Free your mind.

Free your life.

#MindsetIsEveything

-Joe Ciccarone

NEXT WEEK:  Prioritize & Execute.  How to turn your to-do list into a strategic game plan.