Set Yourself Free

“The more things you own, the more they own you.” – Unknown

Welcome to The Vibe!

The only weekly blog that doesn’t require hand sanitizer.

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

This week’s topic is CLUTTER and how getting rid of the PAST makes room for the FUTURE.

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

Just remember to wash your hands after you do.

Let’s do this…

The Vibe: Set Yourself Free

Gretchen Rubin had a revelation.

While doing research for “The Happiness Project” she noticed something.

She was HAPPIER and CALMER when her surroundings were in order and clutter free.

When she created OUTER ORDER it calmed her mind.

The idea resonated so much that she wrote a book on the subject – “Outer Order, Inner Calm.”

The Hidden Cost

It’s so easy to fill our basements (and lives) with “stuff”.

Kindergarten art projects, holiday gifts from Aunt Betty, clothes you haven’t worn since Gangnam Style was on the radio, or those boxes in the basement that you don’t even remember what’s inside.

Stuff piled on stuff.

Space disappears.

It feels like your house is shrinking.

Then the anxiety builds.

There is a hidden cost to all that accumulating.

Rubin writes that CLUTTER can cause ANXIETY and increase the STRESS levels inside your home.

Ugggh…

But clearing clutter is NOT easy.

The process can be exhausting.

It can even get emotional.

The process makes you say goodby to the past so the future has space to enter.

I have learned that cleaning out requires HUMILITY.

You have to admit you were wrong.

That there was never a good reason to store all that sh*t in the first place.

We no longer needed it the moment we put it in a box in our basement.

We just did not have the guts to make the tough call and SET IT FREE.

Make Room for the Future

Here are 3.5 ways to SET YOURSELF FREE:

1) Don’t Get Organized.

Rubin writes, “Your first instinct should be to get rid of stuff. If you don’t own it, you don’t have to organize it.”

“If you need to buy things to store other things, you have too many things.”

Take that Container Store.

Set it free.

2) Do I LOVE this?

Before you buy anything, ask yourself “Do I LOVE this?”

Not like. Not want.

But LOVE.

No love, no buy.

3) If I did not already own this, would I buy it again?

This question is for all the stuff in boxes and bins in our basement.

If you did not own it, would you buy it again?

If no, it goes.

3.5) Store Things at the Store

No need for a 5 year supply of tooth paste.

Rubin writes, “The best place to store things is at the store.”

Don’t stockpile.

Just buy enough for now.

Set It Free

DECLUTTERING is a simple concept.

But it’s not easy.

So go at your own pace.

Try to make progress every day.

Your future self will thank you.

The philosopher Lin Yutang wrote, “The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”

So what’s stealing you peace of mind?

What do you need to SET FREE?

Clear that SPACE.

Clear your MIND.

#SetYourselfFree

Until Next week,

Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

Step By Step

“One walks over the highest mountain one step at a time.” – John Wanamaker

How do you eat an elephant?

One step at a time.

Why anyone would want to eat an elephant confuses me, but you get the point.

BIG things are accomplished by breaking them down into small, actionable STEPS.

Our goal is steady progress.

Keep moving the ball down field.

I just read Anthony Iannarino’s new book, The Lost Art of Closing.

The book is fantastic.

Iannarino shows how taking a STEP BY STEP approach to CLOSING A SALE is a highly effective way to create new business.

Our job as sales professionals is to ask for and obtain commitments.

But when people hear the word CLOSING, they can get a negative vibe.

Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, in Glengary, Glen Ross comes to mind.

Baldwin plays a shady, money hungry deal maker.

His world is all about getting the customer’s money.

Great movie.

Amazing one liners.

But total BS.

Blake’s “A.B.C.” (Always Be Closing) Method of selling went out of style a few weeks after parachute pants did in the 1980’s.

Modern day selling is about helping your customers succeed.

CLOSING A SALE can take multiple appointments, a number of stakeholders and months to achieve.

A good sales person knows where they are in the SALES process.

They understand the next STEP they need to take.

They know that CLOSING involves more than just asking for the business.

A sales professional knows that they need to secure a series of smaller commitments from the customer before they get anywhere near a sale.

This process can be smooth.

You just have take it STEP BY STEP:

THE INTRODUCTION

Not all stakeholders will want to meet with you.

Many may not even respond to your emails and messages.

That’s a good thing.

This keeps all the AVERAGE sales people out.

The best way to deal with this is to get your advocates inside the customer to make the introduction.

This idea is killer.

Try it.

THE NEXT MEETING

Secure the next appointment before you leave the current one.

The most effective way to keep the sales process alive is to stay in front of your customer.

It’s amazing how many sales “professionals” don’t do this.

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS

Great sales people are considered TRUSTED ADVISORS.

They secure a commitment to be included in the customer’s decision making process.

They are sitting next to the customer in the conference room when they are deciding which path to take.

THE ORDER

It sounds cliche, but it’s true.

Many sales people are afraid to ask for the order.

Sometime all you need is the COURAGE to ask.

“Would you like to move forward with an order?”

At worst you get a “No” and the real reason holding them back.

At best you get a new customer.

Ask and you shall receive.

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”

This is true in SALES.

It’s true in LIFE.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Just ask that elephant.

#StepByStep

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

Be Happy

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

What’s THE SECRET to happiness?

I had no idea.

That was until an amazing little gift changed my perspective.

Now I pay attention to what makes me happy on a DAILY BASIS.

My wife, who I’m not permitted to mention by name (but will say she is an amazing blog editor) bought me one of my favorite presents for our last anniversary.

It’s called the The Happiness Project: One Sentence Journal.

The journal is based on a great book by Gretchen Rubin.

It asks you to WRITE ONE SENTENCE on what made you happy that day.

That’s 7 happy thoughts each week.
30 happy moments each month.
365 happy memories each year.

You will have 1,826 moments written down that made you HAPPY at the the end of this 5 YEAR PROJECT,

To quote a line from the Lord of the Flies, “The greatest ideas are the simplest.”

I’ve brought this journal to every SALES MEETING and family vacation for 2 years.

My HAPPINESS PROJECT has traveled with me to California, New York City, and many stops in between.

The journal has visited more Jersey beach towns than Snookie.

One of my favorite things is looking back to what made me happy exactly 1 year to the day.

Studying your past is a great way to CREATE YOUR FUTURE.

So, what has this project taught me about HAPPINESS?

WRITING HAS POWER

Writing one sentence daily can keep GREAT MEMORIES alive.

It’s pretty awesome to have all your best memories captured in one place.

Like the old saying goes, “A sentence is worth a 1,000 words.”

Happiness starts with GRATITUDE.

Gratitude crushes rough days.

It’s hard to go to bed in a bad mood when you write down HAPPY MOMENTS that you were lucky enough to be part of.

PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION

Happiness is about MAKING PROGRESS, not everything being perfect.

We have to focus on our gains, not on the things that went wrong that day.

From helping a new customer treat their 1st patient to learning a new technique on the jiu jitsu mat – HAPPINESS is all about progress.

TAKE CHARGE

We’re in charge of our own happiness.

If you don’t like something, CHANGE IT.

If you can’t change it, change THE WAY YOU THINK about it.

Don’t wait for someone else to make you happy.

That almost never happens, except in John Hughes movies.

Helen Keller wrote, “Happiness is not out there, it is in us.”

Happiness is the ultimate INSIDE JOB.

It’s hidden in plain sight.

Our job is to notice it.

And maybe even WRITE IT DOWN.

#BeHappy

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

Own It

“It ain’t the rain, the snow, the boss, the competition, the spouse, the money, the car, the job, or the kids – it’s you! And it always has been.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

The first person we have to lead is ourselves.

We have to own the outcome for all areas of our life.

This is called taking Extreme Ownership.

When we take Extreme Ownership, we change everything.

We no longer have our happiness dictated by circumstances.

We set the tone, not others.

But this mindset requires COURAGE.

Why?

Because when something goes wrong it’s on us.

There is no one else to BLAME.

Taking full responsibility can bruise your ego.

The BIGGEST threat to our own success is not some uncontrollable outside factor.

It’s our decision making process.

Don’t like the way things are going?

Change it.

Not where you want to be?

Adjust.

We may not be able to control what happens to us.

But we have 100% control on how we respond.

Once we figure this out, everything else becomes easier.

#OwnIt

-Joe Ciccarone