Tag: projects

Just Quit It

“Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that shows up on snow days.

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

This week’s topic is QUITTING.

And how QUITTING can put you on the path to WINNING.

The Vibe: Just Quit It

In 1997, Steve Jobs took the reins at Apple for his second stint as CEO.

Apple was in bad shape. 

The company lost over $1 billion that year. 

On the verge of bankruptcy, many thought Apple was finished. 

Steve Jobs had a huge challenge in front of him. 

What was Jobs’ first move?       

He became one of the greatest QUITTERS in the history of business.   

Jobs cancelled 70% of Apple’s product line overnight.

Apple went from 17 products to only 4.  

Jobs FOCUSED Apple only on the few things it did best.

He QUIT everything else.

The result?

Apple went from a $1 billion loss to a $300 million profit in one year. 

Apple would go on to become the world’s most valued company.

And change life forever with the iPhone.

This Steve Jobs’ story destroys one of the greatest myths ever told…

“Winners Never Quit.” 

This quote looks great on Pinterest.

It’s found in grade school classrooms and gyms everywhere.

Just one little problem…

It’s total BS. 

In his book “The Dip”, Seth Godin writes, “Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”

Sometimes our best move is to move on.

We need SELF-AWARENESS to realize what’s no longer working so we can move on to what will.

We all have HABITS and PROJECTS that no longer serve us.

They hold us back from being the best version of us.    

Maybe you check your phone every 2 minutes, all day long, even when you’re around family and friends.

Perhaps COVID got you spending way too much time on Netflix at night and it’s crushing your quality sleep.   

Or maybe that BIG project your business took on last year no longer makes sense.

We all have something we need to QUIT.

This is true if you are a legendary CEO, an Academy Award winning actor or a working parent just trying to get it right.

Reflect for a moment.  

How are you getting in your own way?  

What are you doing that no longer serves you?

Find the courage to JUST QUIT IT. 

In an interview before his death, Steve Jobs was asked what was his greatest accomplishment at Apple?

Job’s replied, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”

It’s a new year.

Time for a fresh start.

We’re moving forward.

And only bringing the good stuff.

#JustQuitIt

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Choose Your List

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“What you choose to focus on becomes your reality.” – Jen Sincero  

Here’s an idea from Seth Godin:

Create two lists.

On the FIRST LIST, write down all your COMPLAINTS:

  • The people who took you for granted.
  • All the bad breaks that came your way.
  • The work you did that was not appreciated.
  • The times you were misunderstood.
  • Projects that did not work out.

Be honest.

Come clean.

No need to hold back.

Let the NEGATIVE VIBES bleed all over the page.

Now on to the SECOND LIST.

Write down all the UNFAIR ADVANTAGES you were given:

  • All the people who supported you.
  • The good breaks that came your way.
  • The friends that had your back.
  • The mentors that accelerated your learning curve.
  • All the times you got the benefit of the doubt.

Now…

Choose one list.

Put this list someplace you’ll see it maybe once a year.

Hide it with the holiday decorations.

Or maybe put it with that crock pot you never use but refuse to donate.

Now take the other list.

Tape it to your favorite mirror.

Or put it in your phone.

Place it somewhere you’ll see it multiple times a day.

Godin writes, “The daily list will determine what you notice and the story you tell yourself.”

The list you look at everyday will create your MINDSET.

It will determine the ATTITUDE you bring into the world.

Here’s the BEST PART…

What list you choose is 100% in your control.

#ChooseYourList

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

 

 

Time To Finish

“It’s fun to start, but the future belongs to finishers.” – Jon Acuff

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I read Jon Acuff’s new book, FINISH: GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF DONE.

Hands down one of the most helpful books I read in 2017.

It came at a great time.

Why?

I used to think the END OF THE YEAR was the time to make RESOLUTIONS.

It’s not.

It’s the TIME TO FINISH.

It’s the time to leave your mark.

I used to believe STARTING was the secret to SUCCESS.

It’s not.

The MAGIC is in the FINISH. 

It’s easy to START things.

It’s hard to FINISH.  

Look around…

We have UNFINISHED business laying all around us.

Here’s my version of UNFINISHED:

  • Dozens of BOOKS half read.
  • PROSPECTS not converted to CUSTOMERS.
  • ONLINE COURSES not complete.
  • TRIPS not taken.

Our UNFINISHED work clutters our lives.

This clutter is both PHYSICAL & MENTAL.

Has an UNFINISHED project ever wore you down just thinking about it?

The most tiring projects are the ones we leave undone.

FINISHING can make the end of the year the BEST part of the year.

There’s no need to wait for the NEW YEAR to make our lives better.

The best way to START a new year is to FINISH this one STRONG.

HOW TO FINISH:

CHOOSE 1 THING

What’s the ONE THING you need to FINISH?

What’s the one project that would make the BIGGEST IMPACT for you?

Pick that one.

MAKE YOUR GOAL SMALLER

A great way to get stuck is to have a monster goal that seems unattainable.

Jon Acuff wrote, “If you want to fail before you start, pick a goal that’s too big.”

Dial back your goal a few notches.

This may sound counter intuitive, but it’s not.

This will make your goal more REALISTIC.

You will be more inclined to TAKE ACTION.

If you hit your smaller goal, you can always keep going.

CHOOSE WHAT TO BOMB 

FINISHING requires FOCUS. 

We have to eliminate distractions.

Distraction is a killer.

A great way to ELIMINATE DISTRACTION is to choose what to bomb.

When I am in FINISH mode, I ignore email.

I FOCUS on the work in front of me, not my buzzing iphone.

This frees up a tremendous amount of TIME.

SEIZE THE MOMENT

Our moment is NOW, not next year.

What OPPORTUNITY is right in front of you?

What do you need to FINISH?

For me, there was trip my wife I talked about for 10 years.

No more.

Trip booked.

Your move.

#TimeToFinish

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

 

Build It

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos

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My first year in SALES was rough.

Watching me try to secure an appointment was like watching Shaq at the foul line.

They paired me with the best sales person in our office.

He took me to lunch.

After listening to me complain how hard it was, he offered some advice:

“Be patient.  You need to BUILD YOUR BRAND.”

I wasn’t even sure I knew what a BRAND was.

BRANDING was not taught in tax accounting class.

We all need to BUILD our own BRAND.

What’s a BRAND?  

Our BRAND is:

  • The REPUTATION that arrives before we do.
  • What people EXPECT when they decide to work with us.
  • What our customers SAY about us when we’re not in the room.

Tom Peters said, “All of us need to understand the importance of branding. Our most important job is to be head marketer for the BRAND called “You”.

If we don’t BUILD IT, we’ll become just another face in the crowd.

If we work for a BIG company, we’ll fade away into another replaceable employee.

If we run our own business, we’ll be at the mercy of PRICE.

Our BRAND gives others PROOF:

  • It’s the PROJECTS we’ve done.
  • The OPPORTUNITIES we took on.
  • It’s the way we TREAT other people.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND:

LEAD WITH VALUE

Our first move should be to HELP the people we are looking to serve.

Find ways to help people accomplish their goals.

Nothing establishes TRUST faster.

BE FRIENDLY

People may not remember what you accomplished.

They will definitely remember how you made them feel.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Remembered people get opportunities.

Send the hand written note.  Remember their birthday.  Know their kid’s names.

Do the hard work it takes to make CONNECTING easy.

BE AUTHENTIC

Have the COURAGE to be yourself.

Everyone else is already taken.

BUILD YOUR ON-LINE PRESENCE

Your BRAND is not your product or your company.

It’s YOU!

Pick a social media platform.

Establish your online presence.

A good brand acts like a MAGNET.

People will proactively seek you out.

The best time to start BUILDING YOUR BRAND was about 5 years ago.

The second best time is TODAY.

If we don’t BRAND ourselves, someone will do it for us.

Your move…

#BuildIt

-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.