Tag: relationships

Take the Gold

“Within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” – Ryan Holiday

New Year’s Eve 2020 was like that frat party in college where the kegs kicked and the police showed up at the same time.

Everyone wanted out.

And we dashed to the exits at midnight full speed.

Good riddance. 

2020 did an amazing job smashing most of our plans. 

But we survived.

Now it’s time to turn the page.

Before we drag 2020 out to the curb with our dead Christmas tree, we need to do one thing. 

TAKE THE GOLD with us.

There’s a saying from Ben Franklin, who was no stranger to challenging years, “The things which hurt, instruct.”

2020 was a fantastic teacher.

It did an incredible job of showing us our weaknesses. 

It tested our mental and physical health.

Punched our daily routines in the throat.

And tried it’s best to cross collar choke our businesses. 

It forced us to evolve or become irrelevant.

But OBSTACLES also have a positive side.    

They not only obstruct, they instruct.

Obstacles show us what we need to change

In The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday writes that obstacles can teach us a better way.

“What impedes us can also empower us.”

When we are forced to find new ways of doing things, progress is not far behind.

Here are 3 GOLD NUGGETS I am bringing into the new year:

LESS COMMITMENTS

We stopped trying to be everywhere.

2020 crushed our superficial relationships.

Which is NOT a bad thing.

No driving an hour each way to that party you did not want to attend on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

There was less work travel because we found out that not all meetings need to be live. 

We got to hang out and spend quality time with our number one customer – our family.

We did less and learned to do it better. 

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Fire pits on a Friday night with your friends.

Long hikes with your family on Christmas Day.

Outdoor bike rides in December.

These are no longer just for people in the OC. 

You may need to dress in 6 layers for the Philly winter, but 2020 showed us that the great outdoors is the gym that never closes and never charges a monthly fee.

BUY TIME BACK  

Time is our most precious asset.

No one ever has enough of it. 

2020 taught us that we can delegate out time drains like market trips and Costco runs.   

I never realized how much time was wasted going food shopping. 

Now the market gets dropped off at your doorstep with a few taps of your phone. 

If we save just an hour per week NOT going to the market, that’s over 2 full days you just bought back to do whatever you please in 2021.

Word.

Years like 2020 show us what we need to change.

They show us a better way. 

The new year is in front of us.

Time to turn the page.

Just TAKE THE GOLD with you.

#TakeTheGold

Wish you an amazing 2021!

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

The 2020 Book List

“Here’s to those who inspire us and don’t even know it.” – Anonymous

2020 was the kind of year that sent you to the wine store or the book store.  

Sometimes both on the same day.  

It was a year of milestones.

It was a year we had to think differently. 

Our homes became our offices.

Outside became the new gym.  

We all had to ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES.  

One of the silver linings of the pandemic was the opportunity to read and listen to some incredible books.

Each year I share the very best of what I came across.  

You can check out the best of lists I shared in 2019, 2018, 2017, & 2016.

BOOKS

These books made me think.

They changed my mind.  

Some got under my skin.

But that’s what great books do.

They help you see the world in a different way.

Can’t Hurt Me (By David Goggins): One of the most powerful stories of self-transformation you will ever read.  Goggins turns a childhood filled with racism, depression, poverty and abuse into a future with the US Special Forces. Goggins is the only person in history to complete the training of the Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Air Force Tactical Air Controllers.  Get the audio book.  It’s one part book, one part podcast where Goggins riffs the backstory of each chapter and drops more “F” bombs than the bar scene in Goodfellas.  

Eleven Rings (By Phil Jackson):  This book is a master class on leadership.  Phil Jackson has won more championships than any coach in the history of pro sports.  He is the winningest coach in NBA history.  Known as the “Zen Master”, Jackson reveals his unconventional leadership style that brought out the best in superstars (Jordan, Kobe), unpredictable personalities (Dennis Rodman) and the average role player.  Favorite Quote:  “Things never get solved, they just come together and then fall apart again, then the process starts over.” 

Shoe Dog (By Phil Knight):  If it is possible to earn an MBA from studying a single book, this would be it.  Phill Knight borrowed $50 from his dad in 1963 and turned it into the $30 billion monster called NIKE.  The stories Knight tells are amazing.  The struggles and obstacles Knight had to fight through were incredible. One of the best memoirs I ever read. 

Greenlights (By Matthew McConaughey):  This book caught me by surprise.  I had low expectations and was blown away.  McConaughey tells the funny and candid stories that led him from a blue-collar family in Texas to one of the most famous people in Hollywood.  The stories resonate with you long after you put the book down.  The audio book is killer.  Narrated by McConaughey, it gives you the feeling of being bellied up to a bar with the actor as he tells stories while you share a bottle of whiskey.

Lives of the Stoics (By Ryan Holiday):  Holiday examines the lives of the most influential philosophers of the ancient world. The book is made up of 26 mini biographies that synthesizes a modern day lesson of each philosopher’s life.  No one is better at making ancient wisdom relevant to the modern world than Holiday.  

The Practice (By Seth Godin):  This little book will challenge you to show up each day to do your best work and share it with the world.  Godin, who has the most read business blog in the world, has a way of getting under your skin and inspiring you at the same time.  

PODCAST

Tim Ferris Show: Brene Brown (#409 – Feb 04, 2020) Striving versus Acceptance, Saving Marriages, and More.  Every time Ferris talks to Brene Brown I learn something about relationships, how to better interact with people, and myself.  An amazing 90 minutes on how to make relationships work while being your authentic self.  

Thank you for reading my blog.

Wish you a remarkable 2021!  

#InspireSomeone

Until next week,

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Burn the Boats

“Without commitment, nothing happens.” – T.D. Jakes

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that is already standing in line for the vaccine.

Each week we share ONE IDEA that can help you live a better life.

This week’s topic is COMMITMENT.

And why sometimes we have to go ALL IN.

The Vibe:  Burn the Boats

In 1519, the explorer Herman Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico.

Cortes was looking to get himself and his native Spain rich by looting the “new world”.

But Cortes had one little problem.

His crew was nowhere near COMMITTED to this mission as he was.  

They were far from home. 

The conditions were bad. 

The natives were unfriendly. 

The crew couldn’t even get into any of the good nightclubs in downtown Veracruz. 

No sooner did they land in Mexico there was talk of a mutiny. 

Some of the crew spoke openly of stealing the boats and sailing back to Cuba without Cortes.

Trouble was brewing. 

Cortes faced an incredible test of his COMMITMENT to this mission.     

How could he accomplish the most important mission of his life under these circumstances?  

Did Cortes give a speech?

Did he round up the conspirators?

Or maybe take everyone to Cancun for a team building weekend? 

Nada.

Cortes did one of the most legendary actions in history.  

He BURNED THE BOATS.  

All gone.

Bye Bye.

Now there would be no way home but through. 

BURNING THE BOATS changed the game.  

It left Cortes and his crew no other option.

Succeed or die trying. 

Cortes showed everyone he was not just INTERESTED in this mission. 

He was dangerously COMMITTED.

We may not be 16th century Spanish explorers.

And most of us are at least a vaccine away before we start EXPLORING foreign lands again.  

But each of us has a MISSION in our lives that needs our full COMMITMENT.

Maybe you are trying to save your business. 

Or you need to repair a broken relationship.

It could be that you are facing a health problem that has no easy answer.  

Whatever challenging MISSION you are up against, it’s going to take everything you got.  

We won’t succeed if we are just interested.

We have to prove that we are full on COMMITTED.

Our commitments test us to see what we are really made of.      

Our commitments show the world who we really are.

What’s the ONE THING you need to dangerously commit to? 

Seth Godin asks, “What would you still try even if you knew you would fail?” 

That’s your MISSION.

Time to go ALL IN.

An amazing journey will follow.

#BurnTheBoats

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

“Less is more.” – William Shakespeare

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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

 

On Your Mark. Get Set. Delete.

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Ben Franklin

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Nothing like a fresh start.

A new day.

A new year.

Before we start piling up the RESOLUTIONS, we need to do something:

Hit the “Delete” button.

We all have aspects of our lives that no longer serve us well:

  • BAD HABITS
  • COMMITMENTS
  • RELATIONSHIPS

Joshua Becker, wrote, “The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”

The start of the new year is a perfect time to hit the DELETE button.

3 Things We Need to DELETE:

BAD HABITS

Sometimes our habits turn on us.

I used to spend hours each day trying to stay up to date on current events.

I would read multiple newspapers and listen to hours of talk radio.

What started as trying to stay informed, turned into spending way too much time on events that I had no control over.

Habit DELETED.

Now I focus on things relevant to my daily life.

Take back your time.

Hit the DELETE button.

Don’t let a BAD HABIT follow you into the new year.

COMMITMENTS

I was part of a weekly networking group.

At first it served me well.

I met new people and learned some creative ideas.

Then it got stale.

I kept showing up, even though it stopped being a good use of my time.

Eventually, I gathered up the courage to tell them I was not coming back.

I don’t think they even cared.

Lesson learned.

Can you think of a commitment that no longer makes sense?

Hit the DELETE button.

Don’t bring a tired commitment into the new year.

RELATIONSHIPS

Some relationships no longer make sense.

These relationships could be personal or professional.

Only you know who they are.

Time to muster up the COURAGE and move on.

Hit the DELETE button.

Don’t let a bad relationship stand in the way of a great year.

What do you need to DELETE in 2018?

Have the guts to make a change.

This will OPEN UP the space for all the good things to come.

Happy New Year!

Ready.

Set.

Delete.

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

Uncommon Gratitude

“Strength and growth come only through struggle and effort.” – Napoleon Hill

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Last week was a great reminder of all that we have to BE THANKFUL.

It’s EASY to GIVE THANKS for the good things:

  • Our families.
  • Good health.
  • Our freedom.

I just listened to a REMARKABLE podcast with Gary Vee and Tim Ferriss.

Ferriss was promoting his new book,  Tribe of Mentors.

Gary Vee asked Ferriss two of the most powerful questions I’ve heard in an interview:

  • What setback are you most grateful for? 

  • What failure propelled you the furthest?

Wow.

It makes you think…

When was the last time you were GRATEFUL for an OBSTACLE that knocked you down?

  • The injuries.
  • The setbacks.
  • The breakups.

These OBSTACLES, which seem horrible at the time are actually the fuel that make the good stuff possible.

Often the view at the top is fantastic, but GROWTH happens in the valley below.

It takes UNCOMMON GRATITUDE to appreciate setbacks.

If we want to BECOME MORE, we have to CONFRONT MORE.

We have to think every obstacle that comes our way was made especially for us.

The tests of life are not there to break us, but make us.

Tony Robbins says, “Life does not happen to you, it happens for you.”

Looking back, I can see where this has happened for me:

  • I got cut from my high school baseball team.  I was crushed. To fill my newfound free time, I started training martial arts.  I’m still training to this day.
  • After missing out on a promotion I really wanted, I decided it was time to PROMOTE MYSELF.  I hired a recruiter and landed a position with a growing company.  One of the best moves I ever made.
  • My knee blows out while training Jiu Jitsu.  What started off as scary, turned into an amazing journey that showed me a better way to EAT, TRAIN & LIVE.

UNCOMMON GRATITUDE is being thankful for all the tough times that make you better.

Gratitude is not an automatic response, especially for the tough times.

Being grateful for both the good and the bad transforms an AVERAGE life into a REMARKABLE journey.

What OBSTACLE made you better in the past?

What TOUGH CHALLENGE are you facing now?

Time to give thanks.

#UncommonGratitude

– Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

 

The Best Investment

“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”― Warren Buffett

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Be Bullish

INVESTING means different things to different people.

For some, it means the stock market.

For others, its real estate.

There is one INVESTMENT that gets overlooked.

This investment generates the highest RETURNS and has the least amount of RISK:

  • YOU

When I started in SALES I knew I had to level up or I wasn’t going to last long.

So I started attending SALES seminars.

The first one I attended was a game changer.

The conference had amazing speakers:

It was awesome.

But an author named Brian Tracy was the one who changed my MINDSET.

Tracy told the group that the THE BEST INVESTMENT a person could make is in THEMSELVES.

He challenged the audience to invest a portion of their annual income on their continuing education & personal development.

Tracy said INVESTING IN YOURSELF would return exponentially more than any stock or real estate holding ever could.

The 20 something version of me was SOLD. 

It’s a PHILOSOPHY I live by to this day.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BEST INVESTMENT: 

INVEST IN YOUR CAREER

Jim Rohn said, “Income seldom exceeds personal development.”

In every field there are THOUGHT LEADERS. 

There were REMARKABLE people that came before us.

They established best practices.

Our goal is to make original mistakes, not the same ones they did:

This INVESTMENT alone will separate you from the masses.

INVEST IN YOUR HEALTH

Thomas Sowell wrote, “There are no decisions, only trade offs.”

One thing we don’t want to trade for anything is our HEALTH.

No amount of money or recognition is worth it.

We have to INVEST a portion of each day to:

  • Exercise.
  • Healthy Eating.
  • Good Sleep.

We all have the same amount of time.

We just have to decide that being HEALTHY is a PRIORITY.

INVEST IN A HOBBY

Nothing centers us and clears our mind like a fulfilling hobby.

For me, its Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

BJJ delivers an unbelievable workout.

It keeps me humble and focused.

Jiu Jitsu has introduced me to an amazing group of people.

It even gave me a new ACL.

Like Robert Arnott said, “Investing in what is comfortable is rarely profitable.”

Find a hobby you love.

It will pay lifetime DIVIDENDS.

INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS

With the exception of just one person, the entire world is about everyone else.

Make it a priority to invest the TIME and ENERGY into the special people in your life.

BE BULLISH

There are times when we need to HEDGE our bets.

Investing in yourself is NOT one of them.

Time to go all in…

#InvestInYou

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net

 

Nix the Selfie

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

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This week we continue our series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Habit #4: Think Win Win

This concept may be the most difficult of all the habits to implement.

Double that if you are in sales. 

Why?

The first 3 habits were about us:

  • Be Proactive.
  • Begin With the End in Mind.
  • Put First Things First.

It’s EASY to think about us.

Sometimes it’s hard to think about others.

This is especially true because the game of sales rewards individual performance.

Thinking “Win Win” means each party benefits from the end result.

Thinking “Win Win” takes CONSIDERATION and EMPATHY.

Contrary to popular belief, sales is not a zero sum game.

The opposite is true.

Elite sales people are COLLABORATIVE.

They see their work through the eyes of their customer.

Elite sales people create results where both sides win.

For you to win, the other person does not have to lose.

You win.

They win.

Each party becomes more.

Give to get.

Make other people look good.

Create an environment where everyone walks away with something to brag about.

Nix the selfie.

Take the group photo.

-Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.net

 

 

The Power of Habits

“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”  – John Dryden

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Name the 1st book that changed the way you think?

For me, it was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The 7 Habits changed the way I conducted business.

It changed the way I approached life.

Each habit called me out.

The Habits are simple concepts that separate the REMARKABLE from the AVERAGE.

The Vibe will cover each habit over the next few weeks.

Let’s go…

 Habit 1:  Be Proactive

You can’t wait for things to happen.

Nothing starts until you do.

To live our best life, we need to LEAN FORWARD.

We can’t wait for perfect circumstances or the mood to strike us.

We must create the mood with ACTION.

One of my mentors in Gracie Jiu Jitsu told me “If I only trained when I was in the mood or had the time, I would train 3-4 times a year.”

Tony Robbins said, “Great concepts don’t just appear, they must be pursued.”

Being PROACTIVE means stop negotiating with your mind.

Your mind is wired for survival, not success.

Your mind will tell you to:

  • Stay in bed.
  • That’s too hard.
  • You’re not qualified.
  • It’s too cold.
  • It’s too hot.
  • You’re too old.
  • You’re not good enough.

All lies.

Being PROACTIVE means moving the ball forward a few yards each day.

Proactivity starts with changing your MINDSET.

When we are proactive, we no longer blame outside circumstances.

We become the circumstances.

Think of all the VIP’s in your life:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Customers
  • Coworkers
  • Managers

How can you be more PROACTIVE in their world?

Go there.

How can you be more PROACTIVE in your world?

  • Get proper sleep
  • Limit distractions
  • Eat Right
  • Exercise
  • Read a Weekly Blog J

Where do you need to step up?

Start that habit today.

-Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.net