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

Greenlights

“Eliminate who we are not first, then we will find ourselves where we need to be.” – Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights

Welcome to The Vibe!

The blog that shovels the driveway after hitting the “publish” button.

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

This week’s topic is FOCUS.

And why doing less gives us the GREENLIGHT to become more.

The Vibe: Greenlights

Do fewer things better.

Walk away from the unessential.

Go all in on what matters most.

Doing this will lead you to what Academy Award winner and now best-selling author Matthew McConaughey calls a GREENLIGHT.

In his memoir, GREENLIGHTS, McConaughey tells funny and candid stories that led him from a blue-collar family in Texas to one of the most famous people in Hollywood.

Greenlights is a book that resonates with you after you put it down.

The audio book is killer.

McConaughey does the narration himself.

Think south Texas meets Dennis Hopper.

The audio book gives you the feeling that you are drinking beers with McConaughey at a bar in Austin as he tells stories.

No surprise, McConaughey is a phenomenal storyteller.

And his stories are surprisingly relatable.

McConaughey says the biggest trap he falls into is OVERCOMMITTING.

He takes on too many projects.

He puts too much on his schedule.

This lack of FOCUS leads him to “Make B’s, not A’s”.

McConaughey says that at one point he was running 5 different companies.

Then one day his phone rang.

It was his own production company.

He unexpectantly found himself not wanting to pick up the phone and talk to his own employees.

McConaughey had no idea why.

The people calling were his people.

They were calling about projects being run by his own company.

Faster than you can say, “Alright, Alright, Alright.” McConaughey had a revelation.

He realized he lost FOCUS.

He was OVERCOMMITTED.

This caused him to produce average work.

McConaughey says he was “tired of making B’s in five things. I wanna make A’s in three things.”

McConaughey made a decision to FOCUS only on his top THREE PRIORITIES: Making movies, his foundation, & his family.

He gave himself the GREENLIGHT to walk away from everything else.

On the spot, he picked up the phone, called his attorney and shut down his production company and music label.

FOCUSING on less, helped him become more.

We may not be making movies.

But each of us are writing the next chapter of our life.

That story is written by what we give our FOCUS and ENERGY to each day.

We are at the end of an ass kicking year.

Some of us will try to make RESOLUTIONS in an attempt to make our next chapter better.

Stop.

REDLIGHT!

No need to add anything to your already full schedule.

The magic is in the SUBTRACTION.

Pick ONE THING that no longer fits the story you are trying to write.

Just let it go.

No need to be DAZED and CONFUSED.

FOCUS on the few things that mater most.

McConaughey writes, “Get rid of the excess in our life that keeps us from being more of ourselves.”

This takes SELF-AWARENESS.

This takes COURAGE.

But it’s so worth it.

Do it for your BUSINESS.

Do it for your FAMILY.

Do it for YOU.

Less B’s.

More A’s.

Giddy up…

#Greenlight

Until next week,

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

The Clouds & The Dirt

“I spend all my time in the clouds or in the dirt. That’s why I’m successful.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Fall is here.

Just walk inside a Starbucks.

Holy pumpkin everything…

I find fall the best time of the year to make CHANGES.

No need to wait for the chaos of the holidays to disappear.

We can get a head start by BEGINNING NOW.

When the conversation at Aunt Nelly’s holiday dinner turns to New Year’s resolutions, we’ll have 3 months of progress to show.

How cool is that?

Besides, I have an awful track record with resolutions.

I don’t do them.

From learning to trade stock options to trying to be less sarcastic, I’ve failed at most of them.

Instead, I now focus on DAILY ACTION.

DAILY ACTION is the secret to accomplishing BIG GOALS.

Gary Vee calls this concept – “The Clouds and The Dirt.”

THE CLOUDS

THE CLOUDS are your goals.

They are the places you want to take your life.

What BIG IDEA do you want to achieve?

Create a $1 million customer?
Lose 10 pounds?
Write a blog post every Monday?

We’ll all have different answers to this question.

But THE PROCESS is the same.

The 1st step is DECIDING what we want to accomplish.

For me, I want to be a more consistent writer.

I’d love to be 2 to 3 weeks ahead with blogs posts.

Waking up Monday at 4:30am to finish this week’s post is not a long term strategy.

THE DIRT

THE DIRT is how you get there.

It’s the DAILY GRIND.

The DIRT are the SMALL DAILY ACTIONS we need to take that make the CLOUDS possible.

THE DIRT is the journey.

It’s the gritty path that leads to our GOALS.

DECIDE

Decide on 1 daily action you can do that gets you closer to your GOAL.

For me, I need to write more.

My DAILY ACTION:

Write 200 words each morning before 7am.

BE SPECIFIC

The SECRET is to be specific.

My goal is NOT to “Write every day.”

That’s too vague.

Our ACTIONS need to be:

Simple.
Actionable.
Accountable.

JUST SAY NO

TIME and ENERGY are limited resources.

We have to be intentional where we invest them.

Gary Vee said, “I don’t spend any time on things that don’t matter.”

This means sometimes saying “No” to people.

Saying “No” is tough.

We think we are letting people down.

But when we don’t say “No” to distraction, we are only letting ourselves down.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

When you look into THE CLOUDS what do you see?

Keep your eyes on the CLOUDS…

But your hands in the DIRT.

Our thoughts are with our friends in TEXAS & FLORIDA this week.

#StayStrong

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.net