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

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.

The first move is always to separate what’s in your control from what’s not.
Control what you can. Adapt or be indifferent to everything else.
Be humble or the world will humble you.
You are responsible for the energy you bring into the room.
Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Just be better than you were yesterday.
The fastest way to change your life is to change your environment.
No need to look back. You’re not heading that way.
When you mess up, own it. Then make it right.
If you want things to get better, you have to get better.
Life is less about brilliant strategy and all about who wants it more.
No struggle, no progress.
Stand up when someone walks over to speak with you. It shows respect.
Clutter steals your physical space and inner peace. No need to save something for a day that may never come.
Take one more piece of trash off the beach than you brought.
Sometimes the best move is to move on.
Find one thing you’re good at. Go all in. An amazing journey will follow.
The ultimate life hack is an awesome spouse.
Have the courage to say “No”. It’s the key to a great life.
If it’s not a “Hell yeah!”, it’s a definite “No”.
What you don’t do is more important than what you do.
How to sell anything in 1 sentence: Show the other person how they win when they work with you.
Good health is real wealth.
If you haven’t failed at something in a while, you’re just coasting.
It’s better to walk away than lose your temper.
How you spend your time and money tells us what you really value.
Wake up early. There’s magic in the early morning.
Reading with your kids at bedtime is one of the greatest uses of time ever invented.
There’s always a next move, even if it’s just acceptance.
Having the ability to think on your feet is no excuse for showing up unprepared.
3 Lessons from My 3 Favorite Books: 1) Obstacles will either crush you or make you stronger. 2) The fastest way to success is by helping others succeed. 3) Never invade Russia.
No trust, no nothing.
How people respond under pressure reveals their true character.
Show me your friends, I will show you who you are.
When you meet someone of influence, ask them for a book recommendation.
Keep pushing, eventually it will break.
An 8-hour delay in the Phoenix airport can either be the longest day of the year or the most productive. Your call.
We don’t control what happens, only how we respond.
You always have more than two options.
In the long run, it’s cheaper and easier to fix the problem than not fix the problem.
Do less and do it better.
Once you figure out what you stand for, the rest gets a lot easier.
It’s better to be kind than clever.
Cut people some slack. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
Worrying is wasted energy. Anxiety makes nothing better.
Self-awareness is a superpower.
I used to think being a parent was about teaching and leading. I now realize it’s about listening and learning.
This too shall pass…
All we ever have is the present moment. Be there.
Keep showing up.
What would I tell my 18-year-old self? Hang around people better than you. Put in the work. Be kind. (PS – Lose the mullet). My 18-year-old self would probably just tell me to “F*ck off”.
Each day is a gift.

Your results may vary.

#50For50

Joe Ciccarone

www.SalesVibe.Blog

Finish

“Much of the stress people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.” – David Allen

The most tiring work are the projects we never complete.

Pick one thing, no matter how small, and close it out.

Make something happen today.

Watch the momentum carry over to other parts of your life.

Author Jon Acuff writes, “Starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.”

Finishing is a mindset.

For me?

I just hit the “publish” button for the first time in over a month.

#Finish

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SalesVibe.Net

Take It Back

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” – William Penn

time3

My house cleaning career was short lived.

I thought cleaning the house myself would be a great way to save some cash.

So I cancelled our cleaners.

Instead it was a great way to kill a beautiful Saturday and smell like Windex the rest of the day.

Fast forward a few weeks…

It was past 1am when I hit the “Send” button on Turbo Tax.

After spending hours trying to figure out if the day camp my kids went to 6 months earlier was deductible, I finally finished our tax return.

Painful.

Who in their right mind would ever go into accounting?

Oh, never mind…

But at least I saved money by not hiring a CPA, right?

Wrong.

Our time is so valuable.

Time vanishes faster than Chriss Angel at a pool in Vegas.

It seems like we never have enough to give to our favorite people and hobbies.

Steve Jobs said, “It’s really clear that the most precious resource we have is time. Your time is limited. Don’t waste it.”

No one is going to give us more time.

We have to TAKE IT.

How?

BUY IT BACK.

Trading our TIME for MONEY is a bad deal.

I have been experimenting by flipping that trade around.

Now I trade MONEY for more TIME.

I pay a CPA to do our taxes and hired cleaners to clean our house.

This trade off has been a game changer.

HIRE A SPECIALIST

We all have a specialty.

What’s yours?

Mine is SALES.

I also have a 2 side hobbies:

Training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Writing this weekly blog.

These are the places where I invest my time.

Everything else I hire out.

Hire out the grunt work, the complicated repairs, and jobs you have no interest doing:

Yard word.
House Cleaning.
Tax Prep.
Home repairs.

This has freed up an incredible amount of time so I can focus on my family, work & personal goals.

I found there’s an added bonus.

The specialists I hire do a way better job than I ever could.

KNOW THY SELF

Everyone is wired differently.

I know people that LOVE taking care of their lawn.

Yard work is where they find their ZEN.

It helps them RESET.

I’m definitely not in that group, but understand.

If you love it, keep doing it.

But if you don’t, call in the specialist.

Time is disappearing.

Tick, tick, tick…

#TakeItBack

-Joe Ciccarone

http://www.SaleVibe.Net

Start It Up

“Being an entrepreneur is not about starting a business. It’s a way of looking at the world. See opportunity where others see obstacles. Take risks when others take refuge.” – Michael Bloomberg

start

“Be your own boss!”

That’s the rage today.

Anyone who has seen Gary V roll through his day “crushing it” dreams of launching their own START UP.

You don’t have to live in Silicon Valley or flip houses to be an ENTREPRENEUR.

We are all START UPS.

We are the CEO’s of our CAREER.

The same skills that help an entrepreneur launch a START UP are needed to GROW your career and keep your work RELEVANT.

We have to bring an entrepreneurial mindset to our CAREER.

When I first got out of college I worked in a CPA firm.

That was my first “START UP”.

I was “out of business” in about a year.

But I learned a ton and moved on.

I took those lessons and changed course.

I did what every successful entrepreneur does when they FAIL:

Learn.
Adjust.
Try Again.

Like many entrepreneurs, I had a few lean years.

I tried and failed multiple times.

It wasn’t until my 6th START UP until I went PUBLIC.

CAREERS, like like START UPS, have to grow and evolve or they die.

Here are 5 WAYS TO START UP YOUR CAREER:

CONTROL YOUR TIME

Control your time or someone else will.

Never go into a day with an empty calendar.

An unplanned day leads to working on other people’s agendas.

One of the wealthiest entrepreneurs I know gave me this killer time management tip, “Throw away your “To Do” lists. If something needs to get done, schedule it. Protect that schedule.”

CONTROL YOUR FINANCES

Create a monthly budget.

Give each dollar a job.

We are not in Congress. We can’t spend more than we make.

Dave Ramsey sums it up best, “Debt is dumb.”

CREATE YOUR BOARD OF ADVISERS

No one wins alone.

Have a board of advisers.

Learn from who came before you.

Make original mistakes, not basic ones.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

The first START UP we need to invest in is ourselves.

The wealthiest people I know all have 1 thing in common, they never stop learning.

Take the seminar.

Read the book.

Grow or die.

TAKE RISKS

No risk, no nothing.

There comes a time when you have to LEAP.

When opportunity appears, take ACTION.

It doesn’t matter if you are a solo ENTREPRENEUR or part of a BIG organization.

There is enormous opportunity everywhere.

What will you START UP?

Up to you…

#StartItUp

-Joe Ciccarone