Millennial Sales

“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself”  – Epictetus   We all have different stories and circumstances that define our history.  We’re from different parts of the world, our families are different (but all crazy), and were raised differently.   At some point, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.  You may play it differently if you have pocket aces versus having...

“The more I help out, the more successful I become. But I measure success in what it has done for the people around me. That is the real accolade.”  — Adam Grant   Even in a quarantined world, we have dozens of interactions with other people each day.  From the grocery store worker to our boss to the emails you send your clients, we’re in a constant state of giving and taking.   Here’s...

If you’re reading this, you want more.  You want more money, a better job, a healthier body, a deeper relationship.  You want something.  And if you’re anything like me, you could use a little kick this Monday morning.   Check out this 3-minute interview between Jim Carey and Oprah.  Carey describes his days as a broke, struggling actor. He thought about quitting.   Instead, he decided to write hi...

“Your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event”  – Epictetus The stories are in the news seemingly every day.  A successful person who has built their brand for years or even decades has let it slip.  They said something unspeakable in front of a microphone, they mistreated their spouse, or maybe they had been hiding some dirty secrets for years.  They fucked it all up. ...

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something important, got distracted by a flashy notification and then got stuck down a rabbit hole? Me too.  We’ve all become like Dory from Finding Nemo.  In a world currently full of notifications and instant gratification, one of the most difficult things for me (and many others) is to stay focused on the task at hand .  I had a great conversation...

I’m surprised by how few people I’ve seen reference Henry David Thoreau during the quarantine of COVID-19.  For the unfamiliar, Thoreau spent a few years intentionally quarantined to get more in touch with himself and nature while removing himself from the busyness of the normal world.   In his words:  “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately and see if I could learn what i...

Last week’s tip was to send people handwritten notes .  Coincidentally, I came across this podcast that shows this strategy in motion.  Buzz Williams, Head Coach of Texas A&M’s basketball program, is a handwritten note maniac.  He’s used it to build up professional relationships and wouldn’t be where he is without them.   On Jon Gordon’s podcast, Williams said he wrote a handwritten note to ev...

The whole point of all of this personal development is to become successful, isn’t it?  And maybe we all have different definitions of success but they probably all relate to a combination of financial, professional, health, relationship and spiritual aspirations. This article by former president of Y Combinator and current CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman is one of the best I’ve read on the...

I recently saw the below quote from Farnam Street (link) and wanted to share it with you all.  “A great leader, I think—that a great leader walks into the room and you feel bigger . You don’t think, “Wow! What a great leader.” You think, “Wow! I’m willing to say this thing. I feel more comfortable on my own skin. I’m just having ideas I haven’t had before.” A great leader makes other people...

You can usually tell in the first few minutes of a podcast how well it’s going to go.  So when David Cancel, CEO of Drift, answered my first question around learning with “Yes, this is my obsession…” I knew I was in for a good one.   I mean, how often do you hear that someone’s obsessed with learning ?  You’re more likely to hear of someone’s obsession with Tiger King than with learning.  Bu...

“Beware the naked man who offers you his shirt”   Put simply: you can’t give what you don’t have .  It’s hard to be a good leader, partner, significant other or friend when you’re grouchy or feeling off.  They say that you can’t pour from an empty cup.  What they don’t say is that the cup is refillable.    Find what fills up your cup.   For me, it’s getting my morning started off on th...

Imagine someone sending you a really nice message.  They’re thanking you: for your hard work, for being a great employee/boss/customer/mother/whatever you are.  The note is kind, it’s thoughtful, it makes you feel good. It shows up as an email on a Tuesday afternoon. Pretty cool.  Now imagine that same scenario, except it’s an actual handwritten letter.  You go to your mailbox expecting a Bank of...

“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive”  – Andy Grove, Co-Founder, Intel   Just a few months ago, times had never been easier.  We were riding a decade-plus long bull market. It seemed as though everyone and their mother had joined or started a company that received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.  There were teenage kids in Lamborghini’...

“Realizing that the other person is also just like me is the basis on which we can develop compassion, not only toward those around us but also toward our enemy. Normally, when we think about our enemy, we think about harming him. Instead, try to remember that the enemy is also a human being, just like you.” — The Dalai Lama A few years ago I interviewed former Lead Hostage Negot...

Rich Roll was the All-American guy.  He was an especially talented student-athlete, as he earned several NCAA Swimming Championships while at Stanford.  After graduation, Roll dove head-first into work and was on the fast-track to becoming a Partner at his Law firm. On the outside looking in, it appeared that Rich had it all.  On the inside, he was miserable. His purposelessness led him deep into...

Have you ever met someone that’s so stubborn, so stuck in their ways, that they’re difficult to reason with?  They wouldn’t consider new ideas because “this is how they’ve always done it”? These people are everywhere.  Maybe you work with them. Maybe you are one of them in a certain area of life. It’s understandable.  Once we gain familiarity or mastery in a subject matter, we gain confidence.  Th...

Tomorrow starts a new month and the 2nd quarter of the year.  Can you believe we’re 25% through 2020?   Some people will spend today doing their normal things.  They’ll work, exercise, eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed.  They’ll wake up tomorrow without a plan and go through their next month in a daze, with no plan and no strategy.  The top 1% will approach this differently.  They’ll spend some t...

In one of his articles for The Player Tribune , Kobe Bryant opened up about his competitive relationship with Allen Iverson.  Iverson had a hot start in the league, as Bryant was struggling to make a name for himself.  In 1999, Iverson scored 41 points and dropped 10 assists in a game where Bryant was guarding him.  Bryant was mortified.  He became obsessed, fixated on anything he could find to he...

I write a lot about gratitude, optimism and staying positive.  Some days (or weeks or months) are tougher than others to stay positive.  I recently came across the below quote from musician Michael Franti.   Maybe we should all take a few gratitude “free throws” today :).  “It’s hard to be grateful all the time, you know?  And some days I wake up and I feel like I’m on the wrong...

JT McCormick  has overcome a lot of obstacles. I mean, a LOT of obstacles.  His mother was an orphan. His father was a pimp and drug dealer. Upon being deserted, JT was forced to live with his father’s prostitutes for years, taking care of his younger step-siblings at the tender age of 8-years-old.  JT received his High School diploma from the janitor during summer school. At one point, he was hom...

“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to mind the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time.”   – Anne Frank  Morning routines have been all the rage the...

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”  – Mark Twain Last week, I gave some tips from NYT writer Aaron Orendorff on how to get people to read what you write at work.   Here’s a similar tip that can help with writing, public speaking, and presentations.   There is common advice given to novice public speakers: Be brief.  Be brilliant. Be gone .   A lot comes...

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”  – Sun Tzu  The world is abundant .  There is an infinite amount of opportunities flowing through The Universe at any given point.  Money flowing, jobs being offered, people walking the streets that can change your fortune.  Maybe you don’t see it that way.  There are no jobs. The economy is down so nobody is going to buy my product. ...

On Friday, March 20th, I put out a  video challenge .  The idea is simple. Despite the craziness going on, I’m seeing a lot of good happening in this world and people rising up to shine a light. I want to spread that positivity. Here’s how it works: 1) Leave a review (or dm me) a bright side you’ve seen in the current situation. 2) Each person = $1 donation from me to a charity in need 3) Ongoing...

“If you believe it, the mind can achieve it”  — Ronnie Lott Belief is one of the most powerful drugs in the world. You need to believe in yourself. Believe that you can accomplish your goals. Believe that you are a good person. Believe that you can change the world. Alongside self-belief, being around others who believe in you is vital for success.  This what I heard when I interviewed Jordan Burr...