- August 7, 2018 -

A tale of two salesmen.

It's early 1900's.

Two competing shoe companies want to expand their market reach.

So they each send their top sales guy to Africa to scout out the potential.

After a day or so, the Salesman #1 finds a telegraph office and types out:

"Research complete. Stop. Situation hopeless. Stop. No one wears shoes here."

The Salesman #2 does his research and head to the same telegraph office. He types out this message to his boss:

"Research complete. Stop. Incredible opportunity. Stop. No one wears shoes here."

Two smart guys.

Same situation.

Opposite outlook.

So...we can end this email right here and conclude [...]

- August 6, 2018 -

August.

The month that Europeans go off the grid. Vacation for the entire month.

Most Americans are at least slowing down.

Lounging around the pool. Barbecuing in the backyard.

But not Gary Vaynerchuck. Nope, he's tripling down.

He's in the zone.

Hustling.

All in!

He's even created a video called "AUGUST."

Had I watched this in my 20's or 30's...I'd have been all about "Yaah! Hustle, dammit! I can sleep when I'm dead."

Did you ever look up the definition of the word "hustle"?

According to Webster, it means...

+ To push roughly; jostle.

+ To hurry, bustle.

+ To coerce or pressure someone into doing or choosing something.

+ To [...]

- August 2, 2018 -

When remembering his wife who died years ago from cancer at the age of 57, Don Shula -- winningest coach of the NFL -- tells what was one of his wife's favorite stories:

It was the summer of 1958. Don and Dorothy Shula were on their honeymoon at Ocean City, New Jersey. They were strolling along the beach when Don stopped and asked Dorothy to backpedal.

You know, run backwards in the soft beach sand.

She thought he was kidding. He wasn't.

So she jogged backward a few steps, looking puzzledly at her husband.

"In football, you have to do a [...]

- July 30, 2018 -

I'm gonna to try to keep this short(er) today because to be perfectly honest, I feel like sh*t.

I never get sick and somehow picked up a bug and just can't shake it.

Gin and whiskey don't seem to be fixing it. (I'm kidding, people!!)

So what I really want to share with you today is doubly appropriate...because I need to swallow this pill myself.

For years...I had been taught, believed, and aspired to the idea that to be most productive is to do what I did BEST and train others to do everything else.

...all the tasks I hate to [...]

- July 25, 2018 -

Ever watched the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross"?

There's a pretty raw scene where Alec Baldwin's character (I'll call him 'Rich Guy') is sent to "motivate" four real estate agents, all currently in a slump.

He unleashes 7-minutes of venomous verbal abuse...a monologue (and his only scene in the movie) that over two and a half decades has become film lore.

[Here's the clip if you're interested. Be warned it's not rated PG.]

Jack Lemmon plays Shelley Lavene, once a successful salesman but now in a long-running funk. On top of that, he's got a dying daughter.

He dares to get up [...]

- July 21, 2018 -

The Fab Four.

No, not the California-based band who impersonate the original Liverpool fabulous foursome.

I'm talking about the guys who inspired the mop-top haircut, regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in rock history.

For a music guy, I find something extremely interesting about the Beatles early years.

Between 1960 and 1964 John, Paul, George and Ringo traveled to Hamburg, Germany five times and played almost endless nights in bars and strip clubs.

+ On the first trip, they played 106 nights, of five or more hours a night.

+ Their second trip they played 92 times.

+ Their third [...]

- July 12, 2018 -

When I was a young broker, my Uncle Bob turned me on to listening to Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar.

I binge listened to them daily, usually while driving.

No iPhones in those days. Not even iPods. This was the '80's...you know, the decade of big hair, neon, and the Walkman.

Good old cassette tapes for cars in those days.

And as much as I hate to say it...the late great Zig Ziglar got one thing kinda, sorta...wrong.

Feels like blasphemy to even think it.

But he was a tad bit off when he said this:

- July 11, 2018 -

Is this some brilliant marketing or what?

If I walked past this sign on a hot summer day, I'd take them up on their offer purely out of appreciation for the creativity and fun factor.

And give away the "free" beer to somebody who looked like they could use it 🙂

Think about it...the ad did its job.

It made you stop.

It made you think.

It made you chuckle.

You either said to yourself, "Self...yeah, I am freaking hot and could use a beer. These guys seem pretty cool!"

Or you think, "Shoot...if I didn't have a [...]

- July 10, 2018 -

I've revised my business plan.

Simply surround yourself with really smart women.

That's it.

Yeah, they're a little bossy but they keep me in line.

Our executive assistant has been with us (virtually) for years and knows more about my properties, ads and leads than I do.

And what she doesn't know, she just figures it out on her own.

She handles my inbox, responds to emails, and let's me knows what needs my personal attention.

She's not allowed to leave...ever! (Monica, thanks for putting up with me! Sure you don't want to move to Pittsburgh?)

My office assistant arrived on the scene after [...]

- July 9, 2018 -

Cars and computers...easy to take for granted until they stop running.

My car's been in the shop for a week, waiting for an alternator to be replaced so I'm using a loaner to run my appointments.

A loaner that is can't seem to hold freon. In 90 degree Pittsburgh weather!

At least I'm not looking at gears slipping and a transmission rebuild.

No tell-tale grinding noises, knock on wood.

Speaking of grinding...I've talked before about Gary Vaynerchuck, the King of the "grind."

He's proud of it. Aspires to it. Wears it like a badge of honor.

Truth be told, he's a guy who [...]