“I hate you and never want to talk to you again!” she yelled and then hung up on me. That, my friends, was how my first girlfriend blindsided me and broke my heart in high school (way back during the dark ages). I had no clue it was coming. We had spent time together that very…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Just One Of Those Days
Last month my son Zack’s car broke down on the way to work. This was the first of a small avalanche of problems: He rescheduled all of his shoots for the next day and dropped his car off at the mechanic. He drove 30 miles to my house to borrow my car. The next morning, he woke up to…
You Already Know What To Do
Over the last few years, I’ve put on a few extra pounds that I’d like to lose. Despite my best efforts at exercising like a lunatic, I’ve learned that I cannot “outrun a Twinkie”. So I spent the last several months reading about different diet & exercise plans. I’ve read about Paleo, Primal, Keto and Vegan….
How Sales Taught Me To Face My Fears
On my 2nd day of work as “Technical Sales Guy” at the advertising agency, my boss and I arrived at our client’s office and were escorted into a huge boardroom full of VP’s who had flown in from all over the country for this meeting. When all 30 people turned to stare at us, I wanted to…
My (sort of) Simple Guide To Fitness
When I was a little kid, I’d run around the house in my underwear, knee socks and a cape pretending I was a superhero. Now that I’m a grown man, little has changed.
I’d Rather Move Somewhere Than Travel There
Back when we lived in cold and dreary Pittsburgh, my wife and I would travel during my meager 1 week vacation to warm sunny places like Hilton Head Island, Fort Lauderdale and Deep Creek Lake. We had fantastic vacations. We’d eat delicious food in restaurants. We’d drink wine. We’d rent jet skis and boats. But…
Is It Time To Spring Clean Your Leads?
Last month, Inside Sales Dude had its 1 year anniversary and this month I have my 50th birthday. (I know, you don’t even have to say it, I don’t look a day over 25). To celebrate ISD’s birthday, I decided it was time to spring clean my newsletter email list.
How I Escaped Credit Card Debt With Chase and Citibank
I was fed up with living paycheck to paycheck. Despite working as hard as I could for nearly 20 years, we were $60K in credit card debt, owed $25K to a family member, had no savings and had a 30-year mortgage on the house we bought just one year earlier. Each month, we juggled charges on our…
What If Everything You Owned Was Your Favorite?
My wife and I have moved 11 times. Moving has taught me the real (low) value of stuff. The first time we moved long distance, we needed an entire 18 wheel tractor trailer. For our most recent move, we has pared down to less than 1/3 of a tractor trailer. Between our first move and…
I Quit Facebook and Twitter to Quiet the Noise In My Head
A few weeks ago I was listening to a small business podcast that said every business should be using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to grow sales. “Oh crap”, I thought, although I had accounts at all three, I only used LinkedIn regularly. So I decided to amp up my social media activity for my business, Inside…