A friend of mine recently bought a mansion. It’s 6,000 square feet with 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and three balconies. He paid $1M for it. The house is magnificent. It looks like something out of Tuscany. But I have to wonder, is it really worth the cost? For me – not a chance.
When My Step-Daughter Died
Early that morning when I looked at my cell phone, I saw 10 missed calls from my step-daughter’s ex-boyfriend. I remember thinking, “I wonder why he’s calling? Maybe he needs my help or something happened to his mother.” I called him back and he told me that Liz had died of an overdose on a stranger’s bathroom…
Stop Trying To Motivate Your Sales Team
When I was a sales manager, I was often told to motivate the sales team. Executive Management wanted me to “light a fire under the reps”. Middle Management said, “encourage their competitive spirit”. Even reps would sometimes say, “I need you to motivate me.” I hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but sales managers can’t motivate…
Limiting Choices Makes My Life Better
I purposely limit things I own, activities I do, where I invest time and how I spend money because having fewer choices makes my life better. Dressing in the morning is easy because I choose 1 of 2 pairs of shorts, any of my plain T-shirts and 1 of 2 pairs of shoes. Eating is…
Part-Time Job, Full-Time Life
When I had a full time job I wasted a lot of time. 75% of all administrative work and reporting was unnecessary. Every job included some kind of CYA bullshit. “Make-work” was the worst. Every business had useless meetings, mandatory trainings, or some other outdated process that was a complete time suck. As a sales…
Mole Men (And Women)
I’m glad that I didn’t become a doctor or nurse. I like being outside too much. During the last 5 days, I spent nearly 40 hours in the hospital with my wife as she recovered from surgery. Post-surgery she was put in the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit). There were no available beds in the hospital’s regular…
The Magic Of Off Hours
There’s something magical about off hours. When I delivered the New York Times, I’d start work at 1AM and finish around 4AM. Except on weekends, the neighborhood streets were deserted except for me and the guy who delivered the USA Today. The homes on my ritzy neighborhood route were dark except for the uplighting…
Get Outside, A Little Discomfort Equals A Lot of Fitness
It’s hot (and humid) in Florida – especially in July. Like sweat so much you need to change your clothes 3 times a day hot. Like get out of breath and make your heart race when exercising hot. Like shower twice a day hot. Luckily, we have air conditioning, swimming pools, beaches, and ocean breezes….
How You Treat Your Customer Is More Important Than How You Sell, What You Sell or Your Expertise
I am typing this from the waiting room in the hospital where my wife is in the operating room having major surgery for lung cancer. I hate hospitals and pretty much despise the healthcare industry in general, but today I’m going to talk about the great customer experience I’ve had here at Cleveland Clinic in…
I Don’t Have Many Friends
Most of my life I had plenty of friends. I never had a problem making friends. Ever since I was old enough to talk, I had at least one best friend plus a bunch of good friends. This changed when I went to college. My friends and I went to different schools, had different schedules and…