Quickest Way To Lose An Audience Of One

Over the weekend I came across this tabloid article about Kelly Ripa throwing Michael Strahan under the bus live on air regarding his past divorces. Much has been made in the media regarding the recent riff between the two since Strahan's announcement to move on from Live! to a full time spot on Good Morning America. She is making her feelings of hurt and betrayal known through a series of low blows and unflattering actions. Only time will tell if this will or will not affect Ripa's future endeavors or image. Chances are she'll hire great PR people and in time it will all go away EXCEPT for one person, her next co-host. It would be impossible for him/her to not have this in the back of their mind especially at first sign of any adversity between the two.

I couldn't help but take this as an opportunity to remind us that we must win and LOSE gracefully. It shows character and real concern for your audience. In the real world with only you as your PR being a sore-loser guarantees you nothing except MORE losing and a bad reputation. The hard reality we all face is that we cannot control everything despite our efforts. 

Losing is learning and learning is growing.

DV

Keep It Simple, It's That Simple

What makes Stephen Curry great? The answer is: SIMPLICITY. He has mastered the most common basketball skill - shooting. Greatness is achieved by mastering simplicity. I can name thousands of examples. Apple has done it with the iPhone. Google has done it with search navigation. Instagram has done it with social media. The list goes on and on...

Simplicity doesn't mean easy. Simplicity means it's easy to use, understand, or deal with. Simplicity allows you to connect with ease. The freedom from complexity is of the highest importance in business.

Simplify the problem. Simplify the solution. Simplify your focus. Simplify your energy. Simplify your message. Simplify your investments. Simplify your goals.

Keep it simple. It's that simple.

DV

The DV Weekend Pickup #7

Since I post my reviews every Friday I decided to change the name to "The DV Weekend Pickup." It just feels more natural. Anyway...

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

What I like best: This is the FIRST business book you should ever read, hands down. The fact that it was written in 1936 and still revered and purchased regularly (30 million copies sold) is amazing. Carnegie shares timeless anecdotes, examples, and techniques to simply become a better person. I always felt the title of this book should have been "How to Treat People Right" because essentially that is what this book is all about. It is recognized as the relationship bible for business and I will argue it will have equal impact on your personal life. "It changed my life," says Warren Buffet. He is just one of thousands of famously successful people throughout the years who have touted this book for it's ability to have lasting IMPACT. In 2011 it was listed by Time Magazine as #19 most influential book of all time! Pick it up, highlight, take notes, and learn from a literary legend.

Best Quote: "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years trying to get other people interested in you."

*Note - This book is PACKED with excellent quotes and one-liners.

DV

groundupSALES Quote #5

This is one of my BIG 3 absolute musts if you want to be successful in business and sales. It is essential! If you want to experience growth, change, or success you CANNOT live in your comfort zone. Timothy Ferriss says it best, "a person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have." He nails it. We MUST get use to being uncomfortable, daily!

DV

An Amazing Display of High Quality Consistency

In case you're living under a rock Game of Thrones season 6 premiered this week. The wildly popular, for good reason, TV show kicked off in true Thrones fashion by killing off characters, introducing new ones, and keeping everyone on their toes - again! I say "again" with purpose because of how incredibly consistent the writing (and acting) has been throughout each season. Typically my biggest knock on any of these super TV series are that the writing falls off after season 1 or 2 albeit most times slowly but surely. A 6 season TV series means close to 60 hours of material vs say one movie which is only 2 hours of material. It is just incredibly hard to churn out hours of HIGH QUALITY material with tight plots. Thrones does it - consistently!

As always it makes me consider and correlate this on a personal level. We all write and tell our own life story on a daily basis. What IS our story? Are we consistent with our thoughts, actions, and words? Are they all in harmony? How consistent are we at telling that story? Have we lost the audience?

DV

First Commit THEN Figure It Out

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite musicians Langhorne Slim at the City Winery in NYC (great venue by the way.) I will keep this post brief because my adoration for Langhorne could keep me writing for hours. Beside the fact that I think he's simply that good, he's also a badass who wears really coot hats, what's not to love.

However what I love most about him is his ability to 100% commit to EVERY moment then figure it out. He doesn't worry about anything except just going for it on every song. He is the epitome of PASSION. Some say committing THEN figuring it out is ludicrous, I say it's a must. If you want to connect - personally or professionally - with people then get your hands dirty, get vulnerable, and just go for it.

DV

Note - In the video below he is playing for a crowd of maybe 70 as if they were a crowd of 10,000. Check it out. Great song as well.

groundupSALES quote #4

Quite possibly the best piece of advice I've ever heard or could ever give in regards to building strong relationships whether it be business, friendships, or romantic. Without a doubt this is a constant battle BUT being vulnerable is the heart of healthy relationships - you need it to exist. It is only viewed as a weakness to those who merely see it for it's literal meaning.

Vulnerability is not what you think it is, vulnerability is much more. Vulnerability is vital.

DV

PS - For more on vulnerability check out Brene Brown's TED Talk. It's one of the most watched TED talks of all time. A true testament to the power of vulnerability.

I Could Have Done The Same Thing

For the majority of my 20's I noticed the words "I could have done the same thing" were constantly reoccurring in my subconscious. Sometimes backed with "If I only did this", "if I spent as much time on that", or "he/she is not that good anyway." What I was neglecting to realize - intentionally or unintentionally - was that I had been watching the world unfold in front of me instead of creating the world in front of me. If you can do it, do it. If you don't want to do it then why even say/think it. Shame on me. 

"I could have done the same thing" are the worst words we can ever tell ourselves ONLY to be trumped by the reasons/excuses we use to back this type of thinking. These words are cowardly NOT courageous. Admire and learn from the people/projects who have set the path for us and use the rest as motivation.

Don't watch others, act with others. Don't talk about others, talk with others. Don't dismiss others, engage with others.

DV

The Friday DV Freebie #6

Do The Work by Steven Pressfield

What I like best: Let's just start by saying the book comes highly recommended by Marie Forleo, the forward is done by Seth Godin, and it has one of the coolest covers ever - Vincent Van Gogh, Man with Hoe. So before I even opened the book I KNEW it was going to be a worthwhile read!

It is a fun yet challenging read for a shorter book (90 pages.) It deals heavily with the intriguing topic of resistance. "On the field of self stand a knight and a dragon. You are a knight. Resistance is the dragon," declares Pressfield. As he labels resistance enemy #1!  He also implies a basic rule of thumb, "the more important a call of action is to our soul's evolution, the more resistance we will feel." Telling us to consider the champions on our side - stupidity, stubbornness, blind faith, passion, and assistance when combating resistance! If you like challenging your mind, digging deeper with simple concepts, and indulging in light humor then this book is for you.

Best Quote: "The problem with friends and family is that they know us as we are. They are invested in maintaining us as we are. The last thing we want is to remain as we are."

DV

The Magic Pill...Consume It Daily For Success!

The ability to remain optimistic and positive daily cannot be underestimated on your journey to success. In the meme below the eccentric and excessive yet extremely admirable motivational speaker, author, and real estate mogul Grant Cardone depicts the ONLY way possible to lead a successful life. I will contend this is the easiest way to remain positive daily. I advocate this concept unequivocally and groundupSALES audio principle #7 will absolutely be a testament!

Positivity is the magic pill. Best consumed daily.

DV