24 Seconds to Fail

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! I wish you a safe Happy, Healthy and Successful New Year. My gift to you is this link and my personal football story that occurred in 1967.  Please invest 7 minutes and 50 seconds to watch this video first then read the rest of my Blog.

The title to the video is "The Greatest Comeback That Never Was". It makes you think what is going to be the outcome to this story. In 1967 I had the opportunity to try out for a sandlot football team in my hometown of Indian Orchard, MA called the Eastfield Rams. I had a burning desire to play football since I was 5 years old. At the age of 9 the opportunity arrived to play football and in 1967 I was a walk on for August try outs for the Eastfield Rams Football Team. There were only a couple of small issues. I was overweight, uncoordinated, slow runner, and could not catch a football to save my life. However, I could hit and tackle like a freight train. The month of August in 1967 was boot camp for the Eastfield Rams and it was grueling. The workouts were twice a day or known as (2-A-Days) and were very intense. Many kids that came to play and were in good shape and had ability to make the team easily but they QUIT. They were focused on the short term pain and ridicule that we faced during the harsh workouts. They lost sight of the big picture. I knew that the Head Coach highly disliked me and was very disrespectful of me. He figured I was going to quit after the first day. I defied every negative expectation he had of me and every negative outburst of me in front of my fellow players. The quality, poise, precision, attitude and level of success with any sports team starts with the Head Coach (The Leader). Some of the other players began to disrespect me along with the coach. They basically followed the leader. Through it all I had survived 30 days of August Boot Camp and it was time for what used to be called "Cut Day". This was the day that the head Coach eliminated players that he didn't want on the team. "Guess who was on the Cut List?" ME! This is where 24 seconds to fail comes in. Failure is a pure result of failing to act, failing to complete your mission, failure to stand up for yourself and to speak up for what is right at anytime without fear of reprisal. It is stepping out in faith knowing what you need to do at that moment and know it MUST be done.
If you watch the video above this team had made one of the greatest comebacks in high school history. With 24 seconds left they were celebrating, crying, wallowing in victory and just want to kick the football off let 24 seconds run off the clock and be inducted into Hero History forever. It wasn't to be! They took theirs sights off the mark and failed. They celebrated 24 seconds too soon. 
Getting back to me and August 1967 "Cut-Day". As the Head Coach read off the list of who wasn't going to be on the team ironically I was the last one called from the list. When he dropped the hammer on me said: " Slosek your off the team". My 24 second clock started ticking. In this short span of time I had to defend myself  it became one of the key moments that changed my life forever. I jump in the middle of the circle of standing players where the Head Coach was and looked him directly in the face and said: "WHY?" I haven't missed a practice, I supported the team in every way, I have improved my skills, I have learned every play, I have lost weight, I put up with your disrespectful attitude for 30 days. "I DESERVE TO BE ON THIS TEAM!!" An amazing thing happened. The assistant coaches sided with me and told the coach the exact same thing. Eventually, Coach folded and I remained on the team. This began a 10 year football career. I played 5 years with the Eastfield Rams, 4 years High School and made All-City as a Tight End and played 1 year of College before I hung up the cleats as a Wide Receiver.
In this life all of us will eventually will be faced with situations that will start our 24 second clock. When that day arrives will you be prepared to overcome any situation and win the day?
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All the best.
Sincerely,
John Jr.

John Slosek with Welterweight Boxing Champion of the World
Marlon "Magic Man" Starling his record  45-6-1-1 back in November 2014.
John is an 30 year Insurance Agency Owner in Chicopee, MA.
He will speak for groups and seminars on request. He will make himself available for speaking engagements if your speaker cancels last minute.
His forte is business development and personal growth.
He can be reached at Inspiringwealth@aol.com or by text at 413-246-5037.

Are we there yet?

Too often while we are trying to get things done we add them to a "to do” list. The problem with to-do lists for most of us is that they really represent a starting to do list, not a “get it done” list.

Here's how to transform your "to do" list into a "GET IT DONE" list.

Firstly, define two things, for you to do this you need to have a firm understanding of who the customer is, who are you doing the work for and how will they use it? Then define what DONE is. Not only what done is, but what an acceptable standard is. This may seem laborious at first, but having a clear understanding of who you're doing something for, what they think DONE is, and then what an acceptable standard is, puts so much more clarity on the task that it becomes far easier to complete fully first time.

Secondly the next thing is to put it on your to-do list. Once I put something on my to-do list, and I start doing it, I move it into processing. If I'm using paper to track my to-dos, I put a small circle next to the item which means that I'm working on it. At the end of the day, I either move it to the done column (electronic - TRELLO) or put a checkmark (paper tracking) next to it to signify that it is complete.

Lastly, whether I started the task but did not complete it, or did not start it at all  at the end of the day I only allow myself two choices:

• Finish the task, today!
• Transfer it onto tomorrow's task list, but break it down into at least three steps. This allows me to get the tasks done in their component parts. The power of this is it makes me drive towards DONE!

This is Tony Sherman, the Implementation Rabbi at Impact Teams, wishing you a productive month.

Sharks, Surf Boards and Riding Waves! Take the Risk!

Welcome Success Team Speakers and Entrepreneurs, 

When I was younger my parents would take my brother and I on vacation to York Beach, Me. There are two beaches there one is Short Sands and the other is Long Sands. Long Sands is where I learned how to surf. The waves reached 4 to 7 feet high. When your a kid waiting to catch a wave they seemed as tall as a skyscraper. I love the challenge of riding those waves. I started surfing around the age of 13, I bought my own surf board, wet suit and a huge supply of wax. By the time I was 15 years of age I became quite a surfer and started surfing with guys a bit older than me. The more experienced surfers would urge me to head out further and further into the ocean(against Mom's wishes). The curiosity and mystique of finding "The Big Wave" was what lured me out as far as 60-80 yards from shore. The older surfers were right I caught some of the biggest waves that I have ever ridden. This is when I learned that going after what you want in life comes with some RISK. In July, the waters in Maine reach their warmest of the season. This will bring in Tiger Sharks closer than ever to shore. One time I was sitting approximately 80 yards from shore with two other surfers watching the roll and cadence of the waves so I could catch the next big one.......when looking over my shoulder  .....I caught glimpse of 3 fins quickly approaching the three of us 30 to 40 yards out. There is no time for fear! I yelled: "sharks!!" dropped to the surf board and started paddling towards shore like you wouldn't believe. There was plenty of people on the shore including at least three capable Life Guards. I knew one thing was for sure, we were on our own and we didn't have a second to spare. There was no possible chance for help. I remember paddling and thinking which foot is going to get it first. Seconds seemed like minutes.Thankfully, All three of us caught waves and we surfed to shore safely. A few weeks later I had  the opportunity to see a new movie called "JAWS". That is when I hung up the surf board in the garage for good.

 "Golden Nugget #2": "What are you willing to RISK so you can achieve your life's dream? What your dream? Is it to do your first paid speech? If it is walking away from your job and opening or starting that business or career that you have wanted for years, WILL YOU DO IT? What is that VISION that keeps you up at night? WILL YOU PURSUE IT? Yes, there is RISK in everything we do. There is risk in driving our cars everyday. I have always found that you need to push the limits to achieve something special, to be different and to live different. Too many dreams and goals in get eaten by the two legged negative sharks in life. They could be your friends, family or co-workers. If personal change was easy everyone would be doing and achieving it. The near shark attack I had was a true story. There were plenty of other surfers in the water that day. They were close to shore and playing it safe. They were betting on catching the small waves and they achieved what they set out for. My advice: Go for the extra yardage of effort in your pursuit. Work harder, study harder, prospect harder, look better, sell better and always DREAM BIGGER. If you always strive to stay away from AVERAGE you will leave the AVERAGE thinkers close to shore playing in the small waves while you go out and catch the BIG ONES!

 I look forward communicating with you on the 25th next month.

John P. Slosek, Jr. 

30 years as a Sales Professional and Insurance Agency Owner. He is currently an Exclusive Agency Owner for Allstate in Chicopee, Massachusetts. (413-331-3900) johnslosekjr@allstate.com.

He is also the host of the "Insurance Coach Radio Show" which has been continuously running for 13 years. His efforts are directed to promote personal change. The show steers towards personal growth and common sense education for his listeners.His personal email:  Insurancecoach@aol.com.                                        
The show can be heard every Saturday morning at 8 am on WARE 1250 AM or
 www.realoldies1250.net. John is also a Certified Speaker in the area of Sales, Personal Growth, Marketing, Leadership Skills, and Entrepreneurship. He is available by direct contact (413) 246-5037(text). Just in case the speaker you hired cancels, he will make himself available for last minute cancellations for your company or event. John is also licensed to teach John Maxwell material and multi-level marketing concepts.