This message is especially dedicated to the great Antonio Moriello.

Do you think outside the box?
Do you try to find creative ways to get things done?

Or are you on autopilot?
And just follow the flock?

“Just as the oak tree develops from the germ that lies in the acorn, and the bird develops from the germ that lies asleep in the egg, so will your material achievements grow out of the organized plans that you create in your imagination. First comes the thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

If you can’t find a solution, it’s because you’re playing by the rules.

Thanks for reading.

This message is especially dedicated to the amazing Barbara Hillary (Left), who at age 75 was the only African-American woman to cross the North Pole. Oh, and it was right after she beat lung cancer.

I met Barbara yesterday, and even if I didn’t know about her amazing feat, I could tell by her energy and passion that she had a winner’s mindset. Every one of YOU has a winning mindset inside of you…don’t wait until you have energy and passion to so something, you can start today! It’s not about comparing yourself to Barbara Hillary, it’s about comparing yourself to your old self. Strive for constant improvement.

Barbara Hillary needed extraordinary concentration skiing across the North Pole. YOU need to have extraordinary concentration in whatever you do, whether it’s playing tennis, in the classroom, at your job, cooking, speaking to someone, etc. The following questions will test your focus…

1. One child playing on a beach has 4 1/2 sand piles. Another child has 2 1/4 sand piles. They decide to put all the sand piles together. How many sand piles do they have?

2. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many were left?

3. A clerk in a butcher shop is 5′ 10″ tall. What does he weigh?

4. I have in my hand two U.S. coins that total 30 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the two coins?

5. How many three-cent stamps in a dozen?

6. A doctor is about to operate on a little boy. “This boy is my son,” exclaims the doctor. The doctor is correct, yet the doctor is not the boy’s father. What’s going on?

7. Do they have July 4th in England?

8. How many mistakes can you find with the following sentence?

Their are five mistaiks in this sentence.

9. Two men play five games of checkers, and each wins the same number of games. There are no draws. How can this be?

10. Divide 30 by half and add 10. What is the answer?

ANSWERS:

1. 1

2. 9

3. Meat

4. One quarter and one nickel. One of them isn’t a nickel, but the OTHER is.

5. Twelve

6. The doctor is the boy’s mother.

7. Yes, they just don’t celebrate it.

8. Three

9. They were playing different people.

10. 70 (divide it by half, not 2)

“To do two things at once is to do neither.” – Publilius Syrus

“One thought driven home is better than three left on base.” – James Liter

Thank you, Barbara Hillary, for being an inspiration to all.

Thanks for reading.

This message is especially dedicated to Angela Goodenough, Ph.D.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GREATEST ASSET IS?

IT’S YOUR VISION OF WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND WHO YOU WANT TO BE.

The great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you could wind up someplace else.”

All of your efforts are wasted if you don’t know where you want to go and who you want to be. Not only should you have a vision of what you want, but you need to do a little bit every day to ensure that you get there. Don’t worry about HOW you’re going to get there, just focus where you want to get to and organize your activities around that. Visualize that it has already happened and it will start coming to you. It may even work out better than you expected.

“Success on the outside will come AFTER you attain success on the INSIDE.”

Most of us just go through the motions and HOPE that good things come to us. If you’re waiting for someone to ring your doorbell and present you the success prize or happiness trophy, keep waiting…

When setting goals, it’s important to set performance goals versus outcome goals. If you focus on winning, it will be tough to actually win; but if you focus on your strategy and goals during your performance, you will increase your chances of winning. You will also be less nervous.

“Without a goal, it’s difficult to score.”

The only thing that we really have control over is our mind. All success begins in the mind.

“You will never be able to hit a target that you cannot see.”

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
– Pantajali

Thanks for reading.

This message is especially dedicated to all the Sopranos fans out there.

Do you remember the guy in the Member’s Only Jacket in the final episode? That was Paolo Colandrea. Paolo Colandrea is the owner of Paul’s Penndel Pizza in Pennsylvania. I love the Sopranos, but I have to admit, I’m still playing catch up. I never watched it on TV, just the DVDs. I have seen seasons 1-3 and loved them, but just haven’t gotten around to watching the others, so I don’t know what happened in the final season.

I recently became friends with Paolo through his cousin Ciro Moriello (above with Paolo), owner of Amalfi’s Restaurant in Lawrenceville, NJ. I thought that Paolo was just a good guy from Naples with a thick Italian accent. Then someone told me he was on the Sopranos. I thought that was pretty cool. THEN, I found out that he might have been the guy that killed Tony Soprano.

I was like, “Whaaat?” Supposedly, they filmed several endings to ensure secrecy. They also have extra footage that nobody has seen. I haven’t spoken to Paolo about it yet, but I will be interviewing him sometime this week and will post it on my blog and youtube. Some say that Paolo came out of the bathroom and shot Tony, that’s why the screen went black. There is speculation that there will be a Sopranos movie and it will begin with Tony getting shot. I guess we will see.

In the meantime, Paolo is working on his autobiography and also on an Italian Cookbook with his cousin Ciro and myself. It will include a cooking DVD. I was at Paolo’s restaurant the other day and he made me an amazing Linguine with Clam Sauce meal in 15 minutes. Simple ingredients, inexpensive, quick and delicious. The focus of the book and DVD will be good healthy Italian food that is inexpensive and quick to make. More to come.

The lesson I learned from Paolo is that he is just a regular guy from Italy that came over with just $70 in his pocket. He has had his share of ups and downs, but appreciates life on a daily basis. He certainly has not let fame get to his head. Paolo is an amazing chef and believes that ANYONE can be a great cook, as long as they learn the skills.

Anyone can become a great tennis player if they get the right instruction.

Anyone can become a great businessman/woman if they learn the skills.

Anyone can become a great student if they learn the skills.

YOU can become anything you want…

Thanks for reading.

Watch the final scene of the Sopranos below.

PS Checkout this link: http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2007/11/28/princeton_business_journal/business_news/doc474c671229c47217064702.txt