Just finished watching “Up In The Air” and I can’t stop laughing. Many had said they thought of me when they watched the movie, but I never took it seriously.

Today, ironically, I’m “In The Air” going to Los Angeles to attend a Pre-Oscars party (sorry, had to throw that brag in there, I’m pumped!) - anyways, the movie on the plane was “Up In The Air.”

…Finally! I get a chance to watch…

Other than the job where he fires people and his weird view of life and relationships, I really related to the movie.

-> I thought *I* was the only one that is aggressively trying to get to 1 Million miles. I literally HATE spending my miles because I want to one day see 1 Million total miles. Well, HE (George Clooney) is trying to get to 10 Million!

By the way, yes, I’m getting very close. I will hit 1 Million miles in 2010 (I’ll have done it in just a bit over 1 year)!

-> He has all these “systems” for going through security (and other) lines…SO DO I!  I literally sit back and observe lines to pick which one I want to go into based on what kinds of people are in the line (there is a process).

-> He has a “Access All” card - one of the proudest days of my life was when US Airways sent me their “Chairman Level Card” - this is the highest public level they offer. Gives me major access…

I almost always get upgrades, no lines, lounge access, private concierges, car service, etc… - makes me feel all warm and tingly.

-> He gets EXCITED about the stupidest things (like miles) or access levels and the “feeling” of exclusivity…

…there was more too but I don’t want you thinking I’m TOO vain!

Anyways, random post…I know.

I love being “In The Air” - sometimes I burn out, but I take a month or two off and I CRAVE it again. But, I’ll admit…I crave it less and less lately.

However, 2009 was a great experience.

In case you’re wondering…

I spent 17 days in the air last year (408 hours), 219 days in hotels   I didn’t hit HIS record, but I got da** close!

Flying around the world has been fun and I’m very thankful for it. “Up In The Air” was overall not a great movie, but I related to it…haha.

Till next time - keep fighting - go grab your dreams by the neck and make ‘em happen!

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This past weekend was my 26th Birthday. In the past I always plan huge parties; restaurants, hotels, VIP at the top clubs, etc…

However, this year…things changed.

Not sure if I was just lazy, emotionally exhausted, tired of planning all the time at work…but I REFUSED to plan anything. My friends asked over and over what I was planning and I had no idea until 4PM on Friday.

My plan?

I decided on the CITY to go to and told everyone to just meet there after 10 PM. “We’ll figure out where to go once we get there…let’s WING IT!”

What Happened?

Actually, Friday night was not that great. Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with my friends, but nothing “eventful” happened. Most of the time when I “wing it” - I’ve had an amazing time.

Either way, I didn’t give up on the idea…

Saturday night - I wung it again. This time, instead of having my usual 40+ people for my birthday, I had 4.

The Result?

I think I had the best time of my life!  It was awesome. We had no idea where we were going till 9PM that night. We never even ended up at the original bar we intended to.

The night ended with me up-rooting many bushes from the ground, placing them on a friend’s car (honest mistake) and much more!

Why Am I Telling You This?

Because you need to do it. It’s refreshing.

You spend all your life “planning” things. Do this. One night, one day, one weekend - any time…just leave the house with absolutely NO PLAN.

See where you end up.

It will revive you like nothing else. Do it, I dare you.

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This must have been the funniest thing I’ve seen this year - I’m not kidding.

I was at the airport yesterday waiting for a friend to arrive from India. It was like being at a zoo. There must have been 15 international flights coming in. What made this entertaining was that there was a big mix of cultures.

With the mixture came many *interesting* “meeting rituals.” I saw everything, songs being sung, balloons, signs, screaming, stomping, yelling, shouting, crying, hugging - you name it…

But, nothing took the prize like this one…

A Guy and a Girl Emerge…

Probably mid 20s…European. They come around the corner form Customs with their 1,345 pound bags and BAM - their “peeps” saw them and started shouting bloody mary.

The minute the guy and girl were in reach, the “welcoming” friends BURST out of their line and ran towards them.

What am I expecting?

A jump into their arms…a hug…maybe even the “European” double cheek kisses…but oh no…

The welcoming guy (probably mid 20s as well) runs up to the visiting guy - winds back and *SMACK* - he slaps him fair and square right across the face.

The smackEE simply laughs, hugs and they start jumping up and down spinning in circles.

If A Guy Ever Slaps ME…

…he’s getting punched in the face

EVERYONE that was there waiting burst out laughing. Listen, when I say SLAP - I mean SLAP. He made a jealous 17 year old teenage girl look like chop sticks.

This just goes to show…we all have our own rituals with our friends.

This one…well, I will remember it for a long time. I had not laughed so hard in months.

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Yahoo! recently published a Forbes article that’s a lot of fun. Find out if you have what it takes to become a BILLIONAIRE…

Click here to read the entire article, but here’s the summary…

The article evaluates 657 self-made billionaires to find COMMON traits in all of them and they found some “funky” commonalities.

I compare myself to their findings, let’s see what my chances are…

1. Billionaires had parents that were good at math…

==> My dad rocks at math! (checkmark)

2. More were born in the FALL than any other season…

==> DOH! I was born in June…

3. More than 20% didn’t do college…

==> I SWITCHED degrees and didn’t pay attention in college…does that count? (half-checkmark?)

4. 11 started working at Goldman Sachs

==> Screw that, I was making more money by end of college than any job. So, I would never have taken a job anywhere!

5. Many had major early failures…

==> My first venture online miserably failed!  (Checkmark!)

6. Many were members of the secret society - Skull and Bones

==> Still waiting for my invite : /

So…if these 6 points were the only thing that determines whether I’m going to be a Billionaire, I have a 42% chance of being a Billionaire in my life…

Gotta get back to work!

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Here’s the back-story, sorry to make everyone wait so long to hear about this - but the last few days have been nuts.

So, I went into the event expecting to speak on Saturday but found out that I was speaking on Friday. Even though I needed to still make my entire presentation, I was OK with this - that is until I saw the speaker line-up…

Jay Abraham (Marketing Legend)
Eben Pagan (GetAltitude.com)
Jim Collins (Wrote Good To Great)
Brad Smart  (Wrote Top Grading)
Gary Vaynerchuk (TV.WineLibrary.com - a recent SENSATION)
Chet Holmes (Tony’s Partner)

…even other AMAZING speakers…

Basically this event had some of the world’s most RENOWN business specialists and all amazing speakers. When I say amazing speakers, I mean speakers who have been doing it for years - full of energy and absolutely mesmerizing to watch.

The first day I got there, I stepped in to list to Eben and Gary and was blown away.

I will admit - I got freaking NERVOUS.

Now, I’m not scared of speaking - have done it many times. I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that this was the largest group (500+) I had ever spoken to. However, the caliber of speakers I had to live up to was beyond my wildest imagination.

The honor and prestige that I had been rewarded by being able to speak at this event finally hit me and I came close to *bugging out*.

Thank you to my amazing friends and my team who all encouraged me and really rooted me on!

Long story short, I got prepped and was supposed to speak at 1:30 PM Friday…

Well…from 1:30 it went to 3:00, then it got pushed to 4:00, then it got pushed to 7:00 and eventually it landed at 8:00 PM!

So What?  Why Did Speaking So Late Worry Me?

Well, a few reasons:

1. I have a speaking ritual where I do not eat anything before I speak - the entire day. So, going until 8 PM ET, I was starving and low on energy!

2. I was mentally prepared to speak by 1:00 PM and dragging that to 8:00 PM was very psychologically tyring.

3. The last speaker of the day is VERY key. You have to make sure the audience leaves incredibly motivated and excited.

4. The crowd had been in there since 8 AM and was TIRED. I’d have to do some magic to really energize them.

Having said that, I was up for the challenge - I just had to “bring it.” I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I’d do SOMETHING…

The Most Amazing Crowd I’ve Ever Seen

I’ve spoken at MANY events and have never seen a crowd like this in my life.

Firstly, there were a good 500+ people in the room, all who paid a VERY good price to be there.

Secondly, I have never seen the kind of energy they had. They were jumping up and down and just incredibly motivated, hungry and excited.

Thirdly, they made their speakers feel like rockstars - literally…

So, thanks to the crowd - my job was MUCH easier.

The Time To Speak Came…

And, so the time came…the host announced me and the crowd stood up and began to go nuts. Remember, 80% of this crowd doesn’t even know who I am, but they were just as excited anyways!

I ran up on stage and the adrenaline and the incredibly welcoming just TOOK ME OVER.

I brought my A game…

Something happened - I just snapped into it and I ROCKED THE HOUSE.

I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I had my best performance ever.

1. I was funny
2. I was ENERGETIC

3. I had the crowd 100% tuned in.
4. I delivered amazing content they had never seen before.
5. I pumped them up and entertained them…

They actually gave me an ENCORE - asking me to stay on longer and keep speaking at the end (I was brought on the next day to participate in a panel as well).

My First Standing Ovation Ever!

Boy did it FEEL GOOD. This was my first time in my life that I saw 500 people jump to their feet and cheer me as I came off the stage.

They were stepping into the isle and high-fiving me and just going nuts.

After the event finished that day, I had to actually FIGHT my way out of the room. I was mobbed with people thanking me, appreciating me, congratulating me and asking question after question!

As the event continued, I must have had at least 200 people individually approach me to thank me and say what an amazing job I did.

A few even compared me to Gary (who was by far the best speaker in my opinion). That was a true honor for me!

The Buzz Got To Tony…

All in all, the buzz spread. The entire staff and people from Tony’s company were very happy with me and the exact words used were:

“This is just the beginning my friend…”

So, I’m happy to report that this event could not have gone ANY better than it did. I’m incredibly excited and cannot wait to see where it leads to from now.

Thank you for your support - you all rock!

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I’m proud, excited and overjoyed to announce that I just recently got an invite to speak at a Tony Robbins event! He’s throwing a business development and personal growth LIVE seminar in Vegas with Chet Holmes and I was invited to potentially speak at the event.

After the review process I was just recently approved and confirmed as a speaker!

This marks a pretty big day in my personal business growth. Tony Robbins is the KING of personal development and business strategy. Speaking at his event will open a brand new (and very large) network to myself and my company.

It also marks a great personal achievement for me.

If you want to come see me speak, you can register here - CLICK HERE…

I’ll give everyone an update after this, I speak any time between April 1 and 5. I’m stocked!

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Just a funny story of a lesson I learned yesterday:

Never judge a book by it’s cover…

As you know, I’m in Goa for some R&R (unfortunately, very short trip, I leave today). Well, I decided to take some time off today and go to the SPA at the hotel I’m staying at.

I’m not adapting well to my bed in Mumbai and have been having BAD neck/head pains (I think from the pillow). I was having horrible migraines yesterday.

I went in for a 90 minute “warrior massage” - equivalent to a “deep tissue massage” in the U.S. I really wanted to work out all the kinks and sore muscles, the recent product launch combined with all the flying around, combined with my unruly pillow were raking havok on me.

I scheduled the massage and walked in…they did the usual - go to steam room, shower, blah blah blah…

Then I was placed in the waiting room to wait for my therapist.

Here opens the door and walks in…

…A BARELY 5 foot woman, VERY scrony.

I’m not one to throw a fit or start asking for another therapist so I just mumbled under my breath in disappointment and thought “what the heck can SHE do?”

I was carted away to a pavilion overlooking the beach (awesome way to get a massage by the way with the ocean winds and sunset ambiance). 

The massage starts…

So, she gets started and is just lightly tapping around, further confirming my hypothesis that “I’m screwed and just wasted money…”

All of a sudden, god knows what happens, maybe she took some instant steroids or ate some spinach, but BAM!

BAM…BAM…BAM!

I WANTED TO CRY - but what kind of a man would I be?

This “small woman” was TEARING me up! She went to town. She was attacking with palms, elbows, knuckles, you name it - it HURT.

Then she calmly asks “is the pressure ok?”

…Desperately wanting to say “please lighten up…” my masculinity didn’t let me. I just bit my tongue and said “y…e…s… it.s….f…i…ne”

90 minutes of abuse. Don’t get me wrong, it felt GREAT - it was just what I needed, but wow, who knew deep tissue massages hurt so much?

Anyways, if I was staying longer, I’d definitely go back to her again. My entire body is bruised and hurting (which is ironically a good thing).

So…there you have it - DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER or you’ll get physically hurt too.

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Sometimes it’s important to do things just for the sake of doing them, even if they make no sense to others - who cares?

Just 3 days back I randomly decided that I wanted some quiet R&R time and I wanted to “get away.” So, I combined two things…

1. I have always wanted to see Goa, India…
2. I wanted to get away…

But last minute? Shouldn’t I make plans? Shouldn’t I search for the best deal?

Screw that! I made the decision and that was it - I needed some rest and time off and I could fly over to Goa in less than an hour from Mumbai…

Booking my trip was just a few clicks away on the internet. Flight, check…Hotel, check…

What else is there?

Did I get weird looks from people when I said I was doing this? Sure, I did…

Did it “entirely” make sense even to me? Not really. I mean, I’m going for 2 days, I’m DEAD tired and not in the mood to “tour” - I’ll probably just spend the entire time resting and doing some light work in my hotel room.

But, so what? Obviously I *thought* of the idea because I wanted to do it, so I just decided to do it.

Right now, I’m sitting in Goa and loving it. I haven’t seen anything other than the drive from the airport to the hotel. However…

=> My headache is gone
=> I got some great sleep already…
=> I had some excellent food…
=> I’m just relaxing watching TV, writing this blog post…

That kind of relaxation is priceless - it clears your mind, lifts your spirits and makes you more effective.

So, are you getting enough rest? Enough alone time to “re-charge”?  Are you doing enough *crazy* things without caring what others think? (not that going to Goa is crazy, but still, it makes no sense to most to do it the way I did).

I bet there is some place close to you that you can “escape” to for a day or two on a budget too…do it.

Life is good

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Ok, so I KNOW you’re reading this blog, I can see you. But, you’re not responding! I feel un-loved.

So, here’s a fun question, leave your answer in the comment below (it won’t kill you!)

What’s the longest flight you’ve ever taken?

I’m leaving for my own version of “Tour Asia” on Tuesday - getting pretty excited about it!

I start in Hong Kong (1 day), then to Malaysia, Singapore and land up in Mumbai (best city in the world).

Yes, it’s for work, but who says I’m not taking some down-time during it

Just a few days after I return to DC, I’m on my way to Los Angeles for our own conference (the one and only we have hosted this year).

Well, anyways, my flight on Tuesday from DC to first major stop in Asia is a whopping 40 hours (including layovers). What the holy begeezes.

The longest I have ever done before this is 22 hours to India.

What about you?

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