Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
1 Knocking Down Walls 1
That's For Other People 3
You Don't Drown From Falling In Water, You Drown From Staying There 4
Knock 'EM Down 6
2 Power of the Password 9
Not Tonight 10
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish … 11
Building the World's Most Exclusive VIP List Without Even Knowing It 13
A Password For Every Door 14
3 Something For Everyone 17
Any Way You Want It 18
It's Not Going to Happen If It Benefits Only You 21
Show Them That You're Different From Every Other Person 23
Life Is a Box of Chocolates, After All 24
4 Be the Real Deal 27
Guarantee You're the Real Deal 28
The Experience Beats the Cash, Every Time 30
Always Sweat the Small Stuff 31
Ask Why Three Times 32
5 No Passion, No Point! 35
What Makes the Lights Turn On? 36
The World is Ending 38
Listen For It 39
Question Everything 43
Questioning Does Not Equal Doubting 45
Passion is a Language 46
6 Failure is Just More Discovery 49
It's Not About Your IQ, It's About Your / CAN 51
The Restaurateur Who Can't Cook 52
Failure is Paying For an Education 55
There Are No Obstacles, None At All 56
Seventh-Inning Stretch: Relax, You're in Good Company 59
A Short List of People Who Didn't Give Up 61
8 Be Afraid of Standing Still 65
Alter the Point of Fear 66
The Things That Happen to You Are Not Your Obituary 67
Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable 68
9 Ugly Works 71
Perfectly Imperfect 73
Skymall, Selfies, and Bar Tabs 75
A Handwritten Letter Beats an Email Every Time 76
Bluefishers Know How to Adapt Quickly 79
10 Personal Branding is Personal (Imagine That) 83
I Learned How to Be Me the Hard Way 84
The Worst Picture of Me Ever Taken 86
Redefining Wealth 88
How Do You Personally Brand? 89
The Chug Test 92
Don't Waste Your Time Counting Likes 94
11 The Power to Say No 99
Say No to Vampires 100
Don't Let Anybody Waste a Minute of Your Life 103
Audit Your Inner Circle 104
12 The Art of Delegation 109
Learn to Lead the Orchestra 110
You Can Only Grow By Giving Other People Responsibility 113
Give People Enough Rope to Climb Or Hang Themselves 113
Gain the Extra Time to Do What's Good 114
Efficiency Translates to Time Saved 117
The Small Stuff Gnaws At the Big Picture 119
13 What Makes a Brand Great? 121
How Do You Establish a Prestige Brand? 122
Forbes and the "Cool Guy" Article 123
Focus On Your Strengths and Ignore Your Weaknesses 124
14 The Art of Speaking Human 127
What Makes Business Personal? 130
Never Mind the Strangers 131
15 Give Them a Reason to Believe 135
The ROI On You 136
If Communication ISN'T Personal, It's Not Communication 139
How Much Does It Cost to Listen? 141
16 Sponge It Up 145
Get On Your Boots and Go 147
The Twin Devils of Fear and Embarrassment 149
Soak Up Just 1 Percent More Than You Knew Yesterday 150
Putting On the Ritz 152
You DON'T Have to Own It In Order to Experience It 153
17 Live With Passion, Move With Persistence 157
There's a Thin Line Between Patience and Complacence 158
The Greatest Salesman I Ever Knew 159
18 Actually Give a Damn 165
Focus On the Relationship 167
Actually Give a Damn 168
Listen and Act 169
Someday Doesn't Mean Anything 170
Manage Expectations (So That You Can Truly Overdeliver) 171
Clear Your Head Enough to Hear It 172
19 Don't Count Your Losses 175
Stop Counting Your Losses 177
Beware the Lucky Socks 180
Row All Day Long 182
Be As Selfish As You Have to Be 182
Your Right to Recharge 184
20 The Bluefishing Playbook 187
Stack Your Deck 188
The Bluefishing Playbook 189
Appendix: Live a Little 197
Bluefish Experiences 197
Acknowledgments 203
