Hey everyone welcome back to the blog!

I hope your still killing it, grinding hard, and making the most of every single day!

Today, I want to talk about something that affects everyone in their everyday lives. Ever heard someone tell you to be “realistic”. Has someone ever discouraged your ambitions and dreams by telling you that your idea or hobby is not realistic?

When the Wright brothers had the idea of flying, I am sure they were told to be realistic. When Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp founded Uber, I guarantee you, people told them it wouldn’t work or taxi cabs will never be out done. Being realistic is for people that are content with simplicity and normalcy.

These are just a few examples that seemed unrealistic at the time, but ended up changing the world forever. The concept of being realistic can be put into your everyday lives as well. If you have always aspired to run a marathon, go get a pair of running shoes and start putting the work. If you have always wanted to travel, but never have the time or money, you need to start putting in overtime at work, saving up vacations days. Ever wanted to start your business, but get flustered right away because you don’t know where to start? Start on small tasks and putting in the time and effort in order to create an effective business plan.

I hate to copy NIKE, but “Just Do It”. Its a great slogan to live by. No one is going to hand you anything in life, but people will always be there telling you to get “realistic”.

Obviously being actually realistic is warranted in a lot of situations. What I am trying to say is don’t let people hold you back. The people that do try and hold you back are most likely jealous and wish they had the drive and motivation to do what you want to do.

LIFE UPDATES:

Business:

I started interning at EY two weeks ago. What a roller coaster it has been! Motivated, eager, stressed.. you name it. The very first week of work was orientation and audit training at the John Hancock building in downtown Boston. It was amazing getting to meet other interns from around the U.S.A. The second week of work, I was out at a client all week in Marlborough, MA. Very long days as the drive was 30 miles, but with Boston traffic, took me about hour and fifteen minutes each way. At the client, I worked with my engagement team on various items, mostly tasks that no one else wanted to do haha, but hey you got to start somewhere. One thing that I noticed is that everyone at EY is very intelligent and everyone is their to learn something new and get better everyday.

Travel:

This upcoming Friday on 6/23, I will be flying out to Australia to continue my internship abroad for four weeks!

I also just bought my flights to South Africa in August! Over 32 hours of travel just to get their.. ouch.

Also, just posted my Memorial Day Weekend video on YouTube! Went to beautiful Virginia Beach, Va.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrowRQoxvbw (link if doesn’t load).

Fitness:

Getting to the gym has been very challenging since starting work. After a long day of work, I now know why people hate going! I have shortened my gym time to be more efficient. Instead of spending around 2 hours at the gym, I now spend about an hour and keep everything very high paced and up-tempo with limited rest breaks.

I am still continuing my marathon training. I have been doing two short runs during the week on the treadmill and then one long run on the weekends. This past weekend I ran 7.5 miles and boy was that tough!

I hope you enjoyed the blog for today! Everyone keep up your hard work, live life to the fullest everyday and remember…RISE AND GRIND.

-Brett Skibba

Business: Travel: Fitness

Hi Everyone!

I am starting this blog in order to document and share my life and experiences. Through this blog, I want inspire others to live their life to the fullest. I personally do this through my favorite slogan “Rise and Grind”. Waking up ready to tackle every day with this attitude can truly change your outlook on life. The daily grind doesn’t stop and hard-work needs to be put in day in day out. Consistently working on your craft and your passions will make you successful in whatever you want.

What I love and how I “Rise and Grind” everyday.

Three things I am very passionate about are business/accounting, traveling, and fitness. All three of these will be showcased significantly in the next few months and I will be the busiest I have ever been.

Business

• I will be interning at Ernst and Young (EY), one of the big four accounting firms in the United States. I will be working in their assurance practice and will be located in their Boston office and have my first day of work tomorrow (6/5/2017). I am also fortunate enough to have been selected to do four weeks of my internship in Melbourne, Australia. I leave for Australia on June 23 and will be gone until July 23. (More blogs on this to come). All in all, I am looking forward to this opportunity  and am excited to put my undergrad degree to use!
• Along with EY, I also pursue my business passion in other ways. I consistently read books that relate to business. Some that I recommend are Think and Grow Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and The Art of the Deal. 
• Lastly, someday I want to create and grow my own start-up business. Being an entrepreneur has always been something that I have pursued and I am constantly  looking for that next big thing to come.

Travel

• This summer not only will I be living in Boston, but I will be traveling a lot. I love to travel all around the USA and other countries. Currently I have been to 14 countries and am looking to increase this significantly. In the next few months I will be traveling to:
  • Australia (June and July)
  • Disney World (July)
  • South Africa (August)
  • California (September)
  • Southeast Asia  (November)

Fitness

• Finally the best for last. Fitness has been a passion of mine for over 10 years now. I have always loved pushing my body to new limits and living a healthy athletic lifestyle. My current fitness challenge is to run a marathon this coming fall. I did a half marathon in the summer of 2015 and that really pushed me. However, the full marathon is a different beast and I look forward to the mental and physical challenges ahead.
• As a former division one hockey player, lifting weights has obviously played a big role in my life. I lift around four times a week in order to keep my muscle mass and have that beach bod. I did my first powerlifting meet in February 2016 and may tango with another meet after I complete my marathon training!

I look forward to sharing more with you in upcoming blogs. Keep up the hard work in whatever you do and don’t forget to tell yourself every morning…RISE AND GRIND!

-Brett

Business: Travel: Fitness