After taking a couple of days to get through mid-terms I am back with another Blog! Today’s Blog will be short and sweet. I want to touch on just one quick topic.
For some time now I have been following inspirational/motivational speakers. Some of my favorite are Eric Thomas and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The other day I came across a pretty good Arnold speech in which he talked about the 24 hours in a day that you have. Below is a picture with a summary: Read it, believe it, do it.
My official Youtube Vlog is underway! Check it out if you want a visual representation of the Blog! Also don’t be afraid to comment, like and subscribe.
Business: Wrapped up mid-terms and am half way done with my first full semester of grad school. I am also about half way done studying for the first part of my CPA exam. One other business related activity I have been doing is listening to podcasts consistently. I try to listen to one every day. Having the podcast on while driving, on the computer, or working out helps maximize my day so I don’t just sit there and listen to it.
Travel: I recently just traveled out to Connecticut to re-unite with old friends and play in a roller hockey tournament. We ended up taking 2nd place, maybe next year 1st place! Going forward my travel is very uncertain, which I hate, since I am a planner. I will be going to Chicago for a roller hockey tournament Oct. 14/15. My China trip in November is still up in the air. Otherwise, I want to make a trip out to California in early December and I will be going to Aruba at the end of December.
Fitness: Currently I have been hitting the gym about 5-6 per week. I will be doing a fitness challenge called the 10,000 calorie burn challenge. If you go look on YouTube, most people do a 10,000 calorie eating challenge. I want to do the reverse…well attempt to…well see how many calories I can physically burn in a day without going to the hospital. Other than that I having been looking for my next upcoming fitness adventure. A men’s physique competition has been on my mind lately. For those who don’t know, men’s physique is an “athletic” look and “swimsuit” look competition. Unlike bodybuilding where huge muscle are needed, physique is all about being aesthetically pleasing.
Everyday ask yourself what keeps you going? Say it, do it, never forget it.
Rise and Grind
Business: Travel: Fitness
Brett Skibba
Have any blog ideas you want me to talk about? Leave a comment!
It has been awhile! When life throws a wrench at you and you end up getting hit by it….WELL it can take some time to recover!
Welcome to another edition of the blog series! Before we dive into things I need to give the first ever Rise and Grind award to my friend Chris Turner. In either blog #6 or #7, I plan on doing an interview with Chris and sharing it. Chris recently left his job and decided to take a huge step and start his own software consulting business. Chris has always been passionate about IT, Coding, and Software and its great to see him take things into his own hands! His story is perfect for the mission of this blog.
Next, I want to start by saying keep up the hard work people! Life doesn’t hand you anything. Unless you won the powerball a couple weeks ago… then congrats! On a serious note though, life not only doesn’t hand you anything, life doesn’t really owe you anything. You make your own life and you determine what you do and the impact you have on the world.
One thing I hate is how the the human life is broken into approximately 5 stages of life.
Birth
Childhood/Teen Years (Birth-20 y/o)
Work (20 y/o – 65 y/o)
Retirement (65 y/o – ?)
Death
Now looking at this, a huge chunk of your life is devoted to work. I hear people say all the time “I can’t wait until retirement and get to do the things I have always wanted”… and I can’t stand it! First off, what if you don’t ever make it to retirement. Second, why do we as society need to wait until we are old and retired to pursue our true passions?
Long story short: You need to pursue what you want to do and do it now!
To illustrate. I have friend named Max who I was recently talking to and we had a pretty good conversation about this. I asked him what his dream job would be. He told me he wanted to be hockey company rep, which I kind of already knew just by knowing him. I know he has the drive, so I told him to keep striving to be great, keep grinding away, learn as much about hockey, hockey equipment, hockey companies etc and things will fall into place. I told him he needs to do these things now and not wait, because pretty soon the saying of “I will do it next week” turns in to “I will do it next month” which turns into ” I will do it next year”.
Take action now and you won’t regret it.
As you read in the blog title, my summer to remember has official ended. During the past 3 months I have traveled the world, met tons of amazing people, and came to know more about myself as a person. I have officially started my graduate school program through the University of Connecticut. I am also trying to start studying for my CPA exam as well as pursue fitness goals, keep in touch with friends, play hockey and cherish life.
The Usual!
Business:
I am doing a Masters of Accounting graduate program through UConn. This has taken up a significant portion of time up. I will also attempt to study for the CPA exam. My days will become inundated with studying, but I will have to adjust accordingly in order to accomplish goals outside of business and school.
Travel:
I just returned from South Africa. It was such an amazing trip and I recommend that you go to Cape Town, SA if you ever have the chance. I spent 5 days in Cape Town. I ended up doing everything from hiking, biking, wine tours, zip-lining, and playing with cheetahs. The only downside, it took me over 30 hours travel time lol. I never want to eat airplane food again! Youtube Video of my travels!
Fitness:
Finally! I think I will be able to get back into a workout routine. I plan on working out anywhere from 5-6 days a week with 1-2 active recovery days. I also plan on trying to keep up with my running. I think I have made the executive decision to switch from a marathon to a half marathon. With time winding down until winter, I don’t believe I have enough training time be prepared for a marathon.
I will also be starting a fitness YouTube Vlog channel very shortly. Here, I will post workout routines, show the foods I eat, and show what I do on a day to day basis.
Upcoming:
I have so many things I want to do that there is just not enough time in the day! Some things I want to accomplish or pursue in the future…
Learn piano and saxophone, use my drone to start a business, start a Youtube Vlog, pass the CPA exam, learn how to better edit my travel videos, solo travel, play on a travel roller hockey team, learn how break dance, read more books, continue the blog!
Thats all for now! Have a great week! Rise and Grind Everyday!
I hope everyone is having a great Monday! I am currently sitting writing this blog in the living room of the my hotel room in Pretoria, South Africa!
The summer is quickly winding down and Fall will be here before we know it. I want to re-iterate my life motto: Rise and Grind People! When life gets hard and all you want to quit, you have to push through. There is no other way. You must wake up every morning with an attitude that you will make the best of that day!
As mentioned in the first blog, I am most passionate about 3 things right now! Business, Travel, and Fitness. Below, is what I have been doing in each sector to pursue my goals!
Business:
I have accepted a job offer with EY in their assurance practice. I am extremely excited for this opportunity to work for such a big and prestigious accounting firm. Working here will not only enhance my auditing skills, but will set me up nicely in the professional world. I will be starting full-time in their Boston office come September 2018!
Travel:
The travels continue. This summer I have been a traveling guru. After I got back from Australia, I had to pack up my apartment at UConn and move out. On the drive home back to Wisconsin, I stopped at Niagara Falls. The falls is truly a site to see and is a beautiful gift that nature has given us.
After the falls, I continued my journey home by driving through Canada and eventually coming back into the states through Detroit, Michigan. Here, I spent the next 4 days playing in a national roller hockey tournament called Statewars. It was such a fun time lacing up the roller skates again and playing at a very competitive level. The competitive drive I had when I was playing college hockey re-emerged and it felt amazing!
After Detroit, I drove the last 7 hours all the way back to Madison, WI. My time at home was only short lived as I was heading to South Africa in less than 48 hours!
On Tuesday, August 8th, I embarked on the over 8,000 mile journey to South Africa. My travels started with a 14-hour flight from Chicago to Dubai, followed by a 4 hour layover, and then a short 8-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa is truly an incredible place that doesn’t get as much attention as other places that people visit. This past weekend, Dana and I did a tour of Soweto. Soweto is a township of Johannesburg, where many African Americans were relocated to during the Apartheid years. During the tour, we stopped at a Soweto slum, which was a very humbling experience as most people were living in tin shelters about the size of your average walk in closet. After the tour we went to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, where we got to learn more about the history of South Africa and the racial segregation that took place here for many years. It was fascinating to learn how inhumane it was during this era in South African history. History classes in the United States, at least from my experiences, don’t really cover the Apartheid era or any South African history for that matter.
On Sunday, we went to a Lion and Safari Park about an hour away from Pretoria. We did a 2 hour mini-safari where we got to see lions, giraffes, zebras, hyenas…etc. The safari jeep we were on was fully caged, so it was really cool being able to get right up close to the animals in the game park. After the safari, we got to play with some baby lion cubs. This was probably my favorite thing, since I am a big “cat” guy. I don’t mind dogs, but cats is where its at!
I am still in South Africa for another 10 days and will be heading to Cape Town next weekend! I will talk more about my travels in the next blog!
Fitness:
I am currently still clinging to fitness as much as possible. With all the travel I have been doing, it has been hard to stay on a consistent workout schedule. My plans for a marathon might be dwindling and I might have to switch to a half marathon. Its not that I am giving up on the marathon, its just that I haven’t had the time to put in the “miles”. With marathon training, sticking to a training schedule is key and at this stage in the game, I should be averaging probably around 25 miles a week total in running. This hasn’t been the case lol.
Once I get back from South Africa, I want to continue my running, but also get back into strength training. I feel another 3-4 stint of powerlifting building up in me!
Remember: Fitness should enhance your quality of life, not control it!
Future Plans:
I start my graduate school studies at the end of August. I am doing a Masters of Accountancy through UConn. I will also start studying for the CPA exam at the end of August as well. As mentioned in the previous blog, I want to dive into personal training and online coaching. Fitness has always been a passion of mine and I finally want to do something with it. Right now I plan to obtain my personal training certification, as well as start a YouTube Vlog Channel, which will pretty much be the video form of this current blog!
Always remember to keep grinding away and never take anything for granted! It’s your life and “YOLO” (you only live once) so make the best of it and pursue your dreams.
Its been a long time since I posted! A lot has happened since my last post, so read on to learn more.
First off, I hope everyone has continued to follow your dreams and do things that you’re passionate about! Never be willing to give in and take the easy way out. Keep the Rise and Grind mentality towards what you want to do and I guarantee you will live a happy and successful life.
Business & Travel: (Australia)
My motto “Rise and Grind” was in full display while in Australia. Working everyday from about 8:30am-6:00pm, combined with exploring the Melbourne and the rest of Australia at night or on the weekends.
I was in Australia for 4 weeks interning with Ernst and Young, in their Melbourne office. It has been an incredible experience and was literally one of the coolest places I have ever been to. In Melbourne, I was put into the FSO assurance practice, where I would be helping engagement teams on year end financial statements for financial service companies. I was on two different clients during my time in Australia. The first was a major stockbroking firm in Melbourne, and the second one was the Treasury for the state of Victoria, which is the state Melbourne is located in.
I went to Australia as part of the GSE (Global Student Experience) program. The program took around 75 total interns from across the world and sent them to various countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, England, and Germany. In Melbourne, there was a total of 11 of us including people from Atlanta, NYC, Dallas, and more. (Shoutout to the boyz crew Dylan, Seth and Ryan). We were set up with nice accommodations near the office and right in the heart of the city. As part of the Global Student Experience Program, I was assigned a “buddy” and his name was Stuart. I was with Stuart every single day I was in Australia and I can’t thank him enough for all his help and willingness to give me tasks and answer my constant plethora of questions I had.
Excursions in Australia
Weekend 1:
Yarra Valley Wine Tour: My first wine tour. I don’t like particularly like wine and this tour didn’t change that lol. However, the vineyards we went to and the mountain scenery were breathtaking.
Great Ocean Road Tour: This tour is probably the second-best thing I did while in Australia. A full day car tour with multiple stops at various lookouts and beaches on Australia’s coast. Before coming to Australia, I had no idea how beautiful the country actually was. Australia truly has it all… from beaches to rainforests, to desert.
Weekend 2:
AFL Footy Game: AFL to Australians is like NFL to Americans. AFL especially in Melbourne, is the talk of the town. AFL or “footy” is a cross between soccer and football. There is a total of like 36 guys on the field at one time and the field is oval shaped and about the size of three football fields put together. Its difficult to explain, I would suggest watching a YouTube video or googling it instead of listening to me try and explain it.
Weekend 3:
Great Barrier Reef: The number one thing I did/saw in Australia. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. The squad and I did a day trip out to the Agincourt Ribbon reef, stopping at 3 different locations. I ended up snorkeling and had such a great time. The reef is truly breathtaking and beautiful. Seeing if firsthand it is really like what you see in pictures and in the movies.
Random Australian tid-bits I took away:
Aussie Slang: Using Aussie slang become a way of life for us. Not only embracing it but literally saying “cheers” 100 times a day for no reason became the norm in the group of interns. Here are some key slang terms that you need to pick up on: cheers, mate, keen, reckon, avo, to easy, no worries, zed, brekky, Brizzy, Melbs.
Food: Meat pies. Kangaroo. There wasn’t really one particular dish that you could consider Australian. In Melbourne there was all types of really good food to eat. A big one was Chinese food as Australia is pretty close to Asia.
Social Life: Australians value social life way more than in the United States. The people were very friendly and value relationships and getting to know one another on a personal level.
Work: Worked everyday from about 830-530. Coffee breaks, good atmosphere. Less hierarchical. Work-life balance is actually a thing in Australia and not just a buzz word that floats around every U.S job. Very friendly and value relationships.
Random: Australians don’t really like Americans a whole lot. They think we are stuck up and cocky. You can’t blame them. After a few interactions with someone though, they tend to lighten up. Also, Shrimp on Barbie isn’t a really thing. They don’t say Shrimp on Barbie and they call the shrimp “prawns”. Lastly, OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE is not Aussie lol. They hate that this restaurant tries to perpetrate them.
Fitness:
Currently still holding on for dear life trying to train for a marathon. I could probably squeak by doing a half marathon right now. I am also still trying to maintain as much muscle mass and strength as I can. When you do excessive cardio like running, you tend to lose muscle since your body is using so much energy. Also, having tons of muscle on your body and running long distances isn’t exactly ideal. However, I am determined to become a “hybrid athlete”, meaning I can run long distance and still be beast in the gym.
BIG Plans for the Future:
I have some big stuff coming up. I went down to Disney in Orlando for a couple days after Australia for the international intern leadership conference. I will talk more about this in my next blog post.
I head to Detroit from Aug 3-6 for State-wars, which is a nationwide roller hockey trounament. I am really looking forward to this as I love roller hockey and haven’t played in this tournament since I was like 13 years old.
I head to South Africa on Aug 8 to visit my girlfriend Dana, who just started working their as part of her graduate school public health studies.
FINALLY, I will be starting a separate YouTube channel at the end of August, where I will be vloging my life and documenting my graduate studies, CPA exam progress, and work out life. This will also be a platform for me to launch into setting aside time to start doing online coaching and obtaining my personal training certification!
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.
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 Skibba Business: Travel: Fitness 