5 QUICK Interviewing Tips from the NBA Summer League
I know, I know, it’s not summer time. The fact that I recorded most of this video during the NBA Summer League is, quite frankly, irrelevant. If you are looking to improve your ability to interview well, and make a good first impression, then this video is just what you need, regardless of when I recorded it.
It doesn’t matter what you are interviewing for, could be a job, an internship, a volunteer opportunity, or even talking with an NBA scout, these five tips will help you get prepared and put your best foot forward.
The thing about first impressions is you only get one chance to make them. Make sure you’re prepared when your opportunity comes along.
Now go out and get ’em.
Cheers,
Greg
Three Points of Contact and 113 Resilience Tips for Teens
I have to admit, I have some amazing fans.
Some of you are military, some of you are health care providers, some are athletes or marathon runners, and others know me because of my experience battleing cancer.
Of all these amazing people though, one group of you is very near and dear to me. I’m talking about teens. I am extremely proud that my book Three Points of Contact is consistently at the top of the Amazon Best Sellers list for teens. Let me explain why:
You all know I’m a resiliency coach and I specialize in dealing with adversity. What qualifies me to do this you ask? Well, dealing lots of adversity, starting from when I was a teenager.
I was raised by a single mom and times were tough. In high school I was working three jobs and missed graduating by 1 point. For a time I was homeless, and I literally slept on the Air Force recruiters doorstep so that I could enlist in the military.
Like anything, practice makes perfect, and I’ve had a lot of practice with adversity. It’s through years of dealing with adversity that I developed the pillars of Optimism, Visualization and Action that have become the Three Points of Contact.
We cannot control the adversity that comes our way in life, but we can control how we deal with it. These are things I wish I knew as a teen.
Actually, there are many things I wish I had known back then. I’ve got 113 of them in my book, so I’ll be posting more of them here, with a focus on some of my favorite fans: teens.
So stay tuned for that, and until then, live everyday with enthusiasm.
Cheers,
Greg
The Power of Community College – North Lake College in Irving, Texas
As I’ve discussed before, I’m working on my second book which is about the power of community college. As part of this book I’ve been interviewing students all over the country to hear their stories, some of which I want to share with you before the book comes out.
Community college is not only a great way to get an education, but it’s often the most economic option, allowing students to get a degree with little to no debt. Whether they are pursuing an associates degree, or using community college as a jumping off point to a four-year degree program, it gives people an incredible number of options without breaking the bank.
And let me tell you, you will not find a more motivated and excited group of students. These guys are in class because they want to be, many are working while taking classes, and nearly all have a plan of what they’re working towards.
Last week at North Lake College in Irving, Texas I had the pleasure of talking to Anna and Josue, two students working on the associates degrees.
Check out the video below for the full story and like Josue told me when I was talking to him, “You gotta dream big”.
Cheers,
Greg
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins Changed my LIFE!
Back in June of 2011 I had been cancer-free for one year. Coming back from stage III throat cancer was not easy, but as I sat in the University of Kansas Cancer Center waiting for my one-year follow-up, I had this nagging question that I couldn’t shake. The questions was “is this all that is left for me?” waiting with bated breath every year for a positive follow-up, to hear that “Things are fine Greg”.
I didn’t like that idea, but I didn’t know what to do about it. That’s when I saw this TEDx video from Mel Robbins:
Something happened when I watched that video in the waiting room at the Cancer Center. Mel introduced her “5 Second Rule” and it motivated me to make a change right then and there. I applied for a job in Germany while still sitting there before my appointment. It was Wednesday, June 15th 2011 at 2:30pm in the afternoon.
I got the job, and moved to Germany for five years. To say that single decision changed the course of my life is the understatement of the century. But it didn’t stop there. I decided to run more, and now have run 11 marathons. I decided to write a book, now it’s sold over 100,000 copies and is being used in universities and cancer centers around the world.
I can’t even imagine who I’d be or where I would be if I had stuck around in Kansas City waiting for that next positive check. Waiting for life to happen.
Of course, I’m not the only one. Over 8.4 million people have watched Mel’s video and her 5 Second Rule has been helping all kinds of people take control and change their lives. It’s been so successful that she made The 5 Second Rule into a book that just came out Feb 28th.
The basic premise is this: We all have things we want to do, or know we should do, yet we don’t do them. We hesitate, we wait, and we kill our progress with doubt, excuses, worry or fear. It could be anything from getting up early and going for a run, or voicing a new idea at work.
The point is this, when you feel that hesitation, start counting down from 5 to 1. When you get to zero, you act. You act before you brain has time to doubt, to fear, worry and to kill the idea. Now you have the law of inertia on your side (an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion).
Why does this work? I certainly can’t explain it better than Mel herself:
Whenever you feel an instinct fire up to act on a goal or a commitment, or the moment you feel yourself hesitate on doing something and you know you should do, you should use the Rule.
I’m really impressed with this book because she clearly maps out how to use this tool to:
– Become confident
– Break the habit of procrastination and self-doubt
– Beat fear and uncertainty
– Stop worrying and feel happier
– Share your ideas with courage
It is IMPOSSIBLE read this book without becoming motivated to attack all those things you want to get done. If it doesn’t motivate you, you’d better check your pulse! Mel knows that there is greatness in all of us, and it’s on the other side of our excuses.
So many great success stories in this book (including one about me, Thanks Mel!), but I’ll close with two quotes from Mel that really stuck me:
“The difference between people who make their dreams come true and those of us who don’t is just one thing: the courage to start and the discipline to keep going.”
There it is. 5 Seconds. Courage. Discipline. That’s all you need to succeed. So when to start?
“There is no right time. There is only right now. You get one life. This is it.”
Now get out there and make a change. Start with this book.
Cheers,
~Greg
BARE PERFORMANCE
I’ve been pretty impressed with the Nick and Preston Bare for some time now. They are beasts in the gym, they are running an incredible successful supplement at Bare Performance Nutrition, (I love, love the blueberry Pre-Workout) they are starting Bare Performance Gym in Texas, and the both have great You Tube channels (Nick’s is here, and Preston’s is here).
One of the things that these brothers do so well is their transparency. They are one of the first and only supplements on the market to not use proprietary blends, meaning they share the exact ingredients and measurements in their products.
But beyond their supplements, their You Tube channels are open, honest, and approachable about how they work out, manage nutrition and how they run their business.
I had a chance to talk on the phone with Nick the other day. I sent a twitter message that I’d like to say hello and he called 2 minutes later! He’s a Ranger tabbed Army Infantry Officer with a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition. I really started binge watching his videos 3 months ago while he was serving/vlogging in Korea. I get so much energy watching this two young men.
They are transitioning before our eyes: Nick as a military officer and Preston moving from the corporate world to being a very successful entrepreneur! They are sharing their experiences via YouTube every other day. The videos are high quality and entertaining. With my business, writing my next book, speaking etc. I don’t have a ton of time, but I always make time to watch these two channels. Do you want a blueprint to run a business? become an entrepreneur? use social media as an effective way of marketing and you want to laugh? You must watch Nick and Preston.
Cheers and keep up the good work guys,
~Greg
Power of Time, Regret, and Gratitude
A couple of weeks ago I was at Fort Stewart, Georgia when HURRICANE MATTHEW rolled through. As you might imagine, the weather was terrible, high winds, heavy rain and flooding but we certainly didn’t get the worst of it.
In our relative safety I took a few minutes to record this video, because it’s in events like these that jostle us from the monotony and routine of everyday life, and make us think about what’s really important, where we’re going, and how we use the time we have.
Really, this is a video about time. Tomorrow is no guarantee, so how are you using your time? What are you doing with the opportunities that have within your reach? If you’re not careful those missed opportunities, and wasted time can stack up into a big pile of regret, and there is nothing worse than regret.
I also talk about gratitude, which at the end of the day is appreciating how other people spend their time, and being thankful.
As you will see, it was raining quite hard and was very windy in the video, but life is full of storms. It’s how we weather those storm that defines us.
Cheers,
Greg
This video is dedicated to all service members past, present and in the future.
Ray Lewis video to the Stanford University basketball team can be found at:
The Power of Community College with Soccer Star Oumar Ballo
I’ve been championing community college for years. Not only did I attend community college myself, but I’ve been teaching at variety of community colleges for last 20 years. In that time I’ve had over 3,000 students, and let me tell you, they come from all walks of life. With their grit and determination I’ve seen them go on to be incredibly successful.
I’m so excited about community college that it will be the subject of my second book. As part of writing that book, I’ve been interviewing people with amazing and inspiring stories whose journeys took them through community college. It’s amazing work, and conversations I truly enjoy.
In this video I speak to professional soccer player Oumar Ballo. He’s a defender for the Swope Park Rangers in the United Soccer League and on his way to playing for the Sporting Kansas City team in the MLS (Major League Soccer).
Apart from being a community college alum, he’s an incredible young man who has gone through a lot to get to where he is today. After a hard day of training, we talk about enthusiasm, vision, optimism and action. Oumar was keen to point out that bringing positive energy everyday is one of his keys to success.
Check out the video below for more, and stay tuned for the next interview coming soon!
Cheers,
Greg
Thank Yourself– Videos 1 & 2
For those of you who have been following me for a little while know that I’m all about giving thanks. I’ve written about it here on my blog before when I talked about writing thank you cards. Incredible things happen when you say “thank you” to others and I’m living proof of that.
In these videos below, I wanted to talk about a different kind of thanks, and that’s the kind of “thank you” you give to yourself. It’s something we sometimes forget to do, but it’s no less important than thanking others. So check out the videos to hear about how some incredibly successful people do this.
As always, thanks for stopping by. If you’ve got a trick that helps you to thank yourself, I’d love it hear it! Share in the comments below.
If you haven’t gotten your courtesy look at my book Three Points of Contact, sign up to my mailing list on the top right of this page, and I’ll send you the link.
Contact me anytime at [email protected] or on my contact page for a free 15-minute consultation.
Till next time,
Cheers,
~Greg
Introducing The 4th Point of Contact with MMA star Sascha Sharma
This is a new series that I’m working on called The 4th Point of Contact.
As most of you know, my recent book is called The Three Points of Contact which refers to a three point stance, a position that give you maximum stability, balance and the ability to move in any direction. Imagine a football game, when a defensive linebacker is ready to move the moment before the ball is snapped.
So what is The 4th Point of Contact? Well, imagine now that same defensive linebacker the moment after he has sacked the quarterback. He’s got all four points on the ground, two hands and two knees. The 4th point of contact means truly being in control and having the upper hand.
In this series I’ll be talking to professionals from all fields, people who have mastered their craft and are truly in control of what they do. These are people who have not only used the themes from my book but taken them to the next level.
I’m honored and humbled to have Sascha Sharma as my first professional athlete on this segment. He is an amazing young man who overcame Gullian-Barre Syndrome as a teen to become one of the fastest rising MMA stars in Europe and around the world. He’s a native of Stuttgart, Germany, my home for the last 4 years, and was recently on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF 22).
Check out the video below, and be sure to tune in to Sasha’s next fight in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 9th. More info on that here.
Cheers,
~Greg
Notes:
In this segment of The 4th Point of Contact, Sascha and I discuss the following topics, many of them from my book, Three Point of Contact ~
Self-Talk: 2:20
Thanks/Karma: 3:40
Sascha shares story from his father: 4:40
Stillness: 5:40
Healthcare: 7:14
Guillain-Barre Syndrome: 8:40
Enthusiasm: 10:00
Enthusiasm Killers: 12:05
Sascha fighting at India MMA:
https://youtu.be/XHYtP-jAQJs
Greg Cheek Speaks 005 ~ Kimchi, Nori and Drawing #002
People are always asking what I do to control my weight, my cholesterol, blood pressure, stress. Running is great, and fitness certainly helps but in this episode I share a little secret about the amazing foods that help me stay in great health.
I also announce the winner for my Give Away Day, as well as a few other people who have been going above and beyond in their sharing of my videos.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
~Greg
Notes:
Healthy eating with Kimchi and Nori. Also mentioned the victory by Amy Hastings(Cragg) at the 2016 US Marathoning Olympic Trials.
Recorded live in Stuttgart, Germany.
Drawing #002 and the winners are:
German Hearts from Fasching made of Gingerbread: Deena R.
Signed book and journal: Betty L and Susan S
Book referred:
Three Points of Contact
My favorite Kimchi Dish: Kimchi Fried Rice
https://youtu.be/Lf44Fk7H24s
kimbap: 김밥 (Korean Sushi – Amazing)
https://youtu.be/Y-Y9CXGRJPU
Seattle Korean Favorites
Asian Market and outside the gate of McChord AFB – Amazing and Diner in the back.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/asian-market…
Pal-Do Market
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pal-do-world…
https://www.yelp.com/biz/h-mart-lakew…
Upcoming:
– The Relentless Piggy Bank. A great way to add resilience and fun to dealing with a difficult person or situation. This activity can be found on page 19, chapter 1, Three Points of Contact.
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