One Guy's Truth
After years of building, I have a boat. Not a literal boat, but a figurative one – a metaphor for my life. During my early adult years, this boat began as a wooden dingy – quick, small, fragile, and full of leaks. As I got older, the craft got faster, more agile, yet nearly rudderless […]
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The other day, I was asked the question, “when times were tough running your business, what got you through it?” While the person didn’t explicitly say this, I implied that the “it” they were referring to was; worry, doubt, anguish, fear, or any other mental demon that lurks in the darkest corners of our minds. […]
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A couple of years ago, I had a pretty nasty fall off my mountain bike. After hitting a rock, I was thrown from my bike and found myself rolling down a cliff that led to a creek some 200 feet below. Sliding for about 20 feet, I was able to grab onto some roots that […]
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By conventional standards, 2019 was an enormous failure. At the beginning of the year, I laid out all of my goals in precise detail. I had a list of 18, which you can read about here. Looking back, I only completed 4 of those goals: Establish a coaching business Achieve a certificate from Georgetown in […]
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When I was 25, I got a call from a friend who was working for a prestigious consulting firm in the DC Area called, Booz Allen Hamilton. My friend informed me they were hiring and asked if I would be interested in coming in for an interview. Needless to say, I was honored to be […]
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The first coach I ever had was my Dad. When my buddies and I turned five in 1984, someone decided that we should all play soccer. The only problem was, no one had a Father (or Mother) who knew anything about the sport. My Dad aka “Coach D,” stepped up and took the reins. After […]
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For Part I on “What To Do If You’re Fired,” click here. Part 2 addresses what to do to find your next job. For readers who currently have a gig, but are looking for something “better,” this post is for you too. Day 3 Post Firing – Your New Job Even though you just lost […]
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Recently, I had two friends who were “let go” from their jobs. Knowing something about getting fired, I thought it would be helpful to share my experience on what to do if you ever find yourself, “looking for your next opportunity.” If you are fortunate enough to be currently working “for the man”, don’t forget […]
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I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. My thinking has always been, if I need to make an important change, then I should do it today, rather than wait for an imaginary moment on the calendar. Therefore, I completely surprised myself when I spent nearly 6 hours on Wednesday planning out 2019. I […]
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Recently, I made an update to my LinkedIn page. Under the employment section, the update reads as follows: Dan D’Agostino, Principal at The Redland Companies Because of these seven words, I received a nearly overwhelming outpouring of CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW JOB emails, text messages and phone calls. All of these communications were extremely nice […]
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I haven’t written a post in a while mainly because I haven’t been feeling creative. Even now, I worry that this attempt will turn into yet another draft in my MS Word docs that never sees the publish button. Where has the creative juice gone that brought you such epics as Last Life and Marry […]
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The first self-help book I ever read was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Without overstatement, this book changed my life. At the time of my first reading, I was in my early twenties trying to determine what I wanted to get out of my existence here on this planet. I’m still wrestling […]
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In my opinion, good ideas do not just magically appear in your head. Good ideas are cultivated from the depths of our minds, the universe, or wherever the hell it is that ideas come from. 10 years ago, I was working as a Project Manager for the London 2012 Olympics. Working for the Program Controls […]
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I’m the luckiest person you’ve ever met (online). Seriously. No one has more luck than me. What gives me this confidence? Well, for starters, I’ve got a wife who’s willing to fight for my honor, supportive parents, beautiful and healthy kids, wonderful friends, solid health, a nice home and enough money to pay for things […]
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Worried some of my previous blog post titles have been a little “click bait’y”, a friend informed me it’s only click bait if the headline isn’t reflective of the actual content. Looking again at this headline, it might end up giving the wrong impression. In my experience, your employer actually does give a f*ck about […]
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Starting over is tough. In February 2009, I quit my job as a Project Manager for the London 2012 Olympics and flew home to the United States to start up my previous business (the one I was fired from last year). Leaving a great job and one of the most vibrant cities on the planet […]
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One of my favorite tasks as an Executive and Manager used to be the Thought of the Day. This was a short quote or story that I would blast out to my team in the morning. The intent was to either educate, motivate, or communicate depending on the needs and mood of the business at […]
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“It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney My previous business was a joint venture partnership. The business was an ongoing concern in the United Kingdom and I approached the founders to bring operations to the United States. One thing that initially attracted me to the company […]
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On October 18, 2016, I walked into a board room as the CEO of a multi-million dollar business with responsibility of over 200 employees. The business was my first-born, grown from an idea hatched in 2008. I walked out of that board room a business owner and CEO no longer. It was on this date […]
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Fired & Free 