I Got Fired Today For Being Insecure

I’ve had my share of insecurity throughout life, I deal with the ones I do find as I go. I also suspect that I will continue to uncover new ones as I mature and experience new things. Insecurity is what will allow me to grow. For me, insecurities equal to fear - I like to face fear square in the face because I learn from my experiences and grow from them.

EVERYONE has insecurities about something or another, if anyone tells you otherwise they’re lying. What I find fascinating is how everyone deals with his or her insecurity. Some will openly communicate it, while a large majority will keep it quiet.

Often people believe that I am very confident and secure with myself. For the most part I am but I still have insecurities about certain aspects of my life. For example: I know my writing skills are less than average. Sometimes I don’t finish my thoughts and I ought to consider hiring a grammar tutor. And yet, I still blog and write articles and share it across the Internet for everyone to read. Do you think I doubt myself and feel insecure when I’m just about to publish something? I totally do, I get doubtful and think, "What if I didn't articulate my thoughts properly?" I even fear that someone will judge my writing skills or poo-poo my thoughts and will let me know, and they have. But I always go back to why I started this blog, and one of the reasons I write is to improve my writing skills, and to develop ideas and tools - a vehicle to dump my thoughts. So why would I allow another’s judgment to interfere with my growth?

A lot of people are afraid of being judged - what another person will say about you, but fear is natural. Fear is a survival instinct coded in your physiological makeup – it’s part of you. Fear is also the barrier between you and success. Unfortunately, you must be judged in order for you to learn what you need so you can overcome the barrier and become successful.

Confidence is what allows you to be open to judgment. I’m not arrogant to believe I know it all because I never will. I also know there is a left, a center, and a right, all with different viewpoints, and with a set of morals and values. Comments, feedback and criticism - all help me learn more about different personalities, behaviors and the impact of culture. What I am confident about is that I don't know everything and that I will learn as much as I can as I go. My confidence is developed by facts. The fact that I do not know everything and could only learn it day by day outweigh my insecurities.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up - I'M STUCK!

I'm often asked why do people get stuck in life? I tell them it’s because you stopped learning about the fundamentals of life: Life is about continual growth preceding your final moment. If you aren't learning, you're definitely not growing, and if you aren't growing, you are stuck! Break the routine and try something new. Learn a new skill, challenge your mind, and step outside the box.

Young men and woman in their early 20’s, after graduating from college often feel stuck and don’t know which direction to move towards. They face pressure from family and peers to quickly fall into a role or to find a job based on education. They lack inspiration and confidence and feel overwhelmed to take a decision and to stick to it. They fear they won’t be successful in their chosen field.

Adults in there 40’s and into there 50’s will fall stuck too. If they settled into “a lifestyle”, stopped learning and the mind isn’t stimulated, they will risk falling “stuck” and some could even experience a mid life crisis. They will feel like they aren’t contributing, disconnected, and unworthy, and some will feel like time is running out. The job they settled for 20 years ago isn’t what they thought they would be doing at their age.

If you’re a young adult or mature adult, consider writing your goals before coming into the responsibilities that life will throw at you. Imagine doing as many things as you can without any limitations. Write them all down in a book. If you can do a brain dump of all your aspiration, dreams and hopes, everything you can think of doing before you come into responsibilities: Marriage, children, debt, employer, etc., your mind won’t be distracted by the level of noise you will encounter in the coming years. Return to the book every so often and add new ideas. Take your education and add it to your dream and create your ideal job. Don't settle!

Hopefully, if you create this book and continue to write your ideas and goals, you won’t be one of those people that feel stuck when you turn 40 or 50 years old.

But if you are stuck, answer the following questions. HINT: the answer to each question must come from within, no external roles/titles:

• Who am I?
• What makes me happy?
• What excites me?
• What are my core values?
• If there were no limitations what could I do?

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor, Motivational Speaker, TV Personality

"Where do I start?" "What if I suck and fail?" "Can I really make a go at it"

People spend more time asking questions than actually doing anything at all. They enjoy sitting around in the same spot, day after day, asking the same questions, producing the same results each time. "Where do I start?" "What if I suck and fail?" "Can I really make a go at it" Day after day they imagine the same conclusion for each question, never taking a stab at anything.

I feel bad for those people. If I only had a magic wand I would use it to take the lazy and the procrastination bug out of them. Just in case you don’t know, perfectionists typically are procrastinators. They only do what they do well, and will put off everything they believe they don’t do well. They experience major anxiety, stressing about the outcome. However, more often than not they do finish the task. Lazy people like to complain and bitch about everything including how nothing ever goes there way and how much bad luck they have. They bitch about doing NOTHING.

Bad luck! For what - poor choices? It cracks me up.

A few years ago I started a pet company. It opened and then closed on the same day. I had no clue how to even start a pet company when I first embarked on that project. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to develop a 2-in-1 dog harness/jacket. So that’s where I started.

I required a prototype of my idea and the only person I knew who could develop it was a designer. So I contacted the International Academy Of Design and asked HR how to go about posting a job at the school for a new graduate. HR was a wealth of information, they told me everything from the hiring process, to wages, everything I needed to know about hiring a designer. That piece of the puzzle was easy to solve.

Next, I had to find a manufacture to produce the final product. I Googled "manufactures" and found thousands all over the world. I also came across government resale regulations. Labeling, hang tags, etc.

Next it was time to find wholesale buyers - They were easy to find too. I found a good chunk of the pet industry at a local trade show. Manufactures, buyers, sellers, distributors, everyone I would eventually need to meet were there. I learned so much about the pet industry that day. All the information I needed to know about starting a pet company, appeared as I needed it.

A storefront wasn't feasible, but a website was. Web designers are a dime a dozen so finding one wasn’t difficult. After a few discussions with the designer to brainstorm ideas, an image – a brand was agreed upon and development on the website was underway. I guess this is what Malcom Gladwell author of The Tipping Point meant. I’d hit the point of no return with the pet company – I was in the Pet Industry and could learn all the ins and outs of the 42 Billion Dollar industry and claim my piece of the pie.

On launch day I was very excited. My very first pet company. I was very proud of my accomplishment. Considering, I had no prior knowledge of the pet industry when I first decided to develop the 2-in-1 Harness/Jacket - there was also a gorgeous, leather collar with a silver locket with the company logo: hero+destiny. It was a beautiful piece – a jewelry store wanted to resell it.

hero+destiny was a big flop. Tens of thousand of dollars and a professional career – ALL GONE! Just like that. In less time than it took to develop it. No school other than the school of hard knock could teach me what I learned during this phase of my life. Although the company was a big flop, for me it was a huge success. I did what I set out to do - to start a pet company. You’re right, no the pet company wasn't successful, but I was. I started and finished what I set out to do and success is exactly that.

I learned about a new industry. I learned how to write a business plan and to start a company. I traveled to India and learned about a new culture, and a long the way I started to mentor summer students on how to start a summer company, and another door swung wide open.

That’s where you start. Get inquisitive, learn something new, get out of your head and stop asking yourself questions that you can't answer. Nobody really knows if you will be successful or not until you do it. Be smart, use your brain. Keep moving forward and don’t get stuck on something that didn't happen your way - Who cares? Look for the benefit of the experience instead, because if you do another door will open.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach, Mentor, Motivational Speaker and TV Personality.

The Art of Expression

Bottling your emotions is self-destructive. I never understood why “men don’t cry”, and “woman must be strong and not show signs of weakness”. The physiological makeup of your body isn’t designed to suppress emotions, its designed to feel and to express it. When you express how you feel it releases pent-up emotions brewing deep within you.

The Art of Expression allows you to dispel bottled emotions. You dissolve limiting beliefs, anger, and frustration developed by past experiences. The ability to freely express your emotions constructively frees your soul from the burden and the pain smothering you with each passing step. It clears the path to allow for new experiences – positive and memorable ones.

The path of experiences is long and sometimes heavy, especially if you walk backwards and could only see past experiences. With every step taken a new experience is created and many new experiences resemble a lot like your past. How you discern each step - the experience from it, will be what falls onto the path for you to face.


Art is a source of expression. It appeals to the senses and emotions. Through The Art of Expression your sensori-emotinal values, the values which makeup your judgment of sentiment, can recreate and express hurt, pain, suffering, love, joy or bliss, or any combination. With colour and depth, an abstract of your emotions, a visual representation of how you feel is created - Your real emotions released…

Bottling your emotions will do nothing for you. It will imprison you, and you won’t be able to turn around and walk forward in your own life. Your confidence and self-esteem will tumble to the ground and those too will be another past experience.

“The Art of Expression heals people. Its very calming and satisfying,” explains Ray Mantella. Ray is an artist and close friend. Ray’s work is featured at New York’s Amsterdam Whitney Gallery and in galleries worldwide. Ray and I share similar philosophies, “Do what you love and success will come from it.” Together we are planning a weekend workshop – The Art of Expression. Details Coming Soon.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor, Motivational Speaker and TV Personality.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder - What's That?

The topic ‘medication’ often strikes a nerve in me. I’ve been fortunate to not ever be prescribed medication for any ailment nor mental disorder. I did take Zyban, aka Wellbutrin, in my mid twenties to quit smoking and again in my 30’s. My first experience with Zyban was not fun. I almost lost my job because it screwed me up so bad that I could not function nor comprehend a whole lot while I was on it. But that’s not what this blog post is about.

I want to start by saying that I do agree a small percentage of the population do require medication for their mental disorders. The medication helps those people live a healthier and fuller life. However, I also believe there are people taking medication, including children, which do not need it. Just like anything else, medication is a business and corporations need to make money and they do so by selling to the public, through various distribution channels including medical professionals.

Last night I engaged in a discussion about mental disorders. Did you ever hear the expression, "You are what you believe you are"? If you hear something for long enough you begin to believe and act according to it. When someone as young at 14 or 15 is told they have a mental disorder, they tend to identify to it and will probably believe they do and will use it to describe who they are, as a person.

This mental disorder cracks me up: Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ODD. Whatever happened to getting to the root cause? Learn and understand why the child is defiant and angry. If you listen carefully, children will tell you what is going through their mind and why they are angry, but you have to be willing to listen. Children go through an enormous amount of pressure during their developmental years. ANYTHING can alter their behavior to the point where the child could believe he or she is alone and isolated, and that NOBODY could possibly understand what they are experiencing – so they fight for their life, and yes become defiant. To some degree, every child and teenager will go through a phase of defiance, its fact of life.

The name itself, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, ought to provoke questions before parents permit their children to take medication that alter the mind. A separation, divorce, multiple relocations and even sexual identity, all have the makings to create ODD. Ask Children the proper question and get to the root of the problem before agreeing to medication.

Compassion and nurture will go a long way in defiant children. They already feel distant and isolated from the world, a little love and understanding will make them feel better about themselves. So before making them believe they have a mental disorder and that something is wrong with them, lets get back to the basics of human understanding.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor, Motivational Speaker & TV Personality