Work Like You're Showing Off!

A guide to creating joyful success in work and in life

What the world needs is more showoffs.

Showing off is a good thing. Showing off is a mindset. Showing off is about living life and doing work in a way that creates joy, jazz, and a kick in our lives and in the lives of those around us. This is a business book for almost everyone–from executives and managers to receptionists and sales clerks. Here’s the key: success is an inside job. After 26 years of studying and working with top performers, Joe Calloway shares the key factors in creating success–without pulling any punches. Work Like You’re Showing Off! isn’t for sissies; it’s a tough, realistic approach to getting the most out of life by giving more to others.

This book proves that not only is "working like you’re showing off" the smartest way to get ahead in a career, it’s also the most joyful and rewarding way to live.Work Like You're Showing Off! the absolute keys to personal and professional success including:

• Never be as good as you're going to be
• What you think of me is none of my business
• Expect to connect
• Get back inside the box
• Grand stupidity and absurd bravery
• What have you done for me next?

Acknowledgments xi

1. Showing Off 1

2. Grand Stupidity and Absurd Bravery 9

3. All Hat and No Cattle 15

4. Let It Go 17

5. The Gold Standard 25

6. Get in the Damn Boat and Go 27

7. As Good as You’re Going to Be 31

8. We See Things as We Are 35

9. Stupid Promises 43

10. Let’s Be Too Much 47

11. Imagination Will Take You Everywhere 51

12. Get Back inside the Box 59

13. Expect to Connect 63

14. Going All In 69

15. Joe and Muhammad 75

16. We Haven’t Seen That 81

17. The Pursuit of Happiness 83

18. The Enemy of Future Success 91

19. What You Think of Me Is None of My Business 95

20. Whatever Happens Is Normal 99

21. Guess What I Want and Other Stupid Mind Games 105

22. I Said I Don’t Know 109

23. The Golden Circle of Ignorance 113

24. What Have You Done for Me Next? 119

25. The Power Strategy 123

26. Your Next Best Idea Is Everywhere 127

27. What Matters Most 137

Joe Calloway is an expert on high-performance organizations and individuals, the owner of an award-winning restaurant, and a member of the International Speakers Hall of Fame. His clients read like a Who's Who of business—from newspapers in Sweden, hotels in Great Britain, and computer companies in South Africa to world brands like BMW and American Express. He is also the author of Becoming a Category of One and Indispensable, both from Wiley.

What the world needs is more showoffs—at work AND in life. If you're not being your best, reaching your potential, and showing off, why show up at all?

The way Joe Calloway defines it, showing off is about bringing the best you have to any situation. It's about excellence and exceeding expectations. Showing off is about the joy, jazz, and kick of being better tomorrow than you were today. It's about creating real fulfillment in your life and in the lives of those around you. Showing off is a mindset that leads to success and satisfaction, and Work Like You're Showing Off is a practical guide to creating and maintaining that mindset.

After twenty-six years of studying and working with top performers, Calloway shares the key factors for creating success without pulling any punches. Work Like You're Showing Off advises you to stop talking and start doing. Be focused, productive, and above all else, intentional in your pursuit of happiness. Showoffs go "all in" and call everyone else's bluff with the confidence that their capability and productivity will speak for itself.

No matter what you do or where you are on the career ladder, Work Like You're Showing Off gives you the inspiration and tools to attain higher levels of productivity and satisfaction. Inside, you'll learn key success factors, including the power of consistent performance, letting go of past assumptions, embracing responsibility, and expecting to connect, among others. Once you commit to these factors and stick to them, you'll become more energetic, more dedicated, more competent, and ultimately, more successful.

Showing off is about creating joy and success for yourself through giving to others. This unique and enlightening guide will help you open the door to professional success—and improve every aspect of your life in the process.

It's about more than just work.
It's about how LIFE works.

"Joe Calloway is a showoff who can back it up. Joe Calloway is not just an expert; he's a world-class expert. Joe Calloway is not just a master; he's a world-class master. Joe Calloway delivers a lesson of reality that will kickstart your success. Buy his book, read his book, study his book, and implement his book so that you can achieve and show off your world-class mastery, world-class expertise, and wealth."
—Jeffrey Gitomer, author, The Little Red Book of Selling and Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude

"Calloway teaches you to let go of your excuses, break out of your chains, crawl out of your rut, drop your baggage at the door, then kick the door down and grab life by the thoat so you can actually become the person you most admire. I love this book! Finally, a fun, refreshing alternative to the motivational mumbo-jumbo. Instead it's an action plan for personal excellence."
—Larry Winget, author, It's Called Work for a Reason! and Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life

"Show off at work? I'd never thought about it in those terms. Then Calloway wrote this stimulating little book, and it makes perfect sense. He explains how to show off the right way and bring your best to your work every day, and why the biggest beneficiary isn't your employer or customer (although they'll love it), but you. So read this book, and start showing off at work. You'll be glad you did."
—Mark Sanborn, author, The Fred Factor and You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader

"Work Like You're Showing Off isn't just an inspiring and practical success guide, it's the very key to personal excellence in the twenty-first century. And here's the bonus—it's an absolute blast to read. You're going to love this book!"
—Steve Farber, author, The Radical Edge: Stoke Your Business, Amp Your Life, and Change the World

"Calloway always has something to say, and he's always worth listening to. His new book is straight talk on success. Read it fast!"
—Randy Gage, author, Why You're DUMB, SICK & BROKE . . . And How to Get SMART, HEALTHY & RICH!