Progress Journal: Recent Episodes
Tommy Ciampa
Perfection might sound attainable but the more you focus only on that, the less you take action, learn, and reflect. After years of trying to perfect almost everything I did, I realized that there's power in striving for progress not perfection. In these short episodes, I go over past failures and experiences that I've had through my short 24 years so far and what I've learned from them.
Living in the tech driven world we do, it’s easy to shut your screens off at the end of the day only to realize you’ve been on them the past 12 hours. Guilty as charged here.
In this week’s Progress Journal episode, I chat through the importance of unplugging from the tech that controls a lot of our day, what I’ve done to help myself unplug at times, and what it’s done for me.
I know it’s hard not to be on screens all day. Be it work, communicating with friends, entertainment, or just the classic scroll. But the more I put a focus on getting off of them, the more I enjoy the day (as well as I’m more intentional when I am on a screen).
Take a listen but put the phone face down for this one and take a stroll.
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
So based on the fact that I'm turning 26 tomorrow, I thought I'd do one of those X things to learn before X age. Original I know, but honestly it's one of my favorite formats people utilize.
I know I still have a lot to learn as I'm still in my young years but I also feel like us young folks have a good amount to share as well.
What I share is not perfect or 100% bullet proof but hopefully it helps you (whatever age you are) and you can put some of it into action yourself. Cheer!
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Losing a loved one is not an easy journey to go through. There can be feeling of regret, sadness, or just confusion that you don’t know how to deal with.
In this week’s episode of the Progress Journal, I chat through how I’ve work to navigate the journey of losing loved ones, things I did that you should stay away from, and other things that might help if you lean into them a bit more.
If you don’t know me all that well, you likely wouldn’t know that I lost my mom at 14. Now it’s been close to 12 years so I’m 100% fine talking about it but it was a loss that I didn’t handle well at all and it has been a great learning opportunity over the years.
It taught me how I should NOT handle the journey of loss and been able to show me things I need when going through something similar. We all deal with loss differently, so YOU need to figure out what YOU need during that healing process.
But hopefully the few tips I share in this episode can give you some direction.
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
This week’s episode dives into this idea of seeking discomfort (something that’s talked a good amount these days). For myself, this has been a big piece of my life. I even have it tattooed on my arm in Italian.
How often have you heard that everything you want is outside of your comfort zone? If you’re on here often, you’re probably sick of hearing it… Although I think some people take this to the extreme and say it’s the only way to go about things (which to me isn’t the case), there are a lot of benefits from pushing yourself past that feeling of comfort you get accustomed to throughout the normal week.
You get to push past the limitations you and society put on yourself. You get to have experiences and gain stories that you likely would have never had if you just stayed comfortable.
This doesn’t mean you have to jump out of a plane or do an Ironman but can you push past your belief that you aren’t good at public speaking or that you’re more of an introvert? Start with a limitation that’s a bit more simple, attack it, and gain confidence that you can do the same thing at a larger scale.
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Something I hear and see so many people struggle with is learning how to be alone. For me, this is an area I’ve grown a ton in the past few years.
In this week’s episode of the Progress Journal, I chat through why I believe it’s important to learn how to be alone more often, what you can gain from it, and also a few of the tough challenges you go through when being by yourself (along with tips to help).
These days it can seem like it’s seen as a bad thing to be on your own more than not. You’re seen as a loner, not desired, or just plain weird. To me, I respect those who can be alone without it always impacting themselves in a negative way.
Those folks learn how to deal with their own emotions and gain true independence that I don’t feel many people have.
If you’re struggling with this right now, give it a listen it might be what you need.
Personal Site: www.thomasciampa.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
In this episode of the Progress Journal, we’re starting a series that’ll keep going every 20th episode about what it’s like to build a podcast from the ground up (as well as the numbers, strategies, and learnings I have).
I’m a big fan of learning the ins and outs of what interests me. To list a few: personal brands, podcasts, and youtube channels. I’m an even bigger fan of when that person(s) breakdown what they’ve done and how to do it (especially if it’s early in their journey).
This episode/series is not just to show what I’ve done (since trust me, it’s nothing magical) but to also give others ideas or at least hope if they want to do something similar.
Disclaimer: what I’m doing might be wrong, not effective, or just down right dumb to do but we won’t find out for a bit, so precede at your own caution if you take any of the tips.
To connect with me, reach out to me on:
Personal Site: www.thomasciampa.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
A few years back when looking to start posting on LinkedIn I started using Progress Not Perfection as my personal hashtag not thinking anything of it. Years later, it’s how I go about pretty much everything I do.
In this week’s episode of the Progress Journal, I chat through what Progress Not Perfection means to me, what trying to always be perfect does to you, and how to overcome that feeling.
If you know me, most of my life has been messing things up and figuring it out as I go. Perfect really isn’t anywhere close to a word used to describe me, which is why I wanted to go through what living life with this mindset has done for me.
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
In this episode, I chat through how I lived with my grandma for over 4 years during my teen years, the lessons I learned from it, and how to apply those lessons to daily life.
With this being a massive change in my life during some pretty important years in my life, I definitely had some ups and downs. Early on, I struggled with understanding all the changes that come with a new parental figure but later on, appreciated all the lessons my grandma taught me and the friendship that we developed.
To dive into more resources on this topic, visit this blog: www.thomasciampa.com/blog/the-lessons-i-learned-growing-up-with-my-grandma
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Motivation. The thing you hear so much over all social media platforms and speeches at conferences but something that you can know so much about and still have no clue why you don't have it? If this is you, I know how you're feeling. I've had times that motivation seemed like a superpower that I could never have and other times, I've had to take a step back because I all want to do it keep going.
From having it to wishing I did, I've seen a few common challenges that held me back and I believe hold many people back from having motivation. In this episode I chat through those common challenges and tips I have to overcome them, so enjoy!
To dive into more resources on this topic, visit this blog: www.thomasciampa.com/blog/common-challenges-with-trying-to-be-motivated
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Being more of an introvert, I know the struggles of trying to build your network or even just meet new folks in general. After starting off more outgoing in the party scene, I quickly changed into a pretty isolated guy and didn’t get out too much. After about a year, I pushed myself to break the shell that I created and to learn how I can better communicate, and more importantly, how to network for both professional and casual reasons.
In this episode, I chat through the power networking has if done well, tips to get going, and a little bit about my journey from hating the idea of talking to someone new to enjoying the conversations I have daily.
To dive into more resources on this topic, visit this blog: www.thomasciampa.com/blog/the-power-of-networking-while-youre-young
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Just like everyone else, I've struggled with self doubt and fear with a lot of what I do. They are both something we all deal with in some capacity and figuring out how to overcome them is another beast. Throughout my life, I’ve had a tough time getting out of my natural introvert personality at times and, even more so, struggled to bet on myself with what I do. In this week’s episode, I talk through how I’ve recognized what fear and doubt are in my life, how to notice when they are both holding me back, and how to overcome fear and doubt in my life.
These tips on how to overcome fear and doubt might not be the best for you but learning how to recognize when you’re holding back because of either fear or doubt is an important piece to figure out.
To dive into more resources on this topic, visit this blog: www.thomasciampa.com/blog/how-i-work-to-overcome-self-doubt-and-fear
To connect with me reach out to me on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
In today’s world, you see “success” everywhere you look and the people attaining it are getting younger and younger. In my early 20’s I fell into a pretty obsessive state where all I wanted was “success”. The kind you see on Youtube where people in their early 20’s are traveling the world with loads of money and experiencing life with their friends.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that but these days there is a ton of pressure to succeed at a young age and that age is getting younger.
In this episode I chat through when that pressure to succeed early kicked in, where it came from, and how I handled it over the years.
additional
visit: http://thomasciampa.com/blog/what-the-pressure-to-succeed-is-doing-to-you-and-how-to-handle-it
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Growing up in a small town, I truly believed that I would never live anywhere else. I may go to school somewhere but would immediately move back and live my days out in my small hometown. After moving to a bigger city, I started to see the positive changes that came with changing my environment and started to understand why it’s so important to make a change in my environment at least for a small time period.
If you want to dive into more resources on changing your environment, scroll to the bottom of this blog: www.thomasciampa.com/blog/how-changing-your-environment-changes-you
Follow the podcast Instagram if you want to know when new episodes are out and see clips as these episodes are released: https://www.instagram.com/the_progressjournal/
Reach out to me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
So much of how I operate today is based off of the lessons I learned while playing sports growing up. Now that doesn't mean that if you didn't play sports you can't learn (and apply) similar lessons to your life today, you just have to go about it in a different way. In this episode, I talk through my top 3 lessons from playing sports, how it continues to impact my life, and how you can learn these in your adult life without a past sports career. For additional resources on this topic, take a look at http://thomasciampa.com/blog/the-lessons-i-learned-playing-sports-growing-up
The power of accountability can easily just be glanced over since it's so simple to just say sorry to others (or yourself) after the fact. Coming from a 25-year-old, I certainly haven't always been the most accountable guy and that also means I've seen the negative impact on relationships with others and myself that comes with that. In this episode, I take a dive into how the power of accountability impacted me in my earlier years, why I believe it's important to be accountable, and how I turned the power of accountability in my favor.
Starting off in purchasing and supply chain, I wanted to make a move into marketing but knew that without the "traditional" experience or schooling that I'd have to go about it in a unique way. In this episode, I chat through how I went from no experience to getting into email marketing and search engine optimization in only 5 months.
Growing up in the age that I have, I've always used social media. I remember using it to just chat with other folks back in middle school to now using it to show what I can do and build professional relationships. Now how you use social media is an important aspect to look at. Is it a healthy relationship that you get something from or is it used to just compare what you don't have or do to what others have and do? I've been on both side of the coin and pick the positive side any day. In this episode I go over how I made the transition from being anxious about social media to using it a lot and gaining/giving even more from it.
Let's be real... when you're younger, just out of school, and are finally making a decent sum of money it's easy to not focus too much on what is actually happening to that money. I've had some struggles but also some positive changes the past few years so I thought sharing my experience and how I go about living life with less and why I feel it can bring more joy.
It's been a bit folks... Over the past year a lot has changed, I've learned a lot, struggled some, and am excited to jump back into releasing weekly episodes. This first episode of 2023 is talking about what this past year looked like, what I learned from it, and what 2023 is shaping up to be. Hope y'all enjoy!
You know that saying “double down on your strengths”, well I don’t know if I 100% believe that. I’m all for utilizing what you do well but also believe that it’s important to work on areas we might not be as strong. A lot of times, the results we want are just on the other side of what we are unwilling to change. Not an easy thing to come to terms with and ever harder to work on at times.
So as far as I can remember I’ve never been great at sharing how I feel to others. It doesn’t matter what type of emotion it is, happy, mad, sad, or any of the others, just showing how I feel is not something I did or do very well. In this episode I go over why I've struggled to be vulnerable with people and also how/why I've worked on it over the past few years.
In this episode, I go over why setting up systems in my life has proven time and time again to be invaluable. From struggling in school and work because of lack of discipline to understanding that discipline doesn’t have to be forced.
Addiction has impacted my life and family's life for years. From seeing loved ones battle it, to learning how to use it as an advantage rather than letting it be my downfall. Through a lot of years of trial and error and studying more about what addiction is, I've been able to go from thinking I would be the next one in my family who battles the disease to using it to improve skills, my career, and my side hustles.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/
Life as a recent college graduate might seem wonderful during senior year but when I first made that transition I struggled. There were a few things I wish I would've done different, learned more about, or prepared for better. Tune into the 3 main mistakes I made when I moved out of undergrad into the working world.
I thought it was only right to give you a bit of information on who I am and why in the world would I start a podcast... So I made an episode about it.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-ciampa-9a333015b/