The Mascot Mindset with Patrick Walcek

We’ve been on break for a few weeks preparing to relaunch 3.0 of the pod, and it’s my greatest pleasure to introduce our first guest. You’ll notice he is NOT an entrepreneur, but he sure takes his career seriously. He has the spunk and soul of an entrepreneur, and he’s just a guy from a small town with big aspirations (who went on to attain his goals!)

This human has been in my life since middle school - and he’s one of the kindest, most driven, most pure people I've had the honor of knowing and loving. He only eats chicken fingers and pizza and absolutely refuses to acknowledge any of my inappropriate comments about what he would call “gross things,” but I can forgive him for that. 

Please welcome the Director of Premium Hospitality Sales for Madison Square Garden (you read that right - the guy who has access to every amazing artist or sports event that comes through NYC), my dear friend Patrick Walcek.

We talk about how he went from cleaning stadium trash to mascot to his current job, how the lessons of a wedding speech could 10x your business, the two-word phrase that will change how you network, and more. Enjoy the distillation of a successful career in under 45 minutes.

Highlights of our conversation:

1:39 - Seeking unique paths to reach your ideal career

4:28 - Surviving with an unpaid internship in an expensive city

7:34 - How recycling plastic helped sell the Knicks on Pat

10:14 - Why picking up garbage could make you a great manager

14:01 - The Mascot Mindset

20:56 - How to bring your ideas to life

22:55 - Practicing a wedding speech could land your next client

27:43 - How to get your team to excel

30:13 - Concrete ways to get to know your co-workers better

31:36 - Name your why and other practices to be a better salesperson

35:18 - The two-word phrase that will change your networking forever

39:54 - Pat answers the jar of LOLz

42:40 - The power of a good manager

Connect with Pat:

Connect on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-walcek-1165342a/

Credits:

Interview: Pat Walcek

Theme music: Superstar by Gyom - https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free-tracks/superstar

Podcast edited and mixed by Andrew Geary - andrew [at] 51features.com