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Running with My Head Down: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose
A no-holds-barred rags-to-riches story of finding your purpose and living a life of no regrets.
Running with My Head Down is the inspirational story of one man’s search for purpose and meaning, a quest without limitation that ultimately leads to unique business success and personal fulfillment.
A native of Queens, New York, Frank was born into a working-class family, surrounded by the unified love of his parents. But in the mid-1970s, the nine-year-old was deeply impacted by his parents’ divorce. Emotional and financial turmoil follow, fueling Frank’s burning passion to discover his direction in life, and with it, certainty and security.
During his difficult school years when Frank was underestimated by teachers, he discovered his love of baseball—not just playing it, but becoming a fanatical student of the game. It became an all-out obsession that he would later turn into a multi-million-dollar franchise sports business by creating his own leagues.
Follow Frank’s journey from his early days after college unhappily working in medical sales to the brilliant stroke of starting an adult softball league—and then to strategically expanding his dream by creating i9 Sports, which becomes the nation’s largest youth sports franchise. After much inner struggle about defining his true purpose in life, Frank ultimately sell his company, having had a startling epiphany.
Through it all, we see how Frank’s purpose finds him again and again. A series of unique people come into his life, including peak performance coach Tony Robbins, who has a profound effect on Frank’s personal development. No matter what obstacles arise, Frank remains laser-focused, always purposely running with his head down.
This guide to personal and professional growth is filled with valuable strategies relevant to entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to lead a happier life. Transformative lessons and business insights include—
• The Passion Priority: How to transform the needs of your soul into reality, channeling the power of your vision.
• The Live Your Life With No Regrets Motto: Learn when to take a risk and go all in—banking on passion, not on security.
• The Entrepreneur Identity Crisis: How to overcome the self-limiting belief that your identity is your business.
• The Lonely at the Top Syndrome: How to build a solid relationship with your employees without losing your authority and the secret to overcoming CEO isolation.
• The Executive Burnout Phase: Identifying the signs of mental and physical overload and utilizing powerful techniques for restoring life balance.
• The Affluenza Affair: How to recreate the spark in your business in order to feel the same ambition and hunger as you once did.
• The Critics and Crises: How to handle internal company crises and external criticism.
• The Influence of Family and Friends: How to deal with a skeptical support network—and what to do when their advice, values, and judgments don’t match yours.
• The Spiritual Awakening: How to expand your self-awareness through a passionate commitment to personal growth and self-care.
• And More!
Frank graduated from St. John’s University and began a career as a medical equipment sales rep, though he was determined to pursue his life’s true purpose. So in l995, he created his own adult men’s softball league, ABA Sports. The start-up company quickly grew to over 900 teams in just six years, making it the largest adult sports organization on Long Island.
In 2003, Frank sold ABA Sports in order to create i9 Sports, a business that catapulted him to national recognition and that Entrepreneur magazine ranked as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Frank has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in dozens of publications and national news media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and The Wall Street Journal. Frank sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors.
He resides in the Tampa Bay area with his wife, Nadine, their children, Taylor-Marie and Frankie, and their Chocolate Lab, Dillon.
Running with My Head Down is the inspirational story of one man’s search for purpose and meaning, a quest without limitation that ultimately leads to unique business success and personal fulfillment.
A native of Queens, New York, Frank was born into a working-class family, surrounded by the unified love of his parents. But in the mid-1970s, the nine-year-old was deeply impacted by his parents’ divorce. Emotional and financial turmoil follow, fueling Frank’s burning passion to discover his direction in life, and with it, certainty and security.
During his difficult school years when Frank was underestimated by teachers, he discovered his love of baseball—not just playing it, but becoming a fanatical student of the game. It became an all-out obsession that he would later turn into a multi-million-dollar franchise sports business by creating his own leagues.
Follow Frank’s journey from his early days after college unhappily working in medical sales to the brilliant stroke of starting an adult softball league—and then to strategically expanding his dream by creating i9 Sports, which becomes the nation’s largest youth sports franchise. After much inner struggle about defining his true purpose in life, Frank ultimately sell his company, having had a startling epiphany.
Through it all, we see how Frank’s purpose finds him again and again. A series of unique people come into his life, including peak performance coach Tony Robbins, who has a profound effect on Frank’s personal development. No matter what obstacles arise, Frank remains laser-focused, always purposely running with his head down.
This guide to personal and professional growth is filled with valuable strategies relevant to entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to lead a happier life. Transformative lessons and business insights include—
• The Passion Priority: How to transform the needs of your soul into reality, channeling the power of your vision.
• The Live Your Life With No Regrets Motto: Learn when to take a risk and go all in—banking on passion, not on security.
• The Entrepreneur Identity Crisis: How to overcome the self-limiting belief that your identity is your business.
• The Lonely at the Top Syndrome: How to build a solid relationship with your employees without losing your authority and the secret to overcoming CEO isolation.
• The Executive Burnout Phase: Identifying the signs of mental and physical overload and utilizing powerful techniques for restoring life balance.
• The Affluenza Affair: How to recreate the spark in your business in order to feel the same ambition and hunger as you once did.
• The Critics and Crises: How to handle internal company crises and external criticism.
• The Influence of Family and Friends: How to deal with a skeptical support network—and what to do when their advice, values, and judgments don’t match yours.
• The Spiritual Awakening: How to expand your self-awareness through a passionate commitment to personal growth and self-care.
• And More!
Frank graduated from St. John’s University and began a career as a medical equipment sales rep, though he was determined to pursue his life’s true purpose. So in l995, he created his own adult men’s softball league, ABA Sports. The start-up company quickly grew to over 900 teams in just six years, making it the largest adult sports organization on Long Island.
In 2003, Frank sold ABA Sports in order to create i9 Sports, a business that catapulted him to national recognition and that Entrepreneur magazine ranked as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Frank has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in dozens of publications and national news media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and The Wall Street Journal. Frank sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors.
He resides in the Tampa Bay area with his wife, Nadine, their children, Taylor-Marie and Frankie, and their Chocolate Lab, Dillon.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2019
16 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 3, 2019
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway winner.
I had/am having a difficult time rating this one. As another reader stated, I too thought this would be more of a “how to” with pointers etc. However, in retrospect; and, in re-reading the title - it clearly stated that the book is “a STORY of passion, perseverance, and purpose.” Therefore, a misunderstanding on my part (re: expectations). That said, my two biggest issues with this book... 1. I often felt a touch of narcissism from the author (rather than inspiration) - for example, in Chapter 15 he states, “...though I would be generously sharing millions with the employees.” (93% mark). I feel these, and other sentiments throughout the book, were implied, and did not need to be specifically stated. The second issue = the sheer number of times the author refers to Tony Robbins - it felt as if I was secretly reading a TR infomercial, or that the author was trying to use this as a vehicle to connect with TR. Perhaps the fact that I had finished a more inspirational book prior, set this up to fail for me? Conclusion...after a week of reflecting... I don’t think I completely wasted my time reading this; yet, it was mostly forgettable.
I had/am having a difficult time rating this one. As another reader stated, I too thought this would be more of a “how to” with pointers etc. However, in retrospect; and, in re-reading the title - it clearly stated that the book is “a STORY of passion, perseverance, and purpose.” Therefore, a misunderstanding on my part (re: expectations). That said, my two biggest issues with this book... 1. I often felt a touch of narcissism from the author (rather than inspiration) - for example, in Chapter 15 he states, “...though I would be generously sharing millions with the employees.” (93% mark). I feel these, and other sentiments throughout the book, were implied, and did not need to be specifically stated. The second issue = the sheer number of times the author refers to Tony Robbins - it felt as if I was secretly reading a TR infomercial, or that the author was trying to use this as a vehicle to connect with TR. Perhaps the fact that I had finished a more inspirational book prior, set this up to fail for me? Conclusion...after a week of reflecting... I don’t think I completely wasted my time reading this; yet, it was mostly forgettable.
October 9, 2019
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I was thinking it would be more of an entrepreneurial advice book, but it's mostly an autobiography. At the end of each chapter of his life, Mr Fiume includes bullet points of business advice - but that's really all of the business advice it has. That & the fact that he reads & attends Tony Robbins meetings. I'm very impressed with the author's drive to succeed & that's what I will mostly take away from this book. I'm just a little disappointed that it didn't really have as much direct business advice as I was hoping.
October 23, 2019
A goodreads giveaway. A good autobiography by Fiume that is fast paced and easy to read. The bullets points at the end of each chapter are very good summary of his views. I expected more business insight of his i9 sports company. What he says about the details of the company really does not make it totally different from other youth programs as he says. The story also comes across as a testimony for Tony Robbins' program.
November 26, 2019
Running with My Head Down is a good book with interesting advice. There are some good points and the book is well written.
January 31, 2021
Life lessons galore
I won this book as part of a a Goodreads giveaway. There were many life lessons inside but was uncomfortable with all the Tony Robbins references
I won this book as part of a a Goodreads giveaway. There were many life lessons inside but was uncomfortable with all the Tony Robbins references
December 31, 2021
This book began on a strong, motivational note, but then disintegrated as one delved deeper into it. It is a memoir about how hard the author worked to create and nurture a successful business which was sold sixteen years later. Golden nuggets of wisdom were tossed into the ends of each chapter, which seemed a bit condescending and preach-like. This was a disappointing read—-despite my initial excitement at winning this in the GoodReads giveaway.
December 20, 2019
I had hoped for more business pointers, but this is really a memoir.
While the business the author has built is really impressive, and the highs and lows of building it were really interesting, he also spends a lot of time talking about his difficult relationship with his father and his struggles with drug addiction.
While the business the author has built is really impressive, and the highs and lows of building it were really interesting, he also spends a lot of time talking about his difficult relationship with his father and his struggles with drug addiction.
Want to read
November 11, 2019Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as a giveaway recipient. I am excited to read it and will update my thoughts on this book soon!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews