Rising Stars: Meet AJ Sarcione

Looking back at my high school yearbook, I received the senior superlative of “most likely to save the world.” While it’s a lofty goal to place on someone, I’d like to think I’m playing a part in it! Now, many years later, a press outlet has named me ‘the king of positivity’ and I’d like to clarify that enormous title with which they recognized me.

We all have negative, depleting emotions that drain us – myself included. But, from a young age, being raised outside of Boston, I was shown the power of choice. The ability to choose how we communicate with ourselves and others. How we choose to reflect on failures. How we choose to move forward. How we can choose to shift to positive renewing emotions when we have enough awareness. This is why I acknowledge problems quickly and spend more time understanding solutions. It’s also why I look at a challenges as an opportunities.

It’s no wonder that my last corporate role was Head of MOJO, after Yahoo was acquired by Verizon. In it I flew around the world, meeting with all of our employees and providing motivational speaking to our offices in more than 15 countries. I built relationships where I helped people navigate a difficult merger, shifting their perspective to shape their perception that more was possible.

Today, I’m still helping people build better relationships.

When I’m not doing this with leaders to help build their executive presence and influence, or with teams in workshops to drive effective communication and collaboration, or with companies to build their internal brands and activate their cultures, employee experience, and internal communication, I get to do it with people at our ranch outside of Fort Worth.

Alongside our 70 animals. I help people build better relationships with whomever they feel they need it most. Often, coworkers when a team comes out. Or couples, partners, family members, and friends, when I host small workshops that help people spark a better connection to light a path to a relationship that shines. And yes, individuals, too, helping them find the confidence and inspiration to show up authentically.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Are any roads smooth?

In the literal sense of smooth roads, there are few that are actually smooth, and even those that were recently paved often have imperfections. And that’s the unintentional perfection of them.

If you spend time focusing on the bumps rather than looking for the ways these roads lead you to what you seek, you’re missing the point of the road itself.

Years ago, I wrote a song called “Breaking Point.” (Yes, I have written and performed music since I was a child — with one of my greatest moments in life happening when I lived out my dream of singing with Whitney Houston when she asked me to perform with her when I was 17!)

In the song it said: “You were my breaking point, the strength that I need. You my breaking point, the pain from what I feed. Without you, where would I be? For that, I can thank you? You were my breaking point; now I’m taking control of me.”

There’s appreciation for the bumps along the way if you can find gratitude for not allowing them to disrupt the vision you have and your ability to keep heading towards it.

Often, when you keep moving forward and seeking your vision, you find moments of unintentional perfection that are like miracles popping up unexpectedly. Even if they weren’t part of what you thought you might encounter, they fit perfectly into the feeling of what you hope to find.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I focus on building internal brands for people and companies.

As the former head of internal marketing for Yahoo and head of mojo and employee experience for Verizon, I specializes in developing powerful internal branding strategies that foster clear identity, motivated employees, and enhanced corporate culture.

By offering strategic advising, conducting motivational talks, workshops, and innovative activations worldwide, I help organizations and their leaders ignite inside their teams and companies, so it shines outwardly, by improving flow, communication, and engagement.

My work is designed to inspire leaders, teams, and companies to build authentic internal brands that not only support optimal engagement but also guide them towards realizing their true potential, ensuring a cohesive, inspired, and productive work environment.

And as I mentioned, I do this work on an individual level, too, with people looking to change careers, enhance their careers, show up better in the world, or build better relationships with someone in their life.

To support this, I’ve written a few books and crated a unique tool called Shine Dice™, which is a personalized prescription for a daily dose of shine. It’s a prescription bottle, personalized for whoever it’s meant for, filled with three dice inside that create affirmation statements. When you need a pick-me-up, you roll the dice and get one of 216 different affirmations to spark your potential. Two of the books I’ve written help to build emotional intelligence and empathy skills: one is for adults, called SPARK: Unlock & Unblock Your Shine Potential; the other is for kids 4- 8 years old, called Radiant Ruth the Rhino Shines Bright.

What were you like growing up?
As I mentioned earlier, I once sang with Whitney Houston, which was my dream in life.

As a child, I was a performer. From a young age I was on stages in New England, performing musical theater and singing. I attended a private boarding school for the arts, Walnut Hill School, where I honed my craft of voice, singing classical and opera music.

While there needs to be a lot more time together to chat about music and the journey I’ve been on with it, I will share how the moment with Whitney Houston happened.

Years prior to singing with her, I would wear my large studio headphones connected to my CD Walkman and stand in my families living room and perform, perhaps for the cat or dog watching me, envisioning a moment of fulfillment when I felt like the greatest love of all in my own life came true, which would be singing with Whitney.

The vision was so strong of what this moment would feel like that each time I practiced for the moment, it felt like it was coming true.

When she came to perform in Boston for the ‘My Love is Your Love’ tour, my parents got me tickets. They splurged and bought me tickets in the VIP section, knowing how much I appreciated her. This section afforded you an opportunity to sit within the first six or so rows, but you didn’t know where you’d be seated till you arrived at the will call and got your seats.

Upon arriving at the show, my friend and I went to get our tickets, and I explained to the person handling the seating how excited I was. I was happy to sit anywhere in that VIP section — heck, I was happy to be at the concert. But, in a moment of unintentional perfection, something I wasn’t able to actively control, I was given front-row seats.

During the show, as Whitney sang, I sang. I sang like I did when I practiced in my parents’ living room. It felt yet again like the dream I had was coming true. And that’s when it all happened.

Whitney Houston stopped her concert and asked the audience to quiet down.

She walked over to me and told them that she wanted them to hear something.

She proceeded to ask me to sing with her and next thing I knew, my dream was coming true.

I still have a towel signed by one of the backup singers who threw it at me in celebration of what I was doing. A small memento of my dream coming to life.

Whenever I have a moment of question or doubt, it’s one of the emotional connections I tap into to shift me into hope and drive me forward cause it always reminds me that anything is possible!

Pricing:

• Shine Dice™ are $19.99, available at www.ajsarcione.com/shop