An Extra Cheesy Second Act: Paulie Follows A Love Affair With Pizza

Pizzaman

At the age of 56 and with no experience running a restaurant, Paul Giannone decided to quit his job and open a pizza restaurant. He’s now 66 and still loves what he does and said he will never retire.

Paul Giannone (known to all as “Paulie Gee”) grew up in Brooklyn, NY but moved to New Jersey as an adult. For most of his professional career, he worked with AT&T and their subsidiaries as an information technology staffer and eventually a consultant. And candidly, he never liked the work-he never felt he was very good at it either. But he needed to support his family, so he stuck at it.

While he didn’t love his work, he loved pizza- absolutely loved everything about it. And at the age of 56, he took an incredible leap of faith-returning to Brooklyn and opening up Paulie Gees – a pizza restaurant. He’s been remarkably successful, and “Paulie’s slice shop” followed in Brooklyn, as did Paulie Gees franchise restaurants in Chicago, Columbus and Baltimore.

Paulie secured 15 different investors

That helped him launch the restaurant. But he also took out a loan on his home and put his own “skin in the game” to pursue his dreams. It was a big risk, but it has all worked out. As Paulie told Andy Levine on “second act stories”, “This is beyond my wildest dreams, I had no idea how happy I could be… I am doing what I was born to do, what I am wired to do.”

*A slice of Paulie Gee’s “HellBoy” pizza. All photos by Kenny Chung.

Advise

His advice to anyone who is not terribly happy in their job. You need to do something you love. You need to do it right away. And if you bump into the wall of fear, keep going. You are not going to get anything in life without taking a risk.

People are uncomfortable making decisions, and they will sit there not making a decision and taking no action. They are afraid of making a mistake. When you get uncomfortable, when you get outside of your comfort zone, that is where the action is.

If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you always get.

As he said, I was meant to be the boss, not work for one. So I make all the decisions. I don’t have to ask permission to do something. I don’t have to reconcile my vision with anybody. I can just do it.

You can listen to Paulie’s full interview with Andy Levine from “Second act stories” below

"Pay attention to your deepest desires. What get’s you excited? What’s appealing? What motivates you? What do you find romantic? What do you find interesting? Then, explore in relation to your talents, skills and background. But that’s not usually the restriction. The restriction is people don’t allow themselves to dream. So, follow your desires, trust them."

Father James Martin, American Jesuit Priest

In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corperate World to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience"

Conclusion

You are never too old to change. There’s no such thing as “past it” Daring to dream of change is your first step. All you need to do is know that you want to change your life. Together we’ll find out what it is that’s driving your need for change, shining a light on areas you might not even consider. Because when you change your world and the people around you change. People show up just like Paulie’s investors did.

So what would your reinvented life look like? Take a piece of paper out right now and write down all things you would like to be, do and have in your life? Mark them on a scale of 1-10 and choose the one’s that are over 8/10 and ask yourself why they are not in your life right now and what are you going to do about it?

So, after that exercise what does your reinvention mean for you? Maybe you need to increase your confidence, feel less fearful to break through that wall of fear and keep going? Be free of self-doubt. Create positive habits that serve you, not negative ones that hold you back.

Reinvention coaching is about giving your-self the confidence to make changes and move outside of your comfort zone. Because being comfortable doesn’t get you to where you want to be. Ask “Paulie” he will vouch for that!

So what are you going to do with your allotted time on this planet? Every time you take action you move one step closer to your reinvented life. We’ll create an action plan to carry you forward to the life you want.

Is this helpful, and can others use it? I bet you know a lot of like-minded people that would benefit from this conversation. Please share this post with them on social media.

Inspire, motivate and create your future

Get more than encouragement: You will leave our sessions with a clear idea of your next steps. You will have the confidence, support and accountability to succeed.

Want to find out more about reinvention coaching and how it could help you.

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Pizzaman

Paulie secured 15 different investors

Advise

If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you always get.

Conclusion

Inspire, motivate and create your future

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