Meet John Costigan, he puts the sales in salesman, and he has the track record to prove it. But there is a lot more to John than sales, and you`re probably reading this because you already have a hunch that is the case. From college basketball player to self-made businessman, John has a story that any motivated individual will appreciate.

It began in Chicago, Illinois, John`s hometown. After a great childhood in the Midwest where he started his first company, a landscaping business in high school, John attended Northern Illinois University. He walked on to the basketball team at NIU in `82- the same year Jordan was winning a national title at UNC. While in college he started his second business, a roofing company -- entrepreneurship was in John`s blood from the start.

After graduation John played basketball professionally in Europe for two years, after which he decided to return stateside and pursue his career in business. He worked with Chicago-based Comdisco, where he spent time as an account rep. After that John excelled as a Sales Executive for EMC, Director of Sales for Virtus Software, and then VP of Sales for Hey!, Inc.

Despite an undying love for the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, John decided to relocate to the Triangle area of North Carolina with his kids, Jack and Grace. The cold Chicago winters just couldn`t compete with the mild weather, college sports, and near year round golf that Carolina had to offer. He founded Jack Ryan Associates (named after his son) and began to grow an incredible client base through live sales training sessions, utilizing years of hard earned sales experience.

It`s not just about sales for John, it may sound corny, but it`s about helping people. When asked what drives him he answered, "We`ve helped people with goals, implementing a sales process, even getting them back to just being themselves as opposed to sounding like a typical sales person begging for the business. No matter what the challenge, there`s nothing more enjoyable than simply helping people become better people, personally as well as professionally."