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September 1, 2009 Everyone gets the same amount of time every day. We get all there is: 24 hours, 1,440 minutes. So, with time being such a precious commodity, why is it that so many of us spend our days worrying? Worry has almost become a national pastime for most. I suppose that if we had a contract to live for a lifetime, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But we don’t. We just have now. Some of you may be reading this and thinking, “Yeah, he probably doesn’t have anything to worry about.” But that’s not true. I have plenty to worry about. I just choose not to. And I’d like to suggest that you follow suit and resolve right now, as you read this article, that you are not going to invest even one of those 1,440 minutes worrying—about anything. Clearly understand, there isn’t any situation that isn’t made worse by worry. Worry never solves anything. Worry never prevents anything. Worry never heals anything. Worry serves only one purpose: It makes matters worse. How? Well, quite simply, when you’re focused on worrying about something, you’ll never be able to focus on a solution. Be aware that your mind cannot focus on two things at the same time; it can either focus on the current situation and worry, or it can find a solution. The choice is always yours. If you have been worrying about something or someone, you can eliminate that worry through displacement. Let its positive opposite crowd it out of your mind and then follow through with constructive action. Everything in the universe has an opposite, even your worries. You could be worried about not having sufficient time to do some of the important things you have to do today. The truth is you do have enough time if you are willing to give up something else. The busiest person you know, yourself included, would have time to go downtown and pick up a check if you won a lottery. You might neglect doing something else to make the time, but trust me, you would get the check. When a worrisome thought occupies your attention, choose the positive opposite to the thought, and focus your attention on that. No one is without problems; they are a part of living. But let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here are some figures I picked up years ago, and I think they’re just as valid today as they were when I came upon them. Here is a reliable estimate of the things people worry about. Things that never happen—40%; In short, 92 percent of the average person’s worries take up valuable time, cause painful stress—even mental anguish—and, for the most part, are unnecessary. Remember what Dr. Kurtz said, “Worry empties today of its joy.” Don’t worry, be happy! — Bob Proctor September 2, 2009 Having confidence means you believe in yourself and that you trust your own judgment and resourcefulness. In his many books on self-esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden defines self-esteem as the sum of self-confidence and self-respect. For him, self-confidence is knowing that you have the wherewithal to function reasonably well in the world. You feel competent to make choices, competent to satisfy your needs, to chart the course for your life. Having confidence in specific situations, such as in gaining influence with someone, flows from a general self-confidence about your ability to meet life’s challenges. A person who exhibits confidence appreciates a sincere compliment and doesn’t brush it off. A confident person is comfortable giving, and receiving, compliments. He’s also able to handle criticism if it comes his way because he basically likes himself and knows that a single negative incident won’t change that. Confidence in yourself is built up over time. You can fake confidence, and you may need to at first, but real self-confidence comes from a history of small victories and accomplishments that add up to a sense that you can handle yourself well in most every situation. I suggest you take an inventory of the major accomplishments you’ve achieved over the past few years. Then remind yourself of the minor ones, too. What about the computer course you completed? Have you built anything that’s still standing? What about those kids you’re raising? That’s an accomplishment. Don’t be modest. Tell the truth about how hard you worked and what sacrifices you’ve made. If you can’t think of any, then begin by congratulating yourself for living as long as you have. Sheer survival is an accomplishment these days! Seriously, it pays to take the time to know your strengths and appreciate them. What’s unique about you? What skills do you bring to an organization or project that you can count on? “Confidence is a fundamental trait for flexibility. It’s hard to be flexible when you’re fearful or easily intimidated. Confidence is indispensable if you want to engage someone’s attention.” — Dr. Tony Alessandra September 3, 2009 Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance Lesson 3: Applied Faith Lesson 4: Going the Extra Mile Lesson 5: Pleasing Personality Lesson 6: Personal Initiative Lesson 7: Positive Mental Attitude Lesson 8: Enthusiasm Lesson 9: Self-Discipline Lesson 10: Accurate Thinking Lesson 11: Controlled Attention Lesson 12: Teamwork Lesson 13: Adversity & Defeat Lesson 14: Creative Vision Lesson 15: Health Lesson 16: Budgeting Time & Money Lesson 17: Habits Napoleon Hill September 4, 2009 An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life. To be enterprising is to keep your eyes open and your mind active. It’s to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves… regardless of the economy. A person with an enterprising attitude says, “Find out what you can before action is taken.” Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what’s to come. Enterprising people always see the future in the present. Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren’t lazy. They don’t wait for opportunities to come to them, they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition. Enterprise is two things. The first is creativity. You need creativity to see what’s out there and to shape it to your advantage. You need creativity to look at the world a little differently. You need creativity to take a different approach, to be different. What goes hand in hand with the creativity of enterprise is the second requirement: the courage to be creative. You need courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone if you have to, courage to choose activity over inactivity. And lastly, being enterprising doesn’t just relate to the ability to make money. Being enterprising also means feeling good enough about yourself, having enough self-worth, to want to seek advantages and opportunities that will make a difference in your future. And by doing so, you will increase your confidence, your courage, your creativity and your self-worth—your enterprising nature. To Your Success, September 5, 2009 When I was researching the history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge as a major illustration for the ideas of success and motivation, I became engrossed with the story of how the first bridge was built over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls. You see, to build a bridge over a giant gorge, first you have to get a line over the canyon, from one side to the other. Easier said than done at Niagara Falls. The engineers couldn’t cross the river in a boat to take the line from one side to the other because the boat would go over the falls. And the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. The distance was also way beyond the bow-and-arrow range, which had been a common method at the time of getting the first line across to build a bridge. The designing engineer, Charles Ellet, pondered the question until he came up with a revolutionary idea. He decided that, while solving the problem, he would also have some fun and generate some publicity for the project. Ellet sponsored a kite-flying contest and offered five dollars to the first person who could fly a kite across the gorge and let it go low enough to the ground for someone to be able to grab the string. In 1849, five dollars was a prize similar to a small lottery today. The boy who won the prize relished his accomplishment until his death, nearly 80 years later. It all began with an idea and one thin kite string. The kite string was used to pull a cord across, then a line, then a rope. Next came an iron-wire cable and then steel cables, until a structure strong enough to build a suspension bridge was in place. I’m struck by how that string is like a single thought. The more vivid and clear the thought, and the more you come back to it, the stronger it becomes—like the string to the rope to a cable. Each time you rethink it, dwell on it, or layer it with other thoughts, you are strengthening the structure on which to build your idea, like building a bridge over Niagara Falls. But unlike a kite, there is no string attached to how high and how far your goals may take you. They are limited only by the power of your imagination and the strength of your desire. -- Denis Waitley September 6, 2009 “The only way things are going to change for you is when you change.” “Crud!” His hand hit the dashboard as he said it. “I can’t stand this car!” That about sums up Michael Jones’s life—crud. And... he can’t stand it. Forty years old, a wife of fifteen years he doesn’t know how to connect with, and two kids he barely knows. Add to that a boring job that doesn’t challenge him and hardly pays the bills. In a word: crud. Where had his life gone? Out of college, he and his wife, Amy, had been so filled with dreams. Their lives were ahead of them and nothing seemed impossible. They were full of potential and wanted to do so much. But now, they were nowhere near where they had hoped to be. Michael loved Amy, but it just wasn’t what it could be. They had grown apart through the years and he had no idea how to fix it. The kids are great, but, again, there was just no connection with them like he thought “normal” families should have. And his job... definitely not what he wanted. A man his age making $40,000 a year with no upside? This was hardly what he had imagined for his life. It was what it was and it seemed like he was stuck—stuck with a dead-end job and poor relationships. This wasn’t the success and happiness he and Amy had planned for. But his life was about to change... This car is the worst, he thought as it convulsed and finally died. Going about 30 miles an hour when it stopped running, he guided it as it coasted to a stop along the road. He was on his way to a sales call and he had never taken this road before. It was a long, winding road that acted as a shortcut between two major roads. Not many houses on this road, he observed. After the car rolled to a stop, Michael got out and walked around the car. It wasn’t as though he would be able to tell what was wrong from walking around; he knew zero about cars. He knew how to put gas in it, turn the key over, and that was about it. No smoke, he thought, and that had to be good. He popped the hood and looked at the engine. All the wires seemed connected. All the caps were on. He didn’t have any idea what to do. I should have taken shop class in high school, he thought. Michael reached inside his jacket for his cell phone. He figured he would call a mechanic friend he knew and see if he could get some help. He flipped the phone open and saw the worst—no cell coverage there! “Just my luck,” he said out loud. “They can put a man on the moon and clone a sheep, but they can’t put a cell site up where I need it.” He looked around, trying to decide which way to start walking. Up ahead about 200 feet was a bend in the road, and he couldn’t see what was farther, on so he decided to go that way, just hoping there might be a house beyond the bend. As he walked, he kicked the gravel along the road. Frustrated, alone, and stuck. That’s how he felt right now. About this situation and life in general. As he turned the corner, Michael came across something he had never seen in real life before. Sure, he had seen many in magazines and on TV, but never something like this with his own eyes. Nice pad. Michael found himself standing in front of the most beautiful home he had ever seen. Home may not even be the right word for it. Right at the roadside was a huge gated entrance. The large brick and wrought-iron fence stretched at least 500 feet along the roadside. And the gate was at least ten feet high. Behind the gate was a house that had to be over 10,000 square feet. It was a white plantation style that had twelve two-story pillars across the front—which made sense since the sign at the side of the gate said, “Twelve Pillars.” It was magnificent. Michael stood in front of the gate for a few minutes, just looking in awe at the structure. Finally, he snapped back to reality and realized that he had to get his car fixed. He didn’t see any other houses nearby, but he didn’t know how to get to the house in front of him, either. Just then, he saw an old man in white overalls emerge from what looked like a workshop just to the right of the driveway. The old man walked toward the gate. When he got about 25 feet from the gate, the old man spoke, “Can I help you, young man?” —Jim Rohn September 7, 2009 Michael Jones was walking down the beach on his beloved Sanibel Island. He and his wife Amy had lived an incredible life, and now, at age seventy-two, he was enjoying the fruit of that life. A number of years ago, they had built their dream home on West Gulf Drive on this exquisite tropical island. It was a sprawling estate built on three lots, with a cost of over ten million dollars. It had a gorgeous view to the south, looking out to the seemingly endless horizon. Dolphins regularly swam just off the beach. Birds were plenty. And most of all, Michael loved the shells—a nearly endless beach of incredible shells. He loved to walk and look for another perfect shell for his collection. He and Amy enjoyed the hand-in-hand walks they took together, but this evening, Michael was by himself. It was just before sunset, and he was walking toward the setting sun. His heart was filled with the wonder of it all. His peace was temporarily broken when his cell phone rang. He normally didn’t bring it with him on his walks, but he forgot to take it out of his back pocket before he left. When he saw who it was on his caller I.D., he was glad he had it. It was his oldest grandchild, Josh. He punched the “connect” button. “Josh! How are you?” “Good, Grandpa. How are you?” “I am doing terrific. Just walking along the beach, enjoying the sunset. What are you up to?” “Just doing homework.” It was September of Josh’s senior year of high school, and he was inundated by the workload. Josh was a good kid—a strong young man with a good head on his shoulders and a bright future. Since Michael and Amy had moved full time to Sanibel Island, Josh hadn’t seen as much of his grandparents. Usually just a week a year for vacations. But Josh and Michael spoke on the phone every couple of weeks. “What classes are you taking? You are a senior this year, right?” “Yep. One year to go. I am taking the normal stuff. Pre-Calculus, English, History. You know.” “Well, your grandpa is getting up there. It was over fifty years ago when I was in high school. Are you enjoying it?” “Actually, I am. I am just trying to make sure I do well in school and also have some fun with my friends. You know what they say, ‘All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy.’ ” “Just like your grandpa, Josh.” “Well, Grandpa, I am calling because of one class I am taking. It requires me to do a senior project on a successful person.” “Yeah, who are you going to do it on?” “Well, I was thinking about doing it on you, Grandpa.” —Chris Widener September 8, 2009 One of my life’s most valuable possessions is my journal. Why? Because my journal contains my dreams! And my dreams are my future! I learned this principle from a story about a 15-year-old boy by the name of John Goddard. John, one day, happened to hear his parents and another adult talking, and the other adult had been telling John’s parents about how miserable his life was and how much he had failed. He wished he was John’s age again and could live his life over and do some things differently. Well, John heard the anguish in his voice, I suppose, and he made a vow that he was going to do something at 15 years old. So at 15 years old he took out a legal pad and began to write the things he wanted to do in his life, what he wanted to accomplish. Before he was finished he had 127 things on his list. He called it, “My Life List”. Today, John is in his mid 70s. Of his original 127 goals, John over the last 55-60 years has accomplished 111 of them, plus 400 other ones that he set along the way. And just so you know these weren’t some small goals, here are some of the goals that John Goddard has accomplished that were on his list: - He’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, he’s climbed Mount Ararat; in fact, he’s climbed every major peak in the world. But that’s just one of 500+ for John Goddard. - He took Marco Polo’s route through all of Asia and China. And that is just a portion of the more than 500 dreams that John Goddard has accomplished. I hope we all learn from John Goddard! Here are two major points that were impressed upon me: 1) John Goddard’s goals (dreams) were written down. How many of you have heard that before, to write your goals and dreams down? Because for 20 years I heard it and I had never written mine down, until just three years ago. Brian Tracy says if you’ll write your goals down you have a 100-times greater chance of success. Now I look at that mathematically, and then by an inverse way, from an opposite way. What it says to me is that, if I don’t write my goals down, I only have a 1-in-100 chance of succeeding. Write your goals and dreams down. 2) His dreams were BIG! I’ve found that a small dream will not give you the bulletproofing you are going to need. A small dream won’t protect you when bad times come. A small dream does not have any power at all—it has to be BIG! So get started today! Go get a journal (or wipe the dust off the one you have) and write down your BIG goals! And then get started on your life story! —Vic Johnson September 9, 2009 How do you build muscle? If you answered, “Exercise,” then you are partially right. For the most part exercise is not what builds muscle. Exercise maintains the muscle you have already built, yet it only actually builds muscle when that exercise goes into uncharted territory. “You need more weight.” That is one of my best friend’s favorite things to say when we work out. If I am lifting 225 pounds on the bench press and there is no struggle, he is the first to either add more weight or demand reps. I used to say, “No man, I want to control this weight first. I want to do 8 solid reps of 225 before I move on to something else.” His reply would be, “Are you here to build muscle or maintain what you have?” My particular goal at the time was to build muscle, so I would (knowing he was right) reluctantly say, “Build muscle.” His matter of fact retort was, “Okay, then you need more weight or more reps—maybe both.” You see, when lifting weights your muscle is built when it goes beyond its comfort zone or literally stretches beyond what you have done before. If I had lifted six reps and I was spent, I also knew that there was no way my set was over. Just as I am about to give up, I hear the voice spotting me blurt out, “One more… come on… it is all you… one more… you got it… push it up.” My friend, Brian, will consistently push me to do one more than I would if he wasn’t there, and that is why when I work out with Brian my muscles are consistently in the growth zone. If you are doing a set of 10 reps and are spent—you will get 90% of your growth if you do an 11th or 12th rep. The first 10 are maintaining what you have. The final two are the growth reps—these are the reps where you stretch yourself. I have found that success in life is very similar to building muscle in the gym. If you are doing what you are comfortable with or can do easily you will never grow. You will never expand to reach your full potential. Growth only occurs in life when you are pushing yourself to something new. This could mean learning a foreign language, learning to play an instrument, conquering your fears or pursuing your life-long dream of building a business, writing a play, authoring a book or talking to people you normally would shy away from. Growth in life is going to come when you are pushing yourself to lift the weights of life that you can only lift with a spotter. This means you should not be afraid to team up with others and rely on them in your effort to grow. If you are going to build muscle in the gym, you are going to need to do two things: #1 Lift more weight; #2 Have a spotter. The answers for success in life are very similar. Sometimes a spotter in life could be a personal life coach. There is absolutely no doubt that they will push you to lift more weight and be there to spot you when you feel that you can’t get the weight off your chest. Go for more weight this week and get yourself a spotter! —Ron White September 10, 2009 It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hope of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as “The Butterfly Effect.” He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns. One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result; however, he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas? Thus, you have “The Butterfly Effect” theory. This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz’s 1960 experiment. What does it mean for your life? It means that every decision or action that you make—no matter how small—could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure is the case with yours, is a testimony to “The Butterfly Effect.” When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. More than two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12-year-olds called him a nerd), and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities, and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone. Did you follow that? You might read my books or come hear me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job if Brian hadn’t gotten me the telemarketing job, and Brian would never have known me if we hadn’t met at the age of 12 in P.E! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym more than two decades ago—that is “The Butterfly Effect.” ACTION POINTS —Ron White September 11, 2009 Most people dread accepting responsibility. That’s just a fact of life, and we can see it in operation every day. Yes, we can see avoidance of responsibility all the time in both our personal and professional lives. And here’s something else we can see just as often: We can see that most people aren’t as successful as they wish they were. Do you see there is a connection between these two very common phenomena? It’s in your best interest to take responsibility for everything you do. But that’s only the beginning. Many times it’s even best to take responsibility for the mistakes of others, especially when you’re in a managerial or leadership role. During the years when professional basketball was just beginning to become really popular, Bill Russell, who played center for the Boston Celtics, was one of the greatest players in the pro league. He was especially known for his rebounding and his defensive skills. But like a lot of very tall centers, Russell was never much of a free throw shooter. His free throw percentage was quite a bit below average, in fact. But this low percentage didn’t really give a clear picture of Russell’s ability as an athlete. And in one game he gave a very convincing demonstration of this. It was the final game of a championship series between Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers. With about 12 seconds left to play, the Lakers were behind by one point and Boston had the ball. It was obvious that the Lakers would have to foul one of Boston’s players in order to get the ball back, and they chose to foul Bill Russell. This was a perfectly logical choice, since statistically Russell was the worst free throw shooter on the court at that moment. If he missed the shot, the Lakers would probably get the ball back and they’d still have enough time to try to win the game. But if Russell made his first free throw, the Lakers’ chances would be seriously diminished. And if he made both shots, the game would essentially be over. Bill Russell had a very peculiar style of shooting free throws. Today, no self-respecting basketball player anywhere in America would attempt it. Aside from the question of whether it’s an effective way to shoot a basket, it just looked too ridiculous. Whenever he had to shoot a free throw, the six-foot-eleven Russell would start off holding the ball in both hands about waist high, then he’d squat down and as he straightened up he’d let go of the ball. It looked like he was trying to throw a bucket of dirt over a wall. But regardless of how he looked, as soon as Bill Russell was fouled, he knew the Celtics were going to win the game. He was absolutely certain of it because, in a situation like this, statistics and percentages mean nothing. There was a much more important factor at work, something that no one has found a way to express in numbers and decimal points. Simply put, Bill Russell was a player who wanted to take responsibility for the success or failure of his team. He wanted the weight on his shoulders in a situation like this. No possibility for excuses. No possibility of blaming anyone else if the game was lost. No second-guessing. Bill Russell wanted the ball in his own hands and nobody else’s. And, like magic, even if he’d missed every free throw he’d ever shot in his life before this, he knew he was going to make this one. And that is exactly what happened. That is what virtually always happens when a man or woman accepts responsibility eagerly and with confidence. I’ve always felt that accepting responsibility is one of the highest forms of human maturity. A willingness to be accountable, to put yourself on the line, is really the defining characteristic of adulthood. To Your Success, September 12, 2009 Goals give you a purpose for taking life on. People who live without goals have no purpose and it is obvious even in their body language. They are on permanent idle, they slouch, they list from side to side. Their conversations dawdle. They telephone you: “Hey, I’m just calling. I wasn’t doing anything, so I thought I’d call you.” Well, don’t call ME. I’VE got things to do. Many people just muddle through life. They don’t read informational material, they don’t even pay attention when they WATCH television. If you ask them what they are watching, they mumblemouth, “Nothin’, I’m just lookin’.” What are your goals for your career? For your relationships? For your spiritual life? Develop a schedule for the next month, the next six months, the next year, five years and ten years. Write it all out. Let’s take one of the most common goals: You want to make more money. If that is your goal, then take some practical steps toward realizing it. First, determine specifically how much money you want to make. Then, double that amount and make THAT your goal. Even if you don’t reach the higher amount, you will probably still find yourself making more than your original goal. Second, decide the amount of energy you are willing to expend to reach your goal. How many hours are you willing to work a day? How many jobs are you willing to hold down? What sort of work are you willing to do? A third step in this process is to develop a practical plan of action and get started immediately. Chart out where you want to be in relation to your goal in the next month, six months, one year, five years and ten years. Get started today. Go apply for that second job NOW! Go enroll in that career training program NOW! Ask for that raise NOW! And finally, make sure that you have all of this written down so that you can review it every morning and every night and envision yourself taking these steps, DOING THEM and SUCCEEDING! —Les Brown September 13, 2009 I will suggest to you that success has a lot to do with geography, although, perhaps not in the way you might think. I am not implying that success is a result of being in the right place at the right time. Rather, it is about the geography of who you surround yourself with. To illustrate my point, take a moment to reflect on the history of the United States of America. While I believe that it is not up for debate that today the United States is the world’s only superpower, but how it achieved that status is obvious and yet often over looked. Geography has played a large part in the success of the United States. To the east and west are large oceans of protection. This cannot be overlooked as a major factor in the success of my country. What did the British have to do in order to fight the colonists for control of the New World? They had to sail from England across the Atlantic! What did the Japanese have to do in order to attack Pearl Harbor? They had to bridge the distance of the Pacific. But if our fleet was docked on the West Coast of the mainland, would the attack even have been possible? There is no doubt about it – two mighty oceans of protection have served as barriers to forces hostile to the United States and acted as a buffer for the nation to grow and prosper unimpeded. To our north is Canada and to the south is Mexico. When the United States was in its infancy, Mexico was not considered an ally – yet today it definitely is. Therefore, the United States of America has walls of protection to its east and west in the form of massive bodies of water, and friendly neighbors to its north and south. What do our neighbors to the north and south want for the United States? They want us to be militarily strong, economically prosperous and a symbol of strength in the world. Why do our neighbors want this for us? Make no mistake, it is not simply to see a friend prosper – these nations are very aware that the stronger we are, because of their proximity to us, the stronger they will be. In turn, it is in the national interests of the United States that Mexico and Canada are strong countries. Therefore, we will go out of our way to see that they are prosperous and safe from foreign attack. Now, you see a couple of the reasons why the United States has prospered. We are surrounded by friendly neighbors and vast oceans. After you have examined the success of the United States, the next step is to look at the lives of those you know who are personally successful. I believe you will find the same marks of geography in their success. What kind of people do you find around successful people? What kinds of people are surrounding you? Do they desire for you to succeed or fail? Where do you spend your free time? This is a geography question again. The geography of oceans has helped enabled success for the United States. The geography of where you place yourself in your free time will also enable or disable your success. You must ensure that at least a portion of your geography is in an environment that enables learning. This can be done in a place to read or study. You must ensure that at least a portion of your geography is in an environment that enables rest. This is any quiet and calm place where you can relax with your thoughts and recover for the work yet to come. A massage or a trip out into the country are great examples of this type of geographical resting. You must ensure that at least a portion of your geography is in an environment that enables health, strength and physical stamina. This could be accomplished at the gym, local track or by simply jogging around your block. For your body to hold up to the test of success it must be in top shape. Make no mistake, a nation that is surrounded by hostile neighbors constantly attacking or plotting its harm is going to be a nation that is constantly on the defensive and fighting simply to maintain the status quo. The nation that is surrounded by friendly geography has the potential to prosper beyond the wildest imagination of its founders. You are no different than that nation. To ensure your success, constantly monitor your personal geography. —Ron White September 14, 2009 I believe every person has within themselves inexhaustible reserves of potential they have never even come close to realizing. I believe each person has far more intelligence than they have ever used. I believe each person is more creative than he or she has ever imagined. I believe the greatest achievements of your life lie ahead of you. I believe the happiest moments of your life are yet to come. I believe the greatest successes you will ever attain are still waiting for you on the road ahead. And, I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you can set for yourself. —Brian Tracy September 15, 2009 There is a tide in the affairs of men So you walk a little today, get your heart rate up a bit, you lift a few weights, you eat a little differently, then tomorrow morning you wake up and look in the mirror… and see the same old flubber. You have to be pretty well along the path to see any significant results. What keeps you doing this simple thing, day after day? Will power! It’s like my dad (mom, teacher, boss, older brother, minster, self) always told me… I just need more will power. Really? I don’t think so. (A friend of mine used to say that people on diets who complain that they lack will power are usually suffering more from a lack of won’t power!) Will power is vastly overrated. For most people, will power ends up looking and feeling like some sort of grim self-tyranny, and involves creating an elaborate, artificial reward-and-punishment system. Do you want to change? If so, I can show you how to tap into the most powerful force for change there is. Would you like to know what it is? Are you ready? Here it is: TIME. Position your daily actions so time is working for instead of against you. Because time will either promote you or expose you. What keeps you on the path is your Slight Edge philosophy, which includes your understanding of the secret of time. Knowing the secret of time, you say: If I stay on this road long enough, I’ll get the result I seek. It’s not a question of your mood, your feeling or your attitude. And it’s not a question of will power. It’s a question of simply knowing. When you enter a darkened room, why does your hand reach out for the light switch? Because you know that when you hit the switch, the light will go on. You don’t have to give yourself positive self-talk about how you really ought to hit that light switch, or set up a system of rewards and punishments for yourself around whether you follow through or not with hitting the light switch. You don’t need any rigmarole; you just hit the switch. Why? Because you know what will happen. You know. It’s the exact same thing here; you walk a little every day, lift a few weights, eat a little better, and leave the penny in the purse (hit the light switch) because you know it will make you healthy and wealthy (the light will turn on). It’s the exact same thing, no different—except for one thing, and that is time. —Jeff Olson September 16, 2009 Absolutely no one can overestimate the power of the mind and its role in our success! It is imperative to keep our minds right and on the right track if we are to achieve balanced success in our career, finances, health, emotions, relationships and spiritual lives. The analogy I would like to use here is one of a radio station. For example, there may be a “Success” station. But the only way you can hear a radio station is to be tuned into it. Even a little off and you can’t get the full effect. The same is true with our mind and success. If our minds and our thoughts get sidetracked, our success will get sidetracked. As our minds stay tuned to “success” our bodies will then carry out our success and we will begin to experience abundance! So here are some ways to keep tuned into success! Use your innate ability to decide and choose. One of the things that separate us from the animals is that we live not by instinct, but by choice. Constantly flexing that muscle of choice builds it up and keeps us on track for success. It is like working out. The more we do, the stronger we get. The more “fit” we get. Want to keep your mind tuned for success? Keep it healthy by making good choices and decisions on a regular basis. For example, do you have a bad habit? Then flex your mind muscle and choose to change—today. If you choose to stay the same way (and those are the only two alternatives) you will have just chosen to tune your mind to a different station than “success.” Put good stuff into your brain. There are lots of things that want to work their way into our minds (and eventually work themselves out again in our actions). There will be lots that we just get from walking around all day. But what about what we put in on purpose? We can choose to put good stuff in on a regular basis. Do you take time each day to put good things into your mind, to tune into success? Here are two things to consider when you are choosing what to put into your mind: First, is it positive? Will it build you up or tear you down? Will it make you a better person, or lesser? Will you grow from it or not? Will it tune you to success or not? Secondly, Will it move you toward your goals in the areas of your life that you want to see success and abundance in? Keep the junk out. Like I mentioned above, there will always be junk floating around, like a fellow employee who gripes all the time. But what surprises me is how many people who want success, actually willfully choose to put junk into their minds and then expect to be tuned into success. Here are some thoughts on this: First, evaluate everything that you put into your mind. Evaluate what you read, listen to and watch. We live in a fast-paced world and we have little time. Why then would we spend our precious time putting junk into our minds? Does what you read, listen to and watch move you toward your goals or away from them? It is a simple question, really. At least most of the time. And here is my soapbox. Eleven years ago, my wife suggested we give away our television. I was shocked to say the least, but decided to give it a try. Now I am the anti-TV fanatic in our house! I have more time than anyone I know and I don’t have to spend a lot of energy filtering my mind to tune it to success. Just a thought. Just a thought. Eat right and exercise. That’s right. The way we eat and the amount of exercise we get goes a long way toward our mind’s ability to tune into success. Put the right foods into your body and the brain responds. Exercise on a regular basis and the body releases chemicals that literally ignite your brain for success! Hope these thoughts help you to get going and keep your mind tuned into success. Put them into practice and soon you’ll be dialed into success and abundance. —Chris Widener September 17, 2009 Here is a familiar scenario for all of us; you may even be going through something like this right now: You have an exciting goal in mind, you’ve done your homework, you think you’re amply prepared… but things just don’t work out. You’ve probably had times when you thought you were doing what you were supposed to do, but you were misinformed. You thought you had it all laid out, but it just didn’t work. You burned the midnight oil day after day after day, but it didn’t seem to help. You couldn’t seem to change the end result. These are the times when you have to be your own best cheerleader. And there are two ways to keep yourself encouraged. Number one: Take responsibility for the missed opportunity or the misrepresentation. Learn from the fact that even though you made the best presentation possible, your client wanted it a different way. Be prepared for the letdowns that happen every so often. Know that this lost opportunity just set you up to take advantage of the next one. Realize that you can make the necessary alterations next time. Make the changes that will make the difference. Study your mistakes and learn from them. Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, simply acknowledge them and learn from them. Remind yourself that you’re smarter than your bank account leads you to believe. Encouragement practice number two: Remind yourself that you’re bound to get better. Don’t get down on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s the next opportunity that matters, not the last one. The last one matters only in that you must learn from your mistakes. But the next one gives you the opportunity to show that you have learned from your mistakes. You can do it better next time. You just have to practice. Keep trying until. Until what? Until you’ve got it down. If you figured out what went wrong last time, then you know how to make it right next time. If you figured out what it was in your presentation that didn’t work, don’t say that next time. If you figured out that the reason you didn’t close the deal this time was because you didn’t have all the facts and figures in place, have all the facts and figures in place next time. Don’t beat yourself up for messing up. Pat yourself on the back for figuring it out. You need to encourage yourself. You need to pump yourself up. You need to be your own cheerleader. Why? Because you can’t wait and hope that someone else will come along and cheer you up… make you feel better… tell you that you’ll do better next time. You have to rely on yourself. You have to have faith in yourself and your ability to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You have to have the inner belief that everything you’re doing, you’re doing for a positive outcome in the future. You have to encourage yourself with future successes. When you miss an opportunity, are unprepared for an opportunity, or suffer a setback while realizing your goals, you need to encourage yourself by immediately getting back into line. There’s an old cowboy saying, “Fall off a horse seven times and you’re a real cowboy.” If you fall off a horse, get right back on. If you fall off track, get right back on. If you fall away from your disciplines, get right back to them. If you fall out of habit, get back into the habit. Something goes wrong, do what you can to make it right. If you fall off… get back on. If you fall off the horse, that is, the horse of habits or disciplines or progress, get back on. It may be hard. It may be a bit frightening. But get back on. Keep your resolve alive and active and well. Cheer yourself on to victory. You can do it. To Your Success, September 18, 2009 Marc Wright, president of the Kiddie Card Company, is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Canada. He started his business when he was just 6 years old after listening to some motivational tapes. Following a visit to an art museum, Marc thought he would make some drawings and see if he could earn money. His mother suggested he put his pictures on cards and sell them. He was an immediate success with some rather unique concepts. Marc knocks on doors and gives his short, but effective sales talk. “Hi. My name is Marc, and I’m freezing! I’m selling greeting cards. How many would you like to buy? Here’s a handful. Just pick the ones you want and pay me what you want.” His cards are hand-drawn on pink, green and white paper. They cover the season of the year, and Marc sells them about three days a week. He averages about 75 cents a card and sells about 25 cards an hour. His first year in business, Marc earned $3,000, enough to take his mom on a trip to Disney World. By age 10, Marc had become something of a media celebrity. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and was interviewed by Conan O’Brien. Marc had an idea, didn’t count his birthdays, received some encouragement from his mother, and started his business. Question: Do you have an idea that’s marketable? If you do, take action! —Zig Ziglar September 19, 2009 I have not often admitted this, but I was inspired to become a public speaker by perhaps the worst motivational speaker I’ve ever heard in my life. This fellow is still working, surprisingly, so I won’t give his name. He was the opening speaker in a seminar I attended early in my speaking career and he nearly closed the show early with his monotone, unenthusiastic presentation. As he spoke, the room grew as quiet as a graveyard between funerals. I went to sleep to be awakened by what could only be called courtesy applause for his presentation. You could make more noise clapping with one hand. After the less-than-stirring speech, I leaned over to the guy sitting next to me and said, “That was really boring.” And he said, “You should be so boring for the kind of money he makes.” The fellow told me this terrible speaker was making $5,000 for each terrible speech. After hearing how much money a really bad speaker could make, I decided it was time for me to go after this dream. A few days later, I caught a Greyhound bus from Miami to Orlando where I’d signed up for a seminar for beginners held by the National Speakers Association. It seemed like the bus ride took weeks. I know it took every last dollar I could scrape together. And so I was road-weary but eager to hear some inspiring, motivational and dynamic speaking when I finally took a seat at the event. But who should walk out to lead the first session but that same terrible $5,000-per-speech speaker? I could not believe it! All that time on a stinking bus, stopping in every one-horse town between Miami and Orlando, to hear this guy again? I nearly got up and walked out. By the time he’d gotten halfway through his speech, nearly half the audience had fled. But I stayed on until the bitter end and the speaker’s parting shot, as it turned out, was worth the price of admission. He obviously had noted the exodus of the audience and the drooping eyelids of those who remained because, as he built up to his anticlimax, he stopped suddenly, looked out at the remaining numbers of aspiring public speakers and said, “You know, the only reason that I am standing up here and you are sitting down there is that I represent the thoughts that you have rejected for yourself.” I don’t know about the other dozen or so people in the audience, but Mr. Monotone hit me right between the eyes with that shot. It was true. He had acted upon something that I had only dreamt of doing. I’d spent years dreaming of becoming a public speaker. But dreaming was all I had done. This guy may not have had any talent for it. He may have been the most undynamic public speaker in history. But he was up there while I was still dreaming. And so that is how I became motivated to start a new career by perhaps the worst motivational speaker I have ever heard. —Les Brown September 20, 2009 When you plan and prepare carefully, you can legitimately expect to have success in your efforts. When you recognize and develop the winning qualities that you were born with, the winner you were born to be emerges. When you plan and prepare to make a sale, for example, you can legitimately expect to make a sale. Although not all your expectations are going to come to pass, you give yourself an infinitely better chance of succeeding by taking the proper steps. Regardless of your goal—losing weight, making more sales, furthering your education, earning a promotion, saving money for a new home or an exotic vacation—you can expect to achieve your goal if you plan and prepare for it. Also understand that the path from where you are to where you want to be is not always smooth and straight. The reason for the twists and bumps is simple, and it has nothing to do with you. It has more to do with the fact that not everyone is as interested in your success as you are. Some people may accidentally hinder your efforts; others who are in competition with you and have little or no integrity may try to sabotage your efforts. Keep in mind, though, that when you hit those roadblocks your character, commitment and attitude are the determining factors in your success…. Carefully review your plan of action, seek wise counsel, and be particularly careful to feed your mind good information. An optimistic, positive mind is far more likely to come up with creative solutions than a mind that dwells on setbacks and difficulties. Bottom line: expect success and you can achieve it! September 21, 2009 As I have worked with people over the years I have seen an amazing thing. People often get frustrated because they aren’t achieving “success.” There are lots of possible reasons for this but one reason I have found that sticks out is that many people allow their definition of “success” to be driven by someone or something else. Instead, we ought to be looking at our own skills, opportunities, life situations, etc. to determine what it would mean for us to be a success in our own mind rather than someone else’s. Thus, the key to “success” is all in the head—our head! We develop our own thinking about what it will mean to become a success. The frustration comes in when we look at what someone else thinks is a success and try to attain it, only to find it elusive. For one person, being a success may mean to make $100,000 a year. For another it may be $250,000. Another may not be concerned with the yearly income but be more concerned with a net worth. Still another may not be motivated by money and may consider himself a success by how many street kids he gets pointed in the right direction and into a productive life. Now the temptation would be for the person working with street kids to think they aren’t a “success” because they don’t make much money. The temptation for the person making $100,000 may be to think they aren’t a “success” until they make $250,000. And the temptation for the person making $250,000 may very well be to think they aren’t a “success” because they aren’t helping street kids! And round and round it goes when we are gauging ourselves by another’s measure of success. So my advice is this: Set your own course, and stay on course. Don’t measure yourself against any other standard of success. Do what you do best and the rest will take care of itself. Here is the truth. Being a success is doing your best, not being the best. When we get to that point, we will experience a lot more joy and a lot less frustration. That sounds good to me! —Chris Widener September 22, 2009 You may know me. I’m easily managed; all you’ve got to do is be firm with me. But I work with all the precision of a marvelous computer Take me. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you. I’m Habit! -- Denis Waitley September 23, 2009 Perfectionists are often great procrastinators. Having stalled until the last minutes, they tear into a project with dust flying and complaints about insufficient time. Perfectionist-procrastinators are masters of the excuse that short notice kept them from doing the quality job they could have done. But that’s hardly the only variety of procrastination—which is one of my own favorite hiding places when I try to blame external conditions instead of myself for some difficulty. Mine comes with a gnawing feeling of being fatigued, always behind. I try to tell myself that I’m taking it easy and gathering my energies for a big new push, but procrastination differs markedly from genuine relaxation—which is truly needed. And it saves me no time or energy. On the contrary, it drains both, leaving me with self-doubt on top of self-delusion. We’re all very busy. Every day we seem to have a giant to-do list of people to see, projects to complete, e-mails to read, e-mails to write. We have calls to answer and calls to make, then more calls to people with whom we keep playing voice-mail tag. Henri Nouwen’s classic book Making All Things New likens our lives to “overstuffed suitcases that are bursting at the seams.” Feeling there is forever far too much to do, we say we’re really under the gun this week. But working hard or even heroically to solve a problem is little to our credit if we created the problem in the first place. When most people refer to themselves as being under the gun, they want to believe, or do believe, that the pressures and problems are not of their own making. In most cases, however, the gun appeared after failure to attend to business in good time. Instead of being proactive early, they procrastinated until the due date became a crisis deadline. By the Inch Life’s a Cinch, by the Yard It’s Hard One of the best escapes from the prison of procrastination is to take even the smallest steps toward your goals. People usually procrastinate because of fear and lack of self-confidence and, ironically, become even more afraid when under the gun. There are many ways to experiment and test new ground without risking the whole ball game on one play. Experience has shown that when people go after one big goal at once, they invariably fail. If you had to swallow a 12-ounce steak all at once, you’d choke. You have to cut the steak into small pieces, eating one bite at a time. So it is with prioritizing. Proactive goal achievement means taking every project and cutting it up into bite-sized pieces. Each small task or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini-goal in itself. Using this method, the goal becomes manageable. When mini-mistakes are made, they are easy to correct. And with the achievement of each mini-goal, you receive reinforcement and motivation in the form of positive feedback. As basic as this sounds, much frustration and failure is caused when people try to “bite off more than they can chew” by taking on assignments with limited resources and impossible timeline expectations. Two major fears that sire procrastination are fear of the unknown and fear of rejection or looking foolish. A third fear—of success—is often overlooked. Many people, even many executives, fear success because it carries added responsibility that can seem too heavy to bear, such as setting an example of excellence that calls for additional effort and willingness to take risks. Success, without adequate self-esteem or the belief that it is deserved, also can create feelings of guilt and the result is only temporary or fleeting high achievement. Playing it safe can seem more tempting than a need to step forward with determination to do it now and do it right. In the next issue, I’ll give you 10 ideas to help you move from procrastination to proactivation! -- Denis Waitley September 24, 2009 In a way, human beings behave like bees. If you place several bees in an open-ended bottle and lay the bottle on its side with the base toward a light source, the bees will repeatedly fly to the bottle bottom toward the light. It never occurs to them to reverse gears and try another direction. This is a combination of genetic programming and learned behavior. Put a bunch of flies in that bottle and turn the base toward a bright light. Within a few minutes, all the flies will have found their way out. They try all directions—up, down, toward the light, away from the light, often bumping into the glass—but sooner or later they flutter forth into the neck of the bottle and out the opening. We often allow ourselves to become locked in our present circumstances—even if we are unhappy and really want to be reaching in a new direction. What we’re doing may make us miserable, but at least it’s familiar. One of the most important factors in achieving personal success is the willingness to try things out, to experiment, to test new ground. In fact, this is the only way to learn and progress: trial, error, feedback, knowledge, trial and success. It is a far better thing to try to succeed and fail, than to do nothing and succeed. This week: * Try it Stop stewing and start doing! -- Denis Waitley September 25, 2009 As a young man, my first serious goal in life was to become an architect. I studied at one of the finest and most notable engineering schools in the country, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and was then able to gain employment in the office of Mies van der Rohe, one of the most recognized and distinguished architects of our time. I thought that I was on my way to success. There I was, just an ordinary man, creating the blueprint for a perfectly executed life. I was building a career, as well as a personal life, and hoping for financial security. Yet I felt that something was missing. While others described me as successful, I knew deep inside that success had to be more than I was experiencing. At that time, I thought that if my life fit the definition of success, then I was truly disappointed. The problem back then was my definition of success. I simply equated it to “happiness and peace of mind.” Those were the two things that I thought I wanted. In retrospect, success was something that I had not really taken the time to truly define. Like many others before me, I have sought to understand the basic steps to achieving success and how, if properly taken, they could virtually ensure that I arrived on its doorstep. Today, I consider “success” as the ability to build your life as you want it—to take the vision of where you want to go and who you want to be, and plan each phase right down to the tiniest detail. I’ve learned that success means being honest with yourself in determining what you can build, and, once the building starts, having the courage to make the necessary and sometimes critical modifications to plan. How Do We Achieve Success? This five-step process usually starts with our first school experiences. Parents actually make decisions for us, as they coach us and urge us to do our homework, study hard and achieve good grades. In later years, counselors encourage us to continue our education through vocational schools and other institutions of higher learning. From my point of view, this is where we have the first major breakdown in our society. For some, the cost of continuing education is prohibitive. Often, parents are not in the financial position to help with the expense of education. They have a difficult time meeting the needs of teenagers who feel peer pressure to dress well, own cars, have girlfriends and boyfriends, and participate in social activities that usually require money. To help meet growing financial obligations, many teens resort to joining the workforce too soon, often sacrificing their continued pursuit of knowledge. Young people who are able to continue their education at trade schools, colleges and universities are guided through two to five years or more of study designed to prepare them for careers in chosen professions or fields. The end of this educational process usually yields some type of degree or certificate of completion. This achievement is one to be very proud of, but is this piece of paper a guarantee for achieving “success”? Not if you read these startling statistics: In the United States of America, the richest country in the world, 10 percent of the population owned 71 percent of the wealth at the end of 2001, and the top 1 percent controlled 38 percent of the wealth. The bottom 40 percent owned less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that America’s 2005 personal savings rate, as a percentage of disposable income, was a negative .05 percent, the lowest in the industrialized world by some measures. The statistics represent a society that does not experience success throughout its masses. What’s even more alarming are the global statistics: 2 percent of the global population control more than 50 percent of all of the world’s wealth! The richest 10 percent actually control 85 percent of the world’s wealth! What’s missing in the educational process that prevents so many from achieving a higher level of success? Why is it that so many can invest so much time in attempting to do all the right things, and still not attain their goals? How do we achieve happiness and peace of mind, freedom from debt, and financial stability? To answer those questions, I reflected on the principles of design and construction I learned while studying the architecture of buildings. And this is the answer that I found. We take the one course of action that will ensure us personal success: We become the architects of our destinies. We create the blueprints for the lives we want to live. We go back to the basics in assessing who we are and what we want to build, we design plans of our choosing, and we note what we need to change to achieve successful lives. The Room Within I truly believe that the one thing sorely missing in our educational institutions today is an emphasis on the basics: the basic knowledge of how to understand ourselves and gain control of our lives. If we better understood these basics, more ordinary people would become extraordinary achievers. I don’t believe, however, that our journey through life needs to be complicated. We don’t need to spend years on blueprints for Taj Mahals that, realistically, will never get built. We simply need to construct a solid framework—strong in foundation and aesthetically pleasing—that will stand proud in the world. —John Fleming September 26, 2009 Where the Miracle Begins It’s in the face of adversity that things begin to change, that you begin to change. With enough disgust, desire and determination to change your life, you’ll start saying, “I’ve had it. Enough of this. No more. Never again!” Here’s where the miracle begins. “I’ve had it. Enough. No more. Never again.” These words and these thoughts really rattle the power of time and fate and circumstances. And these three things, time and fate and circumstances, all get together and say, “Okay. Okay. We can see that we have no power here; we’re facing some major resolve! This guy’s not going to give up. He’s had it. He’s done with all this nonsense. We’d better step aside and let this guy get by!” Inspiration through disgust. A lot of people don’t change themselves. They wait for change. These poor unfortunate folks accept their defeats and wallow in their self-pity. Why? Because they refuse to take control of the situation. They refuse to take control of their life, their career, their health, their relationships, their finances. They refuse to take responsibility and get sufficiently disgusted to change it. If you are disgusted, if you are in need of some change, if this book finds you in the middle of your own personal slump, then I have some words to offer. Your present failure is a temporary condition. It is only a temporary condition. You will rebound from failure, just as surely as you gravitated into failure. One time, when I was in the midst of a bout of failure, somebody suggested that I should tell myself, “This too shall pass.” I firmly believe that you’re only given as much as you can handle, as much negativity, as much failure, as much disappointment. This too shall pass, if you grasp for a new beginning. You need to pull yourself up and move back into the world with a plan. As foolish as it might sound, you should be thankful for your current limitations or failures. They are the building blocks from which to create greatness. You can go where you want to go. You can do what you want to do. You can become what you want to become. You can do it all, starting now, right where you are. A father talks about his daughter. She’s gone through some pretty tough times, and as he tells it, she’s a pretty tough person. He has a unique way of describing his daughter’s situation, though. While most parents would be frantic, even for their kids who are grown and gone, this man just smiles and says that his daughter is like a frog in a jar of cream: She keeps kicking and kicking and kicking, and pretty soon the milk will turn into a lump of butter and she’ll be able to jump out. That’s an interesting illustration of tenacity, because that’s how it really works. You’ve got to keep trying and trying and trying. You’ve got to have enough resolve to do it until. Some of the most inspiring success stories have started with failure. Longfellow started in failure. Michelangelo started in failure. Lincoln started in failure. Rod Serling wrote 40 stories before he had one that was accepted. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper that felt he had no talent. Richard Byrd crashed his plane on his first solo trip before he became one of the world’s greatest explorers. And the success stories continue. Be grateful for your adversity. At the same time, make sure that it’s working for your future, not against you. Make your failures give birth to great opportunity, not prolonged agony. Make your disgust lead to inspiration, not depression. The world will willingly sit by and let you wallow in your sorrows… until you die broke and alone. And here’s what else the world will do. The world will step aside and let you by, once you decide that your present situation is only temporary. The doors will open once you decide to get back on your feet and make your mark. You have to care. In your own enlightened self-interest, give a run at adventure. Keep your eyes firmly set on achievement. Don’t settle for mere existence and self-pity. Make a commitment to excellence. And remember, it is your challenge, your own personal challenge, to use all your gifts and skills and talents and knowledge to survive and succeed. To Your Success, September 27, 2009 If you're serious about becoming a wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured and unique individual, keep a journal. Don't trust your memory. When you listen to something valuable, write it down. When you come across something important, write it down. I used to take notes on pieces of paper and torn-off corners and backs of old envelopes. I wrote ideas on restaurant placemats. On long sheets, narrow sheets and little sheets and pieces of paper thrown in a drawer. Then I found out that the best way to organize those ideas is to keep a journal. I've been keeping these journals since the age of 25. The discipline makes up a valuable part of my learning, and the journals are a valuable part of my library. I am a buyer of blank books. Kids find it interesting that I would buy a blank book. They say, "Twenty-six dollars for a blank book? Why would you pay that?" The reason I pay $26 is to challenge myself to find something worth $26 to put in there. All my journals are private, but if you ever got a hold of one of them, you wouldn't have to look very far to discover it is worth more than $26. I must admit, if you got a glimpse of my journals, you'd have to say that I am a serious student. I'm not just committed to my craft, I'm committed to life, committed to learning new concepts and skills. I want to see what I can do with seed, soil, sunshine and rain to turn them into the building blocks of a productive life. Keeping a journal is so important. I call it one of the three treasures to leave behind for the next generation. In fact, future generations will find these three treasures far more valuable than your furniture. The first treasure is your pictures. Take a lot of pictures. Don't be lazy in capturing the event. How long does it take to capture the event? A fraction of a second. How long does it take to miss the event? A fraction of a second. So don't miss the pictures. When you're gone, they'll keep the memories alive. The second treasure is your library. This is the library that taught you, that instructed you, that helped you defend your ideals. It helped you develop a philosophy. It helped you become wealthy, powerful, healthy, sophisticated, and unique. It may have helped you conquer some disease. It may have helped you conquer poverty. It may have caused you to walk away from the ghetto. Your library, the books that instructed you, fed your mind and fed your soul, is one of the greatest gifts you can leave behind. The third treasure is your journals: the ideas that you picked up, the information that you meticulously gathered. But of the three, journal writing is one of the greatest indications that you're a serious student. Taking pictures, that is pretty easy. Buying a book at a book store, that's pretty easy. It is a little more challenging to be a student of your own life, your own future, your own destiny. Take the time to keep notes and to keep a journal. You'll be so glad you did. What a treasure to leave behind when you go. What a treasure to enjoy today! —Jim Rohn September 28, 2009 I am extremely leery of any quick-fix solution or overnight formula for success. In my opinion, they don't exist. With that said, the following formula is one that I have shared with members of my family to encourage them to break through the rut they are in and experience success. Therefore, if I would share it with my family, I must believe in the principles. I suggested that they begin to regularly do these three things: 1. Surround themselves with positive people who believe that this life is not all there is. Personally, I find this at my local church. This e-mail goes out to thousands of people all over the world. I know we don't share the same faith in all cases. This message is not about my faith; it is about you finding a group of people who regularly meet together and have a belief that there is more to life than what we see. This is the first step to a positive outlook on life. 2. You must exercise weekly in order to stimulate endorphins and maintain an energetic life. The exercise of walking to the kitchen or curling 12 ounces does not count as exercise. I run a mile twice a week, and two to three days a week do strength training. This is nothing difficult, but it makes a major difference in my attitude. 3. You MUST educate yourself through reading. The average CEO in America reads four to five books per month. The average American reads one book per year, and 60 percent of us don't get past the first chapter! Make a promise to yourself to read at least one book per month. Read anything! Regardless, of what you read… develop a passion for reading and learning, and you will see your attitude and outlook on life begin to change. Any person who faithfully invests their time in these three areas may not break world records in levels of success. However, everything in me believes that they would see dramatic improvements. I believe in those three things so much, I encouraged my family to invest their time in these areas. —Ron White September 29, 2009 Have you ever walked into a room and couldn’t remember what you went there for? Have you ever grasped the hand of a potential client and then when the handshake broke, the name seemed to disappear from your memory? Or have you ever left a prospect and as you drove away remembered a key point that you should have shared with them? Of course you have... we all have. However, I have some great news for you. Your memory is nowhere near as bad as you may think it is. Some time ago, I was a guest at a radio station in Waco. The disc jockey wrote a 50-digit number on a sheet of paper and told his listening audience and then played a three-minute song. As the listeners enjoyed the song I memorized the 50-digit number. When the song was over we went back live on the air and I handed him the paper. I then proceeded to recite the number forward and then I said it backward. The disc jockey looked at me in utter disbelief, and stunned, he said, “Ron... you are incredible!” I looked him straight in the eye and replied, “You know... you are right!” I said, “Jay, the greatest computer ever created does not come from Dell or Gateway. The greatest computer ever created does not sit on the assembly line of a computer factory. Instead, you and I are the greatest computers ever created. And yes... you are right. I am incredible... but so are you.” The human memory has the ability to hear a 100-digit number or more once and then repeat it forward and backward. It has the ability to memorize a Shakespearean play word for word or memorize the stats of every baseball player for the last 100 years. And the human memory has the capability to meet 100 people in 20 minutes and recall every single name! Now, the question is, are you doing these things? If not, the reason is simply that you have not been trained to. Two thousand years ago a Greek named Simonedes developed a memory method called loci. With this method, Simonedes numbered locations in his home. He started in the doorway and then logically proceeded around his home. He reviewed these items so many times mentally that if you asked him what was number 25, he could instantly tell you what piece of furniture that number corresponded to. These 25 objects were actually mental files for Simonedes. Then, if he had a list of items he wanted to recall, he would place them mentally on these objects in his home. Let’s say that you are a professional who wants to give a speech without notes. Simply turn the key points into pictures and then file them to your “house files.” When you are called upon to speak, simply mentally walk through the house and give your talk without notes. For example, I gave a one-hour keynote in Atlanta at a homebuilder’s conference. I wrote my speech out the night before. The first thing I wanted to do was talk about the book How to Win Friends and Influence People. So I visualized the book on my front door and then mentally walked through my house and gave the one-hour talk without notes! That can work for you as well. Anything that you want to recall, simply turn it into a picture, place it on your house files and get ready to be amazed! YOU are the greatest computer ever created! —Ron White September 30, 2009 Some years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute video for teenagers called Three Keys to Greatness. Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well. Recently I was asked to list these three things using one to two sentences for each. Now for your benefit here they are again. 1) Setting Goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a well-defined future, so they will be motivated to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this. 2) Personal Development. Simply making consistent investments in our self-education and knowledge banks pays major dividends throughout our lives. I suggest having a minimum amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to audiocassettes, attending seminars, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says you will be in five years the sum total of the books you read and the people you are around. 3) Financial Planning. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your paycheck or paying yourself, simply setting aside 10 percent for saving, 10 percent for investing and 10 percent for giving, and over time this will guarantee financial independence for a teenager. If a young person, or for that matter an adult, focused on doing these three simple things over a long period of time I believe they will be assured success! —Jim Rohn |