Success Principles by Jack Canfield 13

Despite some of the best information available on how to
accomplish any task, most people still tend to ask their
friends, neighbors, co-workers and siblings for advice on
key issues they may be facing.

This is Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer emailing with today's
mentorship message, asking, "Why not turn to people who are
experts in the field...who have already accomplished exactly
what you want to do?"

You could easily find dozens of mentors to help you on your
path -- and surprisingly, many of them will help out just for
the enjoyment of helping someone else succeed.

In today's mentorship lesson, take time NOW to jot down those
questions you need answered along with the kind of help or
contacts you might need a mentor to provide. Once you've
determined your needs, you can more easily search out
appropriate mentors in your field. When you find them, take
a risk and ask them to help.

You can find a sample script for making the initial phone call
on page 301 of The Success Principles, along with detailed
informationon how to find potential mentors.


We'll see you tomorrow with another Success Principles message.


JACK CANFIELD and JANET SWITZER

Zig Ziglar on Thinking it Through

Zig On…

Thinking it Through

Never follow a bad shot with a bad decision. As an avid golfer I’m often puzzled by the actions of the typical high-handicap golfer. He steps up to the tee box and with driver in hand takes his stance, thinks the shot through, and hits the ball about two hundred ten yards out and about forty yards to the right, where it lands in the midst of some trees. He walks or rides to the ball, looks at the six-foot opening and determines that all he’s got to do to reach the green is hit the ball a hundred seventy-five yards through that opening, send it over the lake and fade it over the bunker to land on the green.

Let me remind you of the scenario: He just missed a fairway roughly sixty yards wide with the ball teed up and in perfect position. For his second shot he believes he can go through a six-foot opening and make the ball act like it does when one of the top touring pros on the P.G.A. hits it. With the confidence that generally goes with ignorance, he steps up, fires away, and hits the ball in the lake. In anger and disgust, he then hits the ball over the green into a sand bunker. Two strokes later he is on the green where he two-putts for a disastrous quadruple bogey eight. He followed a bad shot with a bad decision and it cost him.

Too often all of us hit a “bad shot” (make a mistake, handle the truth loosely, etc.). Then we compound that “bad shot” by denying it, defending it, lying about it or rationalizing it instead of quietly thinking it through, acknowledging the mistake, and working through it in a logical, forthright manner. Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is a motivator and teacher. He is the author of 27 books and loved by millions of people world wide for his practical wisdom and his gift of hope.

When a company or an individual compromises one time, whether it’s on price or principle, the next compromise is right around the corner.

Zig Ziglar

Success Principles by Jack Canfield 12

This is Jack Canfield with another Mentorship Message.

When Mark Victor Hansen and I published the first Chicken Soup
for the Soul book, we knew we wanted it to be a best-seller.

We wrote over 1,000 things we could do to bring us closer to
our goal...but then we got overwhelmed at the enormity of what
we were trying to do.

This sense of "overwhelm" happens to almost everyone who is
trying to achieve a truly big goal. But just like yesterday's
lesson about "chunking it down," today I'd like to share with
you the story of what Mark and I did to meet our "best-seller"
goal.

We established what we call our "Rule of 5." Just as the
Achievers Focusing System from yesterday helps you plan 3
things a week to do, we split up our list between us and agreed
to do 5 things A DAY that would get us closer to our goal.

Now, does everyone have the time and resources to make daily
gains? Of course not. But what if you could send five letters
asking for sponsorship money, make five phone calls asking for
new business, fill out five job applications for your new
career or read five chapters of the latest industry report?

Could you do that every day?

If so, it's one way to get further -- faster -- down your
personal path toward success.

.

I'll be back tomorrow with another mentorship message.


JACK CANFIELD

It’s Never Too Late!

It’s Never Too Late!

In May of 1983, Helen Hill, age 95, received her high school diploma. She was absolutely ecstatic. When she finished high school 76 years earlier, she and her five classmates did not receive formal diplomas because the school was so much in debt they could not afford them. When she received her belated diploma, Mrs. Hill was thrilled. Unfortunately, she was the only surviving member of the Class of 1907, so she could not share her joy and excitement with her former classmates. The message is clear: A disappointment of yesterday can turn into a delight for today. It’s never too late!

Carl Carson, at the tender age of 64, decided to make a career change. At that age, most people think in terms of retirement, which is unfortunate. Many 64-year-olds are still very young and have accumulated experiences on which they can build very exciting and rewarding careers. Mr. Carson had been successful as a car and truck leasing agent. For his new career, he decided to go into the consulting business. His original plan was to sell his services to ten clients. Like many of us, when he reached his rather modest goal he decided to do more. He began putting out a monthly newspaper, advising twelve hundred paying subscribers. By age 75, Carl was criss-crossing the nation a hundred times a year, speaking at conventions and having a very good time.

The message is absolutely clear: It’s never too late to dream, to learn, or to change. Unfortunately, many people come up with excuses for not reaching their goals. They don’t live in the right place, are too old or too young, or a host of other excuses. I’m not saying that it’s going to be easy because life is tough, but it can be rewarding! It’s true that you can’t stop the calendar or turn back the clock, but you can still dream, set those positive goals, and use your unique abilities. Buy into that idea and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is a motivator and teacher. He is the author of 27 books and loved by millions of people world wide for his practical wisdom and his gift of hope.

The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won’t work - if you won’t.

- Zig Ziglar

The Power of Discipline

An excerpt from
The Power of Discipline
By Brian Tracy

Why are some people more successful than others? Why do some people make more money, live happier lives and accomplish much more in the same number of years than the great majority?

I started out in life with few advantages. I did not graduate from high school. I worked at menial jobs. I had limited education, limited skills and a limited future.

And then I began asking, "Why are some people more successful than others?" This question changed my life.

Over the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement. It seems that the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than two thousand years, in every conceivable way. One quality that most philosophers, teachers and experts agree on is the importance of self-discipline. As Al Tomsik summarized it years ago, "Success is tons of discipline."

Some years ago, I attended a conference in Washington. It was the lunch break and I was eating at a nearby food fair. The area was crowded and I sat down at the last open table by myself, even though it was a table for four.

A few minutes later, an older gentleman and a younger woman who was his assistant came along carrying trays of food, obviously looking for a place to sit.

With plenty of room at my table, I immediately arose and invited the older gentleman to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, thanking me as he sat down, we began to chat over lunch.

It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As it happened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four large books, each of which contained 250 success principles that he had derived from more than fifty years of research and study. I had read all four books from cover to cover, more than once.

After we had chatted for awhile, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask, "Of all the one thousand success principles that you have discovered, which do you think is the most important?"

He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he had been asked this question many times, and replied, without hesitating, "The most important success principle of all was stated by Thomas Huxley many years ago. He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'"

He went on to say, "There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self-discipline, none of them work."

Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you, and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.

In the pages ahead I will describe seven areas of your life where the practice of self-discipline will be key to your success. These areas include goals, character, time management, personal health, money, courage and responsibility. It is my hope that you'll find a few "nuggets" that will help make your dreams come true.