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Seeds For Thought
Identifying The Special You
This course is about your amazing potential for making money. When you commit to the Action Principles and a life of self-improvement and service to others, wonderful things happen.People like you. People respect you. People trust you. They buy from you. They promote you. You make money. You are happy. What kinds of people do you want to work for? Where do you want to shop? How do you want to be treated? As a young worker, as a lifelong consumer, you already know a lot about business and how employees and customers should be treated. See. Listen. Read. Copy. Open your mind to the possibilities of your own potential. Life is your teacher. If you are attentive and aware, it isn't too difficult to figure out how the winners win and why the losers lose. What life are you choosing for yourself? Are you choosing adventure and action? Are you willing to see how far you can go with the one wonderful life that God has given you? Just being a thoughtful person, willing to take risks and learn and adjust will set you far apart from the crowd. Keep growing.  Remember, most people are creatures of habit repeating the same work routines day after day after day. Gee, only another 34,608 days like today and I can retire. Do you want this to be your life? Whose choice is it? You can separate yourself from others by committing to a life of self-improvement and service by following the Action Principles. You want to make enough money to live comfortably. You can do this. You want to make enough money to retire early. You can do this. You want to make enough money to spoil your loved ones. You can do this. You want to make enough money to share with the needy. You can do this. In years, not decades, you reach a comfortable level of financial stability. Your housing, transportation and vacation options multiply. In decades, not lifetimes, you earn more than enough money to pamper your spouse and children, to pursue your avocations and to contribute to the well being of those in need. Finally, you leave a sizeable estate for your heirs and chosen causes, one part of your larger legacy of personal accomplishment. This is a good life. This is about you. This is about you following the Action Principles. This is about you being your best. This is not about being born to privilege. Nice but not needed. This is not about going to going to an elite college. Nice but not needed. This is not about winning the lottery. Nice but not needed. This is not about working in a high prestige profession. Nice but not needed. Do you need an advanced graduate degree? Many young people interested in pursuing a high paying, high status position will invest two years and between $30,000 and $70,000 to earn an M.B.A., a Master's in Business Administration. Nice but not needed. Here is our MBA (Master of Business Administration): Make a product or service that the market demands. Be in love with your customer. Always keep learning and improving. Make a product or service that the market demands. Cut lawns, style hair, design websites, sell coat hangers, teach school, run a labor union or pull teeth. Be in love with your customer. Customers have the money and you want them to give some of it to you. You want repeat business. You want referrals. If you work for someone else, you want your bosses to recognize your worth and to keep giving you promotions and raises. Plan on it. Make it happen. Or, you must leave and find a company where you are appreciated. Life is short. Do that now. Always keep learning and improving. What is it going to take to increase the productivity of your business? Or, what is it going to take for you to get your next promotion? And, when? Find out. Study the competition. Challenge yourself. Can a doctor do this? Of course. Can a lawyer do this? Of course. Can an artist and a florist and a lumberjack and a pilot do this? Of course. Repeat this mantra. The type of job doesn't matter. How I do the job matters. If you stay true to this path, a treasure awaits. The Action Principles are your map. As you seek your fortune in this way, a wonderful phenomenon occurs: The customers come to you. The promotions come to you. This is the way life should be. This is nice. You can make it happen. Others will wonder: What is this magic that you have? Where did this charisma come from? Take the power of the Action Principles as your own. It is yours! When others ask how you to do it, give them a copy of the Action Principles book. Encourage them to visit Success.org and wish them well on their journeys. Let others experience what you have learned. There is plenty for everyone. They will thank you. You read an Action Principle and you stop to think; where have I been, where am I now and where do I want to go. Just stop for a few moments. Just think. It doesn't matter if you are dealing with a personal problem, ethical question or a business dilemma. The reasoning process preceding your action is the same. 
You want to lose twenty pounds.You want to buy a house. You want a raise. You want to help your daughter deal with a crisis. You stop and you think. What has experience taught me? What can I learn from others who have faced a similar situation? What are my present options? What is my best option? I try. It works or it doesn't. I calmly and quietly try again and this time with a little more experience. You stop and you think. You learn and you adjust. You progress and with time your persistent progression leads you to success. This is the Action Principles. Yes, you are exceptional. You are kind and caring and generous and encouraging. You listen. You smile. You console. Yes, if you follow the Action Principles, you are exceptional. The great motivational writer, Napoleon Hill estimated that of all the people who read his classic motivational book, Think And Grow Rich, only one percent actually followed through on the advice recommended. One Percent! Hundreds of thousands of people will visit Success.org this year and only one percent will give back and become Action Principle Champions. Are you that one person? If the words I write ring true in your heart, then, join me and become a Champion. Yes, do your part and you will be exceptional. What about the other 99%? Good, bad or indifferent, the 99% simply continue to do what they've always done. The easy. The convenient. The known. The predictable. The status quo, which means "things as they are" has an extremely strong pull. Routines are hard to change. Sometimes, it is painful to change. You may make a change and have to change again and once again. You may well feel discouraged. As you stumble along during the early phase of the learning/experimenting process, you may second-guess your own commitment. You will feel the pull drawing you, tempting you back to your old ways. This is human nature. Sometimes, you may feel like: Screaming into a pillow. Pounding your fist like a baby. Pulling your hair out. Eating a huge, hot fudge sundae. Yes, you've got to be tough. And, if second guessing yourself and getting discouraged isn't enough, there will always be negative people anxious to push you back to where you were. Do you know people who will not risk trying anything new in fear that one ignorant cynic might snidely comment, "See, I told you so." What if two people laughed at your idea or your mistake? Could you stand it? You must not let the unhappy, miserable cynics of the world rule your actions. Rather than build themselves up, they find amusement in pulling you down. Ignore them. Don't argue. You can't win. Smile politely. And, do what they say can't be done. Remember, the old saying, "You can't wrestle with a pig. Because even if you win, you get dirty and the pig likes it." How do you see your own life? You'll never be able to afford a new luxury car. You'll never be able to afford a vacation home. You'll never have enough time to volunteer. You'll never retire in your fifties. You can tell yourself this. Or, you can ask others and they will gladly tell you what you can't do. Be strong. Be determined. Read your Action Principle each day. Take your twenty minutes of quiet time each day. Decide what you want to do. Take action. Don't miss out on the wonder of your own life! Action Principle #45 is Develop Your Special Talent. It says that there is something special about you, which gives you the ability to do this something better than 10,000 others. How wonderful you are. Now all you need is the time and the resources and spirit of adventure to find your special talent. Whether your special ability is to be an operatic singer, a master mechanic, an explorer and inventor or a gardener, bless the world with your talent! What will stop you? Who will stop you? Reject those who try to stereotype you. You know the list: race, color, creed, religion, physical ability, sexual preference, national origin, etc. etc. Are these facts related to your ability to make money? Would you rate them as overwhelming, mildly consequential or unimportant? If you are lazy, you've got a serious problem. If you can't think for yourself, you've got a serious problem. If you are a selfish, unpleasant loner, you've got a serious problem. Are you willing to work hard and listen and learn and risk? Or are you willing to allow others to supply you with excuses for not succeeding? Only you can answer. Only you can decide to adjust when your attempts falter. Only you can summon the fortitude to seek opportunity for yourself and embrace an attitude of compassion toward others. As each new day of your life unfolds, only you can decide to brush aside the minor indignities of modern life, the meanness of the bigot and cynic in favor of the positive and the beautiful. How could Helen Keller be born blind and deaf and still inspire millions? How could Mother Teresa bathe lepers and speak at Harvard? How could Lance Armstrong conquer cancer and win the Tour de France? How could volatile Ted Turner make enough money to give away a billion? They must be exceptional. They are. You can be exceptional. First to yourself, then to your spouse, then to your children, then to your extended family, then to your community and then to the world. And, that is the correct order. What can you do? What can't you do? Read the Action Principles. Listen to your own heart. Love and be loved. Listen and be liked. Try. Make yourself tough. Do your best. Follow the Action Principles. Have faith in yourself. Believe in God. See that special you. The Objective Of This CourseIt is in the make-up of the ultimately successful person to learn from failures and mistakes and to muster the fortitude to move forward... again and again and again. Sometimes by tiny steps and sometimes by giant leaps... forward. Reaching a position of financial independence isn't easy but it is possible, and it may be possible for many without a lifetime of work. As you continue through the course, you should look for the style and attitude, and strategies and systems employed by the characters. This course is not meant, for instance, literally to show you how to make a million dollars in the art business or in the pizza business. The businesses in which the characters are involved are simply illustrative of unlimited financial possibilities and directions. In one story, a fellow fails in the insurance business and becomes a success in the real estate business. The story could have been told just as easily in the reverse; a person fails in the real estate business and becomes a success in the insurance business. Or, the real estate fellow who eventually specialized in selling investment real estate could have specialized and become a success in residential or commercial or industrial real estate or any of the many different specialties in the real estate field. It was his attitude and commitment that made him a success and not, necessarily, the specific business venture in which he was involved.  Entrepreneurship is a talent and an ability that can be identified and developed. Being an entrepreneur does not make you a better or necessarily a happier person. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. Wealth can easily corrupt. Proceed with awareness. This will be you: A Thoughtful Person of Action. George Drives The BusGeorge Madison works as a city bus driver. George has all the qualities you like to find in a bus driver. He is: alert, courteous, friendly, and punctual. He keeps the bus clean and the commuters happy. George is an all-around nice guy and a valued city bus employee. He reads his Action Principle e-mail each morning and keeps a copy of the book with him in the bus. But, no matter how good a job George does, driving, cleaning, and being friendly, George is never going to get rich driving that bus. The city bus company is not going to pay George a $100,000 annual salary no matter how hard he works. George is going to earn whatever the bus drivers' union has negotiated for him. Period. With this job, George has no hope for extraordinary financial reward. With this job, performance and compensation are not commensurate. George has a friend, Louie, who started working at the bus company when he did. George is hard working and conscientious. Louie goes through the motions. Each week, their paychecks are identical. Every week, George stuffs the suggestion box with ideas on improving customer service and saving the company money. Every week, Louie stuffs the union grievance box complaining about company working conditions. Every week, George's and Louie's paychecks are identical. Every year, the boss gives George another imitation gold-plated pin of a bus to wear with pride on his uniform, for all George's good ideas for which the boss has taken personal credit. Louie and some of the other drivers shake their heads and snicker. To them, George is a sucker. Maybe, someday, all of George's good and hard work will pay off and he'll be made dispatcher. Maybe, someday, Louie's cousin, Arnold, will be elected to the City Council and Arnold will appoint Louie as the next dispatcher. Hard work alone is not a guarantee of success. Now, let's see if we can help George out. He is a likable guy. He is hard working. He is smart enough to come up with a steady stream of good ideas. Maybe George has some entrepreneurial potential. Do you think that George could start his own transportation company? He could start a tour bus or school bus company. He could start a company to provide rides for the disabled. He could start a corporate shuttle bus service. He could start a limo service, taxi service or courier service. He could start an airport shuttle service. He could become an independent efficiency expert, marketing his skills to other bus and transportation companies. He could become a consultant on car-pooling to municipal, corporate and private clients. He could work as a commissioned employee selling or leasing buses and vans to municipal, corporate and private clients. Obviously, if George has entrepreneurial potential, there are numerous profitable alternatives for him to consider. George can choose to work for himself by creating his own environment where his financial and psychic compensation are more directly related to his skills and efforts. If he starts to think like an entrepreneur, George could regain control over his financial future. Here is a small example. George can start this Saturday, his day off. He has heard some of his elderly inner city passengers complain that they have no way of getting to a new suburban mall. That first Saturday, he drives five of the seniors to the mall and back and charges each $10. The next Saturday, as word of his shuttle service spreads, he makes two round trips. In a month, George has his brother-in-law working for him. In three months, his wife is in charge of preparing schedules for the five drivers and his kids post the schedules around the neighborhood. In six months, George leases his first new transport van. As a thank-you gift, George gives each of his passengers a copy of the Action Principles.  In two years, his commuters are not only paying George but the four regional malls he services are also paying him. The malls find George's service to be both profitable and great PR (public relations). In three years, George drops his bus keys on his boss's desk, thanks him and walks out. A stunned Louie is heard to mumble, "What the heck does George think he's doing?" George started his business part-time and slowly developed his business until it could provide a full time income. George is now his own boss. He has left the job security and the weekly paycheck and the insurance and pension benefits of the bus company. This is important. In quitting his city job and starting his own business, George has traded security for insecurity but in that insecurity lies financial potential beyond the dreams of the Louies of this world. Most people would be happy to coast through life on a cushy city job. Why take a risk? In twenty years, we know where Louie will be. He will be driving down 8th Avenue for the six billionth time. How far down the highway to financial freedom might George be by really putting himself in the driver's seat? George has a lot of nerve. He is in the one percent. We like George. Lesson One ResourcesGo to Lesson Two1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6Index
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