The Golden Age by Jim Stovall

Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

We human beings are too often plagued with what I would call “Greener Grass Syndrome.” This syndrome involves looking back in time and declaring a point in history as “the good old days” or projecting into the future and declaring “someday things will get better.” In reality, the only point in recorded history that matters to you and me is the current immediate moment we are living right now. 

Yesterday is a canceled check, and tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is cash, so we need to recognize its value and spend it wisely. Virgil, the Latin poet, has been quoted as saying, “Today is the great golden age.” Virgil proved to be prophetic as the period surrounding his creative life is considered a golden age of thought and literature. But in Virgil’s life and the history of the world, that period emerged as a golden age because he believed it was. 

Yesterday is a canceled check, and tomorrow is a promissory note 

If, on the other hand, Virgil had believed that conditions during his time were not conducive to new thoughts and ideas, or if he was stuck in the mindset that things aren’t as good as they used to be in the past or would be in the future, we would likely have never heard of Virgil or been aware of the wisdom he brought to the world. 

There are always a million reasons why we can’t succeed here and now, but here and now is all we have, and it is as fertile and filled with promise as we believe it to be. There are always obstacles and challenges. Somehow we convince ourselves that people living today face obstacles that no previous generation ever had to experience. There have always been wars, pandemics, and financial downturns. My late, great friend and mentor Paul Harvey said, “It’s times like these that remind us there have always been times like these.” 

There are always critics, negative thinkers, and naysayers. They confront us daily just as they did during Virgil’s time. If Virgil were alive here in the 21st century, I’m quite certain he would declare the current moment in which you and I are living as a golden age. If you believe there are no opportunities available in the world today, your thoughts will make it so. And if you believe this is a golden age, your mind will manifest magic and miracles. 

As you go through your day today, look for the positive elements that make this a golden age. 

Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). His latest book, coauthored with Greg S. Reid, is Passport to Success: Experience Next Level Living, now available wherever books are sold.

Achieve Everything You Want by Sam Silverstein

Photo by Samuel Clara on Unsplash

What if I told you that accountability was at the center of achieving everything you ever wanted? Does accountability really seem that powerful? 

Here’s the thing—what happens to us is based on the actions we take. Those actions are determined by what we believe. What we believe about people will determine the level of accountability that we have. And what we believe is at the very heart of determining what we achieve. Let’s discuss. 

Do you know what you believe? This is the most powerful question I have ever asked a leader or any audience I have spoken to. Action follows belief. So, if your beliefs determine your actions, and your actions determine your results, it only makes sense that knowing what you believe is not only important—it can be life-changing. 

Let’s say you believe, as one leader once shared with me, that you have 35 problems in your organization and each one has a first name. If that is how you see your people, then you will treat them accordingly, and you will get a specific result from that. 

If you believe that your people can solve your problems, then you will support them differently, empower them differently, commit to them differently, and you will get a different result. 

If a child in school sees everyone around them as the source of their problems, they will act one way. If that same person sees people as the potential solution to challenges, as teammates, as friends, they will act differently and get a different result. 

What you want in life will always be connected to what you believe about yourself, the people around you, both your and others’ capabilities, your responsibility to help them be successful, and more. 

What the accountable leader understands is that at the very core of their achievement, high or low, is a belief, right or wrong, that is leading directly to that result. 

Don’t just change what you are doing if you’re not getting the results you want. Question the beliefs that are leading to the actions that deliver those results and then evaluate if you should change those beliefs to achieve a different result. 

That really is accountability in action. 

Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. Get his book The Theory of Accountability and discover the formula that enables you to be an accountable leader in your life and organization. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

4 Strategies to Turn Networking into Results by Meridith Elliott Powell

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

I am a firm believer that if you build your network, it will change your life. In my opinion, networking is one of the most important skills you can have to grow your business, build your team, and expand your client base. The impact of and the lasting effects of networking are immeasurable.  

But usually, when I say the word networking, it is as if I can feel the energy sucked right out of the room. And I get it; people don’t like the idea of networking. They don’t like the idea of walking into a room full of people they don’t know and start making a conversation.  

Again, I get it; it is awkward. But while networking may be uncomfortable, it has an incredible return on investment. Building relationships and investing in others can help you with your career, advance your skills, open doors, land new clients and create countless opportunities you could never have created on your own.  

If you build your network, it will change your life. 

So, I would say that is a pretty strong return on investment for spending just a little time feeling awkward and pushing out of your comfort zone. If networking has such a strong return on investment, then why don’t we like to network? 

Well, we already said it is awkward and uncomfortable, but beyond that, networking can take time. It is not an instant gratification investment. Like anything else, to get the most out of networking, you need to invest the time and understand how to network—the skill and strategies and what it takes to master the art.  

Four Strategies to Turn Networking into Results  

1. Shift Your Paradigm – In other words, change how you think about networking. Instead of seeing a room full of strangers, start to see a room full of people with the connections and the information that can help you achieve any goal, get closer to any opportunity, and make significant progress in achieving your dreams. 

Now that is a good perspective, right? When you are attending a networking event or meeting people for the first time, shift your paradigm to think about growth, enhancement, and an opportunity to learn.  

2. Not About You – One of the biggest things people say to me about why they hate networking is they do not know what to say. Well, guess what? The good news is you do not have to say much. Networking is NOT about you.  

In fact, if you are talking about yourself, you are missing the point. The point of networking is to learn about other people, who they are, their interests, talents, and most importantly, their needs. 

Invest in other people first.  

3. 80/20 Rule – No, this is not the typical 80/20 rule; it is more about the 80/20 talking rule. You will get the most value from networking when you talk just 20 percent of the time and listen 80 percent of the time.  

You need to be prepared to listen. How do you do that? You come ready with great questions, hang on every word, and focus on what your networking partner is saying. Use their comments to go deeper, dig deeper, and find the common ground that can help you build a strong relationship. 

4. Invest to Expand – And last but not least, you need to realize that one interaction does not a relationship or value make. You need to keep investing in the relationship. Networking is a lifestyle, not a task.  

Networking is a lifestyle, not a task. 

It is not something you do only when you head to a networking event; you do it every day like you brush your teeth and exercise. If you don’t do those things every day, well, we need to talk! 

Yes, I believe that if you build your network, you will change your life. It is one of the most important things you need to do to build your life and your business and enhance your career. 

Voted one of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to Watch by Currency Fair, highly engaging corporate motivational keynote speaker Meridith Elliott Powell delivers a cutting-edge message, rooted in real-life examples and real-world knowledge. Meridith’s presentations are full of powerful content, highly interactive, and fun. She helps her clients learn the leadership development, sales, and business growth strategies to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage. Get your copy of her book THRIVE: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Strategic Advantage from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and anywhere else books are sold.

The Creative Mind: An Exclusive Excerpt from Charles F. Haanel’s The Master Key System

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

At least ninety percent of our mental life is subconscious, so that those who fail to make use of this mental power live within very narrow limits. 

1.  The subconscious can and will solve any problem for us if we know how to direct it. The subconscious processes are always at work; the only question is, are we to be simply passive recipients of this activity, or are we to consciously direct the work? Shall we have a vision of the destination to be reached, the dangers to be avoided, or shall we simply drift? 

2. We have found that mind pervades every part of the physical body and is always capable of being directed or impressed by authority coming from the objective or the more dominant portion of the mind. 

3.  The mind, which pervades the body, is largely the result of heredity, which, in turn, is simply the result of all the environments of all past generations on the responsive and ever-moving life forces. An understanding of this fact will enable us to use our authority when we find some undesirable trait of character manifesting. 

4. We can consciously use all the desirable characteristics with which we have been provided and we can repress and refuse to allow the undesirable ones to manifest. 

5. Again, this mind which pervades our physical body is not only the result of hereditary tendencies, but is the result of home, business and social environment, where countless thousands of impressions, ideas, prejudices and similar thoughts have been received. Much of this has been received from others, the result of opinions, suggestions or statements; much of it is the result of our own thinking, but nearly all of it has been accepted with little or no examination or consideration. 

6. The idea seemed plausible, the conscious received it, passed it on to the subconscious, where it was taken up by the Sympathetic System and passed on to be built into our physical body. “The word has become flesh.” 

7. This, then, is the way we are consistently creating and recreating ourselves; we are today the result of our past thinking, and we shall be what we are thinking today. The Law of Attraction is bringing to us, not the things we should like, or the things we wish for, or the things someone else has, but it brings us “our own,” the things which we have created by our thought processes, whether consciously or unconsciously. Unfortunately, many of us are creating these things unconsciously. 

8.  If either of us were building a home for ourselves, how careful we would be in regard to the plans; how we should study every detail; how we should watch the material and select only the best of everything; and yet how careless we are when it comes to building our Mental Home, which is infinitely more important than any physical home, as everything which can possibly enter into our lives depends upon the character of the material which enters into the construction of our Mental Home. 

9. What is the character of this material? We have seen that it is the result of the impressions which we have accumulated in the past and stored away in our subconscious Mentality. If these impressions have been of fear, of worry, of care, of anxiety; if they have been despondent, negative, doubtful, then the texture of the material which we are weaving today will be of the same negative material. Instead of being of any value, it will be mildewed and rotten and will bring us only more toil and care and anxiety. We shall be forever busy trying to patch it up and make it appear at least genteel. 

10. But if we have stored away nothing but courageous thought, if we have been optimistic, positive, and have immediately thrown any kind of negative thought on the scrap pile, have refused to have anything to do with it, have refused to associate with it or become identified with it in any way, what then is the result? Our mental material is now of the best kind; we can weave any kind of material we want; we can use any color we wish; we know that the texture is firm, that the material is solid, that it will not fade, and we have no fear, no anxiety concerning the future; there is nothing to cover, there are no patches to hide. 

Charles F. Haanel was an American businessman, author, and philosopher who implemented the financial and mindset principles he shared to great success. His most famous work, The Master Key System, was originally published as a 24-week correspondence course in 1912 and first collected into book form in 1916. A reprint of the original edition is now available from Sound Wisdom and can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever else books are sold.

Controlling the Creep by Jim Stovall

Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

You may have heard it said that something imagined in one generation can be considered possible in the next generation and can become a reality in the third generation. I would define this as culture creep, and it can be either good or bad. My late, great friend and colleague Paul Harvey often said, “Not all that we call progress is progress.” Everything that is new is not necessarily new and improved. We need to be aware of and control this type of creep in our own personal and professional lives. 

When you consider someone who is guilty of a horrible crime and is in prison today, it is invariably a fact that they didn’t just wake up one day and decide to commit a horrible crime. It’s likely that, at one point, they considered lowering their standards, and then they probably committed a less severe infraction. Over time they found it somehow acceptable to commit a major crime.  

Significant changes in our lives rarely come instantly. They originate from imagining the possibilities and accepting small changes that inevitably result in a new reality. We all have standards that we live by. Some people leave it to organizations or governments to establish rules and laws, but the more enlightened among us establish our own standards that hopefully serve us as we pursue our personal and professional goals.  

I have a number of family members, friends, and colleagues whom I greatly respect. Over time, I have observed their positive standards and have implemented some of them into my own life. I know an individual who has decided that if they’re going out for a big meal and want to enjoy dessert one evening, they commit to doing extra during their workout for that day. I know a businessperson who has a standard involving spending extra time with his family after being out of town for a lengthy business trip.  

The most successful people I know have standards they have reduced to a morning routine or a series of activities they perform during the day. My own mornings involve exercise, meditation, study, and mapping out the activities for my day. This standard routine puts me in the best position to succeed throughout the day and move toward my goals. 

The most successful people I know have standards they have reduced to a morning routine or a series of activities they perform during the day.  

If there’s something in your life you want to improve upon, consider establishing a standard that will control your behavior and let your behavior manage your results. 

As you go through your day today, set your own standards before someone else is forced to set them for you. 

 Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a New York Times bestselling author of many books, including the book-turned-major-motion-picture The Ultimate Gift. His latest book, coauthored with Dr. Greg S. Reid, is Passport to Success: Experience Next Level Living. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).

What Abandonment Taught Me about Adaptability & Success by Alyson Van Hooser

Photo by Angélica Echeverry on Unsplash

I babysat a little girl frequently when I was in middle school. Her parents went into work really early on Saturday mornings. I’d sleep over at their house on Friday night so I could spend Saturday morning playing with their little girl until her parents got off work at lunchtime. 

One Friday night, when I was 13, my dad told me I was going to go babysit for them again. Little did I know that would be the last time I ever lived with my dad. 

I didn’t hear from him for about six months. When I finally did get a call from him, it wasn’t because he wanted me back. It was because the government was forcing me to move in with someone else and he was calling to deliver the news. 

As this new season of life began, I added to the pain of it all. I was a hurt teenager and I reacted by acting out as any hurt child might do. It took me a while to figure out that I was only hurting myself by making choices that could take me further away from where I really wanted to be. 

Lesson Learned 

It was then that I figured out I needed to acknowledge my feelings instead of acting on them—a lesson that has served me well in my personal and professional life ever since. If I was going to get where I wanted to be, I needed to act differently. 

I decided to shift my focus—to adapt in a way that would keep me on the path that would move me forward, not backward.  

In this season, I learned many lessons to make me stronger, smarter, more resilient, and more grounded. And it only solidified my certainty that taking ownership of your actions and reactions is the only way to guarantee your future. 

I learned… 

• not to give up but to push through.  

• life is not fair, but you have a chance to flip the script.  

• choosing positive actions, even when you don’t feel like it, leads to positive results. 

• the willingness and ability to adapt is the x-factor for success. 

Let’s dig deeper into adaptability. 

Where Are You Right Now? 

When it comes to adaptability, where do you find yourself? Do you live your life to people-please? Or are you dead set on #DoingYou and refuse to adapt at all? 

I have to tell you, both ends are dangerous. You risk losing yourself or losing your opportunity. It’s the area in between you need to be aware of and work toward.  

If you believe you should not have to adapt, and everyone should accept you just as you are—you’re likely getting in the way of your own success. If you think acting “in the moment” means staying true to who you are—I say in love—you’re wrong. That mindset can suck all the momentum out of forward progress. If you find yourself there right now, reconsider your approach and consider owning your adaptability skill. 

Hear me carefully: adapting does not mean you change who you are at your core. It means, as things happen, you adjust your attitudes and behaviors to make sure you still win. As you adapt, you should never compromise your integrity or your character. You should never act immorally. But if the adapted choice aligns with your core values and is something you can change, do it! 

Adaptability Determines Your Results 

Most situations in your life will involve other people. And your ability to adapt to different people impacts the results you get. 

In order to adapt well, you need to be hyperaware of yourself and the people around you. This means analyzing exactly what you are thinking and feeling; what others are thinking and feeling; and how you can best interact with the person or situation in the moment. 

Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not flirting with the idea of manipulating people. First, manipulation has a negative connotation as if someone is losing. I am talking about a win-win for everyone. 

But I am talking about taking ownership of how other people treat you. If you want people to act in a way that is positive for you, then you have to adapt the way you interact with them so it is a positive experience for them as well. 

It took a painful childhood experience for me to understand the impact adaptability has on achieving success. I don’t want pain to be the teacher for you. 

So whether it’s at work, at home, or in your community—regardless of what is happening to you or around you—you control your future. Choosing to adapt is a choice for you, not against you. 

You’re adapting your style, not your heart. Make sure you don’t get stuck in an arrogant, ignorant, and defeated place where you think staying true to you means never changing for anyone else. If you take that approach, you might just get stuck never knowing how good you could have had it if you just would have owned it. 

Instead, choose to be constantly hyperaware of what is really happening in the minds and hearts of yourself and the people around you—then you will be able to adapt the right way every time. When you learn to adapt correctly, you win. 

With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson Van Hooser has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her podcast, Stake: The Leadership Podcast, offers a fresh perspective on leadership and helps multiple generations successfully work together! Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. And get her latest book, Accelerate Your Success: 30-Day Journey to Elevate Your Performance & Fuel Your Professional Growth (coauthored with Phillip Van Hooser), wherever books are sold!

3 Strategies to Get Your Succession Planning Moving by Meridith Elliott Powell

I was speaking in Baltimore, Maryland, at a Healthcare Finance conference. Because I was the closing keynote, I flew in the day before so I could spend some time connecting with some attendees and listening to the other speakers.  

As you can imagine, the topics the speakers covered ranged from leadership to technology to government regulation—pretty standard line-up except for one guy, the speaker who was on before me. 

A professor at the University of Maryland by day, he had started keynoting based on a new book he had published about the future of business. He called himself a futurist, someone who studies the future and makes predictions based on trends.  

He spoke about everything from the disappearance of full-time employment to the role robotics will play in replacing traditional manual jobs. While I did not buy in or agree with all of what he said, when he started talking about the workforce and the future of employees and talent going forward, my ears perked up. 

Beginning with what we all knew, finding great help is hard to find, and there is a virtual war on talent. He then shed some new light on why. He said that today’s workforce, while eager, is far less prepared than our parents’ generation. 

Today’s Workforce 

With baby boomers retiring at rapid rates, either because they want to or age and health are making that decision for them, there is just not enough talent to take their place. The natural succession plan would be Gen X. Roughly ages 38 to 53, they are the smallest of the generations, so just by sheer numbers, there are not enough of them to move into these vital leadership positions. 

In addition, after the recession that started in 2008, many Gen X men did not return to the workforce. Having been hit hardest by layoffs and downsizing, many opted out of the job market, and, unfortunately, it looks like they are staying out for good. 

That leaves millennials (roughly 21 to 37); while they are an even larger generation than the baby boomers, they are not nearly as experienced, according to our futurist speaker. He shared that things like organized sports and helicopter parenting caused millennials to miss the opportunity that lack of parental involvement provides for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.  

Boomers grew up in a time when kids walked to school, sports were self-organizing, and parents backed up the teacher no matter if he was right or wrong. Those taught boomers early on how to persevere, be resilient, and solve problems—skills that would prove invaluable in the workforce. 

Millennials bring amazing skills to the workplace; they are just different, and some of these foundational skills still need to be developed. That changes everything about how we view succession planning and the new role they need to play in our corporate culture. We used to have the luxury of waiting to do a succession plan when a leader was actually ready to retire or was thinking about stepping down. In today’s world, succession planning is an ongoing strategy and one of the most vital elements—a core competency—you need to have in place to ensure sustainability and long-term success. Also, it is a strategy that is never complete and needs to be continually updated, communicated, and invested in. 

So, where do you start, and how do you get your succession plan moving? 

Take Inventory— 

First and foremost, you need to understand where you are: what talent you have, what talent you need, and what talent is available in your marketplace. In other words, you need to take inventory. You need to get a clear perspective of what it takes from a talent perspective to run your company effectively. What roles could easily be filled with existing talent, and what roles will you need to recruit for? 

Create Criteria— 

You need to develop your criteria your standards. What do you future leaders need to have in terms of skills, talent, and values? Develop criteria of what it really takes beyond experience and job history to lead your company.  

Start Small— 

Succession planning is not an easy task. There are many moving parts, and there is a lot of required investment in terms of time and resources. So there is no need to develop the entire succession plan in one sitting. Feel free to start small. Begin with the most critical positions—those most vital to the organization and/or those with leaders closest to retirement. Get those succession plans in place, see what is working and what is not, and adjust and continue your succession planning strategy. 

Meridith Elliott Powell is a business strategist, keynote speaker, and award-winning author with expertise in business growth, sales, and leadership strategies. She was named One of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to Watch by Currency Fair and One of the Top 20 Sales Experts To Follow by LinkedIn. Learn more succession-planning tips in her book, co-authored with Mary C. Kelly Who Comes Next?: Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy (Nonfiction Authors Association Gold Award recipient).

Kick Fear’s Ass by Kay Miller

Photo by Lance Grandahl on Unsplash

Full disclosure: my first sales call was a disaster.  

This happened shortly after I started my outside sales career, just after college. I was the first woman ever hired for outside sales by a company called Amerock. The product: a line of cabinet hardware (knobs, pulls, hinges, and more).  

Amerock wanted to add women to their sales force. The problem was, they were concerned that a woman would be intimidated by calling on the mostly-male hardware market. I convinced them I could do it. I was hired.  

Fast-forward to my first solo prospecting call. I set my sights on a Seattle lumberyard called Blackstock Lumber. Before the call, I’d driven by and studied the layout. I’d packed up brochures and samples. On the day of the sales call, I dressed professionally, right down to the bow tie pinned to my blouse.  

I drove to the lumberyard, and into the parking lot. That’s when things fell apart.  

A huge load of lumber had just been delivered. Men in Levis, flannel shirts and hard hats swarmed in frenetic activity. There I was, a 24-year-old sales newbie. Everyone stared - I stuck out like a sore thumb.  

I slowly pulled into the lumberyard’s parking lot. As I eased my car into a parking spot, I felt my face turn red. I sat there for a moment. Then, to my horror, I watched myself peel a sweaty hand off the steering wheel and shift the car into reverse. I backed out.  

Expletive! As I sped away from my very first sales call, I was furious with myself. I’d chickened out. I’d failed at the exact thing I’d signed up to do!  

Here’s the thing: I didn’t give up.  

After that embarrassing failure, I asked myself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”  I decided NOTHING could be worse than the sick feeling I had after running away in fear. I decided to kick fear’s ass.  

The next day, I went back to Blackstock Lumber. I made it to the door and went inside. That day was the first step in selling a new customer. It took awhile to get to  know the owner and establish a solid relationship. Once I did, I recommended a small Amerock display. Eventually, he upgraded to a larger one. He became a loyal, repeat customer.  

Here’s an Uncopyable Secret: The next time you face the risk of rejection, failure or even looking stupid, ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” As long as the answer isn’t death, force yourself to push past your fear.  And remember, the biggest opportunities (and sales!) lie outside your comfort zone.  

Famous golfer Jack Nicklaus once joked about facing critical shots during big tournaments. “I still get butterflies,” he said. “I just work hard to get them to fly in formation!”  

Want to make more sales? Decide to Kick Fear’s Ass.  

Kay Miller is an expert on Uncopyable Sales. As the first woman ever hired for outside sales by Amerock, a division of Anchor Hocking, she built her formidable sales career by emphasizing long-term relationships over one-time deals. Kay was later hired by Walker Exhaust, a division of Tenneco and the largest automotive muffler manufacturer in the world. While there, she was named Walker’s Salesperson of the Year, an accolade that earned her the nickname “Muffler Mama.” For more Uncopyable Secrets, order Kay Miller’s book Uncopyable Sales Secrets, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers.

The Art of Entrepreneurship by Jim Stovall

Photo by Jenny Ueberberg on Unsplash

I once again have the privilege of having another book released into the marketplace. Having written over 50 books, you might think I would take a new book for granted, or it might not be as important to me today as it was over 25 years ago when my first book was published. But I can assure you that every book is significant to me and holds a unique place in my heart, mind, and soul. 

The Art of Entrepreneurship is special for several reasons. As a blind person myself, entrepreneurship seemed to be the only career and life path I could take that offered me creative freedom and unlimited potential. Entrepreneurship has given me everything in the world I ever wanted and more. 

This new book is dear to me for another reason. My co-author, Dr. Kevin Schneider, brings his experience and expertise as the executive director of the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship at Oral Roberts University to our collaboration. In this capacity, he is responsible for training the next generation of entrepreneurs from around the world to bring their talents and visions to the marketplace and create value in the lives of other people. 

The Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship represents the culmination of my career goals and my life’s ambition. In addition to my time, talent, experience, and contacts, starting the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship involved my donation of $1.5 million. This contribution is significant because when my entrepreneurial journey began, I was going blind and had only $17 to my name. Entrepreneurship has given me both the desire and the ability to make more than a million-dollar commitment to young people the opportunity to travel the road I have been on for decades and has brought me to my destiny. 

In The Art of Entrepreneurship, readers will discover who should be an entrepreneur and who should not, the truth about myths entrepreneurship, and the quickest and most reliable ways to succeed while avoiding the pitfalls that sidetrack many would-be entrepreneurs. The Art of Entrepreneurship offers real-world experience coupled with Dr. Schneider’s cutting-edge research.  

My sincere hope is that this new book will help you and those you care about to explore the gifts you’ve been given and discover how you can prosper as you package and present your gifts to the world through The Art of Entrepreneurship. 

As you go through your day today, I hope you will enjoy the practical experience and academic principles in The Art of Entrepreneurship. 

Today’s the day! I once again have the privilege of having another book released into the marketplace. Having written over 50 books, you might think I would take a new book for granted, or it might not be as important to me today as it was over 25 years ago when my first book was published. But I can assure you that every book is significant to me and holds a unique place in my heart, mind, and soul. 

The Art of Entrepreneurship is special for several reasons. As a blind person myself, entrepreneurship seemed to be the only career and life path I could take that offered me creative freedom and unlimited potential. Entrepreneurship has given me everything in the world I ever wanted and more. 

This new book is dear to me for another reason. My co-author, Dr. Kevin Schneider, brings his experience and expertise as the executive director of the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship at Oral Roberts University to our collaboration. In this capacity, he is responsible for training the next generation of entrepreneurs from around the world to bring their talents and visions to the marketplace and create value in the lives of other people. 

The Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship represents the culmination of my career goals and my life’s ambition. In addition to my time, talent, experience, and contacts, starting the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship involved my donation of $1.5 million. This contribution is significant because when my entrepreneurial journey began, I was going blind and had only $17 to my name. Entrepreneurship has given me both the desire and the ability to make more than a million-dollar commitment to young people the opportunity to travel the road I have been on for decades and has brought me to my destiny. 

In The Art of Entrepreneurship, readers will discover who should be an entrepreneur and who should not, the truth about myths entrepreneurship, and the quickest and most reliable ways to succeed while avoiding the pitfalls that sidetrack many would-be entrepreneurs. The Art of Entrepreneurship offers real-world experience coupled with Dr. Schneider’s cutting-edge research. 

My sincere hope is that this new book will help you and those you care about to explore the gifts you’ve been given and discover how you can prosper as you package and present your gifts to the world through The Art of Entrepreneurship. 

As you go through your day today, I hope you will enjoy the practical experience and academic principles in The Art of Entrepreneurship. 

Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). His latest book, The Art of Entrepreneurship (coauthored with Dr. Kevin Schneider, executive director of the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship at Oral Roberts University), is now available to purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers.

Are You Solving the Right Problem? by Courtney Clark

Photo by Daniele Franchi on Unsplash

I got stuck solving the wrong problem once. When I got engaged to my husband, I was embarrassed about my cooking skills. I had scorched only three pans beyond saving, but that was two more than I felt good about. (Oh, I also set a toaster oven on fire once. But that was in college, so I’d like to think that won’t happen again.) 

When I reached my thirties, I had definitely gotten better at cooking. But my food was just…okay. I was practicing all the time—I worked fewer hours than my husband, who was my fiancé at the time, so I’d pull out the Cooking Light magazine, find a recipe, and cook us dinner most nights. He’d cook about once a week, and his food was just better than mine. Significantly better. He was confident in the kitchen, and his food was so full of flavor. 

I decided I needed to improve faster. I joined cooking classes at Williams Sonoma, and I learned how to roast a chicken. I watched Food Network. I practiced my knife skills and worked on getting comfortable with when meat was fully cooked. I became more skilled at timing dishes so they’d all be done at the same time. I was getting a little better. And then my husband and I went on our honeymoon.  

We ended up in Italy, where I ate what felt like five meals a day, four of which were pasta. Our first Sunday back after we returned from Rome, we were grocery shopping. There, at the checkout, was a copy of Gourmet Magazine: “The Pasta Issue.” And the photo on the cover was of penne salsiccia, which I’d had a LOT of in Italy. I threw that magazine down on the conveyor belt and committed to reading it cover to cover. 

The following Sunday, we were back at the grocery store. This time, I was armed with a shopping list that included ALL of the ingredients for that delicious penne salsiccia from the cover of Gourmet Magazine. As I prowled through the store, I heard my newlywed husband behind me go, “Uh, Courtney? Heavy whipping cream? Butter? Sausage? Is this from Cooking Light?” 

“No, it’s from that gourmet magazine I bought, with recipes for dishes like we had in Italy! I’m going to make penne salsiccia tonight. I can’t wait!” I responded. 

6:00 p.m. I’m starting dinner. This recipe calls for VERY expensive, very fragile threads of saffron to be soaked in water. I’m trying not to panic. 

6:28. I’m trying not to scald the heavy whipping cream in the pan. 

6:47. I’m trying not to overcook the pasta. 

6:52. I carry the plates out to the table. I set them down with a deep breath. For a moment I consider letting my husband take the first bite and tell me what he thinks, but then I think FORGET THAT. THIS WAS MY IDEA. I MADE THIS MEAL. I put the bite in my mouth, and I turn to my husband in shock. 

I can’t believe what I’m tasting. 

“I don’t stink at cooking! Cooking Light must stink at cooking! Because I. am. AMAZING!” I would have said more, but I needed to use my mouth for the important work of eating my phenomenal pasta. 

If you’re not solving the right problem, you’re not solving the problem at all. 

Here’s what I realized: I had been using low-fat materials and expecting restaurant-quality results. No shade to Cooking Light, but there’s a reason full-fat food tastes better. My cooking issue was simply a materials problem. But I had been trying for over a year to solve it with more SKILLS training. No wonder it wasn’t working! You can’t solve a materials problem with more skills training. 

Has anything like that ever happened to you, either at home or at work? You know there’s a problem, so you leap to solve it. But if you aren’t solving the right problem, you’re not solving the problem at all.   

Diagnosed with cancer for the first time at age 26, Courtney Clark went to work for several cancer nonprofits. At age 29, she founded the nonprofit Austin Involved, creating programs to engage young professionals in philanthropy in simple, affordable ways. In the first year of operating Austin Involved, Courtney was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and underwent three brain surgeries. Today, Courtney is an in-demand keynote speaker who presents internationally to organizations on how to adapt faster and achieve more by developing resilience, adaptability and ReVisionary Thinking™. For more tips on how to revise your plan when things aren’t going your way, pick up a copy of ReVisionary Thinking, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers.

We Don’t Want to Be “Sold,” but We Love to Buy by Kay Miller

Photo by Adetunji Paul on Unsplash

I remember a funny story about my niece, Shawna. When Shawna was little, my mom babysat her every Wednesday. Once when Shawna was about three, my mom told Shawna to pick up her toys so they could go to the store. Shawna’s response: “I don’t like to be telled.”  

Shawna’s three-year-old grammar made us laugh—but we agreed she had a point! None of us like to be “telled.” We also don’t like to be “selled.”  

A few years ago, I bought a new kitchen range (stove and oven combination). Some people spend a lot of time researching a purchase like that. Not me. My husband, Steve, and I went straight to Sears (remember them?). 

The salesperson, Gary, greeted us and asked what we were looking for. Steve pointed at me and said, “She’s the decision-maker.” Gary started with, “Tell me what you’re looking for.” He asked what I did and didn’t like about my current range. He continued to ask more questions, which got me thinking about things I hadn’t considered. “Do you normally cook for just the two of you, or do you like to entertain? Would it be helpful to save time on cooking? How about cleaning up?”  

I told him I’d love a gas stove, but we weren’t plumbed for it. He said, “It sounds like it’s important that the burners heat up quickly.” 

None of us like to be “telled.” We also don’t like to be “selled.” 

After I answered all his questions, he responded with, “Let me show you the range I have.” He led us over to the one he owned. (That’s what he said, and I believed him.) It was electric, but he assured us, “You’ll love how quickly the burners heat up.” He added, “It has a convection oven. It doesn’t need preheating, and it cooks more quickly than the one you have. You’ll spend less time in the kitchen, and the kitchen will stay cooler during the hot summer months. (I’d mentioned that I don’t like to use the oven in the summer for that reason.) In the end, Gary added a personal touch. “I’ll throw in a bottle of this ceramic stove top cleaner. Just like you two, my wife cooks and I do the cleaning up. When I’m done, I use this special ceramic stove top cleaner, and I polish it until it shines.” He added, “That can be Steve’s job!” 

“I’ll take it!”  

I didn’t feel like I’d been sold.  Gary painted a picture of exactly what I wanted, and helped me make a great buying decision. Notice that early in this story, I said, “A few years ago, I bought a new kitchen range.” To be an Uncopyable salesperson: make the “YES” the customer’s idea.  

It’s a simple strategy that’s also an Uncopyable sales secret. The best part? By getting more of your customers to buy, you’ll make more sales.  

Kay Miller is an expert on Uncopyable Sales. As the first woman ever hired for outside sales by Amerock, a division of Anchor Hocking, she built her formidable sales career by emphasizing long-term relationships over one-time deals. Kay was later hired by Walker Exhaust, a division of Tenneco and the largest automotive muffler manufacturer in the world. While there, she was named Walker’s Salesperson of the Year, an accolade that earned her the nickname “Muffler Mama.” For more Uncopyable Secrets, order Kay Miller’s book Uncopyable Sales Secrets, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers. 

How Do You Define “Success”? An Exclusive Excerpt from Napoleon Hill’s Think Your Way to Wealth by Napoleon Hill

Photo by Artur Aldyrkhanov on Unsplash

The following is an exclusive excerpt from Napoleon Hill’s Think Your Way to Wealth, an official publication of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.  

HILL: How would you define “success”? 

 CARNEGIE: My definition of success is this: the power with which to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others. 

HILL: But Mr. Carnegie, is it not true that success is often the result of “luck”? 

CARNEGIE: If you would analyze the definition of success that I just provided, you would see that there is no element of “luck” in it. Individuals might come by opportunities by mere chance or luck, but when opportunities are encountered this way, people have a way of falling out of them just as easily as they fell into them. In order to hold on to an opportunity, there must be Definiteness of Purpose! 

HILL: Mr. Carnegie, in your definition of success, you used the word “power.” You said that success is achieved through “the power with which to acquire whatever one wants.” Can you further explain what this power consists of? 

CARNEGIE: Personal power is acquired through a combination of individual traits and habits, some of which will be explained as we explore the other sixteen principles of achievement. Briefly, let me share the ten qualities of personal power: 

1. The habit of Definiteness of Purpose 

2. The ability to make prompt decisions 

3. Soundness of character (intentional honesty) 

4. Strict discipline over one’s emotions 

5. Extreme desire—to the point of obsession—to render useful service 

6. Thorough knowledge of one’s occupation 

7. Tolerance on all subjects 

8. Loyalty to one’s personal associates and faith in a Supreme Being 

9. Enduring thirst for knowledge 

10. Alertness of imagination 

Anyone may develop these traits—traits that lead to the development of a form of personal power that can be used without “violating the rights of others.” That is the only form of personal power that an individual can afford to wield.  

This is an exclusive excerpt from Napoleon Hill’s Think Your Way to Wealth, available now from Sound Wisdom and the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Originally published in 1948, Think Your Way to Wealth presents all seventeen principles of success as they were first described to him by Carnegie and other high-achieving individuals. Discover a master plan for success based on the original interviews with steel magnate Andrew Carnegie that inspired Napoleon Hill’s bestselling books Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success.

Build an Organization Good Enough to Attract and Retain the Best People by Sam Silverstein

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Are you having attraction and retention problems? Do you constantly struggle to hire and keep the right people? Are there always unfilled job openings in your company? Does your door feel like a turnstile at times? If you can’t find enough good people, then maybe you haven’t built a company good enough to attract those people. 

And it’s only going to get worse. 

Recently, consulting firm Randstad conducted the Workmonitor global study. The study revealed that more than half of Gen Z and millennials would rather not work than work for a company they don’t like. 

Specifically, the trend is that people want to work for companies where their personal values align with the organizational values. But here is the challenge: most companies do not have a set of values to align with. 

Oh sure, marketing or HR or someone along the way created a set of values and put them on the wall in the cafeteria and on the website. But that does not mean the company has a set of values. How do I know? 

When I ask people in the company what their values are and they do not know them, they don’t have a set of values. 

When I work with people in the middle of the organization chart and they say that they live the values, but their boss doesn’t, they don’t have a set of values. 

When I hear that the company took the values from another company that was doing well and made them their own, they don’t have a set of values. 

When I hear that leadership lets people stay who may be producing at a high level but are not consistently living the values, they don’t have a set of values. 

Your values, the ones you have identified and are living ALL—yes, all—the time define your culture. Want to attract and keep great people? Build a great company by first creating and living, all the time, a great set of values. 

Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. Get his book The Theory of Accountability and discover the formula that enables you to be an accountable leader in your life and organization. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Reframing Your Memories by Jim Stovall

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

Most people in the professional development or personal achievement fields would agree that we can control our present thoughts and impact our future success. The idea that we can change our circumstances now and in the future has become universally accepted, but very few people consider the possibility of altering our memories. While we can’t change the past, we can reframe, reconsider, and reevaluate the way we look at it. Very few things in life are either all good or all bad. Even in the worst of times and during the most difficult of circumstances, there are lessons to be learned that can impact who we are and what we do for the rest of our lives. 

While we can’t change the past, we can reframe, reconsider, and reevaluate the way we look at it. 

One of my earliest memories as a child was on a Sunday night in 1964 when my parents let me stay up late to watch the Ed Sullivan Show with them. I don’t know that anyone in our family was interested in that show, but on that particular night, The Beatles were performing for the first time on national television in America. My parents were not big Beatles fans, but they understood the power of that moment in our culture, and they shared it with me. Throughout the ensuing years, I became a huge fan of The Beatles and their music. Their impact cannot be fully understood unless you consider how revolutionary they were during that point in time. 

Recently, hundreds of hours of film rediscovered in The Beatles archives. This film was shot over many days while The Beatles recorded one of their last albums. Rumors of the band’s imminent breakup abounded during that time, and it was considered to be a difficult period for these four young men who had grown up together and changed the world. Over the years, the four Beatles and the other people in the studio for those sessions have recalled how uncomfortable and turbulent those recording sessions became. 

However, when the voluminous amount of film was meticulously reviewed to create a new documentary, it was revealed that, for the most part, those sessions were very positive and upbeat. There were a few brief conflicts, but they had to do more with the creative process than any personality conflicts. The two living Beatles were surprised to discover that the film evidence of those sessions did not match up with their own memories. 

You and I have the opportunity to look at our past and rediscover a new reality. Failure is fertilizer for future success. 

Failure is fertilizer for future success. 

As you go through your day today, reconsider your past as you plan for your future. 

Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). His latest book, coauthored with Greg S. Reid, is Passport to Success: Experience Next Level Living, which you can preorder wherever books are sold.

The Lies of Hustle by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash

“You’re not enough. You don’t have enough. You don’t do enough.” 

These are the accusations that are at the root of hustle—an impulse that has been glitzed and glammed up and marketed to us in the guise of “having it all.” “You can have it all,” hustle tells us, “IF you just work hard enough…do enough…be enough.” So we buy the “Rise and grind” mugs, fill our planners with endless tasks and goals, and work ourselves into a state of complete depletion, personally and professionally. The problem with this isn’t the motive to achieve great things—it’s that hustle is rooted in a scarcity mindset, it manifests in anxious energy, and it leads to burnout, failed businesses, and strained relationships. 

This is the subject of Kristen Boss’s groundbreaking new book, Pivot to Purpose: Leaving the Toxic Hustle Culture Behind. A sales and marketing expert for the modern social seller, Boss has helped countless entrepreneurs whose lives and businesses have been shortchanged by the lies of hustle culture. In Pivot to Purpose, she offers a program for finally “detoxing” from the hustle—which is addictive and hard to give up—and learning to work from a place of purpose. 

The following are two brief excerpts from Boss’s book that I found particularly powerful: 

We were sold a lie that “there” is better than “here.” The belief that your life becomes fixed, whole, and happy—that YOU become fixed, whole, and happy—on the other side of the next goal. The belief that all your worries will finally go away. The belief that “happiness is behind the next thing.” We have fallen more in love with our vision boards than the life we have now. 

*** 

And there is a real fear in choosing to love the “now” of our life. Sometimes we fear that if we love the life we have now, we will no longer have the motivation to create the life we want. But the reality is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Are you constantly pushing yourself to be more, do more, have more? Is this impulse deriving from a lack of belief in your own value and in the abundance that is already yours right now? Pick up a copy of Boss’s book and learn how to loosen the grip of hustle on your life so that you can build the life and business of your dreams—one rooted in balance, self-love, and purpose. 

Kristen Boss is a sales and marketing expert and host of the chart-topping podcast Purposeful Social Selling. Kristen teaches powerful, relevant marketing strategies to the entrepreneur who desires to leave the hustle mentality behind and work with purpose, authenticity, and service, while making the income they want. Get your copy of Pivot to Purpose: Leaving the Toxic Hustle Culture Behind wherever books are sold.

Vision: Do You Know Where You’re Goin’ To? by Phillip Van Hooser

Photo by Lili Popper on Unsplash

Forgive the incorrect grammar, but superstar singer Diana Ross made famous the following lyrics: 

Do you know where you’re goin’ to? 
Do you like the things that life is showin’ you? 
Where are you goin’ to? 
Do you know? 

You see, being crystal clear about your destination is absolutely critical for long-term success in any venture. If we lack a clear vision, we’re easily distracted and have no ultimate destination. 

So I ask you—do you know? 

Have you firmly set your sights on where you’re ‘goin’ to’? 

If you have, you’re better prepared to choose the right road to get you there. If you haven’t, choosing just any road will get you nowhere. 

In later lines from the song, Ross reminds us of the reality of not knowing: 

Now looking back at all we’ve planned 
We let so many dreams just slip through our hands 
Why must we wait so long before we see 
How sad the answers to those questions can be 

I encourage you to spend some time deciding where you’re going. When you crystallize your dreams into destinations and maintain a strong desire to exceed, I think you’ll soon find yourself on the road to where you want to be! 

Phillip Van Hooser, CSP, CPAE, is committed to helping organizations transform their business outcomes by building engaged employee relationships. He is an award-winning keynote speaker and author on engaged leadership and communication. His most recent book, 30-Day Journey to Accelerate Your Success, co-authored with leadership expert Alyson Van Hooser, is available to order from Sound Wisdom.

The Myth of Not Deciding by Jim Stovall

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

We succeed or fail in virtually every area of our lives based on the decisions we make. Decisions often make us nervous because we realize there could be unfavorable consequences if we make the wrong choice. The potential outcome causes many people to rush, delay, or avoid a decision. With every decision we face, there is an optimal window of time to both make and implement the decision. This optimal time comes when we have had an opportunity to gather as much information and input as possible while all of our options are still open. 

Many people rush to make a decision because they don’t want to deal with the anxiety surrounding the analysis of the available choices. These people often make poor decisions with dire consequences because they did not have the benefit of quality information and input that would have helped them make a good choice had they simply taken the time to evaluate all of the resources available to them. 

Suppose you are planning an outdoor activity, and you are worried about inclement weather. There’s no reason to make a decision 30 days in advance if you have the opportunity to wait until the day before the event to get a clearer picture of weather conditions and the short-term forecast. 

Delaying a decision beyond the optimal window of time to make a choice can be as detrimental as rushing a decision. If a high school student is struggling to decide where to apply to college, there becomes a point when the application deadline begins to eliminate their available options. If you delay a decision, you will begin to lose options. If you postpone long enough, you will lose the opportunity to decide at all. 

Either rushing or delaying a decision will damage your ability to make good choices. The first decision you need to make is, when do you need to decide? You need to choose a date that will give you ample time to gather all pertinent information and evaluate it. And you need to decide before deadlines, or other external forces, begin to erode your options. 

The worst way to handle a looming decision is to avoid it altogether. The people who avoid decisions are left with the least desirable options available or no options at all. If you avoid deciding what you want to enjoy in the banquet of life, you will find yourself eating leftovers or going hungry. 

As you go through your day today, commit to making the right decisions at the right time for the right reasons. 

Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including the Wisdom for Winners series. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).

Think Beyond Your Job by Charles Schwab

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

The thing that most people call “genius” I do not believe in. That is, I am sure that few successful individuals are so-called “natural geniuses.”  

There is not a person in power at our Bethlehem steel works today who did not begin at the bottom and work their way up, round by round, simply by using their head and their hands a little more freely and a little more effectively than their co-workers. Eugene Grace, president of Bethlehem, worked in the yard when I first knew him. Mr. Snyder was a stenographer, Mr. Mathews a draftsman. The fifteen men in direct charge of the plants were selected not because of some startling stroke of genius but because, day in and day out, they were doing little unusual things—thinking beyond their jobs. 

When I took over the Bethlehem works, I decided to train up its managers as Mr. Carnegie trained his “boys.” So I watched the workers who were already there and picked out a dozen. This selection took months. Then I set out to build an organization in which we should be bound together in harmony and kindly cooperation. I encouraged my managers to study iron and steel, markets and men. I gave them all small salaries but instituted a system whereby each person would share directly in the profits for which they were directly responsible. Every one of those individuals “came through.” They are wealthy men today. All are directors of the company; some are directors of the corporation. 

Most talk about “super-geniuses” is nonsense. I have found that when “stars” drop out, successors are usually at hand to fill their places; and the successors are merely individuals who have learned by application and self-discipline to get full production from an average, normal brain. 

Inventors, individuals with a unique, specialized talent, are the only real super-geniuses. But they are so rare that they need no consideration here. 

I have always felt that the surest way to qualify for the job just ahead is to work a little harder than anyone else on the job one is holding down. One of the most successful people I have known never carried a watch until he began to earn ten thousand dollars a year. Before that, he had managed with a nickel alarm clock in his bedroom, which he never forgot to wind. Young men may enjoy dropping their work at five or six o’clock and slipping into a dress suit for an evening of pleasure, but the habit has certain drawbacks. I happen to know several able-bodied gentlemen who got it so completely that now they are spending all their time, days as well as evenings, in dress suits, serving food in fashionable restaurants to men who did not get the dress-suit habit until somewhat later in life.  

The surest way to qualify for the job just ahead is to work a little harder  than anyone else on the job one is holding down.

Recently we have heard much about investments. To my mind, the best investment a young person starting out in business can possibly make is to give all their time, all their energies, to work—just plain, hard work. After an individual’s position is assured, they can indulge in pleasure if they wish. They will have lost nothing by waiting—and gained much. They will have made money enough really to afford to spend some, and they will know that they have done right by themselves and by the world. 

Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) was born into modest circumstances in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and amassed a large fortune as he advanced through various positions within the steel industry. Schwab went from driving spikes at Andrew Carnegie’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock for a dollar a day to eventually become president of Carnegie Steel, earning one of the highest salaries at the time. Schwab was also responsible for facilitating the industrial consolidation of Carnegie Steel into the United States Steel Corporation, which earned him roughly $24 million, the equivalent today of about $800 million. Schwab’s formidable success can be attributed to his extraordinary work ethic, his ability to “think beyond the job,” and his skill in motivating employees through profit sharing and harmonious workplace relations. In Business Success, he shares the principles that governed his personal and professional achievement—timeless maxims that will help any individual advance in their career and realize their vision of success. Get your copy now from Sound Wisdom.

4 Reasons Why People Don’t Set Goals, According to Zig Ziglar by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

According to Zig Ziglar, “97 percent of the people in our society do not have a clearly defined, written-down set of goals for their lives.” We all know goal getting can be difficult, but why is goal setting so hard for the majority of the population? In Goals Planning and Action Guide: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life, Ziglar gives four reasons:  

1. Fear 

2. Poor self-image 

3. No buy-in 

4. Don’t know how 

Ziglar delves into each of these hindrances to success. Let’s review what they are so we can prevent them from limiting our achievement. 

Fear 

Ziglar explains that we have been conditioned to doubt our ability to accomplish what we set our mind to. As children, we are constantly told “no” and “you can’t do that.” We internalize that attitude, and our inner monologue becomes dominated by negativity. Our concerns seem real and valid, and they cement into fears—what Ziglar defines as “False Evidence Appearing Real.” This false evidence prevents many individuals from setting goals for themselves. 

Poor Self-Image 

The second hindrance to goal setting, poor self-image, is related to the first, as both derive from negative self-talk. People don’t set goals because they can’t envision themselves accomplishing anything great. They have a negative idea of themselves in their mind, and they simply cannot imagine themselves as a college graduate, a desirable romantic partner, a homeowner, a successful entrepreneur, etc. A good self-image is a major requisite for success; as Ziglar notes, no amount of positive thinking will prevail over a self-image that is inherently negative, for “we perform in accordance with the image or the picture we have planted in our minds.”  

No Buy-In 

The third reason that people don’t set goals is that they don’t recognize the importance of them. And even when people have a hazy idea of what they are aiming for, they don’t take the time to write down their goals and monitor their progress toward them. But if you don’t write down your goals—if you aren’t completely clear on what you should be doing when you are at home, at work, in the gym, etc.—you will waste precious time and focus. Without goals that are established in writing, people will use their work time to worry about their family time, their family time to worry about their work tasks—they’ll lose the purpose and efficiency that come from knowing exactly what you should be doing and when you should be doing it.  

Don’t Know How 

The fourth and final reason that people avoid goal setting is that they don’t know how to go about doing it. Yes, the process of goal setting can be very time consuming. Ziglar notes that to really assess and establish productive goals, it can take between ten and twenty hours the first time you go about it. But once you learn how to set one goal, it becomes second nature—regardless of the type of goal. There is a formula for goal setting, and you can learn it—with all the action activities and reflection prompts to get you square on the path to achievement—with Ziglar’s Goals Planning and Action Guide, now available from Sound Wisdom.  

The late Zig Ziglar was a motivational speaker, teacher and trainer who traveled the world over delivering his messages of humor, hope, and encouragement. As a world-renowned author and speaker, Zig had an appeal that transcended barriers of age, culture and occupation. From 1970 until 2010, he traveled over five million miles across the world delivering powerful life improvement messages, cultivating the energy of change. Recognized by his peers as the quintessential motivational genius of our times, Zig Ziglar’s unique delivery style and powerful messages earned him many honors, and today he is still considered one of the most versatile authorities on the science of human potential. Goals Planning and Action Guide, the perfect in-depth workbook to deepen your understanding and application of Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life, is now available from Sound Wisdom.

Your Source of Excellence by Sam Silverstein

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Usually, when we run into a challenge, we focus most of our effort on changing what we do…and we make little or no effort to change the way we think. Yet the power of thinking far outstrips the effects of doing. It is only when we change the way we think that we change what we do in a sustainable way. This is a key principle of accountable leadership: Action always follows belief. 

If you fix only the way you do something, but you are still thinking things through in a way that does not support your best self or the best potential of other people, your relationships will suffer, and you will descend into negativity when you encounter a challenge. On the other hand, if you fix the way you think by connecting yourself with the fountain of personal wisdom that I call your Source, you will automatically upgrade the way you do things—and improve all of your relationships. 

Your Source–the set of unique personal lessons, examples, and reference points that clarify your beliefs and instantly direct you toward your best course of action–enables you to turn even the gravest challenges into opportunities. 

Your Source always draws you toward the best person you are capable of being. It brings out the very best in you and in others. If you are in touch with your Source, you are in touch with your purpose in life. 

Your Source is clarified by Source Experiences. 

Action always follows belief. 

What Is a Source Experience? 

A Source Experience is an event, good or bad, that taught you an important lesson about life. From that lesson you gain clarity about what does and does not work for you…and you are able to trace what does work back to its origin: Your Source. 

That Source you track down could be a person who served as a mentor or guide to whom you kept coming back, or it could be a transformative personal experience (such as nearly dying), or it could be a book that you return to over and over again, such as the Torah, the New Testament, the Quran, the I Ching, or even The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Your Source is the foundation of your deepest and best beliefs. You encounter signposts along the way in life that point you toward your Source. Those signposts are Source Experiences. 

Let me give you an example of how all this works, an example from my own life. Growing up, I was lucky to have parents and others who taught me to treat people with respect and consideration. I was told countless times by the people I loved most, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And: “Treat people the way you would want to be treated.” And: “Don’t discriminate against people based on their race or religion or anything else.” There were innumerable variations on this message. 

But even though I was taught these important lessons growing up, even though I knew intellectually that they were a vitally important part of family and social life, I had not internalized those lessons. I thought I had incorporated those lessons into my life, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job of living according to them. But there came a day when I had to acknowledge to myself that I had not yet completely built what my parents had taught me into my belief system. 

 Here is what happened. About five years ago, I was heading home from a speaking engagement with my assistant, Sharon Miner. We were great working partners; she and I had become a team, a well-oiled machine that served as the engine of my business. 

That day, we were headed home—me to St. Louis, Missouri, and Sharon to Amarillo, Texas. We arrived at the airport early. I noticed there was an earlier flight to Amarillo than the one Sharon was booked on. I told her, “Look, there’s an earlier flight. You should get on it. You’ll get home quicker.” Sharon agreed. We went up to the gate agent. 

This is the part of the story where I need to tell you that Sharon is African American. She said to the little bald man behind the counter, “Hello, I’m on this other flight. I want to get an earlier flight. Is there any chance I can go standby?” 

 The airline worker looked her up and down, made a strange and dismissive expression with his face, and said in a derogatory tone, “I’m sorry, but you would have to have status to go standby on an earlier flight.”  

Not “Do you have such-and-such status with our airline?” Just: “You would have to have status to go standby on an earlier flight.” Because she was a woman of color, he made the automatic assumption that Sharon did not and could not have the status necessary to go standby!  

As it happened, Sharon had platinum status on that airline! 

She flew all the time! She was already qualified to go standby at no charge, at the top of the list. But the little man behind the counter had not seen fit to ask about any of that. 

Now, I was standing right by Sharon’s side, and I heard every word of this exchange. When the man said that, the experience literally pushed me backward. That is how stunned I was. I had to take half a step back. My eyes started to tear up a little bit. 

 At that moment, I felt for the first time what it was really like to be a person of color in the United States of America. To be instantly marginalized. Discounted. Dismissed. Based on absolutely zero meaningful information.  

That man had looked at her and seen the color of her skin and made an assumption about who Sharon was as a person. And in that moment I felt shame for the little bald man at the counter, shame for my country, and shame for myself at having made similar assumptions about people in the past. 

I stepped forward, and I intervened. I said, “She’s platinum with your airline. She qualifies.” 

The little man bristled but then realized he had made a huge mistake—and set about fixing it. Once we got the booking straightened out, Sharon and I turned and walked off. I looked at Sharon as we were walking. 

I said, “I know you have talked about this a million times. But I have never physically experienced that kind of discrimination before. And this time I did. This time I got a glimmer of what it must be like to have to go through something like that on a regular basis.”  

Connect to Your Source 

That, for me, was a defining moment—a Source Experience. That was a moment of understanding what it really meant to love another human being as myself. I deeply felt what Sharon was going through; I knew what was behind it from the airline worker’s standpoint, too, because I realized that like him, I had made plenty of assumptions about people based on zero meaningful information. But I also knew that that could not happen again, because making those kinds of assumptions was the exact opposite of what I had taught people for years and what I had always said I believed. 

That experience at the airport galvanized something deep inside of me. It was the moment when I realized in my gut that I could never participate in or support a situation like that ever again, even accidentally. I could never look at someone and prejudge them or make a determination about who they are or what they are capable of based on something superficial like the color of their skin. It may be easy to do that, but I realized in that moment that I could simply never allow myself to do it again. And I could never allow someone in my presence to do the same thing without my speaking up, regardless of whom I might offend. 

That day, I realized what love your neighbor as yourself really means…for me. After that incident at the airport, I had the opportunity to think very deeply about the principle of “love your neighbor as yourself.” And I found myself going back to the verse in the Torah from which it sprang: 

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” 

After that experience with Sharon at the airport, I realized that that verse had to be a central element of my code for living. It had to be something I took action on regularly. It had to be part of my belief system. Because it was my Source. And I had to connect to it if I wanted to be the person I was capable of being. 

That’s my Source. I don’t know what yours is. But I do know this: There is an art to transforming what you believe. Mastering that art begins with getting deep clarity on your Source…and it continues with making choices that support that Source. 

To learn more about the art of identifying and connecting with your Source, order Sam Silverstein’s book PIVOT: Three Big Questions That Reframe Your Perspective, Maximize Your Potential, and Improve Your Life! Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.