To make 2013 your best ever year, to reach goals that may look impossible, you must be bold—possibly even to the point of seeming foolish.

Let me tell you how one such fool pursued his dream…

This guy

was no scholastic achiever. He looked a bit “dorky,” and some of his classmates teased him harshly. Rather than read his assignments for school, the kid spent his time shooting 8 mm movies of wrecks of his Lionel train set. For a small fee that would be donated to charity, he would show the film to friends; concession sales financed future projects.

He dropped out of high school his sophomore year. And when his parents persuaded him to return to school, he says administrators assigned him to a learning-disabled class. He quit again after a month. Only when the family moved to another town did he graduate from high school.

He applied to attend film school but was refused admission, so he enrolled at California State College at Long Beach. His story took a dramatic turn in 1965, when on a visit to Universal Studios he met Chuck Silvers, an executive in the editorial department. Silvers liked the kid who made the oddball 8 mm films. So he invited the teenager to come back and visit sometime.

The kid appeared the next day. Without a job or security clearance (dressed in a dark suit and tie, carrying his father’s briefcase with nothing inside but “a sandwich and candy bars”) he confidently walked up to the guard at Universal’s gate read more »

I was reading an article recently from Peter Corning, Ph.D., former professor at Stanford

University, titled The Value of Trust.

He outlines how our entire economic free-enterprise system is built on the value of TRUST.

He says, in fact, that smoothly operating markets DEPEND on trust.

We can understand our complex modern economy as simply a vast network of cooperation and mutually beneficial exchanges of goods and services between people. And TRUST is the lubricant that makes it all work.

While economists will measure the outcome of the economy in dollars and cents, it is trust, or distrust, that will greatly influence that outcome.

In my opinion and experience, the fastest way to gain someone’s trust is through a bridge of someone who already trusts you. I call this trust transference.

I will give you a for instance.

Inside the December issue of SUCCESS (on newsstands now), on the CD you will hear me interview David Horsager. David tried several times to get me to review his book and include him in SUCCESS.

But I didn’t trust David. I didn’t know David.

David approached me at an event I was speaking at and gave me his book. He later sent me his book (several times). He emailed my office, he emailed my assistant and he found a way to email me. But it all got lost in the noise of everyday solicitations.

But then I got a call from Harvey Mackay on my personal cellphone. He asked if I knew David or if I had read his book. I replied with “no” (as I didn’t remember David or his book).

Harvey told me how much he liked David’s book and asked if I would give it a quick read, as a favor to him.

For Harvey? Of course.

He said he would overnight me a copy of his book to my home (it wasn’t until later that I discovered I already had three other copies).

Key point here: read more »

The weekend before last, I filmed a video interview with The Voice winner Jermaine Paul.
Watch the interview HERE

You also heard Jermaine discuss his journey on the November SUCCESS CD and perform the release of his new single Everybody.

We all need to perform everyday—sales presentations, job interviews, staff meetings, networking introductions, fundraising pitches, etc.

Imagine performing for a live audience of thousands and a television audience of 10 million, all hanging on every note and pitch of your voice. Imagine battling head to head with some of the most talented people in the country and being judged by your musical heroes.

How does one prepare for such a feat?

Picture it—The audience is screaming on the other side of the curtain, your competition is pulling off stunning performances and your other competition are tuning their voices, dancing and jumping up and down, trying not to act like the nervous wrecks they are.

How do you find your creative center in that mess?

That is the question I asked Jermaine Paul.

You can watch him give the answer HERE. The short answer is: read more »

On the October SUCCESS Magazine CD I interviewed Product Launch Formula guru Jeff Walker.

At the end of our interview, when the microphones were turned off, I asked Jeff if he had something else that I could give you—something cool and valuable (remember this post: Never Hurts to Ask!)

He graciously created a training document called: 16 Rules of Internet Marketing.

It’s the most valuable distinctions he’s made about marketing online over his 16 years doing it successfully. In about 16 minutes of reading you get 16 years of

hard earned and expensive lessons learned. Thank you Jeff.

Click link below to read or right-click to download:
16 Rules of Internet Success

If you listened to the interview on the SUCCESS CD you

heard Jeff talk about how he went from Mr. Mom, with no job and no resume to building a million dollar business. I just watched a video where he walks through exactly what he did on a white board to create that result. If you are interested in the details you can watch that video here, it’s an amazing story. He swears anyone can do the same.

You are welcome to leave any ideas, comments, questions or feedback you have below. You are also invited to share this post by using the buttons below.

Last week I shared point one of four of how to triumph over obstacles, both small and gargantuan, if not downright devastating. I also hope you enjoyed meeting Chad Hymas as well—what an inspiration!

Let me give you the rest of the 4-point plan now…

2. Control the Controllable.
This has been a sanity saver for me.

Atlas used to be my hero.

The guy was such a stud he could carry the whole world on his back. Admirable, but burdensome.

I learned to shrug (a wink to my Ayn Rand friends).

I took Obama, health care reform, global warming, gas prices, the economy, even my wife, friends and family off my back.

If I can’t control it, I let it go.

Any aspect

of it I can control or influence (voting, saving energy, building my business and changing my behavior) is all I ever focus on and deal with.

That eliminates 99.99% of what

most people worry, fret and agonize over. Whew. Relief at last.

“By releasing control over circumstances, you gain more control over your life.”
—Kyle Maynard

This is especially important when it comes to dealing with obstacles.
Take a look at the situation as it is and ask yourself, “What part of this can I control?”

Then let go of everything else. And voila! 99.99% of the mental and emotional burden is lifted and you are left to just act on the .01% that you can control—which is usually YOU and your response action.

What happens to you doesn’t determine your destiny. What happens to you happens to all of us. It’s how you respond to what happens to you that determines your destiny. —Jim Rohn

3. Ask for Help.
One of the most important key points I took away from both Chad and Kyle was how we all need to be willing to ask for help from those around us more often. Not only will it lighten your burden, but it will also empower those who help you.

People want to be of value, they want to know they matter to you. Being able to help you helps them feel important and be important. Give others that gift by asking others to help you more often.

4. Just Keep Moving.
In my interview with Kyle he shared that, “Just continuing to move is sometimes all we can do, but it’s enough. Just focus on the NEXT step. That’s all.”

Chad shared that, in his extraordinary 513-mile wheelchair trek through the desert, he used a similar strategy; he did just what was in front of him. “Don’t count the mile markers, take it one highway stripe at a time.”

When faced with your own difficult obstacles, instead of trying to figure out the solution to the entire problem, just continue to move and focus only on the next step, the next stripe on the pavement ahead.

Navy SEALs have a mantra they use when under stress, when self-doubt or that little voice suggesting you quit creeps in: “Not dead. Can’t quit.”

“A man (or woman) can only be defeated in two ways… if he or she gives up, or if he or she dies.”
—Navy SEAL Veteran Richard Machowicz

Stuck, not sure what to do? Just keep moving forward… one single (small as it may be) step at a time. If you’re not dead, don’t quit, just keep moving.

As promised, here is a short segment of my interview with Kyle Maynard as well.

When faced with obstacles what do you do? Love to hear your comments, ideas and suggestions below.