Books – the best investment I ever made in myself and my future

November 11, 2011 by JD · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A Year From Now, Act On Your Dream, Advertising, Books, Marketing, Musings, Self-Improvement, Success and Failure

If I keep buying books at the rate I have for the last month, I’m going to have to build a new wing on the castle to hold my library. Maybe I’ll give the library at the Biltmore House a run for it’s money. (grin)

When I was a computer consultant, I bought, studied, and re-read over 1,000 books and I don’t know how many magazines and white papers. That was before the Internet and it was the only way to keep up with all the changes and developments.

My wishlist for marketing, advertising, motivational, self-improvement, and “building a business” books is growing every day.

I’m mixing it up as I go. I’m trying to re-read a classic book, a theoretical book, and a practical book (and maybe more) all at the same time. (Well not exactly at the same time, but concurrently.)

I find it funny when people review books on Amazon and talk about a book being old, out of date, and no longer relevant. In most cases, I don’t see that, at all.

Sometimes I think someone gets only what they expect out of a book, and when your expectations are higher, some — not all — books reveal more to you, and the more you know, the more that is revealed.

I also believe that cynical, skeptical people never see the gold that is within their reach. It’s right there in front of their eyes, yet they don’t recognize it.

I’m currently re-reading a couple of great books, “The Success System That Never Fails,” by W. Clement Stone and “Scientific Advertising,” by Claude C. Hopkins. Both were written quite a while ago, and I find both of them to be informative, timely, and very useful. I’ve read both of them before, but it’s been over a decade since the last time.

I always keep a copy of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and his huge “Law of Success” books within arm’s reach. Both are bookmarked, dog-eared, underlined, highlighted, and full of my own scribbles. I refer to them all the time.

I recommend Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone’s Success through a Positive Mental Attitude. It has made a positive contribution to the lives of thousands of men and women, including me.

I have several ebooks that Ken Evoy wrote, or co-authored, on my desktop and I refer to them all the time. I read everything he writes and learn something almost every time.

I think some people want to find one book, with all the answers, that lays out a simple, easy-to-follow path to success that works for everyone.

To the best of my knowledge, having read a couple of thousand (or more) books, I don’t believe that book exists. I have found, though, that almost every book I read has a part of the puzzle and a few golden nuggets of brilliance.

As with finding real gold in mountains of dirt and rock, you have to do a lot of digging and following the shiny veins that lead to other veins of value.

A skeptic will never believe that it is possible to find the gold. A gullible person will mistake fool’s gold for the real thing. A prospector will find the most likely place to search for gold and then follow where the clues lead him.

I don’t know about you, but, over time, I tend to remember general concepts and forget details. I have to constantly refresh my thoughts and memories in order to stay on track and continue to be motivated at a high level.

Zig Ziglar once said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”

So, I read motivational books, watch videos, listen to audio, and remind myself that my current situation is not a trap that will hold me forever. It’s up to me to decide where I want to go and how I’m going to get there — and who I’m going to help along the way.

One year ago, I felt horrible. For the last two years, I’ve barely been able to think. I couldn’t work. I could write, and I spent a lot of time on Facebook, writing when I felt like it. I had a couple of surgeries last year and about six months of chemotherapy, and there were days I could not get out of bed.

But, I intended to kick cancer’s butt, and it looks like we did it.

I still don’t remember a lot of what happened last year, but my memory is getting better. I read some of the things I wrote during the last two years and don’t remember writing them. It’s as if I’m reading something written by someone who sounds a lot like me, and it says I wrote it, and I agree with what it said, but I have no memory of doing it.

I’ve made a lot of progress in the last year. I’m alive, I’m getting healthier and stronger, and I’m able to remember what I learn and re-learn.

I’m still on disability and food stamps, but I intend to be off of both of them before I turn 60 on July 1, 2012. That is my number 1 major goal that I’m working towards.

To get there, I’m reading, learning, re-learning, and developing plans for my business and how I can help my clients and readers.

I’ve been evaluating myself and where I want to go. Will I achieve all my goals? I don’t know. I can’t tell the future. I’m sure there will be mis-steps and I’m sure I’ll turn down some wrong paths, but I’ll get back on track and do my best to reach each goal and then set out towards the next one.

Jim Rohn told of the time when he decided he didn’t want to lie to a girl scout, because he didn’t have enough cash to buy any cookies. That was when he started to invest in himself and to develop the skills and the attitude that led to his success.

I found a video where he tells that story:

Learn more from Jim Rohn: The Challenge to Succeed 4-CD Set by Jim Rohn

I listen to quite a few motivational people, some of whom earned fortunes “selling from the stage” by speaking at seminars and events and then motivating people to rush to the back of the room and buy their informational products that helped others lead better lives, as a result of what they learned and how they changed their attitudes and thinking.

People like Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy, and others spent untold hours developing the information they presented.

I come from a working class family. My grandfather on one side drove a trolley and worked in several factories. My grandfather on the other side was a tenant farmer.

My parents worked hard and provided for our family.

I remember one day when I was paving a road in Atlanta in the hot July sun and decided that there had to be more to my future and a better way to live.

That’s the day that I decided to do something about it.

I’d done well in high school, but learned that I did not like Ga. Tech, and quit after a couple of years. Then I worked hard for my living. I never seemed to get anywhere, until the day I decided to change my approach to living.

I was talking to a family friend a few weeks later and he introduced me to Napoleon Hill and gave me his copy of Think and Grow Rich.

It was only a few years later that I started my computer consulting business. Everyone told me it would be impossible. I didn’t have a college degree. I had no family connections. I had no money.

What I had was access to a public library. And, so, I started reading and learning, and planning.

(I think it is interesting that Andrew Carnegie charged Napoleon Hill to investigate the richest people of his time and then to report back on a system that would help others succeed. Mr. Hill spent about 20 years on that project and it resulted in the books I mentioned, and others. It was also Andrew Carnegie who donated the money to start the library where I went to learn how to accomplish what I wanted to do. At the time, that library was very valuable to me, because I had no money to buy the books I wanted to read and no friends who had them. So, I borrowed them from the library, and as I scraped up enough money to afford them, I bought them, and others.)

I was never motivated to earn a fortune, but I enjoyed earning enough to live life on my own terms. I’ve done that for the last 30+ years, mostly. There have been hills and valleys and bumps in the road. There have been obstacles to overcome. It was not a smooth path, but it was the path I chose, doing the things I felt were most important for me and my family.

Now, I’ve hit a new low. It’s the first time I’ve ever been dependent upon someone else to support me since I became an adult. I am happy that disability and food stamps got me past this disease that nearly killed me, but I don’t want to dwell upon it and I will stand on my own two feet and meet each of my goals.

If I have to read a thousand books, visit innumerable websites, learn from hundreds of experts, and invest thousands of dollars — that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I intend to build a marketing system that works for my clients and I’m going to teach others how to do it, too.

You may be one of those people.

But, I’m not going to give it away.

If you’re a person who wants everything for free and you want it handed to you on a silver platter — you’re in the wrong place.

I intend to help people who are serious about business, and people who already own a brick and mortar business in the real world are the people I want to work with.

They don’t have the time to study and learn how to build a real marketing system, but I do. So, that’s what I’m working on.

In some ways, I’m following in the steps of Ziglar, Rohn, Kennedy, and others. I’m buying their books and studying them.

I subscribe to the Kennedy-Glazer Insider’s Circle and I’m working on reading all the books that Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer have written.

And, I’m using the knowledge I’ve developed from decades of consulting and marketing my services as a foundation upon which I’ll build my business.

I have no plans to speak at seminars or sell from the stage, but I do intend to sell. I believe that selling is an honorable profession and I enjoy marketing and selling.

So, now I’ve found a way to get paid for doing something I love.

Once again, I’ve blurred the line between work and play and I am looking forward to the next few years with great anticipation.

I honestly don’t know how people can function in our quickly-changing, ever-more-technical world, if they aren’t constantly reading, learning, and re-learning, and adapting the successes of the past in order to find the successes of the future.

Technology has changed a lot. People have changed some, too, but not as much as some people think.

I like money in the bank. It doesn’t drive me the way it does some people, but I like having it available. It increases the options of what I can do.

But, more than money, I intend to be a better, more knowledgeable, more skillful, and more motivated person a year from now.

And even more so a year after that.

As soon as I post this to my blog, I have books and newsletters to study and a big mind map to update as I continue to develop my plans.

The best thing I ever did was to invest in myself. The written word, in books, newsletters, magazines, websites, white papers, reports, and other forms have been doorways to a better life. I am currently reading a half-dozen books and have 11 in the pile next to me that I’ve never read — yet. But, I will. That ought to keep me busy until January.

If you’ve waded through this and you’re still with me, I truly hope you find a way to earn a living from doing something you passionately enjoy. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt. Not the best, but close to it. (Being loved by someone that I love is a much better feeling, in case you’re wondering.)

At this point, I may be talking only to myself, but if you’re still here, thank you for reading.

Now, I’m going to proof-read this, make any necessary corrections, post it, and then turn my full attention to reading the current Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle newsletter. I can’t wait to see what golden nugget of knowledge I’ll find in it.

If you’re not happy with your life, the power to change it lies within yourself. I’m not promising that it will be easy, but I know it’s possible. I’ve seen too many other people do it.

I’ve done it, myself.

Act on your dream!

PS. If you are an information junkie and are always buying “get rich quick” books and discs, but you never learn from them, stay away from the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle.

Yes, I’m a member and an affiliate for this and it’s a real gold mine of information for people who are willing to take things slowly, to learn, to study, and then to IMPLEMENT what they learn. If you have the discernment and self-discipline to buy something, learn from it, and put it to work, you will learn a lot by becoming a member. If I had to, I’d give up eating for a few days to keep this subscription active.

If you are the type of spend-thrift who just buys and buys and buys, yet never learns and does, you can spend a lot of money here. These folks are master marketers and you can learn as much from how they market to you as you can from their books, tapes, seminars, and newsletters which explain how they market to you and show how you can do that to find new customers and prospects for your business.

And, yes, I get paid a commission for everything you buy through my link.

So, you would think that I’d want everyone who sees this to join and buy a bunch of stuff, but I don’t.

You read that right. That is NOT what I want.

I’ve seen too many people who waste the opportunities that they find. They buy, buy, buy, but never really commit to selling. They don’t develop the mindset, the systems, the promotions, the offers, and the products that help you build your own business. Somehow, they think that just buying the book or disc will magically impart the wisdom of the ages upon them.

It won’t. Never has. Never will.

So, I don’t want to lead these kinds of people into this marketing system.

Why, because I know you’ll buy. You may buy a lot.

But, when you do nothing with it, you’re going to be angry with me for recommending it and you’re going to be angry with Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer for spending decades learning what works, and then spending more decades recording it in a number of forms and selling it. And, I assure you, they know how to sell, and sell, and sell.

I don’t want the negative vibes and bad energy that so many unhappy people can create. I don’t need that in my life.

So, if I just described you, please don’t buy anything I recommend, and I’d rather you quit reading what I write.

I want to give my best advice and recommendations to people who are open to making their lives better and who are willing to invest time, energy, creativity, and money into improving themselves and learning new skills, and then polishing those skills by implementing and improving what you have learned.

If you are one of those kinds of people, you have come to the right place.

If you’re not, please leave. Go play with the other people who daydream but don’t invest and build.

Tags: books, Dan Kennedy, invest in yourself, Jim Rohn, Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar

Goals are stepping stones to success

September 19, 2011 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: Act On Your Dream, Simple Truth, Success and Failure

Have you ever spent much time out in the country, where there are no roads?

I have. As far back as I can remember, I liked seeing what was over the next hill or around the next bend in the river. So, I used to spend a lot of time exploring.

It wasn’t like I was in the Lewis and Clark expedition. I was always within a day’s hike of civilization (usually in the mountains of Georgia or North Carolina), so it wasn’t a wilderness, but it was unknown to me.

Sometimes, I’d wander hither and yon

When I was younger, I did a lot of hiking and exploring, frequently all by myself, with no set schedule, and no pre-conceived itinerary. I would set off walking and not know ahead of time where I would go, what I would see, or exactly when I would return.

I liked doing that.

It was a great time to get to know myself, to enjoy the beauty of nature, and just to be. Sometimes, I would stumble across a beautiful vista where I could see for miles. I would sit there and enjoy the view, think about whatever came to mind, and just exist in the moment.

I wasn’t actively doing anything, I was just being me.

I still do that, even though I can’t hike like I used to.

Other times, I’d set out with a destination in mind. I’d know ahead of time where I wanted to go and the trail I would follow to reach it.

It was quite a different experience when I just followed my nose, over mountains, across rivers and streams, in whichever direction interested me at that particular moment.

I enjoyed some great experiences. Some of them involved not knowing where I was or exactly how to get back. That was part of the adventure.

It was a long time before cell phones and GPS. I was experienced with navigating using maps and a compass, and I always carried a topographical map of the area I was exploring. I didn’t use it on the way out, but it was frequently helpful in finding my way back.

I always made it back, but sometimes it wasn’t easy.

Sometimes, I wanted to reach a particular destination

Other times, however, I had a plan for where I was going, how I was going to get there, what I was going to do, and how I’d get back home.

For example, I enjoyed hiking the Appalachian Trail and I’ve walked parts of it from the southern end in Georgia, through Tennessee and North Carolina, and on into Virginia. That was not a single trip. I’ve never been a thru-hiker, but I did enjoy walking sections of it and enjoying the views, the solitude, and the time to think.

Frequently, I would plan on how I would get back home, first. I’d make arrangements to drop my truck off at my destination, and then have someone give me a ride to where I would start hiking.

From that point, it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and following the trail. Sometimes the trail was obvious and well-marked. Other times it was just a little paint on a rock. But, if I walked from one marking to the next and the next and the next, and kept doing it, I would always arrive at my destination.

What does hiking have to do with success?

There are two approaches to life. Well, there are probably many more than that, but I’m going to mention two that pertain to what I’m writing about, today.

Some people drift from place to place, from job to job, from paycheck to paycheck, with no real plan for what they are going to do next. I’ve done some of that.

It’s like hiking with no plan, just experiencing life and going wherever it leads.

Some people plan their lives. They set goals and then work to achieve them, over time.

Why are goals important?

Here is a short movie about why it is important to set goals. When you click the image, it will show the movie in a new window.

Some people set long-term goals, others set short-term goals.

I don’t think I’ve ever set a five-year goal that has actually been achieved. Usually, along the way, I choose another direction that I prefer traveling.

Others, some of whom I know, set plans for 10 years and even longer, and achieve those plans.

Each of us is different and each of us approaches life as we choose. If we don’t choose, it means that we’ve chosen to drift and let the tides and circumstances propel us wherever they do.

Let’s think about success for a moment.

Most people want to be successful at something. I know I do.

Some people depend on luck to achieve the success they want.

Others really study what they want to achieve. They determine what needs to be done to bring it to fruition. Sometimes they want to achieve something that is difficult and complex, so that takes more study. Other times, we want to achieve something that is easier and simpler. That takes less study.

You already know all this, right?

So, now I’ll get to the point.

I have found that analyzing what I want to accomplish always leads to a set of tasks that must be performed. Sometimes there is a distinct order in which the tasks must be done. Other times it’s just a matter of doing all of them, in no particular order.

As an analogy, let’s say that we are standing on the edge of a swamp and we want to get to the other side as simply and as easily as possible. It is much harder to wade through the muck than it is to walk across stones that are conveniently placed to make it easy.

I consider each of those metaphorical stepping stones to be the goals that we must accomplish to achieve the results we want.

When I really learned about goal setting and planning my life — at least to a point — I was able to accomplish a lot more than I was when I just drifted along. And, since I enjoyed what I wanted to do, it was more enjoyable when I was making steady progress and getting ever closer to my goal.

I have a number of goals I intend to accomplish in the coming weeks and years. I have plans in place for many of them, even if I’m not quite sure how I’m going to eventually reach the final goals.

But, I know this…

If I have accurately analyzed what I want to do, and if I’ve properly identified the tasks that must be accomplished, then I now have a trail to follow — and that makes it much more likely that I will reach the destination I want. It does not guarantee my success, but it does increase the odds in my favor.

Now, I have multiple to-do lists, checklists, goals, and deadlines, and most of them I set for myself. I don’t know whether I’ll successfully complete all of them, but I do know that I’ll work steadily at each task, in the order I think is best, and I get a real feeling of satisfaction every time I cross something off one of my to-do lists, or place a checkmark next to an item on a checklist.

Some days I feel like I accomplish a lot and other days I feel like I’m getting nowhere, but if I can accomplish at least one task on my list, I’m making progress, and I like that feeling.

Some days, I don’t want to work, so I play or just do whatever I feel like doing, at that moment. Other days, I focus on a task and work until it’s completed.

If I focus and work on achieving my goals — most days — I have a much better likelihood of following those stepping stones that lead to success.

What about you?

Do you set goals? Do you have to-do lists?

Or, do you wing it?

Act on your dream!

Tags: goal setting, goals, success

Overcoming obstacles and living our dreams

July 31, 2011 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: A Year From Now, Act On Your Dream, Music, Musings, Personal, Self-Improvement, Success and Failure, TED Talks

What is your dream? What are you doing to live it?

It’s a lot easier to think about something we want to do and to imagine doing it than it is to take all the steps to plan how to achieve it and then acting on our dream to make it real.

You already know that, don’t you?

Even when we really want to do something and we have a plan for getting there and we’re taking the proper steps to reach the goal, sometimes we are faced with major obstacles to reaching our dream.

I love music.

I love listening to music and I love playing music. I’ve played guitar for over 40 years and banjo for over 35. I love playing music.

All my life, I’ve wanted to play piano, but I never made it a priority.

I’ve wanted to read music fluently, but I’ve never made it a priority.

If I study a piece of music, I can work out the notes, but it’s a very slow process. I can’t look at it and immediately play it and I can’t look at it and hear the music in my head. I would like to do that.

But, it’s never been a priority. I’ve never made the time for it and put in the work that is required to master it.

Last year, when I realized that the cancer wasn’t going to kill me, and I wasn’t able to work, I spent a lot of time and effort working to learn how to read music and studying music theory. I made some progress.

As I got stronger and my thinking started clearing up, I started moving back into working and music wasn’t as important.

Then, a few months ago, I woke up one morning and couldn’t move my right hand. Not a bit. I thought I’d slept on it wrong and it would be okay if I got up and did my normal activities. Slowly, over time, it’s gotten a lot better. I’ve exercised and stretched it every day, several times each day. Over time, I got to where I could use all my fingers, except for my index finger.

Today, I realized I was typing faster and more accurately than I have since I hurt my hand. So, on a whim, I got out my banjo, put on my fingerpicks, and tried to play a song.

I had to hold my hand a little differently from how I had over the last few decades, and I had to adjust the pick on my index finger, but I found I could hit the right strings.

So, I started playing a song, slowly, as slowly as I did when I was first learning all those years ago.

You know what? I could play my banjo, again.

It wasn’t beautiful music, but it was recognizable and better than I have played in awhile.

It felt wonderful and now I’m inspired to make music a priority, again. Maybe not my number one priority, but pretty close to the top of the list.

So, now, it’s time to get back to learning how to read music and play piano. I will learn music theory and become a proper musician, and I know that will help in playing guitar, banjo, and fiddle, too.

I found a great site to help me learn to read music and play piano: Learn Piano Online at the key-notes Virtual Piano Studio by Albert Frantz.

He is an accomplished classical pianist and I assumed he had learned to play piano as a child, but I learned that isn’t true. He didn’t start learning until he was 17, and that’s considered impossible for anyone who wants to become a classical musician. Most of them start when they’re two or three years old.

He faced other obstacles that slowed down learning to play piano. Among other things, he had his fingers caught in a car door, and later, he broke his left wrist. But, he didn’t let that stop him. He persevered and approached the task from different directions.

Here’s a TEDtalk where he goes into his background and the obstacles he had to overcome to live his dream. I find it fascinating. Maybe you will, too…

This inspires me even more to pursue my goals of learning to read music fluently and to play the piano well.

I’ll never be a concert pianist, because that isn’t something I want to do, but I look forward to playing a variety of songs for my own enjoyment and for sharing with my friends.

I know that you’re facing obstacles as you try to live your dreams, too. We all do.

I truly believe that with dedication and creativity, we can find a path that will lead us to achieving the goals we set for ourselves.

Not every goal is achievable. I’ll never be the fastest runner or compete in pole vaulting or ride the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby. There are many things that are impossible for us, and I don’t care if people disagree with that statement.

But, there are many, many dreams that are not only possible, but perhaps easier to achieve than we may think.

No matter how much you believe you can do something, it may be impossible to achieve, but you never know until you try. But, you have to be realistic, too. The universe will not grant you anything you want just because you want it. You have to work for it. And even if you work for it, some things are still impossible. An easy example? I’m a man. It’s impossible for me to give birth to a child. So, I don’t waste any time wanting to do it or trying to do it. That’s just totally unrealistic. If I were a woman, however, it might be a feasible goal.

On the other hand, I can state categorically with no doubt that you will never achieve your goals if you believe you can’t and don’t even try.

As Albert Frantz points out in this video, one man may dream about being the fastest man on the planet, while another dreams about being able to walk. For the right people, with the right skills and abilities, either dream may be a major achievement.

People face obstacles every day. Sometimes we see them approaching and sometimes they take us totally by surprise. But, we all face obstacles that we must overcome, burst through, go around, tunnel under, or climb over in order to continue on our chosen path to living our dream.

Do you have a dream? Don’t let it go. Work to make it real.

Act on your dream!

Tags: achieve, Albert Frantz, dream, fail, music, musician, obstacles, play piano, read music

Family or work – which is most important to you?

June 26, 2011 by JD · 3 Comments
Filed under: Events, Family, Musings, Success and Failure

There are two things you should know about me, if you have any hope at all in trying to understand me.

1. I love my work.
2. I love my family.

I love my work

For the great majority of my life, those two things were most important to me.

Instead of “I love my work,” you could just as well say, “I love telling computers what to do.”

I’ve spent most of my adult life learning all I can about computers and I think I’ve done fairly well, if I do say so. Since I am less concerned with stuff, and more interested in accomplishment, I’ve plowed a great deal of my earnings right back into more computers (Macs, of course), software, and books, and used it to learn even more about the topics that most interested me.

But, you know what?

Looking back over the last 30 years, I have a handful of photos showing me working. In most of them, I’m so involved in what I was doing that I was oblivious to someone taking the picture.

I have one photo showing me standing in front of a white board and lecturing to a class.

I have one photo showing my co-author and me at a little party celebrating the publication of our book.

I have memories of being frustrated when something wouldn’t work — and then spending hours, days, or weeks working on it until I solved it. I rarely quit working on a problem before solving it. Now and then, but not often.

During all those years, I worked most of the time, and spent the remainder with my family.

I love my family

If you had asked me at the time if I loved my family, I would have said, “Yes!”

With no hesitation or doubt.

But, looking back, I would have been wrong.

Family definitely came second. Looking back over the years, it’s hard for me to believe and accept, but it’s the truth.

My life-and-death struggle with cancer the last couple of years forced me to look intensely at myself and to question everything I believed about my life.

I was as close to being on my death bed as I want to get for a long time, and what I was observing wasn’t pleasant.

I was a selfish loner

I was a loner who was selfishly focused on doing what I wanted to do and that was more important than anything else.

That started to change a few years ago, when I brought Mom home from a hospital following her battle with cancer and became her sole caretaker. I gave up a lot of things I enjoyed doing and focused primarily on caring for her.

That came with its own problems, however, because I wasn’t free to get out and see friends and other family members, and I grew more isolated and less connected with all the other people who were important to me.

Then, after Mom died, I fought my own battle with cancer.

Cancer sucks! Let’s kick cancer’s butt!

When I got too weak to get out of bed, I had to face a decision. Would I go to the hospital and seek medical help — even though I had no money and no insurance — or would I let the cancer beat me and die in my bed?

More afraid of debt than death

I went through bankruptcy and divorce about 20 years ago and both were traumatic. I’m not sure that I’ve completely recovered from either of them, but I’m better than I was for a few years afterward.

Since then, I have been completely debt free and don’t even have a single credit card. No loans. No debt.

The thought of going hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt scared me much more than the thought of dying. The thought that I’d never be able to work my way out of that hole scared me even more.

My family decides for me

But, I reached a point when I was too weak to make the decision and Stacey and Dakota (my son-in-law and grandson) grabbed me by both arms, pulled me out of bed, more-or-less carried me to their car, and they and Dena took me to the hospital.

I barely remember it, but I do remember a strange mixture of happiness that they cared enough to help, fear of going into debt, and shame that I wasn’t strong enough to decide for myself what I wanted to do.

No fear of death

I don’t remember any fear of death or dying. I recognized that it was a strong possibility — perhaps a probability — but that just didn’t matter.

I’ve never been afraid of death. I’ve read hundreds of books related to religion and philosophy and decided a long time ago that nobody knows what they’re talking about when it comes to death and what may — or may not — lie in wait, afterward.

So, I quit thinking about it. I know that one of these days I’ll make that transition and then, perhaps, I’ll know what lies beyond, if anything.

I’m not going to go into the long story of my diagnosis, treatments, surgeries, and so forth. They were important at the time, but not so important now. They kept me on this side of the crematorium and I’m happy about that.

Diagnosis: Colon cancer

When I got the diagnosis of late-stage colon cancer, I could tell by the reaction of my friend and surgeon that it was very serious and my probability of survival was very low.

He was honest with me about the situation and what he thought should be done.

When I asked what my prognosis was, he didn’t answer. That was an answer, in itself.

So, why am I talking about all this, today?

Hold on to your horses, pardner. I’m getting to it.

Dena and I went back to her house after learning the diagnosis. I’m sure we talked on the way back, but I don’t remember it.

In fact, I was so weak that I don’t remember very much from last year — just bits and pieces here and there.

What do I remember? Getting high-speed broadband to connect to the Internet, instead of slow dial-up, and the fun of watching videos and movies on my computer. A Memorial Day cookout. A day in a boat on the lake. A bonfire birthday party with Courtnie. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. A beautiful white Christmas. Lots of laughing. Lots of smiles. Being determined to kick cancer’s butt. Wanting to live long enough to spend more time with my friends and family. Wanting to do things, but being too tired, weak, or sick to do them. Being frustrated. Enjoying the support I received from my friends and family — largely through the help of Facebook.

About fear…

I don’t remember much fear. I was afraid that I’d never pay off my medical debts. I was afraid that my voice would never recover from the chemo so that I could sing loud and clear, again. I was afraid that I would not be around to hug my friends.

I continued to be afraid of small pretty women, but that’s nothing new. I believe that it is wrong to give in to fear and we should strive to recognize and overcome fear in its many manifestations. My fear of small pretty women continues and I am willing to wrestle with this fear, whenever the opportunity arises. (wink)

I was never afraid of death. I was never afraid that cancer would win the battle.

Re-evaluating my priorities and making preparations

You see, when Dena and I went home after getting the diagnosis, I spent some time to myself. Perhaps a day or two, I don’t remember for sure.

I thought about what was important to me. I took care of some important things: a new will, a living will, a power of attorney, prepaid cremation, bought a travel trailer to live in (named it Castle Dragon), and put the castle and the car in both my and Dena’s names.

(I could never have done any of those things by myself and I appreciate each of the people who helped me prepare and get settled in for the long fight. You know who you are. Thank you.)

If I were going to die, I didn’t want to make it any harder than it had to be on anyone else. I had just gone through over a year of settling Mom’s estate and learned some lessons from that experience.

With preparations for dying out of the way, I started thinking about living.

(I’m not sure if the timeline is right. I don’t remember if I thought about living and prepared for dying, or vice versa.)

I clearly remember a discussion with Dena about whether I was going to go through the surgeries and treatments recommended by my surgeon, or if I were too far gone and would rather die in peace.

The moment of decision – clarity, focus, and intention

It was while looking into her face and getting lost, once again, in her beautiful blue eyes that I made my decision. I remember the exact moment.

I would go through all of it, knowing it would be difficult, painful, and scary, because I was not ready to tell her goodbye.

(I never once cried when I thought I might die, but I have tears in my eyes, right now.)

I wanted to live and be a better dad.

I wanted to spend more time with Dena and Stacey. I wanted to watch my grandkids grow and develop into adults and maybe have kids of their own.

I wanted to sing and laugh with my friends. I wanted to go skinny dipping in the lake. I wanted to hug beautiful women. I wanted to flirt with pretty nurses. I wanted to play music and sing. I wanted to dance for the sheer joy of being alive.

I decided right then and there that I intended to kick cancer’s butt

I would live and do lots of things that were very important to me.

They all revolved around family and friends.

Work wasn’t even part of the thought process. It had faded into no importance at all.

Realistically, I knew then (and now) that I have to work to earn money to live, but it lost most of its importance to me.

At that moment, if I were to write a list of things that are important to me, it would be a longer list than the one I wrote at the top of this message/post/article/document/diatribe/or whatever it is.

My new list of priorities

While not necessarily in the correct order by importance, it would go something like this:

1. Dena
2. Stacey
3. Courtnie, Dakota and Katie.
4. All my closest friends and family
5. My online friends
6. Singing, laughing, dancing, enjoying thunderboomers, skinny dipping, sharing massages, and more laughing.
7. Other things I can’t think of right now
8. Work
9. Paying bills
10. Everything else…

That may not be exactly the right order (and there may, in fact, be no correct order), because things change all the time. Some things are more important now, less important later, and maybe more important even later.

The one thing I am crystal clear on, however, is that numbers 1-6 are the most important to me.

That’s where I intend to live most of the time. It’s what I intend to do, observe, enjoy, celebrate, and care about.

I still enjoy working, but I have a lot more photographs of family and friends than I do of working. I have lots more wonderful memories of friends than I do of solving a problem, creating an elegant algorithm, or implementing a new system.

Thankfully, I’m no longer on my death bed. I’ve finished all the treatments. I’m getting stronger.

Cats have nine lives. I wonder how many I have

If I were a cat, I think I used up a couple of my lives last year, and I’m going to be very careful about what I do with the lives that still remain. I don’t know how many there are. I’m pretty sure I used a couple of them on the edge of the Grand Canyon and another of them during the early morning hours in downtown Atlanta. I may have used one while driving in Chattanooga, and another one when an 18-wheeler came around a blind curve and was almost totally in my lane. I’m pretty sure that I’ve used seven or eight of my allotted lives. If cats and JD have nine lives, I may have only one or two left.

I’m going to use them to celebrate my family and friends and to enjoy every minute I can spend with them.

During the rest of the time, I’m going to pour myself into working to do the best I can for my clients, but I have to tell them this: You definitely are not first in my life. I’ll do what I promise, but some of it may take a bit longer, because I’m going to enjoy any lives I still have.

People are most important

Now, let me share a couple of glimpses of the people who are important in my life:

Dena and Stacey Howard and family, 2011.

We enjoyed spending a couple of hours with a wonderful group of people at the reunion.

This week, I’ve been working hard to update websites, plan some strategies for promoting local businesses, learning new skills, and trying to get back to earning a living and paying my own way through the world.

A few years ago, I would not have interrupted my work. I was “in the flow” and really accomplishing something.

But, this is a different life, one that is much better aligned with the things and people that are important to me.

Two days ago, on Friday, I was working hard and the alarm on my iPod went off. I stopped what I was doing and went to enjoy and celebrate something much more important.

Dena and Stacey were married twenty years ago. To celebrate, they decided to throw a big shindig and renew their marriage vows. 20 years ago, they were hitched. So, I’m saying that this year, they tightened the hitch. Not that it needed tightening. I hope they have a lifetime of happiness together.

Dena and Stacey Howard, renewing their wedding vows.

I am a better person

Over the years, I may not have been the best friend, husband, or dad, but I’ve recognized the error of my ways and I’m going to do my best to enjoy and celebrate your accomplishments and victories, do what I can to help you in your struggles, and hug more often.

JD and Dena

I will say something (much more often) that has always been very hard for me to say…

I love you.

What about you?

I’m not saying that my way is the only way or even the best way. It’s right for me, but you may have other thoughts, goals, and priorities.

So, which is most important to you?

Is there something besides family and work that is important?

Act on your dream!

Tags: cancer, Dena Howard, Family, important, intention, Stacey Howard, work

What is your biggest goal?

May 11, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Success and Failure, TED Talks

Stop! Don’t tell anyone! Keep it to yourself!

You don’t want to undercut your motivation to actually achieve that goal, do you?

I know, most people tell you to announce your goal so that you’ll be held accountable. Research says otherwise…

Derek Silvers presents research dating all the way back to the 1920s to show why telling others your goals may not be the best thing to do — if you actually want to achieve them.

So, what’s your biggest goal?

(grin)

Tags: Derek Silvers, goals, success

What leads to success?

May 11, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Success and Failure, TED Talks

We all want to succeed, in one way or another.

In just 3 and a half minutes — you do have less than four minutes, don’t you — Richard St. John condenses years of research and over 500 interviews into the 8 things that lead to success…

Learn more about Richard St. John on TED.com.

Tags: Richard St. John, success

If you fall, get back up and run faster!

April 2, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Inspirational, Success and Failure

Not accomplishing your goal is not a failure, if you learn from it, change your approach, and try again.

Falling is not losing, if you get back up and run as fast as you can.

You fail when you quit. You succeed when you do your best.

Life is full of obstacles, incidents, and accidents. How we deal with them is part of our character.

Here’s a great example…

Her actions speak far more eloquently than any words I could summon.

Act on your dream!

Tags: fall, race, run, win

Do you want to start an online business?

June 29, 2010 by JD · 6 Comments
Filed under: Business, Musings, Personal, Site Build It, Success and Failure

I haven’t been posting to this blog nearly as much as I would like, and you may already know the reason. If you don’t, the short story is that I’m battling cancer and lots of days I don’t feel like doing much of anything. However, the good news is that I’m stronger than I was for the last six months and I believe I’m making progress every day. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll be able to resume blogging on a regular basis.

I was thinking about the topic of having an online business earlier this morning.

For the last year, I haven’t really been able to do much work, but I continue to get enough income through past efforts to keep my various websites and communities moving along while I concentrate mostly on kicking this cancer’s butt. It really is true that I earn money in my sleep and on days when all I feel like doing is sitting on the porch and listening to the birds and watching the wind rustle the leaves on all the trees that surround my home.

Over the last ten years, I’ve earned a living through my marketing business, even though there have been lots of ups and downs.

It allowed me to work from home and care for my elderly mother for about seven years, and it has kept me afloat for the last couple of years as my health problems took over the majority of my attention.

On Thursday, July 1, I’ll turn 58 years old and I always contemplate what I want to do differently during the next year of my life as my birthday approaches.

Interestingly enough, I find that there isn’t much I want to change other than getting healthy, again. As soon as I’m strong enough and able to think straight, again, I want to resume my marketing business, doing pretty much what I’ve done for the last decade.

That’s pretty remarkable for me. I rarely go that long without becoming disinterested in what I’ve been doing and wanting to try something new.

I love living here in the mountains and working from home. I love it that hundreds of people view my websites every day and enough of them purchase from my recommendations that I still generate some income, even when I’m unable to work.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not generating a lot of income and the last few months I’ve been mostly breaking even, but that still keeps all my websites alive and prevents the loss of all the hard work I put in the last few years.

If I were able to really work on the sites as I did a few years ago, my income would be rising every month and I look forward to doing that again within the next year or so.

If I had been working on a job the last few years and got this sick, I think I would be quite a bit worse off than I am now.

I love being self-employed and I love earning revenue for work I did months or years ago.

What about you?

If something unexpected happened in your life, would you have anything helping you economically? Even if things are going great (and I hope they continue that way!), do you ever wonder what it would be like to work from home and do something you love every day?

I know hundreds of people who are doing just that. Most of them are doing a few similar things in terms of promoting their businesses, but almost all of them are doing something that is interesting to each of them. In other words, they’re not a bunch of lemmings trying to follow the herd and eek out a few dollars here and there. They’ve identified something about which they’re very interested, even passionate, and they’re working to build an online business around that topic (or those topics).

Some are approaching their online business from one direction and others are coming from a different direction, but they all share some common traits: intelligence, a vision of where they want to go, a plan on how to get there, motivation to accomplish what is important to them, the willingness to study and learn what they need to know, and an unflagging belief that they will succeed in reaching their goal, eventually.

That belief is very important.

Life almost never goes in straight lines. We have a series of highs and lows and often have to retrace our steps to find a new path to take us where we want to go when we encounter the detours that life throws at us.

Many years ago, Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

That has been my motto for almost 40 years, since I first read that book in my late teens.

I’ve proven to myself over and over that I can achieve what I want as long as I can clearly see it in my imagination, can develop a plan to achieve it, and then take action to accomplish each step in that plan.

In fact, I’m dealing with my cancer in the same way. I intend to kick this cancer’s butt and regain my health within the next year. I intend to resume working in my marketing business and doing the things I love.

What do you want to accomplish during the next year of your life?

Another of my mottoes is, “A year from now, I will be better than I am today.”

Sometimes I don’t achieve that goal, but, so far, I’ve always bounced back when life knocks me down a peg or two.

You can do the same thing.

I hear many of my friends and people with whom I come into contact say that they want their own business so they don’t have to commute to work and be subject to someone else’s dictates.

Yet, over and over, year in and year out, relatively few of them ever take the steps to achieve that goal. They don’t analyze what they want to do or make a plan on how to get there. They don’t identify the milestones and take the steps every day to reach those goals.

The next year, they are no closer to their goal than they were the last.

Does that describe you?

What steps have you taken in the last year to get you closer to what you want out of life?

Have you done all that you could to get there?

Why not?

What is stopping you from making your dream a reality?

Is it lack of money? That’s just an excuse. Lots of people with no money have worked hard and made their dreams real.

Is it lack of knowledge? That’s also an excuse. The entire world’s knowledge is available to you through your computer.

The same is true for just about any excuse you can throw up to explain why you are no closer to your goal than you were a year ago.

Do you really want to do what you think you do?

It’s a hard question to face. Perhaps you’re more interested in the fantasy than the reality.

Maybe you think that owning your own business and working from home is like living in paradise.

Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t.

When you own your own business, you, alone, are responsible for everything that gets done and everything that doesn’t. The hours can be longer than working a job, especially in the first few years of starting it. The pay can be less than working a job, but sometimes the lack of commuting, buying business clothing, eating lunch in a restaurant, and all the other expenses related to working for someone else can be reduced when you work at home so the resulting net loss may not be as much as you might think.

I’ve worked many long hours planning and building my online business and I’ve had successes and failures along the way.

Most of my income came through affiliate marketing and that was drastically reduced when North Carolina’s legislature passed new tax laws and some of the major businesses with which I was affiliated canceled my relationship to them. For example, for years I received income from Amazon.com for recommending products that I knew to be useful and a good value. When people would click on the link to the product and purchase it, I would earn a small commission.

When the tax law was passed, Amazon and others canceled these affiliate relations with me (and all their other affiliates in NC) and *poof* there went one of my major sources of income.

Did I quit?

No.

Did I wallow in self-pity?

Yes, I did, but only for a few days.

Then I turned my attention to developing a new plan for earning an income and it was working well until I became too sick to continue with it. But, I haven’t thrown out this plan, it’s still in place and I’ll pick it back up as soon as I can.

That’s one of the major reasons that I need to keep my existing websites online until the day I can resume marketing them.

I know people who are blind or deaf or handicapped in other ways who are still able to build a business and work at home. Some are making ends meet, others are supplementing their other incomes, and a few are doing very well and earning more than they ever earned working for someone else.

On the other hand, some people I know learned that being self-employed really wasn’t what they wanted to do. They found that they liked working at a job, despite some of the things they didn’t like about it. This helped them to understand what they really wanted from their lives and now they don’t waste as much time daydreaming about the “grass is greener” aspects of being self-employed.

Before I ramble on much longer, I want to come to the point of all this.

Having your own online business may be a very good thing for you, or it may be a disaster in the making. It all depends upon you. Can you identify what you want to do? Can you develop a plan to achieve it? Can you learn all the technical things you need to know to make it work? Can you avoid the distractions that abound when you look for ways to make money online? Are you self-directed and motivated to achieve something, even if the rewards may follow only after two or three years of hard work?

Can you work to build something for the future, or do you want your rewards right now?

It all depends upon you, and I can’t offer you any advice if you really don’t want to do what’s necessary to build your business. I don’t know any shortcuts that work, and the whole idea that it’s easy to make a fortune on the Internet is just a big lie some people tell you to get your money.

Ten years ago, I didn’t know who to listen to and who to avoid. I didn’t know what advice was sound and what was just thrown out there to separate me from my hard-earned money. I didn’t know who genuinely cared whether I did well and how to tell them apart from the sharks that are always circling the online marketing newbie.

So, I tested the teachings of lots of people. I spent money and time learning their techniques and following their advice. Most of those experiments were big fat flops. Only a few really proved to be worthwhile and one stood out head and shoulders above all the rest.

You’ve heard me say this many times before, but I’m going to say it again, Ken Evoy, founder of Sitesell, is the real deal. He cares for his customers and works very hard to help each of us build our individual businesses online.

He wrote best selling ebooks to help us build our online businesses and now he gives them away for free. For example, here’s where you can get a free copy of his best-selling ebook, Make Your Site Sell!

(If you collect ebooks and never read them or put into practice what you learn, then don’t bother downloading Make Your Site Sell!, because having it on your harddrive and not doing anything with it is a waste of your time.)

For the last few years, he’s concentrated on making Site Build It! the best system for building online businesses and tens of thousands of real people are following his guidelines and most of them are building successful businesses in niches they love.

Does everyone succeed with SBI? No. I don’t believe everyone succeeds using any set of tools, but more people do well when they follow his advice than they do following anyone else I know and I’ve been researching this topic for over ten years.

Of course, I don’t know everything, so there may be others out there, too, but I don’t know who they are.

So, as my next birthday quickly approaches, I’m happy to see that I don’t intend to do much differently in my business other than dropping a number of experiments that did not succeed (and which were not recommended by Ken Evoy, by the way).

I’m going to concentrate more on my SBI sites and much less on the others, including my blogs, like this one.

What am I going to do for my birthday?

I’m going to stay home and celebrate it in peace and quiet, and then the next day, I’m going 100 miles to have a liver biopsy and radio frequency ablation performed on the spot in my liver that may be a result of my colon cancer, and may not be.

I’m taking the next step in the process to regain my health, and that’s at the top of my to-do list this year. I intend to get healthier and stronger so I can continue to work from home.

What am I going to do for YOU for my birthday?

I’m going to tell you how you can download Ken’s ebooks for free (you don’t even have to give your email address). Yes, those books are a few years old, but the information and advice in them is still valuable.

Even better, I’m going to give you access to the SBI Action Guide.

This is the same guide we follow when we subscribe to SBI 2.0, and you can learn the same things we do. However, unless you subscribe to SBI 2.0, you don’t get all the tools, support, articles, tips, and help from the members-only forum.

You do get a step-by-step guide in what to do to identify your niche, compare it to others, choose the one that’s right for you, and information on how to research and build your business.

You don’t get access to the keyword brainstorming tool, the keyword database functions, nor the sitebuilding tools.

For one or two percent of the people reading this, the information you’ll get from reading the Action Guide and watching the video version of it will be enough for you to use any tools you want to build a successful business.

For a few more percent, you’ll be able to adapt what you learn and use something like WordPress to build a site. Before you invest the time and effort in doing this, have you read Sitesell’s page comparing blogging versus building a hierarchically-organized website?

The rest of you would be better off, deciding if this is something you really want to do, and if it is, then purchase an annual subscription to SBI and give yourself one year to start building the online business you dream of owning. Work on it some every day and you may be amazed at what you can accomplish in as little as a year from now.

Is it free?

Of course not.

Is it affordable?

Absolutely. An annual subscription to SBI costs $300 and that’s less than a dollar a day. Most of you waste more than that and don’t get any nearer your dream.

Is it the only way to succeed.

Of course, it is not.

Is it the way for you?

I don’t know. You’ll have to decide that for yourself.

I know that I’m a satisfied customer and host two sites using SBI. In a few minutes, after I publish this post, I’m going to renew my annual subscription to Murphy Gold so it will be ready for me to continue promoting select small businesses in Murphy, NC, a place I love living, as soon as I’m strong enough to do it.

I started Murphy Gold last year on my birthday after identifying a new direction I wanted to take following being canceled as an affiliate for Amazon and others.

If this cancer hadn’t interfered, I be much further along with the site, but I’ll get back to it as soon as we finish kicking this cancer’s butt to the curb.

It was my birthday gift to myself last year and will be my birthday gift to myself, again, this year.

As I said before, my birthday gift to you is access to the SBI Action Guide.

If you really want to do it yourself, and not make use of the tools that SBI offers, at least give yourself the advantage of the free Sitesell ebook downloads. Learn what you need to do, before you go searching for the tools to do it yourself.

I know I’d like to have back all those months I wasted trying other ways to build successful websites. My SBI sites may not be the prettiest, nor the flashiest, nor have the latest three-column designs, but they work. They attract thousands of visitors and they are easy to navigate. The only thing they lack is all the extra pages I have in my head and don’t have the energy to create right now, but that will be coming in the next few months as I continue to get stronger.

Now, it’s up to you.

Do you want to start an online business?

Tags: action guide, Business, online, SBI, Site Build It, Sitesell, website

Think and Grow Rich test: How do you determine who is helpful and who is harmful?

January 18, 2010 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: Books, Self-Improvement, Success and Failure

My answers to the Think and Grow Rich Self-Assessment Test

Recently, I was reminded of the self-assessment test in Napoleon Hill’s best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich.

There are fifty-four questions in that test, and I’m going to be giving my answers and thoughts on one or two of them as close to daily as I can manage. I may miss a day here or there, but I’m going to follow through until I reach the end of the test.

I’ve started the series of posts with:

Think and Grow Rich self-assessment test

Question Number 41. What criteria do you use to determine who is helpful to you and who is harmful?

I’m not exactly sure where to begin to answer this question.

On a basic level, harmful people are non-supportive, negative, usually destructive, non-tolerant, and block your efforts at improving your life. Much of the time, they tend to view the world in terms of black and white, right and wrong, or other binary systems that don’t let them enjoy a larger view of life. Either you agree with their world view (you’re with them) or you don’t (in which case you’re against them).

Other harmful people may actually want to damage you, your reputation, your safety, and your finances.

There is a huge range of people who may be harmful. I think most of us has a basic understanding of this, but I suspect that few have actually stopped to think about the question and to determine criteria to help you decide who they are.

There are some people, and I’ve had to deal with a few of these in the past, who are bright, cheerful and supportive on the surface, but have a much more negative attitude and agenda underneath that only comes out over time. I’m still not good at spotting these people, but I’m better than I used to be at doing it.

Then there is the “two faced” crowd. These people are friendly and supportive to your face, but they’ll stab you in the back and cause chaos for you when you’re not around. As soon as I identify one of these people, I prune them from my life.

I’m sure there are other harmful people that I haven’t identified. Do you have any thoughts on this?

As far as determining who is helpful to me, that’s a different question and — at least for me — is more difficult to answer.

Someone once told me that I was doing okay if a third of the people who knew me liked me, a third disliked me, and the final third didn’t really care much one way or the other.

I’m not sure if those percentages are accurate and I think they vary for different people.

In my case, I think I’m doing pretty well if 25% like me, 25% dislike me, and the other half don’t really care.

I’d worry and make changes if the number who disliked me was larger than either of the other two groups.

Now, as far as determining who is helpful, let’s think for a moment.

hmmmm.

Obviously, friends who are supportive and care for you are helpful. Customers who buy from you are helpful (but I don’t think of them as the same as supportive friends, although they can be in both categories). People who tell others about you and why they like you are helpful.

I don’t really have a set of criteria for helpful people that matches my harmful people criteria. I wonder why.

I expect helpful people to be honest, supportive, friendly, tolerant, positive, and to have other similar character attributes.

Other than these thoughts, I don’t really have a fixed criteria for determining who is helpful or harmful to me.

One thing I have come to rely upon, however, is a basic gut feeling when I’m around someone for any length of time. If my gut starts churning or feeling bad, then it makes my brain take notice in a way that it never did when I was younger.

What about you?

What criteria do you use to determine who is helpful to you and who is harmful?

Act on your dream!

Tags: Napoleon Hill, self-assessment, test, Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich test: Is it possible that someone has a negative influence on your mind?

January 18, 2010 by JD · 4 Comments
Filed under: Books, Self-Improvement, Success and Failure

My answers to the Think and Grow Rich Self-Assessment Test

Recently, I was reminded of the self-assessment test in Napoleon Hill’s best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich.

There are fifty-four questions in that test, and I’m going to be giving my answers and thoughts on one or two of them as close to daily as I can manage. I may miss a day here or there, but I’m going to follow through until I reach the end of the test.

I’ve started the series of posts with:

Think and Grow Rich self-assessment test

Question Number 40. Is it possible that some close friend or associate has a negative influence on your mind?

I’ve been thinking about this question for a few days before attempting an answer.

Currently, I don’t think that it is possible that any friends or associates can have a negative influence on my mind.

Just about all of the people I know are either neutral or positive influences, and I like it that way.

In the past, when I was much younger and much less selective in the people with whom I chose to associate, the answer would have been yes.

Over the decades, however, I’ve learned how to be more selective and I’m happy to say that I’m pleased with my friends and associates. They’re a great bunch of people and are supportive of each other, even when we have differing beliefs and opinions regarding things like politics, religion, and other issues that can be hot buttons for some people.

I’m happy to be part of such a tolerant and supportive group.

What about you?

Is it possible that some close friend or associate has a negative influence on your mind?

Act on your dream!

Tags: Napoleon Hill, self-assessment, test, Think and Grow Rich