20 Laws of Extraordinary Success - part 1 (adapted from Steve Scott's Mentoring Program)

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love to read. I am especially fond of library book sales. You never know what you will find and if you look hard enough you can find some unbelievable gems. The last book sale I found Steve Scott's Mentoring Program, complete with everything included. I will share, in the next four weeks, his laws of success and give my own interpretation. I hope you will glean some wisdom from these laws as I have.

Law 1
Achievers of ordinary outcomes use conventional approaches. Super Achievers that acquire extraordinary to near impossible outcomes use a different set of Master Strategies.

-The people in life that find tremendous success in all that they do certainly work from a whole different playbook than other people work from. This is why we look at the real movers and innovators of our world and find that they made their way against all odds against them. So if we are to become successful in life we need to follow our own rules and often make them up as we go.

Law 2
Super Achievers learn these Master Strategies from mentors (the fast way) or through the agonizing process of trial and error (the slow way).

-All I can say is find someone who is further along the path and learn from them. It is so important that we have people that can not only support us but also push us along in our path. Mentors can not only teach us many things that we do not currently have the experience for, but they also can save us from the many pitfalls that await us in the shadows.

Law 3
Regardless of our past, anyone can reprogram themselves by learning the right strategies for success and commit to using them.

-There are many of us that have jaded pasts or difficult upbringings. However, it is what we are willing to learn from these things that must motivate and drive us for a better future. We can become experts in any field if we are willing to devote the time and dedication to doing so, with or without a degree. Remember that the majority of Super Achievers cane from difficult backgrounds and often had little to no formal education. Its all about commitment.

Law 4
Extraordinary achievement is impossible to attain without a clear and precise vision and a detailed plan to achieve that vision.

-We must take the time to map out our vision if we ever expect to get anywhere with it. Or it will be forgotten with the many other great ideas and dreams we have never actualized. Take the time, in the end it will all be worth it.

Law 5
Vision infuses life into any project or endeavor, and the lack of vision infuses the dying process.

-When we have true vision we find the passion that drives us to complete the seemingly impossible. Where does your vision take you? It is different for all of us, which makes the diversity in life exciting and keeps our world flowing with new and exciting ideas. However, there will always be those people who are unable to catch the vision that you have and try to destroy all that you are working toward. It is your job to distance yourself from those people and allow them to have little influence in your decision making process. If not, you vision may never see the light of day.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week. Train hard and reach for your dreams.

New Horizons

This weekend I spent time at the Core Change Summit in Cincinnati. This was an initiative to bring people from the Cincinnati communities together to strategize new ways to make our community safer, more productive, have better communication, etc. I was able to work in a group that talked about supporting young people in entrepreneurial paths. We came up with a one stop shop called the Entrepreneurial Institute of Cincinnati. A place where we could give people a full range of services to grow their ideas and business and help them with resources to make their dreams a reality.

I was able to add a element of a dream space that would allow the youth or adults to ignite or re-awaken their dreams and passions to create a business or idea that they can have success and fulfillment in their lives.

Great work and ideas this week. I was also able to attend an acro yoga class with Joe Barnett at You Do Yoga Anderson..... amazing stuff, check it out. One other exciting thing I was able to do is pay my organizer dues for a meetup.com group called Success in Cincinnati. Come check us out and find real success and fulfillment in your life.

10 Great Books that Will Help You Succeed

Those of you that know me well know that I love to read I an constantly reading something. I am always using my time to learn new ideas, strategies, and methods in different areas that make me a better equipped person. It is just amazing that you can go to a library and for free, you can learn about any subject you choose, become an expert in that subject and grow yourself and your business through that. It would be simply astounding to see what we could accomplish if more people would take that to heart and expand themselves. However, by and large, we have a culture of functioning illiterate people, who stop learning and growing as soon as school ends. I encourage you to hunger for knowledge and search for truth this quest will enable you to find true happiness and success in your life.

1. The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
    - This book changed my life. It is a compilation of everything Jack learned in the last 40 years about success and life. Jack Canfield is the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. He talks about everything you can think of relating to that field and provided tangible strategies to acquire that success in your life.

2. The Secret by
    - This book is all about the law of attraction. It discusses, in detail, how to really get what you want out of life. Many successful people share their stories and tell you how this idea works. It is amazing how you will see this law work in your life after reading this book.

3. The Power by
    - The sequel to The Secret. It expand on the law of attraction and shows you even more ways to see this truth in your life. It also gives you more strategies to multiply this power in your life so that it is more effective.

4. The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield
    - This book is also coauthored by Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt. It gives ten principles and worksheets on how to make your focus laser like, so that you can find true success for you. This book will equip you with the tools to really find your purpose and guide you towards your goals.

5. The Seed by Jon Gordon
    - This is a fictional account of a man, his dog, and finding his purpose in work and life. He gets some time off work and searches the country to find the real meaning in his life. This book is a great metaphor for living with passion in or lives.

6. Surviving Your Serengeti by Stefan Swanepole
    - Another fictional account about a group if people who go on safari in Africa to find that the animals have great application on how to deal with just about every business situation. It its also a great metaphor for how we should do business.

7. The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield
    - This book follows the story of Aladdin and the Genie and shows us how it can apply to or lives. This story is also based in the law of attraction and goes into deep detail on every area of life.

8. Awakening the Entrepreneur Within by Michael E. Gerber
    - A book all about what it really means to be an entrepreneur. This asks the tough questions about whether you are really an entrepreneur or just a person with a hobby. It also gives you strategies on how to expand your passion and build your vision.

9. You've Got to Read This Book by Jack Canfield
    - This is a compilation of 55 successful people from every walk of life answering one question: what one book changed your life? It is amazing to hear their stories and circumstances about these books that shaped the phenomenal work that they have accomplished. I have a list of all three people and the books that affected them if you would like it.

10. Energy Addict by Jon Gordon
      - This book gives you 100 strategies for finding and creating more energy in your life. It also discusses how this energy is beneficial in all areas of life. If you feel sluggish this book will help you restructure your life to find the energy that you need and then some.

So, I would encourage you to check out some, if not all, of these books. They will help you immeasurably in your quest for success in your life.

Becoming healthy

I know it doesn't come this easy for everyone, but for me eating healthy and changing my diet to fast and cleans my system came easy this year. I say this year because over the years it has gotten easy. Last year was hard and the year before that was even harder. But this year not only did I take on a 21 day fast but I chose to go further and commit myself to 40 days of vegan living. Every day is a challenge don't get me wrong but compared to last year, this year feels like I am doing something natural. I recently started questioning if I was going to go back to my everyday diet at all. I don't know that I could be vegan forever but being vegan for this long has given me a new out look on how I eat food and what food I eat, and feed my family. I no longer feel good feeding my children some of the things that have been staples of their diets for most of their lives. That macaroni and cheese that I have been letting them eat for years suddenly looks like a list of processed ingredients that I can not pronounce and certainly don't have any idea what they are. I think from now on when I make macaroni and cheese I am going to make it from scratch.
As the fast has ended for most of you out there who followed it and you move back in to your normal every day lives I urge you to think about what is in that food you have in your hand. Do you really want that in your body? We are what we eat... and that is not just a saying we really are.