The Art of Exceptional Living

Is thankfulness a survival skill? Perhaps most of you would respond with, “No, Jim, thankfulness is not key to survival,” and I would tend to agree with you. Most of us have probably already solved the necessary problems of survival, gone beyond that and are now working to achieve our desires. But let me give you this key phrase, “Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” I believe one of the greatest and perhaps one of the simplest lessons in life we can learn is to be thankful for what we have already received and accomplished. Both the years and the experiences have brought me here to where I stand today, but it is the thankfulness that opened the windows of opportunities, of blessings, of unique experiences to flow my way. What a unique opportunity each one of you here has, so many of us; representing different countries, nations and cultures, to appreciate the uniqueness of our own experiences that has brought us all here, to...

Now, here is my definition of success: A few simple Disciplines practiced every day. Do you see the distinction? A few disciplines... Here's a little phrase we've all heard, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." And my question to you is, "What if that's true?" How simple and easy is that plan? The fact is, when you look at successful people, you will almost always discover a plan behind their success. They know what they want, they work out a plan that will get them where they want to go, and they work their plan. It is the foundation for success. We as humans have the unique ability to affect change in our lives; it is through our own conscious choice when we engage in the miracle process of personal development that we are able to transform our nature and our lives. It is the combination of the materials and your open attitude towards learning, driven by the diligent following of a plan that is right for you, that will make this year the kin...

It is important to align yourself with what I call OQP, Only Quality People. You should endeavor to surround yourself only with people who will enrich and empower you, people who will enable you to transcend yourself and to grow. This sort of support group, your pit crew for progress in your life, can strengthen you in moments of weakness and bring you up when you are down. Surround yourself with people who share your vision and who also are willing to support you in pursuing that vision. You cannot make it alone in this journey. If you find relationships that are not mutually constructive, if someone brings you down rather than challenges and elevates you, then you must make a decision. Can you transform this into a healthy relationship or do you need to sever it? That does not mean of course that all of the people around you should be your yes-men. You will never grow if you are surrounded by backslapping sycophants. Although I hate being criticized by friends, I do have som...

Lessons of a Lifetime “Success is not something you pursue. What you pursue will elude you. It can be like trying to chase butterflies. Success is something you attract and accumulate by the person you become.” "If you could do better, should you? It’s not a bad question to ask. If I could do better, should I? If I could read more, should I read more? If I could try more should I try more? If I could expand my business and help more people, make my enterprise more successful, should I do that? And there’s always the contest of how far to go and how much to do….If you’ve got one little successful business going, should you double it? Should you triple it? Do not let expansion absorb all of your time or take away time that you should be devoting to in your life: your business and your friendships and your family. It is a never ending challenge: priorities and reordering priorities in your life." "Be faithful when the amounts are small. If you wish to preside ov...

What is a prospect? A prospect is an individual or a group capable of making the decision on the product or service the salesperson is selling. There is obviously a difference between a “prospect” and a “suspect.” A “suspect” is a name that could be a prospect, so the name offers hope. But unless that hope has a solid foundation, you have only a suspect. A “prospect” has a need for the product, a possible desire to own that product, and the financial capacity to implement that decision. You “spend” time with suspects; you “invest” time with prospects. So the question becomes, when do people prospect? The answer is, all the time! Prospecting is not an eight-to-five job. Prospecting, when done graciously, can be done in virtually any environment—in social situations, on an airplane, in an airport, at a lunch or a club meeting, or whenever people are present. Once again, the best-paying hard work in the world is selling, and the poorest-paying work in the world is selling! Your chos...

People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn't matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I'm a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things. In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect. It is not the lack of money - banks are fu...