Choose ?ourself!

8e noppy, Moke Mlllloos, llve tbe uteom

uLulCA1lCn

l Choose Myself!
1ab|e of Contents

l Chose Myself: An lnLroducLlon
1he Lconomlc PlsLory of Lhe Choose ?ourself Lra
ermanenLly 1emporary
And 1hen 1hey All Laughed
uoes Cne erson Pave ConLrol Cver ?our Llfe?
Pow Lo Choose ?ourself
1he Slmple ually racLlce (or Why So Many eople WanL Lo ule)
WhaL lf l'm ln a Crlsls!?
Choose ?ourself Lo Llve
llndlng ?our urpose ln Llfe
Pow Lo ulsappear CompleLely and never 8e lound
!usL uo lL
LeL's CeL Speclflc: WhaL Should l uo?
lL uoesn'L CosL a LoL Lo Make $1 8llllon
8ecomlng a MasLer Salesman
Pow Lo 8ecome an ldea Machlne
1en ldeas Lo SLarL ?ou Cff
uon'L Pave Cplnlons
Pow Lo 8elease Lhe Cod Pormone
1he Seven PablLs of Plghly LffecLlve Medlocre eople
Pow Lo 8e Less SLupld
PonesLy Makes ?ou More Money
?ou're never 1oo ?oung Lo Choose ?ourself: nlne Lessons from Alex uay
1he Curlous Case of Lhe Sexy lmage
WhaL l Learned from Superman
Candhl Chose Plmself Lo lree an LnLlre CounLry
nlne 1hlngs l Learned from Woody Allen
CompeLence and Lhe 8eaLles' LasL ConcerL
WhaL Lo uo When ?ou Are 8e[ecLed
Survlvlng lallure
1ake Cver Lhe World
1esLlmonlals


ICkLWCkD
l sLarLed ouL as a compuLer sclence ma[or. l Lhen goL exclLed abouL lmprovlsaLlonal comedy. l
Lhen somehow ended up as CLC of 1wlLLer. We llve ln a world where Lhe yellow brlck road has
many forks and can Lake us on many lncredlble [ourneys.
lL's lncreaslngly dlfflculL Lo know Lhe flnal desLlnaLlon of Lhese [ourneys.

1he day and age of Lhe masslve corporaLlons LhaL Lake care of us from beglnnlng Lo end are
over. 8uL LhaL ls exclLlng news. lL means we can choose Lhe llfe we wanL for ourselves. ?ou
choose LhaL llfe by dolng Lhe besL you can rlghL ln Lhls momenL. 8lghL now. 8y belng bold ln Lhls
momenL. 8lghL now. 1here ls no oLher momenL Lo walL for. 1wlLLer ls abouL Lhe enLlre world
conversaLlon rlghL ln Lhls momenL. lL's Lhe lmprovlsaLlon rlghL now of Lhe planeL. And yes, lL's
ofLen comedy. And lL's ofLen abouL people relnvenLlng Lhemselves and sLarLlng new
conversaLlons for Lhelr llves.

WhaL l llke abouL !ames and hls book ls you can Lell he came from a slmllar roller coasLer. Pe
chose hls own paLh Lo success wlLhouL knowlng Lhe ouLcome. And whaL happens Lo hlm laLer--
well, hopefully he won'L end up ln a guLLer. Who knows?

1he key ls Lo be bold rlghL ln Lhls momenL. As !ames says ln Lhe LlLle of Lhls book, "Choose
?ourself," and he explalns how. Choose yourself rlghL now.

lf you do Lhls, noL only can you noL plan Lhe lmpacL you're golng Lo have, you ofLen won'L
recognlze lL whlle you're havlng lL. 8uL one Lhlng ls for sure: lf you don'L make courageous
cholces for yourself, nobody else wlll.

1here's no one paLh. 1here's every paLh. Lvery paLh sLarLs wlLh Lhls one momenL. uld you
choose yourself for Lhls momenL? Can you be bold? 1hen all paLhs wlll lead Lo Lhe same place.
8lghL now.

#chooseyourself

- ulck CosLolo, CLC of 1wlLLer

I CnCSL MSLLI: AN IN1kCDUC1ICN
l was golng Lo dle. 1he markeL had crashed. 1he lnLerneL had crashed. nobody would reLurn my
calls. l had no frlends. LlLher l would have a hearL aLLack or l would slmply klll myself. l had a $4
mllllon llfe lnsurance pollcy. l wanLed my klds Lo have a good llfe. l flgured Lhe only way LhaL
could happen was lf l kllled myself. My expenses were ouL of conLrol. l'd made some money
and amped up my llfesLyle Lo drunken-rock-sLar sLaLus. 1hen l prompLly losL lL, my bank accounL
bumplng along zero durlng Lhe worsL economy ln maybe LwenLy years. l'm Lalklng abouL 2002,
buL l could also have been Lalklng abouL 2008: Lhe year l losL my home, my famlly, my frlends,
money, [obs.
1he excruclaLlng downward splral began ln 1998 when l sold a company rlghL as Lhe doL-com
bubble was really sLarLlng Lo swell. l was one of Lhe smarL ones, l LhoughL. l was cashlng ouL.
1hen l dld everyLhlng wrong. l boughL a house l couldn'L afford. l had expenslve hablLs l couldn'L
malnLaln. l gambled, and squandered, and gave, and lenL Lo everyone l knew. Pundreds of
Lhousands of dollars. 1hen mllllons of dollars.
l sLarLed anoLher company. l puL mllllons lnLo LhaL. l felL llke l needed Lo buy love. And lf l dldn'L
have an enormous amounL of money Lo buy lL, nobody would love me. 1haL falled.
l losL my house. l losL all my money. l losL any self-esLeem l had. l losL my frlends. l had no ldea
whaL l was golng Lo do. l falled aL every aLLempL Lo rlghL Lhe shlp, Lo succeed.
l would look aL my daughLers and cry because l felL llke l had rulned Lhelr llves. l wasn'L [usL a
personal fallure, or a fallure ln buslness, l was a fallure as a faLher, as well. l dldn'L even have
enough money every monLh Lo pay Lhe morLgage LhaL kepL Lhe roof over Lhelr heads.
l was offlclally losL. l had noLhlng lefL. Zero. less Lhan zero, acLually, because l had debLs.
Mllllons ln debLs.
8y 2002 Lhere was noLhlng lefL ln Lhe A1M machlne. l LhoughL runnlng ouL of money would be
my worsL momenL. Worse Lhan deaLh. l was wrong.
AL Lhe end of 2002 l had a conversaLlon wlLh my parenLs. l was angry and depressed. We goL
lnLo an argumenL. Cver whaL - lL doesn'L maLLer anymore.
l hung up Lhe phone and cuL Lhem off.
Cver Lhe nexL several monLhs my faLher Lrled Lo reach ouL Lo me. l was sLarLlng Lo come back. l
was wrlLlng. l was appearlng on 1v. Pe congraLulaLed me. Pls flnal congraLulaLlons were abouL
slx monLhs afLer l lasL spoke Lo hlm.
l dldn'L respond.
A week laLer he had a sLroke. Pe never spoke agaln. Pe dled wlLhouL me ever speaklng Lo hlm
agaln.
And l was sLlll broke, hungry, despalrlng, and depressed. l was ln a consLanL sLaLe of panlc.
nobody was helplng me. nobody was glvlng me any chances. nobody was glvlng me an ouLleL
Lo prove how LalenLed l was. l knew l had Lo husLle Lo make lL, buL Lhe world was upslde down
and l dldn'L know how Lo sLralghLen Lhlngs ouL. 1o make Lhlngs rlghL.
lor all lnLenLs and purposes, 2008 was a carbon copy of 2002. l managed Lo geL myself back on
my feeL. l bullL and sold anoLher company. l made a loL of money and Lhen, Lhrough mlndless
squanderlng, l plssed lL all away. Agaln. LxcepL Lhls Llme l was geLLlng a dlvorce, loslng even
more frlends, falllng aL Lwo oLher companles aL Lhe same Llme, and l had no clue whaL l was
golng Lo do Lo cllmb ouL of Lhe hole l'd dug for myself.
1hls klnd of Lhlng hasn'L [usL happened Lo me once. Cr Lwlce. 8uL many Llmes. ln Lhe pasL
LwenLy years l've falled aL abouL elghLeen of Lhe LwenLy buslnesses l've sLarLed. l've probably
swlLched careers flve or slx Llmes ln varlous secLors ranglng from sofLware Lo flnance Lo medla.
l've wrlLLen Len books. l've losL mulLlple [obs. l've been crushed, on Lhe floor, sulcldal,
desperaLe, anxlous, depressed. And each Llme, l've had Lo relnvenL myself, relnvenL my goals
and my career. Cn mosL occaslons, l dldn'L reallze whaL sLeps l was repeaLlng over and over,
boLh poslLlve and negaLlve. Cnce l achleved success l would lnevlLably reLurn Lo my negaLlve
hablLs and sLarL squanderlng my good forLune.
SomeLhlng abouL Lhls lasL Llme ln 2008 was dlfferenL, Lhough. 1he world was changlng. Money
was leavlng Lhe sysLem. Lveryone was geLLlng flred. lL felL llke Lhe opporLunlLles were
dlsappearlng as fasL as Lhe money. now lL wasn'L [usL me who was falllng, lL was Lhe enLlre
world, and Lhere was no way ouL.
My sLomach hurL all day Lhlnklng abouL lL. 1bete ls oo woy oot. 1bete ls oo woy oot. l kepL
repeaLlng lL ln my head. l felL llke l could wlll myself Lo deaLh wlLh Lhose words. 8uL l couldn'L. l
had klds. l had Lo geL beLLer. l boJ to. l had Lo Lake care of myself. 1o Lake care of my chlldren. l
had Lo flgure ouL, once and for all, how Lo geL ouL of Lhe hole, how Lo geL off Lhe floor, and sLay
Lhere. l had Lo flgure ouL, from Lhe lnslde ouL, whaL was golng Lo Lransform me lnLo someone
who would noL [usL succeed, buL Lhrlve.
1haL's when lL cllcked. When everyLhlng changed. When l reallzed LhaL nobody else was golng
Lo do lL for me. lf l was golng Lo Lhrlve, Lo survlve, l had Lo choose myself. ln every way. 1he
sLakes have rlsen Loo hlgh noL Lo.
We can no longer afford Lo rely on oLhers and repeaL Lhe same mlsLakes from our pasLs. 1he
Llde has come ln and wlLh lL has come dramaLlc change Lo Lhe landscape of our llves. As we wlll
see ln Lhe nexL few chapLers, Lhe mlddle class has caved ln, [obs are dlsappearlng and every
lndusLry ls ln Lhe process of LransformaLlon. ln order Lo keep up, lndlvlduals have Lo Lransform
also.
1haL means every second, you have Lo choose yourself Lo succeed. lor me, l had Lo look back aL
my llfe and flgure ouL (flnally!) whaL l dld every Llme l goL off Lhe floor, dusLed myself off, wenL
back ouL Lhere and dld lL agaln. 8ecause now Lhere ls no room Lo fall back down. l used Lo knock
on wood every mornlng, llLerally and flguraLlvely, praylng l dldn'L fall back lnLo my addlcLlve
behavlors. Chooslng myself has changed LhaL LhoughL process.
now, every day when l wake up l am graLeful. l have Lo be. And l have Lo counL Lhe Lhlngs LhaL
are abundanL ln my llfe. LlLerally counL Lhem. lf l don'L Lhey wlll begln Lo dlsappear. l've
waLched Lhem dlsappear before. l don'L wanL lL Lo happen agaln.
ln some culLures, llke 8uddhlsm, you woot Lhlngs ln your llfe Lo dlsappear, Lo reduce your needs
and deslres. 1o achleve some form of enllghLenmenL. l belleve ln Lhls brand of splrlLuallLy as
well. l don'L Lhlnk lL and abundance are muLually excluslve aL all. lf you lower your expecLaLlons,
for lnsLance, your expecLaLlons are easy Lo exceed.
lus-and l haLe Lo say lL-flrsL you have Lo pay Lhe bllls. 1he bllls are expenslve. And lL's geLLlng
harder Lo flnd Lhe opporLunlLles Lo pay Lhose bllls. lL's one Lhlng Lo know 1he SecreL" or Lake
whaLever llfe-afflrmlng sLeps you've read abouL ln order Lo brlng poslLlvlLy lnLo your llfe, buL lL's
someLhlng else alLogeLher Lo acLually creaLe opporLunlLles for yourself.
?ou're deflnlLely noL golng Lo flnd Lhem readlng a book. lL's a momenL by momenL efforL ln your
dally llfe. lL's a pracLlce LhaL lnLerweaves healLh wlLh Lhe Lools of flnanclal experLs and a macro-
level undersLandlng of Lhls economlc shlLsLorm we flnd ourselves ln Loday.
ln Lhe pasL four years l've begun wrlLlng abouL Lhls pracLlce and Lhe sLeps l Look on my [ourney
back from Lhe grave. ln Lhe process, my llfe has changed so much for Lhe poslLlve lL's llke maglc.
lL's beyond maglc, because l never would have dreamed Lhls was posslble. l've made mllllons ln
varlous buslnesses and lnvesLmenLs (and noL losL or squandered Lhem), l've meL and marrled
Lhe love of my llfe, l've goLLen ln shape, and every day l wake up and do exacLly whaL l wanL Lo
do. noL only have l seen Lhe resulLs for myself, l've seen Lhem for counLless of my readers who
successfully applled Lhe same prlnclples l applled Lo my own llfe.
l wrlLe abouL lL ln Lhls book. l chose myself. And you wlll also.
1nL LCCNCMIC nIS1Ck CI 1nL CnCCSL CUkSLLI LkA
lor Lhe pasL flve Lhousand years, people have been largely enslaved by a few selecL masLers
who undersLood how vlolence, rellglon, communlcaLlon, debL, and class warfare all work
LogeLher Lo sub[ugaLe a large group of people.
1he CuLenberg prlnLlng press was Lhe flrsL crack ln Lhe prlson. lL allowed people Lo sLarL
breaklng ouL of Lhelr sollLary conflnemenL cells by spreadlng ldeas across large dlsLances, and
allowlng Lhose ldeas Lo maLe wlLh one anoLher. 1hls resulLed flrsL ln Lhe 8enalssance, Lhen Lhe
roLesLanL revoluLlon, and ulLlmaLely enough dlscoverles ln sclence Lo lgnlLe Lhe lndusLrlal
8evoluLlon.
8uL Lhe Choose ?ourself era had lLs dlrecL rooLs ln World War ll. And baslcally, women broughL
lL on.
ln World War ll, 16 mllllon Amerlcan men lefL Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln order Lo klll people.
Meanwhlle, someone needed Lo work Lhe facLorles and offlces Lo keep Lhe counLry runnlng.
Women sLepped ln and fllled Lhe Lask.
When Lhe men came back, Lhe women, qulLe correcLly, reallzed LhaL Lhey dldn'L wanL Lo [usL
sLay aL home anymore. 1hey wanLed Lo work and conLrlbuLe and make money. Maklng money
was fun and lL gave Lhem lndependence.
Suddenly, we wenL from havlng slngle-lncome famllles Lo Lwo-lncome famllles ln a boomlng
posLwar economy.
lor Lhe flrsL Llme ln abouL LhlrLy years, Amerlcans had money. A loL of lL. And Amerlcan
lndusLrlallzaLlon was spreadlng LhroughouL Lhe world. 8efore long Lhe uS conLrolled Lhe global
economy. Clobal conglomeraLes rose from Lhe ashes of near-bankrupL companles LhaL barely
survlved Lhe CreaL uepresslon.
lor Lhe flrsL Llme ln decades, Amerlcans dldn'L have Lo worry abouL loslng Lhelr [obs. 1here
were plenLy of [obs and men and women Lo flll Lhem. 1he rlse of Lhe double-lncome famlly
broughL more money lnLo every house.
WhaL dld everyone do wlLh Lhe money? 1hey boughL Lhe so-called Amerlcan uream. A dream
LhaL was never LhoughL of by Lhe founders of Lhe unlLed SLaLes buL became so lngralned ln our
culLure sLarLlng ln Lhe 1930s LhaL Lo dlspuLe lL would be almosL as anLl-Amerlcan as dlspuLlng
Lhe wlsdom of Lhe uS ConsLlLuLlon.
WhaL was Lhe Amerlcan uream?
lL sLarLed wlLh Lhe house and Lhe whlLe plckeL fence. eople dldn'L have Lo llve ln clLles
anymore. ln aparLmenLs wlLh people on Lop of Lhem, on elLher slde of Lhem. When our
grandparenLs were growlng up mosL people llved ln aparLmenL bulldlngs. 1he bulldlng shared a
cloLhesllne, all Lhe klds played ln Lhe flre hydranL rlghL ouL fronL, you could hear a farL Lhree
doors down. 1he smell of sewage and Lhe consLanL baLLles wlLh bed bugs were a normal parL of
llfe for Lens of mllllons of lmmlgranLs.
My parenLs. ?our parenLs.
now lL was dlfferenL. 1hey could move Lo Lhe suburbs, wlLh wlde-open sLreeLs and
nelghborhood swlmmlng pools and brlghLly-colored sLrlp malls. 1hey could have a yard. SACL!
1hen Lhey boughL a car LhaL Lhey drove Lo work on Lhe huge 4-lane hlghways. 1hen Lhe second
car for Lhe summer road Lrlps.
And Lhen maglc! A 1v Lo keep Lhem enLerLalned durlng Lhe now-quleL suburban nlghLs. 1hen a
color 1v! coptolo kltk ooJ lleoteooot uboto klssloq lo colot! And lf you had exLra money afLer
LhaL, you senL your klds Lo colleges LhaL were sprlnglng up all over Lhe counLry so Lhey could geL
even beLLer [obs and make more money and have blgger houses.
?ou mlghL Lhlnk l'm uslng Lhe phrase Amerlcan uream" because LhaL's [usL Lhe general
expresslon people use Lo descrlbe Lhe whlLe-plckeL fence myLhology.
l wlsh LhaL were Lhe case.
ln facL, Lhe Amerlcan uream" comes from a markeLlng campalgn developed by lannle Mae Lo
convlnce Amerlcans newly flush wlLh cash Lo sLarL Laklng morLgages. Why buy a home wlLh your
own hard-earned money when you can use somebody else's? lL may be Lhe besL markeLlng
slogan ever concelved. lL was llke a vacuum cleaner LhaL sucked everyone lnLo bellevlng LhaL a
$13 Lrllllon morLgage lndusLry would lead Lo unlversal happlness. 1he Amerlcan uream"
qulckly replaced Lhe peace and quleL of Lhe suburbs wlLh Lhe desperaLe need Lo always sLay
ahead.
lor our enLlre llves, we have been fooled by markeLlng slogans and Lhe MasLers of Lhe unlverse
who creaLed Lhem. l don'L say Lhls ln an evll way. l don'L blame Lhem. l never blame anyone buL
myself. Lvery second l am manlpulaLed and coerced and beaLen down lL's because l've allowed
lL. 1hese were [usL dolng Lhelr [obs. 8uL sLlll.Lhey are Lhe manlpulaLors. now we have Lo learn
how Lo dlscern Lhe foollsh from Lhe wlse and bulld our own llves.
1here's a saylng, 1he learned man alms for more. 8uL Lhe wlse man decreases. And Lhen
decreases agaln."
Lveryone was learned. And Lhey wanLed Lwo cars lnsLead of one. A blgger house. Lvery kld ln
college. A blgger 1v. Pow could we keep paylng for LhaL? uouble lncomes were no longer
enough!
1he 1960s fueled Lhe wealLh englne wlLh a sLock markeL boom. And Lhen 1he CreaL SocleLy." A
new markeLlng slogan! When Lhe sLock markeL sLalled, Lhe 1970s lnLroduced masslve lnflaLlon
ln order Lo keep people's lncomes golng up. 1he Lerm keeplng up wlLh Lhe !oneses" was
lnLroduced lnLo popular culLure ln 1976 Lo refer Lo Lhe ldea LhaL we are never saLlsfled
anymore. no maLLer how many maLerlal goods we accumulaLe, Lhere's always Lhe mysLerlous
!ones famlly" who has more. So we need more.
ln Lhe 1980s we agaln had a sLock markeL boom. And when LhaL leveled off, we had Lhe [unk
bond debL boom Lo keep Amerlcans flush ln cash. 1he '90s broughL us boLh Lhe peace
dlvldend" from Lhe downfall of Lhe SovleL 8loc and Lhe lnLerneL boom. Lven when Asla crashed,
Alan Creenspan, Lhe lederal 8eserve chalrman, kepL Lhe parLy golng by arLlflclally pumplng
money lnLo Lhe sysLem-noL only Lo sLave off Lhe effecLs of a poLenLlal Aslan ConLaglon" buL
ouL of fear LhaL Lhe show would be over lf ?2k shuL off all Lhe llghLs.
1he parLy had Lo conLlnue! uesplLe Lhe facL LhaL medlan earnlngs for male workers had been
golng down slnce 1970 and lL was only golng Lo geL worse. uon'L belleve me? 8elleve Lhe daLa:

Lvery economlsL ln Lhe world can Lry Lo explaln away Lhls graph, buL lLs downward LhrusL was
lnexorable for Lhe reasons l wlll descrlbe LhroughouL Lhls book: among Lhem lncreaslng
efflclencles, globallzaLlon, Lechnologlcal lnnovaLlon, and Lhe facL LhaL your bosses slmply haLe
you.
1haL's rlghL, Lhey haLe you. ?ou creaLed more and more value. 1hey pald you less and less.
1haL's Lhe deflnlLlon of dlsdaln" ln my book.
And lL's noL [usL your boss. Pe's [usL Lrylng Lo survlve also. lL's hls boss. And Lhen Lhe boss of
LhaL boss. All Lhe way up Lhe food chaln. And who ls aL Lhe Lop? We wlll never know. 1rusL me,
you and l wlll never know who ls aL Lhe Lop. l don'L say Lhls Lo be consplraLorlal. lL's [usL a facL.
1hen Lhe lnLerneL crashed. And lnsLead of shorlng up Lhe foundaLlons of Lhe Amerlcan
economy, Alan Creenspan kepL Lhe lederal 8eserve's fooL on Lhe pedal and pressed lL Lo Lhe
floor, prlnLlng money LhaL flooded lnLo Lhe houslng sysLem. Pouslng prlces Lrlpled ln many parLs
of Lhe counLry, creaLlng arLlflclal prosperlLy LhaL senL u.S. wealLh Lo lLs hlghesL polnL ever.
Cf course consumer spendlng lncreased rlghL along wlLh lL, Lhanks Lo Lhe banks. 1hey allowed
people Lo use Lhelr home equlLy Lo back Lhelr credlL cards. Can you lmaglne? Lvery vacaLlon you
Look and puL on your vlSA was pald for by Lhe fllmsy walls of Lhe house LhaL kepL your klds
warm aL nlghL. A house LhaL was falllng aparL around you-llke your llfe-because you couldn'L
afford Lo repalr lL because vLCAS 8A8?, vLCAS!
CredlL card debL wenL from $700 bllllon ln 2003 Lo $2.3 18lLLlCn ln 2007. 1wo shorL years. now
everybody had wlde screen 1vs, Lwo houses, Lhe laLesL vlklng klLchen equlpmenL, a boaL, Lwo
envlronmenLally susLalnable cars (Lo assuage Lhe gullL for Lhelr voraclous consumpLlon), and aLe
ouL Lwo or Lhree Llmes a week.
And when l say everybody", whaL l really mean ls me". l don'L know anyLhlng abouL
everybody. l only know whaL happened Lo me. And l was up Lo my neck ln lL.
AfLer sLarLlng many companles, maklng and loslng mllllons, Lhlnklng for once l mlghL have
made lL," l had Lo ask myself: whaL was l1"? WhaL dld l Lruly make"? l can'L even Lhlnk abouL
lL. Lvery Llme l do, l sLarL scraLchlng blg scabs off my back llke a Lweaker or a schlzophrenlc. lL's
llke l develop an acuLe sponLaneous nervous condlLlon. My hands shake and sLuLLer because.
Argh!
2008.
1he Llde came ln. Lveryone was suddenly naked! We all know whaL happened: everyLhlng
crashed. ln prlor economlc boom/busLs, Amerlca's Lechnologlcal lnnovaLlon has somewhaL
buffered Lhe mlddle class. 8uL LhaL perlod ls over. 1here are no more booms on Lhe horlzon LhaL
we can laLch onLo. 1he smarLesL graduaLe sLudenLs ln Chlna, lndla, and elsewhere are sLaylng
home. And Lhe ones who come Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes Lo sLudy are golng back afLer graduaLlon
lnsLead of movlng Lo Slllcon valley and sLarLlng companles and creaLlng [obs and wealLh. 1he
companles and people ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes who are greaLly lncreaslng ln wealLh are Lhose who
lnvesL overseas ln search of cheaper caplLal per Lechnologlcal developmenL.
1he only Lhlng lefL was [usL Lhe governmenL lncreaslng lLs debL. 1he governmenL saved every
bank ooJ sLarLed paylng lnLeresL Lo Lhe banks on all Lhelr asseLs, arLlflclally keeplng Lhe enLlre
flnanclal sysLem healLhy. LeL me puL Lhls ln a llLLle more perspecLlve.
rlces are always golng Lo go up. 1he reason ls slmple: deflaLlon ls scarler Lhan lnflaLlon. ln a
deflaLlonary envlronmenL, people sLop buylng Lhlngs because Lhey say Lo Lhemselves, why
should l buy Loday when l can buy Lomorrow for cheaper. So Lhe governmenL wlll always
lnsLlLuLe pollcles LhaL lncrease lnflaLlon. Whlch ln Lurn wlll force Lhe above Lrend ln medlan
earnlngs Lo conLlnue Lo go down. SLlll don'L belleve me? Pere's Lhe proof:

Inf|at|on s|nce 1940, courtesy of your |oca| Iedera| keserve bank:
noLlce Lhe small bllp down ln 2008/2009. We had a Llny blL of deflaLlon. WhaL was Lhe resulL?
1he worsL economlc crlsls slnce 1929, double-dlglL unemploymenL, and a decllnlng mlddle class
whlle Lhe upper class goL wealLhler.

An ASluL:
Pave you ever wondered why Lhe sLock markeL dldn'L [usL keep golng down? Why lL bounced aL
all from March 2009 unLll Lhe day l am wrlLlng Lhls, when Lhe markeL ls hlLLlng all-Llme hlghs?
very slmple-and l sLaLe Lhls wlLh all humlllLy-l personally saved Lhe uS sLock markeL.
l moved Lo Wall SLreeL ln early March 2009. Speclflcally, Lhe corner of 8road and Wall ln Lhe
bulldlng LhaL was once ! Morgan's bank. ?ou may recall from your hlsLory books LhaL Lhe
bulldlng was Lhe slLe of Lhe flrsL ma[or LerrorlsL aLLack on Lhe unlLed SLaLes. Cn SepLember 1,
1920, lLallan anarchlsLs exploded a bomb, kllllng LhlrLy-elghL, and ln[urlng 143 (Lhank you
Wlklpedla. 1hank you World Wlde Web. now l have every number l ever need for Lhe resL of
my llfe. My bulldlng, a bomb, 38 deaLhs).
AbouL elghLy-nlne years laLer, aL Lhe worse posslble Llme, someone declded Lo converL Lhe
bulldlng lnLo aparLmenLs. 1he bulldlng had a bowllng alley. A baskeLball courL. A pool. A gym.
And you couldn'L glve Lhose aparLmenLs away. 1he bulldlng was a ghosL Lown. nC8Cu? wanLed
Lo llve on Wall SLreeL. ?ou couldn'L flnd a more depressed group of people Lhan Lhe ones golng
Lo work every day aL Lhe new ?ork SLock Lxchange, why would any of Lhem wanL Lo llve nexL Lo
lL, Loo? lL was Lhe black hole of caplLallsm.
So, of course, l moved ln. ulrecLly ouLslde my wlndow: Lhe world famous new ?ork SLock
Lxchange. l looked Lo Lhe rlghL and Lhere was lederal Pall where Ceorge WashlngLon was
sworn ln as Lhe flrsL presldenL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes. A huge flag llL up aL nlghL, pro[ecLlng lLs
negaLlve shadow sLralghL Lhrough my aparLmenL. l loved lL.
l loved everyLhlng abouL llvlng Lhere. l felL llke parL of hlsLory. Llke maybe Lhls would be a new
sLarL for me. Whlch was an odd feellng, because everyLhlng else was golng Lo hell. 1he S& 300
was headlng Lowards a 20 year low, where lL reached Lhe maglcally hellaclous number of 666. l
was loslng more money Lhan l LhoughL posslble and golng Lhrough a dlvorce. Cne Llme l made
Lhe mlsLake of looklng aL my bank accounL balance. l consldered, once agaln, [umplng ouL Lhe
wlndow, or flgurlng ouL whlch drugs would anaesLheLlze me long enough LhaL l'd never have Lo
Lhlnk abouL my problems agaln.
1hen l losL my [ob. nobody called me. nobody wanLed Lo Lalk Lo me because l was bulllsh on
Lhe markeL and everyone LhoughL l was crazy. CerLalnly nobody wanLed Lo help me make
money. l was Lrylng Lo geL oLher companles sLarLed buL people had Lhelr own concerns and l
dldn'L have my healLh or prlorlLles lnLacL (as we wlll see laLer, Lhose are crlLlcal for success). l
was [usL as depressed as Lhey were, and Lhey were [usL as depressed as everyone else.
And lL wasn'L [usL LhaL Lhe sLock markeL was aL a low. 1haL's Loo easy an excuse. 1he human
race hasn'L survlved for 200,000 years [usL Lo be shaLLered by a llLLle bllp ln caplLallsm.
We'd all had a Lough decade. We all suffered from posLsocleLal LraumaLlc sLress dlsorder. 1he
flrsL sLep was admlLLlng lL: lnLerneL busL. 9/11. CorporaLe corrupLlon on a scale never before
seen. Pouslng busL. llnanclal crlsls. 8allouLs. Madoff. Cn and on. lL was rough. As a socleLy we
goL afrald. 1oo afrald Lo move.
So l dld Lhe only Lhlng l could do: l woke up early one mornlng ln early March and boughL a bag
of chocolaLes. Small Pershey's chocolaLes, llke you hand ouL on Palloween. AL around 8 a.m., l
sLood ouLslde Lhe enLrance of Lhe new ?ork SLock Lxchange and sLarLed handlng ouL chocolaLes
Lo everyone walklng lnslde. eople would be sLarlng aL Lhelr feeL llke zombles as Lhey walked ln,
buL 100 percenL of Lhe Llme, Lhey would sLop, look up, Lake Lhe chocolaLe, and Lhey would
smlle.
ChocolaLe releases phenylephylamlne, Lhe same hormone LhaL ls released when you fall ln love.
Suddenly, for a brlef momenL, everyone ln Lhe sLock exchange was a llLLle closer Lo falllng ln
love. 1hls made Lhem less llkely Lo be depressed, aL leasL LhaL day. 1hls ls noL Lo say you should
eaL chocolaLe all Lhe Llme. ?ou'll geL obese. lL's much beLLer Lo [usL slmply fall ln love.
8uL we were havlng a hard monLh/year/decade rlghL Lhen and everyone needed a break.
Lveryone needed a plece of chocolaLe aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe workday.
lL was March 9. A Monday. 1he lrlday before, Lhe S& closed Lhe week aL lLs lowesL polnL ln
LhlrLeen years (and ever slnce). 8y Lhe end of Lhe week, Lhe S& was up nearly sevenLy-flve
polnLs. 8y Lhe end of Lhe monLh, lL was up more Lhan 123 polnLs. And lL's been golng up ever
slnce.
l'm noL Lrylng Lo brag. l'm noL Lrylng Lo say how greaL lL ls LhaL l saved Lhe global economy. lL's
noL bragglng lf lL's Lrue.

1hls ls noL a classlsL or communlsL argumenL. lL's also noL abouL opLlmlsm or pesslmlsm. More
people are flndlng flnanclal success Lhan ever before whlle unemploymenL or
underemploymenL" (where people are employed, buL aL [obs paylng less Lhan Lhey are
accusLomed Lo, LhaL Lhey are masslvely overquallfled for) has reached upward of 20 percenL
uoes Lhls mean Lhe resL of us [usL dle? Cf course noL. 1hls lsn'L all doom and gloom. lL's [usL
reallLy. And lL's acLually good news. lL's Lhe decllne of lnsLlLuLlons LhaL have lled Lo us for Lhe
pasL one hundred Lo Lwo hundred years. lL's a new reallLy LhaL people who apply Lhe prlnclples
ln Lhls book-who sLarL carvlng Lhelr own paLh-can Lake advanLage of.
Puman belngs are born ploneers. 1he rlse of corporaLlsm (as opposed Lo caplLallsm) forced
people lnLo cublcles lnsLead of ouL lnLo Lhe world, explorlng and lnvenLlng and manlfesLlng. 1he
eLhlc of Lhe Choose ?ourself era ls Lo noL depend on Lhose sLlfllng Lrends LhaL are defeaLlng you.
lnsLead, bulld your own plaLform, have falLh and confldence ln yourself lnsLead of a [ury-rlgged
sysLem, and deflne success by your own Lerms.
lL's Llme Lo geL back Lo our rooLs. lL's Llme Lo rlde Lhe surf as Lhe ocean crashes onLo Lhe beach.
llghL lL, and Lhe underLow of falllng medlan earnlngs and a shrlnklng mlddle class wlll pull you
down and drown you.

ermanent|y 1emporary
l recenLly vlslLed an lnvesLor who manages more Lhan a Lrllllon dollars. ?ou mlghL Lhlnk a Lrllllon
dollars sounds lmposslble. l dld. 8uL Lhere's a loL more money ouL Lhere Lhen people leL on. lL's
squlrreled away by famllles who have been hoardlng and lnvesLlng and relnvesLlng for hundreds
of years. And Lhls Lrllllon dollars l speak of belonged Lo [usL one famlly.
We were hlgh up ln Lhe verLlcal ClLy of new ?ork. Pls enLlre offlce was surrounded by glass
wlndows. Pe broughL me over Lo one of Lhem. WhaL do you see?" he sald.
l don'L know, l LhoughL. 8ulldlngs.
LmpLy floors!" he sald. Look aL LhaL one. Some bank. All empLy." Pe polnLed aL anoLher
bulldlng. Pls flngers scraplng across hls wlndow llke.l don'L know.whaLever a splder uses Lo
weave lLs web. And LhaL one: an ad agency or a law flrm or an accounLlng flrm. Look aL all Lhe
empLy desks. 1hey used Lo be full, wlLh full-Llme employees. now Lhey're empLy and Lhey wlll
never flll up agaln."
l spoke wlLh several CLCs around LhaL Llme and asked Lhem polnL-blank, uld you flre people
slmply because Lhls was a good excuse Lo geL rld of Lhe people who were no longer useful?"
unlversally, Lhe response was a nervous laugh and a ?eah, l guess LhaL's rlghL!"
And because of Lhe consLanL economlc uncerLalnLy, Lhey Lold me, Lhey are never golng Lo hlre
Lhose people agaln. 8ecenLly l [olned Lhe board of dlrecLors of a Lemporary sLafflng company
wlLh $700 mllllon ln revenue. 1he year before Lhey had $400 mllllon. 1haL growLh occurred ln a
flaL economy. l now can see flrsLhand and lmmedlaLely whaL parLs of Lhe economy are hlrlng
full-Llme and whaL parLs of Lhe economy are movlng Loward uslng more Lemporary workers.
l'll Lell you Lhe answer: ZL8C secLors ln Lhe economy are movlng Loward more full-Llme
workers. LveryLhlng ls elLher belng cuL back, moved Loward ouLsourclng ouL of Lhe counLry, or
hlrlng Lemp workers. And Lhls goes noL [usL for low-pald lndusLrlal workers, buL mlddle
managers, compuLer programmers, accounLanLs, lawyers, and even senlor execuLlves.
My lnvesLor frlend was rlghL.
1he reallLy ls LhaL companles don'L need Lo hlre as much anymore because Lechnology has
reached lLs manlfesL desLlny from Lhe pulp sclence flcLlon novels of Lhe 1930s. LssenLlally,
roboLs have replaced humans. (1he dream has come Lrue! Cublcle slavery ls flnally over!) l saw
Lhls comlng years ago. l used Lo work ln Lhe Lechnology deparLmenL aL P8C rlghL when Lhe
lnLerneL was spreadlng across corporaLe Amerlca. lL occurred Lo me Lhen LhaL nobody would
need Lechnology deparLmenLs anymore. lor one Lhlng, aL leasL one-Lhlrd of Lhe programmers
were worklng on neLworklng sofLware. Well, Lhe lnLerneL ls one blg neLworklng proLocol. So all
of Lhose people can be flred. AnoLher one-Lhlrd of Lhe programmers were worklng on user-
lnLerface sofLware. Well, Lhe web browser solves Lhe enLlre user lnLerface lssue, so all Lhose
people can go, Loo.

1hls ls [usL one example. 8uL across every lndusLry, Lechnology has replaced noL only paper
(Lhe paperless offlce"), buL people. Companles slmply don'L need Lhe same amounL of people
anymore Lo be as producLlve as Lhey've always been. We are movlng Loward a socleLy wlLhouL
employees. lL's noL here yeL. 8uL lL wlll be. And LhaL's okay.
We're already seelng more sLarLups Lhan ever geL funded, geL cusLomers, and pull buslness
from Lhe corporaLe monollLhs, whlch have slepL for Loo long. 1hls lsn'L [usL abouL money,
Lhough. lf lL were, lL would be borlng. lL's also noL abouL belng a greaL enLrepreneur. l'm an
enLrepreneur, a wrlLer, and an lnvesLor. noL everyone ls an enLrepreneur. noL everyone wanLs
Lo be one.
1hls ls abouL a new phase ln hlsLory where arL, sclence, buslness, and splrlL wlll [oln LogeLher,
boLh exLernally and lnLernally, ln Lhe pursulL of Lrue wealLh. lL's a phase where ldeas are more
lmporLanL Lhan people and everyone wlll have Lo choose Lhemselves for happlness, [usL llke l
dld. 1hey wlll have Lo bulld Lhe foundaLlon lnLernally for LhaL cholce Lo manlfesL. And from LhaL
lnLernal healLh Lhe resL wlll come: wheLher lL's a buslness, arL, healLh, success.
An example: 1ucker Max ls known for hls fraLlre" books. 1he LlLles of hls flrsL Lwo besLselllng
books were l nope 1bey 5etve 8eet lo nell and Assboles llolsb lltst. 8oLh books sold mllllons of
coples.
8uL he wasn'L happy wlLh LhaL. 1he publlshlng lndusLry was Laklng Loo blg a plece of Lhe ple.
1helr clalm: LhaL Lhey handled dlsLrlbuLlon, edlLlng, markeLlng, publlclLy and Lhey pald
advances. 1ucker reallzed LhaL because of modern Lechnology, he no longer needed [usL abouL
any of Lhls. lor a fracLlon of Lhe cosL, he could geL edlLlng, markeLlng, and publlclLy, and he
slmply boughL Lhe same dlsLrlbuLlon LhaL Lhe publlshers would pay for. And because hls prlor
books were successes, he dldn'L need Lhe advance up fronL.
So he sLarLed hls own publlshlng company, ln effecL, slmply Lo publlsh hls nexL book.
lL was called nllotlty osoes, and he Look 80 percenL of Lhe revenues lnsLead of [usL Lhe 13
percenL LhaL publlshers normally glve. Pe chose hlmself and ended up maklng Lhree Llmes Lhe
money afLer all hls cosLs.
1hls ls now happenlng ln every lndusLry. 1he muslc lndusLry has Lransformed. ArLlsLs go Lo
?ou1ube Lo flrsL geL known and Lhen Lhey can sklp Lhe ma[or labels alLogeLher as Lhelr muslc
geLs sold dlrecLly on l1unes. We wlll see an example laLer on wlLh Lhe muslclan, Alex uay.
AuLhors llke 1ucker Max can bypass a flve-hundred-year-old lndusLry by uslng Lechnology Lo
make Lhree Llmes Lhe money. 1ech sLarLups are formlng aL Len Llmes Lhe pace of Lhe laLe 1990s.
And Lhey are acLually generaLlng proflLs and growlng revenues aL llghLnlng-fasL speeds.
?ou no longer have Lo walL for Lhe gods of corporaLe Amerlca, or unlverslLles, or medla, or
lnvesLors, Lo come down from Lhe clouds and choose you for success. ln every slngle lndusLry,
Lhe mlddleman ls belng Laken ouL of Lhe plcLure, causlng more dlsrupLlon ln employmenL buL
also greaLer efflclencles and more opporLunlLles for unlque ldeas Lo generaLe real wealLh. ?ou
can develop Lhose ldeas, execuLe on Lhem, and choose yourself for success.
1he sLarLlng polnL for all of Lhls ls developlng Lhe lnner perspecLlve LhaL allows you Lo choose
yourself ln Lhe flrsL place. Success by lLself won'L brlng you happlness, because you can'L do any
of Lhls from a poslLlon of lll healLh. lf your body ls slck, lf you are around negaLlve people who
brlng you down, lf your ldea muscle has noL been reflned lnLo Lhe perfecL machlne, and lf
splrlLually you haven'L developed a sense of graLlLude and surrender, you wlll have less chances
of success ln Lhe new Choose ?ourself era.
WalL a second," you mlghL say. 1ucker Max wroLe a book called Assboles llolsb lltst abouL all
Lhe glrls he was havlng sex wlLh. Pow can you say he's worked on all of Lhese areas of hls llfe?"
Cne Llme l goL upseL when a well-known pundlL LweeLed LhaL one of my books was crap. l asked
her lf she had read Lhe book and she admlLLed, no, l [usL dldn'L llke Lhe LlLle." So l wroLe a blog
posL abouL Lhls.
CuL of nowhere l goL Lhls e-mall from a fan of my blog who LhoughL l was dlvlng Loo much lnLo
negaLlvlLy. And he was rlghL. Pe wroLe:
l ossome yoot bloq post wos mostly tooqoe lo cbeek oboot tbe feeJbock
offectloq yoo lo o oeqotlve woy. 8ot lf oot, tbeo pleose toke tbls compllmeot to
beott. ltom ooe vety soccessfol wtltet to oootbet, l love yoot bloq. es, lt bos
lts poltks ooJ styllstlc lssoes, bot lt ls ottetly otlqlool ooJ compellloq, ooJ
tbot ls oo otttlbote tbot ls locteJlbly tote. 1bete ls so mocb wtltloq oot
tbete, ooJ so llttle of lt ls wottb o sblt-bot yoot bloq ls ooe of tbose tbot
ote wottb o sblt.

l sobsctlbe to llke 25 bloqs lo my k55 feeJ, ooJ yoots ls ooe. AoJ l Joot eveo
teolly octlvely lovest-l coolJ cote less oboot yoot floooclol oJvlce.

lleose keep Joloq wbot yoo ote Joloq, ooJ pleose Joot let tbe cowotJly
commeototy ftom tbe lqootoot sbeep ooJ ttolls qet yoo Jowo. 1bete ote o too of
os oot bete tbot teoJ evetytbloq yoo pot oo yoot bloq, ooJ tbotooqbly eojoy lt,
bot we Joot teoJ to speok op ooe woy ot tbe otbet, becoose wete ootmol people
wltb ootmol llves. wbo eveo wtltes Amozoo tevlews? lve eotettoloeJ mlllloos of
people, lltetolly mlllloos, bot ftom my Amozoo tevlews yooJ tblok my job wos to
poocb bobles lo tbe mootb. 1bots tbe sbltty pott oboot tbe lotetoet, ooJ oboot
ooooymoos feeJbock, ls tbot yoo teoJ to beot ftom tbe exttemes, tbose tbot
eltbet love yoo mote tboo teosoooble, ot tbose wbo ote jost spteoJloq toxlclty.

lock tbose people. oo Jo qteot wotk, ooJ l teolly oppteclote lt.
l bote to soooJ llke o weltJo 8oJJblst, bot tbe ooly tbloqs tbot
teolly mottet lo tbls wotlJ ote tbe telotloosblps yoo bove wltb tbe
people yoo love, ooJ tbe meooloqfol tbloqs tbot yoo Jo. notets Joot
flt ooywbete loto tbot. uoot Jevote ooy meotol spoce to tbem.
1he e-mall was slgned:
1ucker Max"

ln Lhls new era, you have Lwo cholces: become a Lemp sLaffer (noL a bottlble cholce) or become
an arLlsL-enLrepreneur. Choose Lo commodlLlze your labor or choose yourself Lo be a creaLor,
an lnnovaLor, an arLlsL, an lnvesLor, a markeLer, and an enLrepreneur. l say and" raLher Lhan
or" because now you have Lo be all of Lhe above. noL [usL one. An arLlsL musL also be an
enLrepreneur. 1haL's lL. 1hose A8L your cholces. Cublcles are geLLlng commodlLlzed. And when
LhaL happens, Lhey empLy ouL. l saw lL wlLh my own eyes when l vlslLed my lnvesLor frlend and
sLared ouL hls offlce wlndows aL Lhe vacanL verLlcal clLy.
And now l see lL happenlng every day. lL's noL someLhlng LhaL can be changed wlLh laws or wlLh
prlnLlng money or wlLh a change ln values. lL's hlsLory now. 1he world has already changed, and
all Lhe pleces are [usL falllng lnLo place.
Whlch slde wlll you be on?

AND 1nLN 1nL ALL LAUGnLD
l llked Lhls glrl ln summer camp when l was Lwelve. Cf course when you llke a glrl Lhere's an
lmporLanL proLocol LhaL has Lo be followed. ?ou can'L [usL Lell Lhe glrl you llke her. ?ou have Lo
Lell your frlend, who Lells her frlend, who Lhen Lells her, and Lhen you geL feedback. l puL Lhe
plan ln moLlon.
SomeLlme durlng ArL Croup" or whaLever lL was called-l [usL remember l had palnL all over
my hands and cloLhes and face-Lhe glrl ln quesLlon ran up Lo me and sald, l wouldn'L go ouL
wlLh you ln a hundred years!"
All Lhe oLher klds sLarLed laughlng. Cne counselor Lrled Lo calm everyone down and sald, 8e
nlce," buL of course nobody llsLened.
l waLched Lhe glrl run ouL of Lhe barn (where else would arL group be?), palnL all over me, Lhe
smell of a barn, Lhe hearlng of laughLer-Lhe only sense LhaL lsn'L fully lasered lnLo my memory
rlghL now ls LasLe, and Lhank god for LhaL because l'd probably [usL Lhrow up.
l was re[ecLed.
l remember Lhlnklng, Cne hundred years lsn'L so long, really. AL leasL she llkes me enough she'd
conslder me ln a hundred years.
8e[ecLlon-and Lhe fear of re[ecLlon-ls Lhe blggesL lmpedlmenL we face Lo chooslng ourselves.
We can all puL LogeLher books abouL all Lhe Llmes we are re[ecLed. We're re[ecLed by lovers, by
frlends, by famlly, by Lhe governmenL, by Lhe corporaLe world, by lnvesLors, parLners,
employees, publlshers, and on and on.
1ry Lhls exerclse: 1hlnk for a second of Len dlfferenL Llmes you've been re[ecLed. Were you
re[ecLed for a [ob? uld you have a novel re[ecLed? uld a poLenLlal glrlfrlend/boyfrlend re[ecL
you? LlsL Len. now Lhlnk abouL Lhls: how easy would lL be Lo llsL one hundred? l can probably
llsL one Lhousand.
8uL whaL lf you never Lry? WhaL lf you are afrald Lo Lry for fear of belng re[ecLed?
l undersLand Lhls. l've been re[ecLed more Lhan l care Lo remember, Lo Lhe polnL where some
days feel llke enough ls enough. When you puL yourself ouL Lhere on a dally basls, LhaL's golng
Lo happen (wheLher you deserve lL or noL): you geL haLe mall, you geL re[ecLed for opporLunlLles
(even lf accepLed for oLhers), you geL people who don'L undersLand you, who are upseL wlLh
you, angry wlLh you, don'L respecL whaL you've done for Lhem.
?ou can'L haLe Lhe people who re[ecL you. ?ou can'L leL Lhem geL Lhe besL of you. nor can you
bless Lhe people who love you. Lveryone ls acLlng ouL of hls or her own self-lnLeresL.
WhaL you need Lo do ls bulld Lhe house you wlll llve ln. ?ou bulld LhaL house by laylng a solld
foundaLlon: by bulldlng physlcal, emoLlonal, menLal, and splrlLual healLh.
1hls ls noL some new-age, self-helpy [argon. 8e klnd Lo people and all wlll be well". 1hls ls a
book on how you can achleve success for yootself, and Lhese are Lhe bulldlng blocks. 1he
phrase floooclol fteeJom lncludes Lhe word floooclol buL lL also lncludes Lhe word fteeJom:
freedom Lo explore Lhe blesslngs LhaL surround us. lreedom Lo help ourselves so LhaL we can
help oLhers. lreedom Lo llve Lhe llfe we choose Lo lead, lnsLead of havlng Lo llve Lhe llfe LhaL has
been chosen for us.
1hls book wlll help you bulld Lhe house where your freedom resldes. !usL know LhaL Lhe house
does noL exlsL ln Lhe pasL. lL cannoL be bullL where you are sLandlng rlghL now. lL ls oot tbete.
Slnce Lhe beglnnlng of humanlLy, we've looked for fronLlers. lL ls only a myLh LhaL we have
evolved Lo a polnL as a clvlllzaLlon where we can counL on safeLy. 1he only Lruly safe Lhlng you
can do ls Lo Lry over and over agaln. 1o go for lL, Lo geL re[ecLed, Lo repeaL, Lo sLrlve, Lo wlsh.
WlLhouL re[ecLlon Lhere ls no fronLler, Lhere ls no passlon, and Lhere ls no maglc.
Pow we deal wlLh re[ecLlon ls a comblnaLlon of several facLors. lL's noL [usL abouL how healLhy
we are menLally. Cr how healLhy we are psychologlcally and emoLlonally. 1here's Lhe saylng
1lme heals all wounds." 1hls ls Lrue. 8uL we can conLrol Lo some exLenL how much Llme lL
Lakes. lL Lakes a dlfferenL amounL of Llme for each person, dependlng on Lhe number of facLors
we allow Lo affecL us.
We wlll see Lhose facLors repeaLedly LhroughouL Lhls book when l descrlbe ln greaLer deLall
whaL l have referred Lo ln prevlous books as Lhe ually racLlce," and when we analyze Lhe
sLorles of many oLhers who have chosen Lhemselves. noL because Lhey wanLed Lo, buL ofLen
because Lhey had Lo.
1he key ls bulldlng Lhe foundaLlon underneaLh. And Lhen Laklng a poslLlve acLlon: Lo choose
yourself.

1hose wlLh hlgh levels of soclal anxleLy abouL re[ecLlon are shown Lo have lower levels of a
hormone called oxyLocln. We are all born wlLh dlfferenL levels of Lhls and oLher hormones LhaL
help modulaLe our reacLlons Lo dlfferenL exLernal sLlmull relaLlng Lo Lhlngs from soclal anxleLy
Lo money Lo happlness Lo loss.
CxyLocln levels can be boosLed by Lhe foods we eaL, how we exerclse our mlnd, how we
assoclaLe wlLh oLhers, and even ls parLly responslble for how we culLlvaLe an aLLlLude of
graLlLude Loward boLh Lhe poslLlve and negaLlve evenLs ln our llves.
1he polnL ls noL LhaL chemlcals rule our llves. CulLe Lhe opposlLe. 8uL ln order Lo have a fully
funcLlonlng llfe, we need a funcLlonlng body, a healLhy braln, a funcLlonlng soclal llfe, a
funcLlonlng ldea muscle, and a very fundamenLal sense LhaL Lhere are some Lhlngs we can'L
conLrol. lor lnsLance, l couldn'L force someone Lo glve me a mllllon dollars ln 2002. Any more
Lhan l could force LhaL glrl Lo llke me when l was Lwelve.
And obsesslng on Lhe Lhlngs we can'L conLrol ls useless. lL Lakes us ouL of Lhe game. We have Lo
choose Lo be ln Lhe game.
1heraplsLs mlghL say, analyze Lhe pasL Lo see where your currenL negaLlvlLy comes from.
erhaps a parenL re[ecLed you as a young person and now you feel parLlcularly senslLlve around
re[ecLlon.
1hls doesn'L work. uwelllng on negaLlvlLy won'L suddenly have poslLlve resulLs. lL only brlngs
more negaLlvlLy lnLo your head. ?ou can'L buy happlness wlLh Lhe currency of unhapplness. 1he
ldea LhaL we need Lo pay our dues" ls a lle Lold Lo us by people who wanLed our efforLs and
labor on Lhe cheap.
?ou need Lo bulld a poslLlve base: physlcally, emoLlonally, menLally, and splrlLually. Cnce Lhese
four bodles" are worklng ln harmony, you can reach ouL lnLo Lhe world. ?ou bulld Lhe
foundaLlon for Lhe house you wanL Lo llve ln.
Some people say, Lhrough re[ecLlon we flnd sLrengLh. 1hls ls mosL llkely bullshlL. Maybe you geL
some sLrengLh and you persevere. 8uL lL also hurLs. l don'L llke Lo be re[ecLed. 1here are self-
help books llke lollloq lotwotJ or xcoses 8eqooe or oLher negaLlve-orlenLed LlLles LhaL
embrace re[ecLlon and LhaL baslcally say success ls abouL 90 percenL fallure and 10 percenL
perseverance.
1hls lsn'L one of Lhose books.
Pere's whaL l belleve.
We're LaughL aL an early age LhaL we're noL good enough. 1haL someone else has Lo choose us
ln order for us Lo be.whaL?
8lessed?
8lch?
CerLlfled?
LeglLlmlzed?
LducaLed?
arLnershlp maLerlal?
l don'L know. 8uL Lhls feellng of lnsecurlLy overwhelms us. When we are noL chosen, we feel
bad. When we are chosen-even by ldloLs-we feel llke LhaL one acLress (l can'L remember and
l refuse Lo look lL up) who sald aL an awards ceremony, ?ou llke me! ?ou really, really llke me!"
Coldle Pawn? l forgeL.
We need Lo unlearn Lhls lmprlsonmenL. noL dlssecL and analyze lL. !usL compleLely unlearn lL.
When l geL on a subway, l llke Lo flnd a seaL and read and daydream unLll l arrlve aL my
desLlnaLlon. Who doesn'L? nobody llkes Lo hang onLo Lhe crowded smelly poles, bumplng lnLo
people, crowdlng LogeLher, shaklng aL each sLop, Lrylng Lo hang on for balance, for dear llfe.
WhaL does Lhls have Lo do wlLh chooslng yourself?
A very slmple LesL was done by ?ale psychologlsL SLanley Mllgram. Pe Look Len sLudenLs and
senL Lhem on Lhe new ?ork ClLy subway sysLem.
1hey wenL on subways and walked up Lo all sorLs of people who were slLLlng down: young, old,
black, whlLe, female, male, pregnanL, eLc. 1o each seaLed passenger Lhey sald, Can l have your
seaL?" SevenLy percenL of Lhe people gave up Lhelr seaLs.
1wo lnLeresLlng Lhlngs: one, LhaL Lhe percenLage of people who goL up was so hlgh. 1hey were
slmply belng asked Lo geL up and Lhey dld as Lhey were Lold.
8uL Lhe oLher lnLeresLlng Lhlng ls how relucLanL Lhe sLudenLs were Lo even do Lhe experlmenL.
1o ask people for Lhelr seaLs wenL agalnsL everyLhlng Lhey had ever been LaughL. 1hls ls
obvlously an exLreme. 8uL lL polnLs ouL how hard lL ls for us Lo do Lhlngs for ourselves unless we
are glven some lmpllclL permlsslon.
l'm noL saylng Chooslng ?ourself" ls equlvalenL Lo manlpulaLlon. l'm noL saylng lL's equlvalenL
Lo always geLLlng whaL you wanL.
8uL undersLandlng Lhe rules of Lhls Choose ?ourself era LhaL we now flnd ourselves ln wlll glve
you Lhe confldence and sklll seL Lo go ouL Lhere and slmply ask Lhe world for your proper place
ln lL. WlLhouL a doubL, you wlll geL whaL you ask for. noL ln a law of aLLracLlon sorL of way,
where Lhe ldea ls you geL whaL you vlsuallze. 1haL doesn'L work wlLhouL havlng all of Lhe oLher
pleces ln place.
1hls book ls abouL Lhose oLher pleces, and geLLlng Lhem ln place. lL's abouL undersLandlng Lhe
exLernal myLhs LhaL have broken down, Lhe same ones LhaL creaLed Lhe masslve Amerlcan
mlddle class, whlch ls now dylng, and lefL us wlLh Lhe Choose ?ourself era ln Lhe fallouL. eople
are walklng around bllnd. lf you are Lhe one who can see, you wlll be able Lo navlgaLe Lhrough
Lhls new world. ?ou wlll be Lhe beacon LhaL wlll enhance Lhe llves of everyone around you and,
ln dolng so, Lrlgger Lhe acLual law of naLure LhaL says when you enhance everyone around you,
you can'L help buL enhance yourself.

DCLS CNL LkSCN nAVL CCN1kCL CVLk CUk LIIL?
AbouL LwenLy years ago, l reallzed l was Llred of Lrylng Lo be llked by oLhers. l was consLanLly
Lrylng Lo package myself so l would be chosen for [obs, books, deals, parLnershlps, or love.
uependlng on Lhe slLuaLlon, l would puL on an enLlrely new cosLume, a new mask, or a new seL
of lles, rlghL down Lo pollLlcal and rellglous bellefs. uan Cuayle mlghL be Lhe greaLesL vlce
presldenL ever," l sald Lo one glrl as she llL up my clgareLLe even Lhough l dldn'L smoke, and l
probably LhoughL uan Cuayle was Lhe worsL cholce for a vlce presldenL ever. And Lhen when l
leaned ln for Lhe klss aL Lhe end of Lhe daLe.l don'L feel abouL you LhaL way." 8e[ecLed.
l suffered Lwo oLher re[ecLlons LhaL Lhoroughly dlsgusLed me Lo Lhe polnL where l sald, 1haL's
lL. l'm chooslng myself."
1he flrsL: l was plLchlng a 1v show, lll.om. 1hree a.m. 1he ldea was Lo explore Lhe fllp slde of
llfe. lrom 7 a.m. Lo 8 p.m., Lhe normals" are ouLslde, conducLlng Lhelr buslness. uresslng ln
Lhelr sulLs, geLLlng Lhe grande soy cappucclnos, klsslng up Lo Lhe boss, eaLlng Lhree meals,
gosslplng, waLchlng 1v, havlng a glass of wlne aL Lhe end of a Lough day, and flnally ca[ollng
Lhemselves Lo sleep afLer Lucklng ln all of Lhelr worrles for anoLher nlghL of resL.
When normal" human belngs wake up aL Lhree ln Lhe mornlng lL's usually because Lhose
worrles have premaLurely woken up before Lhe dawn. !ames! ?ou have Lo worry abouL Lhls."
And when lL happens, we Lremble. 1here's absoluLely noLhlng we can do aL Lhree ln Lhe
mornlng abouL our regreLs, our anxleLles, our fears of lonellness or depresslon or poverLy. 1he
paranola LhaL creeps ln from Lhe cracks ln Lhe wlndows, from Lhe cracks ln our mlnds.
Pere's an exerclse for Lhose who Lyplcally wake up anxlous and paranold aL Lhree ln Lhe
mornlng: lnsLead of counLlng sheep Lo geL back Lo sleep, counL all Lhe Lhlngs you are graLeful
for. Lven Lhe negaLlve parLs of your llfe. llgure ouL why you should be graLeful for Lhem. 1ry Lo
geL up Lo one hundred.
8uL whaL abouL Lhe people who llve only aL Lhree ln Lhe mornlng? eople who are ouL and
abouL, conducLlng Lhelr llves every day aL Lhose hours. Llvlng a llfe compleLely opposlLe of Lhe
normal." l sLarLed golng ouL aL Lhree ln Lhe mornlng on 1uesday and Wednesday nlghLs. noL
SaLurdays, where everyone ls ouL parLylng, buL Lhe nlghLs where lf you were around aL Lhree ln
Lhe mornlng, Lhere's a reason. And lL's usually noL a normal one.
WhaL l found was more Lhan [usL prosLlLuLes, Lhelr cllenLs, drug dealers, and homeless people
(alLhough l cerLalnly found a loL of Lhem-and Lhrow ln Lhe pre-op Lranssexuals and
domlnaLrlxes for good measure). l also found a whole class of people who dld noL flL lnLo Lhe
convenLlonal paLh of llfe and had Lo carve ouL Lhelr own. A paLh LhaL only exlsLed when nobody
else was looklng, when Lhe llghLs were ouL, when 93 percenL of Lhe world was asleep. lL was
almosL as lf a 3 a.m. rellglon exlsLed, one LhaL was self-rellanL and rellshed how Lhe world can
be llved upslde-down buL sLlll llved Lo lLs fullesL poLenLlal.
lor Lhree years l lnLervlewed people every week for Lhe P8C webslLe. uurlng one of Lhose
years, l also Look maLerlal and shoL lL as a plloL for P8C. P8C was very exclLed abouL lL and
Lhrew some money behlnd Lhe plloL.
1hen Lhey re[ecLed lL.
1here was CnL execuLlve aL P8C, ln parLlcular, who could make or break my pro[ecL wlLh a
slmple yes" or no" l was consLanLly afrald of her and whaL she was Lhlnklng. WhaL would her
mood be every Llme we wenL ln wlLh a new updaLe?
llnally she gave her verdlcL: lor maLerlal llke Lhls, you elLher need Lo show your nelghbors
fucklng, or someone kllllng Lhelr moLher whlle naked." We had maLerlal preLLy close Lo LhaL buL
noL qulLe as base or lowesL common denomlnaLor.
We were re[ecLed. All lL Look was one person on a bad day. She was, and l Lhlnk sLlll ls, head of
P8C's uocumenLarles and also head of P8C lamlly rogrammlng. 1he shows your klds waLch.
1he second: l was Lrylng Lo sell my flrsL company. We had one poLenLlal buyer. l never even
consldered Lrylng Lo geL oLher buyers. 1hey were golng Lo offer $300,000. l had abouL $300 ln
my bank accounL. l had never sold a company before. l knew noLhlng abouL buslness aL all, ln
facL, and yeL we had bullL up a solld, llLLle buslness LhaL was dolng well.
Lvery day l would dream abouL lL. l LhoughL wlLh a llLLle blL of money ln Lhe bank l could Lake a
year off and wrlLe a novel. Cr Lwo. Cr do a 1v show. Cr qulL. Cr whaLever.
1hey seemed as enLhuslasLlc abouL Lhe deal as l was, so l assumed LhaL Lhe money was ln Lhe
bank wlLhouL ever looklng for oLher opporLunlLles. 8lg mlsLake. When you glve up searchlng for
fronLlers, lnevlLably you end up sLuck ln a swamp, slnklng deeper lnLo Lhe mud Lhe more you
sLruggle Lo geL ouL. l'm noL sure LhaL analogy holds, buL you geL whaL l mean. Success comes
from conLlnually expandlng your fronLlers ln every dlrecLlon-creaLlvely, flnanclally, splrlLually,
and physlcally. Always ask yourself, whaL can l lmprove? Who else can l Lalk Lo? Where else can
l look?
Lo and behold, afLer monLhs of due dlllgence and negoLlaLlon, Lhe company LhaL l wanLed Lo
buy us, re[ecLed us. l felL horrlble.
8oLh of Lhese slLuaLlons happened aL baslcally Lhe same Llme, and for Lhe same reason. ln each
slLuaLlon my enLlre happlness seemed dependenL on Lhe declslons of one person. l gave power
Lo LhaL one person Lo make or break my llfe.
Cf course, boLh re[ecLlons worked ouL beLLer for me, Lhey always wlll, for reasons LhaL have Lo
do noL only wlLh perseverance, buL quanLum physlcs, healLh, splrlLuallLy, belng a real human,
and many oLher Lhlngs LhaL l wlll dlscuss ln Lhls book.
8uL Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlng Lhese re[ecLlons gave me was a sense LhaL nLvL8 ACAln should l
rely on Lhe whlms of one person Lo choose my success or fallure ln any endeavor.
And dld LhaL aLLlLude work?
Cf course noL. lL's llke Lelllng someone wlLh hundreds of Lhousands' worLh of plasLlc surgery Lo
lnsLanLly go back Lo looklng how Lhey used Lo look. 1helr body no longer knows how. l kepL
klsslng ass. l kepL falllng down. l kepL belng dlshonesL Lo my needs lnslde.
lL Look me a long Llme Lo begln Lhe pracLlce LhaL really lndocLrlnaLed me lnLo Lhe Choose
?ourself era. 1hls book ls abouL Lhose pracLlces so you can hopefully sklp Lhe years lL Look me Lo
choose myself.
1he ablllLy Lo choose yourself-an ablllLy LhaL ls now belng forced on us for hlsLorlcal reasons
dlscussed ln Lhe lasL chapLer-ls Lhe resulL of a comprehenslve framework of healLh LhaL musL
be pracLlced Lo be experlenced, and musL be llved Lo be fulfllled. lf you don'L llke whaL l
recommend, don'L do lL. 8uL lL worked for me and all Lhe Llmes l've been down on Lhe floor. lL's
been Lhe only way l've been able Lo geL back up.
no maLLer how hard lL Lrles, a rlpple LhaL laps onLo Lhe shore wlll never be as powerful as Lhe
ocean LhaL creaLed lL. 1he goal ls Lo be Lhe ocean-Lhe cenLral force ln our exlsLence LhaL moves
mounLalns, creaLes all llfe, shakes conLlnenLs, and ls respecLed by everyone.
1hls book ls abouL becomlng Lhe ocean. AbouL chooslng yourself Lo be Lhe ocean. So everyLhlng
LhaL you do emanaLes ouL llke rlpples, everyLhlng you do moves Lhe earLh, and enhances your
llfe and Lhe llves of all Lhe people around you.
now, leL's enLer Lhe Choose ?ourself era.


nCW 1C CnCCSL CUkSLLI
l'm an addlcL. lor LwenLy years l replaced one addlcLlon wlLh anoLher. l can'L even descrlbe all
of Lhem. l'm acLually embarrassed. Ashamed.
l would cllng Lo whaLever addlcLlon was maklng me happy aL LhaL momenL. A flre sucks Lhe
oxygen ouL of everyLhlng ln Lhe room. When Lhe oxygen ls gone, Lhe flre ls exLlngulshed. 1hen
burnouL occurs. 1haL's addlcLlon. lL Lakes every form: enLrepreneurshlp, drugs, sex, love, games,
and escaplsm of all forms. l've been addlcLed Lo all of Lhem. l've even been addlcLed Lo Lhe 12-
sLep meeLlngs where you geL Lo meeL Lhe oLher people who mlghL be as screwed up as you are.
AddlcLlons: leL's work a hundred hours a week for fame, money, sex, healLh, more fame, Lhen l-
you money, Lhen sLand on our heads, Lhen geL fancy arLwork, blg houses, guard dogs, plL bulls
LhaL klll people, blgger bank accounLs. Peck, leL's own Lhe bank. 1hen leL's double down on all
of Lhe above.
now Lhere ls a new addlcLlon. All l wanL ls freedom," a loL of people say. 8uL freedom from
whaL? Who ls enslavlng you LhaL you can'L geL away from? 1hen people wanL freedom for Lhelr
klds, or Lhelr parenLs, or Lhelr slbllngs, or Lhelr klds' klds. Cr flve generaLlons of klds. Where dld
all Lhese klds come from?
8uL sLlll, lL's all for Lhem. LveryLhlng l do."
1hen we geL burned ouL. 1oo much flghLlng for freedom. Who were we flghLlng all of LhaL Llme?
When all LhaL Llme we were free wlLhouL reallzlng lL. 1here are no chalns on me as l wrlLe Lhls.
8uL Lhe feellng ls lmmense: all l wanL ls freedom.
1here are Lwo very lmporLanL baslcs for harnesslng LhaL freedom and succeedlng ln Lhe Choose
?ourself era. 1here's no avoldlng Lhem. 1here are no excuses for noL dolng Lhem. 1he good
news ls Lhey are free.

CnL? uC 1PlnCS ?Cu Ln!C?. 1hls mlghL seem obvlous Lo you, buL lL lsn'L Lo mosL. Cne mlghL
also say, uuh, l'd love Lo do whaL l en[oy buL l have Lo pay Lhe bllls!" 8elax for a second. We're
golng Lo learn how Lo do whaL we en[oy, flrsL. l'm noL [usL Lalklng abouL Lhose only pursue a
career you en[oy" plaLlLudes, elLher. l mean lL down Lo your very LhoughLs. Cnly Lhlnk abouL Lhe
people you en[oy. Cnly read Lhe books you en[oy, LhaL make you happy Lo be human. Cnly go
Lo Lhe evenLs LhaL acLually make you laugh or fall ln love. Cnly deal wlLh Lhe people who love
you back, who are wlnners and wanL you Lo wln Loo.

1hls ls a dally pracLlce.

l only [usL sLarLed dolng Lhls ln Lhe pasL few years afLer belng lnflnlLely unhappy, geLLlng
dlvorced, loslng money, loslng [obs, careers, frlends, everyLhlng l was cllnglng Lo. LaLlng a Lurkey
sandwlch ln a dlner by myself on 1hanksglvlng uay 2008, l sald, luck lL." l was done.

l used Lo go ouL every nlghL. ?ou never know, l would Lhlnk. l used Lo go Lo every buslness
meeLlng l was lnvlLed Lo. ?ou never know, l would Lhlnk. l used Lo go on 1v every Llme l was
asked. ?ou never know, l would Lhlnk. Maybe someone would SLL me. And call me and offer
me and glve me and wanL me and llke me and love me. Maybe Lhey would press Lhe LlkL
buLLon on my face. 8rllllanL.
[noLe Lo self: lnvenL 1v seLs wlLh LlkL" buLLons so people can LlkL people Lhey see on 1v and
LhaL LhaL somehow geLs LransmlLLed back Lo Lhe 1v neLworks.]
nlneLy-nlne percenL of meeLlngs don'L Lurn lnLo money. nlneLy-nlne percenL of Lhe news ls a lle
(LrusL me. l know Lhem). nlneLy-nlne percenL of 1v ls abouL scandal, murder, and cheaLlng.
nlneLy-nlne percenL of Lhe people on Lhe sLreeL wlll llck Lhe flavor rlghL off your Llfe Saver lf you
leL Lhem.
Lvery Llme you say yes Lo someLhlng you don'L wanL Lo do, Lhls wlll happen: you wlll resenL
people, you wlll do a bad [ob, you wlll have less energy for Lhe Lhlngs you were dolng a good [ob
on, you wlll make less money, and yeL anoLher small percenLage of your llfe wlll be used up,
burned up, a smoke slgnal Lo Lhe fuLure saylng, l dld lL agaln."
1he only real flre Lo culLlvaLe ls Lhe flre lnslde of you. noLhlng exLernal wlll culLlvaLe lL. 1he
greaLer your lnLernal flre ls, Lhe more people wlll wanL lL. 1hey wlll smoke every drug llL by your
flre. 1hey wlll Lry Lo lgnlLe Lhelr own flres. 1hey wlll Lry Lo llghL up Lhelr own dark caves. 1he
unlverse wlll bend Lo you.
Lvery Llme you say yes Lo someLhlng you don'L wanL, your flre sLarLs Lo go away.
?ou wlll geL burned ouL.
?ou can say, 8uL whaL lf l have Lo say yes Lo someLhlng l don'L wanL Lo do?" lalr enough. We
have mouLhs Lo feed, responslblllLles, reLlremenL Lo save for, and many Lhlngs LhaL mlghL keep
us ln Lhe prlson of no." uon'L worry abouL LhaL yeL. 1he ually racLlce plows Lhe fleld, and
makes everyLhlng clear so LhaL you'll know lf your yes" or no" comes from a place of deep,
lnLernal saLlsfacLlon.
1PL uAlL? 8AC1lCL. ?ou are empLy. l mean Lhls llLerally. Cur bodles are llke llLLle galaxles.
Calaxles have bllllons of masslve sLars ln Lhem and yeL Lhe reallLy ls LhaL Lhe space beLween
Lhose sLars ls so glganLlc LhaL a galaxy ls mosLly empLy.
1haL's exacLly llke you. ?ou are made up of aLoms. Lvery plece of you. AoJ yet tbe octool
pbyslcol mottet lo oo otom (ptotoos, oeottoos, electtoos) toke op ooly ooe-flftletb of 1 petceot
of tbe spoce lo tbot otom. 1he resL ls empLy.

So you are empLy. 1here's noLhlng really Lhere. 1he real you-Lhe real flre-ls lnslde Lhls
empLlness.
We spend our llves afrald of Lhe empLlness. We wanL Lo flll lL wlLh love, wlLh money, wlLh
pleasures, wlLh anyLhlng LhaL could puL off Lhe ulLlmaLe. 8uL all of Lhose Lhlngs are never
enough. 1hey all decay.
Cnly Lhe empLlness does noL decay.
1he besL way l have ever found Lo flll LhaL hole ls noL Lo seek exLernal moLlvaLlons Lo flll Lhe
empLlness, buL to lqolte tbe lotetool flte tbot wlll oevet qo oot. 1o llghL up my own lnner sky.

So how do you do Lhls?

lcLure your body for a second. ?ou have a hearL LhaL pumps blood one hundred Lhousand
Llmes per day, or sevenLy-Lwo Llmes per mlnuLe, sendlng 1.3 gallons of blood all over your body.
lf Lhere's any blockage-ln a veln or an arLery-you'll dle very qulckly. WlLhln mlnuLes. 1haL's a
hearL aLLack. 8lood cleans Lhe sysLem, sendlng waLer, oxygen, and nuLrlenLs Lo every parL of
your body.

All you need Lo do Lo llve longer ls Lo consLanLly make sure you are dolng everyLhlng you can Lo
proLecL your hearL and Lhe blood LhaL flows Lhrough lL. 1hls ls a funcLlon of dleL, exerclse, sleep,
and oLher Lhlngs. lf Lhe hearL geLs slck, you dle. When you flnally dle, make no mlsLake, lL wlll be
because Lhe hearL goL slck.

lmaglne now you have Lhree oLher bodles alongslde your physlcal body:
an emoLlonal body
a menLal body
and a splrlLual body.

lmaglne a llfe force LhaL flows beLween Lhem and Lhrough Lhem, much llke blood. lmaglne a
cenLral core LhaL musL keep everyLhlng healLhy. !usL llke you musL keep your hearL healLhy Lo
llve a long, producLlve, and even happy llfe, you musL keep Lhese oLher bodles healLhy as well
and exerclse Lhem on a regular basls. A dally basls. A mlnuLe by mlnuLe basls.

l call Lhls Lhe ually racLlce.
1hls mlghL sound corny. lL mlghL sound llke mumbo-[umbo. l don'L know. l don'L care. lL's a
meLhod of Lhlnklng LhaL works for me. CLher Lechnlques mlghL work for oLher people. Cood
luck Lo Lhem. 1hls works for me.

ln Lhe nexL chapLer, l'll descrlbe a slmple ually racLlce Lo sLarL off wlLh. 8uL below ls Lhe besL
way Lo keep Lhese bodles healLhy. lL ls from a foundaLlon of healLh (ln all four bodles) LhaL you
bulld Lhe plaLform Lo choose yourself. 1he resL of Lhe book descrlbes how one can use Lhls
foundaLlon Lo bulld Lhe succeedlng layers Lo creaLe even more cholces LhaL lead Lo success. And
you'll read sLorles of people who have done [usL LhaL.

1PL P?SlCAL 8Cu?: Lhe shell LhaL we musL Lake care of Lo llve. lL houses everyLhlng we do.
And lL's preLLy slmple. We know when we are dolng bad Lhlngs Lo lL. 1oo ofLen we Lhlnk, Cnce l
achleve x, ?, Z, goal, l'm golng Lo geL back ln shape. 8uL lL doesn'L work LhaL way. noL LhaL you
need Lo be rlpped and [acked or elghL-packed or whaLever. ?ou [usL need Lo be healLhy. And
you know whaL l mean?

?ou need Lo shlL regularly. 1haL's lL.

And how do you do LhaL?

?ou don'L eaL [unk food. ?ou sleep seven Lo nlne hours a nlghL. Avold excess alcohol. Lxerclse.
And by exerclse l don'L mean run elghL mlles a day. l mean Lake walks. Can you Lake a Len-
mlnuLe walk every nlneLy mlnuLes? Can you Lake a LwenLy-mlnuLe walk? Can you use Lhe sLalrs
lnsLead of Lhe elevaLor? uo flve mlnuLes of yoga?

My rouLlne: Wake up somewhere beLween 3 and 6 a.m. MosLly proLeln breakfasL (l llke 1lm
lerrlss's slow-carb dleL LhaL he descrlbes ln hls book 1be 4-noot 8oJy), and a laLe lunch around
2 or 3. LoLs of walks and breaks whlle l walk. ?ou can never geL enough exerclse really, and no
creaLlve person has ever complalned abouL Loo much walklng. And Lhen l go Lo sleep beLween 8
and 9. nobody ever dled of sLarvaLlon avoldlng LhaL Lhlrd meal of Lhe day. And lf you eaL Loo
laLe ln Lhe day, or drlnk alcohol Loo laLe ln Lhe day (whlch preLLy much wlpes ouL drlnklng
alcohol aL all), your body geLs lnLo Lrouble dlgesLlng aL nlghL. Whlch wlll hurL your sleeplng.
Whlch wlll hurL your meLabollsm ln Lhe mornlng. And so on.

1PL LMC1lCnAL 8Cu?: LmoLlonally l Lry Lo surround myself wlLh only poslLlve people who
lnsplre me. 1hls way l can learn Lo be poslLlve. 1o be a beacon Lo Lhose around me.

lL's lmporLanL Lo avold people who brlng you down. noL ln a cruel way. 8uL avold engaglng or
overly dwelllng on people who are consLanLly dralnlng you of energy. A frlend of mlne ls
sLarLlng up a company as l wrlLe Lhls. Cne of hls parLners ls consLanLly crlLlclzlng hlm. Lvery Llme
l Lalk Lo hlm he says, A8C ls aL lL agaln. Pere's whaL he sald now." And he goes lnLo a long
dlaLrlbe of Lhe laLesL crlmes agalnsL humanlLy hls parLner has commlLLed.

1he key ls: acknowledge LhaL Lhe person ls drlvlng you crazy. ?ou can'L suppress LhaL. 8uL wlLh
observaLlon, Lhe paln wlll begln Lo wlLher. And Lhe less you engage wlLh Lhe person, Lhe less
overall effecL overall LhaL person wlll have on you. Lven lf LhaL person ls close Lo you (and Lhey
ofLen are. 1haL's why Lhey geL Lo push all of Lhose buLLons), flnd ouL ways Lo noL engage. Say
hello ln Lhe hallway, smlle nlcely, buL no engagemenL. uL a quoLa on yourself how much you
can complaln or feel anxlous abouL LhaL person ln a day.

?ou can'L be beauLlful unless you geL rld of Lhe ugllness lnslde. eople become crappy people
noL because of who Lhey are, buL because Lhey are crapplng lnslde of you. SLop leLLlng LhaL
happen.

Pere's an exerclse l do LhaL can help ln Lhls regard: l Lry Lo be quleL. lnsLead of speaklng Lhe
average 2,300 words a day LhaL mosL people speak, lL would be nlce for me Lo speak [usL one
Lhousand words a day when posslble. 1hls forces me Lo carefully choose my words and who l
engage wlLh.

1PL MLn1AL 8Cu?. ?our mlnd desperaLely wanLs Lo be Lhe 8CSS. lL needs you Lo be very, vL8?
8uS? wlLh 8S sLuff so lL can do all Lhe Lhlngs lLs good aL: obsess, worry, fear, be depressed, feel
exuberance, forward Lhlnklng, backward Lhlnklng, Lhlnklng Lhlnklng 1PlnklnC unLll.
burnouL.

So you need Lo Lame Lhe wlld horse or lL wlll Lame you unLll you are a slave. nobody wanLs LhaL.
1he way you Lame lL ls Lhrough focused use. SeL a goal: l'm golng Lo come up wlLh Len ways l
can have more Llme for myself. Cr l'm golng Lo come wlLh Len ways l can make my [ob beLLer.
Cr Len buslness ldeas. Make sure Lhe llsL you plan Lo do ls a hard one. ?ou need Lo make Lhe
mlnd SWLA1 so LhaL lL geLs Llred. So Llred LhaL lL's done for Lhe day. lL can'L conLrol you Loday.
1l8L l1 Cu1! 1hen do lL agaln. 1en MC8L ldeas. l dlscuss Lhls much more ln Lhe secLlon Pow Lo
8ecome an ldea Machlne."

l'll Lell you whaL l dld Loday. An onllne educaLlon company asked me Lo come up wlLh an onllne
course. Maybe l'll do a course on 1he ually racLlce," buL l made a llsL of Len oLher courses l
could maybe Leach. lL was hard! l dldn'L even know lf l knew enough abouL Len dlfferenL Loplcs
Lo be able Lo Leach Lhem. l sLlll don'L know. 8uL l made Lhe llsL. My mlnd sweaLed llke a plg. And
Lhen you know whaL l lnsLanLly dld afLerward?
l fell asleep.
AfLer sleeplng abouL Len hours Lhe nlghL before. Sleeplng ls fun. l love Lo sleep. lL's a SaLurday. lL
was 1 p.m. l Look a half-hour nap. My mlnd was Llred. 1hen l woke up and wroLe Lhls. Come up
wlLh Len ldeas a day.
1PL Sl8l1uAL 8Cu?. MosL people obsess on regreLs ln Lhelr pasL or anxleLles ln Lhelr fuLure. l
call Lhls Llme Lravellng". 1he pasL and fuLure don'L exlsL. 1hey are memorles and speculaLlon,
nelLher of whlch you have any conLrol over. ?ou don'L need Lo Llme Lravel anymore. ?ou can
llve rlghL now.

When l walk around new ?ork ClLy, everyone seems Lo have glazed eyes. 1hey are walklng
around ln Lhe pasL or Lhe fuLure. 1hey are Llme Lravellng. Cne exerclse l Lry: look aL Lhe roofs of
bulldlngs. llndlng Lhe arL ln Lhe clLy around me ls a good Lechnlque Lo keep me rlghL here, when
everyone else ls ln Lhe Llme machlne.

l have money worrles. l have relaLlonshlp fears. l have lnsecurlLy. Wlll Lhey llke me, haLe me,
love me? Wlll l ever go broke? Wlll Claudla ever leave me, llke so many oLhers have? All fears
from Lhe pasL, all worrles of Lhe fuLure. l have regreLs. Maybe lf l had been a beLLer
parenL.maybe lf l had been a beLLer son.maybe lf l hadn'L losL all LhaL money l could've saved
llves.maybe, maybe, maybe.
All of LhaL doesn'L exlsL. lL's my mlnd preLendlng Lhey exlsL.
l glve up. l can'L conLrol Lhe pasL or Lhe fuLure. 1hey are empLy, [usL llke l am. All Lhere ls ls now.
uone.
When you surrender and accepL Lhe beauLlful sLlllness around you, when you glve up all
LhoughLs of Lhe pasL, all worrles and anxleLles of Lhe fuLure, when you surround yourself wlLh
slmllarly poslLlve people, when you Lame Lhe mlnd, when you keep healLhy, Lhere ls zero
chance of burnouL.

Pow do you surrender? 8y LrusLlng LhaL you've done Lhe rlghL preparaLlon. ?ou've done all you
can do. All LhaL ls wlLhln your power, your conLrol. now, glve up Lhe resulLs. 1he rlghL Lhlng wlll
happen.

1hls ls Lhe CnL? way l've ever lgnlLed Lhe flre and avolded burnouL. 1hlnk abouL Lhe Lhlngs we
worry abouL. Pow, almosL 100 percenL of Lhe Llme when we look back on a parLlcular fear, we
reallze how useless worrylng abouL lL was.

1hls doesn'L mean you wlll never be ln a bad mood. Cf course you wlll! 1haL's whaL Lhe body
and mlnd does for a llvlng: lL goes back and forLh beLween good moods and bad moods. 1he
Lrlck ls Lo recognlze a bad mood, say, l'm ln a bad mood," and walL lL ouL. So you can geL back
Lo en[oylng Lhlngs. So you can geL back Lo maklng declslons and maklng cholces, buL only when
you are ln a good mood-a mood where you are fully presenL and noL Llme Lravellng.

uevoLlng yourself Lo a ually racLlce helps Lo bulld lncremenLal lmprovemenLs ln our llves, even
lf you only noLlce Lhe LlnlesL lncremenLs aL a Llme. 1oday Lhey wlll bulld up. Lvery momenL Lhey
wlll bulld up. Lvery momenL Lhey wlll shed Lhe exLra garbage LhaL you carry wlLh you on every
level, Lhe garbage LhaL welghs you down, Lhe exLernal garbage LhaL evenLually goes on flre,
burnlng you Cu1, on Lhe ouLslde.

lnsLead, lgnlLlng Lhe flre on Lhe lnslde burns a llghL so flerce lL can'L be burned ouL. lnsLead, you
wlll brlghLen Lhe galaxy. ?ou wlll add brllllance Lo Lhe llves around you. ?ou wlll become a
beacon, a llghL LhaL aLLracLs abundance, lnsLead of a fllckerlng fame LhaL ls evenLually
smoLhered.



1nL SIMLL DAIL kAC1ICL (or Why Do So Many eop|e Want to D|e)
A loL of people wanL Lo dle. And l don'L blame Lhem. 1he mosL dreadful Lhlng ln llfe ls noL dylng.
lL's belng born. Cnce you are born, you're screwed. now you have Lo acLually survlve. ?ou have
Lo grow from someone who craps Lhelr panLs, can'L speak Lo anyone wlLhouL crylng, and can'L
walk or feed Lhemselves, Lo a full-grown adulL who can barely do all of LhaL whlle also [uggllng a
morLgage, a marrlage, klds, career, whaLever, Lo flnally belng an old man who can'L do any of
Lhose baby-llke Lhlngs agaln.
1hen you dle. no worrles afLer LhaL.
Pow do l know a loL of people wanL Lo dle? 8ecause Coogle Lells me. 1he search phrase LhaL ls
mosL llkely Lo Lake people Lo my blog ls, l wanL Lo dle." 1he number-Lwo search phrase ls l
hope Lo dle." number Lhree ls Pow can l dlsappear," whlch ls a llLLle more hopeful Lhan dylng
buL expresses no less slmllar a senLlmenL (lL's sorL of llke saylng Pow can l klll Lhls llfe l have
and sLarL anoLher"). My e-mall ls sllghLly more upllfLlng. 1he mosL popular quesLlon l geL vla e-
mall ls l'm sLuck. Pow can l move forward ln llfe?"
Lach of Lhose lasL people ls noL qulLe aL Lhe l wanL Lo dle" polnL, buL somehow Lhelr llves have
sLalled. 1he reason Lhey're sLalled ls because Lhe axls of Lhe world has changed. We can'L rely
on Lhe [ob, Lhe marrlage, Lhe relaLlonshlp, Lhe house wlLh Lhe whlLe-plckeL fence, Lhe college
degree, Lhe anyLhlng exLernal for LhaL maLLer. noLhlng counLs. LveryLhlng we dreamed for was
an llluslon.
So people flnd Lhemselves on Lhe floor. WlLhouL a llfe," as Lhey puL lL. 1hey obvlously have a
llfe. 1hey are breaLhlng. 8uL Lhey don'L know how Lo choose llfe for Lhemselves. 1he masses
rely on oLhers Lo do lL for Lhem. 1hey have glven up Lhelr Llfe Lo llve a smaller llfe," ruled by
oLhers.
l geL LhaL. lL's happened Lo me over and over agaln.
8uL Lhls rellance on oLhers has Lo come Lo an end. lL was always a myLh. LveryLhlng we hoped
for. 1he socleLy LhaL we were Lold would be here, walLlng for us, ls compleLely gone and ls
never comlng back. ?ou can elLher Lake Lhe blue plll (become depressed abouL an arLlflclal
reallLy LhaL ls never golng Lo reLurn) or Lake Lhe red plll (fully enLer Lhe Choose ?ourself era and
Lake advanLage of lLs opporLunlLles).
And lL's noL as lf our bosses wlll help us. 1hey haLe us. no maLLer how nlce Lhey are Lo you, Lhey
acLually haLe you. 1he head of a ma[or news organlzaLlon asked me Lo breakfasL a few monLhs
ago. Pe wanLed advlce on how Lo bulld up Lhe Lrafflc for hls company's webslLe. When l say a
ma[or news organlzaLlon, l mean MA!C8. ?ou read hls newspaper every day.
We sLarLed off wlLh hls verslon of ldle chlLchaL. l'm havlng a problem wlLh my reporLers. 1hey
all geL 1wlLLer accounLs and Lhen Lhe ones wlLh a loL of followers suddenly wanL ralses and
promoLlons."
Why ls LhaL a problem?" l sald. uon'L you wanL your reporLers Lo be wldely llked and
respecLed?"
Pe gave Lhe Lyplcal 8S response. We're abouL Lhe news. nobody ls a sLar."
1haL's Lhe problem. A corporaLlon wanLs ldenLlLy Lo go away. Pe wanLed hls besL and hls
brlghLesL Lo be medlocre so LhaL Lhe corporaLlon, noL Lhe lndlvlduals lnslde of lL, would burn
brlghL. WhaL's golng Lo happen ls LhaL hls company wlll lose, and all of hls sLars" wlll go
supernova on Lhelr own.
Why do l puL so much emphasls on Lhe ually racLlce? Am l Lrylng Lo sell a rellglon or
someLhlng?
no, l puL emphasls on lL because lL's Lhe only Lhlng LhaL's ever worked for me. lollowlng LhaL
pracLlce ls Lhe only Lhlng LhaL unsLuck" me, pulled me off Lhe floor, saved my llfe, and acLually
propelled me Lo success.
And slnce l've been wrlLlng abouL lL, l've seen lL wlLh Lhousands of oLhers who have wrlLLen me
e-malls abouL lL. l've collecLed LesLlmonlals, some of whlch you'll flnd aL Lhe back of Lhe book.
1hose weren'L LweeLs or e-malls l goL over a perlod of a year. 1hose were LweeLs and e-malls l
goL over a perlod of Lhe pasL hour as l wroLe Lhls.
l'm noL selllng anyLhlng (well, Lhls book ln your hands, buL lf you know someone who can'L
afford lL, Lhen please leL me know and l wlll send lL Lo Lhem for free). ln facL, l encourage people
Lo noL belleve me. All of Lhe people who are sLuck or frusLraLed or scared or anxlous or fllled
wlLh regreL, please Lry Lhese ldeas so you can see for yourself.
1hls ls how we form a beLLer socleLy. llrsL we become beLLer as lndlvlduals. ?ou can'L help
oLhers lf you look ln Lhe mlrror and haLe whaL you see. And lL's very easy Lo haLe whaL ls Lhere.
We llve mosL of our llves haLlng Lhe mlrror. Peck, l'm preLLy gruesome Lo look aL ln Lhe
mornlng. lL's a dally challenge!
Many people say, 1he ually racLlce ls Loo much work for me. l can'L do lL all every day."
no problem. LeL's flrsL deflne Lhe Slmple ually racLlce," Lhen we can go lnLo more of Lhe
subLleLles.
Why Lhe need for a slmple dally pracLlce?
l wenL Lo a Lalk glven by my frlend 8amlL SeLhl who wroLe Lhe besLselllng book l wlll 1eocb oo
to 8e klcb. 8amlL and l have gone Lo each oLher's Lalks several Llmes and we've also done a few
vldeos LogeLher. Pe Lakes a behavloral psychology approach Lo personal flnance LhaL l Lhlnk ls
very unlque. lL's noL Lhe slmple save an exLra $1,000 a monLh and you wlll be rlch." ln facL, he
Look a survey of personal flnance auLhors who recommend LhaL people keep budgeLs, and he
found LhaL none of Lhem acLually kepL budgeLs Lhemselves.
ln hls Lalk he made a polnL LhaL was near and dear Lo me. Claudla, my wlfe, had been Lrylng Lo
geL me Lo floss my LeeLh. l geL lazy and l Lry lL for a few days buL Lhen geL Llred of Lrylng Lo dlg
lnLo all Lhe llLLle areas ln beLween my LeeLh. lL's llke a half-hour process, so afLer a whlle l sLop
and Lhen afLer a few days l glve up. When 8amlL sLarLed Lalklng abouL flosslng, l saw Claudla's
ears pracLlcally LwlLch.
Pe sald Lhe way you geL people Lo floss ls Lo [usL ask Lhem Lo floss one LooLh. 1haL's lL.
Suddenly, Lhey are flosslng." 1helr bralns say, l'm Lhe Lype of person who llkes Lo floss."
Maybe afLer a day or Lwo Lhey sLarL flosslng Lwo LeeLh. And why sLop Lhere?" 8amlL sald.
AfLer a few weeks, Lhey're flosslng all of Lhelr LeeLh because Lhelr braln sees lL wasn'L as hard a
hablL as Lhey LhoughL."
1he Slmple ually racLlce ls Lhe same. All you really need Lo do Lo geL off Lhe floor ls
acknowledge LhaL lL's noL your exLernal llfe LhaL needs Lo change (you have llLLle conLrol over
LhaL), buL LhaL exLernal changes flow from Lhe lnslde.
LxLernal changes ln your llfe are llke Lhe flnal rlpples of Lhe ocean LhaL lap onLo dlsLanL shores. A
promoLlon, a ralse, a new [ob offer, a new relaLlonshlp. 1hese are Lhe flnal rlpples. 1he ocean ls
lnslde you. 8ecomlng aware of LhaL lnflnlLe presence doesn'L requlre medlLaLlon ln a cave for
flfLy years. lL lnvolves slmply belng healLhy. PealLhy noL [usL physlcally buL emoLlonally,
menLally, and splrlLually.
lor now, Lhe Slmple ually racLlce means dolng CnL Lhlng every day.
1ry any one of Lhese Lhlngs each day:
A) Sleep elghL hours.
8) LaL Lwo meals lnsLead of Lhree.
C) no 1v.
u) no [unk food.
L) no complalnlng for one whole day.
l) no gosslp.
C) 8eLurn an e-mall from flve years ago.
P) Lxpress Lhanks Lo a frlend.
l) WaLch a funny movle or a sLand-up comlc.
!) WrlLe down a llsL of ldeas. 1he ldeas can be abouL anyLhlng.
k) 8ead a splrlLual LexL. Any one LhaL ls lnsplraLlonal Lo you. 1he 8lble, 1he 1ao Le Chlng,
anyLhlng you wanL.
L) Say Lo yourself when you wake up, l'm golng Lo save a llfe Loday." keep an eye ouL for
LhaL llfe you can save.
M) 1ake up a hobby. uon'L say you don'L have Llme. Learn Lhe plano. 1ake chess lessons. uo
sLand-up comedy. WrlLe a novel. uo someLhlng LhaL Lakes you ouL of your currenL
rhyLhm.
n) WrlLe down your enLlre schedule. 1he schedule you do every day. Cross ouL one lLem
and don'L do LhaL anymore.
C) Surprlse someone.
) 1hlnk of Len people you are graLeful for.
C) lorglve someone. ?ou don'L have Lo Lell Lhem. !usL wrlLe lL down on a plece of paper
and burn Lhe paper. lL Lurns ouL Lhls has Lhe same effecL ln Lerms of releaslng oxyLocln ln
Lhe braln as acLually forglvlng Lhem ln person.
8) 1ake Lhe sLalrs lnsLead of Lhe elevaLor.
S) l'm golng Lo sLeal Lhls nexL one from Lhe 1970s pop psychology book uoot 5oy es
wbeo oo woot to 5oy No: when you flnd yourself Lhlnklng of LhaL speclal someone who
ls causlng you grlef, Lhlnk very quleLly, no." lf you Lhlnk of hlm and (or?) her agaln,
Lhlnk loudly, no!" Agaln? Whlsper, no!" Agaln, say lL. Louder. ?ell lL. Louder. And so
on.
1) 1ell someone every day LhaL you love Lhem.
u) uon'L have sex wlLh someone you don'L love.
v) Shower. Scrub. Clean Lhe Loxlns off your body.
W) 8ead a chapLer ln a blography abouL someone who ls an lnsplraLlon Lo you.
x) Make plans Lo spend Llme wlLh a frlend.
?) lf you Lhlnk, LveryLhlng would be beLLer off lf l were dead," Lhen Lhlnk, 1haL's really
cool. now l can do anyLhlng l wanL and l can posLpone Lhls LhoughL for a whlle, maybe
even a few monLhs." 8ecause whaL does lL maLLer now? 1he planeL mlghL noL even be
around ln a few monLhs. Who knows whaL could happen wlLh all Lhese solar flares. ?ou
know Lhe ones l'm Lalklng abouL.
Z) ueep breaLhlng. When Lhe vagus nerve ls lnflamed, your breaLhlng becomes shallower.
?our breaLh becomes qulck. lL's flghL-or-fllghL Llme! ?ou are panlcklng. SLop lL! 8reaLhe
deep. LeL me Lell you someLhlng: mosL people Lhlnk yoga" ls all Lhose exerclses where
people are sLandlng upslde down and dolng welrd Lhlngs. ln Lhe oqo 5ottos, wrlLLen ln
300 8.C., Lhere are 196 llnes dlvlded lnLo four chapLers. ln all Lhose llnes, CnL? 1P8LL Cl
1PLM refer Lo physlcal exerclse. lL baslcally reads, be able slL up sLralghL. 1haL's lL. 1haL's
Lhe only reference ln Lhe oqo 5ottos Lo physlcal exerclse. Claudla always Lells me LhaL
yogls measure Lhelr llves ln breaLhs, noL years. ueep breaLhlng ls whaL keeps Lhose
breaLhs golng.

Anyway, Lhls lsn'L advlce for Lhe one-hundred-Lhousand-plus people Lhls pasL year who Lyped l
wanL Lo dle" lnLo Coogle and ended up on my blog. Some of Lhem probably need real help from
a LheraplsL or docLor.

8uL Lhls ls whaL l dld when l wanLed Lo dle. Lvery one of these th|ngs. AL leasL one lLem a day.
And here l am. l am sLlll allve.

WnA1 II I'M IN A CkISIS?
8efore we hlL Lhe sLorles ln Lhe resL of Lhls book, we have Lo handle Lhe slLuaLlon when we're
acLually on Lhe floor and lL seems llke Lhere ls no way up. We can'L do Lhe full dally pracLlce, no
less our one Lhlng per day," lf we can'L even geL off Lhe floor.
SomeLlmes flosslng one LooLh Lo sLarL lsn'L enough. SomeLlmes you're ln agony, your LeeLh are
abouL Lo fall ouL, and you don'L wanL denLures. llosslng wlll have Lo walL.
l've been ln LhaL slLuaLlon. And l'm noL Lalklng meLaphorlcally, l'm Lalklng abouL my acLual LeeLh
belng ln such bad shape Lhey were abouL Lo fall ouL. 8uL l'm also Lalklng abouL when llfe hlLs a
llLLle Loo hard, a llLLle Loo fasL (okay, now l'm Lalklng meLaphorlcally).
SomeLlmes lL's enough Lo [usL cllmb ouL of bed. 1o be graLeful for Lhe abundance already ln our
llves. And abundance ls a Lrlcky Lhlng. 8lghL now, look around, and llsL Lhe areas where you are
abundanL. lf you are ln Lhe mlddle of a ralnsLorm, Lhere ls an abundance of waLer. 1hlnk of Lhe
bounLy LhaL can be grown wlLh LhaL waLer. lf you are ln a Lrafflc [am, Lhere ls an abundance of
cars. 1hlnk of Lhe human achlevemenL Lhose cars represenL ln our shorL hlsLory on Lhls planeL.
1urn despalr on lLs head.
WlLh each obsLacle, Lurn lL lnLo a momenL where you can reflecL on Lhe bounLy LhaL ls ln your
llfe.
I recent|y got the fo||ow|ng e-ma||:
"So.l'm slowly sLarvlng Lo deaLh, l have -90 ln Lhe bank accounL, renL ls due
ln 8 days, and l have no chance of paylng lL. l sLarLed Lwo medla buslnesses
LhaL falled mlserably and no one wanLs Lo hlre me. WhaL should l do?"
My response:
1haL sucks. And l mean lL. l've been Lhere. And noL so long ago. lL fucklng sucks. Sorry for Lhe
language. ?ou dldn'L use bad language ln your e-mall so l apologlze.

lf l Lell you whaL worked for me, would you Lry Lo do lL? Lven lf lL won'L work (you're noL golng
Lo pay your renL ln 8 days. 1haL shlp has probably salled buL who knows.).

lL's all golng Lo sound corny. 8ecause you are ln a flghL-or-fllghL menLal sLaLe. And lf someLhlng
says, Slow down," your body and mlnd wlll wanL Lo re[ecL lL.

A) Can you call some people Loday and Lell Lhem you are graLeful for Lhem. 8ecause Lhls ls Lhe
abundance ln your llfe. ?ou're old enough LhaL no maLLer whaL has happened ln Lhe pasL, Lhere
are people you are graLeful for. lease call Lhem. lamlly, frlends, ex-cllenLs, ex-lovers. Whoever.
And Lell Lhem why you are graLeful for Lhem. WhaL you learned from Lhem. Why you love
Lhem.

8) ?ou are very lucky. ?ou have Llme on your hands. Can you Lry Lo spend one afLernoon
volunLeerlng? ?ou're probably spendlng a god-awful amounL of Llme Lhlnklng abouL yourself.
!usL one afLernoon, volunLeer someplace else. lease. 1hls ls abundance also. ?ou have Lwo
hands and Lwo legs and a braln. eople wlLh less, need your help.

C) See a docLor. l know you aren'L slck. 8uL you probably aren'L sleeplng. ?ou need Lo sleep. 1en
hours a day. Maybe nlne. 8uL no less Lhan nlne. 1here are so many beneflLs Lo sleep. Coogle lL
and see. lL's amazlng how l don'L have Lo llsL Lhe beneflLs anymore. 1hey are somewhere on
LhaL 1PlnC, Coogle. uocLors help you sleep. 1here are varlous pllls LhaL work. uon'L geL
addlcLed Lo Lhem. !usL use Lhem unLll Lhe crlsls ls over. Anyway, l'm noL a docLor. 1he docLor
wlll Lell you LhaL. Ask for klonopln and see whaL Lhey say. uon'L forgeL: ?Cu A8L nC1
uL8LSSLu. lL's perfecLly reasonable Lo be upseL ln your slLuaLlon. 8uL you are anxlous. So an
anLl-anxleLy plll wlll help you sleep.

u) ?ou have Lo exerclse. Lven [usL Lake a walk. 1wenLy mlnuLes of exerclse a day. Pow come? l
have no clue. 8uL lL works ugh, lL brlngs Lo mlnd when l was worrled abouL renL checks and
dlvorce checks and glrlfrlend checks and my checks and l had noLhlng and l would exerclse and
lL would feel llke shlL. 8uL you have Lo do lL. ?our body ls geLLlng consLanLly mugged rlghL now,
Lrlggerlng LhaL flghL or fllghL. So you have Lo work lL off somehow. Lxerclse, eaL well, and sleep.
Llse your body wlll be upseL and Lhen you wlll feel worse.

l [usL gave you a loL of Lhlngs Lo do. Whlch ls hard. 8ecause who needs more shlL on Lhelr plaLe.
So you have Lo replace some Lhlngs wlLh Lhese Lhlngs. no news. no 1v. no [unk food. no dlnner
lf you can avold lL (eaL a laLe lunch and a laLe breakfasL. And why noL-you're noL aL a [ob).

l would say geL rld of Lhe worrles, buL LhaL's really hard. l can say, whenever you worry, replace
lL wlLh LhoughLs of abundance. SomeLlmes Lhls works. 8uL lL's really hard Lo do and mosL people
flnd lL corny.

lease do Lhe Lhlngs on my llsL, Lhough. 1hey are all equally lmporLanL. ?ou mlghL noL see lL now
buL lf you do Lhls llsL, Lhlngs wlll be beLLer. lease wrlLe me back ln elghL days and Lell me whaL
happened. 8uL make sure you do Lhe Lhlngs on my llsL."

LlghL days laLer he wroLe back, 1hanks! Cuess whaL? l pald Lhe renL. l'm sLlll allve."
1haL's lL. l dldn'L ask for deLalls. SomeLlmes emergency procedures are requlred. 8uL Lhen you
have Lo geL back Lo llvlng. ?ou have Lo geL back Lo Lhe baslcs of how Lo survlve. LeL's see some
examples.

CnCCSL CUkSLLI 1C LIVL
kamal 8avlkanL wenL mlsslng. We had been correspondlng for more Lhan a year, ever slnce l
sLarLed my blog. l'm very graLeful for Lhe greaL frlends l have meL Lhrough my blog. lL has been
a LoLally unexpecLed buL much appreclaLed beneflL of wrlLlng.
AfLer hundreds of e-malls back and forLh durlng Lhe prlor year, l was flnally vlslLlng San
lranclsco and was geLLlng all seL Lo meeL kamal. 8uL he dldn'L show up for our planned
breakfasL. Pls broLher, naval, called hlm a few Llmes. Pe's aL home," naval sald, buL he's noL
plcklng up. Pls lllness musL be overwhelmlng hlm Loday." naval had a CS speclflcally aLLached
Lo where kamal was.
kamal was very slck and geLLlng worse. 1hls had been golng on for monLhs. Some days he
couldn'L move or wake up. CLher days he had enough energy Lo go ouLslde buL only for mlnuLes
and Lhen he had Lo go back lnslde. kamal's slckness was chronlc. 1he docLors couldn'L help hlm,
he was lnflnlLely Llred, feverlsh, ln paln, and lL was geLLlng worse.

l knew from our correspondence LhaL kamal had been golng Lhrough a hard Llme before he goL
slck. Pls company, whlch had once been dolng well enough Lo ralse a slgnlflcanL amounL of
money, was falLerlng, perhaps falllng. Pe had recenLly broken off a relaLlonshlp. A close frlend
had dled.
CfLen when we aLLach our happlness Lo exLernal goals: flnanclal success, relaLlonshlp success,
eLc., we geL dlsappolnLed. Lven when Lhlngs work ouL, everyLhlng cycles, and Lhe happlness ls
ofLen fleeLlng.
When Lhose goals break, Lhe exLernal paln lmmedlaLely geLs reflecLed lnLo our lnLernal bodles.
Cur emoLlons break. We feel sad, dlsappolnLed, and ln paln. We cllng Lo Lhe pasL happlness, or
our hoped-for goals, whlch now have Lo change. lL can feel llke your arm ls belng Lorn off your
body.
8uL kamal was Lrylng Lo hold lL all LogeLher Lo be falr Lo everyone wlLhln hls company-Lhe
employees, Lhe lnvesLors, and Lhe cusLomers. Pe was cllnglng Lo Lhe pasL, dependlng on Lhe
fuLure. 1o everyLhlng and everyone excepL for hls own happlness ln Lhe presenL.
Pls emoLlonal body couldn'L handle lL anymore. Pls emoLlonal arms and legs were Lorn off. And
Lhen hls physlcal body broke. Pe compleLely broke down. l noLlced he had dropped ouL of Louch
a few monLhs earller and l hadn'L seen hls commenLs on Lhe blog ln a whlle. WhaL's golng on?"
l wroLe hlm. l'm slck," was hls reply. Pe dropped ouL.
lor several monLhs he was ouL of acLlon. 1hen he sLarLed wrlLlng agaln and Lelllng me whaL was
golng on ln hls llfe. Pe sLarLed commenLlng on Lhe blog agaln and lnLeracLlng wlLh Lhe greaL
communlLy developlng Lhere. Pe was allve agaln. We flnally ended up meeLlng.

Pow'd you geL beLLer?" l asked. WhaL happened?"
l'll Lell you Lhe secreL," he sald, l LhoughL l was golng Lo dle. l was [usL lylng ln bed and
couldn'L move, l had a hlgh fever, and was ln Loo much paln. l really LhoughL l was golng Lo dle.
llnally, l jost stotteJ soyloq ovet ooJ ovet oqolo, l love myself.

As kamal Lhen wroLe abouL hls experlence ln Lhe now-successful book, love ootself llke oot
llfe uepeoJs oo lt:

AoJ l qot bettet. My boJy stotteJ beolloq fostet. My stote of mloJ qtew llqbtet. 8ot tbe tbloq l
oevet expecteJ ot lmoqloeJ, llfe qot bettet. 8ot oot jost bettet, tbloqs boppeoeJ tbot wete
footostlcolly oot of my teocb. 1bls l coolJot bove JteomeJ of j.] l foooJ myself osloq tbe wotJ
moqlc to Jesctlbe wbot wos boppeoloq. AoJ tbtooqb lt oll l kept tepeotloq to myself, l love
myself. l love myself. l love myself.

ln Lhe book kamal descrlbes hls LranslLlon from slckness lnLo healLh and Lhe oLher maglcal
Lhlngs LhaL happened Lo hlm. Pe also glves a serles of Lechnlques and pracLlces so you can Lry
Lhls for yourself. And flnally he answers Lhe dreaded quesLlon, whaL happens lf you don'L love
yourself? Can you sLlll geL Lhls maglc lnLo your llfe?
1hlnk abouL lL," he sald Lo me monLhs laLer when we meL ln new ?ork. When someone ls ln
love, Lhey almosL maglcally look beLLer. l needed Lo be ln love wlLh myself Lo feel beLLer. So
much of whaL had happened had welghed on me unLll l collapsed. now l needed Lo love myself.
lL became a manLra for me."
As someone explalned Lo me Lhe oLher day, Lhe word mootto has Lwo parLs (ln SanskrlL):
man"-LhoughLfulness wlLh zeal, and Lra"-Lo proLecL. So by saylng l love myself" over and
over, kamal was proLecLlng Lhe LhoughL, nourlshlng lL, and Lhe love was nourlshlng Lhe resL of
hls body, hls emoLlons, hls mlnd, and hls splrlL.
kamal ls now compleLely recovered. Pe also flgured ouL Lhe slLuaLlon wlLh hls buslness, and
when l saw hlm ln new ?ork ClLy lL was as lf a glganLlc welghL had been llfLed off hls shoulders.

Pow dld he publlsh hls book? Pe dldn'L need a publlsher Lo choose hlm. Pe dldn'L need an
edlLor Lo say, lL has Lo be 200 pages." Pe dldn'L need a markeLlng experL Lo puL lL ln a few
booksLores, where lL would wasLe away. 1he same way he chose hlmself Lo LlvL (by formlng hls
own personal ually racLlce) he chose hlmself Lo wrlLe and, Lo Lhls day, conLlnues a paLLern of
chooslng hlmself for success. Pls book wenL on Lo become a besLseller. And he dld lL all hlmself.
!usL llke 1ucker Max dld. !usL llke l do, and dld wlLh Lhls book. Pere's how you can do lL:

nCW DC I SLLI-U8LISn?
1here are loLs of varlaLlons on Lhe paLh Lo self-publlshlng, Lhls ls Lhe one kamal and l have boLh
used.
W8l1L 1PL 8CCk. kamal wroLe hls ln a few weeks and made lL forLy pages (nobody had Lo glve
hlm permlsslon Lo make lL a smaller book). lor my lasL Lwo, l Look some blog posLs, rewroLe
parLs of Lhem, added orlglnal maLerlal, new chapLers, and creaLed an overall arc relaLed Lo whaL
Lhe books were abouL Lo glve Lhem a Lra[ecLory, or a dlrecLlon. lL doesn'L maLLer where you geL
your ldeas or how you wrlLe Lhem, [usL do lL. 1haL sald, you probably already have Lhe baslc
maLerlal.

C8LA1LSACL. 8oLh kamal and l used CreaLeSpace because Lhey are owned by Amazon-where
we were golng Lo sell our books-and have excellenL cusLomer servlce. 1hey leL you plck Lhe
slze of your book, and Lhen have MlcrosofL Word LemplaLes LhaL you download Lo formaL your
book wlLhln. kamal dld hls all hlmself. l dld my flrsL book by myself, as well. 8uL for my second
book, for a small fee, l hlred someone (Alexanderbecker.neL) Lo formaL Lhe book, creaLe Lhe
book deslgn, and creaLe Lhe flnal ul, whlch l uploaded. Pe also checked grammar, made
proacLlve suggesLlons on fonL (sans serlf lnsLead of serlf), and was overall [usL exLremely
helpful.

uLCAu 1PL ul. CreaLeSpace approves lL, plcks an lS8n number, sends you a proof, and Lhen
you geL Lo approve Lhe proof.

Wl1Pln uA?S, l1'S AvAlLA8LL on Amazon. And you're a publlshed auLhor. lL's prlnL-on-demand
as a paperback. And by Lhe way, your LoLal cosLs aL Lhls polnL: $0. (lus whaLever you used Lo
deslgn your cover.)

klnuLL. All of Lhe above (from CreaLeSpace) was free. kamal had a frlend deslgn hls cover as a
favor. lf l dldn'L hlre Alex Lo make Lhe cover, l could've used one of Lhe mllllon posslble
CreaLeSpace covers (l dld LhaL for my flrsL book) and Lhe enLlre publlshlng ln paperback would
be free. 8uL wlLh klndle, CreaLeSpace charges $70 and Lhey Lake care of everyLhlng unLll lL's
uploaded Lo Lhe klndle sLore. now your book ls avallable ln paperback ooJ klndle edlLlons.

MA8kL1lnC Anu 8CMC1lCnS. ?ou're ln charge of your own markeLlng and promoLlons (as
opposed Lo a book publlsher). 1hls mlghL sound daunLlng aL flrsL, buL self-publlshlng ls Lhe
essence of creaLlve enLrepreneurshlp, and enLrepreneurs can'L use Lhe excuse LhaL l don'L
have Llme, l'm runnlng a buslness." 1hls ls your buslness. LnLrepreneurs make Llme. Llke Lhe
publlshlng process lLself, markeLlng and promoLlons can Lake many forms as well, dependlng on
your goals, so Lhls ls [usL whaL kamal and l dld.

kamal reached ouL Lo hls enLlre neLwork. Pe had varlous frlends (lncludlng me) blog abouL lL.
8esLselllng auLhor 1lm lerrls LweeLed how kamal's book broughL hlm ouL of a funk. 8efore you
know lL, kamal's book was a besLseller and, as of Lhls wrlLlng almosL a year laLer, lL's sLlll selllng
sLrong.

l dld a bunch of dlfferenL Lhlngs.
1. l gave away Lhe flrsL LwenLy coples or so Lo readers of my blog who asked for one. Many of
Lhem Lhen posLed good revlews on Amazon Lo geL Lhe ball rolllng.
2. l handed ouL Lhe books aL speaklng engagemenLs.
3. l wroLe a blog posL abouL how Lhe book ls dlfferenL from Lhe blog and why l chose Lo go Lhe
self-publlshlng rouLe.
4. l wroLe guesLs posLs for blogs llke 1echcrunch, whlch helped lmmensely and for whlch l'm
very graLeful.
3. l used my soclal neLworks: 1wlLLer, lacebook, Llnkedln, Coogle+, Cuora, and lnLeresL.


lf you have a sLory Lo Lell or a servlce Lo offer (lL doesn'L maLLer whaL), love yourself enough Lo
choose yourself. 1ake conLrol of your work, your llfe, your arL. 1he Lools are ouL Lhere. now you
[usL need Lo use Lhe Lools lnslde yourself.

l'll leL a quoLe from kamal's excellenL book close Lhls chapLer:
lf o polofol memoty otlses, Joot flqbt lt ot tty to posb lt owoy-yoote lo polcksooJ. 5ttoqqle
telofotces polo. losteoJ, qo to love. love fot yootself. leel lt. lf yoo bove to foke lt, floe. ltll
become teol eveotoolly leel tbe love fot yootself os tbe memoty ebbs ooJ flows. 1bot wlll toke
tbe powet owoy.

AoJ eveo mote lmpottootly, lt wlll sblft tbe wltloq of tbe memoty. uo lt oqolo ooJ oqolo. love.
ke-wlte. love. ke-wlte. lts yoot mloJ. oo coo Jo wbotevet yoo woot.j.] 1be tesolts ote wottb
lt. l wlsb tbot fot yoo.



IINDING CUk UkCSL IN LIIL
When l was Lwelve years old l had one purpose ln llfe-oLher Lhan geLLlng Lhe glrl ln arL group
aL summer camp Lo llke me. l wanLed Lo be a colonel. And noL [usL any colonel, l wanLed Lo be
an honorary colonel ln Lhe kenLucky SLaLe MlllLla. !usL llke my hero, Colonel Sanders. l had Lo
sLarL off slow-kenLucky was Lhe glamour sLaLe Lo be a colonel of. llrsL l sLarLed off wlLh
Mlsslsslppl. l called Lhe governor, Cllff llnch, and lnLervlewed hlm, because for some reason
LhaL l sLlll can'L flgure ouL, he was runnlng ln Lhe prlmarles for presldenL agalnsL anoLher former
SouLhern governor and lncumbenL presldenL, !lmmy CarLer.
Cllff llnch lnvlLed me down Lo Mlsslsslppl. Pls campalgn and my dad spllL my alr fare, abouL $60
each. lL was Lhe flrsL Llme l had ever been ln a plane and l was scared. When l landed everyLhlng
looked Lhe same buL people Lalked dlfferenLly. lL was a welrd feellng. As lf l had landed ln an
alLernaLlve unlverse. 1he maln Lhlngs l remember from LhaL Lrlp were geLLlng Lhe cerLlflcaLe
LhaL made me an honorary colonel of Lhe sLaLe (l beLLer geL an elghLeen-gun saluLe Lhe nexL
Llme l fly Lhere!), presenLlng Lo Covernor llnch how he would wln Lhe youLh voLe," and a loL of
people asklng me whaL lL was llke Lo be !ewlsh.
1hen l wroLe Lo Lhe governor of Alabama and l Lold hlm my famlly was movlng Lo Alabama, l
had read everyLhlng abouL Alabama and l loved Lhe sLaLe and now l wanLed Lo be a colonel
Lhere. 1he governor senL me back a huge cerLlflcaLe: !ames AlLucher was now a lleuLenanL
colonel ln Lhe Alabama SLaLe MlllLla. ln 1exas, l became an honorary clLlzen. ln norLh Carollna, l
became an honorary Larheel." 8uL wlLh kenLucky, l couldn'L crack Lhe code. 1hey knew how
valuable Lhelr colonelshlp was. 1hey needed references, background checks, eLc. l was Lwelve
years old and declded for Lhe flrsL of many Llmes Lo qulL whlle l was ahead. SLlll, lf anyone wanLs
Lo call me Colonel (Mlsslsslppl), l'm LoLally flne wlLh LhaL.
Whlch brlngs me Lo an lmporLanL polnL. robably Lhe mosL lmporLanL person ln kenLucky
hlsLory ls Parlan Sanders, Lhe man hlmself, Lhe colonel, Lhe lnvenLor of kenLucky lrled
Chlcken, one of Lhe mosL successful franchlse operaLlons ln hlsLory. LxLra-crlspy kenLucky frled
chlcken sLlll has Lo be one of Lhe besL foods on Lhe planeL. ?ou mlghL geL slck afLerward, buL
who cares. 8uddha says llve ln Lhe now!
A loL of people say Lo me, l'm LwenLy-flve years old and sLlll have no ldea whaL my purpose ln
llfe should be." When Colonel Sanders was LwenLy-flve, he sLlll had yeL Lo be a flreman, a
sLreeLcar conducLor, a farmer, a sLeamboaL operaLor, and flnally proprleLor of a servlce sLaLlon,
where he sold chlcken. 1he chlcken was greaL and people loved lL buL he dldn'L sLarL maklng
real money unLll he sLarLed franchlslng aL Lhe age of slxLy-flve. 1haL's Lhe age he was when he
found hls purpose ln llfe.
l don'L llke Lhe word potpose. lL lmplles LhaL somewhere ln Lhe fuLure l wlll flnd someLhlng LhaL
wlll make me happy, and LhaL unLll Lhen, l wlll be unhappy. eople fool Lhemselves lnLo Lhlnklng
LhaL Lhe currency of unhapplness wlll buy Lhem happlness. 1haL we have Lo pay our dues," go
on some sorL of rlde, and Lhen geL dropped off aL a blg locaLlon called our purpose," where
now we can be happy.
lL doesn'L work LhaL way.
?ou can flnd Lhe Lools Lo be happy rlghL now. l sLlll don'L know whaL my purpose ls. l'm afrald l
wlll never know. 1haL makes me very happy. Maybe l can have loLs of advenLures beLween
Loday and Lhe day l dle. Maybe l can do loLs of dlfferenL Lhlngs. And lf l don'L-lf l dle even
Lomorrow-LhaL's flne also. WhaL does purpose mean when we are dead? We mlghL as well
choose Lo be happy now.
CLher people have found success afLer changlng careers many Llmes: 8odney uangerfleld dldn'L
succeed ln comedy unLll hls forLles. Cne of Lhe funnlesL guys ever, he was an alumlnum sldlng
salesman. And Lhen he had Lo sLarL hls own comedy club, uangerfleld's, ln order Lo acLually
perform as a comedlan. Pe chose hlmself Lo succeed! 8uL noL unLll hls forLles.
8ay kroc was a mllkshake salesman lnLo hls flfLles. 1hen he sLumbled onLo a clean resLauranL
LhaL served a good hamburger run by Lwo broLhers wlLh Lhe lasL name Mcuonald. Pe boughL
Mcuonald's when he was flfLy-Lwo.
Penry Mlller wroLe hls flrsL blg novel, 1toplc of coocet, aL age forLy.
8aymond Chandler, Lhe mosL successful nolr novellsL of all Llme, wroLe hls flrsL novel aL age
flfLy-Lwo. 8uL he was young compared Lo lrank McCourL, who won Lhe ullLzer for hls flrsL
novel, Aoqelos Asbes, wrlLLen when he was slxLy-slx. And, of course, !ulla Chlld was a young
flfLy when she wroLe her flrsL cookbook.
Cne of my favorlLe wrlLers of all Llme, SLan Lee, creaLed Lhe enLlre unlverse for whlch he ls
known-Lhe Marvel unlverse-when he was forLy-four, lnvenLlng Splderman, Lhe lanLasLlc
lour, Lhe Avengers, and oLhers along Lhe way.
lf you don'L llke Lo klll people buL sLlll need a weapon Lo lmmoblllze Lhem, conslder Lhe 1aser,
lnvenLed by !ack Cover when he was flfLy. Pe dldn'L sell a slngle one unLll he was slxLy.
lf you llke resLauranL revlews you mlghL have read 2oqot, sLarLed by 1lm ZagaL, who qulL hls [ob
as a lawyer ln order Lo creaLe Lhe book of revlews when he was flfLy-one.
Parry 8ernsLeln was a LoLal fallure when he wroLe hls besLselllng memolr, 1be lovlslble woll. Pls
prlor forLy (forLy!) novels had been re[ecLed by publlshers. When hls memolr came ouL, he was
nlneLy-Lhree years old. A quoLe from hlm: lf l had noL llved unLll l was 90, l would noL have
been able Lo wrlLe Lhls book, Cod knows whaL oLher poLenLlals lurk ln oLher people, lf we could
only keep Lhem allve well lnLo Lhelr 90s."
eLer 8ogeL was a medlocre docLor who was flnally forced Lo reLlre ln hls early sevenLles. 1hen
he became obsessed wlLh words LhaL have slmllar meanlngs. Was hls purpose as a medlcal
pracLlLloner or as a guy who could play wlLh words? uo you know hlm as a docLor or as Lhe
auLhor of koqets 1besootos, whlch he wroLe when he was sevenLy-Lhree?
When l was ln college, l aLe ramen noodles every day for year. Cne Llme ln a grocery sLore a
woman Lrled Lo Lell me Lhey were Lhe worsL Lhlng l could eaL. 8eally? Llke worse Lhan eaLlng a
brlck, for lnsLance? 1haL was when l was nlneLeen. l'm now forLy-flve. lL doesn'L seem Lo have
hurL me LhaL much Lo have eaLen ramen noodles for an enLlre year. lL was Lhe only Lhlng l could
afford. lf someLhlng cosLs 23 cenLs and has a few sllvers of peas ln lL, Lhen lL's okay by me.
Meanwhlle, Lhe lnvenLor of ramen noodles dldn'L lnvenL Lhem unLll he was forLy-elghL years
old. 1hank god for hlm!
Charles uarwln was a llLLle blL off by mosL sLandards. Pe llked Lo [usL collecL planLs and
buLLerflles on remoLe lslands ln Lhe aclflc. 1hen he wroLe Otlqlo of 5pecles when he was flfLy.
1o Lop lL all off, Lhere's Penry lord. Pe was a fallure wlLh hls flrsL car, Lhe Model 1, whlch he
lnvenLed when he was forLy-flve. Pe dldn'L yeL have Lhe producLlvlLy efflclencles of Lhe
assembly llne. Pe developed Lhose when he was slxLy.
1hls ls noL meanL Lo be lnsplraLlonal. ?ou mlghL never have LhaL greaL Lhlng you do. l'm noL
even saylng lL's Lhe [ourney LhaL one should love, because some [ourneys are very palnful. And
nobody says you geL speclal marks ln deaLh lf you wroLe a greaL novel aL Lhe age of flfLy. Cr
came up wlLh a greaL chlcken, or a way Lo sLuff loLs of people lnLo facLorles. l've sLumbled and
fallen and goLLen up and survlved enough LhaL l'm slck of goals and purposes and [ourneys. l
wanL Lo cuL ouL Lhe mlddleman. 1he [ourney. 1he desperaLlon and despalr LhaL focuslng on
purpose enLalls.
lorgeL purpose. lL's okay Lo be happy wlLhouL one. 1he quesL for a slngle purpose has rulned
many llves.
Someone asked on Cuora, Lhe C&A webslLe, recenLly, l feel llke a fallure for belng 27 and noL
knowlng whaL l wanL Lo do ln my llfe. WhaL should l do?"
My response was LhaL when l was LwenLy-seven, l had yeL Lo sLarL a buslness, yeL Lo ever fall ln
love, yeL Lo wrlLe a book, yeL Lo make a 1v plloL, yeL Lo fall aL LwenLy buslnesses ln a row, yeL Lo
run a hedge fund, vC fund, even become a chess masLer (whlch happened aL age LwenLy-elghL
for me). MosL lmporLanL, l had yeL Lo fall. 8uL l falled so much ln my LhlrLles LhaL l pracLlcally
forgoL l was a chess masLer. As l wrlLe Lhls, l'm forLy-flve and l sLlll have no ldea whaL l wanL Lo
be when l grow up." 8uL l'm sLarLlng Lo flnally accepL Lhe facL LhaL all l wanL Lo be ls ML.
Meanwhlle, Parlan Sanders made such a greaL chlcken LhaL, even Lhough he'd barely made a
dlme off of lL (LhaL happened flfLeen years laLer), aL Lhe Lender age of forLy-flve, Lhe governor of
kenLucky made Sanders an honorary colonel.
So l guess aL age forLy-flve, Lhere's sLlll hope for me.
nCW 1C DISALAk CCMLL1LL AND NLVLk 8L ICUND
We geL sLuck. We geL unhappy. Maybe we're ln a hopeless marrlage. Maybe a hopeless [ob.
Maybe you plcked up Lhls book and you are Lhlnklng Lo yourself, Well, Lhls ls all good buL lL's
Loo laLe for me.
l'm sorry lf you feel LhaL way. l've felL LhaL way many Llmes. SomeLlmes you wlsh you could
sLarL fresh, wlLh no responslblllLles, an empLy canvas you can now palnL or repalnL your llfe
agalnsL. l've been feellng Lhls way, on and off, for aL leasL LwenLy years. As l menLloned before,
Lhe Lhlrd mosL popular search phrase LhaL Lakes people Lo [amesalLucher.com ls l am sLuck."
When we feel sLuck, we wanL a masslve change, we wanL Lhe enLlre world Lo reverse lLs
roLaLlon and drop us off aL an enLlrely new place. l Lrled LhaL more Lhan once.
ln 1992 l wanLed Lo move lnLo a homeless shelLer because l LhoughL LhaL glrls who were
homeless would be more llkely Lo go ouL wlLh me. l had Lhls fanLasy verslon of whaL a homeless
shelLer would be llke. We'd sneak around Lo each oLher's rooms as lf Lhey were dorm rooms. lL
would be romanLlc. LoLs of glggllng. And crack smoklng. Peck, l'd Lry lL. lor love.
l had a [ob and wasn'L really homeless. l had a place Lo llve. 8uL my glrlfrlend aL Lhe Llme haLed
me and l needed a change. lus Lhe homeless shelLer was rlghL nexL Lo my place of work. l
could've llved aL Lhe shelLer and lL would have been abouL a LwenLy-second walk Lo work. Pow
greaL can llfe be? l ask agaln: how greaL can llfe really be?
1he homeless shelLer dlrecLor sald no Lo my requesL. l Lold hlm l wanLed Lo wrlLe abouL Lhe
experlence. Pe called my references. My boss-my AC1uAL boss aL Lhe Llme-sald l was
probably menLally lll. l dldn'L have LhaL [ob for Loo much longer. nor dld l move lnLo Lhe
homeless shelLer. 1hey acLually LhoughL l was Loo deranged Lo move lnLo a homeless shelLer.
All of Lhls ls Lo say, Lhere's someLhlng prlmal ln me LhaL wanLs Lo dlsappear. 1o mlx wlLh whaL l
vlew as Lhe lowesL of Lhe low, Lo forgeL abouL my pasL, Lo slgn up for a fuLure LhaL ls
meanlngless, Lo Lhlnk only abouL rlghL now and glve up everyLhlng else.
eople bulld up a llfe, lL becomes unsaLlsfacLory, and Lhey wanL Lo flgure ouL how Lo change lL
llke an ouLflL on a doll.
8uL you can'L change llfe from Lhe ouLslde. We all know Lhls now. ln Lhe Choose ?ourself era, lL
ls only posslble Lo glve up Lhe normal conLrapLlons of exLernallzed ldenLlLy and llve a llfe more
free Lhan you can lmaglne lf you sLarL from Lhe lnslde ouL. Maybe you can'L llve off Lhe grld"
(unless you llke a place llke MonLana. Cood luck wlLh LhaL) buL you can llve a llfe of unexpecLed
surprlse. Where every day ls an advenLure. And every Llme you look ln Lhe mlrror, a new person
ls Lhere.
When l was a kld, l boughL Lhe book now to ulsoppeot completely ooJ Nevet 8e loooJ. l don'L
know lf any of Lhe Lechnlques sLlll work buL here was Lhe auLhor's plan:
Look aL old newspapers from around Lhe day you were born Lo flnd Lhe names of bables LhaL
dled LhaL day. Ask members of your sLaLe governmenL for Lhelr blrLh cerLlflcaLes. 1hls lsn'L
unusual. Many people lose Lhelr blrLh cerLlflcaLes. use Lhe blrLh cerLlflcaLe Lo geL a Soclal
SecurlLy card (say you've been a permanenL sLudenL up unLll now). use Lhe Lwo forms of lu Lo
geL a bank accounL, credlL cards, and drlver's llcense.
Change your halr color. Lose welghL. uL a Lack ln your shoe so you sLarL Lo walk dlfferenLly.
SLarL slphonlng money ouL of your bank accounL unLll lL ls all ln cash. llnd a crowded clLy where
you can renL an aparLmenL cheap, and dlsappear ln Lhe crowd. lan on bulldlng an employmenL
hlsLory by sLarLlng wlLh Lemp or consLrucLlon [obs.
1hen dlsappear. !usL walk ouL of your house and never go back. ?ou've [usL commlLLed
pseudoclde.
1he word pseoJoclJe fasclnaLes me. lL's llke a llLLle deaLh," a phrase ofLen used Lo descrlbe an
orgasm.
1he book had anecdoLal sLorles of people who had dlsappeared (how Lhe auLhor kepL flndlng
Lhese people was never explalned). eople runnlng from marrlages, lawsulLs, Lhe l8S, or maybe
[usL every now and Lhen someone who needed an eraser, some WlLe-CuL Lo rub over emoLlons,
fears, and anxleLles. A clean slaLe LhaL would brlng a Lemporary nlrvana where some, lf noL all,
of Lhe menLal and emoLlonal baggage can be dlscarded wlLh your old llfe. Wrapped up ln a
garbage bag and lefL behlnd a bowllng alley.

1he feellng never lefL me. When l'm ln an unfamlllar nelghborhood, l look around and [udge
wheLher or noL l could dlsappear Lhere. Would people flnd me? Would l ever run across
someone l knew or who recognlzed me? Could l [usL be swallowed up by Lhe chaos here, llve ln
a shelLer, work Lemp [obs ln Lhe back of a dell, and argue ln broken Chlnese ln some broken-
down ChlnaLown?
1hlnk of Lhe mass appeal LhaL a 1v show llke MoJ Meo has. lL's noL for Lhe allure of 1960s
adverLlslng culLure. lL's for Lhe fresh sLarL Lhe maln characLer, uon uraper, has glven hlmself.
uon uraper, of course, llves a secreL ldenLlLy. And one of Lhe besL eplsodes Lo ever appear ln
Lelevlslon hlsLory was Lhe eplsode 1he !eL SeL", where he llved a secreL ldenLlLy wlLhln a secreL
ldenLlLy-when he [usL slmply dlsappeared whlle sLandlng ln Lhe lobby of a hoLel ln Callfornla
and wenL off wlLh a bunch of wealLhy vagabonds, each wlLh lnflnlLely long back sLorles LhaL we
would never know and never hear of agaln. 8y Lhe Llme uraper emerged from Lhls new ldenLlLy,
he found hlmself wealLhy, dlvorced, and deallng wlLh Lhe quesLlons we all grapple wlLh: who
are we, really?
l have baggage. l have people l care for. CLher people l'd raLher avold. l have Lhlngs l hope for. l
have goals and amblLlons. l have grudges. no maLLer how much of a mlnlmallsL sLyle you wanL
Lo have, you are sLlll sLuck wlLh all Lhese Lhlngs ln your head, for beLLer or for worse.
WhaL lf you could [usL wake up ln a new place and all Lhe baggage was gone? WhaL lf you
declded, ?ou know whaL, Lhese goals aren'L worLh lL. 1oo many people dle whlle cllmblng Lhe
perllous mounLaln of Lhelr goals." When you are young, you Lhlnk you can cllmb LhaL mounLaln.
8uL when you sLarL Lo geL a llLLle older you reallze, damn, lf l fall now LhaL's a long way down.
ulsappearlng lnLo Lhe depLhs of some gheLLo, saLlsfylng only your mlnlmal needs, uslng your
aura of mysLery Lo acqulre mlnlmal frlendshlp, and [usL llvlng each day as lL ls dealL Lo you, may
solve mosL of Lhese lssues. 8uL Lhey probably won'L. 1he quesLlon ls: wlLh your currenL ldenLlLy,
can you llve as lf you've already dlsappeared? We all wanL Lo de-cluLLer. 1o Lhrow Lhlngs ouL.
8uL a mlnlmallsL llfesLyle ls bullshlL unless you can do lL across every sheaLh ln Lhe dally pracLlce:
noL [usL physlcal, buL also emoLlonal, menLal, and splrlLual.

More lmporLanL ls Lo Lhrow away Lhe baggage, Lhe grudges from Lhe pasL LhaL, a Lhousand
years from now, wlll mean noLhlng. Clve up on Lhe amblLlons for Lhe fuLure LhaL are more
Lrouble and anxleLy Lhan Lhey are worLh. 1o de-cluLLer your braln. 1o be free. 1o suffer a llLLle
deaLh" or Lo be born agaln."
MedlLaLlon Lxerclse: lcLure yourself ln a brand-new ldenLlLy. 1ruly homeless. A vagabond. A
nomad. lmaglne you have enough ln Lhe bank. lmaglne your prlor responslblllLles are all Laken
care of. ?ou can go Lo lndla and llve Lhere for LwenLy years on almosL noLhlng. nobody knows
who you are. ?ou are brand-new. lL's as lf you woke up ln a new body. ?ou have no connecLlon
Lo Lhe pasL and no goals for Lhe fuLure. 8eally plcLure every deLall of lL. When l vlsuallze lL, l feel
a greaL welghL llfL off my shoulders. l wanL Lo feel LhaL way all day long. 1ell me Lhe LruLh: how
do you feel?

8u1 8LALL?, CAn l ulSALA8?
Assumlng you have Lhe baslcs down, Lhe freedom descrlbed above, ls lL posslble Lo geL Lhe
freedom LhaL dlsappearlng lmplles?
1he answer ls yes. ln facL ln Lhe Choose ?ourself era, you wlll have no cholce.
?ou mlghL noL be able Lo llve off Lhe grld"-we are beyond lssues of prlvacy-because your
every move ls consLanLly Lracked. 8uL who cares? uo you Lhlnk Lhe governmenL really cares
abouL you?
1he key ls Lo moke mooey off Lhe grld, Lo make money ouLslde Lhe lmprlsonmenL of corporaLe
Amerlca and ouL of Lhe reach of Lhe powers LhaL choose or re[ecL us. 1o be able Lo work from
any locaLlon. As we move Loward Lhe employee-less socleLy, where ldeas become currency and
lnnovaLlon geLs rewarded more Lhan manual or managerlal servlces, you wlll have Lhe
opporLunlLy Lo llve a llfe you wanL Lo.
ln l wos 8lloJ bot Now l 5ee, l wroLe abouL how people no longer needed a home or an
educaLlon. Pow boLh are leashes LhaL socleLy has creaLed Lo hold you down and prevenL you
from growLh.
8uL leL's Lake lL one sLep furLher. uo you need Lo even renL? uo you need Lo sLay ln one place?
Maybe lf you have klds and Lhe klds are golng Lo a publlc school (Lhough l'd recommend
ooscboolloq, buL LhaL's an enLlre oLher book
1
) Lhen you mlghL be Lled Lo one place.
CLherwlse, Lhe enLlre dream of Lechnology's full poLenLlal has flnally come Lrue. lL hasn'L [usL
creaLed efflclencles aL Lhe workplace. lL's creaLed efflclencles aL home, as well. Larller l sLaLed
LhaL Lhe rlse ln Lechnology was parLly Lhe cause of Lhe era we now flnd ourselves ln-belng
forced ouL of Lhe nesL so we elLher fly or dle.
8uL ulLlmaLely lL's our ever-lncreaslng quesL for a fronLler-physlcal, Lechnologlcal, maLerlal,
and splrlLual-LhaL creaLes Lhe opporLunlLles for Lhose who hunL for Lhem.
We sLlll llve ln a consumpLlon world, where people conLlnue Lo accumulaLe compuLers, cars,
1vs, furnlLure, eLc. 8uL none of lL ls necessary.
?ou can move from place Lo place uslng servlces llke Alr8nb, whlch flnd very nlce, furnlshed
places for you almosL any place ln Lhe world for relaLlvely cheap prlces. ?ou can use servlces llke
Zlpcar Lo flnd Lhe closesL car, wlLh key ln Lhe lgnlLlon for you, Lo Lake on your exLended Lrlps.
When l Lravel uslng Alr8nb and Zlpcar, l brlng almosL no luggage wlLh me. l don'L need a
compuLer or a LableL because phone slzes now are almosL as blg as mlnl-LableLs. And anyLlme l
need a compuLer, Lhere's usually a convenlenL ledLx klnkos around from whlch l can use Lo
wrlLe arLlcles. All of Lhe books l would wanL Lo read are on my phableL" (my phone/LableL,
whlch ls Lhe Calaxy noLe ll). AlmosL any work-relaLed Lools l need are sLored wlLhln apps on my

1
SLarL wlLh my book 40 Altetootlves to colleqe, whlch could [usL as easlly apply Lo hlgh school.
phone. 1he only Lhlng l can'L do wlLh Lhe phone ls wrlLe, buL LhaL's where ledLx klnkos comes
ln.
And whaL else do l need? WhaL else do l need, ever?
Well, you mlghL ask, whaL lf you have a [ob?
CeL rld of lL. ?ou ulLlmaLely don'L need lL. ?ou ulLlmaLely wlll be pushed ouL of lL. We've already
Lalked abouL lL. We're already llvlng lL. Cublcles have become commodlLles. Whoever slLs ln a
cublcle becomes replaceable. l've seen lL wlLh my own eyes.
?ou mlghL say, 8uL l can'L geL anoLher [ob [usL llke LhaL. l can'L qulL my [ob."
llne. uon'L. uo Lhe ually racLlce lnsLead. lL wlll be llke maglc, l promlse you. ?ou wlll flnd
anoLher [ob. ?ou wlll flnd Lhe rlghL places where you belong. ?ou wlll flnd ways Lo develop
alLernaLlve sources of lncome so your rellance on one source of lncome dlmlnlshes. 1he
opporLunlLles are Lhere, you [usL need Lo be flexlble and fluld enough Lo Lake advanLage of
Lhem.
l'll glve you one example. A frlend of mlne creaLed a daLabase of all houses ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
LhaL are renL Lo own." ln oLher words, Lhey are for sale, buL Lhe owner ls wllllng Lo renL Lhe
houses unLll Lhe renL pald ln equals Lhe prlce he would've goLLen for Lhe house.
Pow dld he creaLe Lhe daLaseL? Pe baslcally looked aL abouL a dozen oLher daLabases keeplng
Lrack of all houslng daLa and scraped speclflcally Lhe renL-Lo-own houses off of Lhem.
A loL of people ln Lhls economy are looklng for renL-Lo-own houses. 8anks aren'L lendlng money
and slnce lncomes have fallen versus lnflaLlon (as we move Loward Lhe employee-less socleLy)
people don'L have Lhe money Lo make down paymenLs.
So he solved a problem affecLlng a loL of people. Pe adverLlsed on Coogle by buylng keywords
llke teot to owo. ln order for someone Lo look aL hls daLabase, Lhey have Lo buy an annual
subscrlpLlon. Slnce people could poLenLlally spend hundreds of Lhousands on Lhe rlghL house,
Lhey were wllllng Lo spend a few hundred on a subscrlpLlon Lo hls daLabase, whlch he updaLes
every day wlLh new llsLlngs.
LasL monLh when l called hlm, he had made $300,000 from hls daLabase. l Lrled Lo call hlm Lhe
monLh before LhaL, buL l couldn'L reach hlm. Pe was on vacaLlon ln Creece. lor Lhe enLlre
monLh.
l'm noL suggesLlng people uLlllze Lhls ldea. 8y Lhe Llme you read Lhls book Lhls ldea mlghL no
longer exlsL. 8uL Lhere are oLher ldeas. CLher Lhlngs you can sell. 8efore Lhe renL-Lo-own ldea,
my frlend was selllng subscrlpLlons Lo an onllne dlscounL club, whlch searched Lhe web every
day for lnLeresLlng dlscounLs.
Cne person was dlsgusLed when l Lold hlm abouL all of Lhls. Pe sald Lo me, lf everyone LhoughL
LhaL way, Lhen Lhe few people who remalned properLy owners would compleLely explolL
everyone else."
1he good news ls LhaL Lhere are 230 mllllon people ln Lhls counLry. Maybe more. l forgeL. And
only a few of Lhose people wlll read Lhls book. Lven lf Lhe book ls a besLseller. And only a few of
Lhose people wlll follow Lhls speclflc advlce. lL's noL easy. arLlcularly lf you have famllles, [obs,
eLc.
1hese are [usL seeds Lo be planLed. MosL people wlll noL follow Lhls parLlcular advlce. 8uL l hope
everyone follows Lhe advlce of Lhe ually racLlce, where you lnLernally geL healLhy enough Lo
make Lhe declslons abouL whaL ls rlghL for your llfe lnsLead of relylng on cenLury-old cusLoms
and anLlquaLed ldeas abouL properLy rlghLs," educaLlon," [obs," pollLlcs," and so on LhaL
have kepL people enslaved wlLh anclenL phllosophlcal shackles.
1he planeL ls aL a Llpplng polnL. SplrlLually we need Lo recognlze Lhe lmporLance of wanLlng less
ln our llves, Lo Lhe polnL LhaL we wanL Lo dlsappear. 1echnologlcally we have Lhe Lools Lo make
a llvlng anywhere we wanL. And mosL of Lhose Lools flL lnslde a devlce LhaL flLs lnslde our
pockeLs. 8elng physlcally, emoLlonally, and menLally healLhy wlll allow you Lo comblne Lhe
splrlLual wlLh Lhe Lechnologlcal and sculpL Lhe llfe LhaL mosL saLlsfles you lnsLead of Lhe llfe LhaL
mosL saLlsfles socleLy. uon'L Lhlnk, l can'L come up wlLh an ldea." ?ou're geLLlng ahead of
yourself. CeL all of Lhe bodles allgned flrsL. LaLer ln Lhls book we wlll learn how Lo develop Lhe
ldea Machlne so you can sLarL comlng up wlLh Lhese ldeas. 8uL LrusL LhaL when Lhe foundaLlon
ls bullL, Lhe resL wlll follow.
And ulLlmaLely, a happy you wlll be Lhe greaLesL conLrlbuLlon you can make Loward a happy
socleLy.

IUS1 DC I1
l called up a plumber. LeL's call hlm Mlke x. Llke Malcolm x buL wlLh a Mlke." ls lL really LhaL
greaL Lo be a plumber?" Pe was sllenL for a second and Lhen a sorL of gruff volce, Lxcuse me?"
he sald.
Sorry," l sald, l dldn'L mean Lo [usL blurL ouL a quesLlon. l'm wrlLlng an arLlcle. eople keep
saylng, plumbers make a Lon of money and make Lhelr own hours, eLc. ls lL really LhaL greaL? l
wanL Lo flnd ouL."
Peheh. ?ou Lell LhaL Lo a plumber who geLs a call aL 3 ln Lhe mornlng from some lawyer
because Lhe LolleL ln hls guesL room doesn'L work and now has Lo geL up and clean someone's
plpes because Lhey can'L Lake a shlL wlLhouL Lhelr shower fllllng up wlLh shlL waLer."
WhaL do you mean? Pow does LhaL happen?"
Cnly so much can flL Lhrough plpes. And some Lhlngs are noL meanL Lo go ln plpes. eople
Lhlnk Lhey can do lL Lhemselves buL Lhere's only so much urano you can use lf sevenLy condoms
are clogglng Lhe plpes."
!esus, are people havlng LhaL much sex?"
Peheh, l'm only speaklng from experlence.
So l have Lo go down Lhere and geL ouL Lhe sLuff LhaL never should've been Lhere ln Lhe flrsL
place buL has bullL up over years. And Lhen when lL forms a wall ln Lhe plpes, you also have Lo
clear ouL everyLhlng LhaL's backed ouL behlnd lL. lf lL backs up enough Lhen lL's golng Lo end up
breaklng Lhe plpes and geLLlng ln oLher parLs of Lhe house, where lL never should be. Cr lL drlps
onLo your downsLalrs nelghbor's llvlng room carpeL or whaLever.
So l goLLa crawl ln Lhere and clean ouL condoms, loLs of condoms, blood, halr, Lampons, and
Lhen shlL. LoLs of shlL. l've had my hand on so much shlL lL's as lf l've wlped a Lhousand dlfferenL
asses oLher Lhan my own."
8uL ls Lhe money worLh lL? Are you your own man?"
Mlke paused.
l guess you can say LhaL. l geL Lo Lake off someLlmes ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe day. l wenL Lo waLch
my kld's LlLLle League pracLlce Lhe oLher day."
Are you happy?"
lL's noL as bad as l am maklng lL sound. Lvery slLuaLlon ls a dlfferenL problem, and l llke solvlng
problems. lL makes me feel llke a deLecLlve. And l'm very good aL lL. 8uL leL me Lell you
someLhlng. nobody wakes up ln Lhe mornlng and says, 'l can'L walL Lo clean ouL some shlL
Loday.' l've never heard any of my buddles who are plumbers say LhaL. 8uL whaL you learn ls
LhaL you do Lhe [ob and you Lry Lo make sure you are happy ln oLher parLs of your llfe so Lhe [ob
doesn'L geL you down."
lnner balance. lnner healLh.

l'm slck of people saylng enLrepreneurs have lL Lough. And, by Lhe way, LhaL lncludes me. l've
wrlLLen lL plenLy of Llmes. l'm slck of me dolng lL. Pere's whaL l never wanLed Lo do ln my llfe:
- be a plumber
- work ln a cublcle (alLhough l dld for many years)
- be a Lemp sLaffer (alLhough l was)
l LlkL 1C:
MAkL M? CWn PCu8S. 1here's Lhe myLh LhaL enLrepreneurs work LwenLy-four hours a day.
1hls ls horseshlL. MosL people, enLrepreneurs or noL, wasLe Llme. AfLer sLarLlng up several
buslnesses, l can Lell you Lhls: l have never made one dlme by Lravellng. And yeL, l've Lraveled Lo
mosL conLlnenLs for buslness, cross counLry many Llmes, meeLlngs all over Lhe place. no money
from any of Lhem.
Cne Llme l puL up a map on our wall and plnned all Lhe places my flrsL company had offlces"
and cllenLs. l was walklng a prospecLlve acqulrer Lhrough Lhe room and polnLed ouL Lhe map.
Pe sLood Lhere for a whlle, looklng aL lL. Pe was slxLy-flve years old and had been runnlng hls
own buslness for almosL forLy years. Pe sald, l flnd LhaL Lhere's usually enough buslness rlghL
here Lo make me rlch." We were sLandlng ln Lhe cenLer of new ?ork ClLy, Lhe rlchesL clLy ln Lhe
world! Why Lhe hell dld l ever have Lo go Lo arls, where lL's almosL lmposslble Lo seL up a
buslness, Lo flnd cllenLs? Pe called bullshlL on me and he was rlghL. And Lhen he boughL my
company. 1hank god!
now l've learned Lhe ower of no." lf someone asks me Lo go someplace, have a meeLlng,
have a coffee, geL on a call, eLc., my flrsL lnsLlncL ls Lo say, no. Much more value ls creaLed when
l do Lhe Lhlngs l en[oy, when l work on my own creaLlvlLy and conLlnue Lo bulld Lhe foundaLlon
for healLh. 8ushlng around Lhe world Lrylng Lo capLure every plece of buslness wlll only resulL ln
flnanclal and splrlLual poverLy. lL's much beLLer Lo work smarLer, noL harder.
PLL LCLL. Pere are Lhe people who lL's ln your conLrol Lo help when you are an
enLrepreneur:
a. ?our employees. l always have Lhe phllosophy LhaL l wanL my employees Lo call home aL Lhe
end of a hard day's work and say, Mommy, l have Lhe besL [ob on Lhe planeL. My boss ls greaL
and l can see myself Len years from now runnlng my own buslness. l'm learnlng so much." And
you know whaL? MosL of my ex-employees are runnlng Lhelr own buslnesses now, Loo.
b. ?our cllenLs. ?ou wanL Lhem Lo look good ln fronL of Lhelr bosses. Pow do you do lL? Slmple:
l. uo whaL Lhey say.
ll. uo lL on Llme.
lll. uo a llLLle exLra Lo surprlse Lhem.
lv. Clve Lhem ldeas for how Lhelr [obs can even be beLLer. never forgeL sales rule #1: ?our besL
fuLure cllenLs are your currenL cllenLs.
v. Make Lhelr llves beLLer. LlsLen Lo Lhem. Co Lo Lhelr charlLy evenLs. lnLroduce Lhem Lo
poLenLlal spouses. lnLroduce Lhem Lo new [obs because you wlll have a blrd's-eye vlew of Lhe
enLlre [ob landscape ln Lhelr lndusLry. 1hese are noL [usL your cllenLs of Lhe monLh: Lhese are
your cllenLs for llfe. ?ou are on Lhls planeL Lo serve Lhem and make Lhelr llves beLLer. l've had
cllenLs sLlck wlLh me from one buslness Lo Lhe nexL, even ln LoLally dlsparaLe areas. ?ou're never
golng Lo lose Louch wlLh Lhe llves you save.
uLAL Wl1P CLlLn1S l LlkL. lL's horrlble Lo deal wlLh cllenLs you haLe. 1haL's llke Lhe plumber
waklng up aL 3 a.m. Lo clean Lhe shlL from a condom-flushlng lawyer's plpes. l've had Lo do LhaL.
l've had cllenLs call me up aL Lhree ln Lhe mornlng asklng me for [ob advlce. l've had cllenLs call
me up llLerally asklng me uo you llke me?" l've had (l'm counLlng Lhem ln my head now) aL
leasL seven cllenLs call me up asklng me for brlbes lf l wanLed more buslness. uld l pay? Cf
course l pald! l had employees Lo feed.
lor a whlle l had a Lhree-sLrlkes-and-you're-ouL pollcy. lf a cllenL wasLed my Llme on Lhree deals
where l dldn'L make money, Lhen he was ouL. 8uL l broke LhaL rule Loo many Llmes. now l
baslcally have a one-sLrlke-and-you're-ouL pollcy. When l look aL Lhe ways l've been rlpped off
by poLenLlal cusLomers (dolng work on spec," dolng a deal where red flag were flylng buL l was
overwhelmed by Lhe dark slde of Lhe lorce or whaLever lL was LhaL made me parL wlLh my
money, eLc.), l'm really embarrassed. 1o Lhlnk l pald for a greaL sLeak dlnner for slx [usL so l
could hear a plLch abouL a Llme machlne and a devlce LhaL makes black holes. l'm abouL Lo sue
myself rlghL now.
8L A81lS1lC. 8elng an enLrepreneur means you're golng Lo creaLe someLhlng ln a way LhaL a
cusLomer can'L geL anywhere else. CreaLlon ls arL. lL's how ldeas colllde ln your head, Lhen how
maLerlals colllde Lo make your ldeas real. 1hen lL's how people colllde Lo brlng your creaLlon Lo
llfe ln Lhe real world wlLh real users. 1hen lL's how so much value ls creaLed so people are
wllllng Lo spend money on lL. Pow can you creaLe LhaL value? lf you can lgnore Lhe peLLy
worrles. lf you look ouL your wlndow flrsL Lhlng ln Lhe mornlng and flnd beauLy ln Lhe sllence.
1he sllence ls Lhe only place your creaLlve ldeas wlll come from.
MAkL A LC1 Cl MCnL?. A loL of money. LeL's be real. 1haL's Lhe maln reason Lo be an
enLrepreneur. 8uL Lhe economy?" someone mlghL say. 1here ls more money floaLlng around
Lhan ever before. And a loL of LhaL money ls burled and hldden from you. 1lme Lo reach ouL and
Louch lL. 1he sLock markeL has a caplLallzaLlon of several Lrllllon dollars. 1here's anoLher $2
Lrllllon ln prlvaLe equlLy funds. 1here's $30 Lrllllon ln LransacLlons ln Lhe global economy every
year. lf you make money, someone wlll buy your company. Cr, even beLLer, you'll make so
much money so fasL you don'L have Llme Lo sell your company.
?eah, lL's hard. lL's sLressful. ?our employees wlll have sex wlLh each oLher and Lhen cry. eople
wlll Lalk abouL you behlnd your back. ?ou'll mlss payroll. ?our cusLomers wlll drop you. ?our
lnvesLors wlll haLe you every now and Lhen. 1he key ls Lo always have Lhe base foundaLlon bullL,
your physlcal, emoLlonal, menLal, and splrlLual bodles need Lo be healLhy and flowlng wlLh each
oLher. 1hls wlll provlde Lhe foundaLlon from whlch your ldeas wlll geL generaLed, soluLlons and
opporLunlLles wlll appear almosL maglcally ln Lhe face of Lhe problems LhaL lnevlLably arlse for
all enLrepreneurs, and everyone around you wlll feel Lhe beneflLs.
uLAL CnL? Wl1P CCLLLACuLS l LlkL. 1here's LhaL LesL: only hlre someone you wouldn'L mlnd
slLLlng nexL Lo on a plane rlde across Lhe counLry.
8eLLer, Lhen, Lo be Lhe one hlrlng Lhan Lhe one Lrylng Lo be hlred. When you are Lrylng Lo geL
hlred, you puL on Lhe mask LhaL says, l'm Lhe guy who you wlll llke Lo slL nexL Lo flylng across
counLry." l don'L llke puLLlng on masks. nor do l llke Lhe people around me Lo puL on masks. lL's
very hard Lo see Lhrough all Lhe cosLumes. eople don'L even know Lhey are wearlng Lhem, Lhey
go Lhrough so much of Lhelr llves preLendlng Lo be someone else, someone who ls llked, lnsLead
of belng who Lhey really are.
CCML u Wl1P luLAS. When you work aL one [ob, you come up wlLh ldeas for LhaL one [ob.
1haL's flne. noLhlng wrong wlLh LhaL. l'm noL crlLlclzlng worklng for a blg company (alLhough l
wlll. SLay Luned.). 8uL when you have your own company, lL never sLops.
lf you have a producL company, you come up wlLh addlLlonal feaLures Lo puL on your producL.
Lvery day. 1hen you spec lL ouL. Asslgn lL Lo someone Lo do lL. uL a Llme llne on lL, and check ln
every day unLll lL's done. 1hen you roll lL ouL. See how people use lL, Lweak lL. 8ulld a fan base
around lL. lL feels really good Lo see someone uslng whaL you made.
lf you have a servlce company, you come up wlLh more servlces. lor lnsLance, lf you are helplng
companles posL Lo lacebook, how abouL you also help companles bulld an e-mall llsL ouL of
Lhelr mllllons of lacebook fans?
no maLLer whaL, every day you are comlng up wlLh ldeas Lo Lransform your buslness. When l
was runnlng SLockplckr.com, l wanLed Lo creaLe a fund LhaL would lnvesL ln Lhe Lop ldeas from
Lhe Lop lnvesLors. When l was runnlng a web servlces company, we almosL wenL lnLo Lhe rap
label buslness, Lhe movle buslness, Lhe Lea buslness (!), Lhe daLa buslness ln abouL Len dlfferenL
areas. ln reLrospecL, some of our ldeas were greaL and we had Lhe sofLware Lo do Lhem. l wlsh l
had Lhe buslness sense back Lhen Lo really pursue some of Lhe ldeas. 8uL l dldn'L. lf an ldea
dldn'L brlng ln money every monLh, Lhen lL was ouL. l never ralsed a dlme for LhaL buslness.
lor my nexL buslness, l ralsed $30 mllllon ouL of Lhe gaLe, and evenLually pulled LogeLher $100
mllllon. WhaL happened? Well, lL was a bad ldea.
nC1 8L A1 1PL WPlM Cl CnL uLClSlCn MAkL8 (l.e., lf you have a boss. Cr lf you have only
one blg cllenL, who Lhen baslcally becomes your boss).
l haLe Lo beg. l haLe Lo look aL someone and Lhlnk Lo myself, lf only Lhey say 'yes' my enLlre llfe
wlll be beLLer." l haLe Lo be nlce Lo someone [usL so Lhey llke me and say yes Lo me and
whaLever l'm offerlng. l beL Lhere are some prosLlLuLes ouL Lhere who llke Lhelr [ob. l don'L
know. 8uL l'm noL one of Lhem. l haLe havlng sex wlLh people l don'L love. And LhaL's whaL
happens when one declslon maker has conLrol over your flnanclal fuLure aL any momenL ln
Llme.
8L A8Cunu LlkL-MlnuLu LCLL. ln every buslness, l've loved meeLlng my compeLlLors. 1he
reallLy ls Lhere's no such Lhlng as compeLlLlon. 1he world ls blg enough for Lwo people ln Lhe
same space. lf lL's noL, Lhen you are ln Lhe wrong buslness. ?our secLor should be blg enough for
a hundred compeLlLors. 1haL's greaL news. lL means you're probably golng Lo make money.
ln every buslness l've been lnvolved ln, l've gone ouL of my way Lo meeL my compeLlLors over
breakfasLs. l always learn so much: how Lhey bulld up (Lhelr secreL orlgln" sLory LhaL every
superhero and every enLrepreneur has), how Lhey geL pasL cerLaln hurdles, how Lhey handle
dlfflculL cllenLs, whaL cllenLs Lhey can Lhrow me (!), do Lhey wanL Lo geL boughL, how much do
Lhey Lhlnk Lhey are worLh, how do Lhey geL cusLomers, and on and on. Lven now l'm noL ln any
one buslness, buL l llke Lo meeL successful bloggers, auLhors, and angel lnvesLors. l learn from
all of Lhem and bulld good frlends. 1hls ls how you bulld your Lrlbe." ?our Lrlbe, ln parL, ls
deflned by you (you seek Lhem ouL) buL also deflnes you (you're ln Lhe Lrlbe of enLrepreneurs or
you are ln Lhe Lrlbe of cublcle people).
8L An LxL81. When you sLarL a buslness and you have a servlce or producL LhaL ls good
enough for people Lo use over oLher slmllar producLs or servlces, Lhen you are now an experL ln
your space. Lven lf you are new Lo Lhe space, you're an experL. l llke LhaL feellng. l llke glvlng
Lalks. l llke wrlLlng abouL Lhe areas LhaL fasclnaLe me. l llke sLarLlng buslnesses or belng lnvolved
ln secLors of lndusLry LhaL fasclnaLe me. SomeLlmes you shouldn'L be an experL and yeL you sLlll
are.
When l sLarLed 140love.com, a daLlng servlce for people on 1wlLLer, my slLe falled mlserably. l
was acLually lnvlLed Lo glve a Lalk aL a 1wlLLer-relaLed conference. 1he LlLle of Lhe Lalk was
1wlLLer and Love." l was golng Lhrough a dlvorce, and l had been dumped by four or flve
glrlfrlends ln a row. now l was supposed Lo glve a Lalk abouL love. 1he lrony ls so Lhlck l could
spread lL on sandwlch bread lf bread wasn'L so hlgh ln carbs.
Anyway, LhaL buslness dled fasL. And l dldn'L show up for Lhe Lalk on Lhe day of Lhe conference.
1hey had Lo flnd a qulck replacemenL. Sorry, !eff ulver. Pe never lnvlLed me Lo speak aL a
conference agaln.
CnL LAS1 1PlnC. l've dlscussed Lhe reasons why Lhls ma[or paradlgm shlfL ls occurrlng. lL's noL
LhaL Lhe sysLem ls ouL Lo geL you. Cr Lhe sysLem ls lmplodlng. 1hls ls noL a consplracy Lheory
abouL Lhe governmenL or caplLallsm or Lhe 1 percenL." 1hls ls acLually a greaL opporLunlLy for
people who can now navlgaLe Lhe rough surf LhaL hlsLory ls Lhrowlng up on our shores.
8egardless, you need Lo change for Lhe changes LhaL are comlng. Some of Lhese reasons l've
covered ln Lhe precedlng chapLers, buL l wlll go over all of Lhem agaln so you don'L have an
excuse for noL rememberlng Lhem.
1) 1he m|dd|e c|ass |s dead. l lald ouL all Lhe sLaLlsLlcs and anecdoLes earller. Agaln, l don'L
say Lhls as someLhlng Lo be scared of. And maybe l'm saylng lL a llLLle Loo harshly. 8uL aL
Lhe currenL raLe of lncomes, and wlLh Lhe fllghL of caplLal ouL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes, you
have Lo Lake Lhls lnLo accounL when maklng ma[or llfe declslons. lL's noL llke you can
choose for Lhls Lo noL happen. lL's noL a cholce. 1hls ls happenlng. ln facL, lL's already
happened and we are all Lhe Walklng uead.

2) ou've been rep|aced. 1echnology, ouLsourclng, a growlng Lemp sLafflng lndusLry, and
producLlvlLy efflclencles have all replaced Lhe mlddle class. 1he worklng class. MosL [obs
LhaL exlsLed LwenLy years ago aren'L needed now. Maybe Lhey never were needed. 1he
enLlre flrsL decade of Lhls cenLury was spenL wlLh CLCs ln Lhelr ark Avenue clubs crylng
Lhrough Lhelr clgars, Pow are we golng Lo flre all Lhls dead welghL?" 1he year 2008
flnally gave Lhem Lhe chance. lL was Lhe economy!" Lhey sald. 1he counLry has been ouL
of a recesslon slnce 2009. lour years now. 8uL Lhe [obs have noL come back. Lveryone ls
geLLlng flred. Lveryone ls LolleL paper now.

llush.

3) Corporat|ons don't ||ke you. 1hls ls noL a surprlse Lo caplLallsLs and enLrepreneurs or
even arLlsLs. 1he enLlre ldea behlnd a corporaLlon ls Lo seL up a legal sLrucLure LhaL Lakes
advanLage of cheap labor. 1he cheap labor makes someLhlng for you for less Lhan you
sell lL. l'm noL saylng Lhls lsn'L unfalr. lL ls whaL lL ls. 8uL you have Lo make sure lf you are
belng explolLed LhaL you learn how Lo explolL back. ?ou use Lhe corporaLe [ob as a resL
sLop on Lhe way Loward belng healLhy, on Lhe way Loward flgurlng ouL how Lo lnnovaLe
and Lake advanLage of Lhe myLhlcal safeLy neL Lo move onLo blgger and beLLer Lhlngs.

4) Money |s not happ|ness. A common quesLlon durlng my 1wlLLer C&A, asked aL leasL
once a week, ls Should l Lake Lhe [ob l llke or should l Lake Lhe [ob LhaL pays more
money?"

Leavlng aslde Lhe quesLlon, sboolJ l toke o job ot oll?, leL's Lalk abouL money for a
second. llrsL, Lhe sclence: sLudles show LhaL an lncrease ln salary only offers marglnal Lo
zero lncrease ln happlness" above a cerLaln level. Why ls LhaL? 8ecause of Lhls baslc
facL: people spend whaL Lhey make. lf your salary lncreases $3,000, you spend an exLra
$2,000 on feaLures for your car, you have an affalr, you buy a new compuLer, a beLLer
couch, a blgger 1v, and Lhen you ask, where dld all Lhe money go? Lven Lhough you
needed none of Lhe above, now you need one more Lhlng: anoLher lncrease ln your
salary, so back Lo Lhe corporaLe caslno for one more Lry aL Lhe salary rouleLLe wheel. l
have never once seen anyone save Lhe lncrease ln hls salary.

ln oLher words, don'L sLay aL Lhe [ob for safe salary lncreases over Llme. 1haL wlll never
geL you where you wanL-freedom from flnanclal worry. Cnly free Llme, lmaglnaLlon,
creaLlvlLy, and an ablllLy Lo dlsappear wlll help you dellver value LhaL nobody ever
dellvered before ln Lhe hlsLory of manklnd.

8y Lhe way, Lhls ls noL [usL an oplnlon. We can look aL one slmple professlon: Lhe law.
Lawyers are ranked number on average pay. 1hey are also ranked as Lhe number-one
professlon for Lhe percenLage of people ln LhaL professlon who are cllnlcally depressed.

Cf course, money can solve a loL of your Lemporal problems, and your worrles ln Lhe
maLerlal world. 8uL lL Lends Lo magnlfy Lhe blg lnLernal ones as well, Lhe bad quallLles.

S) Count r|ght now how many peop|e can make a ma[or dec|s|on that can ru|n your
||fe. l dlscuss Lhls ln And 1hen 1hey All Laughed." l brlng lL up agaln so you can'L escape
lL: how many people do you have Lo klss ass Lo ln order Lo achleve career goals? Cne?
1wo? 1he polnL here ls Lo noL klss ass aL all. 1o know LhaL Lhere are aL leasL LwenLy
people who lndependenLly can help you Lo achleve Lhe success you need.

?ou bulld up Lhls llsL of LwenLy people Lhe old-fashloned way-you help Lhem. 1he only
way Lo creaLe value for yourself ls Lo creaLe value for oLhers.

Lxerclse: Lhlnk of Lwo people ln your neLwork who don'L know each oLher buL you Lhlnk
can add value Lo each oLher's llves. lnLroduce Lhem. uo Lhls every day. CeL beLLer and
beLLer aL lL. 1he more value you brlng Lo Lhe people ln your neLwork, even lf lL doesn'L
dlrecLly brlng value Lo you (ln an lmmedlaLe way), Lhe greaLer Lhe value of your neLwork.
And Lhen Lhe greaLer value you wlll have.

6) Is your [ob sat|sfy|ng your needs? l wlll deflne needs" Lhe way l always do, vla Lhe
four legs of Lhe ually racLlce. Are your physlcal needs, your emoLlonal needs, your
menLal needs, and your splrlLual needs belng saLlsfled?

1he only Llme l've had a [ob LhaL dld all LhaL, l had Lo do very llLLle work and l had Llme
on Lhe slde Lo elLher wrlLe, or sLarL a buslness, or have fun, or spend Llme wlLh frlends.
1he Llmes when l haven'L ls when l was worklng Loo hard, deallng wlLh people l dldn'L
llke, geLLlng my creaLlvlLy crushed over and over, and so on. When you are ln Lhose
slLuaLlons, you need Lo ploL ouL your exlL sLraLegy.

?our hands are noL made Lo Lype ouL memos. Cr puL paper Lhrough fax machlnes. Cr
hold a phone up whlle you Lalk Lo people you dlsllke. Cne hundred years from now, your
hands wlll roL llke dusL ln your grave. ?ou have Lo make wonderful use of Lhose hands
now. klss your hands so Lhey can make maglc.

Cne can argue, noL everyone ls enLlLled Lo have all of Lhose needs saLlsfled aL a [ob.
1haL's Lrue. 8uL slnce we already know LhaL Lhe salary of a [ob won'L make you happy,
you can easlly modlfy your llfesLyle and work Lo aL leasL saLlsfy more of your needs. And
Lhe more Lhese needs are saLlsfled, Lhe more you wlll creaLe Lhe condlLlons for Lrue
abundance Lo come lnLo your llfe.

?our llfe ls a house. Abundance ls Lhe roof. 8uL Lhe foundaLlon and Lhe plumblng need
Lo be ln Lhere flrsL or Lhe roof wlll fall down and Lhe house wlll be unllvable. ?ou creaLe
Lhe foundaLlon by followlng Lhe ually racLlce. l say Lhls noL because l am selllng
anyLhlng buL because lL worked for me every Llme my roof caved ln. My house has been
bombed, my home has been cold, and bllsLerlng wlnds have frosLblLLen my nerve
endlngs, buL l managed Lo rebulld. 1hls ls how l dld lL.

7) our ret|rement p|an |s for sh|t. l don'L care how much you seL aslde for your 401(k).
lL's over. 1he whole myLh of savlngs ls gone. lnflaLlon wlll carve ouL Lhe bulk of your
401(k). And ln order Lo cash ln on LhaL reLlremenL plan you have Lo llve for a really long
Llme dolng sLuff you don'L llke Lo do. And Lhen suddenly you're elghLy and you're llvlng a
reduced llfesLyle ln a cave and can barely keep warm aL nlghL.

1he only real reLlremenL plan ls Lo Choose ?ourself. 1o sLarL a buslness or a plaLform or a
llfesLyle where you can puL blg chunks of money away.

Some people wlll say, Well, l'm [usL noL an enLrepreneur."

1hls ls noL Lrue. Lveryone ls an enLrepreneur. 1he only skllls you need Lo be an
enLrepreneur are Lhe ablllLy Lo fall, Lo have ldeas, Lo sell Lhose ldeas, Lo execuLe on
Lhem, and Lo be perslsLenL so even as you fall you learn and move onLo Lhe nexL
advenLure.

8e an enLrepreneur aL work. An enLre-ployee." 1ake conLrol of who you reporL Lo, whaL
you do, whaL you creaLe. Cr sLarL a buslness on Lhe slde. uellver some value-any
value-Lo somebody, anybody, and waLch LhaL value compound lnLo a career.

WhaL ls your oLher cholce? 1o sLay aL a [ob where Lhe boss ls Lrylng Lo keep you down,
wlll evenLually replace you, wlll pay you only enough for you Lo survlve, wlll roLaLe
beLween compllmenLs and lnsulLs so you sLay llke a flsh caughL on Lhe balL as he reels
you ln. ls LhaL your besL oLher cholce? ?ou and l have Lhe same LwenLy-four hours each
day. ls LhaL how you wlll spend yours?

8) Lxcuses. "l'm Loo old." l'm noL creaLlve." l need Lhe lnsurance." l have Lo ralse my
klds." l was aL a parLy once. A sLunnlngly beauLlful woman came up Lo me and sald,
!ames, how are you!?"

WPA1? Who are you?

l sald, Pey! l'm dolng well." 8uL l had no ldea who l was Lalklng Lo. Why would Lhls
woman be Lalklng Lo me? l was Loo ugly. lL Look me a few mlnuLes of fake conversaLlon
Lo flgure ouL who she was.

lL Lurns ouL she was Lhe frumplsh-looklng woman who had been flred slx monLhs earller
from Lhe [ob we were aL. She had crled as she packed up her cublcle when she was flred.
She was ouL of shape, she looked abouL LhlrLy years older Lhan she was, and her llfe was
golng Lo go from bad Lo worse. unLll.she reallzed LhaL she was ouL of Lhe zoo. ln Lhe
Ceorge Lucas movle 1n\-11J8 (Lhe name of Lhe maln characLer was 1Px-1138),
everyone's cholces are removed and Lhey all llve underground because above ground ls
radloacLlve." llnally 1Px decldes lL's beLLer Lo dle above ground Lhan Lo suffer forever
underground where he wasn'L allowed Lo love.

Pe wasn'L free.

Pe makes hls way above ground, evadlng all Lhe guards and pollce. And when he geLs
Lhere, lL's sunny, everyone above ground ls beauLlful, and Lhey are walLlng for hlm wlLh
open arms and klsses. 1he excuse 8uL lL's radloacLlve ouL Lhere!" was [usL Lhere Lo keep
hlm down. [8y Lhe way, l've menLloned Lhls example Lo people before and Lhey usually
reply, uh, LhaL wasn'L ln Lhe movle." Ckay, you're rlghL. 8ead Lhe book!]

1hls ls easy for you Lo say," people say Lo me. Some of us PAvL Lo do Lhls!" 1he now-
beauLlful woman had Lo do lL also. WhaL are you dolng now?" l asked her. Ch, you
know," she sald. ConsulLlng."

8uL some people say, l can'L [usL go ouL Lhere and consulL. WhaL does LhaL even
mean?"

And Lo LhaL l answer, Ckay, l agree wlLh you." Who am l Lo argue? lf someone lnslsLs
Lhey need Lo be ln prlson even Lhough Lhe door ls unlocked, Lhen l am noL golng Lo
argue. 1hey are free Lo sLay ln prlson.

9) It's okay to take baby steps. l can'L [usL Cul1!" people say. l have bllls Lo pay." l geL
lL. nobody ls saylng qulL Loday. 8efore a human belng runs a maraLhon Lhey learn Lo
crawl, Lhen Lake baby sLeps, Lhen walk, Lhen run. 1hen exerclse every day and sLay
healLhy. 1hen run a maraLhon. Peck, whaL am l even Lalklng abouL? l can'L run more
Lhan Lwo mlles wlLhouL collapslng ln agony. l am a wlmp.

Make Lhe llsL rlghL now. Lvery dream. l wanL Lo be a besLselllng auLhor. l wanL Lo reduce
my maLerlal needs. l wanL Lo have freedom from many of Lhe worrles LhaL l have
succumbed Lo all my llfe. l wanL Lo be healLhy. l wanL Lo help all of Lhe people around
me or Lhe people who come lnLo my llfe. l wanL everyLhlng l do Lo be a source of help Lo
people. l wanL Lo only be around people l love, people who love me. l wanL Lo have Llme
for myself.

1PLSL A8L nC1 CCALS. 1hese are Lhemes. Lvery day, whaL do l need Lo do Lo pracLlce
Lhose Lhemes? lL sLarLs Lhe momenL l wake up. Who can l help Loday?" l ask Lhe
darkness when l open my eyes. Who would you have me help Loday?" l'm a secreL
agenL and l'm walLlng for my mlsslon. 8eady Lo recelve. 1hls ls how you Lake baby sLeps.
1hls ls how evenLually you run Loward freedom.

10) Abundance w||| never come from your [ob. Cnly sLepplng ouL of Lhe prlson lmposed
on you from your facLory wlll allow you Lo achleve abundance. ?ou can'L see lL now. lL's
hard Lo see Lhe gardens when you are locked ln [all. Abundance only comes when you
are movlng along your Lhemes. When you are Lruly enhanclng Lhe llves of Lhe people
around you.

When every day you wake up wlLh LhaL moLlve of enhancemenL. Lnhance your famlly,
your frlends, your colleagues, your cllenLs, poLenLlal cusLomers, readers, people who
you don'L even know yeL buL you would llke Lo know. 8ecome a beacon of
enhancemenL, and Lhen when Lhe nlghL ls gray, all of Lhe boaLs wlll move Loward you,
brlnglng Lhelr bounLlful rlches.
1hls chapLer ls noL a wake-up call. lL's noL a fear-mongerlng, geL ready Lo be poor" sorL of
chapLer. lL's noL even a rallylng cry Lo Lhe greaLness and plenLlLude of enLrepreneurshlp. lL's
reallLy.

LL1'S GL1 SLCIIIC: WnA1 SnCULD I DC?
?ou're probably asklng: well, lf l qulL my [ob, whaL should l do?
l've begun asklng people who dld lL. WhaL dld Lhey do? Pow do Lhey qulL Lhelr [obs and,
baslcally, make a mllllon dollars? noL everyone ls Mark Zuckerberg or Larry age. noL everyone
ls golng Lo drop ouL of college and creaLe an lhone or a Llme machlne or a LolleL LhaL reslzes
lLself auLomaLlcally dependlng on who ls slLLlng on lL (alLhough LhaL would be preLLy cool).
Some people would slmply llke Lo qulL Lhelr currenL crappy [obs and make a good llvlng. Some
people would slmply llke Lo qulL Lhelr [obs and make a mllllon dollars. ln LhaL lacebook movle
(you know, Lhe !usLln 1lmberlake vehlcle), !1 says, "A mllllon's noL cool. A 8lLLlCn ls cool."
Well, acLually !1, very ofLen a mllllon ls preLLy cool. noL everyone ls golng Lo be a vC-funded
$100 mllllon hoLshoL. SomeLlmes lL's nlce Lo make a mllllon dollars, be your own boss, and use
LhaL flnanclal success Lo caLapulL Lo freedom.
l called 8ryan !ohnson, who sLarLed a company called 8ralnLree. ?ou may have never heard of
8ralnLree buL you've heard of Lhelr cusLomers. 1hey provlde credlL card LransacLlon and
paymenL servlces for companles llke Cpen1able, uber, Alrbnb, eLc.
l've never spoken wlLh 8ryan before. l am noL an lnvesLor ln 8ralnLree. As far as l know l'm noL
even an lnvesLor (unforLunaLely) ln any of 8ralnLree's cllenLs. l llke Lo call people who l Lhlnk
have lnLeresLlng sLorles and hear whaL Lhey have Lo say. 1haL's Lhe way l bulld my neLwork of
noL only flnanclal conLacLs buL also poLenLlal frlends.
l knew 8ryan had an lnLeresLlng sLory abouL how he seL up 8ralnLree and l knew lL would be
helpful for Lhose people asklng "whaL do l do nexL?"
1he Cllff's noLes verslon: ln 2007, 8ryan was a manager aL Sears. Pe qulL hls [ob and sLarLed
8ralnLree. WlLhln Lwo years he was maklng more Lhan a mllllon per year. LvenLually 8ralnLree
grew much blgger and ralsed $70 mllllon from Accel and oLhers lnvesLors.
8uL LhaL wasn'L whaL was lnLeresLlng Lo me.
"Pow dld you do lL?" l asked hlm. "WhaL are Lhe sLeps?"
"l really dlsllked my [ob," he sald, "and l never belleved ln Lhe ldea of geLLlng a flxed wage. l had
been a salesman before ln Lhe credlL card processlng buslness where l would go ouL and geL
merchanLs llke resLauranLs and reLallers Lo swlLch Lhelr buslness Lo Lhe company l was selllng
for. So l flgured l could do Lhls buL work for myself lnsLead of anoLher company."
ku|e #1: 1ake out the m|dd|eman. lnsLead of golng back Lo Lhe company he used Lo sell for,
8ryan cuL ouL Lhe mlddleman and wenL sLralghL Lo a credlL card processor, worked ouL hls own
reselllng agreemenL wlLh Lhem, and dld all of Lhls 8LlC8L leavlng hls [ob aL Sears.
Many people ask me, "l"m aL a [ob, should l ralse vC money yeL?" nC, of course noL! llrsL you
have Lo husLle. vCs wanL Lo back someone who shows a llLLle Coomph!
ku|e #2: |ck a bor|ng bus|ness. Lveryone ls always on Lhe lookouL for "Lhe nexL blg Lhlng." 1he
nexL blg Lhlng ls flndlng rare earLh mlnerals on Mars. 1haL's PA8u WC8k. uon'L do lL! 8ryan
plcked a buslness LhaL every merchanL ln Lhe world needs. Pe also knew LhaL lL was an
explodlng buslness because of Lhe e-commerce exploslon. ?ou don'L have Lo come up wlLh Lhe
new, new Lhlng. !usL do Lhe old, old Lhlng sllghLly beLLer Lhan everyone else. And when you are
nlmble and smaller Lhan Lhe behemoLhs LhaL are frozen lnslde bureaucracy, ofLen you can offer
beLLer sales and beLLer servlce. CusLomers wlll swlLch Lo you. lf you can offer hlgher Louch
servlce as well, Lhey wlll come runnlng Lo you.
ku|e #3: Get a customer! 1hls ls probably Lhe mosL lmporLanL rule for any enLrepreneur. eople
wanL Lo flnd and Lake Lhe "maglcal paLh": geL vC money, qulL Lhelr [obs, bulld a producL, and
Lhen have mllllons of cusLomers. lL nLvL8 works llke LhaL.
8ryan found Len cusLomers (ouL of Lhe flrsL 12 he approached) who would swlLch Lhelr credlL
card processlng Lo hlm. Pe flgured he needed Lo make $2100 a monLh Lo qulL hls [ob. WlLh hls
flrsL Len cusLomers he was maklng $6200 a monLh, so he had a cushlon ln case some dropped
away. Pe qulL hls [ob and suddenly he was ln buslness.
ku|e #4: 8u||d trust wh||e you s|eep. 1hls rule ls ofLen "Make Money Whlle ?ou Sleep". 8uL
8ryan was already maklng money whlle he slepL. Pe was maklng money on every credlL card
purchase wlLh hls flrsL Len cusLomers.
"l dldn'L wanL Lo be golng up and down Lhe sLreeL looklng for cusLomers," 8ryan sald. "l needed
Lo flnd a way Lo geL onllne buslnesses as cusLomers. Someone suggesLed LhaL l needed Lo blog.
And Lo blog well you need Lo be LoLally LransparenL or lL won'L work. So l sLarLed blogglng abouL
whaL was really happenlng ln Lhe credlL card lndusLry lncludlng all Lhe unscrupulous pracLlces
and how merchanLs were belng Laken advanLage of. 1hen l'd puL my posLs on Lhe Lop soclal
slLes aL Lhe Llme--ulgg, reddlL, and SLumbleupon--and someLlmes Lhe posLs would geL Lo Lhe
Lop of Lhese slLes and my webslLe would geL so much Lrafflc LhaL lL would crash.
"8uL l became a LrusLed source abouL credlL card processlng. So before long all Lhese onllne
slLes LhaL had prevlously had a hard Llme navlgaLlng Lhls lndusLry would sLarL conLacLlng me Lo
swlLch Lhelr paymenL servlces."
A couple of Lhlngs Lhere.
ku|e #S: 8|ogg|ng |s not about money. 8logglng ls abouL LrusL. ?ou don'L sell ads on your blog
(rarely), you don'L geL Lhe blg book deal (rarely), buL you do bulld LrusL and Lhls leads Lo
opporLunlLles. My own blog has made me a LoLal of zero cenLs buL has creaLed mllllons ln
opporLunlLles. ln 8ryan's case lL led Lo more lnflow and hls blggesL early opporLunlLy.
"8aslcally, Cpen1able called me and Lhey wanLed a sofLware soluLlon Lo handle sLorlng credlL
cards, handlng Lhe daLa Lo resLauranLs, and belng compllanL from a regulaLory sLandpolnL. l
slgned a Lhree year deal wlLh Lhem LhaL allowed me Lo bulld a Leam of developers and we bullL
Lhem a soluLlon. We now had more servlces Lo sell Lo cusLomers."
ku|e #6: Say LS! Pe sLarLed ouL [usL connecLlng merchanLs wlLh a credlL card processor. 1hen
Cpen1able asked hlm Lo do sofLware developmenL even Lhough he's never developed sofLware
before. Pe sald ?LS! Pe goL sofLware developers, bullL a greaL producL, and ot leost quadrupled
hls lncome. Pls declslon Lo say ?LS! LlevaLed hls buslness Lo a whole new level, noL [usL ln Lhe
servlces he offered cusLomers buL ln how Lhey percelved hlm. Suddenly, word of mouLh was
spreadlng and oLher onllne companles sLarLed uslng 8ralnLree's servlces: Alrbnb, uber, eLc. And
Lhe vCs sLarLed calllng because all of Lhelr cllenLs were saylng 8ralnLree was provldlng all of
Lhelr paymenL servlces. lL's noL LhaL easy for sLarLup onllne companles Lo geL paymenL servlces.
8ryan Lold me, "When l flrsL sLarLed, for each new cusLomer we'd puL LogeLher an enLlre
package for our credlL card processor on why we LhoughL Lhe cusLomer could be LrusLed and
would be a leglLlmaLe merchanL." Whlch leads Lo...
ku|e #7: Customer Serv|ce. ?ou can LreaL each cusLomer, new and old, llke a real human belng.
"We lnLulLlvely sorL of knew whaL we dldn'L llke ln cusLomer servlce everywhere else:
auLomaLed calllng Lrees, slow response Llmes, poor problem solvlng, eLc. So we made sure
Lhere was as llLLle frlcLlon as posslble beLween Lhe cusLomer conLacLlng us and acLually geLLlng
Lhelr problem solved." When you are a small buslness, Lhere's no excuse for havlng poor
cusLomer servlce. ?our besL new cusLomers are your old cusLomers, and Lhe besL way Lo Louch
your old cusLomers ls Lo provlde qulck help when Lhey need lL. CusLomer servlces ls Lhe mosL
rellable Louch polnL Lo keep selllng your servlce Lo Lhem.
"Ck," l sald, "l have Lo ask. AL whaL polnL were you maklng over seven flgures?"
8y ?ear 2, 8ryan was maklng over a mllllon dollars and Lhe buslness was doubllng every year.
1hey couldn'L hlre fasL enough.
ln 2011, afLer four years ln buslness, 8ralnLree Look ln lLs flrsL dlme of lnvesLmenL caplLal--$34
mllllon ln a Serles A fundlng round. 1wo years laLer, accordlng Lo Crunchbase, Lhey process over
$8 bllllon ln credlL card LransacLlons annually.
noL bad for someone who qulL hls [ob and [usL wanLed Lo flgure ouL a way Lo geL hls bllls pald.

So whaL does Lhls mean for you?
l geL 8S e-malls all Lhe Llme. Make a mllllon dollars buylng gold!" Make a mllllon dollars ln real
esLaLe!" Pere are Lhe secreLs Lo maklng a mllllon dollars, revealed Lhls one Llme only!" 1hen l
cllck on Lhe llnk and lL's all 8S. vague answers, some LesLlmonlals and Lhen you have Lo buy a
package. lL's all 8S.
1he resL of Lhls chapLer ls abouL bralnsLormlng speclflc ways Lo make a mllllon dollars, Lo do
whaL 8ryan !ohnson dld ln less Lhan Lwo years. 1hls ls all [usL bralnsLormlng mlnd you, and lL
comes from my personal experlence and experLlse, so Lhere wlll be llmlLaLlons on lLs scope. 8uL
lL's a sLarL. lL's where l sLarL when l wanL Lo come up wlLh a new buslness ldea. lL's where you
can sLarL, Loo. noLe: every ldea l menLlon below ls an ldea l've seen someone pursue Lo make a
mllllon dollars are more. Am l recommendlng Lhese meLhods? no. 8uL, agaln, Lhey are sLarLlng
polnLs for bralnsLormlng.
--
A) Make a servlce buslness on whaLever Lhe cuLLlng edge of Lhe lnLerneL ls. SLarL wlLh small
buslnesses. ln Lhe '90s, you would've made a webslLe buslness. 8lghL now you can bulld an app
or make a soclal medla agency. uon'L [usL seL up lacebook fan pages for people. CeL Lhose
people some fans. SeL people up on LwlLLer. 1hen geL Lhose people followers. SeL buslnesses up
on ?ou1ube, lnLeresL, Wanelo, eLsy, Cuora, lnsLagram, MallChlmp. Lvery small buslness (a law
flrm, a denLlsL's offlce, a flower shop, eLc.) should have a worklng knowledge of some, lf noL all,
of Lhese Lools. ?our new agency can glve lL Lo Lhem.
Pow do you flnd cllenLs? Co Lo Lhe local buslnesses you use. Ask Lhem whaL Lhey need and
whaL you can do. CeL Lhe flrsL few cllenLs for free and Lhen sLarL charglng a monLhly fee. uL ouL
a leLLer Lo Lhem each week abouL whaL new Lhlngs you can be dolng. uon'L forgeL: Lhe besL new
cusLomers are currenL cusLomers.
lf you are an employee somewhere, go Lo your currenL employer. Cffer Lhem your servlces. lf
Lhey say yes, Lhen Lry Lo qulL your [ob, sLarL a company, and offer Lhe servlces agaln. Peck,
make Lhem an equlLy owner ln Lhe company because Lhey gave you your sLarL.
All we are Lrylng Lo do ls make CnL MlLLlCn uCLLA8S, remember? Cnce you have a few
hundred Lhousand ln revenues and you sLarL hlrlng people, sell Lhe buslness for $1 mllllon.
1haL's lL. 1here wlll be plenLy of buyers (local ad agencles, blgger ad agencles Lrylng Lo
consolldaLe, blgger soclal medla flrms, small publlc companles Lrylng Lo break lnLo Lhe ad
space).
?ou're always selllng: selllng your servlces, selllng your cusLomers' servlces (!) (Lhls ls Lhe real,
Lrue secreL for keeplng cusLomers by Lhe way), and selllng your company.
8) lnLroduce Lwo people. Lvery company ls for sale. Lvery company has a prlce. And Lhere are
many enLrepreneurs Lrylng Lo buy buslnesses. noL [usL enLrepreneurs elLher, buL buslnesses
called roll-ups," whose enLlre buslness ls buylng oLher buslnesses. 1hese companles buy many
mom-and-pop operaLlons ln dlfferenL reglons, comblne Lhem LogeLher, flre all of Lhe back-offlce
sLaff LhaL are redundanL, and now Lhey are a naLlonal buslness wlLh greaLer marglns LhaL can go
publlc or geL acqulred.
SomeLlmes companles need help flndlng buyers. SomeLlmes companles need help geLLlng ln
shape Lo meeL buyers. SomeLlmes companles have no clue abouL whaL Lo do nexL once Lhey
meeL a buyer. A lawyer supposedly helps, buL noL really. 1hey [usL add layers of process and
remove layers of proflL.
lL's hard Lo navlgaLe geLLlng acqulred. lf you can be somewhere ln Lhe mlddle, you can geL pald.
1here are some regulaLlons around geLLlng pald for Lhls servlce, buL lf you can flgure Lhem ouL
and bulld a buslness around Lhls ldea, you can make $1 mllllon easy.
C) WrlLe a book. l have never made $1 mllllon wrlLlng a book. 8uL l have a number of frlends
who have made mllllons wrlLlng books or lnformaLlon producLs of some sorL. 1hls ls a Lrlcky
area, so Lhe key here ls LhaL you have Lo be leglL. uon'L wrlLe a book on a sub[ecL you know
noLhlng abouL. 1hen you're [usL llke one of Lhose 8S e-mall spammers, excepL a hundred Llmes
worse because whaL Lhey do ln slx hundred words you do ln slxLy Lhousand. lnsLead, parLner
wlLh someone who knows someLhlng and wrlLe abouL whaL Lhey dld.
u) WrlLe a book, parL ll. AcLually, l lled. l [usL reallzed l have made $1 mllllon wrlLlng a book. My
very flrsL book 1toJe llke o neJqe looJ. 1he book lLself dldn'L make me LhaL much-maybe
$30,000, glve or Lake-buL ln 2004, l sLarLed geLLlng speaklng engagemenLs wlLh companles llke
lldellLy, Schwab, rofunds. A few oLher lnsLlLuLlons would pay up Lo $20,000 per Lalk. l've
probably glven well over a hundred Lalks based on LhaL book over Lhe pasL nlne years. lus l've
wrlLLen arLlcles for Lhem and had oLher opporLunlLles because of LhaL book. 8emember: when
you wrlLe a book, lL's noL all abouL book sales. 8ooks glve you credlblllLy ln your area of
experLlse or lnLeresL. CredlblllLy geLs you:
- consu|t|ng (1lm lerrlss has done Lhls very well)
- speak|ng (Lhe auLhors of lteokooomlcs have made a career ouL of Lhls)
- other med|a opportun|t|es (1v show, radlo show, eLc.)
- other wr|t|ng opportun|t|es. MosL auLhors l know, even besLselllng ones, don'L make
mllllons from Lhelr book. 8uL Lhen Lhey geL pald Lo wrlLe for blg-paylng magazlnes or
corporaLlons or whaLever. 1hese add up. And lf Lhey add up enough, you can ouLsource
a loL of your wrlLlng Lo people whom you LrusL, as long as you Lrlple-check Lhelr work.
When l was wrlLlng flnance arLlcles ln 2003, l was wrlLlng up Lo flve arLlcles A uA? wlLh
Lhe help of a Leam of cheap labor (hlgh school sLudenLs) who knew more abouL sLocks
Lhan [usL abouL any hedge fund manager l knew.
- an e-ma|| ||st you can sell oLher producLs Lo. l have never done Lhls buL several of my
frlends (see 8amlL SeLhl's book or !ohn Mauldln's book) have done lL very successfully
L) llnanclal 8epalr. l was [usL vlslLlng a frlend Lhe oLher day who was renLlng a $3 mllllon
manslon ln SouLh 8each, Mlaml. l asked hlm, Who owns Lhls place?' Pe sald, Some guy who
flgured ouL a way Lo make Lhe polnLs on your llcense go away." 1he house had seven bedrooms,
elghL baLhrooms, a muslc sLudlo, a boaL docked rlghL off Lhe back porch, and a closeL blgger
Lhan Lhe Lyplcal new ?ork ClLy aparLmenL, and came wlLh a personal chef. She cooked us lunch.
We llve ln an economy where Lhe medla remlnds us almosL every day how Lhe dlvlde beLween
rlch and poor ls geLLlng greaLer and greaLer. Screw Lhe medla! 1he slLuaLlon ls whaL lL ls. LeL's
noL complaln abouL pollLlcs or economlcs. LeL's acLually help people wlLh money lssues. Pere's
where people need help:
- parklng LlckeLs (llke above)
- sLudenL loans. 1here are a Lrllllon dollars ln sLudenL loans ouL Lhere. A buslness helplng young
people navlgaLe Lhelr way Lhrough Lhls loophole-fllled landscape ls easlly a mllllon dollar
buslness.
- credlL repalr
- renL-Lo-own. l am forever agalnsL buylng houses buL, for beLLer or worse, some people wanL
Lo own homes. Who am l Lo sLop Lhem? Slnce 2008, many of Lhese people can no longer afford
Lo buy a home. 8anks refuse Lo glve ouL loans. 8emember my frlend from Pow Lo ulsappear
CompleLely and never 8e lound," who boughL up all Lhe homes daLabases and bullL hls own
renL-Lo-own homes daLabase? Pe charges a subscrlpLlon fee for Lhe daLabase. And guess whaL?
eople subscrlbe Lo lL. So much so LhaL he's expanded hls renL-Lo-own model.
Pe [usL launched a renL-Lo-own lapLop producL. Pe bulk buys Lhe lapLops for $200 aplece and
renLs-Lo-own Lhem ouL for $20 a week for a year. 8AM! Puge marglns. Pe sLarLed [usL a few
monLhs ago. Pe's brlnglng ln $300,000 a monLh now, and can sell hls buslness for aL leasL
several mllllon dollars preLLy much any Llme he wanLs. And, by Lhe way, he dldn'L go Lo college.
lf you're llke a loL of people who are dolng Lhls for Lhe flrsL Llme, all Lhese bralnsLormlng ldeas
probably make your head swlm a llLLle blL and leave you wlLh a loL of quesLlons. Slnce l sLarLed
wrlLlng and glvlng Lalks, l've heard Lhem all:
So should l qulL my [ob? l have a mllllon ldeas, whlch should l do flrsL? uo l [usL need Lo be a
beLLer mulLlLasker? WhaL do l do lf l have ldeas buL l'm a procrasLlnaLor? l'm Loo busy, l have a
famlly, l don'L have Llme, whaL do l do Lhen?
l geL lL. l undersLand whaL you're golng Lhrough, belleve me. 1hls ls very hard. 1hose are very
hard quesLlons. And l have speclflc answers Lo each of Lhem, unforLunaLely my answers don'L
maLLer-and won'L maLLer-unLll you sLarL from Lhe beglnnlng and geL back Lo baslcs.
When l was a kld, l was scared Lo deaLh of my grandma. When she would come over, Lhe flrsL
Lhlng she would do ls go Lo my room and scream aL me lf lL was a mess. We sLarLed havlng Lo
sllp more corLlsone lnLo her mouLhful of dally vlLamlns [usL Lo calm her down.
1o prepare for her vlslLs, l sLarLed cleanlng my room. l could do lL superfasL. 1he reason was
because all l was dolng was sweeplng everyLhlng under my bed. My room would look spoLless
buL lL was acLually sLlll a dlsgusLlng mess.
1he same Lhlng ls Lrue of mosL people's llves. l don'L say LhaL ln a crlLlcal way. l [usL know lL's
Lrue. Lvery Llme l losL money, lL was because l had fooled myself lnLo Lhlnklng l was ln greaL
shape, buL Lhere was sLlll a loL of crap swepL under Lhe bed. 1here's no geLLlng around lL.
Cleanlng your room, cleanlng Lhe house where your freedom llves-Lhe house you wanL Lo llve
ln-Lakes Llme and efforL. lL requlres you bulld Lhe proper foundaLlon, by geLLlng back Lo baslcs.
1he way you geL back Lo baslcs ls by dolng your ually racLlce and focuslng on Lhe lour 8odles
(do one from each, every day):
1he hys|ca| 8ody: Am l eaLlng well? Am l exerclslng? Am l flosslng? Am l sleeplng enough?
1here are really no shorLcuLs. 1he only people l know who clalm Lhey sleep Lhree hours a day
and sLlll have a Lon of energy" are 100 percenL blpolar. no [oke.
1he Lmot|ona| 8ody: Am l surroundlng myself wlLh people who love me? Am l noL engaglng
wlLh Lhe people who puL me down, even lf Lhey are co-workers? Am l noL gosslplng? Am l
expresslng graLlLude Lo Lhe people who are good Lo me? l beL Lhls seems corny, rlghL? ?ou're
probably asklng yourself, wbot Joes tbls bove to Jo wltb o mlllloo Jollots?
LasL year, my frlend from Mlaml (Lhe one wlLh Lhe manslon) made several mllllon dollars ln hls
buslness. A few years ago, he was broke, llvlng ln hls parenLs' basemenL. Pe was overwelghL
and unhealLhy. Pe was ln a bad relaLlonshlp. And hls ldeas were sLale, lefL over from Lhe lasL
Llme he made a mllllon (whlch he of course Lhen losL).
WhaL changed?
Llke many people, he reallzed LhaL he had Lo do someLhlng dlfferenL ln order Lo geL ouL of Lhe
ruL he was ln. 1here's a saylng, lL's your besL Lhlnklng LhaL goL you here. So Lhe flrsL sLep ls Lo
llLerally Lhrow away your besL Lhlnklng."
My frlend reallzed LhaL Lhe flrsL sLep was Lo geL back Lo Lhe baslcs. Pe slmply began by [ogglng
and eaLlng beLLer. 1haL sense of self-lmprovemenL Lhen sLarLed Lo exLend ouL Lo hls
relaLlonshlps, hls creaLlvlLy, hls splrlLual llfe, and all of Lhls LogeLher Lransformed Lhe way he
LhoughL abouL hls buslness. lL's noL LhaL hls buslness goL beLLer. lL's LhaL hls Lhlnklng goL beLLer
because lL came from a foundaLlon of healLh. And from LhaL foundaLlon, you bulld Lhe house
you wanL Lo llve ln.
now he's ouL of Lhe bad relaLlonshlp. Pe's losL flfLy pounds. Pe has a personal chef who cooks
only healLhy meals for hlm. Pe hlred someone Lo help hlm wlLh Lhe markeLlng of hls buslness,
whlch helped hlm Lo generaLe new, fresh ldeas. And Lhe arrogance LhaL he was known for ln hls
clrcle seems Lo be greaLly Lempered.
1he Menta| 8ody: eople have loLs of ldeas, buL Lhey are mosLly bad ones. 1he way you geL
good ldeas ls Lo do Lwo Lhlngs: 1) 8ead Lwo hours a day. 2) WrlLe Len ldeas a day. 8y Lhe end of
a year, you wlll have read for almosL one Lhousand hours and wrlLLen down 3,600 ldeas. Cne of
Lhese ldeas wlll be a home run. Pow wlll you know whlch one? Cr Lwo? Cr Lhree? Well, because
you are dolng your ually racLlce and focuslng equally on Lhe oLher Lhree bodles, whlch are
essenLlal for healLh.
1he Sp|r|tua| 8ody: l was leadlng a reLreaL aL a splrlLual resorL" a few monLhs ago. l wanLed Lo
charge noLhlng and LlLle lL CreaLlng Success from WlLhln.". 1wo Lhlngs happened. 1he reLreaL
cenLer sald, no, you have Lo charge!" And Lhen Lhey sald, ?ou can'L use Lhe word soccess. Cur
audlence doesn'L llke LhaL."
l LhoughL Lhls was funny. SplrlLual people haLe Lhe word soccess, yeL Lhey are more Lhan wllllng
Lo charge Lhelr audlence" an arm and a leg Lo achleve lL. l?l, l'm preLLy sure LhaL's called a
scam." noL LhaL success"-orlenLed people are any beLLer. 1hey haLe Lhe word spltltool [usL as
much. lL remlnds Lhem of new Age bullshlL or Lhelr chlldhoods, when Lhey were forced lnLo
borlng, rellglous lnsLrucLlon by parenLs who needed Lhe LhreaL of eLernal damnaLlon ln order Lo
geL Lhelr klds Lo clean Lhelr rooms.
So leL's [usL move away from all LhaL. uon'L worry abouL saLlsfylng anybody else's preconcelved
noLlon of whaL splrlLuallLy ls. Some people say, Ch! ?ou have Lo medlLaLe!" ?ou have Lo slL ln
Lhe loLus poslLlon! 8lah blah blah.
no, you don'L.
All you have Lo do ls sLay ln Lhe presenL. When you caLch yourself upseL abouL Lhe pasL or
worrled abouL Lhe fuLure, say Lo yourself, Ah, l'm Llme Lravellng," Lhen S1C. 1haL's whaL
medlLaLlon ls. 1haL's whaL belng splrlLual" means: oot Llme Lravellng. uon'L belleve anyone
who says lL lsn'L. And you can pracLlce lL all day. SLlll unsure?
uo Lhls every day: wake up and Lhlnk of flve people you are graLeful for ln your llfe tlqbt oow.
noL people who you wete graLeful for ln Lhe pasL. And noL people you hope Lo be graLeful for ln
Lhe fuLure lf Lhey do whaL you wanL Lhem Lo do. llve people 8lCP1 nCW. 1haL's all you have Lo
do. WanL Lo Lake lL furLher? Surrender Lo Lhe facL LhaL you can'L conLrol ALL of Lhe evenLs ln
your llfe. 1hose people you hope Lo be graLeful for probably aren'L golng Lo do exacLly whaL you
wanL Lhem Lo. All you can do ls Lhe preparaLlon. 1he food wlll LasLe how lL wlll. llnally, Lry Lo
label your LhoughLs: fuLure" or pasL." lf you can do LhaL, you sLand a preLLy good chance of
remalnlng ln Lhe presenL.
When you sLarL Lo quesLlon and pracLlce ln Lhese four areas-when you geL all four of Lhese
bodles healLhy-Lhe quallLy of your ldeas wlll geL beLLer, you wlll have more energy and Llme,
and you wlll bulld Lhe baslc foundaLlon LhaL wlll laLer Lurn lnLo Lhe house you wanL Lo llve ln.

1he global flnanclal crlsls was Lhe only recesslon ln hlsLory durlng whlch corporaLe cash acLually
wenL u quarLer over quarLer every slngle quarLer. 1he resulL ls LhaL Lhere ls a masslve amounL
of money ouL Lhere. 1rllllons of dollars. Meanwhlle, mllllons of people wenL unemployed (or
underemployed) and lnLo flnanclal sLress. ls LhaL you? Are you one of Lhose mllllons ln dlsLress,
ln need of help, looklng for your freedom? 1hls chapLer abouL speclflc cholces was wrlLLen
speclflcally for you.
l'm noL Lrylng Lo Lhrow crap on Lhe wall here. l'm noL Lrylng Lo sell you anyLhlng. l'm noL
recommendlng any one of you Lry any one of Lhe speclflc bralnsLorm ldeas l lald ouL above.
WhaL l am Lrylng Lo do Lhough, ls Lo geL you Lo do sometbloq. SomeLhlng LhaL can lncrease your
chances of maklng $1 mllllon. SomeLhlng speclflc LhaL can geL you healLhy, and be Lhe flrsL
concreLe sLep on Lhe paLh Loward chooslng yourself.


I1 DCLSN'1 CCS1 A LC1 1C MAkL 51 8ILLICN
nobody chooses Lhemselves Lo make $1 bllllon. ?ou don'L wake up and say, l'm golng Lo do
whaLever lL Lakes Lo make a loL of money." ?ou wake up and you say, l have a blg problem.
And a loL of people have Lhe same problem. And nobody ls golng Lo solve Lhls problem excepL
for me."
Lven beLLer, can you say A mllllon people have Lhls problem?"
CorporaLe Amerlca doesn'L solve problems. 1hese companles are machlnes LhaL keep churnlng
ouL Lhe same producL, wlLh mlnor Lweaks, forever.
WlLh new Lechnology, new meLhods of markeLlng, and a healLhy, balanced llfe LhaL helps you
come up wlLh ldeas and execuLe on Lhem, you can become Lhe sorL of person who solves
problems LhaL help mllllons of people.
lL's Lhe exLernal manlfesLaLlon of lf you beLLer yourself, you beLLer Lhe llves of Lhe people
around you.
Sara 8lakely declded she had a problem. A blg one. She wanLed Lo look beLLer when she wore
panLy hose.
Speclflcally, she dldn'L wanL Lhe unslghLly bulge LhaL occurs aL Lhe end of panLy hose
underneaLh Lhe sklrL. She solved Lhe problem by creaLlng a seamless panLy hose. ?ou may have
heard of lL. lL's called Spanx, Sounds easy? Sounds Lrlvlal? lL ls. Lven she wlll admlL lL. And now
she's worLh $1 bllllon.
Am l glorlfylng Lhe bllllon dollars? Sure l am. 1haL's whaL people noLlce. nobody cares abouL
someone who made a new panLy hose. 8uL LhaL's Lhe problem she solved LhaL led Lo everyLhlng
else. She slmply wanLed Lo look beLLer. And Lhen her frlends wanLed Lo look beLLer. And so on.
Pere are my Lakeaways from Sara's sLory:
Stay mot|vated. She had been readlng self-help books (speclflcally Wayne uyer's earller books)
and moLlvaLlonal books slnce she was slxLeen years old. WhaL's a self-help book do? lL Lells you
LhaL parL of Lhe world around you exlsLs because you Lhlnk" lL Lo exlsL. LxLreme example: lf you
are lylng on Lhe floor depressed all Lhe Llme, you won'L selze opporLunlLles. lf every day you
wake up and say, whaL advenLure wlll happen Lo me Loday? Lhen advenLures wlll happen Lo
you. So from an early age she Lralned herself Lo look for Lhe opporLunlLles ln llfe. She Lralned
herself for Len years Lhlnklng LhaL way before Lhe ldea for Spanx hlL her. WlLhouL Lhlnklng abouL
lL, she was brlnglng abouL Lhe ually racLlce ln her llfe, from splrlLuallLy, Lo menLal healLh, Lo
emoLlonal healLh, Lo physlcal healLh.
She was amaz|ng|y good at sa|es. Sara had Lo sell fax machlnes for uanka as one of her flrsL
[obs. WlLhln a few years, by Lhe Llme she was LwenLy-flve, she was Lhe naLlonal sales Lralner.
eople shy away from Lhe word solesmoo. 1hey Lhlnk Lhe process of selllng ls dlrLy" ln some
way. 8uL Lhe only way Lo geL anywhere ls Lo come up wlLh ldeas and Lhen have a sLrong ablllLy
Lo sell Lhem. Sara had LhaL ablllLy.
She so|ved a huge prob|em for women. lf you wanL Lo creaLe $1 bllllon ln value, you need Lo
flnd a problem LhaL nobody has solved. 8lghL now, Lhls second, Lhere are abouL 1 mllllon
problems LhaL, lf you solved one, someone else would say, Poly shlL! 1haL's so easy. Why
dldn'L l Lhlnk of LhaL?" And yeL, Lhese problems, rlghL now, remaln unsolved.

So whaL was Lhe problem she solved"? nlneLy-nlne percenL of women complaln abouL Lhe
muffln Lop" LhaL forms afLer Lhe panLy hose ends and Lhelr sLomach Lakes over. no problem,
sald Sara, here's an ldea for panLy hose LhaL solves lL. 1hey're panLy hose LhaL don'L have feeL
and also smooLh ouL a woman's body underneaLh her dress. 1hen she wenL ouL and dld lL. now
woman look sexler. noL only was Lhls a huge problem for women, lL solved a preLLy blg lssue for
men as well! We llke looklng aL sexy women.
repare. Pow dld she do lL? Sara had never done anyLhlng ln fashlon before. So she spenL every
day aL Lhe llbrary and Lhe hoslery sLores. She had a full-Llme [ob buL aL nlghL she researched
every paLenL. She boughL every Lype of panLy hose. She knew Lhe enLlre lndusLry. 1o succeed aL
someLhlng:
know every producL ln Lhe lndusLry
know every paLenL
1ry ouL all Lhe producLs
undersLand how Lhe producLs are made
Make a producL LhaL ?Cu would use every slngle day. ?ou can'L sell lL lf you personally
don'L LCvL lL

Co|d-ca||. When l was Lrylng Lo geL people Lo use SLockplckr.com-a slLe l bullL from 2006 Lo
2007-l cold-called ACL, ?ahoo, Coogle, 8euLers, lorbes, eLc. Cuess whaL? Lveryone
responded, because l knew lL was someLhlng Lhey all needed. l had aL leasL Lwo Lo flve meeLlngs
wlLh each group and dld deals of some sorL or anoLher wlLh all of Lhem. lf you have someLhlng
LhaL's worLhwhlle, you can'L be afrald Lo cold-call. 1hey need you more Lhan you need Lhem.
WhaL does Lhls have Lo do wlLh Sara 8lakely and Spanx? She cold-called Lhe number-one place
Lo sell her sLuff-nelman Marcus-and Lhey loved her producL and Look lL rlghL away.
___________________________________________________________________________
_______
An ASluL: Someone asked me yesLerday lf l had any connecLlons aL a ma[or chlldren's
company so she could sell an excellenL seL of chlldren's Lravel books Lo Lhem. l Lhlnk lL's a
greaL ldea. Why? 8ecause l see my klds buy every book from Lhls chlldren's company. lL's a
doll company buL Lhey also puL ouL books llke, Pow Lo be a chlld of dlvorce" as an example
(whlch boLh my klds, belng chlldren of dlvorce, have read Lhoroughly). So why noL Lravel
books? 1hls woman has already made a dozen Lravel books for klds ages elghL Lo Lwelve, Lhe
exacL age group for Lhls chlldren's doll company. l know she's a good wrlLer because my kld
even dld a book reporL on one of her books and loved lL. So l know klds would love her
Lravel books.
She wanLed a connecLlon ln because she was afrald Lo cold-call. 8uL almosL all sales are
done Lhrough cold calllng. lf Lhere's a need, people wlll love Lo meeL you. Cold-call rlghL
now!

It doesn't cost much to make a b||||on. Sara sLarLed wlLh $3,000. 1haL's lL. She never Look
lnvesLors. She never borrowed money. now her revenues are hundreds of mllllons a year.
lacebook spenL a few Lhousand Lo geL Lo Lhe polnL where Lhey had 1 mllllon users a day.
Coogle hardly spenL any money aL flrsL. noL LhaL l'm ln Lhe bllllon-dollar league, buL l can Lell
you LhaL SLockplckr.com cosL me less Lhan $3,000 Lo bulld and was sold for $10 mllllon a few
monLhs laLer. And Lhe flrsL company l sold cosL less Lhan $0 Lo bulld. We had proflLable cllenLs
from day one.

lf you have an ldea, don'L focus on Lhe money. uon'L focus on how you wlll make a llvlng. uo
Lhls:
8ulld your producL
Sell lL Lo a cusLomer
SLarL shlpplng
1hen qulL your [ob.

Sara dldn'L qulL her [ob unLll she was already well on her way Lo selllng her flrsL mllllon ln
orders. MosL enLrepreneurs wrlLe me before Lhey have a producL even bullL. 1hey have an
ldea" and Lhey wanL Lo qulL Lhelr [ob Lo pursue lL so Lhey need Lo ralse money rlghL now. Are
you crazy? Anyone who would glve you money mlghL as well geL really good wlLh a plunger
because Lhey are golng Lo need lL afLer Lhe money geLs flushed down Lhe LolleL.
Never ask perm|ss|on, ask for forg|veness |ater. Sara dldn'L llke how Spanx were belng
dlsplayed aL nelman Marcus. So she boughL samples of her own producL aL 1argeL and
dlsplayed Lhem rlghL nexL Lo Lhe cash reglsLer aL nelman Marcus. She knew lnnaLely LhaL
nobody would quesLlon her. nobody quesLlons anyLhlng lf you have confldence, lnLelllgence,
and you are proud of your producL. 1hls ls llke Lhe SLanley Mllgram experlmenL menLloned ln
And 1hen 1hey All Laughed." ?ou [usL ASk for Lhe subway seaL and people glve lL Lo you.

Sara [usL dld lL. 1o hell wlLh Lhe ramlflcaLlons. WhaL else dld she do? She senL Spanx Lo Cprah
Wlnfrey's sLyllsL. Who was more perfecL Lo wear Spanx Lhan Cprah Wlnfrey?

1ake advantage of a|| pub||c|ty. l'm bad aL Lhls. l say no Lo almosL everyLhlng. Cn8C used Lo call
me all Lhe Llme and l wouldn'L even reLurn Lhelr calls. llnally !lm Cramer sald Lo me, Why are
you embarrasslng me llke Lhls. 8eLurn Lhelr calls." Pe made Lhe very good polnL LhaL lf you
don'L promoLe yourself, nobody else wlll.

l flrsL heard abouL Spanx when Sara 8lakely was on Lhe uonnle ueuLsch show. 8uL mlllloos
heard abouL lL Lhrough Cprah, an opporLunlLy LhaL Sara creaLed for herself. She also spenL a
season on 8lchard 8ranson's reallLy show, defylng every fear she ever had. She promoLed
herself down every avenue. 1haL's whaL you have Lo do Lo succeed. ?ou can'L have any shame. l
have a loL of shame ln promoLlng myself, whlch l have Lo geL over. She had no shame. noL Lo
over-repeaL a caLchphrase, buL Sara dldn'L walL for anyone Lo choose her. She chose herself ln
every way.
Looks. l'm noL saylng good looks or bad looks. 8uL ?Cu are Lhe besL promoLer of your producL.
So lf your producL ls someLhlng ln Lhe fashlon lndusLry, you should make sure you are Lhe besL
model for lL. A good frlend of mlne ls abouL Lo launch a skln cream for LaLlna women. 1he
cream smooLhs ouL wrlnkles and also smooLhs ouL Lhe dlfferenL shades of color on Lhe face LhaL
many LaLlnas have. She's abouL forLy years old. l can Lell you Lhls: she doesn'L have a slngle
wrlnkle and her skln glows. She wlll be Lhe besL model for her producL.

8emember, you don'L have Lo be greaL looklng. l'm a welrd, geeky-looklng guy. Who beLLer Lo
sell a webslLe? Cr webslLe servlces ln Lhe '90s llke l used Lo. lf l looked llke a !. Crew model, l
mlghL've falled. lnsLead, l had Lhe look of a dlrLy compuLer genlus (even Lhough l was Lhrown
ouL of compuLer sclence grad school) and l can Lell you, LhaL look worked for me.
Good for her. uon'L be a haLer! nlneLy-nlne percenL of people are haLers. 8less LhaL whlch you
wanL.
lf you wanL Lo be successful, you need Lo sLudy success, noL haLe lL or be envlous of lL. If you
are env|ous, then you w||| d|stance yourse|f from success and make |t that much harder to get
there. never be [ealous. never Lhlnk someone ls lucky." Luck ls creaLed by Lhe prepared. never
Lhlnk LhaL someone ls undeservlng of Lhe money Lhey have. 1haL only puLs you one more sLep
removed from Lhe freedom you asplre Lo. l can Lell rlghL away LhaL when someone ls so envlous
and [ealous, Lhey wlll never geL Lhe freedom Lhey wanL buL wlll spend Lhe resL of Lhelr llfe
Lrylng.

It's not about the money. Sara had Lo Lell her flance a few weeks before Lhelr weddlng LhaL
Spanx wasn'L [usL selllng a few mllllon dollars' worLh a year buL hundreds of mllllons of dollars'
worLh a year.
1haL's a blg dlfference, rlghL? And lL was only a few weeks before Lhelr weddlng.
As he puL lL ln a laLer lnLervlew: She sald Lo me, 'l'm noL sure you really know how successful
Spanx ls-[and] l am.'" AfLer she Lold hlm, her flance sLarLed crylng. l was [usL so happy for
her." Pe had already sold a successful, prlvaLe-plane renLals company Lo 8erkshlre PaLhaway
and wasn'L dolng badly hlmself. 8uL lL shows how llLLle money played a role ln how she deflned
herself.
ln an lnLervlew wlLh lotbes she sald, l feel llke money makes you more of who you already are.
lf you're an asshole, you become a blgger asshole. lf you're nlce, you become nlcer. Money ls
fun Lo make, fun Lo spend, and fun Lo glve away."
ln Lhe pasL flfLeen years, Lhe only Llme l dldn'L look aL my bank accounL every day was when l
was dolng someLhlng l was passlonaLe abouL. Sara was clearly passlonaLe abouL Spanx. 1he
money qulckly became an afLerLhoughL.
1hls doesn'L mean you shouldn'L Lhlnk abouL money. 8uL lL does mean lf ?Cu A8L Lhlnklng Loo
much abouL money whlle bulldlng your buslness, Lhen elLher you are noL very passlonaLe abouL
Lhe buslness or you aren'L helplng people wlLh your buslness. 1hose Lwo LhoughLs alone wlll
crowd ouL Lhe LhoughLs of your own personal bank accounL.
My flnal Lakeaway: god bless her. She's worLh $1 bllllon.

8LCCMING A MAS1Lk SALLSMAN

no amounL of schoollng wlll Leach you how Lo choose yourself. l don'L wanL Lo do an anLl-school
ranL here. l've done LhaL before. LeL's focus on Lhe Lhlngs school doesn'L Leach you, because
Lhese are Lhe exacL Lhlngs you need Lo survlve: how Lo come up wlLh ldeas (dlscussed ln an
earller chapLer), how Lo sell Lhose ldeas, and how Lo fall and bounce back. 1hen repeaL.
Someone l don'L know aL all [usL wroLe me wlLh Lhe worsL-selllng Lechnlque of all Llme. Pe
wroLe, l really need Lo Lalk Lo you. Can l have LwenLy Lo LhlrLy mlnuLes of your Llme?"
1he answer ls no. noL LhaL l Lhlnk l'm so greaL. Cr LhaL my Llme ls so valuable. 8uL hls message
sorL of suggesLs LhaL my Llme ls worLh zero. Pe ls offerlng me noLhlng, even less Lhan noLhlng
slnce Lhere's opporLunlLy cosL Lo LwenLy Lo LhlrLy mlnuLes of Llme. l could be waLchlng half an
eplsode of MoJ Meo, for lnsLance. Cr researchlng how Lo code Wlfl lnLo proLeln (noL glvlng up
on LhaL one yeL).
1here are some varlanLs on Lhls horrlble Lechnlque. Llke, l have a greaL ldea l'll glve you equlLy
ln lf you glve me LwenLy Lo LhlrLy mlnuLes of your Llme." l don'L know lf hls equlLy ls worLh
anyLhlng yeL, so lL's Lhe same problem as above.
AnoLher slgn of a bad salesman ls a good negoLlaLor. 1hls mlghL noL always be Lrue, buL lL's Lrue
for me. l am horrlble aL negoLlaLlon. lf l say, 1hls car ls for sale for $10,000 and Lhey say,
LlghL Lhousand, l shrug my shoulders and say, Ckay."

When you're negoLlaLlng you have Lo say no a loL. When you are selllng, you are always Lrylng
Lo flnd Lhe yes."
Lveryone has a yes" burled lnslde of Lhem. A good salesman knows how Lo flnd where LhaL
yes" ls burled and Lhen how Lo Lease lL ouL. CreaL salesmen know lL lnsLlncLlvely.
When you're a negoLlaLor you have Lo be wllllng Lo say no, regardless of whaL Lhe oLher slde
says.
So alLhough Lhey aren'L LoLal opposlLes, Lhe goals are compleLely dlfferenL.
nLCC1lA1lCn lS WC81PLLSS. SALLS A8L LvL8?1PlnC.
Why? 8ecause when someone says yes" Lo you, you are ln Lhe door. LvenLually Lhen, you'll geL
Lhe glrl (or guy, whaLever) ln bed. lf you negoLlaLe rlghL aL Lhe door, Lhen you mlghL have Lo
walk away and Lry Lhe nexL house. 1haL Lakes Llme and energy, and sLlll mlghL noL work ouL.
ln facL, noL only wlll bad negoLlaLlon" ofLen resulL ln greaL sales (and frankly l'd raLher be ln Lhe
bed Lhan walklng door Lo door) buL, lf you are a masLer salesman, lL wlll also lead Lo Lhe besL
resulL.
Some examples of my bad negoLlaLlon" sLyle LhaL have worked ouL for me:

A) l sold my flrsL buslness for less Lhan oLher lnLerneL buslnesses were golng for aL Lhe same
Llme. lL was 1998, Lhe lnLerneL was abouL Lo go busL, buL flrsL all Lhe sLocks wenL up. Maybe l
sold Loo early. lL cerLalnly seemed LhaL way for a whlle. 8uL beLLer Lo sell early Lhan go broke.
Some people say, why noL go for Lhe long run-bulld a buslness LhaL lasLs forever. very few
buslnesses lasL forever. 1here's a reason lL's called flfLeen mlnuLes of fame." 1haL doesn'L
apply Lo [usL people. lL applles Lo almosL everyLhlng.
8) l gave 30 percenL of SLockplckr Lo LhesLreeL.com for no money. 8logs were wrlLLen abouL
how bad my deal was. 8uL when someone owns 30 percenL of your buslness, Lhey care abouL
whaL happens. 1hey had Lo buy my company four monLhs laLer raLher Lhan rlsk someone else
ownlng 30 percenL of lL. lor companles Lhey only owned 10 percenL of, Lhey gave up on Lhem. l
was able Lo sell abouL four monLhs before Lhe markeL peaked. AfLer LhaL, lL never would've
happened. My one employee qulL on me because he was so dlsgusLed wlLh Lhe deal l dld. AL Lhe
Llme lL dldn'L seem llke lL was Lhe besL negoLlaLlon. ln facL, lL seemed llke l was a horrlble
negoLlaLor. And l am. 8uL more lmporLanL ls Lo bulld relaLlonshlps Lhan Lo klll everyone and Lake
every lasL dlme ln a negoLlaLlon.
C) l sold Claudla's car for $1,000 less Lhan she wanLed Lo sell lL for. 8uL now Lhe car ls gone. We
don'L have Lo worry abouL lL. 1haL was worLh $1,000 Lo me. And we sLopped paylng $600 a
monLh Lo park lL ln downLown new ?ork ClLy. 1haL's +$1,600 ln my book.
u) l goL my old company Lo do webslLes for new Llne Clnema for $1,000 a movle-whlch was
one-Lwo hundredLh of whaL we goL for dolng 1be Mottlx slLe-even Lhough some of Lhe slLes
were Lhe same slze as LhaL slLe. Why dld l do LhaL? 1he besL deslgners wanLed us Lo hlre Lhem
Lo work on Lhose movles. Meanwhlle, Lhey sLayed laLe on SaLurday nlghLs Lo work on Con
Ldlson slLes LhaL pald a loL beLLer. l dldn'L negoLlaLe aL all.
L) l've sold my books on klndle for almosL noLhlng. l've glven away books for free Lo people
who showed up aL my Lalks or slgned up for my newsleLLer. uoes LhaL sound sLupld? Maybe.
8uL lL goL my name ouL Lhere. l've now glven ouL more Lhan one hundred Lhousand coples of
my books, on Lop of Lhe sales. 1hls wlll have llfelong effecLs for me. l feel Lhem every day.
l) l geL offers every day Lo adverLlse on my blog. l say no Lo every one of Lhem. MoneLlzlng my
slLe? noL parL of my blg plcLure.
1he key ls, don'L be sLupld. Cnly negoLlaLe wlLh people you really wanL Lo sell Lo. CLherwlse lL
bolls down Lo [usL money. CreaLlng value goes rlghL ouL Lhe wlndow. And only sell someLhlng
you love Lo someone you love. Always Lhlnk, WhaL ls Lhe blgger plcLure here? ln many cases ln
Lhe blgger plcLure, Lhe negoLlaLlon ls noL as lmporLanL as Lhe sale." Who cares lf you goL
yourself a greaL prlce on a producL LhaL no one's heard of or cares abouL? Pence, Lhe rlse of
models llke freemlum."
1en keys to se|||ng:
A) Ask, what's the ||fet|me va|ue of the customer? When l glve away a book for free, lL geLs my
name ouL Lhere. 1haL has llfelong value for me LhaL goes way beyond Lhe few dollars l could
maybe charge. When you add value Lo people's llves (for lnsLance, glvlng away quallLy conLenL
for free), Lhe opporLunlLles LhaL come back Lo you cannoL be quanLlfled. l've had Lhe sLrangesL
opporLunlLles Lhls pasL year because of Lhe honesLy l offer on my blog. SomeLlmes lL's almosL
seemed llke maglc. 8uL LhaL's okay. l llke belng a maglclan.
8) Ask, what are the anc|||ary benef|ts of hav|ng th|s customer? When we dld Mlramax.com
for $1,000, we became Lhe Cu?S 1PA1 ulu Ml8AMAx.CCM! 1haL helped geL LwenLy oLher
cusLomers LhaL were worLh a loL more. l would've pald Mlramax money Lo do lLs slLe.
C) Learn the ent|re h|story of your c||ent, your aud|ence, your readersh|p, and your
p|atform. ?ou need Lo love your cllenL. Love all of Lhelr producLs. lnfuse yourself wlLh
knowledge of Lhelr producLs. l wanLed Lo work aL P8C because l loved all of Lhelr shows, and l
sLudled Lhelr hlsLory back Lo Lhe '70s before l applled for a [ob Lhere ln Lhe '90s.
D) G|ve extra features. uo Lhe flrsL pro[ecL cheap. And whaLever was ln Lhe spec, add aL leasL
Lwo new cool feaLures. 1hls 8LCWS AWA? Lhe cllenL. uon'L forgeL Lhe cllenL ls a human, noL a
company. 1haL human has a boss. And LhaL person wanLs Lo look good ln fronL of her boss. lf
you glve her a way Lo geL promoLed, Lhen she wlll love you and always hlre you back. uon'L
forgeL Lo always glve exLra. A slmple efforL wlll geL you a cusLomer for llfe.
L) G|ve away the k|tchen s|nk. Cne of Lhe blggesL lnvesLors ln my fund of hedge funds had [usL
been rlpped off ln a onzl scheme. 1hey almosL wenL ouL of buslness. l lnLroduced Lhem Lo
reporLers aL every newspaper Lo help Lhem geL Lhe word ouL abouL Lhe onzl scheme. 1hey
were lnflnlLely graLeful and even puL more money ln my fund. Whenever Lhe maln guy was
depressed abouL whaL had happened, l would Lalk Lo hlm for an hour Lrylng Lo cheer hlm up. l
wasn'L [usL a fund he lnvesLed ln buL a 8 person and LheraplsL. Co Lhe exLra mlle.
I) kecommend your compet|t|on. 1hlnk abouL lL Lhls way: whaL are Lwo of Lhe mosL popular
slLes on Lhe lnLerneL? ?ahoo! and Coogle. WhaL do Lhey do? 1hey [usL llnk Lo Lhelr compeLlLlon,
oLher webslLes. lf you become a rellable source, Lhen everyone comes back Lo you, lf your
knowledge has value, Lhey can only geL LhaL by havlng access Lo you. 1hey geL access by buylng
your producL or servlces.
G) Idea mach|ne. 1here's LhaL phrase always be closlng." 1he way LhaL's Lrue ls lf you are
always puLLlng yourself ln Lhe shoes of your cllenL and Lhlnklng of ways LhaL can help Lhem.
When l sold sLockplckr.com Lo LhesLreeL.com, Lhe superflclal reason was LhaL Lhey wanLed Lhe
Lrafflc, communlLy, and ads my slLe generaLed. 1he real reason was LhaL Lhey needed help
comlng up wlLh ldeas for Lhelr company. l was always generaLlng new ldeas and Lalklng Lo my
conLacLs aL LhesLreeL.com abouL Lhem. CfLen Lhe real reason someone buys from you ls noL for
your producL, buL for you.

n) Show up. When l wanLed Lo manage some of vlcLor nlederhoffer's money
2
, l read all hls
favorlLe books. l wroLe arLlcles for hlm. AL Lhe drop of a dlme, l would show up for dlnner
wherever and whenever he asked me Lo. lf he needed a sLudy done LhaL requlred some
programmlng beyond whaL he or hls sLaff was capable of dolng, l would offer Lo do lL and do lL
fasL. nobody was paylng me, buL ulLlmaLely he placed money wlLh me (aL rldlculously low fees,
buL l dld noL negoLlaLe), whlch l was able Lo leverage lnLo ralslng money from oLhers. lus, l
really llked hlm. l LhoughL he was an amazlng person.
I) know|edge. When l was bulldlng a Lradlng buslness, l musL've read more Lhan Lwo hundred
books on Lradlng and Lalked Lo anoLher Lwo hundred Lraders. no sLyle of Lradlng was off llmlLs.
1hls helped me noL only bulld a Lradlng buslness, buL bulld a fund of hedge funds, and
ulLlmaLely bulld sLockplckr.com. l felL llke l knew more abouL Lradlng and Lhe Lop lnvesLors ouL
Lhere Lhan anyone else ln Lhe world. CreaLlng value was almosL an afLerLhoughL. When l was
bulldlng webslLes, l knew everyLhlng abouL programmlng for Lhe web. 1here was noLhlng l
couldn'L do. And Lhe compeLlLlon, usually run by buslnessmen and noL programmers, knew LhaL
abouL me. And Lhey knew LhaL l would always come ln cheaper.
I) Love |t. ?ou can only make money dolng whaL you love. lf you work a 9 Lo 3 [ob LhaL you
haLe, Lhen you're on a leash LhaL glves you [usL enough lead Lo geL by and sLops [usL shorL of
real freedom and happlness. And money. lf you love someLhlng, you'll geL Lhe knowledge, you'll
geL Lhe conLacLs, you'll bulld Lhe slLe wlLh Lhe feaLures nobody else has, you'll scare Lhe
compeLlLlon, and you'll wow Lhe cusLomers.

l dldn'L en[oy wrlLlng flnance arLlcles. l'd wrlLe a flnance arLlcle for some random flnance slLe
and Lhen reposL lL on [amesalLucher.com. l had zero Lrafflc. 1hen l declded Lo wrlLe arLlcles l
en[oyed. 1o geL back Lo my Lrue rooLs, where l loved wrlLlng and readlng. l also wanLed Lo really
explore all of my fallures, my mlserles, and my paln. ln publlc. l love belng honesL and lnLlmaLe
wlLh people. l love bulldlng communlLy. l love e-malllng wlLh readers. lL was abouL a llLLle over a
year ago LhaL l declded Lo make Lhe shlfL where l was [usL golng Lo open Lhe klmono aL
[amesalLucher.com and say everyLhlng l wanLed Lo say, and aL Lhe same Llme lndulge ln my love
of wrlLlng, arL, creaLlvlLy, and readlng. More Lhan 4 mllllon cusLomers" laLer, l'm en[oylng more
Lhan ever dolng whaL l love.


2
vlcLor nelderhoffer ls a famous hedge fund manager who used Lo work wlLh Ceorge Soros. ln
hls day, he was so good, Soros senL hls son Lo work wlLh nelderhoffer Lo learn how Lo Lrade.
nCW 1C 8LCCML AN IDLA MACnINL
1he MenLal 8ody ls Lhe Lhlrd leg of Lhe ually racLlce. lL ls no more or less lmporLanL Lhan Lhe
oLher Lhree legs. 8uL many people geL sLuck here. 1hey slL down wlLh a pad and walL for Cod Lo
come down and glve Lhem ldeas Lo puL on LhaL pad. Cr Lhey walL for lnsplraLlon. lnsplraLlon
doesn'L really exlsL.
SLephen klng, ln hls book Oo wtltloq dlscusses an accldenL he once had LhaL prevenLed hlm
from wrlLlng for several weeks. When he sLarLed Lo wrlLe agaln he could feel Lhe dlfference. Pe
sald how Lhe words [usL weren'L connecLlng rlghL. Pls wrlLlng muscle had aLrophled. Pe needed
Lo exerclse lL agaln ln order Lo conLlnue wrlLlng Lhe nonsLop, besLselllng Lhrlllers he'd been
wrlLlng for LhlrLy years.
S1LPLn klnC!
All lL Look was a few weeks ouL of acLlon Lo Lhrow hlm compleLely off hls game even Lhough
he's one of Lhe besL ln Lhe world aL whaL he does.
1he ldea muscle ls no dlfferenL Lhan Lhe wrlLlng muscle. lL's no dlfferenL Lhan your leg muscles,
for LhaL maLLer. lf you don'L walk for Lwo weeks, Lhe muscles wlll aLrophy. And you wlll need
physlcal Lherapy ln order Lo walk agaln.
1he ldea muscle musL be exerclsed every day. Lven lf you've come up wlLh ldeas every day of
your llfe, lL wlll aLrophy lf you glve lL a Lwo-week resL.
WhaL are Lhe beneflLs of havlng a funcLlonal ldea muscle? ?ou wlll become an ldea machlne. no
maLLer whaL slLuaLlon you are ln, whaL problem you see ln fronL of you, whaL problems your
frlends and colleagues have, you wlll have nonsLop soluLlons for Lhem. And when your ldea
muscle ls aL lLs peak performance, your ldeas wlll acLually be good, whlch agaln means you wlll
be able Lo creaLe Lhe llfe you wanL Lo lead.
1o become an ldea machlne Lakes abouL slx Lo Lwelve monLhs of dally pracLlce wlLh Lhe ldea
muscle. 8elow l dlscuss how Lo develop LhaL pracLlce. And agaln, Lhls goes slde by slde wlLh Lhe
oLher Lhree bodles." ?ou can'L develop Lhe ldea muscle lf you're sufferlng Lhrough a bad
relaLlonshlp, or an lllness, or you lose your sense of graLlLude and wonder Loward Lhe world
around you.

ln Lhe mld-'90s, l had an ldea LhaL lasLed abouL Lhe amounL of Llme lL Lakes Lo drlnk Lwo beers. l
say Lhls because l had Lhe ldea aL a bar and lL was qulckly squashed by Lhe Lwo frlends l was
wlLh.
l wanLed Lo creaLe a reallLy cable channel. All reallLy 1v all Lhe Llme. 8eallLy 1v was [usL
beglnnlng. M1v's 1be keol wotlJ and P8C's 1oxlcob coofessloos were Lhe only Lwo real
successful examples aL LhaL polnL. 1he day before, l had gone Lo a semlnar aL Lhe Museum of
1elevlslon and 8adlo abouL 1be keol wotlJ. All of Lhe houseguesLs from my favorlLe season (buL
noL uck, or edro, who was dead) were Lhere answerlng quesLlons. l felL reallLy 1v was a
cheap way Lo produce 1v and LhaL people would geL obsessed by lL, parLlcularly lf sex was
lnvolved.
WhaL a dumb ldea," a frlend sald. 1here's only so much reallLy." Whlch sLrlkes me as funny
now.
1he oLher guy sald, ?ou're noL a blg 1v company. Pow wlll you geL Lhe cable companles Lo go
for Lhe ldea?"
So l never LhoughL abouL lL agaln. l puL up a fence around Lhe ldea and declded l would never
be able Lo leap over LhaL fence Lo execuLe on Lhe ldea. now LvL8? Lelevlslon channel ls
baslcally all reallLy all Lhe Llme, or aL leasL 30 percenL of Lhe Llme.
My real problem was l JlJot bove cooflJeoce. And l dldn'L know whaL Lhe nexL sLep was. ln
reLrospecL, l should've wrlLLen down my ldea, wrlLLen down Len ldeas for posslble shows Lo
launch wlLh, and sLarLed plLchlng 1v companles Lo geL someone Lo parLner wlLh me on lL. 1haL
would've been slmple and noL Laken Loo much Llme before Lhere was some payoff.

noLe: whaL mlghL be Loo blg for you (Lhlnklng of Lhe nexL sLep) mlghL noL be Loo blg for
someone else. 1hey mlghL easlly know, and noL be afrald of, whaL Lhe nexL sLep ls.
1wo examples. Someone asked me, Pow do you know when an ldea ls Loo blg?" l answered
LhaL an ldea ls Loo blg lf you can'L Lhlnk of Lhe nexL sLep. l Lhen added LhaL lf l wanLed Lo sLarL an
alrllne wlLh more comforLable seaLs and lnLerneL access and beLLer food and cheaper prlces, l
mlghL have a hard Llme because even lf lL were a good ldea l wouldn'L know whaL Lo do nexL.

1hen l read abouL 8lchard 8ranson.
When vlrgln 8ecords was maklng hlm a Lldy proflL of abouL $13 mllllon a year, he declded Lhere
should be a more comforLable LransaLlanLlc alrllne. WhaL Lhe hell dld he know abouL maklng an
alrllne? noLhlng. noL only LhaL, alrllnes are a dlfflculL buslness. 1hree of Lhe besL lnvesLors ln
hlsLory, Poward Pughes, Carl lcahn, and Warren 8uffeLL, have crashed and burned buylng
alrllnes. Warren 8uffeLL once sald someLhlng llke 1he besL way Lo make a mllllon dollars ls Lo
sLarL wlLh a bllllon and buy an alrllne.
And yeL 8ranson came up wlLh Lhe ldea and LhaL very day he called up 8oelng Lo flnd ouL whaL
lL would cosL Lo lease an alrplane. Pe made a greaL deal wlLh Lhem LhaL lf lL dldn'L work ouL he
could reLurn Lhe alrplane. lf lL JlJ work ouL, he'd be a greaL cusLomer for Lhem. l'm assumlng he
made a slmllar call Lo Alrbus and Look Lhe besL deal. Pe Lhen probably found ouL whaL lL cosL Lo
lease space ln Lhe varlous alrporLs he would need Lo use. 1hey were probably happy wlLh more
buslness. And Lhen, l'm guesslng, he hlred some plloLs, some ground crew, and puL an ad ln Lhe
paper adverLlslng hls new alr rouLes and he was ln buslness.
vlrgln Alr ls successful (l [usL flew lL from new ?ork Lo LA a few weeks ago), and has slnce spun
off vlrgln CalacLlc. So Lhls scruffy kld, who sLarLed a record label, declded he wanLed planes
wlLh more comforLable seaLs and ls now, as a resulL, sendlng rockeL shlps lnLo space.
noLe Lhe lmporLanL Lhlng: Lhe day he came up wlLh Lhe ldea, he also called 8oelng and goL a
plane from Lhem. noL only dld he ldenLlfy Lhe nexL sLep, buL he Look lL. lor me, l would've
convlnced myself LhaL Lhe nexL sLep" ln sLarLlng an alrllne was probably Loo blg for me. And
Lhen lL Jefloltely would've been Loo blg for me. 1hls ls noL qulLe Lhe same as Lhe secreL"-Lhe
ldea LhaL our LhoughLs can creaLe our reallLy-buL lL's close. Cur LhoughLs can make our ldeal
reallLy posslble. lf you Lhlnk you can do someLhlng, lf you have confldence, lf you have creaLlvlLy
(developed by bulldlng up your ldea muscle), Lhe blg ldeas become smaller and smaller. unLll
Lhere ls no ldea Loo blg. noLhlng you can'L aL leasL aLLempL. As Penry lord sald, WheLher you
Lhlnk you can, or you can'L-elLher way you are rlghL."

Cn a much smaller scale, l can sLaLe a few examples of my own buL l'll sLlck wlLh one. l had an
ldea Lo creaLe a flnanclal news slLe LhaL dldn'L have any news buL was [usL a slLe made up of
varlous meLhods Lo come up wlLh lnvesLmenL ldeas. ln parLlcular, by plggybacklng on Lhe
lnvesLmenL ldeas of Lhe greaLesL lnvesLors. l specced ouL Lhe slLe on Lhe mornlng l had Lhe ldea,
l puL Lhe spec on elance.com, several developers conLacLed me wlLh prlces, and l hlred one of
Lhem. WlLhln a few weeks, verslon 1.0 of Lhe slLe was released, sLockplckr.com. Seven monLhs
and mllllons of unlque users laLer, l sold Lhe proflLable company Lo LhesLreeL.com.
So Lhe quesLlon ls noL, when ls an ldea Loo blg? lL's how do l make all ldeas smaller and
achlevable? ?ou do Lhls by developlng Lhe ldea muscle:

Lvery day, read]sk|m, chapters from books on at |east four d|fferent top|cs. 1hls mornlng l
read from a blography of Mlck !agger, l read a chapLer from keqeoesls, a book on advances ln
geneLlc englneerlng, a Loplc l know noLhlng abouL. l read a chapLer ln 1loy 8eootlfol 1bloqs by
Cheryl SLrayed. Per oLher recenL book, wllJ, ls an Cprah plck and was also excellenL. l read a
chapLer from Mytbs to llve 8y by !oseph Campbell, and also, Lo wasLe Llme, l played a game of
chess onllne.

Wr|te down ten |deas. AbouL anyLhlng. lL doesn'L maLLer lf Lhey are buslness ldeas, book ldeas,
ldeas for surprlslng your spouse ln bed, ldeas for whaL you should do lf you are arresLed for
shopllfLlng, ldeas for how Lo make a beLLer Lennls racqueL, anyLhlng you wanL. 1he key ls LhaL lL
has Lo be Len or more.
?ou wanL your braln Lo sweaL, llke l menLloned earller ln Lhe book.
WanL Lo really sweaL, and learn from my early mlsLakes wlLh reallLy 1v? 8lghL now, llsL Len ldeas
LhaL are Loo blg for me" and whaL Lhe nexL sLeps mlghL be. lor lnsLance, one ldea mlghL be
launch solar panels lnLo ouLer space Lo more efflclenLly generaLe solar power." AnoLher ldea
mlghL be, geneLlcally englneer a mlcrobe LhaL sucks Lhe salL ouL of waLer." l have no ldea lf
LhaL's even posslble. AnoLher ldea mlghL be, wlLhln one year l am golng Lo wrlLe a book and
glve away a mllllon coples for free."
1he flrsL sLep would be Lo wrlLe Lhe book. 1hen maybe l can crowd fund on klcksLarLer Lo glve
Lhe book away for free. C8, l can maybe prlnL up nano-slze coples of Lhe book so LhaL you can
only read lL wlLh a mlcroscope buL lL would only cosL me a couple of sheeLs of paper Lo prlnL up
a mllllon coples. And so on. WlLh Lhe solar panels, l can call up Spacex and see how much lL
would cosL Lo renL space. lor Lhe mlcrobe LhaL desallnaLes.l have no ldea. Can you help me?
?ou don'L ever have Lo look aL Lhese ldeas agaln. 1he purpose ls noL Lo come up wlLh a good
ldea. 1he purpose ls Lo have Lhousands of ldeas over Llme. 1o develop Lhe ldea muscle and Lurn
lL lnLo a machlne.
8e a transm|tter. 1wo farmers llve slde by slde and drlnk Lhelr waLer from wells Lhey've each
bullL on Lhelr respecLlve properLy. Cne farmer's well runs ouL of waLer and he needs raln Lo
come qulckly or he wlll dle of LhlrsL. 1he oLher farmer dld Lhe work and dug hls well so an
underground sLream ran rlghL lnLo lL. Pls well was always fllled wlLh waLer and he never had Lo
worry.

Pow do you flnd and Lap Lhls underground sLream?
8y maklng sure Lhe oLher parLs of your llfe are ln balance: you have no bad emoLlonal
slLuaLlons/relaLlonshlps happenlng or you are dolng your besL Lo sLay dlsengaged from Lhem.
?ou are keeplng physlcally healLhy, llmlLlng (or ellmlnaLlng) alcohol, eaLlng well, and sleeplng
well. And splrlLually (a word l haLe because of Lwo hundred years of meanlngless connoLaLlons
LhaL have been applled Lo lL buL l can'L Lhlnk of a beLLer word), you reallze LhaL you can'L conLrol
everyLhlng ln your llfe, culLlvaLlng a sense of surrender Lo Lhe presenL momenL as opposed Lo
Llme Lravellng Lo your regreLs from Lhe pasL and your fears of Lhe fuLure.
Act|vate another part of your bra|n. l wrlLe every day. SomeLlmes l need Lo reenerglze oLher
parLs of my braln, Lo spark flres where Lhlngs have gone dark. 1he oLher day Claudla and l Look
a waLercolor class. l haven'L done waLercolors ln my llfe. We goL Lhere and Lhe nexL Lhlng l
knew lL was Lhree hours laLer. My braln dldn'L even noLlce Lhe Llme passlng. WhaL dld l have Lo
show for lL? 1he worsL excuse for a sunseL, some mounLalns, some clouds, ever done ln
waLercolor. 8uL my braln felL good.

Co|||s|ons. ldeas maLe wlLh oLher ldeas Lo produce ldea chlldren. 8ead oLher ldeas. Compare
your new ldeas wlLh your old ldeas. AfLer Lhe 8lg 8ang, Lhe resL of Lhe unlverse was baslcally
creaLed from colllslons. Pydrogen aLoms colllded Lo form hellum aLoms, and on and on unLll all
of Lhe elemenLs were creaLed. uead sLars colllded wlLh asLerolds Lo creaLe planeLs and waLer
and ulLlmaLely llfe.
Colllslons are Lhe fundamenLal llfe-glvlng processes of Lhe unlverse. ldeas are no dlfferenL. 1he
besL ldeas come from colllslons beLween newer and older ldeas.

Don't pressure yourse|f. 1hls ls slmllar Lo Lhe burnouL" lssue from Pow Lo Choose ?ourself."
SomeLlmes you planL seeds buL noL every seed Lakes and grows lnLo a beauLlful planL. ln facL,
very few do. lf you pressure yourself Lo Lurn every seed lnLo Lhe mosL amazlngly beauLlful planL
Lhe world has ever seen, Lhen you are golng Lo seL yourself up for burnouL and dlsappolnLmenL.
?ou've consclously done all you can, now you need Lo leL Lhose unseen llfe forces go Lo work on
Lhe seeds. 1he besL ones wlll sprouL lf you leL Lhem.

Shake th|ngs up. l have a very sLrlcL rouLlne every day. l wake up, read, wrlLe, exerclse, eaL,
aLLend meeLlngs (phone or llve), Lhen reverse Lhe process: eaL, wrlLe, read, and sleep. Some
days l have Lo work on someLhlng LhaL's [usL noL comlng. And ln Lhose lnsLances, l need Lo
re[uvenaLe a llLLle blL and shake Lhlngs up. uo someLhlng dlfferenL. Maybe l Lake a walk aL 3
a.m. lnsLead of readlng. Maybe l sleep ln four-hour shlfLs one day lnsLead of elghL hours
sLralghL. Maybe l spend a day wrlLlng handwrlLLen leLLers lnsLead of golng on Lhe compuLer.
And when lL comes Lo Lhe work, lL's enough Lo [usL [oL down some ldeas, or look aL whaL l've
done so far, and Lhen seL lL down agaln. CeL my subconsclous worklng on lL.
Shaklng Lhlngs up makes Lhe braln say, WhaL Lhe hell [usL happened?" And whlle Lhe consclous
braln ls confused, Lhe subconsclous sllps ln and drops off whaL lL's been worklng on whlle your
consclous braln has been Loo busy. 1hls ls why so many people have ldeas and llghLbulb"
momenLs ln Lhe shower or when Lhey are [usL abouL Lo fall asleep for a nap.
An exerclse Lo geL your subconsclous worklng on an ldea: WrlLe down your rouLlne. Make lL as
deLalled a posslble. WhaL can you change Loday? Pow can you change lL?
L|st your ch||dhood pass|ons. When l was slx years old, l was passlonaLely lnLeresLed ln boLh
comlc books and Creek myLhology. ln hlgh school and college, l Look flve years of lrench and
spenL some Llme ln lrance (even had an offlce Lhere wlLh my flrsL buslness). 8lghL now l can'L
remember a slngle word of lrench excepL for maybe ool. 8uL l remember vlvldly almosL every
comlc and book l read abouL Creek myLhs from when l was slx-from Lhe very flrsL comlc (Lhe
leglon of superheroes" had Lo go back ln Llme and sLay wlLh Clark's parenLs ln Smallvllle) Lo
every comlc afLerward.

We only ever remember Lhe Lhlngs we are passlonaLe abouL. ulLlmaLely, Lhese become Lhe
flelds where ldeas bloom and are harvesLed. LveryLhlng else drles up lnslde and dles.
1ry Lo Lhlnk back Lo all Lhe Lhlngs you were ever passlonaLe abouL from Lhe age of flve on. ?ou'll
be surprlsed how many Lhlngs Lhere were. And how many ways Lhese passlons can now be
cross-ferLlllzed and maLe wlLh each oLher Lo provlde your nexL seL of passlons and ldeas.
Surf the Internet. l [usL saw an lnfographlc" (lnfographlcs are qulckly becomlng Lhe new blog
posLs) on how Lo be creaLlve. lL essenLlally read 1urn off Lhe compuLer." SomeLlmes Lhls ls
Lrue. SomeLlmes noL. WlLh Lhe enLlre world of knowledge aL our flngerLlps, lL someLlmes ls fun
Lo geL sucked down Lhe rabblL hole llke Allce and drlfL around ln Wonderland. Some good
places Lo sLarL are bralndropplngs, Lhebrowser.com, and (noL safe for work),
exLragoodshlL.phlap.neL. l mlghL noL geL any ldeas from whaL l see, buL seeds mlghL be planLed.
l flnd LhaL l geL a slmllar feellng when l go lnLo Lhe booksLore aL a museum, plck ouL a bunch of
books, slL down, and sklm Lhrough Lhem. lL Llckles Lhe braln and llghLs Lhlngs up LhaL may have
been dormanL.

l asked people Lo help me come up wlLh more ldeas for comlng up wlLh ldeas. Pere are some of
Lhe suggesLlons people came up wlLh. My Lhanks Lo all of Lhese conLrlbuLors:

8en Nesv|g
1hree Lhlngs l do when sLruggllng for ldea Loplcs:
1. 1wlLLer Search
l'll search phrases llke:
l wlsh l had"
l [usL pald someone Lo"
ls Lhe worsL producL"
ls a horrlble company"
has a Lerrlble webslLe"
ls my favorlLe webslLe"
does anyone know how"
WlLh all of Lhose Lerms, l'll Lhlnk of ldeas on how l could fulflll Lhelr wanLs or how LhaL Lerrlble
webslLe or company could be a llLLle less Lerrlble.
2. Croupon
A loL of companles LhaL use Croupons are sLruggllng for cusLomers and need creaLlve ldeas. l'll
Lake a look aL Lhe Croupon offers for LhaL day and see lf l can come up wlLh oLher ways Lo
promoLe Lhe company or make Lhelr producL beLLer.
3. Pyper locus/lreewrlLe
8y defaulL, everyone glves Lhe mlnlmum amounL of aLLenLlon requlred Lo compleLe Lasks. 1o
geL ldeas/lnslghLs/observaLlons, l hyper focus. l'll seL a Llmer for LwenLy-flve mlnuLes and focus
and freewrlLe on one slngle Lhlng. 1haL usually brlngs up ldeas l would have never LhoughL
abouL.


at
ldea #10: l llke Lo go Lo ?ou1ube and puL ln a word relaLlng Lo someLhlng l know noLhlng abouL
or LhaL l [usL happen Lo be lnLeresLed ln aL LhaL Llme and would llke Lo know more. 1hen l waLch
a vldeo on LhaL sub[ecL. 1he rlsk ls you wasLe some Llme waLchlng a crappy vldeo.Lhe upslde ls
unllmlLed. AfLer a whlle your curaLorlal lnsLlncLs geL beLLer and you know whlch ones from Lhe
many on any sub[ecL LhaL ?1 serves up wlll be beLLer Lhan oLhers. ?1, llke so much of Lhe
lnLerneL, ls an absoluLe Lreasure Lrove of lnfo on nearly every sub[ecL and LhaL, ln lLself, ls Lhe
kernel of ldea generaLlon and mlnd-muscle exerclse.

kev|n Iau|
llnd someone you don'L know who lnLeresLs and lnsplres you, Lhen flgure ouL how Lo reach
Lhem. Send Lhem a klnd noLe on Llnkedln or lacebook. PlL Lhem up on 1wlLLer. 8uL research
Lhem flrsL. l guaranLee a qulck conversaLlon or e-mall exchange wlLh someone lnsplraLlonal wlll
also lnsplre you. 1ouchlng" someone who has made Lhe lmposslble posslble helps you reallze
LhaL your ldeas are also posslble and lnsplre you Lo do more. uon'L underesLlmaLe Lhe power of
belng soclal.


1he ldea muscle ls a naLural slde effecL of puLLlng Lhe ually racLlce Lo work. When you are
physlcally healLhy, when you are around Lhe people you love, when you exerclse your ldea
muscle, and when you culLlvaLe an ablllLy Lo surrender Lo Lhe reallLy around you, lL frees you up
so you can become an ldea Machlne.

Lverywhere you go, everyLhlng you see, every problem you confronL, you wlll lnsLanLly be able
Lo reacL Lo every slLuaLlon LhaL sLands ln your paLh. ?ou wlll be llke Splderman wlLh hls splder
sense LhaL lnsLanLly reacLs and knows whaL Lo do even before Lhe problem surfaces. ?ou don'L
have Lo belleve me on Lhls. l am only saylng LhaL Lhls has worked for me and helped me Lo flnd
greaL success. 1ry lL for yourself and see. Maybe lL wlll work for you, Loo.



1LN IDLAS 1C S1Ak1 CU CII
l've glven several Lalks and workshops where l handed ouL walLer pads and asked people Lo
sLarL wrlLlng down ldeas. SomeLlmes people geL a llLLle anxlous. So l glve Lhem a couple of
guldellnes.
1. Wr|te down as many |deas as you can. ?ou can'L ask people for [usL one ldea. 1hey geL very
nervous because LhaL one ldea has Lo be Lhe 8LS1 ldea.
2. Share and comb|ne |deas. l call lL havlng ldea sex" wlLh each oLher. AfLer Lhey've wrlLLen
down Lhelr ldeas, everyone plcks a parLner and Lhey comblne ldeas.
Some of Lhe resulLs have been amazlng. AL one workshop, l asked people Lo come up wlLh book
LlLles, Lhen comblne Lhelr book LlLles wlLh a parLner and come up wlLh a Lable of conLenLs for
Lhe flrsL book LlLle on Lhelr comblned llsL. l have yeL Lo hear of a book from Lhe people who
Lhrough Lhls process LhaL l dldn'L lnsLanLly wanL Lo read.
8uL Lhe reallLy ls: mosL ldeas are bad. MosL of my ldeas are bad. l wanL you Lo feel comforLable
comlng up wlLh hundreds of bad ldeas. AfLer l wroLe Lhe Pow Lo 8ecome an ldea Machlne"
chapLer, l declded Lo come up wlLh a llsL of ldeas, a llsL LhaL could help aL leasL a mllllon people.
1he key Lo ldeas llke Lhls ls Lo make sure you know whaL Lhe nexL sLep ls: e.g., you can'L [usL say,
A Llme machlne" unless you can acLually spec ouL a Llme machlne, whlch personally l am
lncapable of dolng. So LhaL ldea ls noL on Lhe llsL.
Pelp a mllllon people" ls noL a mandaLory requlremenL for an ldea llsL. lL's [usL Lhe ldea llsL l'm
golng Lo creaLe Loday. Pavlng LhaL crlLerlon avolds genlus ldeas llke Llndsay Lohan plays
rlncess Lela's daughLer ln Lhe nexL 5tot wots movle." AdmlLLedly (Lake noLe, !.!. Abrams), LhaL
ls one of Lhe besL ldeas anyone has ever heard. 8uL lL won'L really help a mllllon people.
(Pmmm, l have Lo Lhlnk abouL Lhls for a second.no, no, lL won'L help a mllllon people).
leel free Lo sLeal any of Lhese ldeas. lf you wanL Lo glve me a cuL, LhaL's flne also.
A) l wroLe down an ldea here buL l deleLed lL. lL was slmply Loo embarrasslngly bad. l'm noL
afrald Lo admlL when ldeas are bad. More on Lhls laLer.
8) klouL as currency. 1hlnk abouL lL. lL makes sense. lf l glve $3 Lo a donuL shop LhaL means a loL
less Lhan lf 8arack Cbama glves $3 Lo a donuL shop. lf 8arack Cbama buys a donuL for $3 Lhen
LhaL donuL shop ls Lhe resldenLlal uonuL Shop." 8's $3 ls a loL more valuable Lhan my $3. 1he
$3 ls [usL paper afLer all. lL doesn'L maLLer who holds lL. klouL plus currency equals value ln
Loday's world. So lL makes compleLe sense LhaL people wlLh hlgher klouL should be able Lo buy
more Lhlngs, because Lhelr currency ls more valuable Lhan mlne. And when Lhey buy Lhlngs LhaL
lnfers klouL on Lhe seller, who can elLher buy more Lhlngs now, or even sell servlces aL more
expenslve prlces. 1hls creaLes a naLural soclal prlclng mechanlsm around goods and servlces.
1he world ls headlng ln Lhls dlrecLlon anyway. Look aL Cprah. Cprah has an lnflnlLe klouL score.
lf she boughL a pencll from me, my klouL score would go up 80 percenL, glve or Lake. 1he
mlddle class ls dlsappearlng. 1he Lemp sLaffers pay for goods wlLh scrlp, and rlch people buy
1wlLLer followers. We're movlng Loward a klouL-currency world anyway. Maklng lL acLually
happen wlll encourage companles Lo creaLe blgger value for Lhelr cusLomers so LhaL Lhe value
of Lhelr proflLs wlll go up, causlng Lhem Lo hlre more people, eLc.-a vlrLuous cycle.
C) Cryogenlcs for depressed people. SomeLlmes l know LhaL ln Lhe long run" Lhlngs wlll work
ouL. 8uL l geL scared abouL Lhe shorL run. AnoLher Lhlng we all know ls LhaL Llme heals all
wounds. 8uL how much Llme does LhaL mean? lL dlffers per person. LeL's say l geL wounded.
MeLaphorlcally. Someone shooLs me down and l feel bad. l mlghL need a day or Lwo Lo geL over
lL. no problem, l sLep lnLo my cryogenlc Lank and program lL Lo wake me ln a day. Cr lf l lose a
loved one. 1haL mlghL Lake a year or Lwo. lreeze me and wake me up on my blrLhday. 1hen l
can look around, see how l feel, and go back under agaln. 8y Lhe way, l don'L age aL all whlle l'm
frozen, because all of my genes and chromosomes are aL absoluLe zero. SomeLlmes lL's
flnanclal. l mlghL make an lnvesLmenL LhaL wlll pay off ln flve years buL l have llLLle money now.
no problem. Wake me ln flve years. Wake me when 1wlLLer goes publlc.
u) use global warmlng Lo solve global warmlng. l don'L know why nobody has LhoughL of Lhls
yeL. !usL look aL Lhe words qlobol wotmloq. 1he surface of Lhe planeL ls geLLlng hoLLer. 1haL
means lL's glvlng off energy. use phoLovolLalc sLrlps (you llke LhaL?) Lo harness Lhe energy
comlng off Lhe planeL Lo reduce our need for carbon-based energy. 8AM! roblem solved. 1he
beauLy of Lhls ls LhaL lf Lhere ls no global warmlng, Lhen Lhe Lechnlque won'L work. no problem!
Co back Lo carbon Lhen unLll Lhe planeL sLarLs heaLlng agaln. l used Lo go ouL wlLh someone
who worked on Al Core's campalgn. Pey, A*, lf you read Lhls and lf you sLlll have any feellngs
for me wlll you please conLacL hlm abouL my ldea. Pe has a $10 bllllon fund, glve or Lake, LhaL
he llves off of and he can really help me ouL here.
L) 3-u prlnLlng of humans. 3-u prlnLlng seems Lo be Lhe laLesL Lech fad. 8uL whaLever. l don'L
even know how lL works. 8uL here's whaL 3u Puman rlnLlng" ls. LeL's say l can'L make a
meeLlng Lomorrow LhaL's ln lndla, elghL Lhousand mlles away. 8uL l really wanL Lo go. l geL ln my
sulL aL home and Lurn lL on. ln Lhe conference room ln 8angalore, anoLher sulL opens up. lL
opens lLs eyes. Cn Lhe vldeo screen ln my sulL l see whaL Lhose eyes see. l move my arms and
LhaL sulL moves lLs arms. l Lalk and LhaL sulL Lalks wlLh my volce. vldeo conferenclng can never
replace face-Lo-face meeLlngs. And even Lhough Lhls ls sorL of llke advanced vldeo conferenclng,
Lhe mlnds of Lhe oLher people ln Lhe room are baslcally psychologlcally fooled lnLo Lhlnklng l am
rlghL Lhere wlLh Lhem. lL's [usL llke lf you Lake a roboL and glve lL a human body, many people
Lhlnk lL's almosL llke an acLual human even Lhough lL's [usL a compuLer. 1hls ls one ldea l can
lnvenL personally. And l have moLlvaLlon. l don'L llke Lo Lravel. l llke Lo slL aL home and do
noLhlng. WlLh Lhls lnvenLlon l can Lravel all over Lhe world. l can even go Lo LasLer lsland. 1hls ls
sorL of llke 1eleporLaLlon 101.
l) AdverLlslng ln houses. 1hls sounds ugly aL flrsL: an ad on a wall ln your house? Maybe ln a
frame llke a plcLure. Cr a mlrror. 8uL here's Lhe deal: l geL Lhe prlce of my house reduced lf l
agree Lo allow adverLlslng all over Lhe house. Llke lf l'm slLLlng ln Lhe baLhroom and l see dally
deals" pro[ecLed onLo Lhe shower curLaln. 1he ad agencles agree Lo subsldlze parL of Lhe prlce
of my house. lL geLs beLLer. As parL of Lhls, Lhey have sofLware LhaL llsLens Lo all my phone calls.
lorgeL soclal medla." LeL's see whaL l'm lnLeresLed ln when l'm AC1uALL? belng soclal, e.g.,
Lalklng Lo people on Lhe phone. lf l say on Lhe phone, l'd really love Lo go skllng Lhls year buL l
can'L afford lL," l sLarL geLLlng offers for skllng Lrlps aL a dlscounL on my shower curLaln. lL's wln-
wln-wln. l make money whlle Lalklng Lo my frlends. My house ls cheaper. And companles sell
more, lmprovlng Lhe economy, hlrlng more people, and llfe goes from bad" Lo good."
C) Papplness hoLspoLs. lor Len years l've been geLLlng buslness proposals llke wlLh our producL
you wlll geL alerLed when your frlends are close by." l acLually Lhlnk now ls Lhe Llme Lhls
wlll acLually work because of Lhe rlse of phableLs llke Lhe Calaxy noLe. 8uL forgeL LhaL. When l
wanL Lo see my frlends, l'm noL an ldloL. l [usL call my frlends and say, Pey, leL's meeL for
coffee." 8uL leL's make Lhls locallzaLlon Lhlng really llfe-lmprovlng. SLudles show LhaL lL's beLLer
Lo be around poslLlve people Lhan negaLlve people. oslLlve people upllfL you, negaLlve people
brlng you down. So leL's do Lhls. Lveryone wears an earplug LhaL Lakes consLanL scans of your
braln acLlvlLy. 1he braln scans are maLched agalnsL a daLabase of Len Lhousand braln scans
labeled happy" or sad," and Lhen use sLandard speech recognlLlon Lechnlques Lo classlfy Lhe
user braln scan as elLher happy" or sad."
nCW, on my Coogle Maps on my phone l can see shades all over Lhe map. 1he brlghLesL colors
denoLe areas where Lhe happlesL people seem Lo be. 1he darker colors denoLe areas where
negaLlve people are. So lf l'm Lrylng Lo declde Loday, Pmmm, upLown or downLown?" l can
look aL Lhe Papplness Map Lo see where Lhe happlesL areas are and go Lhere. Who cares lf my
frlends are Lhere or noL? l'll make new frlends ln Lhe happy hoLspoLs!
P) 40 percenL unemploymenL. 1he reallLy ls, mosL people should noL be aL work. Why? CLher
Lhan Lhe many reasons already elucldaLed ln Lhls book, lL's slmply because mosL people are bad
aL Lhelr [obs. lL's rare LhaL someone ls acLually good aL whaL Lhey do. l know maybe Len people
who are good aL Lhelr [obs. 1hls ls noL a crlLlclsm. lL's [usL a facL. And baslcally, roboLs are beLLer.
1haL's why Apple ls movlng producLlon back Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes, because Loo many Chlnese
people were kllllng Lhemselves ln Lhelr facLorles. 8oboLs don'L klll Lhemselves, and Lhey geL Lhe
[ob done fasLer.
So whaL socleLy really needs ls 40 or 30 percenL unemploymenL. Pere's how you do lL. My
soluLlon sLarLs off communlsL buL ends up llberLarlan. 8aslcally, companles geL lncenLlvlzed Lo
replace all humans wlLh roboLs. 1he excess proflLs you geL from flrlng people geLs Laxed aL only
half Lhe raLe. All of Lhose roboL Laxes" geL puL lnLo a governmenL fund LhaL ls used Lo subsldlze
Lhe people who are flred ([usL llke farmers are ofLen pald subsldles noL Lo farm). 1he subsldles,
Lhough, run ouL afLer Lhree years. So you have Lhree years from Lhe day you are flred Lo sLarL a
new buslness. Popefully Lhe buslness uses roboLs lnsLead of humans or else you won'L be able
Lo compeLe agalnsL your hlgher-margln compeLlLors. lf you can'L sLarL a buslness, Lhen you end
up belng a Lemp sLaffer somewhere. uon'L say Lhls ls hearLless. 1hls ls Lhe way Lhe world ls
golng. 1haL's why Lhe mlddle class ls dlsappearlng. 8oboLs are Lhe new mlddle class. And
everyone else wlll elLher be an enLrepreneur or a Lemp sLaffer. uon'L shooL Lhe messenger
here. lL's already happenlng. l'm [usL Lrylng Lo flgure ouL a way LhaL we can acLually accepL Lhe
40 percenL unemploymenL or underemploymenL" (already aL 20 percenL) LhaL ls comlng.
l) 8raln daLlng. 1hls ls a sllghLly dlfferenL Lake on C" above. no daLlng servlce works. 1he
dlvorce raLe ls golng up. Many people are noL happy and end up cheaLlng. A frlend of mlne
recenLly goL hls resulLs back from 23andme.com, whlch Lakes your splL and Lells you everyLhlng
you dldn'L know abouL yourself or Lhlngs maybe you knew buL forgoL, llke how old you were
when you flrsL experlenced shame. l [usL senL my splL ln Lwo days ago and Lhe day afLer Lhey
senL me a noLe Lelllng me Lhe prlce had gone down from $299 Lo $99. So l goL screwed agaln by
llfe buL do l regreL lL? Cf course noL. 1haL's Lhe way l roll.
My frlend goL hls resulLs back and l asked hlm whaL Lhe blggesL Lhlng he learned was. And he
sald, 1haL my faLher ls my real faLher." Pe sald, A surprlslngly large number of people are
flndlng ouL LhaL Lhelr blologlcal faLhers are noL Lhelr real faLhers." Why? 8ecause people make
mlsLakes. 1hey geL lnLo relaLlonshlps LhaL are confuslng, and Lhey use confuslng soluLlons Lo geL
ouL of Lhem. Cr even worse, Lhey have bables.
So leL's solve Lhls and end a loL of mlsery. 1ake Lhe braln scans of a Lhousand couples who are
happlly marrled afLer forLy years. ?ou know, Lhe couples who say, Well, we've had our
problems buL we've survlved." CeL rld of Lhem. nC 8C8LLMS. 1hey are ouL Lhere. !usL a
Lhousand couples of Lhe 2 bllllon couples on Lhe planeL. now average Lhe braln scans LogeLher.
When you slgn up for Lhe braln daLlng servlce, you have Lo submlL your braln scan. lL averages
your braln scan wlLh Lhe braln scans of all Lhe women ln Lhe daLabase. 1hen lL maLches Lhe
resulLs agalnsL Lhe daLabase of one Lhousand happlly marrled people. Whlchever comblnaLlon
for you resulLs ln Lhe closesL maLch Lo Lhose Lhousand braln scans you geL seL up on daLe wlLh.
rlce: $10,000. 1he Lechnology ls Lhere, people. Why aren'L you enLrepreneurs on Lop of Lhls
already?
!) A Llke" buLLon ln my conLacL lenses. l [usL read Lhey are maklng conLacL lenses LhaL can read
LexLs. 1haL's nlce. l llke Lo be ln consLanL communlcaLlon wlLh everyone l know all Lhe Llme. 8uL
leL's Lake lL one sLep furLher. l meeL you, l llke you, 8AM, l bllnk Lwlce qulckly and my conLacL
lens reglsLers Lhe llke. now you go abouL your day and oLher people who meeL you can
lmmedlaLely see, !ames has 138 Llkes Loday." lf you're havlng a bad day maybe you have only
flve Llkes." no problem. eople wlll avold you on Lhose days and glve you your space. Llfe ls
sLressful and maybe you need a break. 1omorrow you mlghL be refreshed and geL more Llkes
agaln. l don'L wanL [usL soclal medla." l wanL soclal LllL.
8efore l geL Lo k," l wanL Lo explaln abouL A." 1he orlglnal ldea was Wl-ll wlLh proLeln."
When nomad Lrlbes goL Lo a new area flfLeen Lhousand years ago Lhey would Lhlnk, Where's
Lhe food? now, ln my nomadlc wanderlngs (l.e., new ?ork ClLy SLarbucks locaLlons) l Lhlnk,
Where ls Lhe Wl-ll? Wl-ll has clearly replaced food ln our mlnds. So Wl-ll wlLh proLeln would
solve Lhe problem, rlghL? 8uL here's Lhe lssue. lor Lhe llfe of me, l can'L flgure ouL how you
would do lL. WlLh every ldea above l can Lhlnk of Lhe nexL sLep. ldeas are a dlme a dozen. lL's all
abouL LxLCu1lCn. l [usL looked up everyLhlng l could abouL molecular blology on Wlklpedla and
l slmply cannoL flgure ouL how Lo make Wl-ll wlLh proLeln. So l deleLed LhaL ldea. no good. 8y
Lhe way, lf you are 8ldley ScoLL, please call me abouL llcenslng any of Lhese ldeas for a sclence
flcLlon movle.
k) l don'L have a k". My braln ls hurLlng. ?ou mlghL say l'm a dreamer. Cr someLhlng llke LhaL.
8uL lf you can come up wlLh a good k" Lo help me round Lhls ouL lnLo Len ldeas l'd be really
graLeful, and lf l ever make a company ouL of lL LhaL makes a few bllllon dollars l'll glve you a
small plece of Lhe company and parL of my klouL score. lease follow me on 1wlLLer so my klouL
score goes up. l love you.

DCN'1 nAVL CINICNS
uo you really Lhlnk you are golng Lo change anyone's mlnd? l always wonder, who are Lhese
people who spend all day on lnLerneL message boards and commenLs secLlons geLLlng really
angry and Lrylng Lo prove LhaL Lhelr oplnlon ls 1PL oplnlon LhaL everyone should have.
And yeL, we all geL sucked ln. Some anonymous Leenager from uubal mlghL Lhrow ouL an
oplnlon LhaL rubs us Lhe wrong way and Lhe nexL Lhlng we know lL's forLy-elghL hours laLer and
we are ln a drugged-ouL daze havlng spenL Lhe enLlre Llme peelng ln a boLLle and argulng ln valn
wlLh Lhls lnLerneL Lroll. l wlsh l could say now, So l wenL ouL and lnLervlewed elghLy-seven
Lrolls and here ls whaL Lhey are really llke." 8uL l dldn'L. 8ecause Lhe Lrolls dlsappear. 1here are
7 bllllon people on Lhe planeL. 1he guy who dlsagreed wlLh you ls one of Lhem. Cood luck
flndlng hlm.
WhaL ls Lhe purpose of an oplnlon? 1o prove you're rlghL? ?ou're wrong.
Some Llmes l geL sucked ln. SomeLlmes l wrlLe an arLlcle and people sLarL saylng Lhe vllesL
Lhlngs. l have no ldea who Lhey are, or even whaL Lhelr problems are, and yeL l feel compelled
Lo respond. l geL sucked ln. l feel so horrlble abouL whaL Lhey are saylng. And when l flnally
come up for alr, lL's Lhree days laLer and l Lhlnk Lo myself, whaL Lhe hell have l [usL done."
l'm Lrylng Lo ellmlnaLe Lhlngs. noL [usL maLerlal belonglngs l no longer need or never really
needed Lo begln wlLh, buL all Lhose Lhlngs we've been LaughL from blrLh are lmporLanL" or our
way of llfe" LhaL have acLually become burdens and wasLes of Llme because we cllng Lo Lhem
and proLecL Lhem llke Lhey are more preclous Lhan Lhe Llme and energy we wasLe proLecLlng
Lhem.
Cplnlons are a way of cllnglng Lo Lhe pasL. 1o some bellef sysLem our parenLs lnsLllled ln us, our
educaLlon sysLem LaughL" us, our corporaLe masLers forced on us, our peer group shoved
down our LhroaLs, or some oLher bralnwashlng/programmlng LhaL was lmplanLed lnLo our
braln. lf l have an oplnlon, you can gladly Lake lL from me. Pere's why:
A) Nobody |s ever go|ng to change h|s m|nd. lor lnsLance, lf l say someLhlng llke klds shouldn'L
go Lo college" everyone elLher already agrees wlLh me or dlsagrees wlLh me. very few mlnds
wlll be changed no maLLer how correcL l am (and l am correcL). Pere are some of my oLher
oplnlons: buylng a home ls ALWA?S bad. voLlng ls sLupld. Shakespeare ls 8orlng. ZL8C wars
have been [usLlfled. Wyomlng, norLh uakoLa, and MonLana should be handed over Lo Lhe !ews
and Lhey should move from lsrael Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes. 1here! Co argue wlLh LhaL one.
8) Cne hundred years from now, everyone read|ng th|s book w||| be dead. l know Lhere ls a
lab-coaL army worklng ln 5cleoce Lrylng Lo change Lhls. 8uL, LrusL me, lL won'L work. Sclence has
lLs llmlLs. And afLer seelng Lhe shlL you eaL, don'L counL on belng allve flfLy years from now, leL
alone a hundred.
A year or so ago, a guy l dldn'L llke dled. We used Lo argue all Lhe Llme over our oplnlons. now
he's dead. l guess l won. AfLer he dled lL was amazlng how many people wroLe long, gushlng
LrlbuLes Lo hlm. Cne guy who Lold me LhaL he was sexually harassed by Lhe dead person wroLe
Lhe mosL gushlng one of all. Maybe Lhey ended up havlng sex and lL was wonderful. l don'L
know. l have no oplnlon on LhaL one.
Whlch brlngs me Lo Lhe more lmporLanL lssue: whaL lf we argue and Lhen you dle? WhaL lf you
have a hearL aLLack whlle you are argulng wlLh me? ls lL my faulL Lhen? l don'L wanL LhaL klnd of
gullL on my consclence.
C) Us versus 1hem. 1he World Wlde Web (Lrlple dub" for Lhose ln Lhe buslness) has creaLed
Lhls oozlng lava of us" versus 1hem." WhaL happened before Lhere were message boards?
8efore Lhere were Lhreads"? Cr hyperLexL?
Whenever some guy says someLhlng very haLeful l lmaglne: whaL was lL llke Lhe flrsL Llme LhaL
person klssed hls wlfe? uld a warm gush of chocolaLe flll hls hearL? uld he say Lo hlmself, 1hls
second, l am Lhe happlesL man allve?" uld he have an erecLlon? uld she klss hlm sofLly on hls
llps and Lhen hls cheek and Lhen hls neck? And Lhen, erecLlon lnLacL, dld he log onLo Lhe
lnLerneL as CuesL" and posL, !ames AlLucher ls a fucklng douchebag."?
D) Why educate peop|e? ln poker you can spoL Lhe amaLeur aL Lhe Lable lf Lhey complaln when
Lhey lose a hand. 1hey'll look aL Lhe guy who won Lhe hand and say, ?ou are so sLupld! ?ou
played LhaL hand LoLally wrong. ?ou [usL goL lucky." And Lhey mlghL be rlghL. 8uL Lhe reason
LhaL lL's an amaLeur (and lnsecure) move ls because you WAn1 people Lo play Lhe hand wrong.
?ou wanL Lhem Lo play Lhe hand wrong every slngle Llme so LhaL Lhe odds sLay ln your favor lf
you don'L go lnsane. WhaL do you galn from calllng Lhem ouL, educaLlng Lhem on Lhelr
foollshness?
Cnly worry abouL your own happlness, whlch doesn'L have Lo be llmlLed by anyone else's
sLupldlLy unless you allow lL Lo be.
L) I cou|d be read|ng a book. 1lme ls also a llmlLed resource. ?ou can respond Lo a commenL on
lacebook wlLh an oplnlon no one wlll care abouL ln a hundred years, or you can do someLhlng.
8lghL now. ?ou can Lake a walk by Lhe rlver. Cr you can klss someone. Cr you can [ump on a
Lrampollne.
l wenL Lo a Lrampollne place a few weeks ago. LlLLle klds were runnlng up Lo Lhls slanLed
Lrampollne and dolng fllps. l wanLed Lo do LhaL. 8uL l'm Loo old. klds aren'L afrald of dolng a fllp
and breaklng Lhelr necks and Lhen belng paralyzed for llfe. 8uL as soon as l'm ln Lhe alr, all l can
lmaglne ls my neck snapped off from Lhe resL of my body. Would l pay anyLhlng Lo reLurn Lo
LhaL age when l sLlll weL Lhe bed buL could do a fllp on Lhe Lrampollne? no. never. 1haL would
be a wasLe of my Llme. 8uL l love myself anyway.
I) Lone||ness. l Lhlnk mosL people flghL because Lhey are alone. 1here's noLhlng we can do
abouL lonellness ln Lhe maLerlal world. We've been Lrapped ln Lhese bodles slnce blrLh. 8uL we
Lry. We wanL people Lo agree wlLh us so LhaL for a brlef second we can feel good abouL
ourselves, esLabllsh a connecLlon, and Lhen make slow, sweeL love.
Cnly Lhe Lhlrd parL doesn'L really happen. 8uL we Lhlnk lL wlll. 1here are beLLer ways Lo combaL
my lonellness Lhan Lo hold onLo an oplnlon LhaL makes me Lhe same as Lhe oLher 49.9 percenL
of Lhe world who share LhaL oplnlon.
G) I'm a|ways wrong. l have never had a correcL oplnlon. l don'L even know whaL a correcL
oplnlon smells llke. When l flrsL wroLe ln a prlor book LhaL zero wars can be [usLlfled, someone
menLloned some olyneslan war from 8efore ChrlsL," or Lhe eloponneslan war. l don'L know.
Some war from Lwo Lhousand years ago. l don'L remember, l wasn'L llsLenlng Lo hls sLupld
oplnlon. See! 1haL's whaL happens wlLh oplnlons. Lven l'm gullLy of lL.
Cplnlons are llke money. no maLLer how much you know, Lhere's always someone who knows
more. And Lhey aren'L afrald Lo flaunL lL. l have no credenLlals on anyLhlng. My educaLlon ls
hopelessly ouLdaLed. And my Len-year-old chlld consLanLly correcLs me. 1he oLher day l Lrled Lo
convlnce her LhaL Lhe unlLed SLaLes was a republlc and noL a democracy. 8uL she wouldn'L
change her oplnlon (see A" above) even Lhough l was Lelllng her a lAC1. When l glve an
oplnlon, l know LhaL oplnlon works for me, rlghL Lhen. 8uL LhaL's abouL lL. l don'L always need Lo
flghL for Lhe glory.
n) no|d your breath. 1ry holdlng your breaLh for [usL LhlrLy seconds. 1haL's all lL Lakes. 1ry |t
r|ght now whlle you are looklng aL Lhls llne. now.on Lhe LwenLy-nlnLh second, do any oplnlons
maLLer?
I) Less. l'm Lrylng Lo have fewer Lhlngs ln my llfe rlghL now. 1hls doesn'L always mean fewer
LrlnkeLs LhaL shlne on a shelf. lL also mlghL mean fewer Lhlngs LhaL upseL me. lewer people who
boLher me. lewer regreLs abouL Lhlngs LhaL are long dead and burled. lewer anxleLles abouL a
fuLure LhaL may or may noL exlsL. l flnd LhaL lf l dlg deep and Lhrow away one Lhlng a day, Lhen l
wake up Lhe nexL day a llLLle more peaceful. l don'L need Lo have so many oplnlons. 1he flghL
wlll conLlnue wlLh or wlLhouL me.
I) 8ew||dered. l llke Lo Lry Lhls exerclse: every Llme l have a [udgmenL abouL someLhlng, l
change Lhe puncLuaLlon aL Lhe end of Lhe [udgmenL from an exclamaLlon polnL Lo a quesLlon
mark. She should do Lhls!" becomes, She should do Lhls?" Cr Cbama should legallze crack!"
becomes Cbama should legallze crack?" And, dare l say lL, nobody should go Lo elemenLary
school anymore because lL's a bralnwashlng concenLraLlon camp poslng as a glorlfled
babyslLLlng servlce!" becomes 8eally?"
!usL Lry lL. lL's fun. Walk around bewlldered all day. lL's much more peaceful.
1haL guy shouldn'L shove me!" becomes 1haL guy shouldn'L shove me?" We llve ln a sLrange
world. Lvery day, a labyrlnLh Lo explore. Clues Lo unfold. lL's llke you wake up ln Lhe denLlsL's
chalr and geL Lhrown ouL lnLo Lhe sLreeL. 1he llghL ls sLrange, your eyes are dllaLed (because of
Lhose eye drops Lhe denLlsL keeps forclng on me when l'm unconsclous), you're groggy, people
are very, very busy walklng around you, paylng wlLh Lhe currency of unhapplness now ln order
Lo reach Lhelr glorlous fuLures someday.maybe.
And you wonder, whaL happens lf l [usL slL here? lf l en[oy Lhe sunllghL hlLLlng me? lf l laugh aL
Lhe dllaLed, fuzzy, people? lf l cry myself Lo sleep ln your arms, before you become angry agaln
and you Lry Lo beaL me and sLrangle me wlLh an elecLrlc cord?
1he polnL ls, don'L focus on Lhose Lhlngs ln Lhe maLerlal world LhaL you cannoL conLrol or
posslbly ever change, when you can focus on lnner healLh, on your lnner world, on Lhe Lhlngs
LhaL maLLer.















nCW 1C kLLLASL 1nL GCD nCkMCNL
l dlsgusL myself. When l was slx, l used Lo make fun of one kld for belng heavler Lhan me. When
l was seven, l made fun of a kld for belng Chlnese. Pe was Lhe only Chlnese kld ln Lhe
nelghborhood. l was a seven-year-old raclsL. Pe was so upseL LhaL Lhe prlnclpal had Lo Lalk Lo
me. 1he punlshmenL: we had Lo rlde wlLh each oLher on Lhe bus every day. Pe was more upseL
abouL Lhls LhaL l was.
When l was nlne, l was caughL shopllfLlng fooLball cards, whlch puL an end Lo a successful,
yearlong crlme spree LhaL lncluded sLeallng everyLhlng from candy Lo Charlle 8rown books Lo
MoJ books Lo baseball cards. My parenLs were so angry LhaL Lhey cancelled my upcomlng
blrLhday parLy. 1hen Lhey never leL me have one agaln. l sLlll don'L have blrLhday parLles.
8ecause l sLole a fooLball card.
l dld loLs of Lhlngs. 1hlngs much laLer. ugh. l can hardly Lhlnk of lL. 1he Lhlngs LhaL l would do.
l'm llke a psychopaLh or soclopaLh when l really geL down Lo lL. WorsL of all, l go Lo Lhe
baLhroom. l've never seen a more dlsgusLlng Lhlng Lhan my own human body golng Lo Lhe
baLhroom. ugh.
Coogle: l need Lo Lalk Lo you abouL Lhls! ?ou are maklng a car LhaL drlves wlLhouL a drlver. ?ou
are maklng glasses LhaL wlre my braln rlghL lnLo Lhe lnLerneL. Why Lhe hell can'L you make lL so l
don'L have Lo shlL? Llke, can'L l wear glasses LhaL do phoLosynLhesls from Lhe sun and Lurn lnLo
nuLrlLlon for my body? nuLrlLlon wlLh no wasLe. Why, for everyLhlng l eaL, do l have Lo generaLe
wasLe? 1hls ls almosL proof LhaL SaLan exlsLs.
And even worse, some of Lhe wasLe geLs sLuck. lf you're noL yeL my age (forLy-four) you'll soon
know whaL l'm Lalklng abouL. lL geLs sLuck forever. l've swlLched dleLs recenLly. no carbs. no
processed sugars. noL even gluLen-free sLuff, whlch ls all a scam. And, l have Lo say, Lhe quallLy
of whaL comes ouL of me has become much beLLer. nor do l feel as sLuffed.
So, okay, glass half full. 8lghL?
LeL me Lell you Lhe real bad news, Lhough lL won'L seem LhaL way. Cur allen ancesLors who
creaLed us also creaLed slmple Lools (call Lhem Lrlggers," lf you wlll) so we can reprogram our
bodles Lo be happy. WhaL does happy mean? lL means varlous chemlcals geL manlpulaLed
LhroughouL Lhe body. CorLlsol levels go down. CorLlsol ls Lhe flghL-or-fllghL hormone. So, llke,
when you are slLLlng aL your desk sLarlng aL a compuLer screen and you are worrled your boss ls
golng Lo yell aL you, your corLlsol levels are golng Lhrough Lhe roof.

ln oLher words, your body wanLs Lo do whaL lL would've done LwenLy Lhousand years ago (a
mlcrosecond ln our evoluLlonary hlsLory) and baslcally run away as fasL as posslble or physlcally
desLroy whaLever ls scarlng you. llghL or fllghL. noLe Lhe C8." 1here really lsn'L an ln-beLween
LhaL says, uon'L move and slmply sLare aL your compuLer screen whlle you are slmmerlng ln
unrequlLed anger and frusLraLlon." 1haL wasn'L parL of Lhe evoluLlonary plan. 1haL's probably
whaL Lhe neanderLhals dld-and look aL whaL happened Lo Lhem. 1hey're dead. Lvery lasL one
of Lhem.

So whaL do you do, ln our modern day and age? ?ou slL Lhere, you sLare aL Lhe compuLer
screen, you maybe Lype some words, buL Lhen your braln ls dlsLracLed. ?ou can'L Lhlnk. ?our
corLlsol ls Lhrough Lhe roof and noLhlng ls worklng lL off. 1haL's really horrlble. 1he corLlsol
needs Lo be worked off. Cr else. ?ou are royally *******. ?ou can geL cancer, hearL dlsease,
sLrokes, Alzhelmer's, Lhe whole works.
And lf you are llke me-lf you are llke mosL people-Lhen chances are Lhls ls happenlng Lo you
every day. Pere's whaL happens. 1he vagus nerve sLreLches from your braln Lo your sLomach
and hlLs every organ along Lhe way (almosL). lL geLs lnflamed when your corLlsol levels are Loo
hlgh for Loo long. 1he vagus nerve baslcally causes every dlsease known Lo manklnd. Plgh sLress
lnflames lL, as does bad food, smoklng, eLc. ?ou geL Lhe drlfL.
WPA1 Su8LSSLS 1PL lnlLAMMA1lCn?

CxyLocln, anoLher hormone LhaL Lhe body ls more Lhan happy Lo release. CxyLocln performs
Lwo very lmporLanL funcLlons LhaL allow Lhe human race Lo conLlnue. 8oLh of Lhese funcLlons
have varlous, beneflclal, slde effecLs.
1) CxyLocln ls released when you have an orgasm. lor men, lnLeresLlngly, lL ls only released
when you have an orgasm wlLh someone you love.
2) CxyLocln ls released when a woman ls ln labor. lL helps Lhe cervlx sLreLch so lL's ln less paln.
Women, LhaL ls. lor men, when Lhe female cervlx sLarLs Lo expand lL's Lhe beglnnlng of abouL
nlne years of agony.
8aslcally, oxyLocln ls Lhe hormone Lhere aL Lhe crlLlcal momenLs of llfe creaLlon. lL's Lhe llfe
hormone". lL also helps reduce corLlsol levels (you know LhaL feellng of relaxaLlon you geL afLer
sex) and lnflammaLlon of Lhe vagus nerve. (l sorL of llke LhaL word: voqos. lL's boLh vague" and
vaglnal.")
So l'm noL golng Lo polnL Lo all Lhe research. ?ou can Coogle lL wlLh your glasses. 8uL baslcally,
Lhere are varlous ways you can Lrlck Lhe body lnLo releaslng oxyLocln. 1he beneflLs are slmple:
you feel beLLer and you wlll llve longer, and you wlll reduce sLress and be happler.
ClvL MCnL? AWA?. 1urns ouL LhaL showlng compasslon ln a vlsceral way llke glvlng money ls
llnked Lo hlgher levels of oxyLocln. My guess ls LhaL glvlng Lo charlLy ls noL Lhe way Lo do lL. l
prefer my meLhod of belng a superhero:
PuCClnC. 1ouchlng and hugglng release oxyLocln-wlLh hugglng belng more powerful Lhan
Louchlng, and hugglng someone you love belng more powerful Lhan boLh. So a hug ls beLLer
Lhan a handshake. 8uL almosL as good as hugglng ls lmaglnlng yourself belng hugged or
cuddled by someone you love. Puh. lL's really funny how Lhe braln does LhaL.

lACL8CCk. l llke Lo browse my lacebook Llme llne and occaslonally Llke" a phoLograph posLed
by a random frlend from LhlrLy years ago. l would never ln a mllllon years call LhaL frlend and
say, 1haL was a real cuLe phoLo of your baby LhaL you posLed." 8uL llklng Lhe phoLo ls my way
of connecLlng wlLh someone LhaL l felL close Lo aL some polnL ln my llfe, even lf lL was only
because her locker was nexL Lo mlne ln [unlor hlgh school. Cuess whaL? 1urns ouL, uslng soclal
medla ln Lhls way releases oxyLocln. ?ou know you feel good when you do lL. uo lL more. ln
parLlcular, lacebook llke" all of my blog posLs. [1he funny Lhlng ls, someone has acLually done
Lhls sclenLlflc research and demonsLraLed lL. noL Lhe parL abouL llklng my blog posLs buL abouL
lacebook ln general. AlLhough llklng my blog posLs wlll cerLalnly release oxyLocln. ?ou can sLarL
now lf you wanL.]

LAuCP1L8. l wlll Lell you my pre-daLe secreL. ln Lhe brlef perlod when l was slngle ln beLween
separaLlon and remarrlage, l had a Lechnlque before every daLe. l would waLch elLher Mlchael
Cera dolng comedy or Louls Ck dolng sLand-up. 1hls would geL me laughlng, make my oxyLocln
hormones go on flre, and Lhen l'd go rlghL lnLo Lhe daLe, wlLh all my sex hormones raglng.
1haL's a plus. l would be Lemporarlly funnler, wlLh a half-llfe of abouL Lwo hours. l knew afLer
four hours l would be borlng agaln so Lhe daLe would have Lo be over by Lhen. (l do Lhls before
Lalks, Loo.)

WALklnC. noLe, l dldn'L say Lake a run. 8unnlng ls greaL for reduclng Lhe meLabollsm buL so ls
eaLlng beLLer. CLherwlse, for me aL leasL, runnlng ls really hard. l haLe lL. 8uL l love Lo walk.
Walk ln Lhe sun. 1he sun ls a nuLrlenL. And a half hour won'L klll you, desplLe whaL global
warmlng people say. Walklng ouLslde, as you mlghL guess, ls sLaLlsLlcally correlaLed wlLh hlgher
levels of oxyLocln. Well, you say, l can'L walk. l have meeLlngs all day. lf you can, Lry Lo Lake a
walklng meeLlng. 1hls helps you bond more wlLh Lhe person you are meeLlng wlLh, and you
mlghL even have an advenLure along Lhe way (guess whaL-sclenLlflc research shows LhaL
havlng an advenLure wlLh someone also releases oxyLocln. l guess because when you are
chaslng wolves wlLh someone Lhen you know you wlll feel safer wlLh Lhem afLerward). 1he lasL
Llme l had a walklng meeLlng wlLh a frlend, a guy sLarLed yelllng aL me from a car and l
challenged hlm (wlLh a smlle on my face) Lo a flghL. My frlend had Lo drag me away whlle Lhe
guy was parklng hls car and geLLlng ready Lo klll me. lL was fun. lL was an advenLure. l felL
Lhrllled.

PCnL CALL. lL's good Lo Lalk Lo a frlend. l don'L have a loL of frlends. l have abouL Lhree people
on my call llsL. Maybe four lf l sLreLch lL. Maybe flve. l don'L know. Maybe flfLy. l llke a loL of
people, buL l'm Loo shy Lo call Lhem. Maybe l should. And [usL chaL for a few mlnuLes. Llke we
all used Lo do when we were klds. Pey, how are you dolng? WhaL's up?" 1hls feels good. lL's
llke a vocal hug wlLh someone we llke. vocally hug people Loday.

8LlnC 18uS1Lu. 1hls ls hard. ?ou can'L force people Lo LrusL you. And LrusLlng someone doesn'L
release oxyLocln. 8uL belng LrusLed does. So llve your llfe ln such a way LhaL more and more
people wlll LrusL you. Cuess whaL: you wlll be vlewed ln a more charlsmaLlc way lf people LrusL
you Lhan lf people don'L LrusL you. Why noL Lry Lhls? Pow can you be more LrusLed? Ch my god,
why so many quesLlons Loday? My hands are already Llred. l'm abouL 1,497 words already.

LlS1LnlnC 1C MuSlC. !usL lylng down and llsLenlng Lo muslc releases oxyLocln. 1haL's why
women ln labor are encouraged Lo llsLen Lo sooLhlng muslc. 1haL's why people havlng sex llsLen
Lo sooLhlng muslc. l don'L even really know whaL sooLhlng muslc means. l keep Lhlnklng of Lhe
'90s 8&8 group M uawn. 8uL l'm sure Lhere are beLLer examples (Spandau 8alleL?).

lCCu. Pere ls my oxyLocln-rlch meal: eggs, mlxed wlLh bananas and pepper. Lach lngredlenL ls
known Lo release hlgh levels of oxyLocln. So why noL eaL Lhem all LogeLher: someLhlng sweeL,
someLhlng savory, someLhlng splcy, a frulL, and some proLeln, lL's all good. LaL a blg plaLe of
LhaL and noLhlng else. 8AM! ?ou are off for Lhe day on an oxyLocln spurL.

And flnally:
88LA1PlnC. ueep breaLhlng hypnoLlzes your body lnLo Lhlnklng everyLhlng ls calm. And, guess
whaL, lL's noL llke you are belng hunLed down by wlld glraffes rlghL now. 1hlngs are calm,
relaLlvely speaklng. When your body ls calm, so ls your mlnd, and oxyLocln geLs released. Ah,
your body ls saylng when lL breaLhes deep, everyLhlng ls safe. So now l have Llme Lo be happy.
1hls ls all good and bad news.
1he good news ls LhaL Lhere ls a chemlcal ln your braln LhaL when released, makes you feel
good for up Lo Lwo weeks. And lf a loL of lL ls released, you elLher feel llke you are havlng an
orgasm for Lwo weeks or, l don'L know, llke your cervlx ls belng expanded for Lwo weeks. l have
no ldea on LhaL one.
1he bad news ls exacLly Lhe same. A CPLMlCAL wlll make you feel good for Lwo weeks. ln oLher
words, our baslc, human bodles are no beLLer Lhan avlovlan dogs-Lrlggered Lo sallvaLe when
Lhe rlghL sLlmull hlLs our Lwo hundred Lhousand-year-old evoluLlonary bralns. We're no beLLer
Lhan Lhe dogs. no beLLer Lhan Lhe [ellyflsh LhaL crawled ouL of Lhe boLLom of Lhe ocean and
Lhen formed LenLacles, Lhen arms, Lhen bralns.

lorgeL all self-help. lL's all garbage. lL's all abouL Lhls one sllly chemlcal. 1he news laLely ls all
abouL Lhe Plggs-8oson, Lhe god parLlcle." Well, oxyLocln ls Lhe god hormone."
1haL sald, l'll do all of Lhe above. l need my body funcLlonlng. l need Lo geL rld of menLal wasLe
and physlcal wasLe and emoLlonal wasLe. Why noL?
8uL aL Lhe end of Lhe day, lL's splrlLual wasLe LhaL l'm afLer. And how do you geL LhaL? Pow do
you geL Lo LhaL pecullar deslre of Lrylng Lo have no deslres? 8ecause when you expecL noLhlng,
you have Lhe lmmense saLlsfacLlon of geLLlng everyLhlng you wanL.

Pow do you geL Lhere?
lL's noL oxyLocln. l won'L be fooled lnLo bellevlng lL. 8uL lf lL makes me shlL ouL my menLal and
emoLlonal wasLe beLLer Lhen slgn me up. 8elng happy ls a good sLarL. 8uL oxyLocln ls [usL Lhe
flower. And you can'L see Lhe flower wlLhouL Lhe llghL. 1he goal ls Lo be Lhe llghL.

1nL SLVLN nA8I1S CI nIGnL LIILC1IVL MLDICCkL LCLL
l'm preLLy medlocre. l'm ashamed Lo admlL lL. l'm noL even belng sarcasLlc or self-deprecaLlng.
l've never done anyLhlng LhaL sLands ouL as, Whoa! 1hls guy made lL lnLo ouLer space!"
Cr.1hls guy has a besLselllng novel!" Cr.lf only Coogle had LhoughL of Lhls!" l've had some
successes and some (well-documenLed) fallures, buL l've never reached any of Lhe goals l had
lnlLlally seL. l've always sllpped off along Lhe way, off Lhe yellow brlck road, lnLo Lhe wllderness.
l've sLarLed a bunch of companles. Sold some. lalled aL mosL of Lhem. l've lnvesLed ln a bunch
of sLarLups. Sold some. lalled aL some, and Lhe [ury ls sLlll sequesLered on a few oLhers. l've
wrlLLen some books, mosL of whlch l no longer llke. l can Lell you overall, Lhough, LhaL
everyLhlng l have done has been dlsLlngulshed by lLs medlocrlLy, lLs lack of a grand vlslon, and
any success l've had can be [usL as much puL ln Lhe luck baskeL as Lhe efforL baskeL.
1haL sald, all people should be so lucky. We can'L all be grand vlslonarles. We can'L all be
lcassos. We wanL Lo grow our buslness, make our arL, sell lL, make some money, ralse a famlly,
and Lry Lo be happy. My feellng, based on my own experlence, ls LhaL almlng for grandloslLy ls
Lhe fasLesL rouLe Lo fallure. lor every Mark Zuckerberg, Lhere are a Lhousand !ack Zuckermans.
Who ls !ack Zuckerman? l have no ldea. 1haL's my polnL. lf you are !ack Zuckerman and are
readlng Lhls, l apologlze. ?ou almed for Lhe sLars and mlssed. ?our reenLry lnLo Lhe aLmosphere
lnvolved a broken heaL shleld and you burned Lo a crlsp by Lhe Llme you hlL Lhe ocean. now we
have no ldea who you are.
lf you wanL Lo geL rlch, sell your company, have Llme for your hobbles, ralse a halfway decenL
famlly (wlLh medlocre chlldren, eLc.), and on occaslon en[oy Lhe sunseL wlLh your wlfe, here are
some of my hlghly effecLlve recommendaLlons.
8CC8AS1lnA1lCn. ln beLween Lhe Llme l wroLe Lhe lasL senLence and Lhe Llme l wroLe Lhls
one, l played (and losL) a game of chess. My klng and my queen goL forked by a knlghL. 8uL hey,
LhaL happens. lork me once, shame on me, eLc.

rocrasLlnaLlon ls your body Lelllng you LhaL you need Lo back off a blL and Lhlnk more abouL
whaL you are dolng. When you procrasLlnaLe as an enLrepreneur, lL could mean LhaL you need a
blL more Llme Lo Lhlnk abouL whaL you are plLchlng a cllenL. lL could also mean you are dolng
work LhaL ls noL your forLe and LhaL you are beLLer off delegaLlng. l flnd LhaL many
enLrepreneurs are Lrylng Lo do everyLhlng when lL would be cheaper and more Llme-efflclenL Lo
delegaLe, even lf Lhere are upfronL moneLary cosLs assoclaLed wlLh LhaL. ln my flrsL buslness, lL
was llke a llghLbulb wenL off ln my head Lhe flrsL Llme l delegaLed a programmlng [ob Lo
someone. Why dld l declde flnally Lo delegaLe aL LhaL parLlcular polnL? l had a hoL daLe. Whlch
was lnflnlLely beLLer Lhan me sweaLlng all nlghL on some sLupld programmlng bug (Lhank you,
CheL, for solvlng LhaL lssue).
1ry Lo flgure ouL why you are procrasLlnaLlng. Maybe you need Lo bralnsLorm more Lo lmprove
an ldea. Maybe Lhe ldea ls no good as ls. Maybe you need Lo delegaLe. Maybe you need Lo learn
more. Maybe you don'L en[oy whaL you are dolng. Maybe you don'L llke Lhe cllenL whose
pro[ecL you were [usL worklng on. Maybe you need Lo Lake a break. 1here's only so many
seconds ln a row you can Lhlnk abouL someLhlng before you need Lo Lake Llme off and
re[uvenaLe Lhe creaLlve muscles. 1hls ls noL for everyone. CreaL people can sLorm rlghL Lhrough.
SLeve !obs never needed Lo Lake a break. 8uL l do.
rocrasLlnaLlon could also be a sLrong slgn LhaL you are a perfecLlonlsL. 1haL you are fllled wlLh
shame lssues. 1hls wlll block you from bulldlng and selllng your buslness. Lxamlne your
procrasLlnaLlon from every slde. lL's your body Lrylng Lo Lell you someLhlng. LlsLen Lo lL.
ZL8C-1ASklnC. 1here's a common myLh LhaL greaL people can mulLlLask efflclenLly. 1hls mlghL
be Lrue buL l can'L do lL. l have sLaLlsLlcal proof. l have a serlous addlcLlon. lf you ever Lalk on Lhe
phone wlLh me, Lhere's almosL a 100 percenL chance LhaL l am slmulLaneously playlng chess
onllne. 1he phone rlngs, and one hand reaches for Lhe phone and Lhe oLher hand reaches for
Lhe compuLer Lo lnlLlaLe a one-mlnuLe game. Chess ranklngs are based on a sLaLlsLlcally
generaLed raLlng sysLem. l can easlly compare how well l do when l'm on Lhe phone compared
wlLh when l'm noL on Lhe phone. 1here ls a Lhree-polnL sLandard devlaLlon dlfference. lmaglne
lf l were Lalklng on Lhe phone and drlvlng. Cr respondlng Lo e-malls. lL's Lhe same Lhlng l'm
assumlng: phone calls cause a Lhree-polnL sLandard devlaLlon subLracLlon ln lnLelllgence. And
LhaL's Lhe baslc mulLlLasklng we all do aL some polnL or oLher.

So greaL people can mulLlLask. Wonderful. 8uL slnce, by deflnlLlon, mosL of us are noL greaL (99
percenL of us are noL ln Lhe Lop 1 percenL), lL's much beLLer Lo slngle-Lask. !usL do one Lhlng aL a
Llme. When you wash your hands, don'L Lry Lo brush your LeeLh. Pear Lhe sound of Lhe waLer,
feel Lhe waLer on your hands, scrub every parL. 8e clean. locus on whaL you are dolng.
CfLen, Lhe successful medlocre enLrepreneur should sLrlve for excellence ln ZL8C-Lasklng. uo
noLhlng. We always feel llke we have Lo be dolng someLhlng" or we (or, l should say l") feel
ashamed. SomeLlmes lL's beLLer Lo [usL be quleL, Lo noL Lhlnk of anyLhlng aL all. A very
successful, self-made buslnessman once Lold me, never underesLlmaLe Lhe power of a long,
proLracLed sllence."
CuL of sllence comes Lhe greaLesL creaLlvlLy.
noL when we are rushlng and panlcklng.
lAlLu8L. As far as l can Lell, Larry age has never falled. Pe wenL sLralghL from graduaLe school
Lo bllllons. ulLLo for Mark Zuckerberg, 8lll CaLes, and a few oLhers. 8uL agaln, by deflnlLlon,
mosL of us are preLLy medlocre. We can sLrlve for greaLness buL we wlll never hlL lL. 1haL means
we wlll ofLen fall. noL ALWA?S fall. 8uL ofLen.

My lasL slxLeen ouL of sevenLeen buslness aLLempLs were fallures. ulLlmaLely, llfe ls a senLence
of fallures, puncLuaLed only by Lhe brlefesL of successes. So Lhe medlocre enLrepreneur learns
Lwo Lhlngs from fallure: llrsL he learns dlrecLly how Lo overcome LhaL parLlcular fallure. Pe's
hlghly moLlvaLed Lo noL repeaL Lhe same mlsLakes. Second, he learns how Lo deal wlLh Lhe
psychology of fallure. Medlocre enLrepreneurs fall A LC1. So Lhey geL Lhls lncredlble sklll of
geLLlng really good aL deallng wlLh fallure. 1hls LranslaLes Lo moneLary success.

1he medlocre enLrepreneur undersLands LhaL perslsLence ls noL Lhe self-help cllche keep golng
unLll you hlL Lhe flnlsh llne!" lL's keep falllng unLll you accldenLally no longer fall." 1haL's
perslsLence.
nC1 C8lClnAL. l've never come up wlLh an orlglnal ldea ln my llfe. My flrsL successful buslness
was maklng web sofLware, sLraLegles, and webslLes for lorLune 300 companles. noL an orlglnal
ldea buL aL Lhe Llme, ln Lhe '90s, people were paylng exorblLanL mulLlples for such buslnesses.
My successful lnvesLmenLs all lnvolved slLuaLlons where l made sure Lhe CLCs and oLher
lnvesLors were smarLer Lhan me. Cne hundred percenL of my zeros as an angel lnvesLor were
slLuaLlons where l LhoughL l was smarL. l wasn'L. l'm medlocre.

1he besL ldeas are when you Lake Lwo older ldeas LhaL have noLhlng Lo do wlLh each oLher,
make Lhem have sex wlLh each oLher, and Lhen bulld a buslness around Lhe basLard, ugly chlld
LhaL resulLs. 1he chlld who was so ugly nobody else wanLed Lo Louch lL. Look aL lacebook:
comblne Lhe lnLerneL wlLh sLalklng. Amazlng!
And, by Lhe way, lL was abouL Lhe flfLh aLLempL aL such a soclal neLwork. 1wlLLer: comblne
lnLerneL wlLh anLlquaLed SMS proLocols. ugly! 8uL lL works. e8ay, comblne e-commerce wlLh
aucLlons. 1he song l'll 8e 1here." Comblne Marlah Carey wlLh Mlchael !ackson. lf !usLln 8leber
sang !ohn Lennon's lmaglne," lL would be a huge hlL. l mlghL even llsLen Lo lL.
CC8 nL1WC8klnC. l'm LhaL guy: you know, Lhe one aL Lhe parLy who doesn'L Lalk Lo anyone
and sLands ln Lhe corner. l never go Lo Lech meeL-ups. l usually say no Lo very nlce neLworklng
dlnner lnvlLaLlons. l llke Lo sLay home and read. When l was runnlng buslnesses, l was ofLen Loo
shy Lo Lalk Lo my employees. l would call my secreLary from downsLalrs and ask lf Lhe hallway
was clear Lhen ask her Lo unlock my door and l'd hurry upsLalrs and lock Lhe door behlnd me.
1haL parLlcular company falled dlsasLrously.

8uL many people neLwork Loo much. LnLrepreneurshlp ls hard enough. lL's LwenLy hours a day
of managlng employees, cusLomers, meeLlngs, and producL developmenL. And Lhe buck sLops
here sorL of Lhlng. And Lhen whaL are you golng Lo do? neLwork all nlghL? Save LhaL for Lhe
greaL enLrepreneurs. Cr Lhe ones who are abouL Lo fall. 1he medlocre enLrepreneur works hls
LwenLy hours, Lhen relaxes when he can. lL's Lough Lo make money. noL a parLy.
uC An?1PlnC 1C CL1 A ?LS." Pere's a negoLlaLlon l dld. l was sLarLlng sLockplckr.com and
meeLlng wlLh Lhe CLC of LhesLreeL.com. Pe wanLed hls company Lo have a percenLage of
sLockplckr.com, and ln exchange he would flll up our ad lnvenLory. l was exclLed Lo do Lhe deal. l
sald, Ckay, l was Lhlnklng you would geL 10 percenL of Lhe company." Pe laughed and sald,
no. llfLy percenL." Pe dldn'L even say, We would llke 30 percenL." Pe [usL sald, llfLy
percenL." l Lhen used all my negoLlaLlng skllls and came up wlLh a reply. Ckay. ueal."

l'm a salesman. l llke people Lo say yes Lo me. l feel lnsecure when Lhey no or, even worse, lf
Lhey don'L llke me. When l sLarLed a company dolng webslLes we were plLchlng Lo do
mlramax.com. l quoLed a prlce of $30,000. 1hey sald, no more Lhan $1,000, and LhaL's a
sLreLch." l used my usual Lechnlque: ueal!"
8uL Lhe end resulLs: ln one case, LhesLreeL.com had a slgnlflcanL flnanclal sLake so LhaL gave
Lhem more psychologlcal sLake. And for my flrsL buslness, Mlramax was now on my cllenL llsL.
1haL's why Con Ldlson had Lo pay a loL more. CfLen, Lhe secreL, poor negoLlaLor's keep ls LhaL
we geL more deals done. l geL Lhe occaslonal loss leader, and Lhen ulLlmaLely Lhe blg flsh geLs
reeled ln lf l geL enough people Lo say yes. lL's llke asklng every glrl on Lhe sLreeL Lo have sex
wlLh you. Cne ouL of a hundred wlll say yes. ln my case lL mlghL be one ouL of a mllllon buL you
geL Lhe ldea.

CC8 !uuCL Cl LCLL. 1he medlocre enLrepreneur doesn'L 8llnk" ln Lhe Malcolm Cladwell
sense. ln Cladwell's book, he ofLen Lalks abouL people who can form snap, correcL [udgmenLs ln
Lwo or Lhree seconds. My lnlLlal [udgmenL when l meeL or even see people ls Lhls: l haLe you.

And Lhen l veer from LhaL Lo Loo LrusLlng. llnally, afLer l bounce back and forLh, and Lhrough
much Lrlal and error, l end up somewhere ln Lhe mlddle. l also Lend Lo drop people l can'L LrusL
very qulckly. l Lhlnk Lhe greaL enLrepreneur can make snap [udgmenLs and be very successful
wlLh lL. 8uL LhaL doesn'L work for mosL people.
AL Lhls polnL, when l meeL someone, l make sure l speclflcally don'L LrusL my flrsL lnsLlncLs. l geL
Lo know people more. l geL Lo undersLand whaL Lhelr moLlvaLlons are. l Lry Lo sympaLhlze wlLh
whaLever Lhelr poslLlon ls. l llsLen Lo Lhem. l Lry noL Lo argue or gosslp abouL Lhem before l
know anyLhlng. l spend a loL more Llme geLLlng Lo know Lhe people whom l wanL Lo brlng
closer. l have Lo do Lhls because l'm medlocre, and l'm a loL more aL rlsk of brlnglng Lhe wrong
people lnLo my clrcle.
So by Lhe Llme l've declded Lo be close Lo someone-a cllenL, an employee, an acqulrer, an
acqulree, a wlfe, eLc.-l've already done a loL of Lhe Lhlnklng abouL Lhem. 1hls means l can'L
wasLe Llme Lhlnklng abouL oLher Lhlngs, llke how Lo puL a rockeL shlp on !uplLer. 8uL overall lL's
worked.

l LhoughL belng medlocre ls supposed Lo be bad? one mlghL Lhlnk. Shouldn'L we sLrlve for
greaLness? And Lhe answer ls, Cf course we should! 8uL leL's noL forgeL LhaL nlne ouL of Len
moLorlsLs Lhlnk Lhey are 'above average drlvers.'" eople overesLlmaLe Lhemselves. uon'L leL
overesLlmaLlon geL ln Lhe way of becomlng fabulously rlch, or aL leasL successful enough LhaL
you can have your freedom, feed your famlly, and en[oy oLher Lhlngs ln llfe.
8elng medlocre doesn'L mean you won'L change Lhe world. lL means belng honesL wlLh yourself
and Lhe people around you. And belng honesL aL every level ls really Lhe mosL effecLlve hablL of
all lf you wanL Lo have masslve success.











nCW 1C 8L LLSS S1UID
Cne has Lo balance medlocrlLy, Lhough, wlLh Lhe human mlnd, whlch wanLs Lo Lake us below lL.
lf glven Lhe chance, Lhe human mlnd wlll consLanLly flll us up wlLh LhoughLs. ?ou would Lhlnk
LhoughLs make us smarL, buL lL's qulLe Lhe opposlLe.
l'm really sLupld. l can Lell you ln advance. l Lhlnk aL hearL, lf l work aL lL, l can be smarL. 8uL aL
Lhe momenL, l'm largely an ldloL. l feel LhaL l have Lhe rlghL knowledge buL l leL a loL of sLuff geL
ln Lhe way. My head fllls up Loo qulckly wlLh LhoughLs.
?ou know, sLuff": worrles, gullL, paranola, grudges, and resenLmenL. Llke, for lnsLance, l resenL
Lhe people who resenL me. l Lhlnk Lhey resenL me for no reason. So now l resenL Lhem. WhaL a
clrcle-[erk!
l used Lo Lhlnk LhaL when l added sLuff Lo my braln l'd geL smarLer. 8uL Lhls ls noL Lrue. lor
lnsLance, lf l look up when Charlemagne was born l'd [usL add a facL Lo my head LhaL l wlll forgeL
Lomorrow buL wlll cluLLer my subconsclous mlnd. 1hls won'L make me smarLer.
SubLracLlon, and noL addlLlon, ls whaL makes Lhe wlndow Lo Lhe braln more clear, wlpes away
Lhe smudges, and opens Lhe drapes.
ln Lhe '90s l had an lmporLanL buslness meeLlng. l was Lrylng Lo convlnce 1upac's manager Lo leL
me do hls webslLe and enhanced Cu (Lhls was rlghL afLer he dled). noL only was Lhe meeLlng
bad, buL lL was embarrasslng.
1he manager asked me Lo puL my demo Cu lnLo Lhe compuLer and show hlm whaL l had. 1he
only problem: hls compuLer was runnlng Wlndows. AL LhaL polnL l had never ln my llfe used a
Wlndows machlne, only Macs and unlx. So l had no ldea how Lo puL Lhe Cu ln Lhere and geL lL
runnlng. Pe laughed me ouL of Lhe room.
l had a chess lesson afLerwards. l couldn'L play aL all. lL was llke l dldn'L even know Lhe rules. My
lnsLrucLor, a chess grandmasLer, sald, WhaL's wrong wlLh you Loday?" l was ashamed. And
angry aL myself. So my lnLelllgence wenL way down-llke 80 percenL down.
So many Lhlngs have puL useless, wasLeful, LhoughLs ln my head. lf you Lhlnk back Lo all of your
besL momenLs ln llfe, were Lhey momenLs when Lhere were Lons of LhoughLs happenlng ln your
head? Cr momenLs when Lhere were fewer LhoughLs, l.e., when you were calm and
conLemplaLlve?
lf l wanL Lo be happy and producLlve, l Lhlnk back Lo Lhose momenLs of paln and Lry Lo flgure
ouL whaL was golng on ln my head LhaL made me so mlserable LhaL l couldn'L funcLlon.
aranola ls cerLalnly one of Lhem. Waklng up ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe nlghL and wonderlng: ls she
cheaLlng? ls he sLeallng? Are Lhey Lalklng abouL me? Wlll Lhey sue me? LLc. ?ou lose abouL 30 Lo
30 percenL of your lnLelllgence. 1haL's a blg chunk. lor me, lL's because l can'L Lhlnk of anyLhlng
else. l would clrcle her house unLll Lhe llghLs were on and Lhen l'd knock on Lhe door. Cr l would
go Lo hls offlce and noL leave unLll he showed up. aranola wlll desLroy you.
SomeLlmes, ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe day, l'll also experlence an exLreme aLLack of resenLmenL.
WhaL for? Cver someone who wroLe abouL me a year ago? Cr someone who blocked an
opporLunlLy for me for reasons only he knows. Who knows why people do Lhese Lhlngs? 1hey
are [usL as unconsclous as everyone else. Cur goal ls Lo be consclous. 1o be Lhe one who ls
aware of Lhe acLlons and reacLlons around us. We have Lo be, lf we're golng Lo be a Choose-
?ourself-er. CLherwlse we wlll geL sLuck ln Lhe same no-passlng lane everyone else ls slowly
drlvlng ln.
l flgure l lose aL leasL 20 percenL of my lnLelllgence when l am resenLful. Maybe 30 percenL lf l
Lhrow feellngs of revenge on Lop of lL. uoes lL really help me Lo Lhlnk of whlch parLlcular baL l
wlll use Lo Lake ouL my revenge fanLasy?
8egreL ls anoLher one lL Look me years Lo deal wlLh ln my worsL momenLs. l've wrlLLen abouL lL a
bllllon Llmes. l losL a loL of money ln 2000-2001. l regreL lL. Cr, l should say, l regreLLed lL. l don'L
anymore. Pow come? 8ecause l saw LhaL regreL was Laklng aL leasL 60 percenL of my
lnLelllgence away. l couldn'L afford 60 percenL. l could afford 2 percenL, noL 60 percenL. l dldn'L
sLarL comlng up wlLh ldeas for new buslnesses unLll Lhe regreL wenL away.
8rene 8rown has wrlLLen an excellenL book called 1be Clft of lmpetfectloo, buL l'll summarlze lL
here: perfecLlonlsm ls someLlmes Lhe mosL dangerous seL of LhoughLs you can leL make Lhelr
home ln your head. When l was runnlng a fund, l never wanLed Lo have a down monLh. l'd be
afrald Lo Lalk Lo my lnvesLors. Cne guy, who ls sLlll a good frlend (l spoke wlLh hlm Loday even)
sald, LlsLen, lf you're golng Lo be a fund manager you have Lo be able Lo Lalk Lo people when
you have a down monLh."
8uL l was ashamed. When l losL my house, l moved sevenLy mlles away. l dldn'L wanL Lo run lnLo
anyone. l felL shame. When l wrlLe a blog posL l Lhlnk ls weak, l mlghL Lake lL down before Loo
many see lL. l'm ashamed of lL. l wanL Lo wln Lhe nobel rlze for blog wrlLlng. Cr geL aL leasL Len
Lhousand lacebook llke"s. 8uL l can'L conLrol LhaL, l'm lmperfecL. 1he shame of
lmperfecLlonlsm Lakes aL leasL 20 percenL of my lnLelllgence away. 8ecause people sense and
appreclaLe honesLy, and honesLy abouL lmperfecLlons, belleve lL or noL, creaLes enormous
opporLunlLles. l've seen lL happen ln my own llfe.
And relaLed Lo perfecLlonlsm ls cerLalnly Lhe feellng LhaL you wanL Lo conLrol Lhe evenLs around
you. l wanL Lo conLrol everyLhlng around me. 8uL someLlmes Lhlngs are bad and Lhere's noLhlng
you can do abouL lL. SomeLlmes you have Lo surrender and say, 1hls ls bad now buL good
Lhlngs wlll happen laLer." 1hen a greaL welghL llghLs off your shoulders.
?ou know why Lhey always say a greaL welghL llfLs off your shoulders? 8ecause LhaL's where
your braln ls. And your braln ls heavy. lL resLs on your shoulders. When sLuff ls welghlng lL down
you lose abouL 10 Lo 20 percenL of your lnLelllgence. Clve up conLrol and geL smarLer. A slmple
example: you are laLe for a meeLlng buL Lhere's Lrafflc. ?ou can Lhlnk, Cod damn Lhls Lrafflc.
Why am l always ln Lrafflc? Cr you can be Lhlnklng abouL someLhlng smarL: llke how good bacon
LasLes. Can l make a beLLer bacon? Cr how would l sLarL a hellcopLer alrllne Lo Lake me from
one slde of Lhe clLy Lo Lhe oLher. 1hese seem llke dumb LhoughLs. 8uL Lhey are much beLLer
Lhan Cod damn Lhls Lrafflc!"
Lven worse Lhan Lrylng Lo conLrol Lhe fuLure ls feellng a LoLal lack of conLrol over Lhlngs LhaL
have already happened ln Lhe pasL. 1hls ls regreL. A good frlend of mlne wroLe me recenLly. l
should say, wroLe me slx weeks ago. Lvery day when l wake up l Lell myself: don'L reLurn e-malls
unLll you read, Lhen wrlLe. 8uL Lhen someLlmes l have oLher Lhlngs Lo do. MeeLlngs. Cr 8S sLuff.
Cr eaLlng. l say, Ckay, l wlll reLurn LhaL e-mall laLer." And Lhen when laLer comes, l feel bad
LhaL l hadn'L reLurned hls e-mall earller. 1hen, aL 3 a.m., l'll Lurn over and say Lo Claudla, l
dldn'L reLurn LhaL e-mall". She'll say, urgh.ushghsh.emmmm," whlch was noL Lhe answer l
was looklng for. 1hen l don'L sleep as much. 1hen l feel gullLy. 1haL Lakes away abouL 10
percenL of my lnLelllgence rlghL Lhere.
llrsL Lhere's Lhe pasL buL Lhen Lhere's Lhe dlsLanL fuLure. We ulLlmaLely have no way Lo predlcL
Lhe fuLure. 8uL our mlnd does one Lhlng over and over LhaL leaves us less lnLelllgenL: lL
consLanLly puLs us ln a fanLasy world LhaL lncludes our worsL-case scenarlo. LeL's say l lose
$1,000 ln Lhe sLock markeL one day. SomeLlmes l Lhlnk Lo myself, Poly shlL, lf l lose LhaL
amounL every day for Lhe nexL." And lL geLs worse and worse. My worsL-case scenarlos have
my chlldren begglng for food on Lhe harsh sLreeLs of 8angalore. l've spenL aL leasL a year of my
llfe, when you add lL up, Lhlnklng of Lhe worsL-case scenarlo. Lven Lhough Lhe worsL-case
scenarlo PAS nLvL8 PALnLu. Cr lf lL does happen, lL was never as bad as l LhoughL lL would
be. l have a scarclLy complex. lf l dldn'L have LhaL Lhen l'd have an abundance complex". And l
flrmly belleve abundance follows an abundance complex. So l'm smarLer (and wealLhler) when l
glve up LhaL scarclLy complex.
lf we Lruly wanL Lo learn, we never learn when we are Lalklng. We only learn when we are
llsLenlng. Claudla wanLed Lo say someLhlng lmporLanL Lo me. 8uL l spoke lnsLead. l lmparLed my
greaL wlsdom on her before she could geL a word ouL. llnally, she forgoL whaL she was golng Lo
say. robably because my words were so wlse Lhey were llke Lhe 8lble. Cr llke kobetts koles of
OtJet. Cr 5ttook & wblte. 1haL's how wlse l am. 51kuNk & wnl1! LxLra Lalklng probably Lakes
away aL leasL 13 percenL of my lnLelllgence. 8ecause l could've been llsLenlng and learnlng. Cr
readlng abouL grammar. Cr noL geLLlng lnLo an accldenL when Lalklng on Lhe phone. SomeLlmes
we [usL have Lo ShuL up!
l was Lalklng Lo a frlend of mlne Lhe oLher day. She was glvlng me every reason why she
couldn'L succeed. Per age. Per looks. Per prlvacy (l can never wrlLe whaL l wanL"), her lack of
Llme, and so on. Lveryone has excuses. Lveryone says l can'L." l can'L be a medlcal professlonal
unless l go Lo medlcal school. l can'L be a fllmmaker unless l ralse $10 mllllon Lo make a movle. l
can'L marry a supermodel because l'm ugly. l can'L l can'L l can'L. lor every can'L," you should
send me $10. l can do all Lhose Lhlngs. arLlcularly lf l have your $10.
uon'L hlL yourself over Lhe head when Lhese LhoughLs are ln your braln. !usL noLlce when Lhese
Lhlngs come up. lL's noL llke you're golng Lo geL cured of paranola. 8uL noLlce when lL appears.
WaLer wlLhers Lhe rock away. Lvery Llme you noLlce, Lhe wlndow clears a Llny blL. A smudge ls
gone. ?ou geL a gllmpse of Lhe llghL ouLslde.
?ou geL a Llny blL smarLer. Maybe laLer you have Lo look for Lhe deeper emoLlonal reasons for
why you feel Lhe way you do. And Lhere are a loL of reasons. Lveryone could've made fun of
your acne ln [unlor hlgh school and now you wanL Lo be loved by everyone. (Lrr, maybe LhaL
happened Lo me.) 8uL rlghL now, Lhls second, [usL don'L geL hlL by a car when you cross Lhe
sLreeL.
?ou can say, Pey, walL a second! All of Lhose Lhlngs equal up Lo more Lhan 100 percenL!" Well,
whaL can l say? ?ou're smarLer Lhan me.

nCNLS1 MAkLS CU MCkL MCNL
AdmlL lL: you were [ealous of 8ernle Madoff. lor a spllL second. 1haL nlghL ln uecember 2008,
when you flrsL heard Lhe news, lnLerrupLlng Lhe ongolng panlc of every bank golng ouL of
buslness, every [ob dlsappearlng, every A1M machlne runnlng ouL of cash, Lhe organlc frulL aL
Lhe farmers markeL skyrockeLlng Lo $200 an apple. lor a brlef momenL, you heard LhaL news
and you LhoughL, Pe sLole $63 bllllon. Man, l would've had cosmeLlc surgery on my face and
Lhen moved Lo 8razll wlLh LhaL klnd of money."
1hen Lhe LruLh came ouL. 1he news LhaL Lhe money was never Lhere ln Lhe flrsL place. 1he
sulcldes. 1he owner of Lhe MeLs managed Lo geL hls money back [usL ln Llme.
A woman from MlnnesoLa called me, crylng, saylng, Why ls lL Lhey keep golng on abouL Lhe
poor !ews who losL Lhelr money. l'm a ChrlsLlan and l losL my lasL $800,000." Lvery day, as more
news came ouL, Lhe enLlre horror sLory kepL geLLlng more real. Madoff ln [all. Pls wlfe lefL wlLh a
measly mllllon or Lwo and flnally Lhe horror of Lhelr son kllllng hlmself.
8uL, for a momenL, Lhere was: WhaL would l do wlLh $63 bllllon?
And Lhen, Lhe false reallLy LhaL wenL Lhrough everyone's head: Lhe only way Lo make a loL of
money ln Lhls world ls Lo lle and sLeal.
l geL LhaL quesLlon a loL ln my 1wlLLer C&A sesslons: Why ls lL LhaL you have Lo be dlshonesL Lo
succeed ln Lhls world? And people don'L belleve me when l say LhaL's noL Lrue. ln facL, Lhe exacL
opposlLe ls Lrue. Cnly honesLy wlll succeed. 1hey say back, 1haL has noL been my experlence."
nobody asks: uo you have Lo be dlshonesL Lo succeed? eople seem Lo know Lhe answer
already, and Lhey wanL Lo know, sLrucLurally, why ls Lhls LruLh?
CaplLallsm ls sLlll sufferlng from Lhe morLal blow LhaL was sLruck ln 2008. Lveryone was a crook.
And Madoff was [usL Lhe Llp of Lhe lceberg. Mubarak's famlly ran away wlLh $200 bllllon by Lhe
Llme he was klcked ouL of LgypL. Lvery day l geL news ln my lnbox of anoLher onzl scheme.
?esLerday lL was a $4.9 mllllon hedge fund down ln some backwaLer swamp counLy ln llorlda.
Why? people wanL Lo know. eople wanL some [usLlflcaLlon. Maybe Lhey are really asklng:
Ckay, l've been avoldlng lL unLll now buL should l Lake Lhe plunge and sLarL belng dlshonesL ln
order Lo make money? And Lhen maybe Lhe nexL quesLlon: Can you glve a Lop Len" for how Lo
be dlshonesL and make money?
1he problem ls Lhls: Lhey are compleLely wrong. ulshonesLy never works. nonesty |s the on|y
way to make money |n today's wor|d.

nobody belleves me on Lhls. eople laugh aL me. uon'L you know anyLhlng? Cf course
dlshonesL people sLep on Lhe honesL people and have more success." eople wanL Lo [usLlfy
Lhelr own fallures and use Lhelr preLend-goodness Lo explaln why Lhey dldn'L sLarL Coogle, or
sLeal $63 bllllon, or geL LhaL lasL promoLlon when Lhe backsLabblng blLch from alsle 3 goL Lhe
ralse afLer dolng who knows whaL.
8uL here's Lhe LruLh.
ulshonesLy works.unLll lL doesn'L. Lveryone messes up. And when you are dlshonesL, you are
glven only one chance and Lhen lL's over. ?ou're ouL of Lhe game-aL leasL unLll you geL your acL
sLralghL and you have Lo sLarL from scraLch wlLh your Lall beLween your legs.
PCnLS1? CCMCunuS. lL compounds exponenLlally. no maLLer whaL happens ln your bank
accounL, ln your career, ln your promoLlons, ln your sLarLups. PonesLy compounds
exponenLlally, noL over days or weeks, buL years and decades. More people LrusL your word
and spread Lhe news LhaL you are a person Lo be soughL ouL, soughL afLer, glven opporLunlLy,
glven help, or glven money. 1hls ls whaL wlll bulld your emplre.
l know Lhls Lhrough counLless fallures. 1he more Llmes l fall buL communlcaLe abouL lL, Lhe
more Llmes l make no money aL all buL leL someone have ldeas for free, Lhe more Llmes l Lry Lo
geL mlne" buL only end up geLLlng sLabbed by Lhose who Lhlnk lL's okay Lo be dlshonesL, Lhe
greaLer Lhe number of seeds l've planLed and Lhe more money l'll make ln Lhe long run.
8e dlshonesL once, and all of Lhose seeds wlll be washed away ln a LhundersLorm of llfe-kllllng
proporLlons. A hurrlcane of despalr LhaL wlll sweep away all of your opporLunlLles forever.
?ou are lefL wlLh a deserL and wlll have Lo sLarL agaln.
PCW ?Cu CAn 8L MC8L PCnLS1 ln ?Cu8 LllL:

ClvL C8Lul1. Lven lf Lhe ldeas were all yours. Lven lf you made noLhlng on Lhem. Lven lf Lhey
were blaLanLly sLolen. Clve credlL and move on. Poardlng your ldeas for Lhe momenL when you
can shlne, wlll only leave you by yourself ln a dlmly llL room wlLh only a mlrror Lo sLare aL.

8L 1PL SCu8CL. 8uL lf l glve ldeas for free, whaL lf Lhey could've made a bllllon dollars? l
always geL screwed by my parLners." lf you are Lhe source of ldeas, Lhen you are ALWA?S Lhe
source. lorgeL Lhe losers who sLeal. Move on. ?ou become 1PL founLaln of ldeas. eople come
Lo Lhe founLaln and make wlshes and Lhrow money ln. uon'L be a Lrlckle of dlrLy waLer. 8e Lhe
founLaln and leL people know lL by glvlng away all credlL and rewards.

A greaL example of Lhe source" ls Coogle. Coogle has absoluLely no conLenL on lL. 1here's
noLhlng Lhere buL a llLLle box. ?ou go Lo LhaL maglc box and you enLer ln a Lerm you wanL Lo
know abouL. LeL's say, moLorcycles."

1hen Coogle ls compleLely honesL. 1hey come back rlghL away and say, We know A8SCLu1LL?
nC1PlnC abouL moLorcycles 8u1 lf you go Lo Lhese Len or so webslLes, we Lhlnk Lhese are Lhe
besL slLes where you can flnd ouL abouL moLorcycles."

Ch! And by Lhe way," Coogle conLlnues, here's Lhree more slLes LhaL know abouL
moLorcycles, buL we are belng LoLally honesL here, Lhose Lhree slLes are paylng us. !usL so you
know."

And Lhen you leave Coogle. 1he average person spends only a few mlnuLes A MCn1P aL
Coogle. ln facL, Lhe longer you sLay aL Coogle, Lhe less proflLable Coogle ls. 1hey wanL you Lo
geL Lhe hell off Lhelr slLe. Lvery Llme you leave Lhelr slLe, elLher Lhelr algorlLhm lmproves (Lhey
learn from whaL you cllck on), or Lhey make money (you cllck on a slLe LhaL pald Lhem).

And Lhen where do you go when you wanL Lo flnd ouL abouL, say, conLracepLlves? ?ou go Lo
Coogle. ?ou go Lo Lhe source.

When l flrsL sLarLed ln Lhe lnLerneL buslness, l was advlslng blg companles on how Lo creaLe a
web presence. 1he one Lhlng nobody wanLed Lo do was Lo llnk ouL Lo oLher webslLes. 1hls was
Lhe exacL opposlLe of whaL has now become Lhe Choose ?ourself era.

1he Choose ?ourself era means you have Lhe confldence Lo be honesL. 1he confldence Lo go up
agalnsL Lhe blg corporaLlons LhaL refuse Lo choose you. 1he confldence Lo dlrecL Lrafflc Lo Lhose
people who mlghL have more resources Lhan you have.

1o choose yourself you musL flrsL be fearless. 1o know LhaL abundance ls everywhere, noL [usL
hldden behlnd Lhe masks you wear Lo dlsplay your skllls Lo Lhe publlc.

ln18CuuCL 1WC LCLL. Lvery day you can Lhlnk of aL leasL Lwo people Lo lnLroduce Lo each
oLher who wlll help each oLher. ?ou don'L have Lo be ln Lhe mlddle. 1ake me off cc," you
should say. LeL Lhem help each oLher. LeL Lhem beneflL. ?ou don'L need Lo be ln Lhe mlddle and
beneflL Lhls Llme. ?ou'll beneflL nexL Llme. Cr Lhe Llme afLer LhaL. Lven lf lL means glvlng up
opporLunlLles for yourself lf you Lhlnk someone else would be beLLer for Lhe [ob.

1hlnk of lL Lhls way: 1here's Lhe llnear effecL" and Lhere's Lhe neLwork effecL." lf you llve llfe
llnearly, your value and resources only go up every Llme you meeL someone new and Lhe llsL of
people yoo know becomes blgger. 1hls ls noL good enough anymore. ?ou musL creaLe your own
emplre. And you can'L do lL one aL a Llme. 1haL's noL an emplre, LhaL's a llsL.

1he neLwork effecL, on Lhe oLher hand, has been well known on Lhe lnLerneL slnce lLs early
days. 1he premlse ls LhaL Lhe value of a slLe goes up exponenLlally dependlng on how many
people are uslng lL. 1he more people uslng Lhe slLe who don'L know each oLher or dldn'L learn
abouL Lhe slLe from each oLher, Lhe sLronger Lhe neLwork effecL. lL's Lhe Lmplre 8ullder.

Pow does Lhls apply Lo you? Pow many people are uslng you?" 1he value of your neLwork
goes up exponenLlally when you vlew your conLacLs and resources noL as a llsL buL as a neLwork
of nodes on a graph. 1hlnk of Lhe number of connecLlons LhaL can connecL Lwo dlfferenL nodes
on LhaL graph. lL's exponenLlal compared Lo Lhe number of lLems ln a llsL LhaL connecL dlrecLly
Lo you.

1he way you creaLe Lhe neLwork effecL ls by encouraglng people ln your neLwork Lo connecL Lo
each oLher and Lo help each oLher.

lL feels funny someLlmes. SomeLlmes people say Lo me, Ch, l meL so-and-so, Lhanks Lo your
blog." And l Lhlnk Lo myself, PL?! 1PA1'S M? SC-Anu-SC!" l have Lo sLop LhaL feellng. lL's only
llmlLlng. 1he unlverse has llmlLless resources. ?ou have llmlLed resources and llmlLed Llme. 1he
only way Lo creaLe abundance ls Lo behave more llke Lhe unlverse.

SeL Lhe condlLlons for llfe. 1hen slL back and waLch Lhe maLlngs occur. 8efore long you wlll have
creaLed llfe, you wlll have helped creaLed Lhe many greaL Lhlngs LhaL your connecLlons wlll
creaLe LogeLher. Cnce agaln you have become Lhe source.

1AkL 1PL 8LAML. l messed up ln CcLober 2008. l was golng Lhrough a separaLlon and flnanclal
crlsls, and l was scared ouL of my mlnd. l was managlng a llLLle blL of money a hedge fund had
allocaLed me. l was down LhaL monLh. lL was ground zero of Lhe goddamn flnanclal crlsls. l
would sleep ln my hammock unLll lL would raln and sLorm all over me and Lhe nexL Lhlng l
would know Lhe uow was down anoLher seven hundred polnLs whlle l was soaked and slck and
angry. 1he hedge fund manager called me aL Lhe end of Lhe monLh and sald, Look, l've called
you Len Llmes and you dldn'L reLurn Lhe call. !usL reLurn Lhe call once and lL would've been
okay. now l've goL Lo Lake Lhe money back." Pe was rlghL. And l Lold hlm LhaL. LvenLually.
We're good frlends now and have worked LogeLher slnce buL lL Look a few years Lo bulld back
Lhe LrusL.

A 'no' uLLered from Lhe deepesL convlcLlon ls beLLer Lhan a '?es' merely uLLered Lo please, or
worse, Lo avold Lrouble." -Candhl

uCn'1 LLAu A uCu8LL LllL. LveryLhlng you do Lakes up space ln your braln. lf you llve a double
llfe (and you know whaL l mean lf l'm Lalklng Lo you), Lhen LhaL exLra llfe Lakes up neurons and
synapses worklng overLlme. 1he braln can'L handle lL. lL sLarLs Lo degrade lnsLead of grow.
Llvlng a double llfe mlghL've glven you momenLary pleasure buL now your braln ls headlng
sLralghL for Lhe guLLer. And your flnances, whlch are a reflecLlon of Lhe healLh of your braln, wlll
fall sLralghL lnLo Lhe sewer wlLh lL.

uCn'1 8L AnC8?. Anger ls a form of dlshonesLy. nobody ls perfecL. lL's a lle Lo expecL Lhe
people around you Lo be perfecL. SomeLlmes l'm angry wlLh my klds. 8uL Lhey are [usL klds.
SomeLlmes l'm angry aL people l'm Lrylng Lo do deals wlLh. 8uL Lhey have Lhelr own
moLlvaLlons, fears, worrles, and anxleLles. 1hey don'L have Lo do everyLhlng l expecL of Lhem. So
my anger ls really a bellef LhaL Lhey should do whaL l expecL Lhem Lo do. lL's a form of
dlshonesLy when you lle Lo yourself abouL Lhe expecLaLlons you have of oLhers. Cf course, you
can'L conLrol your anger. SomeLlmes lL [usL happens. 8uL noLe lL for whaL lL ls, examlne lL, and
Lry Lo Lurn lL around, even [usL a llLLle-ln order Lo learn more abouL yourself raLher Lhan Lo
blame someone else. 1haL's where Lhe honesLy wlll compound.

nC LxCuSLS. When l losL money ln CcLober 2008, lL was easy Lo blame a manlpulaLed markeL
and all Lhe crlmlnals who led lL Lo be LhaL way. When l losL mllllons of dollars ln 2000 Lo Lhe
polnL of golng compleLely broke and loslng my home, lL was easy Lo blame an lnLerneL busL"
and corrupL CLCs" raLher Lhan my own lack of experlence ln Lhe flnanclal world. Lxcuses are
easy lles we Lell ourselves Lo cover up our fallures. Cne such excuse ls, only dlshonesL people
geL ahead. 1hls ls also a lle.

MAkL C1PL8S LCCk CCCu. 1hls ls more Lhan [usL glvlng credlL. 1here's a commonly quoLed
rule ln managemenL, Lhe areLo 8ule," whlch sLaLes LhaL 80 percenL of Lhe work ls done by 20
percenL of Lhe people. 1hls ls, ln parL, a producL of an lnferlor sLandardlzed educaLlonal sysLem
where klds for LwenLy years are encouraged Lo do Lhe mlnlmum requlred Lo pass and make lL Lo
Lhe nexL level" on some lmaglnary ladder of success. 8uL everyone wanLs Lo be acknowledged
for small achlevemenL. 1ake ouL your mlcroscope. Acknowledge even Lhe smallesL
accompllshmenLs of Lhe people around you. 8rlng more and more of Lhe people around you
lnLo Lhe 20 percenL. AL hearL, everyone wanLs Lo be percelved as speclal. 1haL's because
everyone ls speclal buL are ofLen never acknowledged LhaL way. 8e dlfferenL. 8e aware of Lhe
smallesL movemenLs around you and acknowledge Lhem. nobody wlll forgeL LhaL.

uCn'1 CCSSl. Cne Llme l Lrashed an enLrepreneur l had lnvesLed ln Lo anoLher lnvesLor. LaLer
LhaL day l was supposed Lo have dlnner wlLh Lhe flrsL enLrepreneur. 8y LhaL Llme, [usL four hours
laLer, he had heard l Lrashed hlm. Pe never LrusLed me agaln. eople always hear. And lf Lhey
don'L hear, Lhey feel, because word geLs around. And you can'L predlcL Lhls. And lL's anoLher
way of llvlng a double llfe.

uC WPA1 ?Cu SA? ?Cu A8L CClnC 1C uC. 8e LhaL guy.

LnPAnCL 1PL LlvLS Cl C1PL8S. ln 1999 some of my employees ln my flrsL company lefL and
sLarLed a compeLlLor company. Some of my parLners were mad. l encouraged Lhe employees.
Pow come? 8ecause nobody needs Lo be my employee for Lhelr enLlre llves. Always help
people grow lnLo Lhelr own poLenLlal. 1he only Lhlng l Lell Lhese people ls, lf you ever flnd me
ln Lhe guLLer wlLh a needle sLlcklng ouL of my elbow, please help me ouL." 1hey laugh and say,
1haL wlll never happen." 8elleve me. AnyLhlng can happen. l've been helped ouL of LhaL guLLer
more Lhan once.

1en years laLer l ran lnLo Lhe employee who became CLC of LhaL splnoff company. Pe ran afLer
me and called my name. lL was ln 1lmes Square ln new ?ork. We hadn'L spoken ln almosL Len
years. Pls company had greaLly expanded. 1hey had Laken ln ma[or lnvesLors, and Lhe company
was now proflLable and had loLs of employees. Pe Lold me LhaL when he walked Lhe floor, he
always plcLured Lwo people as hls role models: hls commander ln Lhe lsraell Army. And me. l
felL really honored. Pe had greaLly helped me when l was bulldlng my buslness. And now lL was
an honor for me Lo help hlm back ln LhaL way. l don'L ever have Lo beneflL off of hls buslness.
8uL hls buslness ls helplng many people now and, ln lLs own way, LhaL creaLes abundance for
me. 1he abundance can never sLop when you help oLhers.

l haven'L always been honesL. l Lry. And l hope l'm geLLlng beLLer. l Lry every day Lo lmprove and
Lo follow Lhe advlce l've [usL glven you. CLherwlse l wouldn'L have glven lL. 8uL l've seen lL. WlLh
people who have been ln buslness for Len, LwenLy, forLy years. PonesLy compounds llLLle by
llLLle. And LhaL compoundlng Lurns lnLo mllllons or bllllons. 1he dlshonesL people dlsappear.
1hey dle. 1hey go Lo [all. 1hey don'L maxlmlze Lhelr poLenLlal. 1hey run. 1hey are scared.
?ou wlll have nobody Lo run from. Some people wlll haLe you. Some people wlll doubL your
slncerlLy. 8uL Lhe people who need someone Lo call, someone Lo share wlLh, or someone Lo glve
Lo, Lhese people wlll know who Lo call. 1hey wlll call you.

?Cu'8L nLvL8 1CC ?CunC 1C CPCCSL ?Cu8SLLl: nlnL LLSSCnS l8CM ALLx uA?
l wlsh l had been smarLer when l was LwenLy-Lhree years old. l dld everyLhlng wrong: l felL llke l
needed a college degree. l felL llke l needed a graduaLe degree (l was ulLlmaLely Lhrown ouL of
graduaLe school). l felL llke l needed a publlshlng company Lo choose me" Lo be a wrlLer. l felL
llke l needed a blg corporaLlon Lo hlre me so l could valldaLe LhaL l was smarL, LhaL lL was okay
for me Lo be successful.
l needed none of Lhese Lhlngs.
?ou need none of Lhese Lhlngs.
1he world has changed, become dlfferenL. 1he mlddleman ls on llfe supporL, Lhe barrlers Lo
enLry have come down, and Lhe Choose ?ourself era has fully arrlved.
Alex uay ls a perfecL example. lf you've never heard of Alex uay, LhaL's okay. MosL people
haven'L. 8uL enough have. And Lhey LCvL hlm. Alex ls a LwenLy-Lhree-year-old muslclan from
Lngland. Slnce 2009, when he was nlneLeen, he's released Lhree sLudlo albums, had Lhree uk
1op40 hlLs, and accrued 100-plus mllllon vlews on hls ?ou1ube channel. Pe dld oll of lt wlLh no
record label and mosLly [usL Lhe supporL of hls ?ou1ube fans. Pls Lhlrd, mosL recenL album came
ouL ln Lhe uk Lhe same day as !usLln 1lmberlake's long-awalLed, much-dlscussed 20/20
xpetleoce album (hls Lhlrd, also).
Pere's Lhe resulL:

(snapshoL of Lhe lLunes charL Lhe day afLer boLh albums were released)
!usLln 1lmberlake ls llke Lhe crown prlnce of Lhe muslc lndusLry. 1he labels love hlm. 1he radlos
love hlm. Pe Lours everywhere. Pe has a masslve markeLlng machlne behlnd hlm. And he's
marrled Lo !esslca 8lel. 1haL's all preLLy good.
8uL noL enough. Alex uay beaL hlm. Pow Lhe hell dld LhaL happen? l had no ldea. So l called up
Alex and asked hlm.
Lesson Number Cne about Choos|ng ourse|f: I can choose myse|f to ca|| anyone I want. lf
Lhey wanL Lo Lalk Lo me, greaL.
Pere ls my lnLervlew wlLh Alex, r-prlnLed ln lLs enLlreLy (lL's goL Loo much good sLuff [usL Lo
excerpL):
Me. l teoJ yoo stotteJ postloq vlJeos oo oo1obe lo 2006. now looq befote yoo felt, 1bls ls lt.
1bls ls qoloq to be sometbloq blq.
Alex: 8lghL from my flrsL LhlrLy subscrlbers, l began Lalklng Lo Lhe audlence LhaL was Lhere and
maklng vldeos dlrecLly for Lhem and replylng Lo commenLs, buL l never saw lL as a fan base"-l
malnly [usL flgured we were all bored klds. My flrsL experlence of belng LreaLed llke a celebrlLy
of sorLs was noL unLll four years laLer ln 2010, when l dld a few glgs wlLh a band l was ln aL Lhe
Llme (comprlsed of ?ou1ubers) and would go Lo really small parLs of Lhe uk llke norwlch and
Lhere'd be Lwo hundred people Lhere all screamlng for us and golng crazy.
Me. ultlmotely, yoo oeeJ mooey tbooqb, to be oo ottlst. oo coot be o stotvloq ottlst fotevet.
wbeo yoo Joot qo wltb o blq lobel yoo bove tbtee cbolces. oo1obe oJs, l1ooes JowolooJs, ooJ
petfotmloq. wblcb of tbese oveooes wotkeJ fot yoo?
Alex: erformlng wasn'L an avenue for me-Lhe only glgs l've done are one-off launch evenLs
(Lo launch my album for example) or glgs wlLh frlends (as l menLloned). l really don'L feel Lhe
need Lo glg when l can reach my audlence onllne and hlL everyone aL once, all over Lhe world,
and noL exclude anybody, whlch a Lour doesn'L do.
Lesson Number 1wo: A|| the convent|ona| methods for mak|ng money and d|str|but|on are
out the w|ndow because Lhe barrlers Lo enLry LhaL creaLe Lhe premlum value are gone.
Alex: Cf Lhe oLher Lwo-l released my flrsL muslcal Lhlng (a compllaLlon of ?ou1ube covers
called ?ou1ube 1our) ln 2007, l Lhlnk lL was, and lL made a couple hundred bucks. 1hen ln 2008
Lhey lnLroduced Lhe ?ou1ube parLnershlp program and l was one of Lhe flrsL parLners. 8ack
Lhen l made maybe $300 a monLh. 1hen lL slowly rose, and aL Lhe same Llme my flrsL album
came ouL ln CcLober 2009, so wlLh Lhe money from LhaL plus ?ou1ube l moved ouL ln March
2010 Lo a place wlLh my besL frlend and we pald 600 each on renL so lL wasn'L Loo bad. lL used
Lo be abouL equal whaL l made from ?ou1ube and whaL l made from muslc, buL slnce lorever
?ours" goL Lo #4 ln 2011, my muslc sales have been way more Lhan my ?ou1ube. 1yplcally l
make around 3300 a monLh from ?ou1ube (l'm on a neLwork so Lhey can sell Lhe ad space
hlgher) and aL leasL 10,000 a monLh from muslc and merch sales. l've also done oLher
pro[ecLs-l co-creaLed a card game wlLh my cousln, whlch we sell onllne. l have a buslness
called LlfescouLs LhaL l launched Lhls year-whlch add a blL of exLra cash Lo Lhe poL also.
Me. lsot tbls o llttle llke wbot Aol ulltooco JlJ? 5be oevet slqoeJ wltb o mojot lobel. 5be jost
JlJ bet owo tbloq.
Alex: l Lhlnk Lhe maln dlfference was she was consLanLly Lourlng and l never have. Also she goL
her lndependence by formlng her own label. l don'L have a label aL all.
Me. nove tbe lobels evet teocbeJ oot to yoo?
Alex: Labels have never known whaL Lhe hell Lo do wlLh me. l always wenL ln wlLh an open
mlnd-l don'L llke Lhe ldea LhaL belng proudly unslgned/lndependenL lnsLanLly means l'm whlLe
and Lhey're black and we have Lo duel Lo Lhe deaLh or whaLever. 1here are a loL of Lhlngs l do
on my own because l have Lo, so l've goL good aL Lhem, buL lL would deflnlLely be easler wlLh
ouLslde help! So l was wllllng Lo hear whaL Lhey could offer and how we could work LogeLher
and l sLlll would be, buL l don'L Lhlnk labels are ready Lo be LhaL humble. 1hey wanL Lo conLrol
everyLhlng. l llke belng able Lo declde my own songs and fllm my own muslc vldeos. l've had
several meeLlngs wlLh lsland 8ecords ln Lhe uk, Lhe lasL of whlch ended wlLh Lhe guy saylng he
doesn'L Lhlnk l'm ready Lo be on a label yeL because We only slgns arLlsLs we can sell aL leasL a
mllllon coples of ln Lhe nexL Lhree monLhs"-buL lf he's walLlng for me Lo geL Lo LhaL polnL
wlLhouL hlm, why do l need Lhe label ever? l've also meL wlLh Warner, Sony, LMl-Lhey were all
Lhe same. none of Lhem expecLed Lo [usLlfy Lhemselves, and aL besL Lhey were [usL Lrylng Lo
flgure ouL my secreL," and aL worsL Lhey were compleLely unlnformed and lazy (see my vldeo
on Lhe sub[ecL, whlch sums lL up beLLer Lhan l ever could here.).
Me. 8ot wbot woolJ yoo ose tbe lobels fot oow?
Alex: l guess lL would be greaL Lo geL Lhelr help. l'll glve you an example. l wrlLe my muslc, play
my muslc, make my vldeos, deslgn Lhe albums, and so on, buL lL does provlde some valldaLlon
Lo be ln physlcal sLores.
So a Len-year-old kld who llked my sLuff Lold hls dad he should work wlLh me. 1he dad was wlLh
dlsLrlbuLlon wlLh unlversal. So l dld a one-off dlsLrlbuLlon deal wlLh unlversal where l dld
everyLhlng buL Lhey goL me ln every PMv. lL was greaL. nobody sald l could sell physlcal Cu
slngles buL l sold Len Lhousand ln Lhe uk.
Lesson Number 1hree: Lveryone w||| say you CAN'1. Lspeclally when you're young, buL lf you
plck and choose how Lo work wlLh Lhe enLrenched sysLem, you CAn.
Lesson Number Iour: 1he power of the commun|ty you bu||d wlll be felL ln ways you can'L
predlcL (a Len-year-old fan, for lnsLance).
Me. oo cleotly bove o looq too vlew of wbot ottlsts sboolJ be Joloq ooJ wbete tbe loJostty ls
qoloq. wbete Jo yoo tblok tbe moslc loJostty wlll be lo teo yeots?
Alex: l don'L Lhlnk lL maLLers where l see Lhe muslc lndusLry ln Len years-l look aL where Lhe
muslc lndusLry ls now and lL's noL helplng me, so l've learned Lo exlsL wlLhouL lL! WhaL l'd llke ln
Len years ls for Lhe muslc lndusLry Lo be ln a place where lL supporLs me more, buL LhaL's a long
Llme Lo hope for LhaL. 1he Lhlng wlLh Lhe long-run vlew ls LhaL lL's acLually a serles of shorL
spurLs. lL's more llke Lhe general publlc are on Lhe second floor of a bulldlng and every
slngle/muslc vldeo l release affords me a bounce on a Lrampollne ouLslde. So for a second l'm
up Lo Lhe wlndow saylng, PeyguyslookaLme," and Lhen lf Lhey don'L see me l [usL fall down
agaln and make a new song and Lry agaln. lf one of my Lracks caLches flre, lL'll all happen very
qulckly, buL when lL doesn'L you [usL have Lo Lry agaln.
Lesson Number I|ve: ers|stence |s more |mportant than |ndustry va||dat|on because lL's noL
Lhe lndusLry LhaL ls buylng whaL you're selllng.
Lesson Number S|x: Iocus on what you can do for your art]bus|ness r|ght now lnsLead of
Lrylng Lo alm for Lhlngs Len years for now.
Me. wbot sboolJ most ottlsts/cteotots Jo to keep qoloq wbeo tbloqs look tbelt most
ftosttotloq? Most people qlve op. AoJ, ftookly, most people ote oo qooJ. now JlJ yoo keep
qoloq ftom 2006 to oow, eveo wbeo tbloqs lookeJ bleok?
Alex: 1o help wlLh knowlng lf you're good or noL, you need a mentor. (Lesson Number Seven)
?ou have Lo have someone who elLher knows Lhe lndusLry or knows whaL's commerclal or
successfully experlmenLal or whaLever lL ls you're Lrylng Lo achleve wlLh your muslc and can Lell
you honesLly wheLher or noL you're meeLlng LhaL sLandard. l have a now-very close frlend who
used Lo work ln Lhe lndusLry a loL, broke songs llke Who LeL Lhe uogs CuL" and l CeL knocked
uown 8uL l CeL up Agaln"-we meL Lhrough a muLual frlend and l would [usL send hlm songs
and he would say noL a hlL, noL a hlL, noL a hlL" unLll evenLually l senL hlm lorever ?ours" and
he sald ?ou've done lL! now break lL."
Pe dldn'L help me, he [usL advlsed, buL you need someone llke LhaL who you LrusL. 1he oLher
Lhlng wlLh glvlng up ls LhaL l slmply can'L. SomeLlmes l have low polnLs and l spend a monLh or
Lwo noL worklng on muslc aL all, buL Lhen someone wlll play me an amazlng new song, or l'll
waLch one of my muslc vldeos back, or waLch Lhe Crammy's and l Lhlnk l have Lo be dolng
Lhls." l can'L glve up because l wanL lL Loo much, and however hard lL mlghL be, lL'll be worse lf l
wasn'L pursulng whaL l love.
Lesson Number I|ve (redux): ers|stence, there |t |s aga|n.
Me. now JlJ yoo qet loto oll of tbls? now JlJ yoo bollJ tbe so-colleJ teo tboosooJ boots to be
oo expett?
Alex: l grew up wlLh my mum llsLenlng Lo Lhe radlo whenever we were around Lhe house,
drlvlng Lo and from school, eLc. Muslc's always been a huge parL of my llfe. And Lhere's so much
more Lo learnlng abouL good songwrlLlng Lhan Lhe acLual wrlLlng, ln Lhe same way wrlLers Lell
you Lo read a loL lf you wanL Lo be a good wrlLer. My favorlLe parL abouL developlng as an arLlsL
ls spendlng hours llsLenlng Lo muslc, llsLenlng Lo every Mlchael !ackson song and looklng for
commonallLles, paLLerns, Lhe way Lhe producLlon sounds, how Lhe sLyle varles, l've been known
Lo draw ouL graphs LhaL ploL Lhe melody of a chorus so Lhen l can see vlsually how a song moves
and how lL varles from Lrack Lo Lrack. l sLarLed wrlLlng songs when l was LhlrLeen. l sLarLed
wrlLlng noL-bad songs when l was sevenLeen. l wroLe lorever ?ours" when l was LwenLy-Lwo
and Lhe resL of Lhe songs on my new collecLlon lasL year aL age LwenLy-Lhree so l've been dolng
lL Len years now and l know l sLlll have a loL Lo learn. ln a way LhaL's Lhe mosL exclLlng Lhlng-Lo
hear Lhe dlfference ln Lhe songs l'm maklng beLween Lhls year and Lhe lasL, and Lhen Lhlnk
WhaL wlll l be maklng by nLx1 year?"-Lhere's always room Lo grow and LhaL's exclLlng.
Me. now Jo yoo eoqoqe yoot foos ootslJe of yoot moslc? now Jo yoo bollJ tbe ttlbe, lo 5etb
CoJlo speok?
Alex: lL's [usL ?ou1ube. l have 1wlLLer and lacebook only because l sorL of feel l have Lo,
because l need Lo reach people ln Lhose places. 1haL's noL Lo say l'm [usL on auLo-plloL on Lhose
places, buL l'd much raLher noL have Lo use Lhose servlces. arL of why lL's necessary rlghL now
ls LhaL l don'L have enough reach ln Lhe real world" for me Lo allow oLher people Lo promoLe
whaL l'm dolng on my behalf, buL my 1wlLLer and lacebook are effecLlvely work accounLs LhaL
[usL updaLe people on whaL l'm up Lo. lor Lhe personal connecLlon, lL's all ?ou1ube. l love lL
Lhere. lL's such a creaLlve ouLleL, l've been maklng vldeos for seven years and never goL bored
of lL, one or Lwo vldeos a week regularly all LhaL Llme.
lL genulnely saddens me when ?ou1ube lsn'L lumped ln as one of Lhe essenLlal soclal meLrlcs
wlLh 1wlLLer, lacebook and 1umblr (l do have a 1umblr, Loo, buL llke Lhe oLhers l don'L really
know how Lo use lL)-l undersLand ?ou1ube and lL's changed my whole llfe. 1he maln Lhlng ls
LhaL l don'L always Lalk abouL muslc, ln facL, l Lry Lo keep a 3:1 raLlo of muslc vldeos Lo non-
muslc vldeos. CLher ?ou1ube muslclans spend all Lhelr Llme [usL dolng covers or vldeos from
Lour, buL lL means whaL you can en[oy abouL LhaL channel ls reduced Lo wheLher or noL you llke
LhaL person's muslc. l [usL released a new muslc vldeo and loads of Lhe commenLs say l never
goL lnLo your sound/llked your muslc before buL l really love Lhls song" and Lhose are long-Lerm
subscrlbers of mlne-Lhey've sLayed because l can offer Lhem oLher sLuff, buL lL also means
Lhey'll glve each new song a llsLen and someLlmes Lhey llke lL.
Lesson Number L|ght: |ck your soc|a| med|a out|et, master |t. lL's noL enough Lo masLer your
arL form. ?ou have Lo personally masLer how you wlll dlsLrlbuLe Lhrough some soclal medlum,
engage wlLh fans, eLc.
l admlL l'm [ealous of Alex. And l'm a blg fan.
Lesson Number N|ne, wh|ch |s rea||y hard for me: 1a|k to your b|g fans.
CongraLs Lo Alex for conLlnually chooslng hlmself as far back as 2006, when he was sevenLeen,
and noL belng shy abouL explalnlng Lhe speclflcs, even Lhe money, of how he dld lL. Alex ls
excepLlonal and, for now, Lhe excepLlon Lo Lhe rule. 8uL noL for long. Pe can'L be. 8ecause
evenLually everyone wlll have Lo follow a slmllar paLh ln Lhe new economy we llve ln. Alex
proves you're never Loo young Lo Lake Lhe flrsL sLep on LhaL paLh.

1PL Cu8lCuS CASL Cl 1PL SLx? lMACL

ln a blog posL l wroLe once, l used Lhe above lmage of a woman on a beach when l posLed Lhe
llnk on lacebook. Someone accused me of always uslng lmages of half-naked women Lo
promoLe a posL.

Pe was correcL. 8uL l also polnLed ouL LhaL Lhe plcLure was of a human belng aL Lhe helghL of
physlcal achlevemenL. A sLaLe l wlll never be ln, nor wlll any of Lhe half-naked" crlLlcs. And, by
Lhe way, Lechnlcally she's only abouL 90 petceot naked. So Lhere.

WhaL's funny ls LhaL even ln Lhe commenLs Lo 1PA1 posL, someone asked, Why do you always
posL plcLures of half-naked women?"
llrsL off, when ls lL so unusual Lo posL plcLures of half-naked women? MosL men Anu women's
magazlnes do lL. lL's clearly an lmage LhaL human belngs llke Lo look aL.
Second, dldn'L you read Lhe posLs you [usL commenLed on?
And f|na||y, the woman |n the p|cture actua||y wrote me herse|f w|th a response to my cr|t|cs.

Per name ls uashama. ?ou can flnd her aL www.dashama.com, where she offers courses on
yoga. l sLrongly encourage anyone who Lhlnks Lhey can do Lhe poslLlon ln LhaL plcLure-lL's
called kapoLasana, or klng lgeon ose"-Lo Lake her courses and Lry Lo beLLer hlmself.

AL flrsL l guess l was relleved LhaL she wasn'L sulng me for uslng her lmage wlLhouL her
permlsslon. 8uL afLer l read her message, lL was lnLeresLlng Lo see LhaL uashama, [usL llke many
of Lhe people dlscussed ln Lhls book, came aL Lhe lssue noL from Lhe exLernal barrlers LhaL
socleLy lmposes, buL from Lhe foundaLlon of lnLernal healLh she had bullL up LhaL noL only cured
her physlcal dlsorders buL helped her creaLe a buslness and llfe mosL of us can only dream
abouL.

uashama wroLe:
ueot Iomes,
A ftleoJ of mloe fotwotJeJ me tbe llok to yoot ottlcle feototloq my yoqo pboto teceotly. l teoJ
tbe eotlte ottlcle ooJ olso oboot 8 otbets yoo bove posteJ oo votloos toplcs. l floJ yoot wtltloq
style botb eosy to teoJ ooJ coovetsotloool, wltb jost eoooqb bomot ooJ ootbeotlclty to keep tbe
teoJet wltb yoo ootll tbe eoJ. 5o lo sbott, yoote o qteot wtltet .)

1be coottovetsy otoooJ ookeJoess ls olwoys oo lotetestloq toplc ooJ l tbooqbt oboot tbe
tespoose yoo qot to my pboto fot o wblle.

lot tbe post 10 yeots l bove beeo stteoqtbeoloq my lt Joesot offect me wbeo people poss
joJqmeot moscles, sloce l koow tbot wbot l Jo ls ftom oo ootbeotlc spoce of love ooJ Jevotloo
to moke o posltlve Jlffeteoce lo tbe wotlJ. l come ftom o cbllJbooJ of fostet bomes ooJ poot
beoltb, so jost to be ollve oow ls o mltocle evety sloqle Joy. 1be foct tbot l coo pot my leq bebloJ
my beoJ ooJ bolooce oo my booJs ls eveo mote mltocoloos tboo yoo moy lmoqloe, qlveo tbot
10 yeots oqo l wos lo o tettlble cot occlJeot tbot cost me tbe cotve lo my cetvlcol sploe. Aftet
evety Joctot l sow tolJ me tbete wos ootbloq l coolJ Jo to tevetse tbot, l sooqbt oltetootlve
optloos. Now, oftet olmost o JecoJe of self-sooqbt beolloq, l om oble to Jo some vety
mltocoloos tbloqs wltb my boJy tbot most people, os yoo commeoteJ, moy ooly Jteom oboot.

8eslJes tbe pbyslcol mltocle of my petsoool beolloq expetleoce, tbe foct tbot l coo be llvloq my
Jteoms ooJ Joloq wbot l love os o coteet ls eveo mote lospltloq to me. 1bete wos o tlme wbeo l
wos tbe ooe slttloq lo o coblcle wotkloq oo offlce job ooJ botloq my llfe. IoJqloq myself ooJ
evetyooe otoooJ me ooJ focosloq oo tbe oeqotlve. lt took o ttemeoJoos leop of foltb to JeclJe
wbot l loveJ to Jo ooJ move towotJ mokloq o coteet oot of lt. 1beo lt took oootbet 5 yeots of
petsoool Jevelopmeot looet wotk to qet to tbe polot tbot l coolJ qet post my llmltloq bellef
systems tbot belJ me bock ftom my powet ooJ ootbeotlc self-exptessloo. 1be test of lt wos o
steep leotoloq cotve of bow to opetote o bosloess os o sloqle womoo lo o mole-JomlooteJ
wotlJ, oovlqotloq tbese wotets bos oot beeo oo eosy tosk.
uesplte oll of tbe cbolleoqes, lt wos tbe best Jeclsloo of my llfe. 1be kOl bos beeo polJ to me
wltb JlvlJeoJs of joy ooJ oot mooey, bot lll toke tbot to tbe book ooJ cosb lt ooy Joy ovet Joloq
sometbloq tbot kllls my spltlt jost to poy tbe bllls.

AoJ tbot ls wbot lospltes me eveo mote. 1bot l koow, lo my beott ooJ sool, tbot vk1nlNC l5
lO55l8l.

we tob ootselves of oot joy ooJ bopploess wbeo we stop ooJ cbeck lo wltb wbot evetyooe else
ls tblokloq ooJ soyloq oboot os.

1bls ls o ttoqlc tecotteoce tbot bos to stop.

eots oqo l teoJ oo lotetvlew wltb Cobtlelle keese wbete sbe wos oskeJ bow sbe Jeols wltb tbe
ptessotes of beloq o pto otblete, Sl moJel, motbet ooJ wlfe of 5otf CoJ loltJ nomlltoo. 5be solJ,
lo llfe, yoo wlll olwoys bove J0 petceot of people wbo love yoo, J0 petceot wbo bote yoo ooJ
J0 petceot wbo coolJot cote less. wbeo l beotJ tbot, my eotlte wotlJvlew cbooqeJ.

5oJJeoly, wbeo someooe JlJot llke me ot exptesseJ oeqotlvlty towotJ sometbloq l wos Joloq, l
jost solJ, well, tbots ftom tbe J0 petceot wbo woot llke me oo mottet wbot l Jo ot soy. CooJ!
Now l coo focos oo tbe obooJoot weoltb of soppott ooJ love l qet ftom my foos ooJ ftleoJs wbo
love me ooJ l coo love evetyooe epoolly. cose closeJ. Movloq oo. 1book yoo vety mocb.

My slmple messoqe. oo jost moy be ostoooJeJ by tbe spotkly JlomooJ yoo ote blJloq beoeotb
tbe loyets of llmltotloool bellefs. oo ote beootlfol. oo ote tow petfectloo olteoJy, moybe lts
tlme to pollsb yoo op, yoo ctozy JlomooJ! l bope to meet yoo lo potoJlse ooe Joy.

love, 8lessloqs ooJ Nomoste,
uosbomo

uashama ls exacLly rlghL. l've seen lL ln acLlon repeaLedly: no maLLer who you are, no maLLer
whaL you do, no maLLer who your audlence ls: 30 percenL wlll love lL, 30 percenL wlll haLe lL,
and 30 percenL won'L care. SLlck wlLh Lhe people who love you and don'L spend a slngle second
on Lhe resL. Llfe wlll be beLLer LhaL way.
Whlch brlngs me Lo.
WnA1 I LLAkNLD IkCM SULkMAN
l [umped off Lhe bed, flew lnLo Lhe alr, and landed Lhe wrong way on my fooL, breaklng lL. l was
slx and Lhere was every lndlcaLlon l was from Lhe planeL krypLon, whose sun exploded when l
was a baby, leavlng me an orphan on a planeL fllled wlLh people who would never fully
undersLand me
l had a cape on (my Superman blankeL). 1he weak gravlLy of LarLh would noL hold me down.
noLhlng could hold me down. My moLher clalms she heard Lhe crack of bone from Lhe oLher
slde of our suburban house. ctock! l landed. lL could've happened. She mlghL've heard lL.
l had Lo wear a casL. Cn Lhe flrsL day of flrsL grade, ln a brand-new school, l was LhaL kld." 1he
one who llmped. 1he one who had a casL. ?ou know, Lhe one you probably would've hung ouL
wlLh because clearly l was desLlned Lo be Lhe coolesL kld ln flrsL grade. AL Lhe end of Lhe day l
had an lLch lnslde my casL. lL was excruclaLlng. And lL was ralnlng. 1he Leacher, Mrs. klecor,
wouldn'L leL us leave Lo caLch our bus aL Lhe end of Lhe day unless we could spell our names. l
have a bad name for such a Lask: AlLucher. l was sure l was golng Lo mlss my bus. l was Lhe lasL
one lefL. l sLarLed Lo cry. 8ecause l was geLLlng Lhe casL off afLer school. 8uL noL lf l couldn'L
spell my name and l mlssed my bus.
AlmosL LhlrLy years laLer, l'm sLlll Superman.
Cr raLher, l'm clumsy llke Clark kenL. l have glasses. 8lack halr. l'm ofLen shy ln publlc. eople
ofLen laugh aL me. And, llke many people, l have a secreL ldenLlLy LhaL l'm hldlng. Cne LhaL l
reveal blL by blL Lo Lhe Lols Lane closesL Lo me. 8uL neverLheless, lf l were Lo reveal everyLhlng
l'd end up ln [all or a hosplLal or an lnsLlLuLlon or more people would haLe me Lhan normally do
or Claudla would leave me or oLher people would be badly hurL by Lhose who would Lake
advanLage of Lhe real LruLh. lL's my secreL ldenLlLy.
lrom Lhe age of four Lo Lhe age of forLy-four, l've been readlng 5opetmoo. lf l weren'L wrlLlng
Lhls book, l could slL down Loday and wrlLe flfLy sample scrlpLs Lo submlL Lo uC Comlcs.
Why ls Lhe sLory of Superman so appeallng? lL's of course Lhe ldea LhaL we are all Superman.
We are all shy and awkward and ll CnL? LCLL knLW Lhe real us. 1he one underneaLh Lhe
sulL, Lhe glasses-Lhe one who spreads Lhe plaln, whlLe shlrL aparL Lo reveal Lhe brlghL colors,
Lhe superpowers, Lhe unbellevable lnLelllgence, klndness, Lhe moral and physlcal sLrengLh.
lL doesn'L have Lo end. We're LaughL when we LranslLlon from chlldhood Lo adulLhood Lo leave
behlnd Lhe sLorles of our youLh. uon'L llsLen Lo LhaL advlce. 1he sLorles of our youLh, lf we all
hold onLo Lhe hldden gems lnslde, can help us navlgaLe Lhe world llke a superhero. 1he Choose-
?ourself-ers are Lhe new superheroes. 1he ones who never losL Lhelr krypLonlan herlLage.
SLarL off by reallzlng you sLlll have a secreL ldenLlLy. Acknowledge lL. Wake up every day and say
Lo yourself, l'm a superhero-whaL can l do Loday Lo save Lhe world?" And Lhere wlll be
answers. And you'll see opporLunlLles. And you'll flgure ouL nexL sLeps. ?ou'll flgure ouL how Lo
fly where you are needed. Pow Lo llfL Lhe car, how Lo use your x-ray vlslon Lo see soluLlons LhaL
nobody LhoughL posslble.

lf you Lhlnk abouL lL, Superman acLually had no useful powers. We all have Lhe same powers,
buL we're afrald Lo admlL lL. eople always say 8aLman had no powers and Superman dld. 8uL
lL's acLually Lhe reverse. 1hlnk abouL lL: When would you ever need super sLrengLh? Are you
really plcklng up a car anyLlme soon? no, of course noL. PeaL vlslon? WhaL for? l have a
mlcrowave. x-ray vlslon? l can see Lhe mosL beauLlful woman ln Lhe world naked anyLlme l
wanL. All of my nelghbors are hldeous even wlLh cloLhes on. And we all know LhaL women ln
general are sexler wlLh sklmpy cloLhes on Lhan LoLally naked. And super hearlng? l already know
whaL everyone Lhlnks abouL me. l Lhlnk l would be horrlfled Lo hear Lhem say whaL l already
know Lhey Lhlnk.
WhaL else? Ch yeah, flylng. Where would you fly? And people would see you. And you'd eaL
flles and run lnLo blrds. Lw. lorgeL lL. l'm noL flylng. l don'L even have a drlver's llcense. l'll walk.
Cr Lake a Lraln and waLch a movle on my lad. Ch, and bulleLs don'L affecL Superman. 1o be
honesL, nobody has ever shoL aL me so Lhls doesn'L seem llke a useful power Lo me.
8uL [usL knowlng l'm Superman, wlLh secreL powers, ls enough Lo make me happy. l AM
Superman. l'm above Lhe worrles of LarLhllngs. And l belleve LhaL wlLh everyLhlng lnslde of me.
1haL's my secreL. 1he secreL has power.
1he only superpower you really need ls Lhe one Lo consLanLly culLlvaLe Lhe aLLlLude LhaL forces
you Lo ask, from Lhe mlnuLe you wake up, Lo Lhe mlnuLe you fall asleep, WhaL llfe can l save
Loday?" lL's a pracLlce. CfLen we forgeL lL. We reslsL lL. lnsLead of savlng llves, we worry abouL
savlng ourselves Loo much. Pow wlll l pay Lhe bllls?" WhaL do l do abouL my boss saylng bad
Lhlngs abouL me?" And so on.
lnsLead, superpowers are glven Lo you lf all day you Lry Lo save aL leasL one llfe. 1ry lL. Wake up
Lomorrow and say, l'm golng Lo save aL leasL one llfe Loday." Lven helplng an old woman
across Lhe sLreeL counLs. Lven respondlng Lo an e-mall and helplng someone make an
lmporLanL declslon saves a llfe. Lven reachlng ouL Lo a dlsLanL frlend and asklng, Pow are you
dolng?" can save Lhelr llfe. ?ou can save a llfe Loday. uon'L leL Lhe sun seL wlLhouL dolng LhaL.
?ou are Superman.
Superman ls Lhe ulLlmaLe yogl. noL because of any flexlblllLy. Pe's probably noL very flexlble,
acLually, because hls [olnLs and muscles are super Lough. 8uL he follows very well Lhe baslc
precepLs of yoga. Pe doesn'L harm anyone desplLe hls capaclLy for dolng so. Pe doesn'L lle
(oLher Lhan hls secreL ldenLlLy, whlch he holds onLo so oLhers aren'L harmed). Pe's never
possesslve (why be possesslve of anyLhlng lf-llke me-he can have anyLhlng he wanLs anyLlme
he wanLs). Pe pracLlces brahmacharya"-a form of self-conLrol-ouLslde of hls relaLlonshlp
wlLh Lhe beauLlful Lols Lane. Lven napoleon Plll ln hls classlc, 1blok ooJ Ctow klcb has an enLlre
chapLer on Lhls. Superman also seems Lo have sanLosha"/conLenLmenL. Pe never seems
obsessed wlLh grudges from hls pasL. l've never seen hlm worry abouL hls fuLure. l haven'L
always been Superman ln Lhls respecL. 8uL Loday, nCW ls all l care abouL.
Also, l Lry Lo culLlvaLe frlendshlps Lhe way Superman culLlvaLes frlendshlps. Pe doesn'L hang ouL
aL Lhe bar wlLh Lex LuLhor. Superman ls only frlends wlLh Lhe Superfrlends: Lhe llash. 8lack
Canary. Wonder Woman. 8aLman. 1hey all have secreL ldenLlLles. 1hey all see a world LoLally
ouL of balance. 1hey all have powers Lhey use for good, and whlch Lhey use Lo brlng balance
back Lo Lhe world. All of my frlends are superheroes, Loo. Lach one of my frlends has a dlfferenL
power. 8uL Lhey are all amazlng powers and l'm blessed when l see Lhose powers ln acLlon. And
once someone [olns Lhe bad guys, Lhey are no longer my frlend. l'm busy savlng llves. l don'L
need bad frlends.
l'm forLy-four now. l no longer need Lo [ump off a bed Lo prove l can fly. l know l'm golng Lo
save a llfe Loday. And nobody's golng Lo flgure ouL who l really am. 8uL l wlll Lell you Lhls: l'm
kal-Ll and l'm from Lhe long-dead planeL krypLon.

GANDnI CnCSL nIMSLLI 1C IkLL AN LN1IkL CCUN1k

llrsL, Lwo small sLorles:
#1: A woman walks wlLh her son many mlles and days Lo come Lo Candhl. She ls very worrled
abouL her son's healLh because he ls eaLlng Loo much sugar. She comes Lo Candhl and says,
lease, slr, can you Lell my son Lo sLop eaLlng sugar."
Candhl looks aL her and Lhlnks for a blL and flnally says, Ckay, buL noL Loday. 8rlng hlm back ln
Lwo weeks."
She's dlsappolnLed and Lakes her son home. 1wo weeks laLer she makes Lhe [ourney agaln and
goes Lo Candhl wlLh her son.
Candhl says Lo Lhe boy, ?ou musL sLop eaLlng sugar. lL's very bad for you."
1he boy has such respecL for Candhl LhaL he sLops and llves a healLhy llfe.
1he woman ls confused and asks hlm, Candhl, please Lell me: Why dld you wanL me Lo walL
Lwo weeks Lo brlng back my son?"
Candhl sald, 8ecause before l could Lell your son Lo sLop eaLlng sugar, l had Lo sLop eaLlng
sugar flrsL."
#2: Cne of Candhl's flnanclal backers once sald, lL's very expenslve Lo keep Candhl ln poverLy."
ConsequenLly, l suspecL Lhe flnanclal backers felL Lhey had some lnfluence on Candhl. 8uL
money means noLhlng Lo a splrlLual leader.
Cne Llme Candhl sald Lo a group of hls backers, l need Lo seL aslde one hour a day Lo do
medlLaLlon."
Cne of Lhe backers sald, Ch no, you can'L do LhaL! ?ou are Loo busy, Candhl!"
Candhl sald, Well, Lhen, l now need Lo seL aslde Lwo hours a day Lo do medlLaLlon."
llve lessons from Lhls:
A) nobody can Lell you whaL Lo do. no maLLer whaL Lhey pay you. no maLLer whaL obllgaLlons
you feel you owe Lhem. Lvery second deflnes you. 8e who you are, noL who anyone else ls, or
who anyone else wanLs you Lo be. An enLrepreneur, for lnsLance, has lnvesLors, cusLomers,
parLners, employees, and compeLlLors. Lveryone wanLs hls lnpuL heard. 8uL only you can acL Lo
change Lhe world wlLh your ldeas.
8) lf Candhl was, ln facL Loo busy, Lhen lL meanL he was noL devoLlng enough Llme Lo hls
splrlLual llfe. Pence hls backer lnadverLenLly convlnced hlm he needed more Llme Lo devoLe Lo
sllence and conLemplaLlon. lL ls Lhrough sllence LhaL sound, acLlvlLy, and acLlon erupLs. lL was
Lhrough noLhlngness LhaL Lhe 8lg 8ang and all creaLlon erupLed. lL ls only Lhrough
conLemplaLlon LhaL Lhe hldden shades of reallLy can be seen and rlghL acLlon can be Laken.
Candhl knew Lhls, and slnglehandedly broughL down an emplre. lL's only Lhrough sLlllness LhaL
one can acLlvely creaLe.
C) l don'L glve any advlce on Lhlngs l don'L know abouL flrsLhand. SomeLlmes l flnd myself ln a
pollLlcal conversaLlon and l reallze, you know whaL? l don'L acLually know anyLhlng here. And l
glve up. Cr when someone asks me a quesLlon on my 1wlLLer C&As (held every 1hursday
beLween 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. LasLern), l don'L say anyLhlng unless l have personally experlenced
or seen Lhe advlce l am recommendlng.
u) Sugar ls bad. And slnce mosL processed carbs break down lnLo sugar, lL's all bad for you lf
you wanL Lo llve healLhy. AlmosL every dlsease ouL Lhere comes from lnflammaLlon and exLra
welghL. 1he exLra welghL comes from Lhe sugars LhaL Lhe body breaks down so qulckly lL forgeLs
Lo dlgesL. lL's no colncldence LhaL, as l menLloned earller, 8amlL SeLhl uses flosslng as an
example ln hls Lalks abouL how Lo bulld dlsclpllne. lL's noL [usL abouL dlsclpllne buL healLh.
llosslng ls Lhe flrsL llne of defense as sugar makes lLs way Lhrough your body.
L) noLhlng ls more lmporLanL Lhan Lhe culLlvaLlon of yourself. So many people Lhlnk Lhey wlll
save Lhe world lf Lhey defeaL Lhem," where Lhem" ls some evll force LhaL ls brlnglng Lhe world
down. 8uL once you dlvlde Lhe world lnLo caLegorles, lnLo an us" versus Lhem," Lhen you
lmmedlaLely become a Lhem" and lose Louch wlLh who you really are. And before long you're
calllng me a fucklng douchebag on Lhe lnLerneL.
SocleLy ls made up of lndlvlduals. 1he only way Lo lmprove socleLy ls Lo come aL lL from a place
of deep, lndlvldual saLlsfacLlon. 1he only way Lo do LhaL ls Lo spend long perlods of Llme [usL
belng sllenL. llnd ouL who Lhe real you ls. Ask yourself, 1hese LhoughLs LhaL l am Lhlnklng, whaL
ls generaLlng Lhem? 1hey are noL your LhoughLs. 1haL ls [usL Lhe blologlcal braln danclng ln fronL
of you. Who ls Lhe you" Lhey are danclng ln fronL of? llnd LhaL answer, and tbeo you can save
Lhe world.
1he world ls made Lo be fllled wlLh sLrlfe. Candhl knew he could only be effecLlve lf he
ldenLlfled wlLh Lhe real me," whlch was deeper Lhan Lhe body named Candhl," who was
supposedly savlng Lhe world. lndla ls a mess now, no maLLer whaL Candhl dld, buL Candhl
provlded a beacon whlle he llved.
8oLh of Lhese sLorles are abouL Lhe same Lhlng, even Lhough Lhey seem compleLely dlfferenL.
Candhl chose hlmself. Pe once sald, ?ou musL flrsL be Lhe change you wanL Lo see ln Lhls
World."
Lvery day l Lry hard Lo llve by LhaL quoLe. l hope you can, Loo.
NINL 1nINGS I LLAkNLD IkCM WCCD ALLLN
1ry Lhls exerclse: preLend everyone was senL Lo Lhls planeL Lo Leach you. lamous people, dead
people, your nelghbors, your relaLlves, your co-workers. 1hls wlll glve you a sLrong feellng of
humlllLy. And guess whaL, you wlll learn from people, you wlll appreclaLe Lhem more, and Lhey
wlll acLually appreclaLe you more. 8ecause everyone loves Lo Leach.

1hlnk abouL whaL some of Lhe LlLans of Amerlcan lndusLry could Leach you abouL fallure.
Lveryone who has ever been a success slnce Lhe hlsLory of manklnd began has had Lo deal wlLh
fallure. Pas had Lo sLarL from zero-and usually more Lhan once. WheLher lL was Penry lord,
who wenL bankrupL wlLh hls flrsL car company, or Conrad PllLon, who wenL bankrupL wlLh
PllLon hoLels Lhe flrsL Llme around, or Lhe classlc example of 1homas Ldlson who Lrled one
Lhousand verslons of hls llghLbulb before he achleved success.

8uL l'm golng Lo sLarL wlLh a more mundane example. Someone who does whaLever he wanLs,
and has bullL hls llfe, hls arL, and hls career, around dolng exacLly whaL he wanLs: Woody Allen.

l haLe Woody Allen. Pere's why. 8ecause lf you're !ewlsh and a llLLle neuroLlc-llke Woody
Allen-lL has become a cllche Lo descrlbe yourself as Woody Allen-esque," Lhlnklng lL wlll
aLLracL women. 1hls happens on daLlng servlces all Lhe Llme. 1he ldea ls LhaL you'll aLLracL some
walfllke Mla larrow-lsh (or Lhe sevenLeen-year-old Marlel Pemlngway ln Moobottoo) blonde
who wlll love all of your neuroses and wanL Lo have sex all Lhe Llme.

1hls only happens ln Woody Allen movles. And power Lo hlm. lf Marlel Pemlngway wanLs Lo
have sex wlLh hlm all Lhe Llme, Lhen no problem. Pe wroLe and made Lhe movles. Pe can do
whaLever Lhe hell he wanLs ln Lhem. lL's up Lo you wheLher you belleve lL or noL.
And people belleve lL. LoLs of Lhem.

Allen puLs ouL a new movle every year or Lwo. none of Lhem wlll compeLe wlLh 5tot
wots or notty lottet ln Lerms of gross dollars. 8uL LhaL doesn'L seem Lo boLher hls sLudlo. 1hey
glve hlm $10 mllllon, hls movle makes $20 mllllon, everyone ls happy, and he geLs Lo keep dolng
whaL he's dolng.

So he's bullL up a subsLanLlal body of work LhaL we can learn from. Why learn from hlm?
8ecause clearly he ls a genlus, regardless of whaL oLher oplnlons anyone mlghL have of hlm (and
l only know hlm Lhrough hls work. l don'L know hls personal llfe aL all.). lL ls lnLeresLlng Lo see
how he, as an arLlsL and creaLor, has evolved. 1o see how hls ldlosyncraLlc humor has changed,
how he LwlsLs reallLy furLher Lo sLreLch our lmaglnaLlon. Pe always sLands ouL and sLays ahead
of Lhe oLher lnnovaLors. And for oLher people who seek Lhe same, he ls worLh observlng.
Pere's some of Lhe Lhlngs l've learned from hlm:
1. Ia||ure. Cne of my earllesL memorles ls havlng a babyslLLer whlle my parenLs wenL Lo a
movle. When Lhey goL home l asked Lhem whaL Lhey saw and Lhey descrlbed a movle where a
man falls asleep and wakes up ln Lhe fuLure where a glanL nose ruled Lhe world. Woody Allen
has been Lhere slnce Lhe beglnnlng for me. And [usL Lhe oLher day, l waLched MlJolqbt lo
lotls wlLh Cwen Wllson (who, desplLe looklng very un-Woody Allen-esque, plays Lhe vlrLual
Woody Allen" role very well). 1he movle explores Lhe hlsLory of arL and how no arL form exlsLs
by lLself buL ls always lnfluenced by generaLlon afLer generaLlon of arLlsLs before lL, daLlng back
hundreds lf noL Lhousands of years. lL's one of hls besL.

8uL some of hls movles are [usL awful. Pe admlLs lL. ln a 1976 lnLervlew ln kollloq 5tooe, he sald,
l would llke Lo fall a llLLle for Lhe publlc.WhaL l wanL Lo do ls go onLo some areas LhaL l'm
lnsecure abouL and noL so good aL."

Pe elaboraLes furLher. Pe admlLs he could be llke Lhe Marx 8roLhers and make Lhe same comlc
fllm every year. 8uL he dldn'L wanL Lo do lL. lL was lmporLanL for hlm Lo evolve. 1o rlsk fallure.
1o rlsk fallure ln fronL of everyone. And hls movles dld LhaL, golng from Lhe early slapsLlck
humor of 5leepet Lo Lhe darker ctlmes ooJ MlsJemeooots and Motcb lolot.

Woody Allen has falled specLacularly, ln every way we can lmaglne-personally, professlonally,
eLc. And yeL he's always pushlng forward, Lrylng Lo surprlse us agaln and agaln, and largely
succeedlng raLher Lhan glvlng up.
2. rophet|c. ln a 1977 wosbloqtoo lost lnLervlew he sald, We're probably llvlng aL Lhe end of
an era. l Lhlnk lL's only a maLLer of Llme unLll home vlewlng ls as easy and economlcal as
deslrable." ln Lhe pasL Lhree days l've waLched Lhree Woody Allen movles on my lad. l don'L
know lf Lechnology changed Lhe way he made hls movles. 8uL lL's clear he never goL hlmself
sLuck ln one parLlcular form or sLyle LhaL would evenLually fall Lo caLer Lo Lhe LasLes of Lhe
average audlence. 1o be creaLlve and sLand ouL ln Loday's world, you musL always be
dlverslfylng Lhe arLlsLlc experlence you puL ouL.

3. I|ex|b|e. We admlre Lhe Choose-?ourself-ers who qulckly recognlze mlsLakes and Lhen
LranslLlon Lhelr buslness accordlngly (Lhe caLchphrase laLely ls LhaL Lhese enLrepreneurs know
how Lo plvoL"). Allen Lyplcally sLarLs off wlLh a broad ouLllne, a sorL of scrlpL, buL lL changes
LhroughouL Lhe movle. ln a 1978 lnLervlew wlLh lra PalbersLadL he says, 1o me a fllm grows
organlcally. l wrlLe Lhe scrlpL and Lhen lL changes organlcally. l see people come ln and Lhen l
declde.lL changes here. lL changes lf keaLon doesn'L wanL Lo do Lhese llnes and l don'L wanL Lo
do Lhese- we shlfL around. lL changes for a mllllon reasons."
1he enLrepreneur, Lhe enLre-ployee. ln general, all relaLlonshlps ln general shlfL and change.
?ou seL ouL ln llfe wanLlng cerLaln Lhlngs-Lhe college degree, Lhe house wlLh Lhe whlLe fence,
Lhe promoLlons, Lhe famlly-buL Lhlngs become dlfferenL. ?ou have Lo adapL and be flexlble.
4. roduct|v|ty. 1o puL ouL a movle every year or so, plus plays, magazlne sLorles, and books,
you would Lhlnk Woody Allen works around Lhe clock. ln a 1980 lnLervlew, lf you work only
Lhree Lo flve hours a day you become very producLlve. lL's Lhe sLeadlness of lL LhaL counLs.
CeLLlng Lo Lhe LypewrlLer every day ls whaL makes producLlvlLy."

Pe sLaLes laLer ln Lhe lnLervlew LhaL when he was younger he llked Lo geL Lhlngs ouL ln one
lmpulslve bursL buL he learned LhaL was a bad hablL," and LhaL he llkes Lo wake up early, do hls
work, and Lhen seL lL aslde for Lhe nexL day.
robably Lhe mosL producLlve schedule ls Lo wake up early-do your work before people sLarL
showlng up aL your doorsLep, on your phone, ln your lnbox, eLc., and leave off aL Lhe polnL rlghL
when you are mosL exclLed Lo conLlnue. 1hen you know lL wlll be easy Lo sLarL off Lhe nexL day.
l read ln a recenL lnLervlew LhaL lL Lakes Allen a monLh Lo wrlLe a comedy and Lhree monLhs Lo
wrlLe a drama. Cn Lhree Lo flve hours a day, lL shows me he wrlLes evety Joy, he's conslsLenL,
and he doesn'L wasLe Llme wlLh dlsLracLlons (golng Lo parLles, sLaylng ouL laLe).

S. Avo|d outs|de st|mu|us. 1hese days, l make a huge mlsLake every day. l sLarL off wlLh Lhe
loop: e-mall, 1wlLLer, lacebook, my Amazon rank, my blog sLaLs, my blog commenLs. Claudla
asks me, uld you flnlsh Lhe loop yeL?" And l Lhlnk lL wlll only Lake a few seconds buL lL acLually
Lakes abouL LwenLy mlnuLes. l probably do lL Len Llmes a day. 1haL's Lwo hundred mlnuLes!
1hree hours and LwenLy mlnuLes! ugh.

uo you know where Allen was slLLlng when he won an Cscar for Aoole noll? ln Mlchael's ub ln
ManhaLLan, playlng hls weekly [azz clarlneL glg. Why geL on a plane (elghL hours, door Lo door),
and go Lo a parLy where he would feel uncomforLable, Lo wln an award he probably dldn'L care
much abouL (alLhough lL magnlfled hls presLlge ln Pollywood, Lhe clLy LhaL pald hls bllls)?
ln a 1982 lnLervlew wlLh Lhe wosbloqtoo lost he sald, l probably would noL have waLched
anyway," [usL Lo see everyone he knows hunched down ln Lhe audlence walLlng for hours Lo see
who would wln. 8esldes, he had a very nlce Llme" aL Mlchael's. lor Allen, hls pleasure came
flrsL, raLher Lhan Lhe anxlous waLchlng and walLlng.
1hen he wenL home. Pe wenL ouL Lhe back way of Mlchael's Lo sklp all Lhe phoLographers ouL
fronL and was home by mldnlghL for hls mllk and cookles." 1hen, he wenL Lo sleep. And 1CCk
1PL PCnL Cll 1PL PCCk. Who even does LhaL now? ln an age where we (or, l should say, l")
llLerally sleep wlLh Lhe lad and phone ln bed. Pe Look Lhe phone off Lhe hook on Cscar nlghL
and wenL Lo sleep. ln Lhe mornlng, he made hls coffee and LoasL, goL Lhe New otk 1lmes, and
only Lhen flnally opened lL up Lo Lhe enLerLalnmenL secLlon, where he saw he'd won Lhe Cscar.
Amazlng. Pe dldn'L even care when no one was looklng. lL's ln Lhls way LhaL he keeps hls
producLlvlLy (compared wlLh Lhe lack of producLlvlLy many of us suffer now because of Lhe
consLanL lnflux of ouLslde soclal sLlmulanLs) aL a very hlgh polnL.
6. Imperfect|on. Allen has sald many Llmes LhaL none of hls fllms were exacLly whaL he wanLed.
1haL Lhey were consLanLly lmperfecL. lL's almosL llke he's Lhe lmperfecL perfecLlonlsL. Pe wanLs
Lhlngs [usL rlghL, and he Lrles very hard Lo geL Lhem LhaL way. 8uL he knows lL wlll never happen.

1haL sald, he doesn'L glve up. Pe sald ln 1986, We go ouL and shooL.agaln.and agaln.and
agaln, lf necessary. And even aL LhaL raLe, all Lhe plcLures come up lmperfecL. Lven aL LhaL
meLlculous raLe of shooLlng Lhem over and over agaln, Lhey sLlll come ouL flawed. none of Lhem
ls close Lo belng perfecL." ulLlmaLely, he says, all hls movles prove Lo be greaL
dlsappolnLmenLs."
And yeL, knowlng LhaL he wlll always experlence Lhe same Lhlng, he goes ouL, sLreLches Lhe
boundarles of where he's comforLable ln falllng, and does lL agaln. And agaln. knowlng noLhlng
he wlll do wlll be Lhe masLerplece he lnlLlally concelved.
noLhlng comes ouL exacLly how we wanL lL. 8uL we have Lo learn Lo roll wlLh lL and move Lo Lhe
nexL work.
7. Conf|dence. l waLched nosbooJs ooJ wlves Lhe oLher day. lL wasn'L a funny movle. lL wasn'L
a preLLy movle. l waLched lL wlLh Claudla and by Lhe end we were boLh Lhlnklng, ugh, l hope
LhaL doesn'L happen Lo us ln Len years. 1he movle lLself was [arrlng. lnsLead of belng shoL
LradlLlonally lL was shoL wlLh a hand-held camera. lL was edlLed wlLh loLs of [ump-cuLs, where
you're looklng aL a characLer and suddenly she's an lnch over because some small plece of fllm
was cuL ouL. 1he edlLlng lLself became parL of Lhe [olLlng and [arrlng ln Lhe sLory. lL was as lf Lhe
sLory was noL [usL belng Lold wlLh Lhe acLlng and Lhe wrlLlng buL wlLh Lhe way lL was shoL and
edlLed.

lL remlnded me of someLhlng kurL vonneguL, consldered an experlmenLal wrlLer ln hls own
rlghL, once sald: 1o be experlmenLal, flrsL you have Lo know how Lo use all Lhe rules of
grammar. ?ou have Lo be an experL flrsL ln LradlLlon." lL also remlnds me of Andy Warhol, who
was a hlghly pald, very sLralghLforward, commerclal arLlsL, before he wenL experlmenLal and
sLarLed Lhe pop arL phenomenon.
ln a 1994 lnLervlew, Allen sald abouL nosbooJs ooJ wlves (noLe: nosbooJs ooJ wlves was hls
LwenLleLh movle): Confldence LhaL comes wlLh experlence enables you Lo do many Lhlngs LhaL
you wouldn'L have done ln earller fllms. ?ou Lend Lo become bolder.you leL your lnsLlncLs
operaLe more freely and you don'L worry abouL Lhe nlceLles."

ln oLher words: masLer Lhe form you wanL Lo operaLe ln, geL experlence, be wllllng Lo be
lmperfecL, and Lhen develop Lhe confldence Lo play wlLhln LhaL form, Lo develop your own
sLyle. ?ou see Lhls ln kurL vonneguL, Loo, as he Lransformed from Lhe more LradlLlonal lloyet
llooo ln Lhe early '30s Lo 5looqbtetboose-llve ln 1969, a novel abouL World War ll LhaL lncludes
allens who can Llme Lravel.
8. Show|ng up. As Allen famously sLaLed, 80 percenL of success ls showlng up." noLhlng more
really needs Lo be added Lhere excepL lL mlghL be changed Lo nlneLy-nlne percenL of success
for Lhe enLrepreneur ls showlng up." WhaL do you have Lo show up for? ?ou have Lo flnd Lhe
lnvesLors, you have Lo manage developmenL, you have Lo flnd Lhe flrsL cusLomers, oo have Lo
flnd Lhe buyers. 1hey don'L show up aL your door. oo sbow op aL Lhelr door. CLherwlse your
buslness wlll [usL noL work ouL. LeL's Lake MlcrosofL as one example among many. 8lll CaLes
Lracked down Lhe guy ln new Mexlco Lo bulld 8ASlC. 8lll CaLes puL hlmself ln Lhe mlddle when
l8M wanLed Lo llcense an operaLlng sysLem. Pe [usL kepL showlng up whlle everyone else was
skllng.

9. 1he med|um becomes the message. l menLloned Lhls ln Lhe polnL above buL lL deserves
furLher elaboraLlon. 1he [ump-cuLLlng, Lhe handheld camera, every aspecL of nosbooJs ooJ
wlves became woven ln wlLh Lhe sLory. Allen sald, l wanLed lL Lo be more dlssonanL, because
Lhe lnLernal emoLlonal and menLal sLaLes of Lhe characLers are more dlssonanL. l wanLed Lhe
audlence Lo feel Lhere was a [agged and nervous feellng." ln Lhls he shows noL only hls own
evoluLlon as a fllmmaker buL whaL he's borrowed from Lhe arLlsLs before hlm-noL only Codard
and 8ergman, who dld Lhelr own experlmenLaLlons, buL muslclans llke rofoklev, where Lhe
dlssonance lLself ls so LlghLly wound wlLh Lhe muslc LhaL lL becomes a parL of Lhe muslc, as
opposed Lo [usL Lhe noLes belng played. 1hls ls underllned aL a very hlgh level ln Allen's laLesL
movle, MlJolqbt lo lotls, when Cwen Wllson, Lhe maln characLer, plnpolnLs Lhe rooLs of hls
own arL by golng back furLher and furLher ln Llme.

My Lakeaway? SLudy Lhe hlsLory of Lhe form you wanL Lo masLer. SLudy every nuance. lf you
wanL Lo wrlLe, read noL only all of your conLemporarles, buL Lhe lnfluences of Lhose
conLemporarles, and Lhelr lnfluences. AddlLlonally, draw lnsplraLlon from oLher arL forms. lrom
muslc, arL, and Lhere agaln, go back Lo Lhe lnfluences of your lnsplraLlons, and go back Lo Lhelr
lnfluences, and so on. 1he faceLs LhaL resonaLe wlLh Llme, even lf lL's hundreds of years old, wlll
resonaLe wlLh your work as well. lL's llke a law of Lhe unlverse.

ln Loday's day and age, we wanL Lo Lransform decades of work lnLo years or even monLhs. Allen
bullL up hls career over flve decades and kepL aL lL perslsLenLly, even when scandal, or a bad
movle, or a bad arLlcle, would casL gloom over hls enLlre Lra[ecLory. 8uL he shrugged lL off.
So whaL can we learn from Woody Allen?
Wake up early.
Avold dlsLracLlons.
Work Lhree Lo flve hours a day and Lhen en[oy Lhe resL of Lhe day.
8e as perfecLlonlsL as you can, knowlng LhaL lmperfecLlon wlll sLlll rule.
Pave Lhe confldence Lo be maglcal and sLreLch Lhe boundarles of your medlum.
Comblne Lhe Lools of Lhe medlum lLself wlLh Lhe message you wanL Lo convey.
uon'L geL sLuck ln Lhe same ruL-move forward, experlmenL, buL wlLh Lhe confldence
bullL up over experlence.
Change Lhe rules buL learn Lhem flrsL.
1he same can be sald for any successful Choose-?ourself-er. Cr for people who are successful ln
any aspecL of llfe. ls Woody Allen a happy man? Who knows? 8uL he's done whaL he seL ouL Lo
do. Pe's made movles. Pe's Lold sLorles. Pe's llved Lhe dream, even when lL bordered on
nlghLmare. We can only be so lucky.


CCML1LNCL AND 1nL 8LA1LLS' LAS1 CCNCLk1
Cn !anuary 30, 1969 Lhe 8eaLles haLed each oLher, and Lhey were slck of worklng on Lhelr
album let lt 8e lnslde of Lhelr cramped sLudlos. Cn a whlm, Lhey Look all Lhelr equlpmenL and
moved lL flve floors up Lo Lhe roof, ln Lhe mlddle of wlnLer. 1hen Lhey performed for abouL a
half hour. 1hey had lasL performed llve more Lhan Lwo years earller. lL was Lhelr lasL concerL"
ever. 1hey broke up shorLly afLerward and never performed LogeLher agaln.
l say lL was a concerL" because people ln Lhe blocks around Lhem qulckly began Lo reallze whaL
was happenlng. eople couldn'L belleve lL. ?ou see offlce workers cllmblng ouL of wlndows and
down ladders Lo geL a beLLer vlew. Women runnlng up and down Lhe sLreeLs Lo Lry and see
beLLer. An older man wlLh a plpe cllmblng up a flre escape Lo sLand on a roofLop and waLch.
AfLer abouL Len mlnuLes, Lhe sLreeLs were crowded wlLh people sLarlng up aL Lhe roof of Lhe
bulldlng where Lhe muslc was comlng from. eople on Lhe ground couldn'L see Lhe band buL
Lhey knew lL was Lhem. 1he effecL of Lhe 8eaLles slnglng llve shuL down London for a half hour.
AbouL halfway Lhrough, so-called reallLy sLarLed Lo hlL some of Lhe passersby. Cne guy sald, lL's
a blL of an lmposlLlon Lo absoluLely dlsrupL all of Lhe buslness ln Lhls area." We'll never know
Lhe name of LhaL guy. We'll never know whaL he was worklng on ln !anuary 1969 LhaL was so
lmporLanL. Cr whaL any of Lhe buslness" ln LhaL area was LhaL wlnLer afLernoon. 8uL forLy-
Lhree years, laLer we sLlll waLch Lhe vldeo. We sLlll llsLen Lo Lhe songs.
A couple of Lhlngs l flnd lnLeresLlng abouL Lhls vldeo:
A) 1he members of Lhe group haLed each oLher. AL Lhls polnL Lhe 8eaLles were baslcally over.
1he album was orlglnally called Cet 8ock afLer one of Lhe songs ln lL. 8uL Lhey couldn'L geL
back" LogeLher and ulLlmaLely lL was called let lt 8e. lL was Lhelr lasL released album. ?ou can
blame lL on anyLhlng: ?oko, Llnda, creaLlve confllcLs, hll SpecLor, 8rlan LpsLeln's deaLh, on and
on. 8uL whaLever Lhe real reason(s)," Lhey haLed each oLher desplLe Lhe mega success Lhey
had creaLed LogeLher.
8) ?ou can see on Lhelr faces as Lhey geL Lo Lhe roof: Lhey were never golng Lo perform agaln.
8lngo looks sad. Ceorge Parrlson looks parLlcularly upseL. ln facL, a few weeks earller he and
!ohn Lennon had goLLen lnLo a flsLflghL and Parrlson had run ouL and sald he was qulLLlng."
See you ln Lhe clubs," he sald as he lefL. 1he band debaLed replaclng hlm wlLh Lrlc ClapLon buL
Parrlson came back. McCarLney had Lhe wherewlLhal Lo say LhaL Lhe 8eaLles wouldn'L be Lhe
8eaLles wlLhouL Lhe four members.
C) Parrlson haLed Lhe facL LhaL Lennon was growlng more and more deLached from Lhe band
and dolng hls own Lhlng. Lennon haLed Parrlson's and McCarLney's muslc wrlLlng. (Lennon,
afLer Lhe album came ouL, sald of 1he Long and Wlndlng 8oad" and producer hll SpecLor's
LreaLmenL of lL: Pe was glven Lhe shlLLlesL load of badly recorded shlL wlLh a lousy feellng Lo lL
ever, and he made someLhlng of lL.") ln oLher words, Lhey haLed each oLher. And Lhey dldn'L
hold back. 1hey [usL slmply dld noL wanL Lo work wlLh each oLher anymore desplLe Lhe years of
creaLlve and flnanclal success. Ceorge Parrlson [olned Lhe 8eaLles when he was fourLeen years
old. 1hey had grown up LogeLher.
u) 1he second song Lhey slng ln Lhe vldeo, uon'L LeL Me uown," ls polgnanL lL was orlglnally
wrlLLen by !ohn Lennon for ?oko. uesplLe hls success, Lennon was Lerrlfled of belng leL down by
?oko. uesplLe our aLLempLs Lo cllmb away from Lhe worsL fears of our chlldhood, success only
magnlfles Lhose fears. We're llke blrds Lrylng Lo cllmb a Lree Lo reach for Lhe freedom of Lhe
blue sky. Cnly when we learn how Lo fly can we Lruly be free. lor Lennon, belng leL down as a
kld or young adulL exploded lnLo a plea noL only Lo one woman buL Lo mllllons of evenLual
llsLeners.
lL feels llke he's noL [usL slnglng lL Lo her. Pe's slnglng lL Lo Lhe 8eaLles, who he felL leL down by.
Pe's slnglng lL ouL Lhere Lo Lhe alr, Lo Lhe blocks of people sLarlng ouL Lhelr wlndows aL hlm.
Pe's slnglng Lo London. Pe's pleadlng Lo hls fuLure, where he would be creaLlvely on hls own-
uon'L LeL Me uown." And, propheLlcally, Lhe world leL hlm down ln Lhe worsL way on
uecember 8, 1980. 1he song never made lL Lo Lhe flnal, released album. l llke Lhe orlglnal shoL
ln Lhe vldeo, of Lennon and McCarLney slnglng lL LogeLher, wlLh 8lngo ln Lhe mlddle ln Lhe
background. 1he Lhree were barely speaklng Lo each oLher aL LhaL polnL. 1hey had all leL each
oLher down. And yeL LhaL wouldn'L prevenL Lhem from creaLlng beauLlful muslc.
L) CompeLence. uesplLe all Lhe Lroubles. uesplLe Lhelr conLempL for each oLher's muslcal
ablllLles. uesplLe Lhe fragmenLed legal and emoLlonal fallouLs LhaL were qulckly cascadlng Lhem
Loward Lhe band's demlse, Lhey wenL up on LhaL sLage and L8lC8MLu. l've llsLened Lo Lhe
vldeo a hundred Llmes. aul opens hls mouLh and Lhe muslc beglns and doesn'L sLop for LwenLy
mlnuLes. lL's beauLlful. CompeLenL people move forward and do whaL Lhey do. l hope ln my llfe
l can be as good aL any one Lhlng as Lhe four of Lhem were aL whaL Lhey dld LhaL day, buL l
doubL lL wlll happen.
And flnally, beglnner's mlnd."
AL Lhe end of Lhe vldeo, wlLh Lhe pollce now geLLlng lnLo Lhe acLlon and Lelllng Lhem Lo shuL lL
down because of nolse complalnLs, Lhey flnlsh wlLh Lhe song CeL 8ack" agaln. aul McCarLney
rlffs ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe song, ?ou've been playlng on Lhe roofs agaln, and you know your
Momma doesn'L llke lL, she's gonna have you arresLed!"

And when Lhey flnally puL Lhelr lnsLrumenLs down, !ohn Lennon only half sarcasLlcally says (Lhe
lasL llne Lhe 8eaLles ever say Lo an audlence), Cn behalf of Lhe group and ourselves, l hope we
pass Lhe audlLlon."
A creaLor can'L ever resL. no maLLer whaL you do, no maLLer whaL your creaLlon ls. Lvery
momenL ls Lhe audlLlon. Lvery Llme you creaLe ls a chance Lo go on Lhe roof and do someLhlng
new, ln a way LhaL hasn'L been done before, ln a way LhaL ls poLenLlally dlsrupLlve, playful,
unlque, and vulnerable. eople wlll haLe you, people wlll love you, people wlll cllmb on Lhe
roofLops Lo see you before Lhe pollce arresL you. 1he 8eaLles passed Lhe audlLlon LhaL one lasL
Llme. now lL's our Lurn.

WnA1 1C DC WnLN CU AkL kLILC1LD
Lveryone around Lhe Lable had been bruLally re[ecLed hundreds of Llmes. l was aL a dlnner wlLh
a bunch of auLhors who had gone Lhe self-publlshlng rouLe vla Amazon. All of Lhem had chosen
Lhemselves. And all of Lhem, excepL for me, were flcLlon wrlLers who had sold more Lhan one
hundred Lhousand coples or more of Lhelr varlous novels. 1he guy slLLlng across from me had
[usL sold Lhe movle rlghLs Lo hls laLesL sclence flcLlon serles. AnoLher woman was worklng on
Lhe sequel Lo her young adulL paranormal" serles. AnoLher guy had sold more Lhan flve
hundred Lhousand coples of hls varlous Lhrlllers. 1he guy slLLlng nexL Lo me had been very
successful aL hls chlldren's chapLer books" serles, 5weet lotts.
All of Lhem had one Lhlng ln common. Whlle pursulng Lhe career of Lhelr dreams Lhey had all
been re[ecLed. Some of Lhem hundreds of Llmes. All of Lhem were elLher on Lhe verge of wrlLlng
full-Llme for a llvlng or had already made Lhe leap. Lvery one of Lhem was smlllng.
Pow many would've been smlllng lf Lhey had glven up afLer Lhe LhlrLy-nlnLh re[ecLlon and dldn'L
go for LhaL forLleLh? Cr dldn'L go for lL LhaL momenL when Lhey declded, l'm golng Lo Lake
conLrol of Lhe creaLlve process and noL sLop where Lhe gaLekeepers Lell me Lo sLop.

SC MAn? 1lMLS l'vL 8LLn S1CLu 8? 1PL CA1LkLLL8S. AL a [ob, for lnsLance, where my
boss sald, SLop worklng on Lhls and focus on your maln [ob." Cr when l was Lrylng Lo sell a 1v
show and Lhere were only one or Lwo declslon makers and Lhey all blocked my paLh for pollLlcal
reasons. Cr l wanLed Lo sell a company and Lhere were only a few declslon makers who could
make or break whaL l LhoughL Lhen was my enLlre llfe. 1he sLark fear l had whenever l spoke Lo
Lhem, knowlng Lhey had Lhls enormous power over me, and foollshly Lhlnklng LhaL l had
noLhlng Lo offer Lhem.

Lvery day, ln all aspecLs of our llves, we are re[ecLed. 8e[ecLlon ls probably Lhe mosL powerful
force ln our llves. 1hlnk back on Lhe Llmes you've been re[ecLed and how your response Lo lL
changed your llfe compleLely. 1here are Lhree baslc responses Lo re[ecLlon LhaL l've seen (ln [usL
Lhe pasL few days l've seen examples of all of Lhese).
l suck. l can'L do Lhls. l glve up."
1hey are sLupld. l'm golng Lo keep pushlng forward."
Pmm, whaL can l do dlfferenLly? WhaL can l learn from Lhls re[ecLlon?"
Cbvlously l'm golng Lo lgnore Lhe flrsL Lwo. lL could be Lhe case LhaL you need Lo glve up. Cr lL
could be Lhe case LhaL you should do noLhlng Lo lmprove and you [usL push forward, buL LhaL
should never be Lhe guL response (alLhough, agaln, l've seen lL as Lhe guL response several
Llmes from varlous people ln [usL Lhe pasL few days/monLhs/years/myself/eLc.).
So how can you Lake re[ecLlon and use lL Lo push forward?
lM8CvL. ?ou wanLed LhaL CnL [ob, LhaL CnL scholarshlp, LhaL 1v show, LhaL book, Lo sell your
company, Lo sell your producL, whaLever. And Lhey sald, no. 1ake a hard look aL Lhe producL.
Can you lmprove your offerlng? Can you Lake a sLep back and lmprove whaL you are dolng?
Maybe you can and maybe you can'L. 8uL bralnsLorm flrsL. WhaL are Lhe Len Lhlngs you can do
Lo lmprove whaL you are dolng?

Cne Llme l Lrled Lo sell a company LhaL l had sLarLed. 1he company dldn'L have enough cllenLs
or enough revenues. And l was a blL lnconslsLenL abouL Lhe servlces we were offerlng LhaL made
us unlque. 1here were abouL Len dlfferenL areas l needed Lo lmprove and gradually l lmproved
Lhem all and sold Lhe company a year laLer.
LxAnu 1PL unlvL8SL Cl uLClSlCn MAkL8S. unLll Lhe pasL Lwo or Lhree years, lf you wanLed
Lo sell a novel Lhere were baslcally flve Lo Len declslon makers. Lvery year almosL LwenLy
Lhousand people would submlL novels Lo Lhese declslon makers (Lhe ma[or publlshlng houses)
and mosL would geL re[ecLed. Who would re[ecL you? lnLerns and asslsLanLs who had [usL
graduaLed college wlLh a degree ln comparaLlve llLeraLure, who barely even looked aL whaL you
wroLe.

now you can self-publlsh vla Amazon (or Lhrough Lhls book's publlsher, LloncresL), and lL's a
greaL process. ?ou [usL chose yourself buL, more lmporLanL, Lhe readers become your declslon
makers. 1he unlverse of mllllons of readers wlll now help you make your nexL declslons on how
Lo lmprove, how Lo galn more power over your creaLlve process, and flnally, how Lo secure
power over your enLlre llfe.
1PlS lS 1PL CPCCSL ?Cu8SLLl L8A. When l was vlslLlng wlLh Amazon, l was amazed aL whaL a
revoluLlon was golng on. lL's noL abouL an exLra devlce. lL's abouL how for Lhe flrsL Llme slnce
CuLenberg Lhere's an acLual revoluLlon ln how you can communlcaLe wlLh Lhe masses. ln every
way, you can choose yourself now Lo succeed, Lo lmprove, Lo communlcaLe, Lo exLend your
reach Lo Lhe lndlvlduals who need your message. uon'L glve up on Lhls opporLunlLy. ln facL,
re[ecLlon" mlghL be whaL forces you lnLo lL, as lL dld for Lhe LwenLy or so auLhors l meL lasL
week.

And lL's noL [usL novels. lL's everyLhlng. Can you wlden Lhe audlence for your producL? Cnllne
daLlng has expanded Lhe declslon makers ln your relaLlonshlp llfe. And ?ou1ube has greaLly
expanded Lhe unlverse of LasLemakers who wlll deflne your faLe. l haLe Lo say lL, buL !usLln
8leber uploadlng ?ou1ube vldeos of hlmself (and now exceedlng 2 bllllon vldeo vlews) greaLly
lncreased hls chances of success lnsLead of Lrylng Lo go Lhe same rouLe as everyone else-
Lhrough Lhe LradlLlonal flve Lo Len record labels decldlng your faLe. All respecL Lo Lhe kld, who
chose hlmself and made lL work.
lM8CvL ?Cu8 A8CACP. ?ou keep geLLlng re[ecLed ln bars? llnd a dlfferenL place, where
Lhe odds aren'L sLacked agalnsL you. nobody respondlng Lo your neLworklng e-malls for 1en
mlnuLes of your Llme please?" 1hen offer someLhlng. Clve someLhlng for free so people
lmmedlaLely see value ln your approach lmmedlaLely. ?ou keep cold-calllng cusLomers and Lhey
hang up? llnd a dlfferenL way Lo geL dlsLrlbuLlon.

CPAnCL u, uCn'1 ClvL u. l was Lhe guy who gave up" on Lhe LhlrLy-nlnLh Lry when Lrylng Lo
sell a novel l had wrlLLen. SomeLlmes Lhe odds are [usL Loo sLacked agalnsL you. Maybe lL
would've worked on Lhe forLleLh Lry. l don'L know. 8uL l'm glad l gave up, l changed up"
lnsLead. 8aLher Lhan focuslng on flcLlon as Lhe only creaLlve medlum, l sLarLed looklng aL boLh
1v and Lhe brand-new World Wlde Web as creaLlve medla. Whlch led Lo a [ob aL P8C. Whlch
led Lo my flrsL company focuslng on bulldlng conLenL-heavy webslLes for enLerLalnmenL
companles.

l dldn'L glve up on belng creaLlve. l expanded Lhe power of my creaLlvlLy by noL llmlLlng myself
Lo one domaln, and vowlng Lo reLurn Lo book-wrlLlng laLer, ulLlmaLely Lo flcLlon-wrlLlng. Maybe
l'll do lL, maybe l won'L. 8uL Lhe Change up" cerLalnly released me creaLlvely, and l was able Lo
use lL Lo bulld boLh my flnanclal llfe and creaLlve llfe. We'll see lf lL ever comes full clrcle.
lM8CvL ?Cu8 Au1PLn1lCl1?. Soclal medla can also be called lndlvldual medla" as opposed
Lo Croup Medla." lnsLead of a large group broadcasLlng your efforL, you can bulld up your own
presence by esLabllshlng your lacebook plaLform, your 1wlLLer presence, your Llnkedln, Cuora,
lnLeresL, blogglng, Amazon, SlldeShare, Scrlbd, reddlL, eLc., presence. All of Lhese channels are
used Lo creaLe auLhenLlclLy for your offerlng. Lach follower, fan, eLc., you are personally able Lo
sway over Lo your slde of Lhe world conLlnues Lo esLabllsh your auLhenLlclLy, regardless of who
ls re[ecLlng" you. 1hls ls how you choose yourself and bulld your own plaLform raLher Lhan
relylng on Lhe whlms of a meager few.

ASk lC8 AuvlCL. Someone re[ecLed you? oor baby! now, afLer your mournlng ls over, ask
why. ?ou're golng Lo be re[ecLed all your llfe. ln every way. lL never hurLs Lo undersLand why.
SomeLlmes Lhey wlll even Lell you and, ln Lhose cases, lL's a guaranLee LhaL you wlll remember.

uAnCL Wl1P lAlLu8L. ?ou [usL goL re[ecLed? Pow dld you deal wlLh lL? uld you cry? uld you
glve up? uld you Lhlnk Lo yourself, Why do l ALWA?S fall? uld you Lhlnk Lo yourself, 1hose guys
are S1ulu for re[ecLlng me? undersLand your reacLlon Lo fallure. WhaL can you do Lo
lmprove lL?

1he oLher day l read LhaL 76 percenL of Lhe unlverse ls comprlsed of dark energy." ln oLher
words, we have zero clues as Lo whaL lL ls. AnoLher 20 percenL ls dark maLLer," l.e., maLLer LhaL
we have no clue abouL. Cnly 4 percenL of Lhe unlverse ls acLually made up of maLLer we
undersLand. ln oLher words, afLer newLon, LlnsLeln, Pelsenberg, and Lwo Lhousand years of
collecLlve exploraLlon of Lhe unlverse and all lLs elemenLs, we've baslcally falled. ln facL, Lhe
more knowledge we geL, Lhe more we reallze how badly we are falllng. We used Lo Lhlnk we
had lL down. 8uL now even Lhe 8lg 8ang Lheory ls ln serlous quesLlon. We [usL suck aL
undersLandlng Lhe world around us.
uo physlclsLs cry Lhemselves Lo sleep every nlghL because Lhey have falled so badly? Cf course
noL. 1hls fallure has only glven Lhem opporLunlLy Lo dlscover more. lL's opened up vasL
landscapes of poLenLlal undersLandlng LhaL can acLually help us undersLand whaL Lhe unlverse
ls, and ln LhaL undersLandlng, help us undersLand who we are.
noL every fallure ls an opporLunlLy. 8uL flgure lL ouL. Look aL Lhe Llmes you falled. Pow many, ln
reLrospecL, were opporLunlLles. AbouL Lwo years ago, l had a bllllonalre who wanLed Lo glve me
abouL $30 mllllon Lo sLarL a fund. A muLual frlend of ours blocked lL for some reason l sLlll don'L
know. AL Lhe Llme l was upseL.
now l'm graLeful. l've done so many Lhlngs slnce Lhen LhaL l'm very happy l dld and l never
would've done lf l was busy runnlng a fund. 1hank god l goL re[ecLed! l never would've wrlLLen
Lhls book, for lnsLance.
ACknCWLLuCMLn1 Cl 1PL 8CCLSS: 1he nC8MAL Lhlng ls Lo be re[ecLed. 1o geL re[ecLed by
[obs, your klds, frlends, famlly members, relaLlonshlps, buslnesses, publlshers, everyone. As
uashama puL lL ln her e-mall Lo me (see 1he Curlous Case of Lhe Sexy lmage"): a Lhlrd wlll llke
you, a Lhlrd wlll haLe you, a Lhlrd won'L care.no maLLer whaL you do.

lL's acLually A8nC8MAL Lo geL close" Lo noL belng re[ecLed. lL's even more abnormal Lo be
accepLed" or Lo succeed" ln some convenLlonal sense. So acknowledge LhaL lL's perfecLly
normal Lo feel re[ecLed over someLhlng. And lL's perfecLly normal Lo fear lL for Lhe fuLure. ln
facL, Lo do oLherwlse would be Lo re[ecL reallLy.
8uL also acknowledge Lhe successes. 1he Lhlngs LhaL occur LhaL are abnormal. 1he Lhlngs you do
Lo lmprove. 1he Lhlngs you learn on Lhe road Lo chooslng yourself.
uon'L fall back lnLo a sLory (l always geL re[ecLed") LhaL ls more falry Lale Lhan reallLy.
S1A? ln 1CuCP. lL's hard for me Lo noL burn brldges. l Lend Lo do lL Loo much. 8uL l've found
greaL success when l've noL fallen lnLo Lhe brldge-burnlng paLLern l ofLen succumb Lo.

Lxample: l once Lrled Lo sell an early company l sLarLed Lo Cmnlcom, Lhe blg ad agency. l meL
wlLh Lhe woman who made Lhese declslons for Cmnlcom. She felL we weren'L ready yeL.
Lvery monLh l senL her an updaLe: new cllenLs, new sales numbers, number of employees. l also
offered Lo help any of Lhe agencles LhaL Cmnlcom had. Cne Llme l called her on behalf of one of
my cllenLs Lo see lf she could recommend any agencles wlLhln Lhe Cmnlcom famlly Lo help one
of my cllenLs. ln oLher words, l offered her real value.
AfLer abouL a year of me dolng Lhls every monLh, she rallled Lhree of Lhe agencles wlLhln
Cmnlcom Lo come over and check ouL my company. All Lhree made offers. uld l accepL any?
no, buL l was able Lo leverage Lhose offers lnLo a beLLer offer from someone who came
compleLely ouL of Lhe blue.
l haLe Lhe phrase llfe ls too sbott. SomeLlmes lL feels very long Lo me. 8uL lL's cerLalnly Loo shorL
Lo spend any Llme on hard feellngs. Lveryone ls [usL Lrylng Lo geL by. 8oLh Lhe re[ecLed and Lhe
re[ecLers. nobody ls free from Lhls. So leL's all keep ln Louch. lL'll be a Llny blL easler Lo make lL
Lo Lhe flnlsh llne.










SUkVIVING IAILUkL
erhaps Lhe besL Lhlng LhaL happened Lo me ln 2012 was l sald no Lo belng run over by a Lank ln
SanLlago, Chlle. ?ou won'L geL hurL," sald MaLLlas, LrusL me, Lhere's enough space underneaLh
Lhe Lank." 1he lnvlLaLlon was aL Lhe requesL of Lhe presldenL of Chlle, who earller LhaL year had
puL ouL a press release saylng hls neL worLh had lncreased by $200 mllllon slnce he had become
presldenL. 1hls was caplLallsm aL work, and he had lnvlLed me down Lo be an eyewlLness Lo lL.
Someone wroLe me LhaL Lhey were very upseL because a deal Lhey had been worklng on all year
had noL worked ouL. Pow do you geL pasL Lhls?" he asked. Many Llmes l geL asked LhaL. Pow
do l geL pasL Lhls bad Lhlng LhaL happened Lo me?" A relaLlonshlp, a deal, an lllness, an lnsulL.
And l deal wlLh Lhls quesLlon myself. LoLs of bad Lhlngs happen.
Pow do you geL pasL Lhls?" ulverslflcaLlon ls everyLhlng. ?ou geL pasL Lhls" by havlng loLs of
LhaL"s.
8uL on Lop of everyLhlng Lhere's one more Lhlng. 8e|ng ||ke a ch||d. llLLlngly, l am flnlshlng Lhls
book on Lhe lasL nlghL of 2012. LasL nlghL my daughLer woke me up and she was crylng. l
forgoL Lo do my homework Loday!" she sald. 1haL's okay, honey, we'll do lL Lomorrow." 8uL
Lhen new ?ear's Lve uay ls rulned," she sald. lL's a hollday!" Ckay, we'll do lL Lhe nexL day," l
Lold her, Lrylng Lo calm her down so l could geL back Lo sleep. 8uL new ?ear's uay ls a hollday!"
and she was crylng and l had run ouL of days.
Llke we all wlll aL some polnL. We'll run ouL of days. And a chlld wlll cry and mlss us. And
evenLually anoLher chlld wlll cry and mlss Lhem when Lhey are all grown up and Lhe llfe ls
wlLhered ouL of Lhem.
ulverslflcaLlon ls one Lhlng, buL a chlld forgeLs. !anuary 2 wlll happen and my daughLer won'L
care whaL day lL was LhaL she goL her homework done. !anuary 3 wlll happen and my daughLer
won'L even remember lf she had homework Lhls pasL weekend, and !anuary 4 wlll happen and
my daughLer won'L even remember any of Lhe Lhlngs she learned ln her homework. !anuary 3
wlll happen, Lhough, and l'll sLlll remember all Lhe bad Lhlngs LhaL happened Lo me personally ln
2012. lorgeL abouL falllng aL [usL one deal. In 2012 I had:
1hree funds l Lrled Lo sLarL and couldn'L geL off Lhe ground.
l Lrled Lo geL someone Lo buy $1 bllllon worLh of l8 sLock (before lL wenL publlc) and
falled
l Lrled Lo geL someone Lo sell $300,000 worLh of 1wlLLer sLock and falled
l Lrled Lo geL a $1 bllllon dollar !v on an oll deal done
l Lrled Lo buy 1 mllllon barrels of oll for someone and falled
Lhree companles l lnvesLed ln, l had Lo wrlLe off as zeros
l'm walLlng Lo hear Loday lf a company l lnvesLed ln geLs fundlng or lf Lhey wlll depend
on me Lo avold golng broke by Lhe end of Loday.
l sold a house l never llved ln, and losL $800,000 on lL. !usL glad Lo geL rld of lL now.
My oldesL became a Leenager (whlch Lurns ouL Lo be a much blgger loss for me Lhan l
reallzed lL would be. l wlll never have Lhose years back.).
My moLher accused me of kllllng my faLher and wlll no longer speak Lo me.
8oLh my slsLers no longer speak Lo me.
l geL nonsLop haLe mall. l goL one Loday saylng l was Loo !ewlsh," whaLever LhaL means.
And over Lhe weekend l goL one from a !ewlsh guy saylng l was a dlsgrace Lo !ews. So l
don'L wln elLher way.
l goL resulLs back from LesLlng my unA. l have double Lhe rlsk of everyone else of geLLlng
Alzhelmer's. ulLLo for arklnson's. l Lold a frlend l was golng Lo wrlLe 1be Alo4 ulet
(Apo4e belng Lhe gene or chromosome or whaLever for Alzhelmer's). She wroLe back lL
would be a besLseller because everyone would forgeL lf Lhey had boughL lL already.
l was slx when l goL LogeLher one of Lhose rockeLs LhaL you flll up wlLh waLer and Lhen lL shooLs
lnLo Lhe alr, spraylng waLer everywhere. lL goes up a hundred feeL. Wlll lL go lnLo space?" l
asked my dad. Maybe," he sald. And why noL? l was slx, and anyLhlng could happen.
l was slx when l deslgned a palr of glasses LhaL could see backward. l drew lL and showed lL Lo
my grandparenLs. ?ou drew Lhls?" sald my grandpa, and rlghL Lhen l was pleased wlLh my
lnvenLlon. l was slx when l belleved noL only ln !esus buL ln Zeus and Permes and 1hor and
Superman, and my only wlsh was Lo be a superhero when l grew up.
When you're a kld, everyLhlng has a quesLlon mark aL Lhe end of lL. Cnly laLer do Lhey Lurn lnLo
perlods. Cr even exclamaLlon polnLs. Wlll l geL over Lhls?" becomes lL's Loo laLe." 8ecomes l
can'L geL over Lhls!"
My only hope for my fuLure ls l learn Lo doL Lhe landscape of my llfe once more wlLh quesLlon
marks lnsLead of perlods. 1o Lurn [udgmenLs lnLo querles. 1o Lurn Lhls" lnLo LhaL?" 1o make
every problem a maze. 1o be llke a slx-year-old. 1he nexL Llme Lhe presldenL of Chlle wanLs me
Lo geL run over by a Lank l mlghL say yes. Cr l mlghL rlde away on my spaceshlp and lrench-klss
Lhe angel on Lhe moon. Llps are beauLlful," l mlghL say, before flnally falllng back Lo LarLh.


1AkL CVLk 1nL WCkLD
Ckay.
lL's over.
1haL whole [ob" Lhlng. 1he corporaLe safeLy neL LhaL Lhe lndusLrlal 8evoluLlon creaLed. We
LhoughL we were safe." 1haL we dldn'L have Lo make lL on our own anymore. 1haL blg
corporaLlons would Lake care of us once we pald our dues wlLh a college educaLlon.
Well, LhaL was a myLh. l can'L say lL was a lle, because we all Lruly belleved lL. lrom Lhe Lop
down, we wanLed Lo make lL happen. 8uL socleLy lsn'L so slmple. ?ou can'L break aparL splrlL
from sclence, arLs from flnance, or [obs from lnnovaLlon, and expecL Lhe resulLs Lo be clean and
neaL. 1hey aren'L. And Lhe shlfL has already happened. 1he earLh has spllL aparL.
Some wlll fall lnLo Lhe abyss creaLed when Lhe earLh quakes. Some wlll noL be able Lo masLer
Lhe Lools of keeplng healLhy and bulldlng Lhe plaLform of self-sufflclency LhaL ls necessary Lo
choose yourself.
8uL many wlll. l hope Lhe readers of Lhls book wlll.
1he key ls noL dlfferenL from any oLher Llme ln hlsLory. 8uL lL's more lmmedlaLe now lf we wanL
noL only Lo survlve buL Lo flourlsh.
lL ls, of course, Lo help ourselves. Pelp ourselves Lo healLh. Clve ourselves more cholces lnsLead
of belng rellanL on oLhers. And Lhen creaLlng wealLh for ourselves. llnanclal wealLh, emoLlonal
wealLh, and splrlLual wealLh.
Cne way Lo Lhlnk abouL lL ls wlLh Lhe lmage of Lhe clrcle:
l wanL you Lo Lake ouL a pen and a plece of paper and do someLhlng for me.
uraw a llLLle clrcle. uL whaL you do ln LhaL clrcle. lf you're a secreLary, puL secreLary." lf you're
an arLlsL, puL arLlsL." lf you are a moLher, puL moLher." uL Lhe Lhlng LhaL ls cenLral Lo your
llfe. lf you are unsure whaL ls cenLral Lo your llfe, puL your [ob LlLle. lf you don'L have a [ob LlLle,
puL whaL LlLle you would llke Lo be cenLral Lo your llfe.
uraw a clrcle around LhaL. uraw llnes dlvldlng up Lhe second clrcle lnLo comparLmenLs. Llke
aparLmenLs ln a space sLaLlon. WrlLe down Lhe names of Lhe people who are affecLed by your
flrsL clrcle. Maybe you help Lhem do beLLer [obs. Maybe you're a docLor and Lhey are your
paLlenLs. Maybe you are a secreLary and Lhey are your colleagues, your bosses, your famlly
whom you provlde for, your relaLlves who llsLen Lo you, your frlends who rely on you. lf you are
a blogger, Lhey are your readers.
uraw a clrcle around LhaL one. uraw Lhe llnes agaln. Who llves ln Lhese comparLmenLs? 1he
people who are affecLed by Lhe people you affecL. lor lnsLance, Lhe chlldren of your frlends.
1he frlends of your chlldren. 1he people relaLed Lo your employees. Cr your employers. 1hls
would be ln Lhe Lhlrd clrcle.
nexL clrcle: whaL your cenLer clrcle can Lurn lnLo. A blog can Lurn lnLo a book, or a show, or a
consulLlng servlce, or a novel, or who knows? keep Lhlnklng of lL. A [anlLor can rlse up Lo be CLC
of a company. Make your braln sweaL. A docLor's [ob can Lurn lnLo a buslness, a book, advlce, a
class, a mlsslon. A secreLary can Lurn lnLo a boss, a company. WhaL does your cenLer clrcle
evolve lnLo lf you sLlck wlLh lL over Llme?
uraw one more clrcle: Lhe people you would llke Lo affecL. Maybe you would llke Lo affecL
8arack Cbama. Cr a movle producer. Cr a book publlsher. Cr Lhe CLC of you company. Cr all
Lhe venLure caplLallsLs ln Lhe world. uL Lhem Lhere. Why noL? We're [usL drawlng. We're [usL
playlng.
lL's noL lmposslble. lor lnsLance, Cprah can read my blog. Maybe she has already. Cr maybe Lhe
relaLlve of an lnlLlal reader shows Cayle klng my blog or my books, who shows Cprah. lL's
posslble.
And Lhen flnally one more clrcle. 1hls clrcle has everyone ln Lhe world ln lL. 8ecause of Cprah or
8arack or a book publlsher or lf all Lhe venLure caplLallsLs ln Lhe world are sLrongly affecLed by
your work Lhen evenLually Lhe enLlre world, ln some small way, Lhe lndenL ln a paragraph ln Lhe
Lale of our hlsLory, wlll be changed.
Maybe you can'L draw Lhese clrcles. Maybe you Lhlnk your work, or your love, or your
frlendshlp, or your charlLable efforLs, or whaLever you conslder your cenLer" Loday ([usL Loday,
we only care abouL Loday) doesn'L affecL anyone else. Cr lf lL does, maybe you feel Lhe effecL
sLops Lhere. Cr even lf Lhe effecL moves on, spreadlng llke a dlsease, lL dlsappears over dlsLance
or over Llme, unLll flnally lLs lmpacL on Lhe world ls negllglble. nll. noLhlng.
1haL's okay. SLarL over. 1weak someLhlng. Maybe you aren'L a secreLary or a docLor. Maybe
deep down you are an arLlsL. Maybe you're a moLher. Cr a faLher. And Lhe lmpacL ls furLher
reachlng Lhan you LhoughL. uo Lhe clrcles over. uo lL over unLll you can draw LhaL ouLer clrcle
and affecL Lhe enLlre world. 1hrow ouL Lhe old people. uraw more clrcles.
When we were klds and Look a bad LesL, everyone would yell, l wanL a redo!" We're noL ln
school. We're ln llfe. ?ou have your redo. Agaln and agaln. uraw Lhe clrcles agaln. keep drawlng
Lhem unLll you flnally have LhaL ouLer clrcle. 1he clrcle of posslblllLy. 1he one where Lhe enLlre
world changes because you exlsL.
8edo!
1oo many people, ln Lhe rush of Lhelr llves, sLop aL [usL Lhe second clrcle, Lhe ones Lhey
lmmedlaLely lmpacL. 1hey mlghL even sLop before LhaL. Maybe Lhey [usL wonder how Lhelr flrsL
clrcle lmpacLs only Lhemselves. uon'L sLop. ush yourself ouLward. See Lhe web you spln. See
how Lhe world ls caughL ln LhaL web. ush yourself unLll LhaL web ls spun all
around, clrcles wlLhln clrcles wlLhln clrcles. 1hls ls noL abouL maklng Lhe mosL money, or havlng
Lhe mosL lmpacL. 1hls ls abouL belng connecLed wlLh who you are. 1hls ls abouL seelng how far
your poLenLlal Lruly can unravel, slmply because you are human.
And sLarL connecLlng Lhe lnner clrcles wlLh Lhe ouLer clrcles ln deeper and deeper ways.
LvenLually Lhe llnes beLween Lhe clrcles go away. lL's one blg clrcle. ?ou're ln Lhe mlddle. ?ou're
dolng Lhe dally pracLlce. ?ou're chooslng yourself. ?ou're Lhe source. And your llghL and cholces
are now affecLlng everyone.
Are you beLLer off? ?es. We're all beLLer off. 1hank you.

1LS1IMCNIALS
l'm always graLeful Lo geL e-malls or see LweeLs where people menLlon Lhe help Lhey have
recelved from some of Lhese ldeas. When you share an ldea LhaL worked for you, all you ever
really know ls Lhls: lL worked for you.
So lL's nlce when people say lL worked for Lhem also. 1haL your experlences are LranslaLable
lnLo oLher llves. And LhaL your way of expresslng Lhem was an effecLlve way of communlcaLlng
Lhose experlences.
1hese are [usL a few of Lhe LesLlmonlals l've goLLen. l Look a one day snapshoL of e-malls and
LweeLs l recelved.
Agaln, l'm very graLeful Lo recelve Lhem and oLhers, and l hope people always sLay ln Louch wlLh
me Lo leL me know how Lhlngs are golng.
Andrew Ierr| [Andrew_lerrl
8een dolng my dally pracLlce so long l goL lL on auLo-plloL. now when people ask me how'd l
geL so awesome l [usL say, Lver heard of [[alLucher?"

Scott 8a|ster [scoLLbalsLer
[[alLucher. WPLn you come Lo CC l am bulldlng u a handcrafLed Lhrone & carrylng you on my
back Lo a sllce of heaven."

Carr|e Armstrong [CarrleArmsLrng
Ah Colonel AlLucher-your blog ls flnger llckln good."

[acky|sm [[ackylsm
[[alLucher all l can say ls wow and Lhank you."

Doctor Coke [AmlelCocco
[[alLucher Loved your arLlcle '10 reasons why 2013.' lL gave me sLrengLh Lo flnally sLarL my
own buslness."

?our arLlcles have served for a noble, wonderful purpose ln my llfe. l geL fresh perspecLlves
every Llme l read Lhem." (Cesar 1ru[lllo)

?ou've perfecLed Lhe arL of sLoryLelllng." (!oe Chol)
ln so many ways, whaL you are dolng ls revoluLlonary. 8uL don'L Lhlnk abouL LhaL Loo much or
lL could '[lnx' lL. !usL keep perfecLlng yourself." (!ames kosLohryz)
?ou are a beacon of honesLy, !ames. Lvery Llme l read your posLs, l see Lhlngs ln a dlfferenL
llghL." (Ashlsh Pablanl)
l found l was able Lo smlle Lhru one of my LoughesL workdays ln 16 years. [[alLucher, your
blog goL me sLarLed on Lhe way Lo Lhls. 1hanks." (CrlsLy Skram, [uCACWuW)
!ames, [usL wanLed Lo leL you know you are one of my blggesL lnsplraLlons. l needed Lo send a
personal Lhank you Lhrough here." (vlncenL nguyen, [SelfSLalrway)
l don'L expecL you Lo remember me, don'L feel llke you have Lo respond Lo Lhls please. 2 years
ago, you qulLe llLerally saved my llfe.

l was ln rough shape, had losL my dream [ob, my wlfe and l were on Lhe edge, l
had Lo Lake a crap [ob, Lhe llsL wenL on.

l had found your slLe, l senL you an e-mall and you had acLually Laken Lhe Llme
Lo respond. l've never forgoLLen LhaL.

1hlngs goL worse buL l foughL llke hell, ln large parL because of your advlce,
and slowly sLarLed Lo plck myself up off Lhe ground.

now, Lhlngs are geLLlng beLLer. l goL a beLLer full Llme [ob, my wlfe and l
have had a beLLer relaLlonshlp, my klds are happy and llve well and l'm worklng
my buLL off Lo reallze a few dreams.

!ames, man, l know you musL here Lhls so ofLen buL you changed my llfe. 1hank
you, Lhank you for Laklng Lhe Llme Lwo years ago, Lhank you for belng who you
are."
-Anon
lease send me your e-malls aL alLucher[gmall.com