Goal Setting Secrets eBook

Goal Setting Secrets Of the World’s #1 Achiever! Vic Johnson Interviews John Goddard A Special eBook From “Goal Setting Secrets of the World’s #1 Achiever That Will Help You Achieve Nearly Any Goal You Will Ever Have” A Special eBook from the Champions Club Wednesday, November 7 From the desk of Vic Johnson Dear Friend, You may know of me from one of the many personal development websites we’ve had since 2001. At AsAManThinketh.net we’ve given away over 400,000 copies of James Allen’s little classic. At mp3Motivators.com we’ve been providing downloads of Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, John Maxwell and others for quite a few years before anyone ever heard of an iPod. At Goals-2Go.com and our Champions Club, we provide goal setting programs, software and other solutions to thousands of people around the world. And there are more sites, but I won’t bore you with all the details. I think you get the picture that we’ve got more than a little bit of presence in personal development on the web. You may know me from my best-selling book, Day by Day with James Allen, which is five-gold star rated at Amazon.com, or from my appearance along with Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and Denis Waitley on the Jim Rohn 2004 Weekend Event. Or from my TV show Goals 2 Go on the TSTN network. Finally, if you’re one of my old creditors, you may know me from the days, just eleven short years ago, when my family and I were evicted from our home and later lost the last automobile we had. Those are days I’d just as soon forget, but all of the lessons learned during that period have shaped who I am today and make the information you’re about to receive much more valuable --- this is not some college textbook theory --- this is life-changing and, for some people, even life-saving material. I must warn you in advance. The subject of this eBook is not a shrinking violet. He tells it like it is, and though he’s one of the friendliest, most gracious people I’ve ever met, he doesn’t pull any punches. Sometimes his advice will hit you right between the eyes, and sometimes you may not like or agree with what he’s got to say. But as they say down here in the South, “the proof is in the puddin’.” And there’s no question that when it comes to John Goddard and achieving goals, the “proof is in the puddin.” Learn to like this puddin’ and your life is about to get very interesting. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 2 Why I Decided to Release Goal Setting Secrets This is the seventh consecutive year that we’ve produced goal setting products for our subscribers. From low-priced basic self-study programs to full-blown coaching and consulting solutions, we’ve helped thousands of people the world over to reach new levels of achievement. In every one of those seven years I’ve had the same recurring set of questions about goal setting. From November until mid-January there’s a firestorm of interest in goals programs as people start thinking about what they’re going to do in the New Year. Last year we answered a lot of those questions with a special report called “13 Secrets of World-Class Goal Achievers.” Designed as an introduction to the principles we teach every year to our Gold Circle and Platinum Council members of the Champions Club, it became an overnight hit. More than 20,000 people downloaded the report in the first few months and since then it’s been circulated to tens of thousands more around the globe. In trying to think about what we could do this year to top that, the thought occurred to me that all of us have a lot to learn from the World’s #1 Achiever. To be blunt about it, I’m more than a little ticked off by a lot of the misinformation about goal setting that’s been passed off by people who couldn’t achieve a goal if their life depended on it. The Internet has made it possible for a lot of people to become overnight “experts,” and quite frankly, some of the advice I’ve read is downright “rotten” and has the real potential for disastrous results if followed. Even though this eBook is giving away information that others have paid significant amounts of money to learn, at least I’ll know there’s some more truth about goal setting that’s out on the street. “For so many years I set goals, only to see them remain incomplete…” But the biggest reason we’re releasing this eBook is because of the letters I frequently receive like this one from our veteran Champions Club member, John West of Beverly Hills: “For SO many years I set goals, only to see them remain incomplete and transferred from one year to the next. Sometimes I might actually see a goal achieved, maybe two, but there was never any structure to these successes and there was little hope the succeeding year would be any different.” I’ve heard it from thousands of people besides John, and I’ve experienced the frustration myself. This eBook is our contribution to helping you understand that the same secrets used by world-class achievers like John Goddard are available © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 3 to you – and they’re there for the asking – just waiting for you to receive them. John West received them and put them into action in his life. In doing so, he has gone on to become a world-class goal achiever himself. Will you be next? It’s up to you. Now here are a couple of disclaimers: 1. This is an eBook, not a full length book, so it doesn’t contain ALL of the secrets. But as you’ll soon learn, it’s a piled high plate of some of the best wisdom you’ve ever heard, illustrated with some incredibly interesting stories from some of John’s greatest adventures. 2. This eBook was created from a lengthy interview with John Goddard and as much as possible we’ve included his actual words and language from that interview. Imagine yourself sitting on a sofa (which I was) and talking with the World’s #1 Achiever. 3. This is a draft copy. It no doubt contains some typos and possible grammar errors. In the interest of getting it to you in time to help you get ready for the coming year, we thought that the message --- the substance --- was more important than the style. 4. There’s not one goal that John Goddard has achieved that couldn’t also be achieved by most anyone in the world. As the old saying goes, “stay out of the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat.” If you’re bound and determined to justify why you don’t live (or can’t live) your dreams, don’t waste your time reading this eBook. It will likely annoy and frustrate you greatly. Now, if you’re ready for a great adventure into the mind and psyche of the World’s #1 Achiever, turn the page….. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 4 Introduction Before Indiana Jones … before Crocodile Dundee … even before Steve Irwin … there was John Goddard. Known far and wide as “the man who has done it all,” this world-renowned adventurer has spent more than fifty years traversing the globe by land, air, and sea – setting records, making history, and developing an awe-inspiring reputation and friendships along the way. During the course of his legendary life, John has experienced enough hair-raising escapades and death-defying escapes to fill the pages of a hundred summer blockbusters — many of which you will get a taste of in this book. However the real thrill of the John Goddard story isn’t what he has done … it’s HOW he has done it. And it is a story with tremendous implications for anyone who dreams of being, doing, and having more in life. Goddard’s adventures began in the unassuming setting of a middle-class American home. On a typical afternoon some years ago, 15-year-old John Goddard happened to overhear his parents and some friends talking in the next room. A gentleman in the group remarked, “I wish I was John’s age again. There are so many things I wanted to do that I didn’t get to. I wish I could start over.” Struck by the frustration and longing he heard in the man’s voice, John did something that would change his life—and ultimately many others—forever. Grabbing a sheet of paper and a pen, he sat down at the kitchen table in his family’s California home, and wrote three words at the top: “My Life List.” He then proceeded to write down 127 individual goals that he wanted to reach during the course of his lifetime. And these were no small goals. John’s list included such fantastic and varied items as, “Climb Mt. Everest” … “Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica” … “Travel the whole length of the Nile” … and “Learn French, Spanish and Arabic.” What Is truly extraordinary is that today, John has accomplished almost every single one of the goals that he wrote down on that list for himself on that day: So far he has accomplished 111 out of the original 127! What’s more, he has added more than 400 new goals along the way. John Goddard’s amazing life, his unstoppable attitude, and his incredible commitment to achievement have been an inspiration to people the world over. After reading a story about him while on a plane ride, I decided to make my own life list. As a direct result of making this list I began to experience some remarkable goals in my life. One of those is a memory I will always cherish ---© 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 5 going into the small village in southern Italy that was home to my mother’s family for many years. It was so surreal, as if I was part of a movie that I was watching. Now it’s important to the story to know that before I made my life list I had never been out of North America --- didn’t even possess a passport. But that changed when I began to dream about the things I’d always wanted to do, and I put those dreams down on my own Life List. Since then I have always looked to John as a hero and mentor as well as someone who is a living testament to the phenomenal power of goal setting. In the following chapters you are going to be treated to my personal, one-on-one conversations with John Goddard in which I explore the inevitable question – “How does Goddard do it?” In this book, Goal Setting Secrets of the World’s # 1 Achiever, you are going to discover some of the personal secrets, strategies, philosophies and mindsets that characterize this phenomenal goal achiever. You are going to discover – • • • the things that John Goddard does day in and day out to stay focused, positive, faithful, and determined the techniques he uses to prepare himself for challenges, tune out the naysayers, and quiet his own self-doubt the daily and regular habits that have enabled him to accomplish so much. You are going to read some amazing true stories. They were told to me in person by Goddard and I have summed them up as valuable life lessons. By the end of this book you may believe that you too can scale Mt. Kilimanjaro, learn to fence, and run a five-minute mile. And the best part is — you will be right! As John has demonstrated over and over again, all it really takes is a clear goal, and the determination to see it through. Now, let’s enter the fascinating world of John Goddard to discover the Goal Setting Secrets of the World’s #1 Achiever. Secret #1 - Follow Your Bliss John Goddard is a tremendous inspiration to me, and I know he’s been a great inspiration to others. There is a fascination that comes from following his example, which is to write out a list of dreams called My Life List. Of course it is not just enough to write those dreams down and hope the Universe will take care of it for you. John wrote out a list of 127 things that he called My Life List, and he proceeded to take action on those. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 6 However this list was not like an ordinary grocery list or list of errands. It was not a tedious list of chores. It was all about what he desired to do with his life. Here are just a few of the things that were on that list. • • • • • Climb the major mountains in the world. Explore the major rivers of the world. Run a mile under five minutes, do 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups. Learn jujitsu, flute, violin, French, Spanish and Arabic Visit the Great Wall, Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower, Blue Grotto and more (See John’s original list at the end of the book) Did he accomplish all of the above? With the exception of a few of the mountains, yes he did --- and many, many more. He’s truly one of the great adventurers and explorers the world has ever known, but more than that, I don’t think there’s any question he’s also the world’s #1 goal achiever. When I had the privilege of sitting down with him to talk about his list I got to the nuts and bolts of it. I asked him - Why so many goals? John’s response was to tell the following story from his childhood: My Uncle Cecil asked me the typical question one day of adults that talk to kids. What do you want to be when you grow up, John?” I said, “Explorer.” I don’t know where that came from, except from the time I was a crawler, I loved creatures, animals, tarantulas, squirrels. Anything I could pet, I was happy with. I just had an affinity for the natural world. And at five, I must have had the idea that, boy it’d really be neat to get into a profession where I was out in the jungle with villagers and living in the midst of Africa, for example, and being in a world teaming with wildlife. That to me was heaven. What a perfect example of a motivation that is truly inspired by desire from the heart! At an early age Goddard had tapped right into what some might describe as “following one’s bliss.” Is it any surprise that this man grew up to be such a well-respected professional adventurer and explorer? © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 7 What dreams and fantasies did you have as a younger person? Denis Waitley says those can be the source of great happiness if you dust them off and pursue them as an adult. If you’re still drifting aimlessly, unhappy with your present pursuits and unsure of what you’re here for, why not get back in touch with some deep desires that you might have covered up over the years. Find a quiet place, free of interruptions and maybe some nice music playing in the background. Pose several questions to yourself. If I was a teenager and could do it all over again, what paths would I think about pursuing, regardless of the obstacles that might seem to be there? What are the obstacles that are keeping me from doing now what I really want to do? If I decided to pursue the dream, what could I begin on now to overcome the obstacle? For instance, many people regret not pursuing a particular career path that would now require substantial education that they don’t have, and they feel too old at this point to go back to school. However, you could follow the example of Robert Davidge, Sr. and many others. Robert was 84 when he received his Ph.D from LSU. The next five years (ten years, twenty years, etc.) are going to pass by anyway. Even the tiniest of part-time efforts toward something will yield remarkable results over those periods of time. Not to mention the satisfaction you’ll feel from pursuing a goal that “follows your bliss.” Secret #1 – Follow Your Bliss Secret #2 - Think Outside The Obstacle As we talked more John revealed another passion from his childhood, one that led to one interest and then to another until he had experienced a cascade of life changing moments. From the time I was probably ten years old, I loved reading. And I had little library adventures where I’d go in, walk to the stacks, and pick out a book. It didn’t matter where I was in geography or science or anything, I’d go over and, for an hour, I’d read that book. I got quite a diversified idea of the world and what I wanted to do. I couldn’t figure out how to make a living doing that until I was 16, when I came to Florida, and I had a desire. One of the goals was to study the Seminole Indians, because I so admired the way they brought the government to the peace table because they were the most incredible commandos you could ever imagine. They tied up federal troops to a point they were lost in the swamps in the Everglades and never able to catch up with the Seminoles. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 8 It was my admiration for the Seminoles that led me into the field of anthropology. And I thought, what a dream career to be a professor of anthropology at USC, to one semester a year teach anthropology to students there and the rest of the time be out in the field doing research and studies, and anthropological projects throughout the world. I found that, sure, I could get a doctorate in anthropology and teach, but I would be under the control of the department head. I would pretty much be directed where to go, and any research or film or photographs I got would be the property of the school, because I would be an employee of USC. Like most of our dreams, John found himself facing what appeared to many to be a substantial obstacle, But unlike most people, John didn’t look “at” the obstacle --- he looked “around” it by thinking “outside the obstacle.” Then I found later that by filming expeditions and gaining a lot of experience, I could be on the lecture platform. I could have one TV show that had maybe 12 million students AND I could be totally independent and self-employed. It just worked out wonderfully well that way because I still had been doing college courses, but I’m not tied down to any one school. I’ve lectured at probably 50 universities and colleges from Yale to Stanford, and it’s just been a wonderful career that way. John found a way to pursue his dream career anyway. What would you see right now if you stopped looking at the obstacle and, instead, looked “around” it? Secret #2 – Think Outside the Obstacle Secret #3 – Make A Difference The Universal laws that govern the universe always reward those who make a difference in the lives of others. As Emerson wrote in his Essay on Compensation, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” In studying John’s life, it’s evident that he has a deep understanding of this principle and he voiced some of the reasons why: When you have a life that is directed and not happenstance, you know, so many people are content with getting in kind of a rut where every day is a carbon copy of the day before…they wait for things to happen. I make things happen by establishing what I want out of life, what I want to contribute. I don’t want to just make a living. We want to have a significant life where, by developing and growing, we’re better equipped to give back. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 9 That’s what my parents instilled in me - “make something of your life, son. What significance has your life been? Where have you helped? Where have you uplifted, inspired? “ You don’t want to just make a living. I don’t care if you’re making $150,000 a year. That’s insignificant to what you’ve done with that money or your talent, whatever you have. How has your time and talent made a difference? And so I grew up with that idea that every year I was going to achieve at least a dozen goals. I still feel that way right to the present. It’s not a matter of having a rigid life. It’s just organization and use – using whatever time you have to the maximum. Knowingly or unknowingly, John tapped an incredible power that is a giant magnet for attracting success in achieving our goals. Wallace Wattles described it very clearly in his classic book, The Science of Getting Rich, when he wrote that the secret of getting more is giving more. When you’re making a difference, you’re giving more. More of yourself, your talent, your treasure. Are you in the taking mode or the giving mode? Are you focused on serving yourself or serving others? Secret # 3 – Make a Difference Secret #4 – Sharpen the Focus “Life is something that happens while you are making other plans” is a well known quote and really describes what happens to the vast majority of people that I’ve known. Most of us start out with great intentions --- big dreams and big plans --- then life gets in the way. What happens when the boss dumps another catastrophe on us or something somehow happens to distract us from our goals? One of the main things I set out to learn from John was how he managed to do so much and not get distracted along the way. John then began to explain the cliché of life – trying to make a list on New Year’s and then keep it. The cliché of life is that everybody wants to start a fresh year with all kinds of things they want to do, and they make a list of goals. A week later, it’s back in the dresser drawer and forgotten. They have the best intentions. But here’s where if you pick goals, you develop a plan to fulfill them. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 10 You could write down a goal that’s specific and in detail and you picture doing that goal. When I wrote my list, with everything I wrote, I imagined myself doing it from beginning to end. I pictured starting at the source of the Nile and working my way to the goal of the Mediterranean, having a wonderful experience on the way, fulfilling a dozen goals every day on my expeditions. By taking control of your life that way, there’s no room for boredom. There’s no room for excuses. Well some day I’m going to do that, you know, or gosh I wish I’d done that, so you don’t end up with regrets, because every year there’s a certain sense of satisfaction, gee, I did 10 out of 12. That isn’t too bad. And you have a sense that you are ending up as a better, more mature, more philanthropic person by fulfilling these dreams and not just letting them sit in your brain as abstracts. If you were watching television and the picture became fuzzy and difficult to see, you’d first try to fix it. However, if the picture remained fuzzy, you’d change the channel, regardless of how much you wanted to watch that particular program. Without the ability to see it, you’d have little if any interest in it. That analogy illustrates why John was able to avoid the distractions that stop most of us. He built a powerful picture of himself accomplishing the goal and then he held on to it. When you sharpen your focus some great things can happen in your life as they have for Champions Club member Dr. Zahid Husain: “Vic suggested I focus on a particular project for 90 days. He asked me to enumerate the "core activities" for my success. I followed this, took action and more than tripled my investment in the project I've been working on in only 60 days.” Take a sheet of paper and describe the accomplishment of your goal in as much detail as possible, stopping to research it if you need to. Describe the accomplishment as it would affect all of your senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste). Then create a short mind movie using all of the details you identified. Secret #4 - Sharpen the Focus Secret # 5 - Make Every Minute Count I’ve coached and counseled a lot of people who have trouble fitting one major goal into their “busy” lives. And then I look at somebody like John who’s managed more than 500 major goals while still raising a family, earning a living, pursuing his faith, and all of the other “commitments” most of us have. So what are his secrets? © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 11 I developed habits that produced results. Between lectures, say I’d have a program one morning in one city, I’d drive to the next for an afternoon or evening, and in between, I’d stop at libraries, and I’d build up a file system of the research I wanted to carry out to prepare me for being a really sharp observer. It took me two years to complete the Nile expedition book and almost a comparable amount because I was doing so many other things. And when I looked at my schedule, I said, I don’t have time to write a book, but a little, little incremental things, it’s astounding what you can do. And you do a time diary. I have had friends write down everything they’ve eaten over a period of seven days, and they’ve been astounded at the fat and the sugar and the lousy things and the junk food, and it’s changed their whole desire to have goals now of improving their diet. Time – in case after case, busy people still have 30 to 40 hours of free time during the week that usually they fritter away watching TV or chatting on the phone or something. But think what they could do with those 40 hours in fulfilling their dreams? Someone will call up and say, “Could I drop over for a couple of hours, John? I’d really like to have my friend see your collection of artifacts.” And I say, “Well, could we do this next week? Right now I’ve got two projects going.” I try to be pleasant and work in something like that. But so many people, in social situations, they give up evening after evening where they’re just socializing. And a little of that is wonderful. I love that, but you can’t let it control your time One of the exercises we do partway through our Champions Club program is have members go back over the past seven days of their daily planners and identify the hours of tasks they performed that could have been performed by someone else. One of our biggest time wasters is doing things that other people could do better, faster and cheaper. What would your daily planner reveal from this exercise? And if you don’t have a daily planner, that tool alone would “create” many hours a week for you. Secret #5 – Make Every Minute Count Secret #6 - Use Visualization as a Tool It is no secret that John often speaks about using visualization as a tool to make things happen in his life. He describes it as “going there in my mind.” Here’s how he uses it. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 12 Well I think visualization is one of the most valuable tools anyone can have. The best gift I had as a teenager was a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Man, did that open up the world to me. I’d even read the Webster’s Dictionary like a book. And I felt so unformed and so ignorant. Everything I read – gosh – I never knew that before. You get going and learn some things, and I was thirsty, hungry for knowledge. But as I read about the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Taj Mahal at Agra India, that wasn’t good enough. I wanted to go there and see it in person. I established a habit of, in my mind, actually going there, what would I do. Take pictures and see the beauty and the detailed workmanship of the marble and the inlay. (In my mind) … I’d go inside and I remember the history that the Great Khan had created this (Taj Mahal) as a tribute to his wife because they had such a romantic, close, loving relationship. So this was the testament of love, the beautiful mausoleum, and I established that habit of projecting on the screen of my mind vivid images of me actually functioning and doing these things, setting up a mental set that made me sensitive to opportunity. When you prepare yourself, it’s amazing how occasions come where you can realize that dream. Where initially when you first write it down, boy that’s going to take years, and it’s going to cost a lot of money. However it sets you up as an optimistic, expectant person of success. I started really applying visualization when I was going to USC and taking medical courses. For example, when I had to memorize the 206 bones of the body, I pictured a skeleton, and I started with the skull and going right down to the toe bones, and I pictured each one like a totem pole. I’d use that as a fixture in memorizing a lot of facts and figures, starting with the eyes and the fingers, all the way down. Where I really found visualization priceless was when I came to what looked like an impassible place on the Nile, full of rocks and whirlpools and really dangerous conditions. I made a little schematic of what I needed to do to get through without capsizing or breaking up my fragile kayak, and I looked at that and I thought, I’m not going to be able to look down or try to follow that. You know, it’s too complicated. I have to make two right turns here and then make a sharp left here to avoid that boulder and there’s a huge shockwave just beyond, you know. So I walked the whole length along the sandy shores in the Northern Sudan and I saw in my mind my paddling through and what I had to do. And it was so vivid, I © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 13 couldn’t believe it. So as I started entering the rapid, I half closed my eyes, and I followed that course. It was dramatic. I didn’t break one spar. I didn’t flip over with the crocodiles nearby. And ever since, that’s been invaluable in my work, and it saved my life in some instances. The tool John used is well known to virtually every great athlete. Watch Tiger Woods on a golf course and before he hits the ball he stands behind it and visualizes the flight it will have down the course or the path it will roll across the green. One great tool that will help you visualize your goals and dreams is our unique Goal Tiger Vision Board. Secret #6 – Use Visualization as A Tool Secret #7 - Never Fear Failure A common misconception is that highly successful people don’t know fear or anxiety. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The reality is that achievers have actually learned how to “manage” fear --- to use it for growth or motivation. The next two secrets illustrate how the world’s #1 achiever looks at common fears. I’ve failed at more things than probably any three people you know. But, see, if one thing causes failure, there’s a learning process in at least making the effort. And if one thing doesn’t work, I try something else. My little formula is pick a goal, develop a plan to do it, prepare to do it, and persist. That’s the key. When you don’t let failure beat you down, you get off the floor and you try something else. You go on because you know eventually maybe one out of ten efforts will be successful. And you build on confidence by starting with goals you can do by the end of the week, simple goals. With the accomplishment of each one, it gives you a kick of inspiration to go on to something even more challenging. Fear of failure stops a lot of people, but it’s a copout. It’s an excuse. Well I tried it. It didn’t work, uh, oh, oh, oh, too bad. That’s sad. You know if you really want to do something, you don’t let the first effort stop you if they’re not successful. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 14 I had a friend that loved the idea of mountain climbing because he had seen my film of climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain of Africa, and Mt. Kenya, the second highest. And he said, “Boy, John, I really would like to do that.” I said, “Well let’s explore this. Now you start out hiking. You develop stamina. You lose weight. You get in shape. You develop endurance. And go then from there to backpacking. Maybe go on a three-day wilderness trip with a buddy. Don’t ever go alone. And then you try some rock climbing. You gradually build up from the simple to the complex.” And a year later, he said, “John, I followed your formula. It was fantastic. I even tried a 10,000-foot mountain.” He said, “It’s too difficult and dangerous to go up the bigger mountains. My 10,000-foot mountain was just right. And my wife and I are going to enjoy some of the smaller peaks, but the big ones, you can have.” I said, “But you at least followed the process. You were absolutely overwhelmed at the joy of being out on your own in nature, being independent, and developing that ability to do what your basic interests were.” What have you been putting off doing because you fear failure? Maybe it’s time to look at it in a different light. What are some smaller steps you could take? Since preparation always builds confidence, what can you do to better prepare yourself? And finally, two questions I like to ask myself: What’s the absolute worst that could happen to me if I fail? Could I live with myself if the absolute worst happened? If you answer the last question with a “yes,” then don’t put it off any longer – move into action! Secret #7 Never Fear Failure Secret #8 – Face Your Fears As John has experienced it, fear is your friend. In his case, it’s actually saved his life on numerous occasions. But “friend” though it can be, he’s never let it stop him from pursuing a goal. Ironically enough, fear has been a friend because fear has alerted me to a possible dangerous situation that I was not equipped to handle, so it was a cautionary feeling, a preparation for immense strength, maybe the old fleeing or fight syndrome. And so I’ve never tried to banish fear. It’s just that I’ve controlled it. Now fear, in my situation where I’ve needed almost superhuman strength to emerge alive from something, the fear gives that jolt of adrenaline. It sets the © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 15 endorphins going through the body. Your whole body is on a warning mode. But one of the toughest things I ever had to face was the fear of getting up in front of an audience. Man, I would have rather faced a charging rhino than do that. One time, I was asked to give a program at a convention in Ogden, Utah. The program chairman picked me up. As we drove to the auditorium I said, “Well, Barry, are you expecting a good turnout tonight?” He said, “Oh, probably a good turnout.” Well, a good turnout to me was 500 people. So I was backstage thinking what I was going to say and I heard this increasing roar of an audience that sounded huge. And I looked out, and there was a sea of faces. I couldn’t believe it. And I started shaking. I thought, I’ve got to walk out in front of this audience. Later, I found out it was 8,000 people. I just about had the vapors. I thought, well, they’re depending on me. They’ve given up an evening to be here. Are you going to copout now just because of a little fear? I started to walk out and, man, I was scared spitless. But I thought, well, I’m going to do my best. And I had some eye contact with some really charismatic faces in the audience, and I started just talking to them, a couple here, a couple in the middle, a couple over on the left, just like I was in a living room. I don’t give speeches. I just try to connect with an audience by sharing personal experiences and the lessons I’ve learned, and it worked. The audience was wonderful. I said, “Barry, why didn’t you tell me there were going to be 8,000 people there?” He said, “Well, I didn’t want to worry you.” What’s ironic about this story is that John has spent his life entire teaching and talking to audiences. He’s given thousands of presentations even though he says “one of the toughest things I ever had to face was the fear of getting up in front of an audience. Man, I would have rather faced a charging rhino than do that.” In fact, he’s probably spent more time doing what he feared than the actual time he’s spent on his great adventures. But it was those thousands of presentations that in large measure provided the financing for his great adventures. So, to connect the dots, John was able to do what he wanted to do because he was willing to do the things he feared doing. And when you keep your focus on the thing you want to do, it’s always easier to overcome the fear. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 16 Secret # 8 - Face Your Fear! Secret #9 Don’t Listen to Naysayers One of the secrets to being successful is to not let others “harsh your mellow.” John maintains that if he had listened to those who were pretending to have concern for his welfare by telling him “John, you can’t do that. You’re endangering your life,” he would not have done half the wonderful things he has enjoyed so far. On the Nile, we got tired of people saying, “Oh, no one has ever done the Nile. That’s quite impossible.” And they’d say, “You’re going down the Nile in these little toys, these little canvas and rubber kayaks?” They were totally skeptical right into Egypt when we had a Pasha tell us, “You will never get through Egypt alone. You will be stoned. You will be shot at.” We experienced five stoning attacks in Egypt because of some of the radicals, and I guess in any culture, any country, you have a little fringe group of radicals, but the vast majority are not that way. Some naysayers feel almost a reproach to the little they’ve done in their life when you’re doing things. It’s, unfortunately, a human quality of jealousy. Well, gosh, he’s doing all these things. What have I done? Other naysayers may be those who are closest to us and many times they believe they are “protecting” us from disappointment or hurt. In those cases they are projecting their own limiting thoughts that have nothing to do with us. The truth is, no one has ever succeeded on any large scale without their share of naysayers. When the U.S. Patent Office received the patent application of the Wright Brothers, the office concluded their plans for an airplane were inadequate and the machine could never function as intended. After he announced his intention to break the four-minute mile barrier, Roger Bannister was derided by many and reminded of the dire physical consequences that would result from such an attempt. Al Neuharth was widely lambasted by media critics and his idea for a national newspaper was quickly dismissed. 25 years later USA Today is the largest circulation newspaper in the country. Don’t let others “harsh your mellow,” and never let anyone steal your dream. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 17 Secret #9 - Don’t Listen to Naysayers Secret #10 – Persistence Pays Off One of the keys to Goddard’s success is the way he never takes no for an answer and he never gives up. A good example of his determination is exemplified in this extraordinary story of how he got to fly a jet plane - an aspiration from his boyhood. I learned to fly in the Air Force, and flew a lot of prop planes, but my big dream was to fly a fighter in the jet class. When I got out of service, I went to the information office at Century City in Beverly Hills, and I investigated a possibility of going to some Air Force base and having the experience of this. In essence, they laughed at me. They said, “We get requests like that on a daily basis, even from professional pilots, and we have to turn them down. Civilians aren’t equipped to fly on the cutting edge of technology fighter.” I kept trying every year and then I had an idea while driving on the way for a lecture at Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah because I passed Nellis Air Force Base. At Nellis I stopped, and I found out who the commander was. After my three weeks lecture tour was over, I made an appointment to see him. I went into his office with a confidence projected that I didn’t feel. But I said, “Now colonel, I have a plan here. I would have maybe three weeks in August that I could come here and make a film on the training of one of your jet pilots in preparation for combat.” “I will allot three weeks of my life to come here, and at no expense to the Air Force, make an exciting film in detail of what constitutes turning a green pilot into a combat ready jet fighter pilot.” I laid out in detail how I would make the film. I said things like “Now on this day I’d like a formation shot. On this, I’d like to film a missile firing and hear some dog fighting sequences.” And I had everything laid out for him to imagine. Of course his first human instinct was to say no on anything. However I persisted. I gave him some options. I showed him three pages of detail. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 18 “Now if August won’t work, maybe I could squeeze it in, in September, but that gets to be a heavy lecture month.” And he said, “You know, John, I think we could work that out.” My heart soared because here I had all these rejections, I had failed in one repeated effort after another, but I came with a plan, with clear detail how it would benefit the Air Force. I said, “Colonel, you know we’d have this on worldwide TV and give wonderful recognition to Nellis, ten miles from Las Vegas, and a tribute to the caliber of American young men coming here and equipping themselves to protect our country.” And it worked out unbelievably. I not only got to go to Nellis, but I trained with the pilots. In the training version it was called a T33, and the man who checked me out in jets was Lynwood Clark of New York. He’s now a general, General Lyn Clark, an incredible pilot. When I first flew, my wings were wagging up and down, I was so ham handed and I had to learn to reduce the pressure on the stick by about a tenth of what I would normally flying a prop plane, the aircraft was so sensitive. Doing a snap roll, it was so easy, you know, just laying the stick over with the rudder and just doing a quick roll. But anyway, I had three of the most wonderful weeks of my life there. I made a film I call Blackout in the Blue, and we premiered it for the pilots and the colonel. They were thrilled. They gave a standing ovation because they were seeing themselves as heroes, and the Air Force made 250 copies of that program. Since I made that free film I’ve flown 17 jet fighters and bombers based on that one success out of all the failures. And that’s as a civilian. Other pilots say, “How in the heck did you ever do this, John?” I said, “Persistence.” Napoleon Hill, writing in the classic Think and Grow Rich, said that the only distinguishing thing about Henry Ford and Thomas Edison was their persistence. And what’s always lifted my spirits is the idea that persistence doesn’t require some special skill --- all it requires is the WILL to make something happen. Secret #10 – Persistence Pays Off Secret #11 - Make It A Win-Win Situation © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 19 Zig Ziglar says “you can get anything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want.” And that’s what I’m reminded of when John tells about his experience in Secret #10. He was able to convince the air force to let him fly a jet fighter plane even though he was a civilian because he helped the colonel at Nellis Air Force Base get what he wanted (a film and recognition for his program and his pilots). Anytime you’re dealing with another human being, whether it’s your spouse, your boss, your prospect or employee, you will be wise to remember that we are all wired to respond to another person’s request with the thought of WIFM --- what’s in it for me? When you approach anyone with the idea that you will be helping them get what they want --- when that’s the focus of what you’re presenting --- you are much more likely to meet with the same success that John had in flying his jet planes. And when you consider that he’s flown one of those planes at more than 1,500 miles an hour --- that’s some pretty big success! Secret # 11 – Make It A Win-Win Situation Secret #12 - Stay Out of the Herd John Goddard was lucky to have parents who instilled in him a strong sense of self-esteem as well as compassion for others. However it is not just that sense of psychological well being that helped Goddard become the world’s #1 achiever. He is also a big believer in “marching to the beat of your own drum.” Here is what Goddard had to say about being your own person and staying away from the crowd. The herd instinct is strongly ingrained in people. There’s comfort in being like one of the herd like everyone else and not rocking the boat and not being too high profile. Psychologists say that 90% of our inner dialog is, “Well, you’re stupid. You’re klutzy, and why did you do” – you know, it’s negative. The inner dialog we have within ourselves is not a positive thing, so we go through life with kind of a tippytoe feeling. There’s a discomfort when you have a weak self-esteem. Once you start getting in charge of your life and start working on things that are interesting and stimulating and challenging, it changes the inner perspective you have of you as a man or woman, a child, and you project that. It’s not cockiness or smugness, but as you do things, you’re set aside from the common herd. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 20 When you have that inner independence where you don’t need accolades or the approbation or the admiration of others, you get it from yourself, it’s in a sense self-love. If you have that reservoir of love, you can project outwards to others. I’m with people, you know, that are so humble, you just want to kick them in the slats and, come on, get out of that. You’re better than this. But people are hesitant to break out of that shell. Think how fulfilling it is to be an individual, to separate yourself and be comfortable at following a lifestyle that’s designed just for you and enables you to overcome procrastination and failure, fear of failure, and even fear of success. In my observation it’s the herd mentality that keeps most of us from living the life of our dreams. When we need approval from the herd then we’re also easily swayed by their criticisms of our ideas and aspirations. Even scarier is the old observation that when you’re following the herd the view never changes (stop and think about that one for a moment). Secret #12 Stay Out of the Herd Secret #13 – Avoid Procrastination One of the biggest enemies of success is procrastination. As my friend David Herdlinger says, “Procrastination is the biggest country in the world.” Many times procrastination is just a result of certain habits we develop and how we prioritize our time. John explains why: Procrastination is deadly, and I’ve had students come up to me and one said, “John, I think I’m just a C student. I’ve never been able to crack better than a C in anything.” I said, “Well, Glen, how much television do you watch?” He said, “Oh, two or three hours after school before going to bed.” And I said, “You’re probably watching a lot of things you should be out doing, but TV should be a reward after you’ve done the work.” From the time I was a boy, chores first, recreation next. And it’s much more fun to be recreating without the guilt of not having done your work. And I said to him, “Plant that in your brain. I’ll do my homework first. I’ll do extra assignments. I’ll get the A’s because I’m capable of it.” © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 21 And I said, “Do you realize you’re sitting there as a couch potato for probably over 30 hours a week when you could be out achieving things, doing things, getting the A work?” That’s one of the reasons as a kid, I and the neighborhood kids were out having genuine fun where we were creating on our own, just having a ball living, as young people, but where you’re sitting watching TV, it’s really a boob tube because the images are created. You just sit there mesmerized. The average American home has television on six hours a day, which is, to me, incomprehensible. I would rather miss dinner than a good read. And once you get immersed in reading, you’re creating images and pictures right through your reading, and the brain is stimulated. Television can be one of the biggest tools of procrastination for many people, but procrastination in some form affects us all. John readily admits that he has suffered from procrastination but also mentions how he can sometimes use it as an impetus to do well The key to any success I’ve had is, when I have a well-defined, clear goal, I can procrastinate right up to the day it is due and still achieve it. Sometimes I’ll stay up all night because I have deadlines. When you have a project, you’ll sometimes be distracted by the responsibility of making a living, paying the bills, raising the kids. But if you keep that as a commitment – when I wrote my goals down, each one was a contract with me that I was going to do it. I wasn’t going to just let it lie there, I had deadlines, and I was going to say, by June 30th, I’m going to do this. I will have achieved that. I’ll start working on that, and I will not let that deadline pass. That was a matter of honor. We take contracts in our life pretty seriously. The “contract” we make with our spouse when we get married; the contract with our employer or employees; the contract for our home purchase and mortgage, and on and on. I like the way that John described his goals as “each one was a contract with me that I was going to do it.” That is so powerful and probably explains a lot of the reason why he’s achieved so much. As you review the life list you have begun to compile, examine each of your goals through John’s lens and be honest with yourself. Can you truly, deeply commit yourself to the achievement of this goal? To seeing it through all the way to the end, whatever that takes? © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 22 Don’t establish a goal that you are not willing or honestly able to commit yourself to fully. But, at the same time, don’t limit your understanding of what you can do in the future to what you have done in the past. How much do you really want to achieve this goal? What is your desire rooted in? What outcomes do you imagine will result from your achievement of this goal? If the passion, dedication, and positive intention are really there, then you should feel confident that you CAN do it, no matter what it is. Stop and think about most of the contracts we make. They typically spell out what you’re going to give and what you’re going to get in return (and most of them will also spell out the penalty for failing to give what you promised!). Why not stop right now. Take the biggest goal unreached goal in your life and create a contract with yourself to achieve that goal. What will you give? What will you get? When will it be completed, etc. And, as the next secret reveals, put it in writing --- most serious contracts are. And if you want to really add some punch to it --- sign it and date it --- just like you would with any other serious contract. Secret #13 – Avoid Procrastination Secret #14 Write It Down This may seem like an obvious secret to success given that the heart of John’s story is about the Life List he built as a teenager. But it’s not obvious to most people and certainly wasn’t to me. I too had heard the advice for years to write down my goals, but I guess I thought that didn’t apply to me, that I didn’t need to. When John builds a list of goals, he’s doing more than just scribbling down a few notes. He’s using a process that is literally imprinting his subconscious with the desire to “make it so.” “I have a process where whenever I’m reading or watching something on TV, the travel programs are marvelous, and I see a special on Austria or Morocco or something, and I see the places that would invite visits and enjoyment, I write it down. I say, that’s going to be part of a trip. Well, let’s see, on one expedition to South America, I fulfilled over 35 goals on that one three-month project. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 23 In going to Thailand, I fulfilled another 30 goals because I had studied and researched. I had color-coded files on all the aspects of each country I wanted to visit, so when I go, I see and enjoy things that otherwise I’d be oblivious to. I have friends say, “Well I’ve got a lot of goals.” And I say, “Well where are they?” And they point to their heads,” up here in my mind.” I say, “no, that’s not good enough.” Brian Tracy teaches us that the act of writing your goals down improves your chances of success by 1,000%. And yes, you read that right, one-thousand percent! Whether John knew it at age 15 or not, his writing down his Life List actually increased his odds for living those dreams by ten times! That alone is all the motivation you should need to get your Life List ON PAPER now. Secret #14 Write It Down Secret #15 - Attitude Creates Your Physical Response One of John Goddard’s 42 near death experiences is the run in he had with the Big C. Yep, John is also a cancer survivor. And I was extremely curious about how John had handled this challenge, since quite obviously it was something that wasn’t on his list and probably wasn’t even on his radar. I wasn’t surprised by the gist of his answer but it did turn out to be another very insightful look at how the world’s #1 achiever handles obstacles. Whether it’s with financial difficulty and facing bankruptcy, people don’t realize that your mental frame of mind, the attitude you have toward life, toward catastrophe and all, conditions your physical response. I learned at an early age that when I had a positive, enthusiastic outlook on life, the hot damn enthusiasm, you know, of every day, it reflected in my body to a point that even if I wake up sick from malaria lying there feeling a little sorry for myself thinking, listen; get going. This self-pity has got to stop, you know. This allows the mind to be the command center of your body. Increasingly, as we study the brain, we can measure physiological response in pulse, in respiration, everything according to the mental images we have in our mind. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 24 When I was undergoing cancer treatment, the radiation and chemo was really hard. I purposely made lecture commitments to get me out of bed instead of lying there as a victim, and victimization is a big problem nowadays. It’s so easy to play victim, you know, and well I can’t do this. I’m not feeling well. I’ve had a bad childhood, and, you know, all the excuses of life, instead of taking charge and overcoming these things and being stronger as a result. I came out at twice the man going into the cancer and the treatments because I refused to let it get me down. I had a 10% chance of living five years. One chance in ten of making it five years from the time I had the initial diagnosis of metastasized cancer with it starting out in the prostate and colonizing the lymph glands and part of the bone and everything. And initially my doctor, my oncologist told me I had maybe 30%, 40% chance of living five years. Later, when he said, “Well John, really it was 10%.” And I said, “Well why did you tell me 30%, 40%?” He said, “I wanted to give you hope.” I said, the 10% was a bigger challenge and enabled me to take more active participation in studying about what the radiation, the chemo was doing to the cancer cells, picturing it again, visualizing the effectiveness of stopping the growth of the cancer, and then making lecture commitments, so I had to get out of bed and get out and appear on TV and give my programs. I was feeling lousy at first, but as the day went on, I always felt better and better. Renowned journalist Norman Cousins was another cancer survivor who believed strongly in the power of our attitude to alter our physical response. For a number of years he wrote and taught extensively on the power that attitude (and especially laughter) plays in overcoming serious disease. And thousands of people have used John and Norman’s methods to defeat life-threatening illness. Now, stop and think about it. If attitude has the power to overcome the Big C, what can it do to overcome that “little” challenge in your life today? Secret #15 – Attitude Creates Your Physical Response Secret #16 - Program Your Subconcious for Success Like many great psychologists and meta-physicists of the last century, John Goddard believes that any thought that goes into your subconscious mind will help manifest your future. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 25 Here is a very telling story about a friend of his who had cancer at the same time he did. I had a friend, a dear, wonderful man who had the same diagnosis, the same prognosis. Everything was the same, even the surgeries. His dad died of cancer and an uncle. And I tried to make him realize that by staying in bed as much as he was, by going a whole year without getting commitments and getting to work and getting back in life, he was heading for the funeral parlor. And I wanted to be very diplomatic and all, but the subconscious overwhelmed his rational mind. The first year after the treatments, he didn’t go to work. The second year, he went to work twice a week for two hours a day each time. By the end of the second year, he had died, because subconsciously he thought, I’ve got cancer; that means I’m going to die, and he died. It’s so important to realize what you’re feeding into the subconscious never changes. Your acceptance or rejection of what’s happening to you will be retained in the subconscious and it will affect the outcome of things. James Allen, quoting from Proverbs, said it this way, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Earl Nightingale, borrowing from Napoleon Hill, made a career out of teaching, “we become what we think about.” Behind that universal truth is the idea that the life we live is a direct result of what we allow to enter our subconscious mind everyday. And it is a choice that we have complete and total control over. Secret #15 – Program Your Subconscious for Success Secret #16 Do Your Homework John Goddard talks freely about using visualization and attitude to beat cancer. However, those weren’t the only tools that he used to combat his disease. He also did his homework. I did a lot of research. I went to the library and medical libraries, and I have quite a collection too, and I read how others had overcome serious cancer; what they had done, and what their attitudes were, and the details of the treatment, the prognosis, and what I needed to do myself to ignore the fact that medical science said I could only maybe live, one chance in ten, five years. Well it’s been now over 20 years. And I’m not bragging, it’s just an example of what has worked for me and for anyone else that’s confronted with that sort of © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 26 situation where you don’t accept that, and you feed your subconscious strength and confidence, I’m going to overcome this. You’re saying, ya, ya, ya to death, but when you’re about to feel a fluttering wings of the angel of death, you disappoint him. You reject him. I’m not ready to die. I’ve got more things to do, more contributions to make. In overcoming a genuinely serious problem in life, when you accept it and work through it, you’re much stronger than if you had just ridden along through life without any major problems. Now maybe it’s leftover from our childhood, but most adults really shirk from the word homework --- avoiding it like the plague. But the truth is that world-class achievers like John get their edge from doing their homework. Legendary coach Bobby Knight says it this way, “most people have the will to win, few people have the will to prepare to win.” Secret #16 – Do Your Homework Secret #17 - Get Over Yourself Dr. Phil says it, AA members say it and so does John Goddard. The best way to get through a trying time is to get over yourself! This is because focusing on your problems just makes it worse. Here is one of the ways that John got over the hell of receiving chemotherapy when he had cancer -What really worked for me is that when I would go to the lab to get chemo or even the radiation department of USC Norris Cancer Hospital, which is one of the most outstanding oncological institutions in the world, I would look forward to talking to the lab technicians. There was one charming blonde from Texas with that warm accent. I looked forward to meeting and visiting with Clara, and the focus was on learning how her love was coming along and what she had experienced in the last few months. We had a friendly relationship. So all the time she was injecting me with the heavy, poisonous treatment, I was focused on Clara. And then some of the others, Mable up in radiation, had come from Hong Kong, had trained at SC, and was a radiologist, and she was just bubbling with personality. So it was a positive experience when I would go and get these treatments even though they were sometimes really uncomfortable. I had a friend who had one session with chemo that was too hard on her, and she went no further, and died in six months. And what a waste that was, but she was fearful of the pain, she was fearful of all these poisons going in her. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 27 Why not take a cue from John. If your focus right now is on how bad things are for YOU, why not change the focus, and put it on someone else. Since you can’t focus on two things at once, by focusing on others (especially what you can do for them), your temporary problems will soon pass away. Secret #17 – Get Over Yourself Secret #18 Have an Attitude of Gratitude If there is one word that sums up the philosophies of John Goddard it is gratitude. Here is what he says about the importance of always practicing that Attitude of Gratitude. A lot of people feel that they’ve made it on their own and that they are big successes because of their abilities. No one makes it totally on their own. They’ve either had mentors, exemplars in their lives, people who have helped and inspired them. So if you’re successful, there’s a pyramid of people underneath you that have resulted in your accomplishments. No one does it totally on their own. And so when you have the humility of saying, hey, I’m successful, sure, but I still have a ways to go, and I’m so grateful of the people, some long dead or some in our relationships as a family, some people who have never said a word to me, but by the way they conduct their lives, have been an uplifting influence. And so I always feel, every morning, as I told you, when I wake up, I feel tremendous gratitude that I’m still alive and viable and healthy. I still have a fabulous wife, terrific children and grandchildren. I have friends all over the world. I can go to Nairobi or Cairo or Johannesburg or Rio or Mexico City or Bangkok or Hong Kong, call up and say, I’m here. Well get over here. We’re about to have dinner. And that’s a terrific feeling to feel comfortable as a member of the human family and be accepted as a fellow human being, and to have no prejudice, no intolerance whatever. I’ll see people that you could say, gosh, how can they live that way and they’re criminals and they do this and this. And then I think, what has been their life experience? What has been their opportunities? If I had been raised the way they were, I’d probably be maybe even worse. So you have that insight and you can’t judge anyone because you haven’t walked in their shoes or lived their lifestyle and their deprivations. We all have our bad days. We all have days when we feel inadequate, where we feel we’ve missed the boat on so many opportunities, where we feel a lot of friends had not been sincere in their friendship. They’ve kind of looked to you for something that they could gain from your association. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 28 In reviewing all these things, it’s such a down sensation. The day is bad. And then you think of all the blessings you have, and, you know, I’m alive. Look at the wonderful wife and the wonderful family, and you count your many blessings to be alive in this 21st century. People say, “John, as an explorer, don’t you regret not having been born back in the days of adventure in the 18th, 19th centuries?” And I laugh out loud. I said, “Are you kidding?” In what period of human history could I fly jets at twice the speed of a bullet one month, the next month I’ll be with headhunters in New Guinea and Borneo. The next month I’m an explorer underwater to depths at 200 feet free of lines with scuba tanks. In one month could I travel in any area of the world I wanted, living with people whose lifestyles are Neolithic. And doing all these fabulous things, living in a technologically advanced world at one time, and an underwater world another time, and in the primitive world another time. You name me a period of human history that I could enjoy that in the greatest country on this planet. Secret #18 – Have an Attitude of Gratitude Secret #19 – It’s Not A Sin To Get Knocked Down, But It Is a Sin To Lie There One of the early “lessons” I learned in life was as a teenager on a football practice field with a coach screaming “it’s not a sin to get knocked down, but it is a sin to lie there.” I didn’t appreciate the wisdom of that at the time ☺ From a goal setting standpoint, this is my favorite story (and lesson) from John Goddard because it so illustrates how he became the world’s #1 achiever, and how you, me, all of us, can achieve goals beyond anything we might imagine today --- if we but remember to just get right back up. The number one goal on John’s list as a 15-year-old was to go down the Nile River. No one had ever done it. The Nile River is 4,220 miles long, the longest river in the world. Imagine this is your big goal. It is the number one goal in your life. You’ve taken your life savings (which John did), borrowed money on top of that (which John did) and you’re filled with incredible excitement and enthusiasm about what’s going to happen when you reach your goal. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 29 Ever felt that way? Then everything goes wrong --- on the very first day!! Here is John’s version of what happened on this trip which began in Kagera. Kagera is part of the main river system that feeds Lake Victoria, the head reservoir. What most people think of Lake Victoria as the main source, but hydrologically Kagera is the main source of water besides rain to feed Lake Victoria I traced down four different rivers to the headwaters of the Kagera. And when we got there in Burundi, in Central Africa, we found little springs emanating from the ground forming the most distant watershed of the Nile River, and that was the alpha to the beginning of the Nile expedition. The Mediterranean was Zeta at the end of the Nile. The district commissioner had a conference with us, and he said, “I’ve lived here 12 years. I’ve never known anyone to be on the river anywhere. It’s uninhabited territory.” He said, “I can’t believe you want to go down the Kagera or any of the river system by these small boats, like Eskimo kayaks, you know.” It was Laporte’s idea to use the kayaks. He had 15 years of experience on the rivers of Europe. He was a skilled paddler. My original idea was to do the Nile by native means, by dugout, by papyrus raft and felucca, the Arab boat. His idea was --here’s a boat that’s non-polluting, it doesn’t need fuel. It’s quiet. It merges right with the environment. You can paddle up to wildlife without distracting or disturbing them. And I thought, hey, that is the way to go, totally independent, each kayak with about 150 pounds of gear or more. He sold me on using the kayaks. So Andre, my other partner, and I went with Jean on some of the rivers of France to test out the equipment, but we never ran whitewater. And these boats have a rubberized canvas hull an eighth of an inch thick, 13 spars, and hickory wooden brace bars and wooden frame, over which this canvas and rubber envelope is placed. (The kayak) is a little boat that weighed maybe, the most, 60 pounds. You could pick it up in your arms. We knew that if we got into whitewater, it could be very dangerous, but we thought if we followed Jean exactly as he went, we’d be able to get through all right because he was so skilled and so experienced. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 30 The Kagera at this point was one of the fastest flowing rivers of Africa, about eight miles an hour, and that’s pretty fast. When we got downstream from the springs, it had developed into quite a watercourse. And so we got ready to launch. We put our kayaks together. We loaded them with equipment. Jean and Andre pushed off, and I filmed their departure, and then I jumped in the boat, and followed. Then it hit me! With the ten-foot tall papyrus on both banks there was no way to stop if we had problems because the vegetation was so rank and so thick on both sides. The boats were so tippy with no keel and no stability. We were paddling like crazy to avoid all kinds of obstacles. So I caught up with them finally just as we hit some whitewater. Man was that spooky. Aggressive hippos that were furious that we had invaded their territory and, you know, I didn’t believe a hippo would be fast on land or in the water, a three-ton animal built like an SUV, and yet when one charged me, I thought, well you big, fat, old thing, you know. I speeded up, and the hippos splashed water on me, he got so close. And then I set an Olympic record getting out of there. Then I took the lead, looked ahead, and it looked like the river had disappeared behind a green wall of vegetation. And I thought, man we’ve had it. And then I realized that the main current curved around what were two small islands overgrown with interlacing vines, limbs, and branches. I waved to my buddies, go to the right, and I was going to plunge through the vines and the roots and everything connecting the two little islets. As I smashed into them, the current filled and engulfed the little kayak, turning it over! The shotgun that was wedged in between the baggage, ready in case I really needed it, came hurdling out, bashed me in the forehead, and stunned me for seconds. And the next thing I knew, I was being turned and mauled around just beyond the islands. I had smashed through. The kayak was overturned, and I came within seconds of drowning. I had heavy boots on. I couldn’t get them off. And I was bashed over rocks and just turned around. When I finally had enough strength to land, I managed to grab some papyrus stalks and stop and get out, lay there spitting up water and everything. And then I heard a voice behind me, and Jean had gotten through unscaved. You know, his skill got him through by going around to the right and then channel to the right, but we couldn’t find Andre. It took us an hour before we finally found him. We thought he had drowned and his body was being washed onto Lake Victoria. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 31 In dodging a hippo when he took the right bank he crashed on a big bolder and it ruined his boat. It broke it right in half. We had to pull him to shore. That was the beginning of the first day of the expedition. One of the most important things to remember about this incident was that John and his buddies weren’t the first to attempt to go down the Nile. Many others had tried it before. At the end of that first day as they sat battered and bruised, having lost a great deal of their equipment and even more of their enthusiasm, they had a choice to make just like those that had gone before them. But unlike their predecessors, they remembered one very important thing --- they had risked a lot, including their lives, to do one thing --- to go the length of the river to the Mediterranean. Keeping that reason as their focus was what it took to muster their energy, get a good night’s sleep and start again the next day on their quest. And their reward was one no one else will ever experience --- the first in history to go the length of the Nile. Just a decade from the date he wrote it down, John had accomplished the number one goal on his list and it earned him the nickname, “the real life Indiana Jones.” Paula Underwood, one of our Champions Club members, had her own “Kagera experience” this year. The most significant thing that I believe happened was in my ability to get through a year of adversity within the company I am a part of. We had an unbelievable series of events that could take a company down, but because of what I have learned through the Champions Club, and the support of the materials we receive and training calls, I was able to blaze through each event, encourage and support my downline, and keep my volume from falling. Things have stabilized and we are moving forward, and it was so great to be able to lead by example, keep a positive attitude, and move forward when the going got rough! I'm so excited to see the explosive growth I am anticipating with the tide now turning! Achievers everywhere live by this secret: Secret #19 – It’s Not a Sin to Get Knocked Down, But It Is a Sin to Lie There Secret #20 - What You Resist Persists Many of John’s near-death experiences are chronicled in his outstanding book The Survivor and I encourage you to get a copy of it. It is a phenomenal read. It is like a suspense novel that keeps you constantly on the edge. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 32 Of all of the near-death experiences that John has had, this is one of the most entertaining, and also one of the most interesting, as it is a demonstration of a very ancient cosmic and Buddhist law known as “What you resist persists.” When I was 16, I found a grotto in the side of a cliff at La Jolla California. There’s small caves in the side of the rock, and the abalone, which is a mollusk, a single shell creature with these beautiful, mother-of-pearl shells grow to a large size there because no one ever goes in these little caves. I found one, went in to investigate, and here a shelf in the cliff side about 20 feet down were abalone of different sizes. As an aside, abalone meat has gone up to over $150 a pound now. I’ve always been a conservationist. I’d bring home two or three, so mom could pound them into steaks and produce a wonderful meal, but I saw this one huge shell. It was ten inches across, and that’s a big ab. However, they can exert a pressure of 300 pounds per square inch, and I normally take a tire pry, and you can lever them off where they adhere to the rock. They’ll raise their shell to siphon off plankton and little microscopic life to live on, but if they’re startled, they’ll close that shell down and you can’t get them off the rock without a tire pry. Usually I just slide it in and you can just pry it right off. However I did not have my tire pry that day and I knew that if you catch them unaware, you can go into the shelf and with the fingers at both ends, you can pop the shell off. It’s a little tricky, but the timing is everything. The cliff side was covered with barnacles and, boy, if you touch them, they can really lacerate your skin. As I was just about to pull off this shell, a surge of tidal current came into the cave and was about to brush me against the wall. I just foolishly, instinctively, grabbed onto the shell of the ab for a fulcrum, and it clamped down on the first joints of eight fingers of my hand. I panicked because I was holding my breath, it was free diving. And I can remember struggling, and it looked like green smoke coming off my fingers where blood was pouring out and I was fighting to get free of this thing. I couldn’t believe how strong it was. Then it dawned on me, you’re not going to make it, kid. You’re almost out of air. You’ll never make it if you keep struggling. So I forced myself to relax, calm down, and just rest. And I guess the ab thought the danger was over. He started to release a little. I got one hand out, and he clamped down on the other hand. © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 33 Anyway, I managed to get out of there, and I’m not exaggerating. I must have been under water three minutes, and I couldn’t hold my breath three minutes, but somehow, almost a Buddhist attitude of calm and discipline swept over me, and I thought this is the way I’m going to live through this. And if you’re faced with death or survival, you’re going to do what you have to do. And as the ab released the pressure, I pulled out. My problems were not over. As I headed right for the entrance, the tide coming in had brought in a big plug of kelp, of seaweed, and I had to fight my way through that plug to get up to the surface, and I was releasing air as I broke the surface. I managed to get up on a ledge and I laid there for an hour without moving, I was so drained. And I thank the Lord that I had survived that because really another ten seconds, I would not have made it. I would have had to release the lungs pressure and inhale water, and I would have drowned. But then I went to the car, opened the trunk, got out a tire pry, went back, and I got the shell. It’s in my collection of shells right now, this gorgeous ten-inch abalone shell. But every time I look at it, my heart speeds up a little It was one of the highlights of my last visit to John’s house to hold that big ab shell that almost took the life of the World’s #1 Achiever before he had a chance to achieve any of the goals we know him for. The answer to your challenge isn’t always the stronger way, sometimes it’s relaxing so that the abs of life will loosen their grip Secret #20 – What You Resist Persists Handling The Big “Abs” In Your Life John’s terrifying story of near-drowning in the cave, and his astonishing defeat of the cancer that doctors believed was all but unbeatable, are two stark examples of the kinds of challenges he has come up against — and the amazing effectiveness of his secrets for overcoming them. What are some of the “big abs” you’ve handled (or at least been handed) during your own life? The challenges, the setbacks, the moments where defeat seemed inevitable? How did you handle those challenges then, and how might you handle them differently, knowing what you know now? With everything it takes sometimes just to get through a day, it’s very easy to let a few weeks or months go by without attending to our personal goals. But months turn quickly into years, and before you know it, you could find yourself © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 34 like the man John overheard so many years ago, thinking wistfully of all the things he wanted to do in his life, but didn’t. Take a few moments now to really examine the way you spend your time — the 24 hours you are given each day. Will you make a few extra hours in there that you can commit exclusively to your life list? As John says, even a small amount of work on your goals will add up to huge gains down the road. Right now, today, determine a sliver of time that you can carve out of each day to work on items from your life list, even if it’s only an hour, and commit yourself to using it. Give yourself a finite timeframe — say, a month — and at the end of it, assess the progress you’ve made. You are guaranteed to be amazed by the changes that result from even this small dedication of time. And don’t be surprised if you see positive transformations in other, seemingly unrelated areas of your life. Once you get clear on your goals and on track to achieving them, you are going to find that everything else seems to effortlessly fall into place. Now Is Time To Get Your Dreams On Paper It’s almost impossible to listen to John Goddard’s remarkable story without starting to compile your own personal “life list” in your mind. If you haven’t already, take some time now to begin writing down that list of goals — the things that YOU have always wanted to do but haven’t yet done. As you proceed through this exercise, try to expand your imagination and shed your selflimitations, especially your preconceived ideas about who you are and what you can and can’t do. Take a cue from John’s own insatiable curiosity and love of life. What awes you? What inspires you? What fascinates you? What do you love? © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 35 As the saying goes, what would you do if you knew failure were impossible? There’s no right or wrong length for your life list, so go ahead and get all of your dreams down on paper. The special World’s #1 Achiever version of Goals 2008 will be available in December and all members of the 2008 Champions Club Gold Circle and Platinum Council will receive it automatically. It’s got some incredible audio and video of John Goddard, the World’s #1 Achiever. And it includes a handsome, leatherette-bound journal for keeping your own Life List. Be watching for it. “No One Does It Totally On Their Own” Studying John’s accomplishments one would think he’s a very self-reliant individual --- and he is. But like all great achievers I know, the World’s #1 Achiever has learned to rely on others for key support. A lot of people feel that they’ve made it on their own and that they are big successes because of their abilities. Vic, you and I know, no one makes it totally on their own. They’ve either had mentors, exemplars in their lives, people who have helped and inspired them. So if you’re successful, there’s a pyramid of people underneath you that have resulted in your accomplishments. No one does it totally on their own. And that’s the fundamental and foundational principal of the Champions Club. As veteran member Doug Evans, a C.P.A. from St. Clair Shores, Michigan, has said, “It’s a source of knowledge, encouragement and advance thinking to help propel us in our personal and business lives. Rarely is such a forum available. Your fellow Champion Club members help you understand yourself so you can excel. The Champion's Club continues to challenge my thinking and actions so I can progress in the most positive direction possible. Without this important influence it would have been impossible for me to have grown as I have these past three years. If you are even remotely thinking about joining --- DO IT !!! It will be one of the most rewarding experiences you can give yourself and your family. Now it all adds up to this: Over the next week I’ll be sharing more information about the Secrets of WorldClass Goal Achievers like John Goddard. Let me be frank, the secrets you learned here are only the appetizers. The main course will really blow your mind. We call it the Champions Club, and its © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 36 strategies and tactics are more powerful than any goal setting program you’ve ever experienced. Keep an eye on your email box because an email from me means an explosion in your achievement. You’re only a week away from the single biggest quantum leap you’ve ever taken. On November 14, 2007 the doors to the 2008 Champions Club will crack open wide enough to allow a select few new members into our program. Just as it’s been for John, Paula, Doug, Zahid and many others --- it will be one of the defining moments of your life. Stay Tuned, Vic Johnson P.S. I really want to hear your comments and questions about this eBook. Go to our blog now and post them (or just take a look at what everyone else has posted). Here is the link: http://blog.thechampionsclub.org © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 37 John Goddard's "Life List" EXPLORE No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Achieved Goals Nile River Amazon River Congo River Colorado River Yangtze River, China Niger River Orinoco River, Venezuela Rio Coco, Nicaragua Comments STUDY PRIMITIVE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 CLIMB 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Mt. Everest Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina Mt. McKinley Mt. Hauscaran, Peru Mt. Kilimanjaro Mt. Ararat, Turkey Mt. Kenya Mt. Cook, New Zealand Mt. Popocatepetl, Mexico The Congo New Guinea Brazil Borneo The Sudan Australia Kenya The Philippines Tanzania Ethiopia Nigeria Alaska © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 38 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 PHOTOGRAPH 42 43 44 45 46 47 The Matterhorn Mt. Rainier Mt. Fuji Mt. Vesuvius Mt. Bromo, Java Grand Tetons Mt. Baldy, California Carry out careers in medicine and exploration Visit every country in the world Study Navaho and Hopi Indians Learn to fly a plane Ride horse in Rose Parade (studied premed, treats illnesses among primitive tribes) (30 to go) Iguacu Falls, Brazil Victoria Falls, Rhodesia Sutherland Falls, New Zealand Yosemite Falls Niagara Falls Retrace travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great (Chased by a warthog in the process) EXPLORE UNDERWATER 48 49 50 51 52 53 VISIT 54 55 North and South Poles Great Wall of China www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 39 Coral reefs of Florida Great Barrier Reef, Australia Red Sea Fiji Islands The Bahamas Explore Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglades (photographed a 300-pound clam) © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 SWIM IN 68 69 70 71 72 ACCOMPLISH 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 Panama and Suez Canals Easter Island The Galapagos Islands Vatican City The Taj Mahal The Eiffel Tower The Blue Grotto The Tower of London The Leaning Tower of Pisa The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico Climb Ayers Rock in Australia Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea Lake Victoria Lake Superior Lake Tanganyika Lake Titicaca, S. America Lake Nicaragua Become an Eagle Scout Dive in a submarine Land on and take of from an aircraft carrier Fly in a blimp, balloon and glider Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater Catch a ten-pound lobster and a ten-inch abalone Play flute and violin Type 50 words a minute Make a parachute jump Learn water and snow skiing © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 40 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 Go on a church mission Follow the John Muir trail Study native medicines and bring back useful ones Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale Learn to fence Learn jujitsu Teach a college course Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali Explore depths of the sea Appear in a Tarzan movie Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot, and coyote Become a ham radio operator Build own telescope Write a book Publish an article in National Geographic Magazine High jump five feet Broad jump 15 feet Run mile in five minutes Weigh 175 pounds stripped Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pullups Learn French, Spanish and Arabic Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica Read the Bible from cover to www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 41 (Has read extensive parts in each volume) (Boat broke down within 20 miles of island) (he still does) (About his Nile trip) (yet to own a chimp or cheetah) © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC cover Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Rousseau, Conrad, Hemingway, Twain, Burroughs, Talmage, Tolstoi, Longfellow, Keats, Poe, Bacon, Whittier, and Emerson Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Liszt, Rimski-Korsakov, Respighi, Rachmaninoff, Paganini, Stravinsky, Toch, Tschaikosvsky, Verdi Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol, canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang Compose music Play Clair de Lune on the piano Watch fire-walking ceremony Milk a poisonous snake Light a match with .22 rifle Visit a movie studio Climb Cheops' pyramid Become a member of the Explorer's Club and the Adventure's Club Learn to play polo Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat Circumnavigate the globe Visit the moon Marry and have children Live to see the 21st century (four times) ("Someday, if God wills") (has five children) (In Bali and Surinam) (bitten by diamondback during photo session) 111 (not every work of each) 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 © 2007 No Dream Too Big LLC www.Goals-2-Go.com/champClub.php Page 42