Does how you perceive things matter?
Does your view of the situations in your life make a difference?
Does your filter change things?
It does.
And I’ll let tennis legend John McEnroe sum up his career and the critical importance of perception in one quote.
Sometimes people hate my book Quitter
Why?
Because the first chapter doesn’t tell them what they want to hear. They expect a book titled Quitter to be full of dreamy, rainbowy fluff about how you should “just go for it” or “step out in faith.” Instead, they find a first chapter titled “Don’t quit your day job.”
That’s a bit of a bummer, but it’s the best way. Ask Nicholas Sparks.
Regardless of what you think about his romance novels, there is no questioning his unbelievable success. He has sold tens of millions of books in the last ten years. But did he quit when he got his first deal?
I’ll let him tell you via a Vanity Fair interview:
Reporter:
I have never heard of an unknown author getting paid a million dollars. What was the first thing you did?
Nicholas Sparks:
I was immediately struck by disbelief. It felt like I had won the lottery, but at the same time I didn’t even know if people would buy the book, so I didn’t quit my job for another year.
Let’s recap for a quick second. Nicholas Sparks got a million dollar advance. Instead of assuming the whole planet would buy his book, he kept his day job. For a whole year.
I love it.
May we all have the patience of Nicholas Sparks and be deliberate about the cliffs we jump off on the road to chasing our dreams.
I saw the product below recently and it made me laugh.
Why?
Because how fast is our culture getting? One second? Really? Is that now a product benefit? Something has to win your attention by promising you only 1 second per usage.
But I get it. Life is full right now. Life is busy right now. That’s why people have phone conversations in the bathroom. Unless you’re a heart surgeon inexplicably performing surgery via phone, you can hang up for 60 seconds. Do you know how many people have died because I don’t talk on the phone in the bathroom? None.
Slow down.
The best things in life take time, and when we don’t give it to them, they just become OK things.
Source: Uploaded by user via Jon on Pinterest
A few years ago, I read an interview with a musician whose name escapes me.
During the interview, the journalist said something surprising. He said:
“I have to confess. I’m not at all familiar with your music.”
This is a subtle insult.
Why?
Because when journalists interview musicians, they research them. They listen to their music. They listen to a lot of their music. They prepare.
This journalist didn’t, though, and instead deliberately brought up that point.
How did the musician respond? Was he insulted or angry?
Nope.
He simply said, “Well, that’s quite all right. I probably haven’t read many of your articles, but this is the beauty of our business.”
That insult didn’t even have a second to land on his shoulder. He brushed it aside before it could touch down.
Let the little insults go. They tend to cause big damage if we hold on to them too tightly.
On the left is Scrabble for the Blackberry.
On the right is Scrabble for the iPhone.
Which would you play?
It’s finally here! No more waiting, no more pre-ordering, no more countdowns… START officially releases today!
I’m so excited to see this day come and to be able to share with all of you what I’ve poured into START! I want to thank everyone for your support leading up to this day. It’s been an awesome journey, but it’s just the beginning!
Here are some places where you purchase START beginning today:
Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on DaveRamsey.com
Buy it on Barnes & Noble
Buy it on Books A Million.
Last night Dave Ramsey and I threw a huge party right in the middle of Times Square to celebrate and kick off the START Book Tour with a couple hundred friends. It was amazing! Here’s a quick recap:
In case you missed it, here is the killer book trailer the Ramsey video team put together.
So there you go!
It’s time to START!
Today I am in Oklahoma City. Tomorrow I will be in Houston. And the day after that, I will be in New York City.
Times Square and I have been on a crash course for six months.
Ever since Dave Ramsey dared me to create an awesome kick off for my new book, New York was on my map.
The team designed a crazy event.
First, I’ll give a talk about the five lands every awesome life goes through. In a small, intimate theater, I’ll lay out some ideas.
Then, and this is where it gets crazy, we’ll all put on the amazing Start NYC shirts the team designed. They are red and loud and not at all shy.
Then, I’ll lead a few hundred of my new friends down a block into Times Square where the book tour bus is parked.
We’ll do a quick countdown, and then I’ll unveil two ridiculous surprises.
The truth is, I’m a little afraid.
I want the event to go well.
I want things to work.
I want the book to sell on the launch day.
And a lot of those things are out of my hands.
But do you know who’s hands I’m not going to put them in? Fear.
I’m not hosting fear this weekend. I’m not entertaining it or rolling around in it or giving it a huge stage in my heart to really shout from.
Fear isn’t invited to Times Square this weekend. You are and I am and lots of other people.
Instead, I’m going to make fear afraid.
And you should too.
Do you remember these?
These are dipping sauces that McDonald’s came out with in 1983.
They were easy to use, popular, and helped sell a lot of McNuggets.
This? Is the new design of ketchup.
Was it launched in 1983?
Maybe 1984?
Surely someone saw how great the design was for the dipping sauces and decided to put ketchup in that same container.
Nope?
It would be 20 years before the new ketchup packets rolled out.
Why?
Because innovation is hard. Sometimes it hides right in plain sight.
Got a problem you’re facing right now? Don’t miss the forest for the trees. Or, in this case, the ketchup for the dipping sauces.
Want a free copy of the complete Quitter audio book read by me?
Want the first chapter of the Start audio book, also read by me, for free?
It’s absolutely free. If you give me a tip, all the money will go to support Charity:Water.
It’s only free for one week. Click here to get it!
