Wealth
Don Yaeger, Wealth - Wednesday, June 6, 2012 10:54 - 14 Comments
Changing the World, One Pencil at a Time
One of the greatest parts of my work as a speaker is getting to watch other presenters at events share their amazing stories. A couple of weeks ago, at a celebration of one company’s top performers, I met Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun and it was a jaw-dropper. I couldn’t wait to join in the standing ovation.
I can’t do it justice, but here is a synopsis of his story: A basketball player at Brown University, Adam saw a movie that included a scene from India that inspired him to go abroad for a semester of learning. He signed up for a “semester at sea” program that met with near-Titanic results when the ship was hit by a 60-foot wave in the North Pacific. He described the moment “not as one of near-death, but certain death.”
Rescued from the ship along with his classmates, Adam continued on with a different sense of purpose and while studying in India he met a young boy. There he asked a question he would ask many children on his journey: What do you want most in the world? The boy’s answer: a pencil.
Most would have simply handed over a pencil. Adam Braun decided to build a school. (He gave the boy his pencil, too.)
He discovered that 67 million children in the world have no access to ANY school. Adam decided to change that and on his 25th birthday hosted a party asking guests to show up with $20 instead of a gift. Four hundred friends showed and he had $8,000 toward the building of a school. Working for Bain & Co, Adam took a sabbatical and traveled to Indonesia, where he identified the village for his project. As the school was built, he shared pictures and video with his burgeoning network. More contributions flooded in and, fast-forward a bit, Continue…
- Hardy: Sales Is the Other Four-Letter Word
Whether or not the title on your business card labels you as a “salesperson,” I bet you have had several sales conversations already today. Maybe you sold a friend on seeing the great movie you just saw or trying a new restaurant you recently enjoyed. If you’re a parent, you may have sold your kids on the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast or doing well in school today. Or perhaps you sold your boss on why you need a day off, promotion or raise. The list goes on and on. All day, every day we are selling someone on something.If you aren’t good at sales, life will be more difficult for you. It’s that simple. Selling is not just a business skill; it’s an essential life skill. But selling really isn’t as complicated or mysterious as we make it out to be. Selling is simply about influencing an outcome.
If you’re stuck in the mindset that you’re not good at selling, it’s time to shift your perspective.
Start by stopping selling. Cross out the word sell and replace it with…
- Hardy: Our Love-Hate Relationship with Money
Money, Money, Money… We want more of it; we love it and all that it affords. Yet it can be the root of some of life’s most devastating experiences—divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure and destitution.However, money isn’t the problem.
Just like guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people, the same misplaced blame is applied to money. Money isn’t your problem; your relationship with money and what you do (or don’t do) with it is the problem.- Sharma: The 8 Forms of Wealth
In my mind, wealth and leadership aren’t just about making money. There are actually eight elements that you want to make sure are at world-class levels before you call yourself rich (and truly successful).
- Let’s talk money.
Money and time. The two topics most people avoid are the ones we’re tackling head-on in our February issue. Most of us struggle with time and money at some point, whether it’s learning to manage our schedules, setting up a plan for retirement or just trying to get out of debt. We at SUCCESS magazine [...]
- Part 6: The MAGIC Factor to Achieving Your Goals
Review: INTRO, GETTING READY & PARTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Typically, the first thought that comes to mind after writing down a goal is, “What do I need to do to accomplish this?” That, unfortunately, is not the right question to ask.
Let me give you an example—When I was single and ready to find my wife and be married, I made a long list of the qualities of the perfect woman (for me). I filled up more than 40 pages describing my wife to be in great detail—her personality, character, key attributes, attitudes and philosophies about life, tastes, interests, even what kind of family she’d come from, culture, and of course physical makeup down to the texture of her hair, etc. I wrote in depth what our life would be like and what we’d do together.
I then had my goal and it was specific, measureable, attainable (I hoped!), relevant and time-sensitive. If I then asked, ‘What do I have to do to find and get this girl?,’ I might still be on that butterfly chase. Jim Rohn taught me, “Success is not something you pursue. What you pursue eludes you. Success is something you attract by the person you become. If you want to have more, you must become more.” So what I did was CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
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- Be Your Own Santa Claus
In 1972, when I was studying sales and positive attitude, I watched a movie called “Challenge to America,” almost everyday. It was a story told by the great Glenn W. Turner who wrote a letter to Santa Clause every year asking for everything his wealthy cousins received. Glenn was a poor farmer’s son who never [...]
- Don’t Let Your Kids Inherit Your Bad Financial Habits
Six Financial Mistakes You Don’t Want Your Kids to Repeat It is not the government, Wall Street or the greedy mortgage companies that are to blame for your financial crisis. The responsibility lies only with YOU. Let’s use this experience as a learning opportunity so the “sins of the father (and/or mother)” are not repeated [...]
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