Charlie “Tremendous” Jones’ Legacy

January 15, 2009

Hi All:

       For those of you who aren’t familiar with Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, he was one of the top motivational speakers in the world.  Charlie passed on a couple of months ago and will be sadly missed.  I remember in the early 90’s when I was starting out in the speaking industry I went to Charlie for advice.  I said, “Charlie, I want to be a really great speaker”.  I’ll never forget what he said (without missing a beat, I might add), “Don’t try so hard”.  I never really knew what he meant until a few years ago when I had a health crisis and realized that being a speaker was only a PART of my life, not my whole life!

       But, believe it or not, that’s not the most important thing I learned from Charlie.  He wrote a book called “Life is Tremendous” and at the beginning he stated that he could tell where a person would be 5 years from now by two things: the people you hang around with and the books you read.  How true this is.

       If you spend your time with unambitious and unsuccessful people you will soon adopt their mindset.   You wil find yourself just “getting by” and not stretching yourself.  This has been proven in countless studies.  We tend to assimilate with the people we’re around.  We tend to adopt their attitudes and ways of thinking and this is done virtually unconsciously!  If you want to be successful stick with the winners.  Stay close to people who are, as I call it, maxing out their potential.  People who have goals and want to make their lives better

       The second part of the equation is the books you read.  It’s sad, but very few people read consistently  in the general population.  I read some statistics from the American Booksellers Association  a few years ago and the number of people in the U.S. that haven’t read a book in the last five years was staggering!  I’m of the opinion that if you’re not moving forward, you’re going backward.  And one of the ways to move forward is continuous learning and that happens by reading.  Do you realize that if you read an hour a day in your chosen field for only 2 years you would be a bona fide expert in that field?  Don’t be under the assumption that because you don’t have a formal education you can’t be successful.   I’ve heard it said that a formal education will make you a living but self-education will make you a fortune.  This is done by reading.

       So Charlie’s gone but certainly not forgotten.  The lessons that he taught me in the brief time I met him will endure the rest of my life.  I sincerely hope you use his lessons also.

Until next time,

Tim

www.timpic.com

A Lesson From Earl Nightingale….

January 8, 2009

       I first learned a concept over 15 years ago so instrumental to my success  that it has, literally, changed my life.  At that point in time, I was a big fan of Earl Nightingale (even though he passed away a decade before) and what he taught made a lot of sense.  For those of you not familiar with Earl, he was considered the “Dean of Personal Development” in the 50s and 60’s.  What was the concept?  Simply that you become what you think about all day long.

       The current bestseller “The Secret” which is all about the Law of Attraction is based on this concept.  The premise of the Law of Attraction holds that “like attracts like” and that what you focus on in your mind will manifest in the physical world.  In other words, if you simply think about becoming wealthy  and hold that focus in your mind this premise holds that you will eventually manifest wealth.  This is not to say that you don’t have to take action to bring what you want about.  You do.  The universe will leave you “bread crumbs” that will give you clues about what to do to manifest what you want.

       Although this is a somewhat simplistic introduction to this idea I have found that my thoughts truly do create my reality.  This is especially relevant for dealing with this recession we’re currently in.  I, personally, do not choose to focus on the lack of money or resources  that a recession brings.  Rather I tend to focus my thoughts on gratitude for what I already have.  I realized that while the country was slipping into economic decline in 2008 I had my best year financially EVER in my career!  I know some of you are probably saying that yesterdays paydays will not pay todays bills and you are right.  But I firmly believe that if I focus on what’s possible and what’s in store it will come to pass.  It always has.  I have already manifested my career, my house and the lifestyle I live today because of my thoughts.  You can too.

       You and I both know that this recession is a blip on the radar screen and we will survive it.  Their may be some tough times ahead for some of us but we WILL pull out of this.  Keep your thoughts focused on what is possible and what you DO want not what you DON’T want.  Your thoughts DO create your reality and you truly CAN have whatever you want!

Until Next Time,

Tim

www.timpic.com