CHAPTER 1

REMEMBER THAT THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP

I can vividly remember the first sentence I ever wrote in my very first book! Itseems like a long time ago. Yet had I not written that first sentence, Iwouldn't have finished that first book, or the second, and so on. And so itgoes. Every journey, however long it may be, begins with a single step. But youmust take that first step. Once you do, each step takes you closer andcloser to your goal.

Sometimes, when you consider taking on a new venture—whether it's raisinga child, writing a book, starting a new business, beginning a savings plan, oranything else—the task can seem overwhelming. It's as though you'll neverbe able to arrive at your final destination, as if the first step isn't going tohelp. When you look too far out toward the horizon, it can seem too difficult.You might even wonder where to begin.

The trick to success sounds very simplistic, because it is very simple:Just begin. Take a single step, followed by another, and then another. Don'tlook too far out into the future, and don't look too far back either. Staycentered in the present moment as best you can. If you follow this simple plan,you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish over time.

When I graduated from my Ph.D. program, my dear friend Marvin gave me, as agift, the complete works of Carl Jung. That's twenty-six long volumes ofmaterial. In volume one was a note from Marvin worth sharing here. He wrote:"Becoming educated doesn't happen overnight! Education is a lifelong processthat happens in short intervals. If you were to read only eight pages a day, forthe next seven years, you would be one of the world's most knowledgeable expertson the work of Carl Jung, and you would get through every page!" Despitenot being a huge fan of Jung, I have always appreciated my friend's message.

The same, of course, is true with all ventures. A wealthy friend of mine, worthmany millions of dollars, remembers opening his first savings account with hiswife over forty years ago with $10. They both laugh when they say, "It's amazingwhat a little time will do." Had they not decided to start somewhere, theirincredible success would never have manifested itself.

Over and over again I hear people telling me about the book they aregoing to write, the savings account they are about to open, thebusiness they are going to start, or the charity they areplanning to help. But, in many instances, these plans and dreams keepgetting put off until "the conditions are right." One of the most powerfulmessages I can share with you, one that I'm absolutely certain of, is this: Inalmost all cases, the conditions you are waiting for will not besignificantly different next week or next year. Don't worry that the conditionshave to be perfect. The truth is, you are still going to have to takethat first step! If you take it now, instead of later, you'll be many stepscloser to your dreams by this time next year. Congratulations, you've just takenthe first step in the completion of this book!

CHAPTER 2

GIVE, GIVE, GIVE

Many of us have heard the expression "Giving is its own reward." And while thisis certainly true, and more than reason enough to give, there's another aspectof giving that many fail to recognize. Giving is an energy that not only helpsothers but creates even more for the person who is doing the giving. This is anatural law that is true regardless of whether the person who is giving wants oreven realizes what is occurring.

Money is "circulation." It needs to flow. When you are frightened, selfish, orwhen you hoard everything for yourself, you literally stop the circulation. Youcreate "clogged pipes," making it difficult to keep money flowing back in yourdirection. Any success you have is despite your lack of giving, not because ofit. The way to get the flow going again is to start giving. Be generous. Payothers well, tip your waitress that extra dollar. Support several charities.Give back. Watch what happens! Things will start popping up out of nowhere.

The same dynamic is true if you want to fill your life with love or anythingelse worthwhile. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. If youwant more love, or fun, or respect, or success, or anything else, the way to getit is simple: give it away. Don't worry about a thing. The universe knows whatit's doing. Everything you give away will return, with interest!

CHAPTER 3

LEARN THE MAGIC OF NONATTACHMENT

Without realizing it, many of us confuse nonattachment with not caring. Inactuality, the two are completely different. Not caring suggests apathy: "Icouldn't care less. It doesn't matter to me." Nonattachment, on the other hand,means: "I'll do everything possible, I'll put the odds in my favor, I'll workhard and concentrate. I'll do my best to succeed. But, if I don't,that's okay, too."

Being attached to an outcome, holding on, takes an enormous amount of energy,not only during an effort but often after an effort is complete, after you'vefailed, or been let down, or were dealt a bad hand.

Being nonattached, however, creates emotional freedom. It means holding ontightly but letting go lightly. It suggests trying hard, really caring, but atthe same time being completely willing to let go of the outcome.

Attachment creates fear that gets in your way: What if I lose? What if the dealdoesn't go through? What if I'm rejected? What if, what if, what if ... Yourbelief that everything must work out exactly as you want it to with no glitchescreates enormous pressure. Everything rides on your success.

Nonattachment, on the other hand, works like magic. It allows you to have fun inyour efforts, to enjoy the process. It helps you succeed at whatever you aredoing by giving you the confidence you need. It takes the pressure off. You winregardless of the outcome. The act of not worrying helps you focus andstay on purpose. It helps you stay out of your own way. You know in your heartthat, even if things don't work out the way you hope they will, everything willbe all right. You'll be okay. You'll learn from the experience. You'll do betternext time. This attitude of acceptance helps you move on to the next step inyour path. Rather than being lost or immobilized in disappointment or regret,you simply move on—with confidence and joy.

CHAPTER 4

EXPERIENCE RELAXED PASSION

Most people would agree that having passion for one's work is a helpful, if notnecessary, ingredient for success. Many of these same people, however, confuseuseful passion with hyper or frenetic behavior.

Passion takes different forms. It can be the feeling of being driven to success,of rolling up your sleeves, or working long, hard hours. This "hyper" passioncan be very exciting, even addicting. The problem with it, though, is that itdrains your energy and can be very exhausting. It's generated from externalsources, from tight deadlines and big deals. Because of the external nature ofthis type of passion, a tint of fear always goes along with it: "I love this aslong as everything works out well." This type of passion also lends itself toboredom. The only time you're having fun is when there's something on the line,when something exciting is happening. The rest of the time can seem like aletdown. You spend your time waiting and looking for more excitement.

Another, calmer type of passion is what I like to call relaxed passion. This isa contained, "time-release" type of feeling that permeates everything you do. Itbrings joy and great success to virtually anything. Rather than being frenetic,this feeling is more like exhilaration and enthusiasm. It's a much calmerversion of excitement. It can be described as excitement without the worry: "Ilove this simply because I'm absorbed in what I'm doing."

The way to bring forth this type of passion is to learn to keep your attentionfully in the present moment. Try to do only one thing at any given moment andgive that "one thing" your full and complete attention. If you're on the phone,stay focused, be "with" the person to whom you are speaking. Don't let your minddrift; be there. If your mind does wander, gently bring it back to the presentmoment.

Almost anything we do—preparing a report, speaking to a group, solving aproblem, generating an idea, doing a difficult task, and so forth—is apotential source of relaxed passion. And it comes not from exciting, externalventures but from our own attention, our own thinking. Too many of us live inmoments past or moments yet to be. When our mind is not right here, in thismoment, we suck the joy out of an experience. You can bring passion back intoyour life and your business dealings by simply being more oriented in thepresent moment. Your focus and insight will be greatly enhanced, as will yourideas and creativity.

CHAPTER 5

BECOME A STRESS-STOPPER

There's little doubt in the minds of most business people I've met that,overall, stress interferes with the quality of business. People who are toostressed are reactive and frightened, and tend to make more mistakes than thosewho are calm. Stressed-out people blow problems out of proportion and fail tosee solutions. Because they are moving so fast, they often spin their wheels,rushing around, repeating efforts as well as mistakes. Stressed-out peoplearen't very centered; therefore they have a difficult time seeing to the heartof the matter or being able to differentiate between what's really important andwhat's less significant. Because they are irritable and bothered, they tend tobring out the worst in others and often end up pushing peopleaway—including customers, clients, and important prospects.

It makes sense, then, that if you want to maximize your chances for success andprofit, when stress is present in your workplace and/or in your mind, you shoulddo everything you can to prevent its spread. In other words, rather than getothers all riled up and bothered and sharing all that's disturbing you, it'soften best to keep it to yourself. Doing so can pay handsome dividends.

If I'm stressed out, that stress is going on inside my own head. For example, ifI'm worried that I'm not going to be able to make my deadline, my thoughts aboutmy deadline are the primary source of my stress. Or, if I've had to deal with anextremely difficult customer earlier in the day, my lingering thoughts aboutthat person keep that stress alive in my mind.

Sometimes because it's therapeutic or even entertaining, other times out of purehabit, we feel compelled to share the details of our stressful thoughts withothers around us, thereby encouraging them to get caught up in our dramas and/orto focus on other things they perceive to be stressful. We think about,commiserate, and emphasize the negative. As our coworkers become absorbed andfocused on the stress, they reinforce and sometimes even exacerbate the stresswe are feeling, creating a vicious circle that can be hard to break. It's hardto imagine anything less effective than an entire group of people upset,irritated, and stressed out!

When you make the conscious decision to become a stress-stopper, you'll findyourself nipping tons of stress—especially stress that is "smallstuff"—in the bud. Your refusal to "spread the virus" not only preventsstress from escalating around the office or workplace, but actually reinforcesto you that many of the things we get all worked up about are, in the scheme ofthings, pretty irrelevant. Plus, what you start to see is that much of what westress or worry about never manifests itself anyway.

I was once driving to the airport with Kris and the kids, certain we were goingto miss our flight. I must have mentioned my pessimistic prediction more than adozen times. So, I got them all worried and concerned, too, and reinforced myown worry. When we ended up making the flight, I realized how silly it had beento draw them into it—there was no upside; only downside. Had I simply beena stress-stopper, I could have avoided getting the others in the car upset andfrightened.

The idea of being a stress-stopper even applies to simple situations surroundingyour finances at home. A friend told me that she was really frustrated by herand her husband's poor record keeping. In a stressed-out state of mind, sheranted and raged to her husband how horrible and disorganized everything was.She got him all worked up and concerned about their tax records, and he toobecame stressed and agitated. She later realized that it would have been farmore effective and substantially less stressful for both of them had she simplykept her bearings, waited for a calmer time, and discussed some constructiveorganizing ideas with her husband.

Obviously, there are times when it's necessary or useful to share our stresswith others—for example, when doing so will help solve a problem. Yet, ifyou're honest about it, I think you'll find that much of the time it's betterand ultimately more effective to be a stress-stopper rather than a stress-spreader.

CHAPTER 6

PAY YOURSELF FIRST

On the surface, this is one of the least original ideas in this book. The ideaof paying yourself first—before anyone else—is a concept that isoften talked about. Most financial professionals realize that it's virtuallyimpossible to accumulate great wealth without this type of discipline andwisdom. The idea is that, if you wait until everyone else is paid before you payyourself, you'll never get around to it. There won't be anything left. Despiteits importance, however, a very small percentage of people actually implementthis strategy. The major reason: worry.

If you are worried about having enough, you never will! Fear will prevent youfrom taking the obvious steps that are needed to create abundance. Thus, one ofthe first and most important steps you need to take is to nip your worry in thebud.

From this moment on, make a commitment to yourself that you will ignore allthoughts of worry and pay yourself first—before anyone else. Everyday, or week, or month—whatever is appropriate for you—writeyourself a check. Invest in yourself. Trust in yourself. You will have enoughfor everything else.

You'll be surprised, but somehow, regardless of your income, there will alwaysbe enough left to pay your bills. You'll make invisible, wise adjustments inyour spending habits. You'll make new choices. And in a very short amount oftime, you'll get into the habit of always paying yourself first, saving orinvesting something for you. You'll watch your savings and net worth grow. Asthis happens, you'll see how destructive worry can be and how unnecessary it wasall along. This will create even more confidence, which will translate into morediscipline, creativity, and new ideas. You will find yourself in a new mind-set,creating wealth.

It's critical to realize that you won't stop worrying simply because your incomerises. There are plenty of people with enormous incomes who worry all the time.The trick is to trust, without any doubt whatsoever, that the magic works in theother direction. You need to stop worrying, first, and then you'll dowhat it takes to create the abundance you deserve.

CHAPTER 7

DO GOOD WHILE DOING WELL

One of my favorite salad dressings is Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette. Nearthe top of the bottle are the words "Paul Newman donates all his profits, aftertaxes, from the sale of this product for educational and charitable purposes."What a great example of someone who does good while doing well!

Many celebrities and successful businessmen and women are doing similarthings—mixing business ventures with charity and good causes. What abrilliant and wonderful thing to do—and everyone wins. The charitiesreceive financial benefits and, in some cases, name recognition, while thebusinesspeople feel the joy of helping out while also earning goodwill in themarketplace. The customers, too, are the winners, because each purchase helpsthe selected cause(s). All things being equal, I'd much rather buy a productthat was helping a great cause than one that wasn't.