The following video shares the five levels of influence with Chris Brady and myself teaching how to move your leadership up the levels.  Everything rises and falls on leadership and anyone can improve in this critical area. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

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While many think talent is the separation point between the successful and the unsuccessful in life, the truth is that hard work and focus trumps talent every time.  Don’t misunderstand me, successful people are extremely talented, but then again, unsuccessful people have plenty of talent as well, albeit unused.  Talent is given to all, but what separates people on the success journey is the willingness to focus on the critical work to get the job done.  PDCA is a great process, but is nearly worthless without the work ethic to cycle through the process again and again, improving the key skills every new PDCA cycle.  Most people fail in life simply because they are getting outworked.  It doesn’t matter how talented one is; it doesn’t matter how good the plan is; nor how good the intentions were, if someone doesn’t work, they will not win.  One of my favorite books in the Bible is the Book of Acts.  Notice, that they didn’t call it the Book of Intentions or the Book of Thoughts, but the Book of Acts.  Either actions will conquer fears or fears will conquer actions.  Inside of all of us, is a champion waiting to be unleashed upon the world, through the steady persistent application of work to a given task.  Starting today, refuse to allow the excuse of ‘lack of talent’ to stop you from moving in the direction of your dreams.  Work ethic trumps talent period. 

As Malcolm Gladwell, in his thought provoking book, Outliers, writes on the researcher K. Anders Ericsson’s study:

“The striking thing about Ericsson’s study is that he and his colleagues couldn’t find any ‘naturals,’ musicians who floated effortlessly to the top while practicing a fraction of time their peers did. Nor could they find any ‘grinds,’ people who worked harder than everyone else, yet just didn’t have what it takes to break the top ranks. Their research suggests that once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.”

In fact, the number that seems to keep popping up when researchers study top achievers is 10,000 hours to develop mastery in any given field.  It takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of studies, practice, actions, improvements, and adjustments to develop make the skills look natural.  This concept explains why the ‘haves‘ separate themselves from the ‘have nots’ in life.  How many people are willing to dedicate 10,000 hours of continuous improvement in any profession?  Some may be thinking, but I have worked for twenty-five years in my profession, don’t all people eventually reach 10,000 hours?  But just putting in time isn’t enough, as it takes continuous improvement to count towards the 10,000 hours.  Most people who have twenty-five years in a profession don’t have twenty-five years experience, but only one years experience, twenty-five times.  10,000 hours is literally 10,000 hours of PDCA time, improving in they key areas on a consistent basis, until one has mastered his craft.  Anyone can do this, but sadly, few will dream big enough, building enough passion, pushing through laziness, to strive for excellence.  If someone is going to dedicate 10,000 hours in a profession, it becomes clear that focus is a key, since there isn’t enough 10,000 hours to go around in life to master all of them.  One can become great in nearly any field, but one cannot become great in all fields.  The question becomes what area is one going to master, defining ones life?

Gladwell gives an example of talent vs hard work using the world famous band – The Beatles.  Many assume, that the Beatles were just incredibly talented musicians, and that talent alone, catapulted them to success.  But reading from the Beatles, biography, Shout!, referring to the year and a half of live nightly performances in Hamburg, Germany, it becomes clear that they paid the 10,000 hour price to develop mastery:

“They were no good onstage when they went there and they were very good when they came back. They learned not only stamina. They had to learn an enormous amount of numbers–cover versions of everything you can think of, not just rock and roll, a bit of jazz too. They weren’t disciplined onstage at all before that. But when they came back, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.”

Just how many hours did the Beatles play during that year and a half?  They performed 270 times in that period, many times for eight hours or more on stage!  It’s not shocking that the musical skills, and showmanship of the Beatles, improved dramatically with thousands of hours of live performances in Hamburg.  When Beatle mania exploded upon the USA music scene in 1964, the Beatles had performed live over 1200 times, more than most band will perform in a lifetime.  Simply put, the Beatles were willing to work harder than other bands, improving their skills, as the hours accumulated through the PDCA process.  Gladwell reflects, “The Hamburg crucible is one of the things that set the Beatles apart.”  Truthfully, every leader/performer needs his Hamburg crucible, practicing while others are playing, dreaming while others are complaining, enduring while others are quitting.  No great achievement is accomplished without great sacrifice, and, the 10,000 hours is the price to be paid for mastery in any field.  People love the thought of being successful, but few love the thought of 10,000 of hard work in the PDCA process to achieve success.  When one falls in love with, not only the dream, but the work to accomplish that dream, Beatle’s like success is the reward, accomplishing greatness in an age that glorifies mediocrity.

It seems like the harder people work, the luckier they seem to get.  Success occurs when opportunity and preparedness meet.  One cannot control an opportunity arrival, but one certainly controls the preparation beforehand.  Abraham Lincoln, amidst trials and tribulations, wrote, “I will work, I will study, and when my moment comes, I will be ready.”   Working, studying, learning, and improving are key aspects of any solid work ethic.  Winners aren’t lucky, but they are prepared.  They may be blessed, but they prepared themselves for the blessing by constant improvement through hard work for their moment of opportunity.  Like the old saying goes, “Don’t wait until you are thirsty to dig your well.”  Winners would rather be over prepared, waiting for their moment, and, when the moment arrives, they capitalize on it.  Luck is a persons excuse for a winners commitment.  Prepare daily for the opportunity, because in a person’s life, real opportunity may come along only two or three times.  Sadly, most people were too busy knocking the opportunities to hear opportunities knocking.  Do winners have luck?  Yes, if you define LUCK as – Laboring Under Correct Knowledge – then yes, winners have LUCK.

Geoff Colvin, in his powerful book, Talent is Overrated, shares a concept called deliberate practice, a technique that ties in perfectly with the PDCA process described earlier, he writes:

“Deliberate practice is characterized by several elements, each worth examining. It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports; and it isn’t much fun.”

Deliberate practice separates the amateurs from the professionals in any field.  The amateurs, practicing the skills that they competent and comfortable with, while the professionals working at the limits of their skills, pushing to failure, in an effort to move their mastery of skills past their current competence and comfort levels.  Only through pushing past ones comfort zones, will one improve the level of skills.  Few, are willing to consistently endure the failures inherent in a properly running PDCA, because deliberate practice demands a level of focus and endurance, needing a high pain tolerance.  Colvin writes on the importance of pushing past he comfort zone in deliberate practice:

“. . , great performers never allow themselves to reach the automatic, arrested-development stage in their chosen field.  That is the effect of continual deliberate practice – avoiding automaticity. The essence of practice, which is constantly trying to do the things one cannot do comfortably, makes automatic behavior impossible. . . . Avoiding automaticity through continual practice is another way of saying that great performers are always getting better.”

This is why hard work is so important, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.  Knowing why one is willing to endure the hardships of growth is essential to success.  Success is available to anyone reading this, but make no mistake, the success process will reveal what’s inside of you.  Winners will choose to get better, whiners will choose to get bitter.  Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure.  If we are going to struggle either way, let’s struggle in the attainment of excellence, not existence.  One must work hard, accepting no excuses, focusing on the long-term dreams, enduring the pain in the personal growth process, but the rewards are well worth the effort.  Rewards, that go way beyond the financial, and into the satisfaction obtained when one knows that he truly did his personal best in a worthy cause, allowing one to look in the mirror and see a winner staring back at him.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

When each of the five attitude enhancers, along with adding a strength of will, is applied to life, one develops a strong emotional intelligence quotient.  All of us have heard of IQ – Intelligence Quotient, but only a few of us have heard of EQ – Emotional Quotient.  When it comes to success, EQ is more important than IQ.  The world is full of unsuccessful people who have a high IQ, but when a person develops high EQ, doors are opened for them.  EQ is the ability to maintain your cool while others around you are losing theirs, a grace under pressure.  EQ requires proper communication between the emotional and the rational centers of the brain.  The physical pathway of the senses into the brain travel through the spinal cord to the back of the brain, moving into the center limbic system (where you feel), finally moving to the front rational system (where you think).  Since all senses go through the feeling limbic portion before the rational brain, it’s easy to respond emotionally without allowing yourself time to rationally develop the proper response. Look at the top NFL quarterbacks over the years, the Staubachs, Elways, and Montanas, all of them had EQ, a poise and confidence in their abilities, even with time running out and the game on the line, each responded with his entire brain, not just with emotional feelings.  Without EQ, people succumb to pressures, blaming others, and blowing up, creating chaos along with lack of results.  Every world class leader must have EQ, thinking through situations, even when others start to panic, since panic is not a good strategy.  EQ begins with having a good attitude, but it move beyond it.  EQ includes a strength of will that stands strong regardless of the situation, a strength of mind that forces the brain to think instead of entering ‘fight or flight’ mode.  

The greatest athletes and leaders all have a poise about them that strengthens the resolve of all of those following the leader.  No great achievement can be fulfilled without leaders of great attitude and great EQ.  The good news is that EQ, like a muscle, can be developed by placing oneself in increasing pressure situations over time.  Having a leader with high EQ is essential for others to learn from his or her poise on how to maintain composure even when others are losing theirs.  At the start of leadership, everyone will fail in EQ in different situations, but over time, one learns to develop the internal fortitude to control one’s emotions, rather than have the emotions control them.  Never let them see you sweat is a key principle in EQ based leadership.  Teammates will rally behind the EQ of the leader, developing a confidence that the leader will see them through. Conversely, if the leader lacks EQ, the team will panic, each one attempting to save his own skin, leaving the team and the team’s goals in shambles.  Attitude plus poise, plus strength of will, equals emotional intelligence quotient and every great leader must develop a high EQ.  Remember, it’s not what happens to great leaders that counts as much as how great leaders handle what happens to them.

The story of Phineas Gage, as shared in the must read, Emotional Intelligence Quick Book, was instrumental in helping psychologist understand the workings of the mind.  Here is a quick summary of his story.  Gage was a supervisor of a railroad crew, considered one of the best, for punctual work and leadership skills.  In an on the job accident, while tamping gunpowder into a blasting hole, the gunpowder exploded, sending a 43 inch long tamping iron of a full one and a quarter inches diameter through the frontal lobe of Gage’s brain. Amazingly, Gage lived to tell the story!  It was a miracle that he lived to tell the story, but very quickly, others realized that he wasn’t the same man.  Instead of his famed emotional control and leadership, Gage now lost his temper quickly, becoming emotionally unstable at the slightest provocation.  He would curse like a sailor under stress, creating tension and chaos among his crew, responding to challenges radically different than his previous leadership style.  He went from being one of the best of crew leaders to being unemployed, simply because of his lack of emotional intelligence.  Gage, unlike us, had an excuse, he literally lacked the frontal lobe where reasoning took place.  Meaning it was physically impossible for him to reason through his feelings, but the many EQ impaired people in life, do not have the same physical excuse.  EQ is a simply a choice.  A choice to slow down and think through the issues before reacting with feelings only.  Yes, the senses will hit the ‘feeling’ part of the brain first, but with patience, one can wait for the senses to hit the ‘reasoning’ part also, responding with the whole brain in a high EQ style.  Leaders refuse to react to the emotional stimulus only, but choose a response after feeling and thinking, in other words, with a high emotional intelligence quotient.

How many times have we witnessed people lose their cool, at work, at the airport, or during a sports contest, naming just a few?  Is this type of behavior drawing people towards the potential leader or repelling them?  No one enjoys spending time with a hot-head anymore than one enjoys walking on pins and needles.  People build friendships with people who have predictable behaviors.  Meaning, its hard to be friends with someone who will hug you one day, and hit you the next.  People with low EQ, having not mastered their own emotions; therefore, they cannot lead themselves, let alone, lead others.  All great victories in life begin with a victory over self.  What happens when pressure builds in your life?  How do you respond to the stress?  If you don’t like the answers, welcome to the club, but the good news is that you can change.  Before reacting to the stress emotionally, take a deep breath, forcing the mind to be still until one has time to reflect rationally, responding to the situation like a leader.  It will take practice, but the results are well worth the investment.  When a person lifts his EQ, it has the opposite effect from Phineas Gage.  Gage lost his EQ, when his lost that portion of his brain, but we can gain EQ, by gaining the functionality of this portion of our brains through patient practice.  It almost as if we gained an extra portion of brain matter, since it was practically unused. Learning to respond with EQ is one of the biggest changes in a person’s leadership journey, quickly noticeable to those following your leadership.

Great leaders must develop great EQ, exercising their emotional and rational brains repeatedly, creating mature responses in all leadership situations.  An improved EQ leads to a greater level of respect and admiration from the community following ones leadership trail.  Success is in your daily habits.  Each of us must build our habits by our daily responses, but eventually, our habits will build or break us.  What seeds are being planted in your garden?  What weeds, some that have grown for years, need to be pulled today, in order to provide fertile soil for the twelve resolutions for success?  Success is a personal choice, just as failure is a personal choice, because only the gardener can tend to his personal garden.  Every garden leads to an abundant harvest, the only question being, whether the garden harvest fruits or weeds. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Imagine your brain as a garden and you as the gardener.  What do you allow to grow in the fertile soil of your brain?  Ideas have consequences in a person’s life, much like plants produce fruit in a garden.  The key question is what fruit is being harvested from the plants growing in your garden?  Better yet, what type of plants are growing in your garden, as the fruit always follows from the plant.  For example, if you plant corn, you will harvest corn.  Likewise, if you plant weeds, more weeds will sprout up, choking off the soil from any productive fruit.  A person’s attitude is a product of the fruit in the ideas percolating in his mind.  A positive attitude results when positive ideas are cultivated in one’s brain.  A negative attitude is the result when weeds choke off all, or nearly all, the brain’s thinking soil.  Attitude is a choice, being the ability to choose the proper response consistently, no matter what the stimulus.  It’s not what happens to you in life that matters as much as how you respond to what happens to you.  No one can plant weeds in your garden without your permission, but sadly, most people are not tending the garden; therefore, weeds grows as a matter of course through the associations they have in life.

The typical person, before learning of his gardening responsibilities for his mind, allows seeds to be scattered around at will.  From the radio, television, friends, co-workers, and family, one is bombarded with seeds, many of them destructive, without understanding the importance of a positive attitude in the success process.  Most people allow life to plant any seeds in their garden, producing whatever results the seeds create.  Sadly, this surrenders the results of life to ones surroundings, rather than to ones choices.  Attitudes in life determines the altitudes of life.  When one decides to move on, one must assume the responsibility to tend his garden, pulling weeds daily, while nurturing the proper fruit producing ideas.  Why is it easier to have ‘stinking thinking’ than it is to have positive thinking?  It’s the same answer as to why it’s easier to have weeds grow in a garden, than it is to have fruit.  We didn’t make the rules of the game of life, but we must learn to apply the rules in our favor to win in the game.

Most people when they fail at a task, quickly develop coping mechanisms like blaming, excuse making, etc, to lessen the pain of defeat.  But people with a positive attitude know that a temporary defeat is only another lesson on how not to win.  Thomas Edison was asked how he failed hundreds of times on his way to discovering the incandescent light bulb.  His answer should be learned by all potential achievers.  Edison said that he hadn’t failed hundreds of times, but actually had successfully learned hundreds of ways that it wouldn’t work.  Failure is never final to a person with a good attitude.  All winners discipline their thinking to ensure that the failures in life are merely stepping stones to further advancements.  Failure is an event, not a person, but without a winners thought process, people will label themselves failures, instead of the event as a failure.  No one has to be a failure in life, but all of us will go through failure events.  Whether we ultimately succeed or fail, has much to do with our perspectives on failures.  Winston Churchill, a man with a stellar attitude, said, “Success is going from one failure to another with no loss in enthusiasm.”

There are five key concepts to tending your mental garden, allowing the right attitudes to prosper while choking out the ‘stinking thinking.’  The first key idea is to develop a thankful spirit.  One won’t find a negative person who has a thankful attitude, conversely, one won’t find a positive person who isn’t thankful.  What are you thankful for in your life?  This may be hard at first, especially if one has nurtured bitterness and resentment in the garden, but it’s essential to develop thankfulness, helping to pull the weeds in from the garden.  It reminds me of the story of a man griping because he had no shoes, until he saw another man who had no feet.  Many times, thankfulness is a matter of perspective, one can easily identify things that are not going right in life, but attitude is helped by focusing on the blessings, empowering further improvement.   Bitterness and resentment is like drinking poison, expecting someone else to die.  Pull the weeds of bitterness and resentment from ones heart.  Let it go, as one cannot get better until bitterness is released.

There’s a humorous story told to two young brothers.  One terminally a positive spirit, the other, oppositely, a negative spirit.  No amount of lecturing by the parents seemed to change the young boys attitudes. The parents, well to do business owners, decided to run a test, wanting to see if they could affect the attitudes of the two young boys.  At Christmas time, the parents filled one room with games, toys, and nearly any gift a young boy could desire.  In another room, the parents loaded a wheelbarrow full of horse manure. On Christmas morning, the parents opened up the room with all the toys, allowing both boys to see into the room, but only letting the negative child enter.  Not surprisingly, the child played for a while, and then, complaining that he couldn’t find all of the toys that he wanted, sat in the corner pouting. Instead of recognizing all of the gifts that he received, he focused on the few things that he still lacked, robbing him of the joy in life.  The parents, with the positive child in tow, headed to the other room with the horse manure, opening up the door and letting the positive boy enter.  Right away the boy enthusiastically ran around the room, searching frantically, looking for something.  After watching this for several minutes, the parents asked him why he was so excited. The boy, looking up at his parents with a twinkle in his eye replied, “With this much horse manure, I’m sure the a pony in here somewhere!”  The young boy had an attitude, an attitude that each one of can choose on a daily basis.

The second key to a healthy attitude is to guard your associations.  There is an old souther saying, “If you hang out with dogs, you get fleas.”  Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying to disassociate with your family, but I am suggesting to set some ground rules in the relationship, ensuring bad seeds are not scattered.  The space in your brain is too precious to be filled with weeds, yielding only more weeds in a person’s life.  Tell me who a person associates with, and I will tell you the persons attitudes.  Birds of a feather flock together.  When people assume the gardeners position over their brain, what and who can scatter seeds into their garden becomes of utmost importance.  Since associations do influence us, it’s critical to ensure the associations are influencing our attitudes in a positive direction.  One cannot hang out with upbeat, forward looking, moving on people without developing an upbeat, forward looking, moving on attitude.  Conversely, one cannot hang out with negative, bitter, resentful, complaining, critical spirited people without becoming negative, bitter, resentful, complaining, and critical spirited oneself.  I started over seventeen years ago with a personal commitment to read at least three personal development books per month, listen to two to three (if not more) personal development CDs per day, and to attend as many personal development seminars as I possibly could.  I knew that it was my stinking thinking that had created the poor results in my life and that it would take improved thinking to improve my results.  Like the Bible states, “Iron sharpens iron.”  If I wanted to develop a positive attitude, then I needed to surround myself with other positive attitudes.

The third key to a healthy attitude is to focus on serving others.  When one is serving others, it helps in providing a greater perspective on ones own challenges.  Self centered people are so wrapped up in themselves, that they cannot see, let alone serve, the hurting people around them. Predictably, self centered people have attitude issues, because they are internally focused, all their issues become magnified, having no comparison to another’s troubles. Serving others is one of the best ways to maintain a positive attitude, lightening your own load by lightening others loads.  In the process, one develops friendships and perspectives that provide true lasting joy.  One cannot help another without feeling better about ones self.  This is a principle of life, neglected by many, but a key factor in all healthy attitudes.  Attitude is a choice, a choice to magnify the good in life.  Attitude is not pollyanna, not ignoring negatives, but simply focusing on the empowering thoughts that will help you persevere through the negatives in life.  By serving others through their challenges, it gives strength and encouragement when facing your own.

The fourth key idea in maintaining a positive attitude is to stay active.  An idle mind and hands are the devil’s workshop.  Pick a path and start working.  Human beings were made to work, and find contentment in a job well done.  When one is truly pursuing a noble objective, one is happier and finds the good in life.  But, when one is idle, having too much time on his hands, one can start nitpicking others, nitpicking life, developing a critical condemning spirit.  Put your hand to the plow and don’t look back.  If you cannot find anything to do, then find someone else that you can help, working for them.  I would rather work, read, think, and learn for free, rather than get paid to be idle. The toughest times in my own life have always been a result of self centeredness, and a corresponding lack of productivity.  I’ve had to discipline myself to keep my focus on others, enjoying the process of productive work.  So many people, have been fooled by the lie, that, if they won the lottery, quitting their job, and focusing only on their own happiness, that life would be complete.  I can assure you, that life is complete only when you are aiding in the completion of other lives.  Working hard in a worthy cause, completes yourself through helping to complete others.  Remaining idle is a recipe for physical and mental disaster.

Lastly, the people with the most consistent, positive attitudes are people with a purpose.  Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, described that our mission in life wasn’t invented more than it was detected.  Each of us was created for a purpose, but until we start serving and learning, it’s not going hit us upside the head while watching television.  One must get out into the world, focusing on serving others, detecting the purposes and joy created when making a difference in others lives.  I believe that human beings were made in the image of God, having incredible gifts and talents, that we are created an original, like no other human being in the history of the world.  Our lives have meaning and purpose, detecting that purpose, producing results, and sharing with our gifts with others in need, is the goal of every life well lived.  Life is a gift given from above, what a shame that most of us give it back unopened.  The goal of this book is to help provide the hunger in you to open your gift of life and share the fruits of it with the world. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Are you applying the Three Levels of Motivation into your business or company?  You cannot force people to do what you want, making them feel like your business is a scam, but you can help people get what they want.  Listen in as Chris Brady and I discuss the concept from our WSJ Best Seller, Launching a Leadership Revolution. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

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Here is a video where Chris Brady and I share some of the secrets to improving your leadership.  The Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger is discussed in detail in our best selling book Launching a Leadership Revolution.  Enjoy. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

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Imagine buying a classic Porsche 911, a luxury 2-door sports coupe made in Stuttgart, Germany. As one studies the distinctive design, the powerful rear engine, the independent rear suspension, and swing axle, one is filled with awe at the engineering masterpiece.  As the new owner, one decides handle with care, ensuring nothing but the best for the classic car.  When people buy cars of this caliber, they go the extra mile in taking care of their new possession, requiring garages, premium gas, planned maintenance, and special parking to avoid other cars who may ‘ding’ your masterpiece.  None of this is out of line, per say, but to the extent that people carry the care for their automobile, as compared to the lack of care, most people have of their true masterpiece, their brain, it does seem peculiar.  How can a car be considered more worthy of care than a person’s brain, since one is replaceable, the other is not.  I love fancy cars as much as the next person, being an engineer by training, but the mind of any healthy human being is exponentially more valuable than any car ever produced.

The brain is capable of mental gymnastics beyond the most powerful computer ever designed.  It can assimilate data into working models of life, identifying similarities in multitudes of disparate data points, finding patterns where chaos seemed to reign.  Even something as simple as language to the mind is extremely difficult for a computer to recognize as the mind quickly determines the meaning based upon emphasis of words or syllables, where the computer is lost.  Engineers have worked for decades attempting to re-create, what so many people take for granted; the one of a kind ability of the human brain to collect, sort, recognize patterns, make predictions, and produce results.  Billions of dollars have been invested to manufacturer a computer like the brain that everyone is born with, and engineers are not even close to replicating the power, scope and magnitude we are all given at birth. With such an incredible asset, why is it, that people treat their brains so nonchalantly, when it is, by far, the most important gift God has given them at birth?  When studying the mass of humanity, one notices that few will do the routine maintenance necessary for the proper working of their brain; few will feed their brain only the best thoughts; and fewer still, will exercise their mind towards a goal or dream.  We are born to win, but learn to lose. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  Having a brain with the power to accomplish nearly anything, with the ability to change your circumstances when programmed properly, but choosing not to take responsibility for the implementation, is a plan for failure and the subsequent quiet desperation ensues.

Any veteran computer programmer knows that ‘garbage in’ equals ‘garbage out,’ meaning the outputs are only as good as the inputs.  If this is true for a computer, then it is much more true for one’s brain.  The brain is beyond the Porsche 911 of computers and needs to be treated as such.  Every person is responsible for the upkeep of his prized possession.  Sadly, most are failing in their responsibility, feeding their brains a steady diet of junk thinking, mixed messaging, and doubt filled programming.  If I poured water into the Porsche, thinking that the superior design will overcome my poor behaviors, what chance do I have of driving successfully to my destination?  It’s the same principle with one’s brain.  If one pours improper programming into one’s mind, what chance of success does one have?  Regardless of the beautiful, literally priceless design, the brain is only as good as the source code fed to it.  The good news is that when a person takes responsibility for the source code, deleting the garbage, replacing with the good, the results produced can change dramatically in a short amount of time.  Since ‘garbage in’ equals ‘garbage out,’ perhaps it’s time to take responsibility for what one is feeding his brain.

If one does not program his brain with the source code for success, others will gladly program his brain with their planned programs.  For example, advertisers spend billions per year with the specific intent to program your mind to desire the products that they have to offer.  Maybe one needs them, maybe one doesn’t, but when one surrenders the programming of his mind to someone else, one also surrenders the leadership of his life to another.  Like the old saying goes, “When in charge, take command.”  You are in charge of your life, you are in charge of your brain, take command of the programming to produce the results you desire in life, not what the advertisers desire, or what your boss plan for your life is, or what your environment predicts for your life.  One of the greatest breakthroughs that you will experience on your success journey, is the realization, that you can accomplish nearly anything that you are willing to design into the source code programming inside of your brain.  Ideas have consequences in life, and the ideas that your brain feeds upon, on a daily basis, will produce fruit.  Whether it is good fruit or rotten fruit is up to the programmer, meaning it’s up to you.

What is the correct source code for success principles, producing the results one desires in life?  I believe that there are twelve source code principles, that, if implemented, can produce results beyond most people’s current power of imagination.  Let me give you just a few examples that I have witnessed first hand, watching the person change before my eyes as they implemented the new source code of success, the new operating system for their minds.  I could write a whole book on people’s stories that I have had the pleasure to view first hand, but I will share just a couple to give an example of the amazing power of the changes possible when one changes the source code of the mind.  The following stories are true, each having gone through the discipline of re-programming their minds to produce different results in their lives.  I share these stories, not only to shed light on the idea that one can change, and, not only to recognize the courageous individuals who stepped up to the plate and changed, but also to help the readers understand the joy of making the changes and winning in life. Success can be painful temporarily, as one makes the programming changes, but failure is painful permanently.  As you read these examples, realize, that they are no different than you; they had dreams; they had fears; they had hopes; they had struggles; they had defeats, and they ultimately had victories, overcoming their original poor source code programming.  The same success journey is available to you.

The first couple was over one hundred thousand dollars in consumer debt outside of their mortgage.  Through improper thinking (source code) on finances, this couple habitually overspent, spending money on things not necessary to live, even when massively in debt. They racked up a debt that consumed most of their discretionary money through interest payments and were in bondage through stress engendered from poor behaviors.  With little money remaining, but habits (source codes) that still desired the finer things, this couple proceeded to go further and further into debt.  People will only change for two reasons – the pain or pleasure associated with the change.  When the pain of staying the same becomes too great, people will change.  When the pleasure of a new condition becomes big enough, people will move in the desired direction.  In this case, the pain of staying the same drove this couple to change.  The young man sat down and reviewed all of his bills, laying out each credit card before him, studying each bank loan, car loan, and credit line, until he broke down inside, finally, admitting that it was his thoughts had led to the actions, which had led to the poor financial results.  By implementing the source code changes discussed in this book, the couple transformed their finances, from over a hundred thousand dollars of consumer debt, into a debt free life, enjoying the finer things on a cash lifestyle.  Financial debt can be crippling, but one can use that pain to drive the programming changes producing future victories.  By applying the goal setting principles to their finances, the couple changed their source codes, and thus, their financial destinies.

The second couple allowed fear to control them.  The man being so fearful of people, that he refused to hand out candy at Halloween trick or treating, begging his wife to do the ‘fearful’ activity.  Fear isn’t rational, but it can hold one back from greatness, until one is ready to rewrite the source code.  Action conquer fears or fears will conquer actions.  This young couple decided to act towards their dreams, focusing, not on the fears, but on the future reality imagined in their dreams.  Today this couple speaks in front of thousands of people, inspiring others by their courageous lives, leading others to make the programming changes, creating lives of their dreams, not of their dreads. If one will practice the correct skills, acting out the skills in life, one can conquer nearly any fear, creating the results through facing one’s fears.  This couple went from a mechanic and day care provider to one of the most inspirational speakers and leaders, taking charge of the mental programming in their minds.  From a fearful existence, laden with debt, this couple now lives debt free, and fear free, chasing dreams not even imaginable, when fear controlled their lives.  This is the power of the source code of success in one’s life.

The third example is a young couple who started on the wrong side of the tracks. He, started in the inner city ghetto culture.  Raised by his mother, in a single parent home, he quickly learned the street smarts to survive.  Accepting no excuses from himself, he made paid his way through college while working, but knew he wasn’t fulfilling his potential.  She, was a single mom, having had a baby shortly after high school, her association prohibited her from achieving the potential she had inside of her.  When these two met, they both had dreams, but both had to change their associations and internal labels.  By developing the source code explained in this book, this young couple has accomplished in the less than a decade, more than most will achieve their entire lives.  They recently moved into an 8,000 plus square foot house, with a pool, pool clubhouse, pergola, a thirty person fire pit, and many other amenities.  Through the courage to delete the ‘garbage in’ and replacing the a new source code (good stuff in), this couple has radically transformed their lives.

I shared the above example to help you understand the extent of the changes possible when you take control of the programming coming in to your masterpiece mind. The fourth example, the one most important to you, is still being written, because it’s your example.  What dreams do you have?  What fears do you have?  What temporary sacrifices are you willing to make to rid yourself of the bondage of debts and fear and improper thinking?  Each story is different, but all have an essential pattern of the dream, the struggle and the victory.  Your story must start with a dream, a dream that drives you to change, even though its uncomfortable.  The dream drives you to make the changes, creating the momentum necessary to break the old programming and replace with a better, more productive source code.  Dreams are great, but every dream is birthed amidst struggles.  If you aren’t struggling then you aren’t dreaming big enough.  Big dreams require big struggles, but they are so worth it, not just for the accomplishment of the dream, but even more so, for who you become in the process of achieving that dream.  One will find, than in life, real success is not in the material things, but in the better person created along the journey to success.  Your story will have a dream, it will have a struggle, and it will have a victory through your willingness to change and grow.  Dream, struggle, victory, this is the process for re-writing the source code and developing a game plan to create success in any area of your life.

Let’s examine the twelve source code changes necessary to re-program the mind for success.  The source codes are pre-suppositions of life that help create a success minded world-view, a world-view that helps you see opportunities in every challenge versus the challenges that most see in every opportunity.  Here is the twelve source codes for success:

1. Learn to feed you sub-conscious along with your conscious mind.
2. Decide that character is more important than reputation.
3. Learn that attitude determines your altitude.
4. Learn that failure to plan is a plan for failure.
5. Learn that talent is a gift, but work ethic is a choice.
6. Learn to keep score of the results in the game of life.
7. Develop the art of leading people.
8. Learn that individuals grow, but teams explode.
9. Learn the secrets of emotional intelligence.
10. Develop the art and skills of conflict resolution.
11. Learn to confront the brutal reality.
12. Create a legacy, when you are blessed, be a blessing.

Learning and developing the twelve crucial source code changes will produce results, happiness, and a sense of fulfillment in life, giving one the opportunity to spend most of his time sharing the source codes of success with others.  If you are blessed in life, the Good Book teaches one to be a blessing to others.  The purpose of this book is to pay the blessings in my life forward to others by sharing the source code for success.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward