Dear Publisher,

It gives me great honor to present to you the rough-manuscript of the

first book I have ever written. I strongly believe in the words and
lessons that are found within this book. Being a young man, I am
confident that a comprehensive audience will not only accept this
book, they need this book.

When reading this manuscript, it is my hope that you will relate to my

passion in passing these words on to millions of youth and young
adults entering this world on their own. Please understand that it is
the first book I have ever written. Although the first, I have more
confidence and passion for this book than I have had for anything else.
I will re-write it as many times as need be, to make it the book I know it
will become.

Please believe in my confidence and passion for this project. This book
being written by a 22 year old for a 22 year old has the credibility and
capability to reach this age better than any other book on the market.
The time is now to raise the bar in this world for my generation.

Sincerely,

Beau M. Beckley

The following writing is proprietary and confidential. Any

information and or content taken must have prior agreement
in writing by both parties. Any use of this material without
prior consent is strictly prohibited.

1
For my mom, my dad, and my brother.

I love you.

2
 What’s NEXT?
A young adult’s guide to life’s unknown road…
By
Beau Beckley

Introduction

THERE are too many books these days that have been written by

people that have so called “made it.” The authors have created great

success through love, money, business and other accomplishments,

and they write about how they did it. When writing about it, they want

to share their story and tell the reader how they can be just like them.

This book is entirely different. What’s NEXT? is written by a 22 year

old for a 22 year old.

My name is Beau Beckley and I look forward to sharing this book

with you. The layout of this book is completely opposite from the

mainstream books written about successful people. This book is laying

out the grounds of how we and I are “going to make it,” and I want to

share it with you. Think of this book as helping both of us. Right now,

at this age, we are all in this together. I am confident that we have a

wonderful opportunity ahead of us to be extremely successful in every

3
aspect of our lives. This book is not one of those “reads” on how to

make your first million. This book is about finding wealth in our own

lives, whatever that may be. Whether you want to be an investment

banker or a skydive instructor this book is a road map on how to get

there successfully and honestly. Think of this book as a manual. It is

the manual for our generation to live a fulfilled life that will bring

prosperity in every aspect of our lives. I am confident that if you follow

similar guidelines, the possibilities of reaching your goals and dreams

are endless. In all honesty, if the entire world lives by the values and

guidelines of this book, the world will be an amazing place.

I know people my age are busy people. This book was written to

accommodate you. It is simple and moves quickly. Most importantly it

gives you the tools you need to create wealth and be successful.

When reading this book, bend, highlight, and destroy it with your own

thoughts and ideas.

This book is plain and simple. I am not preaching any beliefs

that lean one way or the other. I am not trying to trick you or sell you

false hope. This book is strictly how I am going to “do it” and do it big.

This book is also to help the both of us layout the grounds that we can

easily live by. Both of us are in the same ballpark. We’re both young,

let’s do it together!

-Beau Beckley

4
 Chapter 1.

Values:

No matter who you are, what you are doing or where you live,

the most important thing to do in life is to live by values. This does not

mean living them here and there, or saying that you live by them

sometimes. You must live through values in every aspect of your life.

You must have the same amount of integrity when you’re alone that

5
you would with your grandmother. This idea holds the same principle

as Karma. I guarantee that if you live by values in full, your life will

change over night. Think of it like the law of attraction. You attract

things to you that are similar. If you are good from the core out, good

things will happen. I am only 22, and I have countless examples.

The example of values that have changed my life occurred

when I founded the Colorado Creed. It was autumn of 2003, and I was

a freshman at the number one party school in the United States. Trust

me my parents were thrilled. Coming to this college was like nothing I

have ever done before in my life. I grew up in a small ski town and

here I am quickly learning the staples in life consisted of Marijuana,

Starbucks, and Prada. None of which I liked or could afford for that

matter. It was a school where the “in-state” students financially

struggled, worked nights, and drove old models of Subaru’s. This was

mixed with the “out-of-state” students who drove Range Rovers off the

show room floor and used handbags that cost more than a semester’s

tuition. My time at the University of Colorado is something that will be

in my heart for as long as I live.

Although there was this mix of students, when it was Halloween

or a football game, it didn’t matter who you were, or what your

background was. You were a member of the University plain and

simple. You were a part of a very large family. Whether you “pre-

gamed” before a football game with top-shelf liquor or passed the hat

6
to scrounge up enough money to buy a pack a beer, a high five was a

high five after a touchdown or a costume was a costume during

Halloween. You may wonder how in the world this relates to values,

but keep reading.

Seeing this interaction while becoming a member of this school

was life-changing. Getting to know new people and learning to live

more on your own during those years is something that I think we all

can and will remember. Anyway, seeing this pride in people, seeing

this sense of family with complete strangers had a powerful impact on

me. Although we’re all strangers, we were in this adventure together.

Yes we did party hard and have a good time, but everyday so many

aspects of my experience reminded me so much of family values. We

found ourselves being there for one another. We looked after each

other. When someone drank too much, we took care of them. We

taught each other how to study. We made a meal plate for someone

that wasn’t going to be back in time for dinner. These examples are

what the school stood for, not by the misbehavior of a select few. I

thought to myself, this school is an honest and good place.

Everyday in the headlining news however was “CU party

doesn’t stop! Another couch on fire…” This negative spotlight got

to me so much, I had to do something. I got so tired of having to

defend my school when I told someone that I went to the University of

Colorado. I found myself always having the conversation with others

7
of: “Oh… you go to CU… the number one party school.” It became

very bothersome to me.

Wanting to change the image of a University with around 30,000

people, I found myself having lunch with my dad. My dad was a man

who constantly pushed me in every aspect of life. Much of my success

to date is definitely because of him. Anyway, while having lunch one

day, we got on the topic of creating something that stood for the true

meaning of being a University of Colorado student. Whether it was

creating a pledge, or statement of values or whatever else crossed our

minds that day. Excited with somewhat of an idea, I hit the ground

running.

Side note: always, and I mean always keep a book with you to

write everything down. It makes life much more simple. Whether it is

someone’s phone number, or the next big idea, keep something with

you to write it all down. Okay, back to the story. I had my book with

me and wrote everything down I could think of. Words, sentences,

people to get involved, etc. Anything I could to just keep the idea

flowing. It is very good practice to do this with whatever issues you

find yourself facing. Make sure to write everything down.

When I couldn’t think of anything else to write down, I put the

book away and left it for the night. By this time it was Spring of my

freshman year. Still a freshman on campus, I had no idea in whom I

should be talking to about this idea. I figured I would start with the

8
Dean of my business school. I walked into the office and was put to a

halt by his graduate school assistant who enjoyed having the gate-

keeping power a little too much. Frustrated, I stood there able to see

the Dean sitting 15 feet away destroying a turkey sandwich on his

lunch-break. Standing there beside the graduate student I spoke up,

“look, I have an idea I want to share with him, it will only take a

second. “

“No” she replied.

I sat there frustrated with this person. Not making any progress, I sat in

the corner where she couldn’t see me and waited until she left. Once

she was gone the prize was mine. I walked up to his door and

introduced myself.

“Sir, my name is Beau Beckley and I am here to save the image of this

school.”

“Come on in, sit down.” He replied with a mouth full of helpless turkey.

Opening my book of notes I gave him the entire story of what needed

to be done to this school. After discussing the idea for a solid twenty

minutes, he said he loved it but couldn’t really help me. He gave me

the contact of the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and wished me

luck.

That night with the idea still fresh on my mind, I emailed the

Vice-Chancellor to set up a meeting. My wish granted, I met with him a

few days later. Again, I opened my book of notes and told the whole

9
story. He additionally liking the idea led to his willingness to help me

move forward. Together we gathered a few other students who wanted

to create a difference but needed a leader.

Day after day we worked in his office drafting up what this

pledge or statement should look like. The name eventually became

the Colorado Creed and it stuck ever since. After a few weeks of

drafting what the Creed should say, the final statement was ready for

the school.

The official Creed of the University of Colorado says:

Colorado Creed

As a member of the Boulder community and the University

of Colorado, I agree to:

Act with honor, integrity and accountability in my

interactions with students, faculty, staff and neighbors.

Respect the rights of others and accept our differences.

Contribute to the greater good of this community.

I will strive to uphold these principles in all aspects of my

collegiate experience and beyond.

Throughout the Creed, there are seven prominent, unassailable words.

All of which represent and cover every situation one encounters in

college as well as in life.

10
 Once we had the final draft, the Creed group, the other

wonderful students who helped draft the Creed, and I were ready to hit

the ground running. At the time we called it “the road show,” meaning

we visited and presented to every single club, fraternity, and staff

member on campus. During this road show we conducted

presentations night and day. In the beginning I had cards to help

remember what to say, but by a month into giving these presentations,

I found myself able to shine after rolling out of bed five minutes prior

with a wicked case of bed head.

We talked to these different groups on campus with what they

thought about the idea, what changes we should make and so forth.

We told them what we were planning to do with it, and how we were

going to implement it into the school. Across the board of

presentations we made, there was a solid consensus of people loving

it. Everybody was excited to see this changing of the image, giving a

fresh outlook on this wonderful place. Looking back, it was clear that

everybody had the Creed in them the whole time; they just needed

someone to take the initiative on bringing it to the table.

There was one presentation that I find worth telling you about

because for me it was one of the most nervous and embarrassing

speeches of my life. I finished class one day and was told by the Creed

group that I had to go speak to “Pan-Hel” I believe the name was. I

didn’t care, by now I did the speech a hundred times. They gave me

11
the address and I made my way over to it. Little did I know that this so

called “Pan-Hel” stood for standing in front of 120 of the most beautiful

sorority girls this school had to offer. And here I am about to give a

speech about values? I thought to myself… I am a dead man, this is

insane, and nobody told me that this was the presentation I had to

give. I paced the room. You could water a plant with how wet my

palms were from panicking.

It was time. I put my shoulders back, pushed up my sleeves and

went into the room. From there, the words just came out of my mouth.

“Hello ladies, my name is Beau Beckley and I’m single.” Completely

shocked with panic I couldn’t remember what I said. The room roared

with laughter. I joined them and was tearing from laughing so hard. In

a situation like this, I have always found it beneficial to cut the stress

and nerves we find ourselves in with laughter. Next time you are

nervous and stressed, first thing to do is to remove the tension and

nerves by cracking a joke or doing something silly. It takes away from

your ability to be confident when

you speak in public. After the

laughter died down, it was much

easier to give the speech about

the Creed and tell them what we

planned to do with it. It was a

presentation that will never be

12
forgotten.

By spring of 2004, we were installing plaques that stated the

entire Creed all over campus on prominent buildings. The seven key

words to the Creed were engraved in stone, and put into walkways all

over campus. The Creed was in every newspaper in Colorado. It even

became the official essay question to the University for prospective

high school students. Additionally, the Creed was used for two

nationally commercials promoting the school during football and

basketball games. It really flourished and became more than I ever

thought it would be.

There are a few points I want to make from this story. The first

goes back to values. To get the Creed to where it is now, took more

hard work than anything I did in college. But by believing in it and its

purpose, it didn’t matter how much work it took. In your own life, find

something that you truly believe in. Before you know it, you wont

realize how hard you have to work for it because you are passionate

and enthusiastic about what you are trying to do or trying to create.

Going back to values, what the Creed states is not just a motto. To me,

it is in my blood, my mind, and my heart with everything I do. I know

that by believing in it that much the Creed would grow on its own.

The second thing is passion. Even though I will talk about

passion much more in depth later, I am going to talk about it briefly

13
here. There was a long time when we worked on the Creed over and

over again. We did presentation after presentation and still we really

didn’t get anywhere. By being passionate, it didn’t bother me. I knew

it would take off if we told enough people, if we gave enough

presentations.

In your own life, strive to pursue things that you are passionate

about. It is okay if you don’t know, but try to find what that is and

focus your energy on it. I see too many people begin a life where they

just do the next thing that comes to them. Thinking, “oh this is what I

am supposed to do.” They don’t take the time to think about what

they are truly passionate about.

The Creed has gotten me to places and introduced me to people

I wouldn’t have without it. In fact, my first job out of college was

through a man who is now a good friend of mine. He took me under

his wing because he believed in what I did.

And last, throughout your life, no matter what your age may be,

create things that you can be proud of. One of the sole purposes for

me at least in the beginning was just to create something I could look

back on that I know I accomplished. But, do this in a way where you

don’t do for the public recognition. Do it out of your own pride,

whatever that may be. Whether that means building something in

your community to serving for a cause that you deeply care about. To

me, founding the Creed was not about recognition or padding my

14
resume. I could care less if anybody knows that an amazing group of

students and I founded the Colorado Creed. I just can’t wait to be 50

years old and able to go back seeing it still exist.

Check-List
1. Whatever situation you come across in life, approach it with
values.
2. Live through values when no one is looking.
3. Find what values mean most to you, and apply them to your
career, your friends, and your life.
4. Find what makes you passionate in life and do more of it.
5. Always have a book with you to write everything down.
6. Don’t be afraid to cut the tension with a little bit of humor.

15
 Chapter 2

Goal Setting

There are two types of people in the world. There are the ones

that set goals and go after them no matter what it takes. And the

others that say “Oh wouldn’t that be nice if that could happen.” The

proof is all around us. Do think Donald Trump has ever said to himself,

“wouldn’t that be nice if I had a lot of money. I guess it maybe could

happen.” NO. Do you think Winston Churchill ever said, “Well, maybe

we can fight back.” Or Thomas Edison, saying “I’ve tried to make a

16
light bulb but it just doesn’t work.” I could fill this book with goal

setters and non-goal setters.

The story that I will tell you in regards to goal setting involves an

investment club my colleagues and I created in college. While growing

up, I have been very lucky to surround myself with motivated and

successful people. Being surrounded by these people, it was around

Christmas time in the year 2003. I was hanging with two of my best

friends over break back at home. They both had this idea of creating

an investment club to educate people our age on investing and to

network at top universities. We looked at each other and said that’s

not big enough. Let’s create an investment club where by the end of

it, we’re hanging with Warren Buffett. We all had a good laugh, but not

doubting our selves we got straight to work.

The Goal: Create an investment club and meet Warren Buffett.

At that time, my friends both went to different Universities than the

one that I was currently attending. After that Christmas break, as we

went back to our schools, we conversed everyday. We discussed what

17
the layout should look like? How much money are we going to invest?

How are we going to get the money? What should the name be? How

many students involved? And so on. By the Spring of 2004, we

decided to take a trip to New York City.

We gathered some students at each of our schools and decided

to meet in New York to create our vision. We were fortunate enough to

gather a wonderful group of lawyers that would help us pro-bono and

we got straight to work. The name ended up being Global Platinum

Securities. The name has remained that ever since. You can see the

club for yourself at (www.gps100.com). It is now a thriving investment

club now with over 60 members and $250,000 dollars in investments.

All we did was gather bright minded students from top Universities and

give them the vision. We gathered students from U-Penn, Harvard,

Georgetown, Stanford, MIT and so forth.

Just by networking alone, we were able to take the initial

gathering of students in New York, and tour the floor of the NYSE

during trading, we even sat on the set of the Today Show while they

were filming. All of these are examples are simply setting goals,

networking with the right people and figuring out a way to make it

happen.

After that trip, we all went back to our universities and met

through instant messaging meetings, phone calls, letters, faxes, you

name it. Once we had it running we recruited more students. We tried

18
to meet twice a year in various fun locations, because we additionally

like to have a good time when we didn’t find ourselves in investment

club related meetings. Over the years, we met in San Diego, Palm

Springs, New York, Boston, Los Angles, Vail, Orange County and so

forth. You might be thinking that there were quite a few times that we

met in California. But to answer that, the weather was always good

out there, why not?

We learned a lot about investing with this club, and we learned a

lot about ourselves. We made mistake after mistake, but learned from

them. For some, the investment club taught them how to tie a tie. For

others it was how to use the Bloomberg machine. But all in all we

learned how to be much more professional at our age. And we learned

the power of setting goals and going after them.

Two years going by, it was the summer of 2006. Now having

these two years of learning and building, the group was proud of their

accomplishments. We thought it was time now to write Mr. Buffett as

letter. A couple of weeks went by and we heard back.

Dear GPS,

I would be delighted to meet, come to Omaha, Nebraska.

Warren

I remember it like it was yesterday. That summer working in Los

Angeles, I got the call.

19
“Beau! Pack your bags, we’re going to meet the Buffett.”

I stood up and shouted at my little desk at this marketing firm I was

working at, at the time. Everyone looked at me wondering; What’s his

problem is Monday?. Racing up stairs to inform my boss that time off

was needed for a long weekend, I couldn’t wait to tell her the excuse.

I charged into her office out of breath. “ I need Thursday and Friday off

this week.”

“What for?” she replied

“Oh nothing really, this investment club that I helped create just got

invited to go hang with Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska.”

Her eyes now the size of golf balls replied “Oh my, my intern is going

to meet Buffett. He is now too good for me.” Smiling that gave the

gesture of approval.

By Thursday night, the GPS group was assembling at the Holiday

Inn in Omaha. All extremely excited, hugging and shaking hands we

couldn’t wait until the next morning.

The next morning we had a 90-minutes sit down Q & A with

Warren Buffett. That day, there was only our group and Mr. Buffett. No

security, no entourage and no assistant. To this day, people ask me all

the time about what he said. To be honest, I reply with: “I have no clue

what he said.” In fact, I don’t remember anything. All I remember is

sitting there in complete silence. Not hearing anything at all, other

than my own breath and heartbeat. Thinking to myself. We did it. We

20
are sitting with the man right now as if we were hanging out with our

grandfather who had a sense of humor.

There are people who have worked on Wall Street for over forty

years and never met the man. There I was 21 years old, sharing this

experience with thirty other 21 year olds listening to advice, stories,

and humor. It was surreal.

None of these stories are to boast about my accomplishments in

anyway. They are strictly examples of how and what I believe can

happen. The point of this story, is that anything is possible. I want

you to stop reading for a second, close your eyes and say back to

yourself. “Anything is possible.” But you must go after it. I know

you have goals in your life. Everybody has goals, but you must go

after them. You must believe it can happen. If you believe in

something, I guarantee it will come true. If you believe in it happening,

you will not stop until you have it.

Check-List
1. Set goals for yourself: Short, mid, and long-term goals.

2. Start with small goals to accomplish.

3. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving them.

4. Celebrate when you do achieve your goals, but move on

to bigger and better ones promptly.

21
 Chapter 3.

Networking is EVERYTHING

Grades do not matter. Let me repeat myself. Grades DO. NOT.

MATTER. On the contrary, I am not saying don’t blow off school and

stop studying. Education is one of the greatest gifts in the world. One

should never stop their pursuit of education. However don’t spend

your time worrying about not having perfect grades. In life, it’s not the

only thing that defines who you are.

When you look at a lot of great people in this world who have

done magnificent things in their lives, you will find that a majority of

them didn’t go very far in school. To list a few, you might know a guy

who dabbled in computers named Bill Gates. He dropped out of

Harvard. Or, how about a director who has made a plethora of comical

movies named Woody Allen? He was in fact thrown out of film school.

Maybe you have heard of Richard Branson who founded Virgin this and

22
Virgin that. He left school at the age of 16. Or how about Indiana

Jones? Harrison Ford didn’t finish school either being a carpenter for 10

years before his movie career took off. There once was a writer named

Mark Twain who didn’t even go past the fifth grade. Additionally that

guy who made movies like Jurassic Park? Steven Spielberg was

rejected from the best film schools and later dropped out of one

anyways. These examples are not to tell you to do the same, however

it goes to show that we as individuals stand for more than what we can

produce on a report card. In life, it is what you bring to the table

that counts.

Life is way too short to not go after your dreams. Many of us get

stuck in a world where we are doing things that make us unhappy, but

we are doing them because of the expectations of others. A lot of us,

including myself have been in job situations where we’re unhappy in

what we’re doing, but we’re doing it because we feel stuck. Whether

its because we need the next paycheck for rent, or we are afraid to

speak up to our boss and be frank with them, and tell them that we

don’t agree with what we’re doing. If you think about those names

mentioned, there is a solid theme to them. The theme is that every

one of them didn’t care what others thought. They didn’t do what

others told them to do if they didn’t believe in it. They didn’t feel

obligated to impress anybody with grades or any other achievement.

They all knew what they wanted and they went after it knowing that

23
there was nothing in their way to keep them from achieving their goals

and dreams.

Take a second to think about those people. While thinking about

them, spend time in your life focusing on what you want to do and

build your network and mentality just like the individuals listed above.

As long as you are true to yourself and you treat others with respect,

honesty, integrity and accountability the only person you have to

impress is you. Don’t spend your life trying to live up to your parents

or friends or employers. If you don’t agree with what you are doing,

don’t do it, speak up. If you want to go to graduate school, GO! But go

because you want to. If you want to drop out of college to pursue

something, do it, but don’t do it to be lazy or un-motivated. If you are

passionate about something go for it. If you want to travel, save up

some money and go. The only person that can really tell you that you

can’t do something in life is yourself. The cool thing about that, is that

you can decide if you will let that happen.

The examples of people who have done great things above don’t

all relate directly back to networking, however the majority of where

they are now does. I took the SAT’s twice and didn’t even break 1000.

The second time my score even went down. But do you think that was

crossing my mind as I was sitting with Warren Buffett? No! (Reference

to chapter where my friends and I met with Warren Buffett

through the investment club we created. Chapter 2 “Setting

24
Goals”)

About 90% of the things that I have been involved with, I

continue to be involved with and will be involved with for a long time,

are all part of the network I have made for myself over the years. I

have spent my entire life surrounding myself with the right people. All

of us know in our own lives the people we know who are going places.

Get to know them. Become their friend. Become one of them. But, be

yourself no matter what. If you can’t be yourself with them, they are

not the right people.

I have many friends that I surround myself with, who are already

very wealthy, but it doesn’t bother me being myself. It is important to

surround yourself with people who push you and make you better,

rather than the ones who bring us all down to their level. Learn from

them. Do anything you can to get to the same level. This doesn’t

mean financially, it means knowledge wise, vision wise and goal-

oriented wise.

I have always stated, “I’m not that smart, I’m just smart enough

to get smarter people to do it.” It is important when networking to

give people a vision. When giving people the vision, and inspiration to

create, the magic will automatically happen. Additionally, when

networking, there is more to it than just meeting people for yourself.

Understand the power of putting the right people together. Let’s say

there are two individuals who are doing great things. And currently

25
neither one of them can benefit you, but you know by putting those

two people together, they have the opportunity to create the magic.

Who knows, down the road the two of them that you put together will

come back to help you when the time is right. It is very important to

put the right people together. When you do this, the ideas and

outcomes will automatically happen.

I had several classes in college with a very good friend of mine.

Seeing a lot of potential in him, I didn’t want to see him graduate and

not have the opportunity he deserved in the world of finance.

Believing in him and seeing tremendous potential, I wanted to make

sure I did everything I could to network and help him. I saw the

opportunity to network for him and not myself. I introduced him to a

colleague of mine who was the main founder in the investment club we

created. I knew that is was the right thing to do to get my friend

involved with my friend and the investment club.

The friend of mine who created the investment club was actually

coming to town in the following weeks for a Snoop Dogg concert of all

things. That’s not related to finance, that’s a different time, different

place kind of story if you catch my drift. Anyway, when he came to

town, I made the connection between the two of them. My friend

interviewed wonderfully for the investment club and really shined.

Today they are roommates in New York City and they both are excelling

at JP Morgan.

26
 Now, helping those two connect didn’t get me anywhere

personally, but my point with this story is that when you see other

potential beyond yourself in putting people together, it is very

important to do so. On my end, I couldn’t be happier with how that

worked out. The satisfaction I got was the good feeling that I helped

my friend get to a level that pushes his full potential.

When you network, network with an assortment of all ages.

Don’t just network with people your age, network with adults. Network

with people our grandparent’s age to networking with people who are

younger than us. It is important to build it as large as you can. Some

people in your network might strictly be there for advice and wisdom,

while some people in your network you know you may want to work

with down the road. Whatever their role may be, it is important to

have them.

Right now, regardless of your job, location, or status, I want you

to build your own Board of Directors. People always think that you

need to be a part of a gigantic corporation to have a board of directors.

That is as far from the truth as it gets. About a year ago, I put together

a team of people that I look up to, respect, enjoy, love, and envy. I told

each and every one of them that I want them on my board of directors.

You would be surprised at their reaction. All of them in fact, felt

honored to be on such a board. The board consists of my parents,

friends, teachers and others that I feel are beneficial to my life.

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 The Board of Directors you create, have many roles. The Board’s

role is for advice, mentoring, questions, you name it. The Board helps

you see progress. When you have a Board looking after you, it gives

you that many more people cheering you on to succeed. It helps boost

confidence. When you have a Board, you are already that much closer

to your goals. Don’t be afraid to ask teachers, friends or whomever

you believe would be good for your own Board of Directors.

Additionally, make sure to keep in touch with everybody. It

always happens to be the person you least expect to help you in a time

of need. This is not a difficult task either. All it takes is a phone call or

an e-mail checking in, catching up, and so forth. Practicing the art of

keeping in touch with people keeps you on their minds. When

something happens and they need someone, you are much further up

the list than someone who hasn’t. This brings up one of the world’s

simplest acts one can do that is largely overlooked and not practiced.

And that is the art of writing a thank you letter.

Thank you Letters

The most important thing you can do in any situation is to write a

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thank you letter. Think about it for just one second. Do you think

anybody in the history of the world has ever said: “Man, I wish I didn’t

send that thank you letter?” No! This might seem like a “No brainer,”

but you would be surprised how many people, still to this day, do not

understand the simplicity, yet necessity, of writing one. Plain and

simple: Thank you letters show effort, and effort gets you

places. It does not matter the scenario. If you meet with someone,

send them a thank you letter. If you work for someone, send them a

thank you letter. If you interview for a job, send them a thank you

letter. If you happen to get into an argument with someone, send

them a thank you letter. There are too many times in my life where I

have been remembered solely by sending a thank you letter. A thank

you letter can be as simple as:

Dear Mr. Smith,

Thank you for lunch the other day.

Even a simple letter on a hand written note just like the example above

will go much further than you ever thought possible. Although living in

a technological world, people will always love receiving a hand written

letter. There are times when I can’t stand email, but the thought of

opening or sending a real letter with postage makes me feel good. I

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promise this feeling will be the same for you.

The last lesson on networking is the practice of being extremely

polite to the gatekeepers of the world. The gatekeepers are the

assistants, the doormen, the secretaries and the right hand people of

the world. They are the ones with the real power. These are very

important people. Employers don’t have them hanging around for no

reason. They have an important role to perform. In fact, these

positions and the people who do them are no different than you and I.

A lot of the time they are the ones who work the hardest, work the

longest hours, and get the most done. Their role helps the boss or the

president accomplish more than they can do alone. They are nothing

more than an extension to the leader.

By being rude to the gatekeepers you will find yourself getting

nowhere. By looking down on them thinking you are better, you are

wrong. The majority of the time, you can actually get what you need

from being close with them while not even knowing the lead person.

The gatekeepers are a vital resource in getting what you need done.

Never think you are better than a gatekeeper.

Check-List
1. Network with EVERYBODY – Get their contact, get to
know them, keep in touch
2. Build your own Board of Directors – Friends, family,

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 teachers, mentors
3. Do what you do because YOU want to be doing it. –
Travel, go to graduate school, leave a depressing job.
4. Write a Thank You letter for EVERY situation
5. Be polite to the gatekeepers of the world.

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 Chapter 4

Humor

One of my biggest idols is George Clooney. Not for his celebrity

status, or repertoire of movies, but rather his ability to prank people

and have a sense of humor. There is nothing like the tears of laughter

when you prank someone so well, people talk about it for years.

George Clooney once had a friend staying with him so the story

goes. His friend had a tiny cat that was living with him at the time.

Everyday, for three days, George would sneak into the bathroom where

the litter box was and scoop the kitty poop out and flush it down the

toilet. By the time the friend would check the litter box, there was

never any kitty poop. This went on for a few days. The friend finally

took the cat to the doctor and got kitty Ex-lax. Later that day, George

again scooped the poop out and dropped one himself into the litter

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box. When his friend got there, all you could hear was “Good God

Kitty!!”

Whatever you are doing, whether it is school, or a job or at

home, there is always room for as sense of humor. Having a sense of

humor is one of the best and healthiest things you can do for yourself,

and the ones around you. Laughter is one of the healthiest things one

can do to their body. Don’t be afraid to be goofy or silly. Learn to

laugh and to make others laugh.

In life, with all the things I have done, I have tried to put humor

into them. Telling 120 sorority girls I’m single or pulling a prank on a

friend of mine are all examples of bringing humor to the table. I

guarantee that you will find yourself getting further in life by have fun

with whatever you are doing. There are and will be times in your life

when stress levels are high, and you might not be enjoying what you

are doing. Bringing humor into the equation will not only help. It will

help you get through whatever situation you are in much easier.

In addition to humor, don’t take anything too seriously.

Especially now in your life of being in college or just out, or first job or

whatever you may be in. There are many things that we find ourselves

getting too stressed over. Next time this happens, step back and

remember to enjoy life and not worry about the small things that

sometimes get to us.

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 Laughter

Beyond humor comes the exercise of laughter. Yes, you heard

me correct. Laughter can be one of the best forms of exercise in the

world. Laughter can do everything from work muscles all over the

body to increasing the blood circulation. A good laugh can stimulate

the body and have the same outcome as an aerobic exercise. During

laughter one is expanding their lung capacity as well. It is also known

to be a good form of cardiac exercise.

We all know and love that experience and somewhat pain in our

cheeks or pain in our stomach after a good laugh. That is nothing but

muscles in our body at work. When you laugh, you are lowering your

stress levels, anxiety and everything else that can bother us in our day

to day lives. Next time you have a really good laugh, remember how

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you feel right afterwards. Remember that feeling of not stressing

about anything, or not worrying about anything. You are solely focused

on that pain in your cheeks or trying to keep your food down because

you’ve shaken your stomach so hard. In fact, check your heartbeat.

You will be amazed on how fast it is beating even after a short laugh. If

you can feel that sensation everyday of your life, you can stop reading

now. If not, try to everyday. Try to spend fifteen minutes a day

laughing as hard as you can. It might sound silly, but the ones who

are, are already much healthier than you and I.

The following story is a perfect example of what I mean in not

taking life too seriously. I hope this story makes you laugh, if anything

I hope it makes you at least crack a smile. The following story is one of

many that have happened to me over my lifetime. It is one of those

stories where we get into a funny situation, and there is nothing we

can do to avoid it, or get out of it at that moment. This story is about

being a young man and not being very good at the art of buying

condoms.

It was 8’oclock in the morning and I just finished a good workout

at the gym. Before work I decided to grab some things I needed at the

local grocery store. Just being done with the gym, I grabbed a sports

drink, a muffin and some other things that my roommates and I

needed at the house. I decided that I would pick up a box of condoms

while I was at it.

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 Still a bit timid to buy them yet confident in using them, I put a

box into my grocery basket and made my way to the check out. Being

that early in the morning there was only one register open with a line

of people already waiting to check out. A bit nervous, I made my way

to the self-check-out to use the self-automated machine. I knew the

machine didn’t care what I bought as long as “I placed the next item in

the bag” while being asked, “do you have any coupons?”

Feeling a bit of a high from a great workout, I decided to push my

comfort zone a little bit and do the entire self-check-out in Spanish. I

took Spanish in high school and I thought to myself, I have done this a

million times in English, how hard could checking out in Spanish be?

Everything went as smooth as silk. I didn’t know a single thing

the machine said to me, however I could figure out when to scan the

next item and so forth. I saved the condoms last to make a quick scan

to place right into the bag. When it was time to scan the condoms, I

made the same gesture I did with the preceding 6 or so items. Moving

my hand across the scanning laser with the box of condoms, the

machine started speaking much more Spanish than it did for any of the

previous items. Starting to panic, I tried to scan them again to move

on with my life. Again the machine started speaking a lot more

Spanish than I was accustomed to. By now there was a line of people

building up behind me curious that this machine was going off in

Spanish, and here I am a 6ft. 8inch white guy looking as if I’ve never

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been so lost in my life with a box of condoms in my hand.

The machine gathered the attention of a worker close by.

Coming over to help, he was first asking me why I was doing it in

Spanish? I told him that I didn’t think there would be a problem. With

12 people now behind me, the employee could not understand what

the machine was saying either. Being early in the morning, there was

only one employee that spoke Spanish. The employee that was with

me, proceeded to use the grocery store intercom to locate the bi-

lingual employee to help with this situation. By now, everyone knew

what I was trying to buy, and on the verge of laughing because I was

being yelled at in Spanish by this machine with my face now as red as

an apple.

The bi-lingual employee came to the rescue and discovered that

the box of condoms was not registered in the system with its current

bar code. It had to be manually typed in. With that problem figured

out, we cancelled my whole Spanish experience, leaving me to re-scan

all my items in English with everybody now waiting, staring and

laughing at me. I scanned the condom’s which everybody was waiting

for, seeing that the scan worked this time, the 15 people now behind

me started cheering me on as I grabbed the receipt and like Elvis, left

the building.

It was one of the most embarrassing stories I have ever gotten

myself into. I am confident that we can all related to those situations

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we find ourselves in where there is nothing we can do to avoid the

situation. Why things like this happen to us, we may never know. But

the great thing about life is the humor that does come our way. When

things like this happen to all of us, although stressful, embarrassing,

sometimes horrible, there is nothing worth more than the ability to just

laugh at it. From here on out, when you find yourself in situations like

this, enjoy it and be strong enough to just laugh about it.

Check-List

38
 Chapter 5

Become a good Writer

My entire life I have been criticized of my writing. One of the

reasons I am writing this book is for the process to become a better

writer. In life, no matter what you find yourself doing, I guarantee

there will be times when writing is involved. Whether it is an email,

letters, books, articles, there will be times when you are asked to write.

It is important to understand that your writing is a reflection of

you. From now on, it is important to think of your writing as a

representation of you. You would never go to a job interview with an

un-ironed shirt would you? This is no different than sending a poorly

written document to someone no matter what the occasion. Other

than values, becoming a good writer will help you go much further in

life.

I had a conversation the other day with a good friend of mine

who is a real estate multi-millionaire. We were on the conversation or

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writing over dinner. I remember him telling me that they hired a really

sharp kid straight out of college. Unfortunately for the guy who was

just hired, he was let go a couple of months later strictly because he

was a terrible writer. Although he was very smart, he could not

communicate through writing. In this day and age with e-mail, letters,

phones, and all the ways we have to communicate with one another, it

is very important in being a good writer. To become a good writer, take

a class, learn from others, and accept good criticism. But never take it

personally; don’t let the fault of bad writing keep you from achieving

greatness.

The best way I have found my writing to improve over time is

through reading. And by reading, I mean reading everything. Some of

the smartest people I have ever encountered in life are people that

didn’t even go to college. Although they never went to college, they

were always reading something. Reading everything from national

newspapers, foreign newspapers, small local newspapers, classic

books, new books, old books, foreign books, local books, news

magazines, art books and more.

All of this reading is extremely healthy to the brain. One must

look past this as just boring reading but rather expanding and

exercising the brain. When you read, you are building, stretching and

strengthening your brain. Most importantly, you are creating a larger

capacity to think. When you create a mind with a plethora of

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knowledge, your ability to think and understand situations will grow

exponentially.

We live in a world where there are too many distractions;

television, video games, the Internet and more. All of which I know we

all love and enjoy, but not bettering us as a human beings. We also

live a faster life than any other generation. The pace of reading is slow

to anything else that we do. It is important however to discipline

ourselves, slow our lives down, and dedicate time to read. In fact,

reading now will put you even more to an advantage because hardly

anybody does anymore. From now on, make it a goal to read. You

should be reading everyday. Set goals for yourself. Start with small

books. Then read a book you think you will never finish. Doing this will

boost your confidence.

Check-List

41
 Chapter 6

Details are EVERYTHING

It was summer of 2005. It was the summer of my first internship

in the music business. I drove out to Los Angeles with my girlfriend at

the time with $12 dollars remaining in my bank account from just

finishing my sophomore year of college. Heading to California with

only $12 bucks was very scary. My girlfriend dropped me off at my

uncle’s house in southern California where she continued onto San

Francisco, which is where she was from. I stayed there for a couple of

days to get situated before I moved in with my buddies downtown.

My living situation that summer was very interesting. I lived with

two friends of mine, one of which had a great aunt who lived downtown

with room for us during the summer. This was not your normal great

aunt either. She was 78 years old, Brazilian and 4 feet 5 inches tall.

That summer, my two friends and I all shared a room, sleeping on the

floor on air mattresses. The old lady being from a different generation

and custom to life from us would cook a meal every night that would

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rival The White House Thanksgiving. Not having anything else to do

to fill her time during the day, she couldn’t be happier preparing meals

that I will never forget. Many nights we felt bad for all the effort she

put in, but we let her do it because one could tell that she enjoyed our

company and loved cooking. Sadly she is no longer with us, however

strongly prominent in our hearts and memories.

With good fortune that summer, I was able to work for my uncle.

That summer he was the Executive Producer of the Global concert

called Live 8. Talk about a change from what I was use to. I grew up in

Colorado and here I am getting on the bus in the morning on Wilshire

Boulevard where the locals are selling Mexican Tamales, then getting

off on the same street twenty minutes later at the Lamborghini

dealership. Talk about a change in scenery. That summer, I became a

PA, a production assistant. I worked with many top music executives

including the Emmy-Award winning producer Kevin Wall who produced

Live Earth as well as many other large events.

During that summer, the most important thing I learned really

had nothing to do with the music business. What I learned that

summer was the importance of details. I want you to make sure that

you understand that “details are EVERYTHING.” Through out the

course of that job, we worked in Los Angeles for a good month or two

prior to the show. The week before the show, we transported the team

to various concert locations around the world. Some of us went to

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London, some to Germany, Some to Asia and so forth. My concert

location was in Philadelphia. The concert took place on the Benjamin

Franklin Parkway. The stage was in front of the steps where the famous

Rocky movie scene took place with Selvester Stalone ran around in a

gray sweat suit to the song Eye of the Tiger. During my time on this

gig as it is referred to in the music business, my boss was a very strict

man, but strict through love being my uncle. He was very hard on me

because he wanted me to excel. That summer he would get on me

about every little mistake I made. Whether I misspelled a word in an

email or was five minutes late, he would ride me hard into guilt. Not to

put me down, but to make me better. That summer I learned the

importance of doing everything right and that details are everything.

Anybody can get a job done. Anybody can do a good job, or

even a great job and think that’s all they need to do. But to excel, to

be the best, to be the Tiger Woods of golf, or the Lance Armstrong of

cycling, it is all in the details. Whatever goals your own are, or own

aspirations, make sure to be the best by focusing on the details. Know

that when you finish something, you couldn’t have done it any better.

Whether you find your self on a school project, your first job, or any

task, focus on the details. When you finish, look back on how you can

make it better. The difference between good and great are in

the details.

Figure it out

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Draw 4 straight lines through all the dots without lifting the

pen or pencil. (answer on next page).

Now that you know how that works. I want you to use this example in

your life on how there are always ways in figuring out the solution to

the problems we encounter. You must think outside the box!

Additionally to learning that details are everything, my uncle

taught me one other value that I practice everyday. It is the ability to

“figure it out.” About 90% of the things that I have involved myself in,

I have no idea what I am doing. When I worked for my uncle on Live 8,

I was scared to death on many of the tasks that I had to do. I had to

call talent agencies, deal with managers, and uptight producers. I had

to run errands to dealing with stage construction crew. During most of

these tasks, I really had no idea what I was doing yet I learned how to

do the task quickly and never showed that I wasn’t capable of

accomplishing the task.

When I would go to my uncle for help, many times he

would shut me down pushing me to figure out the problem,

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ANSWER
and figure out how to solve it. Frustrated with him many times, I knew

that he was only doing it for my own good. Getting better at not

bothering him on every little task, I quickly became more confident in

my business acumen, calling different people, working on different

projects or being able to handle whatever problem or task came my

way. Learning this valuable tool has helped me from that day forward.

For the next two years of college, I found myself getting better grades.

For the first time, when I was assigned a project, I took the time to

figure out how to succeed rather than panic right away because I didn’t

know what to do.

With this tool, I was able to take on more difficult school projects

as well as create more work for myself outside of school to make extra

money. During my job outside of school, there were countless times

when I said yes to a job clearly not knowing what it entailed, yet for

me, it meant more work and more spending money. By senior year in

college I created a full time job strictly on the basis that I was capable

of figuring things out on my own.

When we are in a situation where our boss asks us to do

something, there are many employees who will drive them crazy,

bothering them on the steps of how to do something. With the speed

of the world we live in, nothing appeals more to a co-worker or boss if

they can assign you a task and you have the capability to complete it

perfectly on your own. Employers do not like, nor have the time to

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micro-manage; meaning constantly having to show every step of a

process or task happens. The ability to figure things out will help you

stand out and make yourself worthy of holding whatever position you

find yourself in.

During the first job out of college, I was assigned to help a non-

profit organization in Denver figure out a way to host a global concert

in Costa Rica. I got this job based on networking and my recently

learned skills I developed from my experience with Live 8. Starting

with day one, there were many things that I had no clue on. But my

ability to learn quickly and figure out solutions helped me succeed with

my research and presentation I had to present for my boss in the

following weeks.

Whatever situation you find yourself in, practice the ability to

figure out the solution. When your boss or co-worker, or classmate

asks you to do something, even if you have no idea what to do, do not

panic. Do not show fear, show the confidence that you have the ability

to figure it out. You will not only make yourself much more needed,

you will open doors to bigger and better projects and tasks. Next time

you find yourself frustrated with an unfamiliar task you have been

assigned, figure out a way on how to create it or learn it or know how

to do it. Don’t bother your boss or friend on every little issue. It will

only show weakness, and that will only bring you a weaker sense of

trust and reliability from the one who’s asking something of you. Have

47
the confidence to take the next task and figure it out.

Check-List

48
 Chapter 7

Push your Comfort Zone

When I was young, I understood the fact that I was going to be rather

tall. I remember my doctor reminding me at every office visit I went

to. It was the doctor visit we as boys, all feared because they made us

“cough.” But it was never the coughing part we were timid of.

Anyway, at every visit my doctor stressed the necessity to stretch

because of my extra height.

“Beau, you’re going to be a slouchy old man if you don’t become

flexible.” Was the saying I got used to hearing.

I was a freshman in high school and it was fall soccer season. I

decided to finally listen to the Doctor and start stretching. When I

started that year I could barely touch my shin with the tip of my middle

finger, wishing I could stop stretching and show the Doc my middle

finger instead. Stretching was the most uncomfortable painful thing I

had ever experienced. My mind would tell me things like: Why stretch,

being a slouchy old man won’t be that bad. At least you’re not in pain

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that way. However being goal oriented, I made a goal to touch my toes

by the end of the season.

Everyday before practice my friends would be kicking the ball

and messing around on the soccer field, while I was on the side being

laughed at, shacking in pain with stretching. As time went on, I

learned how to stretch and warm up better every time, although time

after time it was still extremely uncomfortable and painful. As the

soccer season went on, I could start to see a difference. I found myself

noticing things like: today my finger touched a freckle further down my

leg. Once that happened, that whole week I would push myself to go

to that freckle. A week later, I could go past that freckle. I just kept

disciplining and going out of my comfort zone everyday to stretch.

Being 23 now, I am 6 feet 8 inches tall and I can touch my nose

to my knee. I am now obsessed with stretching. I will be in a store like

Pottery Barn or Costco and just bust out in full Yoga doing downward

dog in the cereal isle. My friends or mom, or whoever is with me will

stare at me with the thought fresh on their mind saying to themselves:

“What in the hell is he doing?” My friends have actually been

accustomed now for me to be stretching my calves in public places.

I have stretched so much since the beginning of high school that

it has become a part of me. I don’t feel well anymore unless I get at

least ten minutes a day in. I get very antsy now if I don’t stretch.

Being flexible is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

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 Although the point of my story really has nothing to do with

stretching, the point is more related to the journey of stretching. For a

long time, even years, stretching was very painful and I didn’t enjoy it.

Although I knew that it would get better and I would slowly move

further down my leg. The point is that I constantly pushed myself out

of my comfort zone. Everyday, I left my state of comfort and put

myself in pain, a good pain, not over doing it. By putting myself out

there, I slowly could reach further. Again I went out of my comfort

zone and reached a little further. Eventually, still in pain however I

touched the toe.

This constant escape from my comfort zone made stretching

become a part of my life. I now feel uncomfortable if I don’t do it. It is

very important however, to understand that going outside of your

comfort zone doesn’t have to be pain related or stretching. Going out

of your comfort zone can mean anything, but it is important to do so.

The majority of people that I have encountered don’t leave their

comfort zone ever. And when you look at their lives, they may be

comfortable, but very boring and very small.

When I was young, or younger than I am now around 9 or 10

years old, my father taught me two of the most important lessons that

I carry with me every day. The two consist of 1) a firm hand shake,

and 2) looking people in the eye. I cannot tell you how important

those two lessons are in being successful in everything we encounter

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in our lives. For the rest of your life, make sure, regardless of the

situation, you have a firm handshake every time and you look someone

directly in the eye when you meet them or when you’re having a

conversation.

When I was 9 or 10 years old, my father had a job that involved

mingling with many adults at events and dinners and so forth. While

mingling with adults as part of his job, he was always very good about

bringing me with him. At these functions, he would push me into the

room and tell me to go introduce myself. Being shy, I would try to leap

and hide behind the first chair or table I could find. Pushing my

comfort zone however, I started to introduce myself with a firm

handshake while looking people directly in the eye. By the time we

would leave due to the fact that I still had a bedtime, I would be

standing like James Dean owning the moment and making

people laugh as if I had invited them to the party.

Although these are silly examples of pushing your

comfort zone, it is important to do it e everyday. What ever

that may be. Take on a project that scares you. Introduce

yourself to that person that makes you shy. Walk into that

job interview as if you’ve already landed the job. Try and run a mile

faster than your best time. Go a little faster on your bike. You have

absolutely nothing to loose in doing this. Pushing your comfort zone

only makes what you are comfortable with larger. Push yourself

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constantly. All you are doing is helping yourself grow. You will be able

to take on bigger projects, meet bigger people, and have more

confidence.

Check-List

53
 Chapter 8

Practice

“Similar to the example of stretching, I found that things in my

life that I am good at are all things I have done over and over and

over again.”

“The More I practice, the luckier I get.” - Gary Player – a

legendary pro golfer.

William Warren “Bill” Bradley, born July 28, 1943 is an All

American hall of fame basketball player. In addition to

basketball, he was a Rhodes Scholar and former U.S.

Senator from New Jersey. On top of all this, he spent his

youth becoming an Eagle Scout and recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. All in all, Bill Bradley is a

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hero of mine. What makes Mr. Bradley a hero of mine was and is his

discipline and ability to practice.

During Bradley’s days in high school basketball, he worked on

the court for three and a half hours everyday after school. He spent

Saturday’s practicing from nine to five, and one-thirty to five on

Sundays. During the summer months, he practiced around three hours

every day.

To some that may seem a little over the top with alternatives

today like video games and hanging out at the hot spot, but Bradley

had a passion. And that passion was basketball. Bradley was

determined to be the best. He knew that if he shot over and over, and

dribbled down the court over and over, he would be better than any

one of his opponents. Bradley would shoot free throw after free throw.

In fact, as a freshman, Bradley made 57 successive free throws. This

record surpassed any other player, college or professional. During

sophomore year, he led his league in points, field goals, free throws,

rebounds, ending his college career with a standing ovation when he

was fouled out after having 40 points in an NCAA tournament game

against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia.

It doesn’t matter if you can relate to the game

of basketball or not, the point was his ability to

practice. Bill Bradley wanted to be the best. He knew

he could be by practicing longer and harder than

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anybody else. Whatever it is in your own life that you want to be good

at a job or a sport, whether it’s skateboarding, learning to play the

guitar, public speaking, you can do it with practice. To get there, you

must discipline yourself to do it over and over again.

“The Great One,” born January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario

played hockey. His parents giving him the name of Wayne Douglas

Gretzky, he became one the greatest athletes of all time. During his

time on the ice, Gretzky set 40 regular season records, 15 playoff

records, 6 All Star records, 9 MVP awards, 10 scoring records, and won

four Stanley Cups. He is the only player ever to total more than 200

points in a single season. Not only that, he accomplished that goal

four times in his professional career.

Much of Gretzky’s success like Bradley’s is attributed to the

amount of time he practiced. Gretzky was notorious for practicing 4-5

hours a day. Countless times he would stay after the rest of the team

was gone. He would practice flipping puck after puck into specific

locations in the net. When he found himself in a game, he could hit the

smallest of holes through the goalie or make the most impossible of

shots. His confidence was with him because of the time he spent

practicing; he could make the impossible shots because for him, they

were not impossible, he had practiced them over and over again when

no one else was around.

I am confident in knowing there is something in your life that you

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want to be good at. Hopefully, you want to be the best at it. I promise

you that whatever that is, practice is and learn to do it over and over

again. Whether it is training for a sport, studying for an exam, or

learning a new topic in your life, be the last to leave the gym, the last

to leave the library, or the last to leave the office. If it’s public

speaking, give more public speeches, if it’s skateboarding, get back on

the skateboard and try it again. Whatever it is, do it again.

“The pros do the basics well everyday.” - Vince Lombardi

Visualization

An important part of practicing is to have the ability to visualize

what you are about to do. Although many of my examples are athletic

related, practicing and visualization can and should be used for

everything. Whether you are lined up to kick a field goal or going to

give a presentation, visualize how it will go and come about. Visualize

yourself being successful at it and then commit to it with everything

you have. If you know you have to compete or present, spend time

beforehand thinking about the situation.

When you visualize about something that you do, you will be

much more confident and ready with it is your time to shine. If will be

as if it wasn’t the first time because you have already been in the

moment and are ready for what to expect.

In sports, the greats like Michael Jordan would visualize the shot going

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in before the ball even left his hand. Many times, once the ball did, it

would go in shot like he imagined it would. Jordan was in the moment

because he saw the entire shot in his head before it was even taken.

This same mentality and practice of visualization should be practiced

and encouraged no matter what the situation is. Whether we are

Jordan or preparing for a job interview, visualize yourself being

successful at it and then commit full force.

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 Chapter 9

Failure

He lost his job and was defeated for legislature in 1832. He

failed in business in 1833. His sweetheart died in 1835. He had a

nervous breakdown in 1836. He was defeated as speaker in 1838. He

was defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843. He lost re-

nomination in 1848. He was defeated for Senate in 1854. He was

defeated for Vice-President in 1856. He was defeated again for Senate

in 1858. You might know him better as the 16th President of the United

States, a man to most scholars as one of the top U.S.

Presidents in the history of the United States. His name was

Abraham Lincoln and he was a remarkable man. Most people

don’t know the struggle and failures he encountered throughout his

life. When you look back on Lincoln’s life you learn how extraordinary

the man actually was. Not only did he succeed as one of the greatest

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U.S. President’s in history, his accomplishments came in one of the

most broken times the United States had ever faced. With civil war

and slavery on his plate, Lincoln had a vision. He believed that things

would get better, that he would succeed. It didn’t matter how many

times he had failed.

In life we all fail. In fact, we fail so much; it is worth saying it

again. We… All… Fail… That being said, know that failing is okay, not

only is it okay, it is perfectly normal. Failure is a part of life. However,

to make failure okay, you must be able to get back up. One must

“believe in themselves” to try it again. It is important to think of

failure as only the postponement of success.

Every successful person that you look up to in your own life has

failed. But we idolize them because of their achievements. They were

strong enough to get back up. In their minds, they knew that nothing

was going to stop them from getting to where they are now.

A perfectly good example is Michael Jordan. Jordan has gone

down in history as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Did you

know he was cut from his high school basketball team? Do you think

that was going to stop him from going for the glory? Not a chance,

Jordan wasn’t going to give up. Look at how we see him now, a

superstar. And he will remain that way.

Winston Churchill once said:

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“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue

that counts.”

In life, don’t be afraid to fail. A lot of times when you are in a situation,

where you might fail, you are pushing your comfort zone. You are

going above and beyond what you are comfortable with. When you

fail, you will only become stronger next time you attempt that goal.

Failure is nothing but a learning and building process.

Most people today know Donald Trump for three reasons. 1) He

is very wealthy, 2) he is known for the saying “You’re fired,” and 3) his

hair being real is a debate that will never end. What a lot of people

don’t know though, is that a few years ago, Trump almost lost

everything. He was failing big time. In fact, his level of failure was into

the billion-dollar range of debt. Talk about not being able to sleep at

night. Today however, he is looked at as an idol to millions. He is an

idol of mine. Today, he is a very happily married, wealthy, successful

businessman and celebrity. His ability to overcome failure, to learn

from failure, and to get back up is why he is back on top, and will

remain on top.

Whether you like Trump or not, there is much to learn from him.

He is a man of perseverance. Regardless of your goals or the life you

want to live, learn perseverance. Perseverance is the ability to stay on

track despite difficulty or delay towards a goal you want to achieve is

critical. Don’t let failure get in the way of what you want to do. The

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only way your dreams and goals will come to you is if you keep going

after them. I promise you that if you spend your entire life going after

your dreams and goals, you will have lived a more fulfilled life than

accepting failure. A lot of life is a mind game. You must believe you

are bigger than any problem or failure you encounter. If you don’t

allow yourself to overcome failure by not believing that you are bigger,

stronger and better than the problem you face, you will remain at that

level. Your life will stay at that level. If you can’t handle the problems

you currently face, you wont have the courage to handle larger

problems and situations. Being able to believe that you are bigger and

stronger will lead to a more fulfilled life with larger rewards. Going back

to Trump, there will never be a roadblock in his life where he won’t

believe he can’t overcome.

A lot of times its not the event of failing that hurts us the most.

It is the way we as humans handle the situation after the initial failure

that has the most effect. The problem with failing is that the majority

of the time, when we fail, we panic. And when we are in a state of

panic, we hinder our ability to think clearly. When we are panicking

and not thinking clearly, we are not benefiting ourselves and we are

not making our best decisions. When we fail, we get too caught up in

the problem and not the solution. That in turn makes the problem

worse and only more difficult to overcome.

The second job I took after college was very entrepreneurial. It

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was very risky, however it didn’t bother me because I was passionate

about what we were trying to create. About six months into the job I

was let go do to funding being very tight. The two gentlemen that I

was working for were funding the project out of their own pockets until

we could raise the money to launch the project. With the fundraising

dragging on longer than they had expected, my job was on the decline.

I became an expense that was not helping the business in its current

state.

After having a conversation with the two guys I was working with,

I was informed that within a week or two they were going to have to

stop paying me and focus on other avenues of the business with the

funding being very tight until we were externally funded.

When that happened, I forgot about everything. I panicked big

time. I immediately worried about what was I going to do? Did I screw

up? I need to get another job tomorrow. What are my parents and

friends going to the think of me? Then, when asking myself that

question, it hit me. What are my parents and friends going to think of

me? I completely forgot what I believed in, and that was myself.

After taking some time to think about everything, I came back to

my senses of knowing that my friends liked me for me; not because of

my job, and I remembered that my parents are proud of me as long as

I was not a bum on the couch.

Looking back on the situation, I found that it was okay to take

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some time to think about the next steps in life. At first I found myself

worried that I couldn’t solve all my problems that day. And that life

was over because I lost my job. I became pretty depressed for a

couple of days. Taking time to think about what had happened, I

began to remember that you have to be bigger than the problem.

Realizing that if I let this get to me, I would never be able to overcome

a more difficult situation. I would remain at this level, thinking I

couldn’t be any better.

Next time you fail, which you will, as I will fail again, take a step

back and take some deep breaths. Next time you fail, whether it be a

life changing event, a broken relationship, a lost job or whatever it may

be, know that it is okay to take a couple of hours or a couple of days to

recover from what happened. Don’t panic, focus on thinking clearly

and getting back on track to the goals you have set for yourself. What

I found that helps me is taking the time to think back about the job or

whatever the situation was, where failure occurred. Taking that time

and thinking about the positive things I got from that experience.

Although my job ended, I took the time to think about all the

knowledge I had learned, or the contacts I had made that I knew would

still be there on my next venture.

Many times when something like this happens to us, it leads to

other doors opening that we didn’t even think of. I know we all look

forward to the goals and dreams we want to achieve. We will get there

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but the road will always have new turns and bumps that come our way.

Be confident in knowing that you can overcome them. Remember that

people will forget about your failures, but they will always remember

your success.

Check-List
1. Failure Happens – It’s okay to fail
2. No matter what happens, give yourself the confidence in
knowing that you will always land on your feet.
3. When failure happens, Don’t Panic. – Panicking hinders your
ability to think clearly in making the right decisions.
4. Know that you are bigger than any problem you
encounter – You will stay at the level you allow yourself to
handle.
5. Learn perseverance.

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 Chapter 10

The Economics of our Generation

Our generation will encounter financial difficulties different than

any other generation in history. Right now, our generation will face

paying for one of the most expensive wars of all time, and it’s not even

over yet, and for a social security program that will most likely not help

us when we are older. It is rare these days to have the security of

working for the same business for thirty plus years and receiving a

pension from them upon retirement. In fact, I have a hard time seeing

that exist anywhere these days.

Unfortunately a lot of the world lives solely by what they can

produce for the bottom line, leaving very little care of other factors

such as humanity. We have already begun to see downturns in the

economy, the housing market crumbling apart, while more people are

in trouble with debt than ever before. This list of bad things goes on

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and on.

It is extremely important to be aware of this current world and

understand what we can do to avoid such disasters we are seeing our

own parents and friends getting into. The two most important things

we have on our side entering this world, is our mind and time. Having

time on our side is one of the greatest things we can ever have, and

it’s given to us for free. What makes time so important is the ability to

save money. A lot of people don’t understand what is called the time

value of money. I can’t tell you how important it is to start saving

money right now! Not only that but making it grow and work for you.

The majority of the world doesn’t understand that if you put $200

dollars away every month, you will be a millionaire by the time you

retire. People think of that and they think there is NO WAY that can

happen. How in the world can putting that amount of money away

every month add up to becoming a millionaire? The answer is time.

But you must do it now!

First off, get yourself a financial calculator and learn how use it.

Ask a friend, a teacher or someone else around you on how to use

them. That might seem really scary and you might think there is a lot

to do. They are very easy to use. This way, by using one, you can set

your own goals and see what you need to do to achieve them.

The following is an example of how to put away a million dollars for

retirement. With the financial calculator in my hand, I put in the

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following information into it. I will explain it afterwards.

N=40. I/YR = 10% PV= 200 PMT = 2,400 FV= $1,071,273.98

Now look at the bold number again next to the FV again. That number

is over a million dollars. Who wouldn’t want that in their bank account

come retirement? Nobody! So here is what I did. The N equals years.

Right now, I am 23 years old. The forecast that I created is for

retirement when I am 63. N equaling 40 means 40 years from now. All

I did was plug in 40 for that button. I/YR stands for interest per year.

Now it would be great to have 10 % growth hands down every year.

What this means however, is on average over the 40 years. Some

years we might only have 4% growth, but in one of the years, we may

have 16% growth. It’s like saying goes that it all will come out in the

wash. Okay, now the PMT. This stands for payment. I got $2,400 by

doing $200, which we are going to save every month, and multiplied it

by 12, being 12 months in a year. 12 x 200 = 2,400. So, $2,400 is

what we are going to save and put into our money-making machine

every year. The PV that you see is 200. All that is referring to is

PV=present value. We are starting with our original $200 to invest.

The FV is future value. So, if you discipline yourself and do this, you

will be a millionaire by the time you retire. Not only that, but when you

get older and you are financially able to save more, your FV will only be

bigger.

So, step one for you is to invest in a financial calculator and learn

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how to use them. Then learn about different ways of saving money

and investing it. This does not mean become a day trader in the stock

market. To stay on top of the market and know how to day trade, you

would have to never sleep, understand the markets in foreign counties,

neglect your family, and have a heart attack in your early forties. No

one wants that. Take the time to learn about what is right for you.

Learn about IRA’s, other retirement plans, and other ways to invest

money. Right now, there is no guarantee to having external support

financially from social security or something else when we become

older. You must be cautious about this. You must strive to make

yourself financially dependant when you are older. Our generation has

many problems that we will have to face. You must make yourself as

secure as possible.

Credit Cards…

It is time to talk credit cards. I don’t care what they say, or how

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many points you receive, or miles you earn, credit cards are lethal. I

can’t tell you how important it is to just avoid them your whole life.

This doesn’t mean not have them. I have two of them, but if you can’t

manage them, you need to stay very clear.

The way a credit card works is this: We are going to call the

Credit Card “Mr. Nice Card.” One day, you go and check the mailbox.

There, you find a very fancy envelope from the credit card company

with the return address:

Mr. Nice Card

0.0 APR Street
No Problem County, USA

The wonderful letter says:

Mr. Beckley,

CONGRADUATIONS! On becoming a member of Mr. Nice Card. You

will enjoy points and low interest rates your whole life, you can pay the

minimum and enjoy spending and purchasing things that are way out

of your limit. We all know that you want that 42” Flat Screen TV 1080

Pi from Best Buy. We know you can’t afford it on your current job, but

with the help from us, you will get it tiger!

Sincerely,

Mr. Nice Guy!

Here I am extremely excited that I am a member of this team. I think

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to myself; I feel so awesome that I am an official Mr. Nice Card

member. Now I have a $3,000 dollar limit. What on earth am I going

to do now that Mr. Nice Card, has given me $3,000 dollars to spend

and I only have to pay a little every month? Life seems great. The

next day my shiny card and I go and Buy a $2,857.89 flat screen HD

TV. With a smile on my face, the card slides through the machine like a

hot knife through butter. I sign the receipt and go home with a huge

smile on my face. Thinking I don’t have to pay for anything until a

month from now. That’s four episodes of my favorite TV show before I

even have to send Mr. Nice Card any money.

I get my first bill. It is $2,857.89. But Mr. Nice Card says I can

pay the minimum of $20 dollars. I happily write a check and go back

to a month of watching TV on this crystal clear television. A month

goes buy and I get the next bill. This time the bill is $2,842.89. That is

only $5 dollars less than the original but I paid $20. I read the bill and

it said their was a $15 dollar fine for paying only the minimum last

month. And since I only paid the minimum this month has a $40

minimum. I blow it off and write a check for $40 and go back to

watching my TV.

Next month my bill comes and it is for $2,817.89. This time, Mr.

Nice Card says their was a $20 dollar fine for only paying the

minimum. The minimum now is up to $75 dollars. Now I am starting

to panic. Every time I pay I get these fines. This goes on and on and

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on. In the end, I absolutely hate this television, it takes me 6 years to

pay it off, and in the end, the television cost me roughly $5,000 dollars.

Mr. Nice Card in the end made more money then the television

company!

Now thankfully this has not happened to me personally, but it

has to many of my friends in college. Credit cards are not free money.

They are lethal weapons, who’s companies target our generation like

no other. We are at the age of living on our own, responsible for

ourselves, and eager to have all the cool things like flat screen T.V.’s

and clothes, etc. Trust me. I want a huge flat screen more than

anything, but I understand that I can’t afford it now, and I am not going

to let my mercy be in the hands of a credit card company to have one.

The way you use your credit card defines a lot about who you.

Take a second and think of the name alone. Credit Card. It doesn’t say

Free cash card. The one good thing they can do for you is build your

credit. That is the only reason you should have one and be using one.

It is much safer and healthier if you only put on five or twenty dollars a

month and are able to pay off the entire thing than fighting to get out

of debt. Again, I am not saying to not get one. It is good to have

them. Get one that does give you benefits like miles or points, but be

sure to stay on top of it.

I can’t tell you how important it is to not fall in this trap. I have

seen it happen to too many people. Remember we have time on our

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side. Being young, we have many opportunities for making money and

creating successful jobs. However, we only get One opportunity in

having time on Our side. Don’t spend that one opportunity of having

time on our side trying to get out of a financial hole. We need this time

to invest and make our money grow for us.

From this point on, I want you to think of money as a seed. The

saying of money doesn’t grow on trees is very true, but the concept is

very similar. An apple tree for example. When you plant a seed, water

it, give it sunlight and care, an apple tree will grow to the sky and

create more apples than you ever thought possible. That is very

similar to thinking of money as a seed. When you take a hundred

dollar bill, invest it, add to it, give it time to grow, it will grow and

produce more money similar to an apple tree. Now doesn’t this seem

more appealing than fighting Mr. Nice Card for 6 years?

Oh… The Jones’s

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 We live in a world and have been for a long time where the Jones

family seems to have it all. The Jones family I am referring to is the

“keeping up with the Jones’s” mentality. So many people in this world

live this lifestyle and it is very un-healthy. There are too many people

out there that think they must show wealth to be wealthy. Here is an

example, you are sitting around the dinner table discussing your day

with your family, girlfriend, wife, or whoever it is and the subject

comes up… “Did you hear that the Jonse’s next door just got the new

European car?” I think it is time that we get a new car too.” You don’t

need a new car and were probably not even thinking you needed a

new one until Mrs. Jones pulled up in the new 500 horse power, black

turbo charged, leather seat extravaganza. Now that is making your

two-year old car not looking so hot anymore. Now your thinking well

maybe we should get a new car. We don’t want to appear as if we

can’t afford to get a new car as well. This is as far from building wealth

as it gets. If you truly want to build a fortune for yourself, you need to

be comfortable enough in going your own route and sticking to your

course and staying on point. Don’t spend your life trying to appear

wealthy. You feel shallow and you wont have the satisfaction you

thought you would have in buying that new car. What sounds more

appealing? Driving an old Jeep with a $1,000,000 in the bank growing

on its own, or driving a new 7 Series BMW stressing on when the next

car payment will come in the mail?

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 Don’t spend your life trying to keep up with the Joneses. The

Joneses have their own problems and they aren’t that happy either.

Make sure to live within your means and grow your wealth regardless

of what some other person shows off or purchases. You need to do this

for yourself. The only person in life that you need to focus on

impressing and making happy is yourself. Now, that your young, be

smart about your decisions and use time to your advantage.

Cash Flow

One of the most crucial things in our lives at our age is to focus

on our ability to maintain cash flow. You might know what that means

or simply know that it is a term that the business world uses all the

time. It is a term that businesses use all the time and so should you. It

is important in your day-to-day life to think of your own life as

somewhat of a business. It is important to talk about cash flow even in

your own world whether you are a business or not. To define cash flow,

it is simply the money that is coming in and going out for a specific

amount of time. The money that you make in a month or year is the

“income,” coming into you and the cell phone bill and heating bill is

the “outflow” during a specific amount of time.

During senior year in college, my father was really suffering from

an unpleasant couple of years financially. In the fall of that year, I got

the call from him that he was no longer able to help with my expenses.

Dreading and understanding that this call was inevitable, I did

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everything I could to make sure I was able to keep my cash flow

positive, (meaning more money is coming in than going out or

business jargon for “staying out of the red”).

Suddenly, finances for my brother and I got even worse. My

brother’s and my cell phone stopped working because my father could

no longer afford to cover the bill. My brother and I were in a jam. We

understood that we had to move on and begin to take care of

ourselves. Which at our age is the way it should be.

To briefly fill you in on my brother, he is three years younger and

being 6 foot 10 inches tall, he walked on to the Division 1 basketball

team at the University of Colorado, receiving a full-scholarship two

years later. I couldn’t me more proud of anybody, than I am for my

own brother. During his freshman year, he had no extra time being a

walk-on to get a job, we agreed that I would get one to help cover

these new expenses that he and I had to take on. Not letting what

happened to dad bother me, I did everything I could to stay afloat. I

grabbed odd jobs here and there. I even babysat, became a butler and

a house cleaner. I think I became the first 6 foot 8 inch male nanny in

the state of Colorado… or most likely all the states for that matter. I

did everything I could to keep my brother’s and my cell phone working,

bought my brother a suit from Men’s Warehouse so he would look

sharp for game day and so on.

Now this is not a pity me story but more of an example of what I

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did to keep afloat in college. There are a lot of us out there in this

situation where we are just scrapping to make it by. There is absolutely

no shame in that whatsoever. In fact, us scrapping by in the United

States is already light years ahead of many places in the world. My

point is that cash flow is very important.

No matter where you are in your life, it is extremely important to

have positive cash flow. A lot of people in this world, no matter what

there age is can bring their lives to a halt very quickly if they run out of

cash. There are many people out there with huge aspirations and

goals yet they never can get to them because they can’t seem to

control their cash flow. In all honesty, it is as simple as spending less

than the amount coming in. Living within your means as most would

say. But the majority of us don’t. We spend more and more. If we get

a job that pays more, we spend more. We get use to being able to

afford a little more. Than time goes by and we wonder how on earth

did we ever live before we gave ourselves spa massages every two

weeks?

There are many people in this world that make over $100,000

dollars in a year and even they have problems with their cash flow.

However, many people look at them and say “wow, they make that in

one year? They must be rich!” When really the person might have

$50,000 dollars on a credit card in debt and numerous other bills.

Imagine now if that same person lost that job and the next didn’t pay

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even close to that. Now this person has cash flow problems for some

who makes $100,000 a year and they don’t even make that anymore.

It doesn’t matter whether you make a million dollars a year or

you are cleaning toilets to make it by. Learn to forecast ahead of time

what expenses are going to come your way one month from now or

even a couple of months out. If you know that you have a large

expense coming even a year away, start putting money away for it

now. Don’t put it off and then deal with the entire problem when it

does come. Really lay out your expenses and look at what you can

afford to spend, how much needs to go to rent, how much to food and

so on. When you do this, you will have a much better understanding of

your situation, and you will know more on how much we should really

be spending at the bars or wherever else we enjoy.

When taking on my first job out of college, I was scared to death.

I didn’t know what to do. I was living on a couch with my old

roommates up in Boulder. I knew I couldn’t live on a couch forever so I

found a place to live. But thinking of my cash flow I only signed a

three-month lease. The job being very risky and not defined, I was

hesitant to lock in expenses for a long time. I knew that this way, if the

job went south and ended, I was only strapped to paying three months

of rent instead of living somewhere I disliked for an entire year, stuck

there figuring out ways to cover rent. Trust me, nobody wants that.

In addition, learn how to cushion yourself financially. Being in our

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early twenties is a very scary time. We are new to the working world,

we have no idea what we are doing, yet old enough to be completely

on our own. When talking about cushioning ourselves, it means to

create a safety net for yourself. These first few years out of college

and these first few jobs that we take on, we have no idea whether they

are going to be right for us or not. We don’t know if they are going to

last, whether we are going to like them, or understand what we have

been hired to do. All of these are perfectly normal feelings to be going

through. That said, when you do begin to make some money, save

every single penny. I know how tempting it is to go out and buy some

cool things and toys that we all want, but all that stuff can wait, even if

it’s just for a little while. Right now, it’s much more important to

establish a financial cushion for yourself. If a couple of months go by

and the job doesn’t work out, you have enough to live of off for a

couple of months until the next job comes along.

There are too many people in this world who are stuck with jobs

that they dislike because the excuse is: at least the job pays the bills.

The only highlight to these peoples lives are wishing it was Thursday so

they can go to “Happy Hour” to put half price drinks on Mr. Nice Card.

It is this time in our lives that we have to be extremely smart about our

money, even if it is only a little that we are making.

There are a lot of people out there just like you and I who have

dreams to do great things in life. There are additionally many people

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much older than us out there who wish they could do great things,

however they are stuck in a life of constantly battling with cash flow.

These people unfortunately get caught in jobs they don’t even like

because they can’t afford to leave them.

In life there are many financial obstacles that have, and will

come our way. There are obstacles that we expect and ones we don’t.

You never know if you are going to slip and fall and break a leg, or have

to replace the tires on your car because the ones you currently have,

are more bald than Howie Mandel of the hit TV show “Deal or no Deal.”

Not knowing when expenses like these will arise in our lives, it is

extremely important to be prepared for them. When you are planning

your life and job or whatever stage you are at, cushion yourself with

cash flow. With a solid cushion of savings and cash in your life, you will

only find yourself having more confidence to shoot for the stars and go

after your dream job instead of wasting years simply staying afloat. I

am confident that you will do great, don’t let something like cash flow

keep you from getting there.

Building Wealth

“Shaquille O’Neal is rich. The man who signs his check is wealthy.”

-Chris Rock - Comedian

A lot of people don’t understand what it means to be rich. When

you look at someone driving a Mercedes-Benz or wearing a Rolex

watch, the most common response is that that person is rich. When

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you see someone driving a brand new Range Rover or vacationing in

Vail you might think they are rich. When you see someone making six

figures or more a year you might think they are rich. If they’re smart

hopefully they are. My point with this is to make a clear definition of

how different wealthy and being rich really is.

Here is an example. Let’s say John makes $150,000 a year. That

right there would be a wonderful salary to have for anybody. But lets

say he spends money like crazy and at the end of the day has nothing

left other than materials and bills choking his mailbox. He can’t sleep

at night because he can barely pay off everything and is frustrated

because he still rents his trendy downtown apartment and has nothing

saved up.

Then there is Bill. Bill works very hard and makes $30,000 a

year. He saves every penny and barely has any bills other than the

minimal bills of heat, phone, food, etc. At the end of the day, he has

nothing left other than bills and can’t sleep either for the same

reasons. Although John from the first example eats out and maybe

loves lobster, both of these gentlemen can’t sleep at night and both

worry about the exact same thing.

Both of the gentlemen remain on those paths for 20 years. Then

comes Kyle. Kyle makes $50,000 a year but saves and invests $10,000

of his own hard earned money in real estate, bonds, mutual funds and

so forth. Eight years later he buys a house with his saved money for

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$150,000 and then sells it twelve years later for $800,000 dollars.

What Kyle did rather than John and Bill was focused on his “net

worth” rather than the wristwatch that he wore on his wrist. In your

life, focus on your net worth, and build that rather than defining

yourself with what clothes you can afford to buy. Your net worth is

defined as your “total assets” subtracted by your “total liabilities.”

Your assets are everything that has monetary value in your life.

Example: Your liabilities are everything you owe money to; bills, rent,

maybe you a friend some money etc. Let’s say you have $15,000 in

cash in your checking account, a house that you own for $750,000 and

an investment portfolio of $240,000 for retirement, you have a net

worth of over a million dollars. In essence, you are a millionaire and

don’t even know it. Now doesn’t that seem more appealing than to

have a Rolex on the wrist but dread checking your mail box for the bill?

In life when we hear about the Donald Trumps and the Bill Gates

of the world, and we hear how they are “billionaires,” it doesn’t mean

that they have billions of dollars in cash laying around. They are not

sitting around with a bank somewhere completely stacked with cash.

What this means when we hear about them being billionaires is

referring to their net worth. To define it more clearly, if today they

picked up and sold everything that they own, that is the amount of

cash they would receive. It’s what they’re worth – their net worth.

In your life, focus on building wealth rather than looking rich. It

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is much cooler and much more respectable to be the millionaire on the

corner than to be the flashy guy with the new shiny car that no one

can stand being around. From this day forward spend time solely

focusing on your net worth. Don’t waste time thinking how much you

have in your checking account is what you stand for. If you do that,

every time you do build it up a bit, you are more likely to spend it on a

flashy toy or some other material that will only depreciate. Then you

are only older and back to where you started. Repeat to yourself that

you will focus on your “Net Worth.” That is when you are wealthy!

Chapter 11

Our Environment

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 Our world is unfortunately sick and un-healthy. Our world is not

dead, but it has never been this unhealthy, depleted and exhausted in

its entire life. As human beings, it is important to point out that we

cannot function or do anything that any of the

other chapters in this book express if we are

not living in a sustainable

environment. Across the world we are starting

to see natural disasters different from before; more

often and a little more sever.

To name a few problems we are seeing the number of category 4

and 5 hurricanes have almost doubled in the last 30 years. Malaria has

spread to higher altitudes up to 7,000 feet in some places like the

Columbian Andes. The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more

than doubled over the past decade. Over 279 species and plants and

animals are already responding and moving closer to the poles. Sea

levels will rise more than 20 feet with the loss of Shelf Ice in Greenland

and Antarctica. Heat waves will become more frequent and more

intense. Droughts and wild fires are occurring more. The Arctic Ocean

could be ice-free by the summer of 2050. More than a million species

worldwide could be driven to extinction by that very same year.

Enough?

I hope that these facts scare you, because they certainly scare

me. Or at least scare you enough to do something about it. Thankfully

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going back to time, right now it is on our side. And if we take action,

we can fix this. In fact, our generation is the one who will have to fix it.

If our generation doesn’t, it could very well be too late. Our parents

and their parents are not going to be around for very much longer.

They will not have to face many of the problems that will come our

way.

This is our world now. Although we are guilty ourselves in

contributing to the destruction, what damage has been done, is done.

We cannot avoid it, nor look past it saying “well we didn’t cause all this

damage, the generations before us did.” That doesn’t matter. This is

our world now and once our parents and their parents are gone, its

only us living here as well as the generations that we bring into the

world. It is extremely important to start now. In today’s world, talking

about the environment is nothing new, it has been in the main

headlines now for quite some time. However, we mustn’t keep it as

only in the headlines. We must take action right now!

That said, it is time to stop talking about it. We must start to do

something about it. Regardless of your beliefs on this matter, whether

you believe in global warming or not, the things we as human beings

have an obligation to do to fix it are not absurd changes in our lives.

Treating the environment better is a good thing to do regardless of

global warming is really true or not. Recycling is a good thing to do

regardless if we don’t see the outcome of it or not.

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 What top scientists and top environmentalists such as respected

men like Al Gore are asking us to do, are not absurd requests.

Changing light bulbs in our house or sharing a bus instead of driving

ourselves are not that hard to do. It would be much easier to make

these gradual changes now than to wait until it is too late; and the

changes we will then have to make are much more severe.

The biggest issue we face involves being able to discipline

ourselves everyday of our lives towards making the world we live in

much more sustainable than it is in its current form. It is very hard for

us as individuals to understand the difference that we can actually

make, when we decide to do something about it. I have even caught

myself not paying attention to my own actions many times.

For example, it is very hard for us to understand what is

happening to the environment when we throw that milk bottle away

versus recycling it. We might not see any change at all in our own

lives other than the bottle physically being in the trashcan rather than

the recycling bin. We think to ourselves that won’t make any

difference, one bottle... But… Look at the earth from a 50,000-foot

view. Look at 300,000,000 people everyday saying: “Oh it’s just one

bottle I threw into the trash, no big deal…” I think you get the picture.

From here forward, make sure to be conscious of what you are

doing to the environment. This world that we call home, is no longer

our grandparents or parents. This world, is Ours. We can’t jump

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ship when things really start to get bad. We must take action.

Another important thing to be aware of is

what’s called the “real cost” of an item. That

item can be anything from a t-shirt, a pair of

shoes, or even a car. Growing up in the

United States and elsewhere, we tend to

forget or not even know what the real cost of

something is. My point being is this. There are so many items and

things in our lives that we replace without even thinking. Socks for

example. When we dirty them or just don’t care to wash them, it

seems to be much easier to just go to the store and buy another 6

pack of socks to wear. It might cost us a couple of bucks. Sounds

easy.

Take a second and think for yourself. Think to yourself how is it

possible to get socks that are manufactured in China, brought to the

U.S. and sold for a couple of bucks? The way that’s possible is that we

don’t factor in anything other than price. We don’t factor the coal that

was put into the air while manufacturing that pair of socks, the fuel

burned by the cargo ship to bring them to the United States, the fuel

burned by the truck to bring them to the store near your house, the

wasted materials before and after manufacturing that pair, and so on.

Not only that, but think that millions of pairs of socks were and are

being produced this way. All because we are sometimes too lazy to

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wash the ones we have, or we don’t take the time to think about the

actual impact we are really making.

The “Real cost” of SOCKS!

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Now this example flow chart is referring to just socks. Stop reading for

a second and think of how many items are produced like this everyday

in the world. Think in your own life now about the “real cost” of an

item next time you want to replace something because of laziness or

incompetence. Again it is very hard to do this because of the way we

live our day-to-day lives. But, like I said earlier, it is time to take action

and discipline ourselves to make these changes. We might not see the

difference when we recycle something or not, but the outcome is there.

We cannot escape from this reality. This is our world and we are the

ones who will be living in it. Make it an effort of yours to really make a

difference.

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 I could write this entire book about the environment and the

things we are doing wrong. However, I believe strongly that you

understand what is happening, and what we need to do to make

change. My point in this chapter is not to lecture you, or make you feel

guilty. It is to make sure that you understand that we desperately need

leadership and change. This is our planet. The only one we will ever

have. Let’s start to treat it that way.

Top 8 Environmental things you can do right now to change the

world (Why 8? Why Not?) (Need better list?)

1. Change every light bulb to a CFL light

2. 3 R’s, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

3. Walk rather than drive

4. Turn off lights in rooms you are not using

5. Un-plug cables from the wall when not in use

6. Ride a bike instead of a car

7. Don’t let water run while brushing your teeth

8. Be conscious of what you can do that is helpful to the

environment

There are many other things you can do, than simply the list

above. In no way is this list in any specific order. If it were,

number 8 is the most important. We all hear about the

environment everyday, and how we should be living. From this

day forward, pay attention to how you can treat the earth much

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better. To not only treat the world much better, but take pride in

the actions and steps you take.

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 Chapter 12

The View from an Airplane Window

One of my favorite things to do in life is to go flying. I will

purposely buy airplane tickets that have a layover somewhere far from

my destination just to fly to more places and spend more time in the

air. I do this strictly for the window seat. You might think it is bizarre,

and to many it is. But I love it more than anything in the world

because of the view one sees beyond the window.

It is a shame for all the people who don’t enjoy it like I do. There

are too many people who despise flying, constantly popping a “Z-bar”

to sleep or drinking the $5 dollar shots to ease the tension of the kid

behind them hitting their chair like boxing practice, or using their head

as an off-road course for the kid’s matchbox toy car. Regardless of all

that, when you look out that window, the view of the earth is like

nothing you’ve ever seen before. The view of the Earth is peaceful.

It is a shame that the only peace we see on Earth, we have to

look from 35,000 feet above. When you are at that height, looking out

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of the window, you don’t see poverty, you don’t see fighting, you don’t

see crying, you don’t see guns in use, you don’t see all the bad things

the world produces everyday. What you do see is sunlight, a sky as

blue as a deep ocean, beautiful white puffy clouds, land, water,

mountains, desert, forests, and much more.

I love flying because no matter what the weather is on the

ground, when you reach the cruising altitude, it is the clearest,

sunniest day you have ever seen in your entire life. The reason I have

this love for flying is ironically the opposite. It keeps me grounded.

When I look out over the land below me, I am reminded of how small

we are as human beings. I am reminded of the amount of land that

surrounds us. I am reminded of the problems and

issues we let get to us so much sometimes are

really nothing. There are many things in my life

that I stress and worry about a little too much. I

promise you that what you are feeling and going

through in your own life is very similar to what we

are all dealing with. A lot of times we think that there is no way people

understand what we have to deal with. We look at our friends and

colleagues, and we think there is no way they worry about that or this

as much as we do. How come they don’t get stressed out about this or

that? Or it’s unfair that I have to deal with this and they’re cruisin’ on

Easy Street. Just know that we all share similar feelings and wonders

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about stress, failure and other tedious things that tend to get to us

sometimes. It is important however to remember the grand scale that

this world really is. I want you to be comfortable in knowing that

whatever you are feeling or dealing with, you are not alone.

There are times in all of our lives when we think the whole world

is against us. No matter what we are doing that day, nothing is going

our way. It is important to remember however, that there are people

out there on this same planet that have it worse than us everyday of

their lives.

Planes have also taken me to places far away from my home.

That being said, make it a point in your life to travel. Traveling is one

of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself. Traveling will take you to

all the places you want to see, whether that being Italy, Asia, Alaska, or

whatever you are interested in seeing. Although it is great to see all

these places, which I plan to do, the best thing traveling has done for

me is given me a view of where I am from, from the outside.

I was very fortunate with my first job out of college to travel to

third world countries. You might be thinking that I worked for the

Peace Corp or something similar. It was actually the music business.

Now you are probably thinking music business? I thought that meant

Sunset Boulevard, rims on a car, and friends like Jay-Z, and to some, it

might. But when I was hired, I was hired to research the feasibility of

doing a concert in San Jose, Costa Rica.

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 Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places on the face of the

planet. I was fortunate enough to be sent down twice to the city of San

Jose. These trips, opened more doors for me than any other

experience in my entire life. Going to San Jose was for the first time in

my life, a real eye-opener. It was the first time I was immersed in a

culture that is far less fortunate than the lifestyle I was accustomed to.

Additionally, San Jose is not even bad compared to other places on the

globe. When I landed, I traveled to the hotel. Once there, I tossed my

bags onto the bed and looked out the window. My view was of nothing

but shacks. Tin shacks built on top of one another with trash

everywhere. There was more trash in the streets and fields outside my

window than I thought possible for any particular location. After the

concert related meetings that day commenced, I went back to my

hotel room and just watched out the window for hours, as the night

began to blanket San Jose.

Later on that night, one of the locals came out of the shack they

were living in and started one of the piles of trash on fire. The pile of

trash was the size of a semi truck without its trailer. I sat at that

window for hours watching this pile just blaze into the night as the

embers climbed higher and higher into the sky, wondering if anyone

was coming to put it out. No one came.

Before that night, when I was checking into the hotel, there was

a girl no older than you and I hunched down across the street. As I

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watched her, she was freebasing drugs with a spoon to make it through

the night. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. I thought that stuff

only happened on episodes of CSI. Thinking of that and watching this

fire blaze outside my hotel room, alone I sat there almost breaking

down and crying in sadness.

That trip is something I will never forget. That Sunday, I couldn’t

wait to get back to the United States. When I got back and saw our

towns and cities mirroring one another with a Starbucks and Home

Depot every other block, it really made me put our problems into scale.

We grow up in a world where we think people’s problems are the

drama’s we see during an episode of MTV’s Sweet 16. We compare

what we have with what everybody else has, we worry about our

weight and we stress about what we don’t have. When in reality we

are all already extremely fortune and lucky. We already have more

than we could ever imagine.

I had a girlfriend not too long ago that was a graduate of a

university who thought Darfur was where all the celebrities are

hanging out these days. That alone is a perfect example of what

needs to change in this world, our own lack of knowledge of what is

really happening in this world. Unfortunately much of the world

watches movies and gets their news from the same source; our

television sets. I think a lot of us don’t realize when we see something

on television that somewhere in the world that is actually happening.

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A lot of us see the terrible things in the world happening and we say

“that’s too bad” and go about eating our dinner. I am guilty of it

myself, a lot of us are. Before going to San Jose, I saw poverty on

television, thought about it, and went on to watching MTV Cribs or

something. The time is now for all of us to wake up and become a little

more in tune with the world we are living in.

Although planes can take us to places like this that really make

us realize the world we are fortunate enough

to live in, looking outside of an airplane

window also gives us hope. When you look

outside the window of a plane you really see

the beauty this world has to offer. There once

was an astronaut who said, “We came all this

way to explore the moon, and the most

important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” The astronauts name

was Bill Anders. Anders was on the moon bound Apollo 8 during the

crazy years of the late 1960’s, 1968 to be exact.

When the majority of astronauts return from space, they don’t

talk about the G-forces they experience or talk about being strapped to

the side of a rocket. The majority of them talk about the view. Not the

view of the moon, or the stars or space, but of our own Earth. Just

sitting there alone in the darkness, one side illuminated. No sound, no

taste, no smell, just pure beauty; the blue from the oceans, the green

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of the land, and the white of the clouds. That is all one can see from

that distance. Now think to yourself, that is the world we fight over,

the world we destroy, the world we abuse, the world we ignore. And

we have done it for as long as humans have roamed the earth. When

you look at how long the earth bas been around, and you compare that

to how long we as humans have been here, we are on the path of

destroying the earth in a millisecond. I don’t think that is what we

want our legacy to be.

Right now, we have opportunity like never before. The

opportunity lies in our knowledge. Unlike any other species on the face

of this earth, we have been able to use our knowledge to avoid

disaster while creating disaster at the same time. Make sure you use

the knowledge that you have been given to make not just a world

better, but our world better. This earth is the only one we will ever

have. Together, let’s make the saying “its not too late” the closest

we ever get to destroying this world permanently.

Going back to the view from a plane, remember the size of our

problems in the grand scheme of things. We are all already very

fortunate. Leaving our problems aside, let us spend our time and

energy on the positive things we have been given and use those to

make the world a better place for all.

Check-List

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 1. Remember the size of the world when we worry about the
problems we do face.

2. Remember all the good things in our lives that we have

already been blessed with

3. Remember and embrace the beauty this world DOES

have.

4. Get a window seat next time you fly!

Chapter 13

NO can be your best friend – Trust your gut!

First form of saying no: Pressure

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 We live in a world where saying no and doing the right thing can

be the hardest decision we find ourselves ever having to make. We

don’t mean for it to happen, or getting into a situation where it

happens, it just does. This pressure can come when we least expect it,

or when we do. It can come in any situation as well. It can be drugs,

drinking and driving, a job situation, or simply a decision that hurts

someone else.

In high school, college, and just those years of growing up, there

are ample times when we put ourselves in situations where saying no

might not look cool. It might be going against the very crowd that we

associate with. In my own experience, there are countless times where

drugs were offered, getting a ride from someone who had too much to

drink and so on occurres. During college, it happened all the time. It

still does as a matter a fact.

I found myself many times debating on what to do. I am sure

you can relate. This peer pressure that we are put in and we don’t

even mean to, it just happens. Throughout high school and college

though, I had many friends who are still my good friends today.

However, many of them have several DUI’s (Driving under the

influence), MIP’s (Minor’s in position of alcohol), and felonies. A lot of

them are good people, but when it was time to make the right decision,

they couldn’t step up to the plate. Now this chapter is not the lecture

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to saying “No” to everything and the famous parent lecture of “Don’t

do drugs.” This is all simply reassurance that you’re not alone in these

situations we all encounter. They happen all the time. If you want to

try pot or drink until you get sick, make sure it is solely you making

that decision. Never, and I mean never do it because you feel

pressured to do so.

A big problem I see with our generation unfortunately is drinking

and driving. I don’t think it is just our generation, however, we can be

the ones that make it stop. What people don’t understand about

drinking and driving is the outcome. Many of us always think that

getting caught “won’t happen to me.” A lot of people have the

mentality that someone was too drunk behind the wheel if they crash

or hit something. In fact, I had an old roommate who would drive

drunk all the time saying, “I’m all business behind the wheel.” He

would make it home time after time and nothing would happen. The

problem with this is not that people are getting away with it, but the

fact we’re doing it. We may feel fine and act fine if we find ourselves

drunk or just over the limit according to the law.

A lot of you might make it home time after time fine. You might

drive perfectly fine the whole way with excessive use of the blinker and

the radio turned off repeating to yourself, “we’re almost there, we’re

almost there.” What many of us don’t understand is the fact that

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we’re gambling our entire life while driving those few blocks home. It

does not matter if you make it home or not. If you get pulled over the

police don’t care at all how well you were driving. If you are over the

limit you are finished.

Alcohol impairs your feeling and ability. You might feel perfectly

fine. But what you need to understand is what action you are

conducting. You are jeopardizing everything for that short drive home

because you don’t want to leave your car at the bars, or sleep on the

floor. I know how tempting it is when you want to sleep in your own

bed. Trust me I have been there and fought the urge to just drive

home. But think of how hard you work in your life. Think of how long it

takes to open a door to success, how long it takes to accomplish a task

like a semester of college, think of how long it takes to gain the respect

and trust of an employer you look up to. That 3-minute drive home

can take it all away from you with no mercy whatsoever.

If it is not the getting trouble part that bothers you, think of this:

When a roommate of mine got a DUI, it took about a year of classes,

court time and $12,000 in fees, classes, etc. That is a lot of money

that a lot of people our age don’t have. Think of it in this way. Think

what else at our age you can spend $12,000 on? You could go on an

amazing vacation to the beach. Doesn’t that sound more appealing

than sitting in a room with a bunch of drunks taking classes for a year?

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Remember they don’t just get you in trouble, they cost a LOT of

money!

We already live in an increasingly tough economy. And when we

are applying for jobs, we will be background checked and monitored

very closely. I have many very good friends who are very good people,

but struggle in getting a good job simply because a one night in

college where they weren’t thinking clearly. The pool of prospective

employees is growing. It makes it very easy for employers to say no

with this type of working environment. Even if we are a good person,

anything bad on our records will hinder our ability somewhere down

the road.

Things like having a horrible night sleep on a wood floor because

you didn’t drive under the influence home don’t show up on your

background. Leaving your car down at the bars because you couldn’t

drive home, don’t show up on your background. Putting a $20 dollar

cab fare on Mr. Nice Card to get home, will not show up on your

background. But making that one mistake and getting caught will be a

skeleton in your closet for the rest of your life. It will do nothing but be

a ball and shackle tied to your leg, keeping you from getting to the

level you really want to achieve in life.

I know this is a tough subject and it is hard to make this decision

but, just remember how hard we are working at our age. Again its not

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about crashing your car, it is about putting your entire life on the craps

table. It can go away before we ever can stop and rewind the situation

we are in. You can’t take this back. This is not a bad dream. It is real.

And it is hard to believe it until it happens. Don’t wait until it does

happen. We work to hard and we have too much potential to loose it

all in a couple of seconds.

As I am older now with more experience, and I know I still have a

long way before I am so called a man with experience, I found saying

no helpful in many aspects of my life, and not just peer pressure.

Second form of saying no: Job situation

My first job out of college was to be a freelance researcher for a

very astute corporation out of Denver, Colorado. They hired me to

work with a non-profit they were looking at getting involved with. The

non-profit was run by a very eccentric couple who were very good at

selling the vision. I want to make it clear before I say anymore that in

no way am I talking negatively about the non-profit whatsoever.

Anyway, their goal was and is to create a billion acts of peace over the

next ten years starting in 2008. They wanted to get the music

production company I worked for to become involved and help them

with making this campaign of theirs a global production.

On week one, I was about to loose my mind. The non-profit

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office was a house in the outskirts of Denver where the majority of the

staff meeting involved talking about who’s turn it was to take care of

the cats in the office. I would be typing e-mails and a cat would be on

my desk using my laptop as a back scratch. I wanted to freak out!

Respecting the company that I work for tremendously, I did

everything I could to learn about the business and what the non-profit

wanted to do. Their first big goal was to do an 80,000 person venue

stadium concert in Costa Rica to promote peace. With a show that

size, the company I work for was excited to be a part of this. That size

show was what intrigued my boss to hire me with the potential to look

into this partnership and project even further.

After researching hour after hour, I came to the conclusion that

the biggest venue in Costa Rica could only hold around 26,000 people.

Saprissa Stadium is its name. I checked and re-checked the numbers

and could not figure out where the 80,000 person stadium show could

be that the non-profiteers said could happen. Not understanding it I

had to ask where that number came from. The lady running the

organization pulled me aside and told me to pull up YouTube. I pulled

up the screen and she told me to search Ricky Martin Saprissa

Stadium. After searching, I found a video and watched it with the lady

glaring over my shoulder. The footage was from a Costa Rican’s cell

phone from the back row. The non-profit lady told me that Ricky Martin

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sold the show out and to look at the footage, “doesn’t that look like

80,000 people?” She remarked. Shocked on that being the answer to

the 80,000 people, there was nothing left for me to do but to say very

slowly in my head “Oh… my… god…”

This was my first job out of college. I was scared to death of

loosing it. I wanted this concert to work no matter what. At first, I

thought that if I couldn’t make it work, I was a failure and I wasn’t

doing something right. I spent two or three months there and couldn’t

make it work no matter what I tried. I even had the opportunity to fly

down to Costa Rica twice to see it for my own eyes. After a couple of

months of researching the feasibility of this project, it was time to have

a meeting with the man who was paying me.

It was a November afternoon. I sat in a room with the President

of a very prestigious foundation in Denver, the CEO of the music

company I was working for, and a top level investment manager of the

company that hired me. It was these men who were all experienced,

all extremely knowledgeable, and much older. Here I was at 22 years

old, feeling like I was sitting at King Arthur’s roundtable. It was here, in

this room, where scared to death, I opened my mouth and said, “No.”

This no meaning my job, this no meaning hurting individuals’ feelings,

this no deterring the outcome of the non-profits vision. This same no

that built the trust and respect I earned with the gentlemen in that

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room that day. Saying no that day to the people sitting in that room.

Speaking confidently that I did not think they should get involved with

this non-profit was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in

my life. But deep down, I knew it was the right thing to do. However,

being very difficult to do, this “No” in the long run helped build trust

while opening doors to achieve other goals of mine as I am moved

forward with my life.

I know there are times in all our lives where we never mean to

put ourselves in a situation like this. It just happens. But thankfully we

have a gut and our instincts. Our gut and instincts are one of the

greatest gifts we have within. Whether we like it or not, they are

always right. We don’t always listen to it, not even I. But it is there for

us. In your own life, use it.

It is very important to listen to what our gut and instincts say to

us. The power to have something within us that always knows what is

right is a wonderful gift to have. This gift like others must be cherished

and respected. A mentor of mine that I love and respect more than

anything told me one day: “You must listen to your gut and

instincts. You must not only listen, but also follow through

with what it says, by doing what is right. If you don’t, as you

grow older, it will slowly go away and you will no longer have

it.”

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 When I heard that statement for the first time, I found my body

covered in tingling goose bumps purely from the power that statement

hit me with. I couldn’t believe in anything more true than that

statement. I said it over to myself over and over that night, while

blown away at how big of an impact a simple statement like that could

make in my life.

It is my hope that this statement makes an impact on your life

too. There are too many examples of people who loose their gut and

instincts in life as they grow older because they are consumed with

greed, peer pressure, or a sense of being lost in what they are truly

passionate about. The Enron’s of the world, the Tyco’s and the list that

goes on and on, are all sadly, at the end of the day, people who were

at one point probably really good people, however they lost the ability

to listen to their own self telling them what is right.

Third form of saying no: Expired relationships

In college I dated an amazing girl for a very long time. There is

not a single thing that I can say badly about her. If I met her at a

different time in my life, I feel I could have married her. During college

we dated close to two years. After those two years of dating we found

ourselves going on and off for an additional year. That is where the no

comes in. That third year was where I learned to say no when not

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happy in a relationship. When we dated it was magical. When we

broke up, it was one of the hardest things to ever go through. The first

one always is. This break up was very difficult for the both of us.

Once we decided to end the relationship, my ability to control

myself went out the window. I found myself with a few drinks inside of

me, calling her up to “hang out” when we all know where that leads.

This happened time after time on both ends. Now, we would find

ourselves hanging out and doing things for the wrong reasons. I will

admit that I wasn’t strong enough to just say no and move on.

At our age and with our generation, we find this all over the

place. We see people who are so-called “Facebook official” then they

are on a break, then they spend the next year fighting and making up

and fighting and making up. This constant state of stress once the

magic is over in a relationship is extremely un-healthy to both yourself

and your partner. What I mean about saying no to love is this. Dating

is amazing and being in love is one of the coolest, best things in the

world, I know we all love being in love, having that special someone

that we can’t stop text messaging and thinking about. However, if it

doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right. Again, our gut knows the answer,

however we stay in these relationships because we don’t want to hurt

the other. We try to cover our own pain by making the other happy.

We can only cover our own unhappiness for so long before it builds up

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and consumes our ability to be happy. It is extremely un-healthy to

both parties to go through this. You must be honest to yourself and to

your other.

We are all too young to get caught up in this mess. It is unfair to

both of you to date and be on a break and then try and make it work

and then getting to drunk and yelling at one another and then crying. It

is not good for the soul, and not good for the body. Don’t be afraid to

love, don’t be afraid to fall for someone, but don’t be afraid to say no

and be honest to yourself. Remember the plane window and how small

our individual problems really are.

In all honesty, there is no answer to love. I am way down the

totem pole to even attempt to give the right answer. Love in my life

has been all over the place. Look at any generation. Every generation

is trying to find the answer. When you look at the divorce rate, the

amount of our friends we see in this mess, even the amount of us who

are caught up in this mess, I don’t think any of us have the right

answer. However my answer is this. Honesty. You must be honest to

yourself, and honest to your other. If it is working this way, enjoy it.

You are much closer to love than many of us.

Fourth form of saying no: Sex

A very good friend of mine, not too long ago informed me that

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she felt she was taken advantage one night. When talking to her about

it, her excuse was… “Oh next time, I shouldn’t drink that much.” I will

tell you right now that is not the right answer. One of the most

serious issues in life that both men and women face is rape. Rape

does not mean all what society makes it out to be. You can’t define it

as jail time, court, coming forward on telling the truth and so on. Rape

is the most under reported offense in the world and we must make a

stop.

Rape (noun) or (verb), - the crime, committed by someone, of forcing

another person to have sexual intercourse with them without their
consent and against their will, esp. by the threat or use of violence
against them.

Now, in that definition, which is verbatim out of a dictionary, it does

not say jail time, it does not say that someone has to come forward to

classify it as rape. It is the simple definition of forcing sex upon an

individual’s will.

It is around our age that the majority of us are learning about

sex, having sex, or looking forward to the experience. We are also the

generation that drinks excessive amounts of alcohol, too young for

serious responsibility and extremely attracted to whomever peaks our

interest. When we have all these elements and we mix them together,

we are no longer using our best judgments. There are countless

examples of people excusing themselves by saying that “I was drunk.”

or “Whatever, it happened.” But both of those are not the right

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answer. This is a serious issue that affects many people our age more

than we think. It doesn’t matter what the scenario is. If both parties

are not in agreement, it should not happen.

Now when saying no to rape, this DOES NOT mean it is the sole

responsibility of the victim to say it, the no needs to come from the

person committing it. I know how judgment is when we are drunk,

horny and so forth. It relates to the silly saying of thinking with the

wrong head. But, for all of you out there, when you are in that

situation, one or both of you have had too much to drink, listen to

yourself. Say “No” we should not be doing this.

Sex can be the most amazing feeling and experience in the

world. It should remain that and only that. Anybody out there who is

just trying to get laid, or enjoy it for themselves, you are entering a

dangerous world. Every human being on earth has the right to his or

her own body. They are the sole owner and human who should decide

what happens to them. This issue is more than me just telling you that

this is another important issue to be aware of. It is not just important.

Understanding this should be the only way we go about living and

interacting with someone else.

We are all young, young enough that we are still learning about

ourselves. Everyday we are learning everything from what we are

attracted to, to how to become a much better player of the “The

Game.” You know what game I am referring to: The whole game of

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trying to out-smart the other half in getting them to like you while the

entire time not understanding anything of what the other party is

thinking, or what tricks they are playing against you to get you to like

them, etc. Quite honestly, I don’t think we will ever figure that one

out.

That said, don’t be afraid to go out and “sow your oats” as

people say. Don’t be afraid to meet as many people as you want.

Don’t be afraid to party hard. Just remember when you are in that

room with someone else and sex is on your mind, make the right

decision! There is always a tomorrow if you are true to yourself and

respect the other. Next time your in this situation, have the strength in

yourself to do what is right.

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 Chapter 14

Exercise

With all of the world’s obstacles we face in our lives that drive us

all crazy, the best escape I have found is through exercise. Exercising

is the best thing you can do for yourself mentally as well as for your

body. When you exercise your body releases what are called

endorphins. Endorphins scientifically, are endogenous opioid

biochemical compounds that are produced by the pituitary gland.

What…? I know me too. In essence, our endorphins are simply a

self-producing drug that makes the body feel good. The way you feel

after a good work out are your endorphins in action. Knowing that, I

have a saying that says: “You never feel guilty leaving the gym.”

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 Whether it involves running, cycling, swimming, shooting

baskets, or just walking, exercise is simply the best thing you can do

for yourself. In my own personal life, I have found cycling to be that fit.

Living in Boulder, CO, I was very fortunate to have the simplicity of

getting out on the road and going for 20-30 mile rides everyday. It was

my favorite time of day. Getting out on the road, you have time to

clear your mind, and focus on the objective. You get a change to push

yourself and take your muscles to exhaustion. When I had the

opportunity to go on a 30 mile ride, in Boulder, Colorado, I found it

many times to be more than just exercise. Getting out and being in

the fresh air and enjoying the scenery was also a part of the exercise.

The places I was able to go were spectacular. Day after day, my

roommates and I would ride to towns like Jamestown or Lyons,

Colorado.

Regardless of the weather, on a solid bike ride, when you got

back to the house and stretched down you felt amazing. In fact, going

back to pushing the comfort zone, every summer during high school

and the beginning of college, I would train and work up to do the Triple

Bypass here in Colorado. The Triple Bypass ride was a one-day 120

ride from Evergreen, Colorado to Avon, Colorado. Over the course of a

day you would climb over 10,000 vertical feet. The ride is held every

July. But those summers I spent training for that ride, I never felt

better.

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 For the majority of the world, it seems like exercise is a New

Years Eve resolution that we seem to forget about come February,

every year. Whether it is cycling, running or whatever you enjoy, it is

important to make an effort to keep at it.

Right now, America has never been fatter. Let’s make our

generation, the generation that fixes this problem. We are young

enough to keep at it and live healthy lives. I know too many people

who are in their twenties and are already experiencing heart problems,

and people in their forties who are already having life threatening

illnesses because of being out of shape. We live in a world where we

see kids who are not even ten years of age and they are extremely

obese. Our healthcare costs are already through the roof. When the

answer to a lot of these problems are simply the action of taking care

of our own bodies a little more and striving to live a healthier life.

When it comes to exercising, I urge you to find something that

you are passionate about and do it for exercise. With exercise, set

goals for yourself. Tell yourself you want to finish a marathon and train

for it. Tell yourself that you want to be able to play 4 basketball games

in a row at the gym without fatigue. You must set goals for yourself.

Do whatever it takes, even if that means buying a running outfit and

having the pride and confidence to exercise when you put it on, or a

pair of shoes, or just a t-shirt you only where when you train. Or

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getting yourself an in-expensive digital watch that has a chronograph,

timing yourself to run for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. Track your

improvement. Set a goal and meet it. Push yourself!

What a lot of individuals don’t understand is what exercise can

make them feel like. When you begin to exercise, the first few times or

even days or weeks can be an unpleasant and painful experience.

People then psychologically associate exercise with words like pain,

cannot breathe, not fun, etc. Then the majority stops and goes about

their routine without exercise.

To make exercise feel good, and be beneficial for the body, you

must break through this experience. We all go through it. It is okay if

the first time you run, you can barely make it through a mile. Every

journey begins with the first step. But so many people don’t break

through this threshold. Once you break through this you will feel

endorphins and a high like none other. It is similar to my stretching

example. For so long it was extremely painful. Now I can’t live without

it.

There are tons of gyms out there to join near you. Some of them

like the YMCAs the 24 Hour Fitness’s, and Bally’s are very affordable

too. Whether they are $40-60 a month, I promise you it will be the

best $40-60 a month you spend.

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 Chapter 15

Don’t Compare Yourself. Be You. Be Unique.

I just wish I was…

When I was younger, I read a book called “Losing my Virginity.”

It wasn’t a magazine I found under my dad’s mattress if that is what

you are wondering. It was the story of one of my all time idols. A man

named Richard Branson. He is the billionaire that created Virgin

Records, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Mobile, Virgin this and Virgin that. Since

he was about our age until today, he has lived one of the craziest,

extreme lives any human being can with many near death

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experiences.

Ever since I read his book, I have never in my life wanted to be

like someone more than ever before. Not for the money or the fame,

but for the adventure. However, after reading his book, I found myself

constantly getting frustrated with myself. I kept comparing myself to

Branson and where he was and what he was doing at our age. I felt

like I was doing everything wrong if I wasn’t accomplishing the same

amount that he was when he was 20, and then comparing when I was

21 and so on.

In addition to Branson, I would look at people Like John Mayer.

Watching him jam the guitar with the greats like Eric Clapton. All this

idolizing would drive me crazy because I couldn’t understand why they

had these great lives and nothing that amazing has happened to me

yet. I wanted to jam like Eric Clapton or balloon around the world like

Brasnon. I would question myself with things like: “Why didn’t I pick up

a guitar when I was younger?”

What this taught me however was the fact that thinking this way

was very unhealthy. It is only taking away from my own energy to do

something great. You and I are not Richard Branson, and we are

definitely not John Mayer. We are all unique individuals with our own

purpose and outcome. I found this present in my life a little while back

when Nike, the shoe company came out with a new advertisement

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staring Lebron James. The commercial was footage of James

throughout his basketball career all the way to when he started in the

NBA. After watching this commercial, Lebron James ends the

commercial with saying “You don’t want to be me, you want to be

better than me.”

That struck me as if I was born again. What I realized is that

Richard Branson didn’t get to where he was by constantly comparing

himself to others, he got to where he is because of passion and the

ability to believe in himself. John Mayer didn’t become the guitar great

because he constantly compared himself to others, Mayer had passion

and he believed in himself.

The same goes with you and I. If we spend our entire lives trying

to play John Mayer songs or doing every step that Branson did, we will

fail. We will not only fail, but we will live a life that frustrates us

tremendously. I know we all do it. I know we imagine all the time

thinking what it would be like to be someone else, but the fact it we

never will be. When we are trying to do what others have

accomplished, we are forcing it and not letting our own ideas, minds

and potential flow. When you try to force things, you will most likely

fail and get let down. Then you will only get more frustrated and that

much further from being great in your own life.

Kobe Bryant, the basketball star was once asked in an

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interview: “Kobe, do you think you’re the next Michael

Jordan?” His reply: “No, I’m the first Kobe Bryant.”

Have the same mentality!

Coming back home after college and seeing the old gang of

friends, would frustrate me tremendously. It would frustrate me so

much because every time all I would see was wasted potential. I would

constantly see people who are afraid to jump to greater risks and

heights. To make that leap of creating a great life for themselves, and

living to their own full potential. Every time I would come home and

ask what everybody was doing they all had the same answer. “I am

going into real estate with my parents and living at home.” That

answer would make me cringe. First of all, there is nothing wrong with

real estate. Real Estate is and can be a great business. I am not

saying anything badly about that.

What frustrates me are the people who go out and get a

premium college education and come right back home to get a job

handed to them on a platter by their parents. I know that at our age

we might not know what we want to do. Even I don’t. But seeing this

with so many people I believe in bothered me. Deep down within, I

have a tough time believing that settling like many of my friends have

already done is what they truly want to do in life. I think many of them

are afraid to make the jump in getting their own apartment, bills and

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sense of responsibility. Leaving the life that they truly want to live in

their dreams category because they are afraid to make the initial step

in that direction. Be aware of this trap in your own life. You have way

too much potential to not shoot for the stars everyday of your life.

Promise yourself that you live life where you never wake up one day,

when your forty, and say to yourself, “I wish I would have tried that or I

know I could have done that.”

I am sure that my friends will live a secure life, have a nice home

while driving a nice car. But I worry for them when they wake up one

day and are stuck in a life that they never meant to get involved with.

We are young and the time is now to take action and go after our

dreams. It gets much harder once we have a family, bills and a

mortgage. Things just change.

That said. We all have a role is life. We all have a contribution to

society. I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with any

job that we take. We mustn’t look at the role of a janitor different than

a CEO of a large corporation. We need both roles desperately. Jobs

don’t define us. Whether you’re a CEO or a skydive instructor, or a

custodian, we are all human beings with ten fingers and ten toes with a

mind and body full of potential.

Whatever you want to be, be the best at it and your life will be

fulfilled. This doesn’t mean that we all have to be extremely rich, suit

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wearing people smoking cigars. Some of us will be mechanics. Some

of us will be scientists, some athletes, and some of us in business, and

some of us maybe a musician. What ever we do end up being, be

yourself, and be the best. It is okay if we are in high school, college or

just finishing school. Its okay if you don’t even have a clue what you

want to do. It is perfectly normal to feel this way. Its okay if we can’t

play the guitar as good a Mayer when he was our age, or like Branson

being on his way to founding Virgin Records. We have our own lives to

live and our own goals to achieve. Don’t go after someone else’s

goals. Make your own and go after them.

No such thing as age

For a long time, similar to comparing myself, I have always been

really frustrated with age. There have been countless times in my life

where I have caught myself frustrated with my age. I would get

frustrated that I wasn’t 16 yet when all my friends were, and freely

capable to drive, or when all my friends reached the age of 21, free to

go to the bars while I sat at home. Not only was I comparing myself to

my friends, I was also catching myself comparing my age to others.

Saying to myself, when Richard Branson was this age, he already did

this, or when Lance Armstrong was my age, he was already winning

large bicycle races, well on his way to greatness.

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 We are all unique in our own ways and we all have a role in life.

Some of us shine when we are kids and some may live 70 years before

their lives work is complete. But through doing this, it is important to

not waste energy on when it is going to happen. You must strive

towards your own goals and be yourself. I promise you that it will

happen when the time is right. But, don’t waste time comparing ages

to someone else’s accomplishments. That is only wasting taking you

further away from your goals.

Patience…Young Grass-hoppa

Today, the world is moving faster than it ever has before.

Throughout history, no matter what age we are at, we have never

wanted things faster than we want them now. We all want the perfect

job right away. We all want the car that costs more than a small house,

we want the big homes and income that allows us to travel the world

first class. However, at the same time, we spend more time and

energy now than any other time in history being frustrated because we

don’t have it this very instant.

I of all people am one of those who are very guilty of this

problem. If I don’t receive something are achieve something the

second I expect it, I have been known to get extremely frustrated. I

found this to be true in many aspects of my life. Going back and being

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surrounded by successful people, I would always get frustrated with

why I am not there yet and so on. I would forget all about being young

and having all the time in the world. I would just want it now.

Whatever it was.

Throughout my life, I found myself being inpatient with

everything. Why can’t I just graduate? Why do I have to wait to eat

dinner? Why can I be on vacation already? I am sure in your own life,

there are plenty of examples that you can think of right now where you

have been impatient. You might be wondering why you’re not done

with this book yet. At least I felt that way while writing it.

I grew up thinking that the second I would graduate college I

would be an executive producer in music, live in Malibu, yell into a cell

phone while driving in traffic, and making great money. Now none of

that is true, but its not all false either. I don’t want to yell into a cell

phone. But what I mean, is that it will all still come true, it just hasn’t

happened yet. My problem however was when I graduated college, I

was getting really frustrated and depressed that it wasn’t happening

like I planned it out in my head. I spent days wondering and being

frustrated on why it wasn’t happening vs. spending energy focused on

how to make it. What I had to learn is the art of being patient. I

learned that instead of wasting time and energy being frustrated about

it, I would apply that energy toward still going after that goal.

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 With all of this impatience going on, it is very easy to recognize it

in all aspects of our lives. When you become impatient about

something, you are doing nothing but creating negative energy onto

yourself. By being impatient about something, that doesn’t make it

happen faster, it certainly doesn’t make it better or easier, and you

only let yourself down even more if what you are looking forward to

doesn’t happen at all. When you are impatient about something, you

are only wasting time and energy.

That said; don’t let impatience get in the way of your potential.

We are all still very young, and we all have plenty of time to work

everything out. When you learn the value of being patient, your

reward will only be that much greater when it does come.

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 Chapter 15

Our Mind is Everything

“I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of

which actually happened.”

-Mark Twain

Our Mind is everything. What separates us from other

individuals is our mind, not our bodies. For the most part, we all have

the same body. We have eyes, legs, arms, and hands. Some of us may

be short, and some of us rather tall. Some of us are white and some of

us are black. Some of us are Indian and some of us are something

else. Some of us may be in wheel chairs, and some of us are tri-

athletes. However, we are all the same. What separates us, is the wild

journey we take ourselves on in our mind. I can’t tell you the roller

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coaster ride I have been on in my own mind other than I think you can

relate.

This especially involves our generation. We are going through so

much right now, I am surprised that our heads haven’t already

exploded. Think of all the stress we have and are going through right

now? How are my college grades going to end up? Will I get that job?

Did we have safe sex last night? Are my parents proud of me? What

do I want to do in life? What am I going to do after college? Am I in

love? What should I be doing? Should I travel? I am no better off now

than I was three years ago financially, and now I’m 27! Even if you

can’t relate to any of these questions, I am sure you have your own

that bother you. But take a second and think about them. They are

ALL in your mind. Your arms and legs don’t give a dam what you are

thinking. They just do what they are told when you think for them to

do something.

That said; don’t spend your life driving your mind bonkers. We

have too much potential and time to be our age and getting headaches

from stressing about the future, what we are suppose to do and so on.

We are young. Next time you have a million things racing in your

mind, take a second and breathe. Count to ten. We are too young to

drive our mind up the wall. Whatever situation we are in, just know it

will be ok. It will be okay later that day, or the next day. Remember

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we are still very young. Our jobs are going to change, we are going to

move again, we are going to deal with many problems again and

again. But what you can do is not let them get to you. Know that

everything will be okay. Learn to control your mind.

There are many ways that I found to help me in my own crazy

world to help control my mind. One of them is meditation. I know you

have heard of it, but have you ever tried it? This doesn’t mean to wear

a robe and listening to chanting music. You can do it in five or ten

minutes. I have found that if you spend even that little amount of time

alone, taking deep breaths, visualizing your day or not thinking at all,

you are benefiting your body and your mind. I want you to try this.

From now on, everyday find some time to be alone, deep breathing

spending time gathering your thoughts. This is no different than an

NBA star visualizing a basketball shot before the game and sinking it

like De ja vu in the fourth quarter.

Stress

Did you know…

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 Did you know that the majority of the world suffers from stress?

You’re not the only one. Stress is defined as a state of mental or

emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding

circumstances. That seems like a normal Monday to me. No matter

where we live, what our background is, and what we are currently

doing, there are always things that seem to stress us out.

I, among all people in this world am guilty of this one. There

have been countless times in my own life that I find myself stressing

about anything. Almost as if I try to find something to stress about

even when everything is okay. Think about it… We are either stressing

about homework, paying bills, getting a job, why he or she is not text

messaging back? what we look like, what we want to weigh, why won’t

the bed head go away, and so on. Stop reading for a second and think

right now. There is probably something on your mind that you are

stressing about this second.

With all of this stress going on, did you know that stress can lead

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to affecting the immune system, which protects us from many serious

diseases? Did you know that antidepressants and anti anxiety

medications account for about a fourth of all prescriptions in the U.S.

each year? These statements just go to show that you are not alone in

these feelings.

Stress is a serious thing that people our age deal with. In fact,

people stress at all ages. At our age, we stress about school,

relationships, money, the next step in our lives and so on. When we

get older, we stress about mortgage payments, car payments,

relationships, family, retirement, debt and so on. As we grow, our

problems may change but we never get a break from the stress. That

part always seems to be there. What we need to do is take care of the

problem early so that it doesn’t lead to heart disease, high blood

pressure and so on.

It is hard to eliminate stress all together right away. The

healthiest thing you can do in the immediate future is to recognize the

problem first. Then look at ways to understand and deal with the issue

that you are going through. Think about when you break a bone.

When you break a bone, you go to the hospital, visit a doctor, get a

cast and let it heal. If you break a bone, you would never say to your

self, I am okay, I am going to deal with the pain on my own. I don’t

need anybody else’s help. That may seem like a silly idea yet now

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think about it when you apply it to stress.

A lot of us try to deal with it on our own. We say to ourselves, I

can deal with this pain, it will go away, I wont stress about this forever.

We don’t think about ways to deal with stress and depression the same

way we do when breaking a bone and going to a doctor. The majority

of people think that there is something wrong with them if they need

exterior help with dealing with their stress or depression. We think of

counselors are nothing but people we go to when our parents get

divorced or if we are made to go. It is okay however, to see counselors

and doctors to deal with stress and depression just as much as a

broken bone. Healing that bone will keep you healthy just like dealing

with your stress.

From here on out, learn to understand your stress. Learn to

understand why you may be depressed. From here on out, know that

you are not alone, and that there are people out there to help. We

can’t deal and solve every problem on our own. What we do have

control over, is our health. That is what you need to keep well. Don’t

be afraid to ask for help in dealing with stress. It will only make you

stronger and healthier. We are young. We have time left to

understand this and deal with it much better than people who don’t.

Have the confidence to help yourself deal with emotions, depression,

stress, or whatever else you find yourself dealing with.

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 Depression

Some days just suck. And there is nothing we can do to

avoid them. Sometimes we can’t help when they happen or

how long it lasts. There are times in all of our lives where we

are down right depressed. Understand however that

depression is a part of life. And there is nothing wrong with

us when we have a bad day, or we’re feeling in the dumps. It

happens to all of us all the time.

There have been many days in my own life where I have thought

the entire world was against me and there is nothing I can do to make

it better. Spending days where all you feel like doing is sleeping. It

might even be a beautiful sunny day but in your mind all your thinking

is “Whatever, I don’t care, that doesn’t make the way I feel right now

go away.”

Many times when we are depressed, we think that we are a

special case and that no one has ever felt depression like this. Saying

to ourselves that our friends or family just don’t understand. Then we

treat depression as if there is something wrong with us and that the

only way to beat it is to deal with it on our own. Many of us think that

by admitting that we are depressed, we are not strong enough on our

own. We try to hide it from our friends and family saying things like

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“Nothing is wrong, I’m just tired.” Then, with the small amount of

money we do have, the last thing we want to do is go spend $100

bucks on a shrink where the first visit won’t do justice to the problem.

Many times, at our age when dealing with depression we turn to

the wrong sources for help. We turn to things like alcohol, drugs, or an

aggressive and rude attitude towards our friends and family. When it

come to alcohol, we may feel fine again after a few drinks, thinking the

problem is gone. Sometimes when we drink to escape we then drink

too much bringing the bad feelings back, and then with alcohol being a

depressant anyways we become a real mess. Getting into arguments,

yelling at friends, maybe even throwing or punching something.

Punching drywall has always been a favorite to many people it seems

like.

Going down the avenue of trying to self-fix depression with

alcohol, smoking, sleep, or avoiding others is not the answer.

Whatever you are going through, you are not alone. We all feel that

way sometimes. Don’t be afraid to talk about it and admit that you’re

feeling down to a friend or a family member. Admitting that you are

depressed does not define you; in fact it helps the recovery. Admitting

it and talking about it and letting out the steam are all the healthy and

right avenues to take when dealing with depression.

I know it seams hard to do and it might not relate right now,

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because we may not be feeling blue this very moment. But it will

come again. We both will be depressed again. When it comes, don’t

be afraid to handle it the proper way. Be strong and confident in

yourself. Whatever you are dealing with is okay. The sun will rise

again, and you will cherish a beautiful day once more.

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 Chapter 17

Balance

“The longer I live, the more I travel, the more I realize that:

Intelligence, and effort, and ability, and dreams are evenly distributed

across all of humanity in every country.”

-Former U.S. President William J. Clinton – Clinton Global

Initiative Speech

Take a second and look around you. Stop reading for a second

and become aware of your surroundings. Look out the window, watch

the people around you walk by, listen to the sounds that are being

created around you. Now think to yourself about being balanced.

Then think to yourself what in life is balanced? If you spend a moment

thinking about it, you will come to learn that the things that have

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lasted the longest in life are balanced.

As there is a winter, there will be a summer. As there is a fall,

there will always be a spring. Even more basic than that we have left

and right, and up and down. We will always have those because they

are balanced. Unfortunately, you don’t see humans on that list.

A lot of us are already living good lives. However, these lives are

at the expense of something or someone else. We might not see the

destruction happening when we do something that is out of balance.

In fact the majority of the things we do are not in balance. This

includes very basic things that are not even going against the norm.

For example driving our car or putting our garbage in the dumpster.

We seem to take our trash to the dumpster and that is the last we

think about it. We don’t realize that all that waste has to go

somewhere and somewhere on the same planet we live on. The

exhaust from our cars has to go somewhere, the trash that we throw

away has to go somewhere, and so on.

In addition, the lights in our homes have to be powered from

somewhere, the water that comes out of our sinks and baths has to

come from somewhere. And all of this we are doing, we are doing it in

an un-balanced way. We don’t think of it however, because the water

is still running in our showers and the trash will still be picked up and

taken away tomorrow.

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 The reason I put a quote by Former President Clinton in the

beginning of this chapter is to make the following point. As we travel

and we go beyond the towns and cities we are from, we realize just in

fact how similar we all are. People in Africa have arms and legs just

like people in the upper West side of Manhattan. People in India have

the same beauty that one will see in Southern California. No matter

where you go, we are all human. The problem however, is that the

majority of us and other dominant countries are living lives that are at

the expense of those who are in less fortunate areas.

There is not a single child that has been brought into this world

who asked to be born with AIDS. There is not a single child that was

born who asked to grow up in a third world country. We are all brought

into this world in ways none of us asked for. It is important to use the

abilities and resources have been blessed with in our own lives to help

the not so fortunate.

Regardless of what we were brought into, it is not right or fair to

live lives that come at the expense at others. Much of the world takes

advantage of this by outsourcing a lot of manufacturing jobs that can

be done much cheaper over seas. There are countless examples in

history with sweatshops, labor camps, horrible conditions in working

zones in Asia, India, and so forth that are strictly used so that we can

save a buck or two on that shirt we want to by or appliance that can

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now be sold for a cheaper price.

All of this is creating a world that is becoming much more un-

balanced. We are depleting our resources and taking advantage of

others who are less fortunate than us to enjoy the lifestyle we are

currently living. There is a famous law that I find important to point

out.

The Law of the Iroquois Indians:

“In every deliberation we must consider the

impact on the seventh generation.”
The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of five nations of tribes. The

fives nations consisted of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga,

and Seneca. When the Europeans first came to the new world, these

tribes inhabited the land that is now the North East section of the

Unites States as well as parts of Canada.

We live in a world where we are very fortunate to begin with. It is time

that we strive to live a more balanced life. Instead of taking advantage

of others, we must use our advantage to help others. We need to help

and create a more balanced world.

In addition, we need to become more conscious of the lives we

are currently living. This doesn’t mean becoming someone who

doesn’t do anything and never leaves the house, it means to be aware

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of your surroundings and spending everyday trying to become and to

live a more balanced life. I promise you that if you try this, you will see

a difference over night.

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 Chapter 18

Wealth & Happiness

There was a book that I read not too long ago that really changed

my life. The book was called Siddhartha. It is a simple 150-page book

written by a gentleman named Hermann Hesse. The book is about a

young man who leaves his family for a contemplative life. He bares a

child who he leaves through boredom to live a life of greed. In the end

he discovers a sound, a sound that changes his life to a new beginning.

A beginning filled with peace, rejection, suffering and wisdom.

This book found me in a very unique time in my life. Before

reading this book, I was unhappy. I just graduated college, I was

single, and I had the world at my fingertips. You think this would be

one of the most amazing times of my life, yet I was miserable and

scared to death. This structure that we are so accustomed to of school

and summer break being over, I didn’t know what to do.

I found myself getting caught up in this cycle of when I get that

job, then I will be happy, when I have some money in the bank, then I

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will be happy, when I move, then I will be happy. When I become rich,

then I will be happy. It was then that I picked this book up and gave it

a read. For me, my life turned upside down over night.

First off, I really hope that you read it on your own list of books to

read. What I learned from Siddhartha was after relating to the main

character of going out on this journey and trying to find what we are

looking for, yet having no idea what that is, I realized that life is the

opposite.

There has been study after study in regards to money and

happiness. I have read these studies in every newspaper and

magazine I could find for the longest time. Growing up, I always

thought that money and not just money but when I had this or did that,

then and only then would I be happy. However, all the results in these

reports say the same thing. The answer is no, wealth does not bring

happiness. Don’t get me wrong, there are very happy people who are

wealthy, and there are people who will disagree with me.

What I mean by this however is that you can’t and should not

rely on external factors to make you happy. Don’t ever say to yourself

“When I have that, then I will be happy, when I get that job, then I will

be happy, when I get that promotion, then I will be happy, when I

become rich, then I will be happy.” You will not only spend the

meantime un-happy, but you will also be let down when you do get this

or that because it wont have the satisfaction you thought it would.

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 After reading that book, I found that life is much more fulfilled in

the opposite. Wealth does not bring happiness, yet happiness

brings wealth. Let me say that one more time. Wealth does no bring

happiness, yet happiness brings wealth. After reading that book, I

really tried to figure out what makes me happy and to do more of that.

I found that by truly trying to make your own self happy, and really

being happy, the rest of life tends to fall into place.

For the rest of your life, I want you to practice this. I want you to

not have the mentality of a new Range Rover will bring you happiness

or a 42-inch TV. Don’t spend time relying on others to make you

happy, don’t spend time thinking materials will make you happy, really

spend time focusing on what that is for you. Whether it is exercise,

reading, love, friendship, or whatever. Find what makes you happy and

become happy. There is no secret to happiness. It must come from

within. I promise you that everything else in your life will fall into

place. Think of it. If you spend your entire life truly happy, the rest

doesn’t matter whether you make those millions of dollars or not.

There are plenty of people out there who do have millions but would

give it all away for happiness.

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 Chapter 19

Shoot for Plan A but, have plan B-Z ready

When I graduated college in May of 2007 life was good. I

remember I was at a bar with a buddy of mine. This random guy came

up to us and mumbled through his beer soaked breath “B e a u…. Be

c k l e y……!” Not having a clue of whom this guy was, I said “how are

you doing? How do I know you?”

“Beau… I was a substitute teacher for you in middle school. You were

the only person that was nice to me.” My mind starting to recollect

who this guy was I said back “Yeah how are you, what are you up to?”

He mumbled back. “I’m great… I’m drunk and things are good.”

“That’s good” I replied. He then asked me what I was up to these

days. I told him I just graduated from the University of Colorado, in

and out in four years. His eyes then became the size of golf balls,

shouting…“You graduated from CU in four years? That’s like leaving a

party at 10:00pm!!!!” He laughed and then returned to his beer.

Now this story really has nothing to do with this chapter however

it was really funny when it happened. During the last few months of

school, I really felt that I had the world in my fingers. I was going to

graduate college in May, spend the summer in Boulder, and then move

to California in the fall to start a great job in the music business. And

all of is was going to happen on my terms and my schedule. This was

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my plan A.

Graduation came and went and so did that summer. It was

August now and I started to panic. My life was already beginning to

derail from the original plan I thought so powerfully would happen.

After sending resume after resume to companies in California, I

couldn’t find a job to save my life. August 15 th came around and my

roommates and I had to move out of our apartment because our lease

was up. I didn’t resign with them because I knew eventually I would

move on to California or somewhere and didn’t want to be stuck in

Boulder for another year. Out of the three of us, the two other

resigned to a smaller two bedroom place while I was going to stay with

them for a maximum of two weeks on their couch.

A month and a half later, I had my routine down on how to make

that couch the most comfortable night sleep in the world. All this time

went by and I was still staying with them. It was now that I was looking

at my finances and realizing I really couldn’t afford to make the move

to California and job hunt out there.

Becoming more desperate, I used every resource that I built in

my network now to line up job interviews in Denver now and Boulder. I

no longer cared if I worked in the music business or not, I just wanted

to get off the couch and stop living out of the same clothes in a

suitcase.

By now I think I was on Plan H, and still had nothing. Not being

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able to sleep one night I emailed a very good friend of mine. The exact

e-mail was:

John, 9-10-2007

I just wanted to write you because I am in a bit of a jam. In the condition of

nothing working out with the Foundation, Gary was very kind to introduce me
to a man named Ken Weil. He is the Deputy Chief Director of Policy and
Initiatives for Governor Ritter here in Colorado. He and I met at the Capitol a
little over a week ago to discuss an amazing project called Youth Ventures.
He gave me the entire business plan to read over. It was the most amazing
opportunity. I had a really tough time getting a hold of him after
that. When I did, he said that he is sorry that the project is not moving
forward as fast as he or I would like it to be going. And that I should pursue
other opportunities. However, the Foundation and this project is all I was
focused on. Im in the debate of should I make
the move to California? Try to find something else in Denver? Stay in Boulder
for a few more months to make some extra cash? Please forgive me for
bothering you with this. I don't want you to feel like you have to give me the
answer, im just in a bit of a fret. That is the latest with me. I have to work
during the day but i can call you later if that works.

Beau B.
Now I sent this e-mail at midnight thinking I wouldn’t talk to my friend

John until the next day or week. John is one of the busiest men I know.

However, he is a man that I can’t see myself living without. We first

met on the Live 8 production in the summer of 2005. From there on,

we created a very close friendship through trust and loyalty.

Anyway, it was 1:00 am that night when he called back. That

night we spent an hour on the phone talking about life and what was

going on and what I wanted to do. I told him, I really didn’t know

anymore because nothing seemed to be working out. All I knew now is

the fact that I wanted to be a leader. It didn’t really matter what

purpose anymore. I didn’t care if it was the music business or not. It

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was this night and this conversation where I landed my first job out of

college.

Unbelievably grateful for this opportunity in my life, it was as far

from anything than I ever imagined my first job being. This road

leading to my first job was a very scary time in my life. Living on a

couch didn’t help. In your own life, don’t be afraid to shoot for your

dreams, but be ready when they don’t happen on the exact road you

intend to pursue. You will only be let down. This in no way means that

you will not achieve your dream job; it just means to prepare for the

unknown journey. In my life overall, nothing has changed from my

overall dreams. What I have learned though is dreams may come in

bizarre ways you never thought possible. Prepare yourself to keep

going whether it is the road you thought you were going to pursue or

not.

Life is made up of stones in a stream that

one will walk across. Take a second and think

about this. Think of the stones you have already

crossed, and the ones you still have to make a

leap towards. Stones can be jobs, friends,

contacts and opportunities. We live in a very fast

paced world where things are changing faster than we ever think they

would.

In my own experience, I was really frustrated when my first job

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ended after only a few months. It wasn’t that I did a bad job or got

fired, the job just wasn’t meant to be. It really bothered me that in

some sense, I worked myself out of a job by telling my boss that I

didn’t think it was a good idea to get involved in a project based on my

research. It bothered me wondering if I worked harder and tried a

different way, I could make the job last longer. Thinking about it one

night I came to a conclusion. I realized that that specific job was only

supposed to be exactly what it was. That job introduced me to

someone that helped me get my next job. During that first job I

learned skills that I would be able to take to my next. In conclusion,

that is all that job was ever supposed to be. It was a stone that I

jumped to that helped put the next stone in life safely in range to jump

to.

In your life don’t get frustrated when a job, contact or friendship

seems to not be working out. When one door closes, there will always

be another that opens up. When a job does end or whatever the

situation is, think of the positive things you got out of it. You may have

met someone that will help you with your next job. You may have

learned a skill that will make you stand out somewhere else. Only

spend time focusing on the positive things on each stone that you

jump to on your own river.

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 Chapter 20

Don’t be ashamed of HARD WORK

In college I was as broke as a church mouse. But it didn’t bother

me for a second when it came to figuring out ways to make extra

money to cover bills and have ridiculous amounts of fun on the

weekends. Not being one to sit around and dwell on not having any

money. I hit the ground running and did everything I could think of. I

can confidently say that I did everything you can think of during

college to make extra money. I worked in retail, I cleaned houses, I

babysat, catered parties, watched homes, walked dogs, drove cars

from Boulder to Long Island, drove U-haul trucks from Aspen to Santa

Barbara, cleaned up vomit, unclogged drains, replaced light bulbs,

detailed cars, painted walls, cleaned windows, scaled latters, moped

floors, fixed stereo equipment, electrocuted myself, removed dead

animals, mulched gardens, removed Christmas lights, put on Christmas

lights, filed letters, made returns, took kids to emergency rooms,

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painted fences, cooked, built sand boxes, shipped boxes, grocery

shopped, folded sheets, made beds, polished glasses and silverware,

mowed lawns, organized garages, drove fancy cars, and still had plenty

of time to study.

A few of these things I find worth sharing in more detail because

they have been memorable moments in my life. One of which is de-

clogging shower drains. Let me tell you what. This could very well be

one the hardest things and nastiest things ever. This would definitely

be on Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs television show. My task for the

day was to go around this house and unscrew the drain caps and clean

out the gunk, hair and grime that had backed up the water for proper

flowage. Doing this for your own drain can be worse enough. But

doing it for other people can be a very traumatic experience. I bit my

lip and gave it everything I could. Not having sanitary gloves, I

wrapped my hands with trash bags and topped them off with duct

tape. I looked like the Russian boxer in the Rocky movies with deflated

gloves on about to give this shower drain hell. While I was cleaning it

out, I about vomited myself. But I knew that if I did, I would have to

clean that up to. I spared myself the extra work.

The important part of that story however is although I was

cleaning shower drains; I didn’t let it bother me. Not once did I think

that my life has succumbed to being a drain cleaner. It was only the

task that I was given to make the extra money I needed in college.

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 On the other hand, some of the other jobs have been an amazing

experience. Through a friend of a friend I met a very nice lady who

lived in Aspen, Colorado. She was moving to Santa Barbara, California,

and was in desperate need of someone to help her. Being a single

mom she need the help of a strong guy to help her move couches,

beds, and tables to California. This being the middle of the school

year, I skipped class on Thursday to take a Greyhound bus up to Aspen

from Boulder.

Being on one of the scariest bus rides of my life, I thought I was

going to die. This bus driver drove like a mad man through the

mountain passes in a horrible whiteout snowstorm. Finally making it to

Aspen I met up with my boss for the weekend. By then it was Friday

and it was -6 degrees Fahrenheit all day. Let me tell you moving a

brass bed frame into a U-haul truck in those temperatures, I thought

my hands were going to fall right off. By the time that truck was full, I

couldn’t move from exhaustion and hypothermia! Waking up really

early on Saturday, I hit the road. In one day I drove a 17-foot U-haul

truck from Aspen, Colorado all the way to the beach. I drove all the

way to my uncle’s house in the Pacific Palisades in California. Stayed

there for a free night’s rest and then met my boss in Santa Barbara the

next day after she flew out and unloaded the truck. On Sunday, I flew

home and was in class at 8am Monday morning.

There was an amazing family that I worked for during college. To

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this day they remain very good friends of mine. During the summer

months, they would live in Long Island. To make this move for the

summer, my job was to drive their car with a U-haul trailer full of

luggage and other stuff for them to their house in New York. Happy to

do it, I have made the trans U.S. journey for them now three times.

The last time I drove from Boulder to New York was one of the craziest

experiences of my life. To do the drive from Boulder to New York takes

three full days. These are not days where you drive from 9am to 5pm.

You drive from sunup to sundown. You eat in the car and only stop for

gas and bathroom breaks which you do at the same time. Driving this

far by yourself really messes with your psyche a little. It is a long time

to think and be by yourself, yet focusing immensely going 75mph

pulling a U-Haul trailer.

On the third day, the day I was going to reach the destination, I

was at the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Driving across

Pennsylvania takes a day in itself. Excited to be on the last day of

driving, I had the destination in the trip computer and a Red Bull in my

hand. I am ready to get to New York. The day goes by smoothly.

Driving across Pennsylvania is quite pleasant mostly because the roads

the entire way are in pristine condition.

Getting to the border of the state of New York, the GPS screen

directed me into the Lincoln Tunnel. The last thing you want in life

after driving for three days is to be thrown into the Lincoln Tunnel. In

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my case, it was too late. As I came out of the other side filled with

exhaustion, I was dead smack in Manhattan, additionally the GPS lost

signal while in the tunnel. I had no idea what direction to go. Here I am

in an SUV, pulling a trailer in the middle of the thickest traffic I have

ever seen. The GPS is yelling at me to make a left turn in 100 ft. I’m

thinking I would be lucky enough to get one lane over in a mile. I am

driving this SUV where I am used to being in the open lanes of Boulder,

Colorado and now I am looking out the sun roof at the Trump Tower and

then crossing through central park not having a clue of where I am

going. The only savior I had was playing Enya on the stereo to keep

my sanity.

Two hours later, after battling out Manhattan, I made it across

the island and back on to the road that went out to the North Fork of

Long Island. Being in Manhattan driving an SUV with a trailer will be

something I will never forget. All of this just to make some extra

money in college. I hope that these stories entertain you at the least.

But if anything, I hope they teach you that there are millions of

opportunities out there to make some extra money.

Going to the University of Colorado and growing up in a ski town,

I have met several people who will probably never have to work a hard

day in their lives and good for them for not having to. However, for the

rest of us, there is nothing wrong with hard work to get you by. There

is nothing wrong with any job if it helps you stay afloat during the time

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when you need extra money or waiting for a better job. Never spend

time worrying about what others think if they see you cleaning toilets

or mopping floors to get by. Anybody who does look down at you for

doing so is not worth your time. You have your own life to live and own

goals to reach, don’t let anything or anybody get you down along the

journey. Remember a job doesn’t define you unless you let it.

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 Chapter 21

Everything is Sales

Take a second and think about the last time you went to the

movies. You probably went with some friends or a family member.

One of you had to come up with which one everybody was going to

see, and a good reason to see it. Whether it was you or someone else,

you or they were selling everybody else on why they should see this

particular movie.

Whether you realize it or not, everything in life is sales. You are

either selling yourself, selling an idea, or selling a product. Think about

a job interview. During that interview, you are dressed up sharp,

handing the employer your resume and telling them why you are the

person for the job. You are selling yourself to the employer.

In life, you will encounter many times where you will catch

yourself selling something. It is important to now how to sell it. To do

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this, learn how to sell. Practice selling an idea, practice selling a

product, but most importantly practice how to sell yourself. Learn how

to read people and understand the situation you are in. And apply that

to the sale.

During my first real job interview, I was 13 years old. You were

suppose to 14, but I was able to pull it off because of my height and

size. My first job was to be a stock boy and folder for a Ralph Lauren

store during the Holiday season. I remember it like it was yesterday. I

sat there in the interview, looked the employer in the eye, and sold

myself to him. I told him blatantly how and why I was the man for the

job.

After a lengthy job interview, I quickly learned that my job of

selling didn’t stop there. Thinking for only a second that I did my job of

selling myself, and now that time was over, I was wrong. To a musician

or an actor, or a project manager, there is a saying. The saying is “You

are only as good as your last job.” To a musician, if they have hit over

hit and then they flop with their new single, that can hurt them to a

certain extent. To an actor that has had several strong roles, if his last

movie was not so good, that can take a beating on his repertoire.

Although at this time in my life, I was only a folding boy and

holiday season gift wrapper, the philosophy is the exact same.

Everyday when I would show up to work, I had to impress my boss with

my folding capability and gift-wrapping skills. It wasn’t like I could do

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an amazing job of folding on Monday and then decide to chill out for

the rest of the week.

In addition to selling my boss that I was the man for the job,

Ralph Lauren was also a clothing store. There were also guests that

needed to be sold on items as well. Everywhere I looked, there was

selling. No matter what I was doing, I was selling.

Going back to my example of an actor or actress in a movie,

before the film is created and produced, the actor or actress had to

audition. This usually consists of sitting in a dark, unfamiliar room in

front of several strangers and here you are reciting Shakespeare and

you’ve never even met the guy. But, here you are selling yourself to

those people on why you should be Richard the III.

The two most important things to remember from this chapter is

this. One, learn how to sell. Learn how to sell yourself, a product, or

an idea. And second, learn how to follow through. Life doesn’t work

very well if you don’t know how to do both. Back to the example of my

first job, I was very capable of telling the employer why I was the man

for the job, but if I wasn’t able to follow through and actually be good

at gift wrapping and folding cashmere it wouldn’t have lasted very

long. From here on out, become aware of this in every situation that

you encounter. You come to find sales in your life being everywhere.

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 Chapter 22

Street Smarts. Pay attention to your

surroundings

Chapter needs WORK! but had to get my ideas out

I have a friend who is a genius. He is my age and he has

accomplished more than anybody I know. He knows more about

investing and money than many people twice his age on Wall Street.

However, he would burn a frozen pizza if he tried to cook it. I put this

example in because it makes me laugh just thinking about it. I hope

this example puts a smile on your face as well. I am confident that you

can relate to knowing someone in your own life who is like this.

My point with this chapter is too remind you that having street

smarts is just as important as the focused knowledge we have

regardless of what field we are in. My definition of street smart is this.

Street smarts involve everything in your life that help you become a

more well-rounded person. Its all the basics that many people don’t

take the time to learn. Examples are everything from how to boil an

egg to driving a manual vehicle. The ultimate example, although he is

a fictional character is James Bond. Although he is a fictional

character, he pays very close attention to everything around him; he

can drive any type of car or fly any type of plane. Now I am not saying

we need to have the same skills. However, James Bond is the perfect

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example because his street smarts are very advanced.

The best way I have found to learning street smarts is to simply

be aware of your surroundings. We live in a very fast world where

things are constantly changing. It can be very hard to take the time

and focus on your surroundings. Although we live in this fast pace

world, it is extremely important to focus on your surroundings. What I

mean by that is to pay attention.

For me street smarts are a bit of everything. Street smarts is the

ability to understand how to read people, understand situations, and

be on you’re A-game. The first example is the ability to read people.

There has been many times in my life where I have had the

opportunity to sit in on meetings with people of much more power than

myself. During those meetings, I paid close attention to what every

body said, what their moods were like, and the answers they had given

to one another’s questions. By focusing on these traits alone, I knew

exactly when it was appropriate to speak up and remain quiet. By

reading people, I also understood which people I could tell that were

serious, which ones lied, and which ones are people I want to learn

from.

With street smarts, it is very important to think of everything.

Going beyond the example of sitting in meetings with powerful

business leaders, there are many other things that can contribute to

your understanding of your environment based on your observation.

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Let’s say you walk into an office building for a job interview. You can

learn a lot about a company before you even meet who is interviewing

you. You might wonder how and the answer is this. Pay very close

attention to what the office looks like. Does it look like they spend a lot

of money on useless things? How do people dress and welcome you?

Are the plants in their office dead? How old are the magazines on the

table in front of you? What’s the vibe like? There are countless ways

to read the situation you are in. This example is nothing but to help

you get a better feel and understanding of what you are about to get

involved with. Reading situations is very important.

Other street smart capabilities involve having the ability to be

punctual. We live in a world with over six billion people. The

competition for jobs and promotions and everything else, is very

difficult. To even begin to stand out to a teacher or employer, these

basic skills must be mastered. The ability to be on time or even early

will only help you with whatever you are doing. The ability to

understand directions and executing them without nagging your boss

or teacher will only help you. The ability to be reliable to both a

teacher or boss will only help you.

In essence, street smarts is the ability to be good at everything

that surrounds you. Going back to my friend, he is a genius. But the

simple things like driving in snow conditions or putting together a bowl

of pasta are foreign to him solely because he is consumed by only

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focusing on his knowledge of interest.

With this in mind, focus on every environment and surrounding

you are in. Try to learn how to do a bit of everything than focusing on

one specific issue. This will not only make you a more rounded

individual, you will have the skills and capability for a wider range of

tasks and opportunities.

To name a few, the most important street smarts that I have

found that help are these. Learn how to drive a manual car. You never

know when a situation will arise where you have to drive one. There

may come a day where you are the only one sober enough to drive.

Don’t put your life at risk because you don’t know how to drive a stick.

Learn how long it takes to get to places. Learn how to apply different

factors like traffic, weather, or other conditions that can delay you.

This will help you be on time when you are going to interviews, class,

or a job you currently have. Learn the basics of cooking. We are at the

age where it’s very easy to go to the local Chipotle and buy a burrito.

You wouldn’t believe how much eating out adds up over time. If you

know the basics of how to boil pasta, steam vegetables, boil potatoes,

and cook chicken and fish, you will not only impress a date, you will

save money in the process.

List of street smarts

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 Chapter 23

The Power of Positive Thinking

Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.

-Henry Ford

Think of the last time in your life where everything seemed to

work out perfectly. Whether it was playing a sport, or taking a test, or

getting that parking spot right in the front row. There is a very good

chance that before it happened, you saw it happening in your mind and

you believed in it happening before it actually did in reality. You were

doing nothing but thinking completely positive about the event and

look what happened. It occurred just like you imagined it doing so.

There are many times in our lives where things like this occur.

We may not realize just how many times this does happen to us, but it

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does. When you are not distracted by pears, or other factors, and you

are completely believing in the moment, you will be surprised on how

many times things actually turn out the way that you imagined.

In high school, it was basketball season, more toward the end of

the season for this story. It was February and we were two games

away from being the wild card to make it into the first round of state

playoffs. We weren’t very good, and we played for a small mountain

ski town school. Basketball at the time was not the most sought after

sport to follow or to pay attention to at all. However, those facts didn’t

bother the guys on the team including myself.

With two games left, we had to play a team from Delta. Delta,

Colorado is about as far a drive as you can make from where we were

from without driving a circle around the entire state. However, we

loved it because in those days we were able to get out of class at

10am to travel all day for a night game. On Saturday morning, our

team made the drive to Delta. If we won that game, we would be set

to be the last team to make it into the playoff rounds. If we lost, we

would have to drive back to Delta that following Tuesday to play them

again. To this day, I can’t seem to figure out why that was how the

schedule worked out, but it was, and it makes for an interesting story.

That Saturday night, we lost so bad, we couldn’t wait to get back

on the bus, get our $5 dollars for Wendy’s and get the heck out of

there. It was a beating. Getting home that night around 1am, I

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couldn’t wait to fall asleep and forget about the disaster of a game all-

together.

Due to our loss that Saturday we had to make that entire drive

again the following Tuesday. If we lost, our season would be over. If

we won, we would be the last team allowed to make it to the state

play-off tournament. When Monday came around, it was time to

practice again. The whole team, including myself suited up and

started warming up. The mood was very simple. We could just give

up, goof around in practice and settle for a game we knew we were

going to loose the next day.

However, not a single person on the team that day wanted to

make that horribly long drive all the way back down to Delta, CO and

loose. We were not ready to jam ourselves in those smelly green and

brown school bus seats with the split window that is uncomfortable to

rest your head on unless you have an extra sweat shirt to lean against,

with one heater in the rear putting out an odor of burnt rubber and hot

steel. If we were going to have to make that trek again, we were going

to get something out of the trip, and that something was a win.

Excited to leave school that day before it even started, we

loaded onto the bus with our poorly tied ties, our brown shoes with

black belts, our pillows, disc-mans and pop-tarts. We were ready. The

energy on the bus this trip was different than the one prior. There was

no pressure on us. All we all wanted to do was win. We all believed

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that we could.

Tip-off was seven thirty that night. In the locker room before the

game, there wasn’t a single person there that doubted this game. We

knew what we made this drive for. All we could think of was not letting

this team beat us twice.

At half- time we were tied. All gathering back in the locker room,

sweat beading off our nose and necks, we attentively listened to the

coach and planed out the second half. When we left the locker room to

head back out on the court, we chanted our team name louder that

moment then we did during the entirety of the season. There were

goose bumps in all of us as we ran back out onto the court.

With another half of back-and-forth basketball the time was

running out. They got a point and then we answered right back. The

clock eventually ran out of time leaving us up by two points. The team

exploded off the bench jumping up and down as if we had won March

Madness. And although we were a small mountain town basketball

team, this win gave us the excitement and joy and feeling no different

to if we had really won March Madness. We screamed and jumped and

yelled and hugged. To this day, it is one my most favorite memories to

look back on.

The next weekend we were beaten in the first round of the

tournament so bad, that our school was not invited back the next two

years. No, I am kidding but it was bad. However, it didn’t matter to a

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single one of us. That year we already were champions. We won the

game we wanted to win.

My point to this story goes back to thinking positive. Everyone

on that basketball team could have very easily thrown in the towel and

called it quits. We all could have made that long bus trip back to Delta

knowing we were going to loose, where the only thing we celebrated

that day is the fact that we didn’t have to go to chemistry class. But

fortunately that’s not what happened. Everyone on that team believed

we could win. The energy that day was in our favor. By thinking

positive, there wasn’t a single obstacle in our way that day in favor of

loosing.

Now you may think this story was a silly basketball game

between two small high school towns in the state of Colorado. And if

you believe that, you are right, but, the concept behind the story is the

exact same no matter what you apply it to. Whether it’s a goal at

work, a desired weight to be, or any other goal. If you truly believe in

yourself accomplishing it, you will achieve it. Even if everybody around

you thinks your crazy, if you truly are believing and thinking positive,

any goal of yours will come true.

From this day forward, practice thinking positive in everything

you do. Practice being positive; starting when you wake up every

morning to the time you go to bed. If you practice this, your life will

change over night. You will start to notice how more things you believe

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in start to come true. Going back to the opening quote in this chapter,

talking about whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.

A lot of people everyday say to themselves that they will never be rich

or never be happy. And guess what? There are a lot of people

everyday that are not rich and not happy. On the other hand, there are

other people who believe they are going to be successful no matter

what it takes. And those people, one hundred percent of the time

become successful. They think positive about what they want, they

believe and see it happening in their mind, and they go after it until

they’re satisfied. You should follow the same model. Never think to

yourself that you can’t do something or you can’t achieve something.

Just like I quoted Henry Ford, whether you think you can or can’t,

you’re right!

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 Chapter 24

Be Ready

“Don’t have a meeting to discuss when you are going to have a

meeting.”

-Beau Beckley

Both during college and my first job after, there is one thing that

sticks out that would really make me cringe. That problem involved

people not being ready when it was time to meet. During college, I

found this being a problem during the process of founding the Colorado

Creed. During my first job, I found it being an issue with the founders

of the organization I worked with.

During college, my time spent writing and creating the Creed

with other outstanding students is one of the best memories I have to

date. Creating the Colorado Creed has opened more doors for me than

I have ever imagined. Little do people know however is the process to

where it is now took a very long time.

During the days of writing and creating the Creed, the founding

members, including myself found the task of finding a time each week

that worked for all of us to meet was very difficult. Trying to find a

time for six or seven college students to meet any day was impossible

regardless of what their objective was. Anyway, the time that we did

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find was very valuable. The problem however, was during this precious

time we had together, we spent about 80% of the time discussing

about the next time we were going to meet. This happened week after

week, where very little was getting done. Additionally, we had very

important faculty members working on this with us and to waste their

time as much as we did was unacceptable.

Whether you are working on a school project, working with a club

group, or executing a task in the job world, be ready to present. Do

not, and I repeat do not waste peoples time, especially your own.

When you find your self in a meeting or a group project, make sure

that time is spent being productive.

During my first job out of college, I worked with two people who I

absolutely adore and love; yet they are some of the craziest people I

have ever met. Although I love them, I was shocked to see this same

mistake being made in the real working world with big time players

involved.

There is one example that really sticks out to me. While working

with them, I set up a meeting with a very powerful man in downtown

Denver. This man is a good friend of mine who is a president to a very

prestigious foundation in Denver. The meeting was scheduled for

9:30am. To find the free time from my friend alone is a very big deal.

He already has a full plate of things to be doing everyday as it is.

At 9:30am everybody called into the conference line and broke

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the ice with some sensible humor and a brief talk of the weather and

then the meeting was going to begin. Yet that was it, after that there

was nothing but dead air. Then the discussion became the topic of

when we were going to have a meeting. This is all happening while I

am panicking in my head thinking this is the meeting, how could you

guys not be ready?!? Here I am after setting up this time for the two

people to have a meeting, and they discuss what time is good to meet.

I hope that by reading these examples you understand how

important it is to not waste peoples time while being ready when it is

your time to present. Whether you are the president of the United

States or a custodian at night, our time is valuable. Everyone deserves

that in respect.

ADD?

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 Chapter 25

The X-Factor

There are millions of people out in the world who are frustrated.

They are frustrated because they don’t understand why they haven’t

made it, with what ever the definition to them of “making it is.” For

most, it is because they don’t have what I like to refer to as “the X-

factor.” What I mean by this is the following. Many people no matter

what they are doing, whether it is playing an athletic game, or at their

job, or in a relationship don’t give it everything they have. Many times

it is difficult because we think we are giving the task everything we

have, but in reality we are not.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour De France 7 years in a row.

Regardless of what he has been accused of with doping, or whatever

else people throw his way, Lance is a champion. The ability to

discipline yourself, stay healthy, and not have a crash that hinders

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your ability to ride is a miracle. It is also the case of having the biggest

X-factor in the world.

What made Lance the best, was not only that he was one

of the best cyclists in the world, it was his ability to know in his mind

and heart that he was willing to work harder than any other cyclist in

the race. For Lance, it didn’t matter how much pain he was in he kept

on riding. For Lance, it didn’t matter how steep or long the climb was,

he kept going. That fact that he kept going, was his x-factor in play.

When you have the ability to control your mind and believe you can

put in that 1 degree more effort than everybody else, you will become

a champion at whatever you do.

Arnold Schwartzenager also known as the Terminator, also known

as the Governor of (Khal –E-Forn –E- Ya!), is a champion. Similar to

Lance, he is a champion because of his x-factor. Arnold has applied

this x-factor to everything he has done in life.

One of the best documentaries in the world to date is one called

“Pumping Iron.” If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you rent it tonight.

After watching that video, you will want to start pumping iron straight

away. The documentary is about Arnold on his way to getting ready for

the Mr. Olympia competition. The documentary follows Arnold around

as he is preparing to compete against a gentle man named Lou

Ferrigno.

During this movie, Arnold talks about why he is the best. And

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quite frankly, I think he is right. What he talks about in the movie on

why he is the best is due to his ability to go that extra mile. He didn’t

care if he passes out from lifting too much, he didn’t care how much

pain he is in, Arnold would say, “It is in the 11th and 12th rep that the

muscle is growing.” His belief and ability to follow through has made

him the champion that he is today.

The rule of the X-factor applies no matter what you are doing.

Whether you are Eric Clapton on the guitar, or Lance Armstrong, or

Arnold Schwarzenagger, all these people have the ability to practice

that extra hour, or push themselves with guitar chords that can’t be

reached. The X-factor is very similar to the chapter if you go back on

pushing your comfort zone.

What ever you find yourself doing. You must apply the X-factor

to be the best. Everyone around you can do a good job, even a great

job. But to be the best, you must have the X-factor within. We are

young and we still have our entire lives to using the X-factor. Whether

you want to play an instrument, be the best in a sporting game, or the

smartest financial investor of our generation, you will only get there by

applying the x-factor.

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 Chapter 26

Communication

Today we have more ways of communicating with one another

like never before. Think about in your day to day life, how many

different ways we communicate with each other, we text, we Facebook,

we call, we email, we MySpace, we mail and we Instant message each

other. Yet, with all of these technologies we have, we are no better off

with getting our message or point across.

We live in a world where the colon and the parenthesis are only

used to make happy faces or a wink in a text message. We live in a

world where a word that is bold or capitalized can mean that we are

angered or excited. All of these are examples of just how many ways

we have to get our feelings and messages across.

With all of these ways of communicating with each other, it has

not made our ability to get the meaning of the message across any

easier or clearer, in fact, many of the ways that we communicate, we

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are hindering about ability to get the meaning across on what we are

trying to say. That said, communication is a very important tool to be

good at. The difference between being clear or not can lead to or

avoid an argument, a job opportunity or whatever else.

A lot of the time, we as humans just assume that we know what

the other person is thinking and we say what we need to say thinking

that, which many times leads to a misunderstanding. The ability to

communicate properly is a very good tool to have in life.

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 Chapter 27

Follow Through!

Writing this book for me has been a personal

journey in itself.

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 Chapter 28

I Wonder What if?

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 We are all young and the world is still to be ours. We have time

to invest and be smart about our money, we have time to learn and

study a field that peeks our interest, we can take risks, and travel to

the far ends of the earth. That said, from this day forward live your life

never wondering what if? That is the single most important value that

I want you to get from this book. Billions of people grow up and

wonder what if when its too late.

From this day forward live your life doing exactly what you want.

Don’t let a day go by where you wonder what if you said something?

What if you traveled to Europe? What if you followed through with that

idea? Life is way too short to let it slip between your fingers. I know

we all have goals and dreams that we want to reach. However, you

keep them in your life as only goals and dreams, they will never come

true. It is like my saying “an empire that is only talked about, never

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gets built.”

Whatever your own dreams and aspirations are, go after them.

Don’t let a single person in this world tell you can’t do something, or

you will never be able to achieve it. Take a second and look at the

people who have made it great. They are no different than you and I.

The only thing that makes them who they are today, is their belief that

they will succeed. The Richard Bransons, and the Bill Bradleys and the

Michael Jordans of today are where they are because the believed and

went after their goals and dreams everyday of their lives. We can do

that to. And if we do, just think of the possibilities of where we will end

up.

Every single one of us have the capability of doing magnificent

things in this world. Every one of us deserves to do extraordinary

things in this world. I hope that by reading this book you get at least

one thing that helps you on your own journey. And although you and I

may never meet face to face, although I would love to more than

anything in the world. If you get the values and the words to live by in

this book, I believe in you as much as you believe in yourself. I hope

you take this book with you on your own path. Share it with the people

you know who need help.

This is the only world we live in. It is the only world we’ve got. It

is time that we take charge and raise the standard of living for

everybody. From this day forward, even if it’s Monday morning, start

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living the life of your dreams. Go after your goals and don’t quit until

you have succeeded. Remember the values and words in this book

when times are hard. Remember them when things are good.

Remember them when you have failed and the whole world seems to

be against you. Remember them when you feel alone, and remember

them when your in the spot light. Remember them when you are

stressed or miserable. Remember them when you couldn’t be happier.

If we all step up to the plate and we execute these values and standard

of living, just think of the possibilities.

-Your friend

Beau M. Beckley

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 Ideas while I write

Don’t waste other peoples time

What if?

Compassion

Forgiveness

Love*

Environment*

-Recycle, lights, re-use etc.

Confidence - It only feeds itself

Thinking Possitive

Create a board of directors

Values

Practice

Don’t compare yourself

Plane window

Street smarts.

NO can be your best friend

There is no such thing as age

Goal setting

Don’t be ashamed of hard work

Push your comfort zone

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Exercise

Be nice to the gate keeper

Read and Write

Find goal

Never say I can’t

Put money away

Network

Right people

Passion

Honesty

Humor

Live large

Karma

Give

Its an answer book.

It’s a road map for success for a young man or woman who has

extreme potential, yet is lost in the post college, structured

world.

Gives the power

Weapons to understand the battle that they are about to face.

Knowledge given to them

Don’t get trapped in loans and debt, etc.

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