Around the World – Part 2
You probably remember Roger from our article Life Is Terrific Around the World.
It’s been 25 years since Roger took the Successful Life Course. He still remembers and practices goal setting and the other principles taught.
And it has helped him to be successful. He achieved his goal of going around the world in 1985.
Now, 24 years later, Roger went back to India.
Here he is in front of the Taj Mahal, in the same place as before, with a Life Is TERRIFIC! bumpersticker!
Way to go Roger! Thank you for sharing with us!
Life Is Terrific Around the World
It’s always good to hear success stories from our graduates.
I recently got an email from Roger Knipp. Roger took the 3 day Successful Life Course with Ed Foreman and Earlene Vining in 1984.
He said “As a result of the course, I set a goal of going around the world, which I did in 1985. I took a picture of myself in front of the Taj Mahal in 1985, holding up a Life Is Terrific bumpersticker. Had that picture in my living room for two decades and still cherish it. And Ed put it in his newsletter in late 1985.”
Talk about the power of goal setting!
Now Roger is going back to India and is going to take one of those bumperstickers. He says “I will be seeing the Taj Mahal again and I want to strike the same pose holding the same bumpersticker.”
We’re rooting for you, Roger! Please send us the new picture when you get it!
Do you have a success story to tell? Sharing success encourages all of us to better things and helps counteract all of the negative news we are bombarded with daily. If you have a success story, please let us know by clicking the “comment” button below or send an email to [email protected].
For Any Outcome You Want
by Tony Yost
“For any outcome you want, there is a certain way of thinking and acting that will get it for you. You have to find it and be willing to adopt it.”
Bill Harris, founder of Centerpointe Research Institute
There are several things that we can learn from the quote above.
First of all, you CAN get what you want.
If you don’t believe that you can achieve a goal, your chances of success are very small. The first time the going gets a little tough, it will be way too easy to quit and then say, “See, I told you I couldn’t do it.”
Second, you may have to change your way of thinking or acting in order to get it.
Do you think it’s likely that you will achieve great wealth if you also believe that all wealthy people are greedy, no good, thieves?
Do you think it’s likely that you will find a satisfying relationship if you also think that all men/women are only out to take advantage of you?
In short, do you think that you can be a winner while acting like a loser?
If you are not living the life you want, find someone who is, and see how they think and act. If it works for them, there is no reason it shouldn’t work for you, too.
P.S. I don’t mean for this to come off as a sales pitch, but one really good way of finding out how successful people think and act is The Successful Life Course.
My Introduction to “Happy School”
by Tony Yost
Several years ago, I went to work for a man by the name of Tom Christopher. He had taken his hobby of being a private pilot and turned it into a very profitable air charter company. It eventually became the largest on-demand air transportation company in North America. So, the man knew what he was doing.
At the time I joined him, Tom had won one of the largest air charter contracts ever offered. He was hiring new managers to take his company to the next level. I was hired as the head of the Computer and Telephone systems. About the same time, he hired an Air Charter Manager, a Ground Services Manager, and an Out-Station Manager.
Very soon after being hired, we began hearing about “Happy School”. The managers who had been hired before us knew that we would be going. When questioned about what it was, though, they would only smile knowingly.
Then one day Tom brought it up. It turned out that “Happy School” was The Successful Life Course presented by Executive Development Systems. Being the hotshot computer guy, I thought I was already pretty successful, and I told Tom “No Thank You”.
Being the CEO of the company, and an SLC graduate himself, Tom brought it up again. He didn’t say so, but I perceived it to be a career decision…if you know what I mean. So I very reluctantly agreed.
The course was to be held in the beautiful hill country of Kerrville, Texas, about an hour from San Antonio.
The original plan was to fly commercial into San Antonio and then be taken by van to Kerrville. I was still very resentful about having to go. I would tell people that if they would just leave me in San Antonio, I would go down to the Riverwalk, drink margaritas, eat Mexican food, and I would get happy.
I thought we were way too busy getting ready for the new contract to take time off for a “touchy-feely” type of course, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Tom would be so insistent. But anyway, a deal is a deal, so I went.
We flew in a company plane into the Kerrville airport. As a passenger, it looked like we were being dropped in the middle of nowhere. A very nice man, with a funny little “Life Is Terrific” button, drove us to the hotel where the class would be held.
The next day, as class began, I sat in the back of the room, still very resentful.
As Ed Foreman started talking, I had to admit that he was interesting to listen to. And he made some very good points. As he and Earlene Vining continued with each session, I began to feel less resentful and more interested.
Finally, in one of the sessions after lunch, I got a “blinding flash of the obvious”! What I was being taught would not only help Tom and his company, but it would help ME personally! I was learning how to relax (previously, I would get so stressed that I would get severe pains in my back). I was learning how to deal with frustrating people (which, up to then, was anybody who didn’t see things my way). In short, I was learning how to be really successful from people who had actually achieved the success they talked about!
From that point on, I really paid attention and tried to get everything I could from them. My favorite part was “Leadership Techniques”, which they humorously refer to as “Monkey Management” (grin). I won’t spoil it for you, but if you hear it, you’ll see the connection.
They also taught the three prescriptions for happiness, which if you continue to follow them, really help keep the “good things” going.
Ed and Earlene spent three days and nights teaching me how to have one good Terrific day! The idea is that if you repeat that over and over, you will have a successful life.
At the end of the course, I got their tapes. After I got back home, I listened to their tapes in my car so often that I can repeat most of them from memory.
I thanked Tom for allowing me to go. It was the best investment of time that I’ve ever made.
I immediately scheduled my wife and my father to go the next month. (It was the only time I had ever done something like that without asking her first!)
One of the first things I would do for everyone I’ve hired since then, is schedule them for “Happy School” or get them the tapes or CDs.
Oh yeah, I got one of those funny little buttons the van driver was wearing, too (grin). I got it for climbing the mountain (I darn near spilled my coffee!).
