Over the last week or so we have had the following setbacks occur:

1. After being invited to speak to a large group of some of central Florida’s most important movers and shakers, we then had the offer retraced the day before the event. Apparently the President got cold feet about the title of How To Be Rich and Happy, even though he hadn’t read it and he was assured by people who had it wasn’t a get rich quick scheme.

2. We had two offers to gift books to a major charity turned down.

3. We had numerous offers to gift copies of How To Be Rich and Happy to United Way ignored after they were initially very enthusiastic. Not even a thanks but no thanks and they’re no longer taking our calls or responding to e-mails.

4. Seen sales slow down, albeit expectedly after the initial rush, to the point where we are still a fraction short of having the money to buy the next batch of books.

5. Had various requests for help or to offer help either ignored or turned down.

So what should we make of a week like that?

Maybe we should feel a bit crestfallen, a bit down or even a bit angry? After all, we’re trying to help here, surely people should be flocking to join our cause? Or maybe we should just quit and sell the rights into the US as we have other countries and cut and run with the money?

The reality is, there are 1,000,001 good causes out there vying for peoples attention and this is very much a marathon and not a sprint.

No project of this magnitude is ever a straight line to success with each day moving a step nearer the final outcome. It's more like wandering in a maze thinking that the next turn will get you where you want to be only to find it's another dead end.

Or maybe I should reframe that and say it' s another option ruled out?

Good stuff happens, bad stuff happens and sometimes nothing at all happens, that’s just how it is.

I don’t necessarily agree with Churchill as I think sometimes quitting can be the wisest thing to do under certain circumstances. History is littered with people who’s inability to see quitting as the most sensible option cost them their business’s, families and sometimes their lives.

Fortunately though, we’re not even remotely close to the point where it’s wise for us to give up, and all the last week has served to do is make us even more determined. And if you do suspect my commitment is waning even for a moment, do me a favor will you please? Drop me an e-mail with a gentle reminder to never, never, never give up.

Allen went on to take on another even greater challenge. This time he was tasked with teaching somebody else to do exactly the same thing as he had done.

He went to St Louis and handed out fliers to people entering the unemployment office. The leaflets invited them to attend a free seminar at the employment office itself where they could learn to make money and get off unemployment for ever.

The fact he was doing this at the unemployment offices would have removed most peoples fears it was a scam. So with the potential for them to make lots of money without any risk on their part you would imagine Allen would be inundated with attendees.

Sadly that wasn’t the case as only 20 people from the hundreds that had been made aware of the event turned up.

When the 20 or so people arrived they were informed that the event had been canceled. All but 3 people left without complaint, but the 3 that insisted they should be helped then became the chosen ones.

It was an ingenious method of making sure Allen had people with him that had the requisite tenacity, drive and desire to make something so difficult happen. And happen it did.

Allen had the courage of his convictions and I admire that. So maybe the time is ripe for me to show my confidence in How To Be Rich and Happy.

I Can Help You Be Rich and Happy!

That’s a pretty big claim, I think you’ll agree, but I’m making it anyway and I’m prepared to back it up by agreeing to work with one client for free for 6 months. If you contacted me and asked me a price for doing something like this I'd probably be talking in the region of a $2,000 investment.

Now before you dive in to the comments to say me, me, me, there are some strict, and some not so strict, criteria you’ll have to follow for me to even consider working with you.

Desire

I once did this on my own blog and among the 50 or so replies I got was one that said,

“I wasn’t that interested in life coaching, but seeing as it’s free I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring.”

No, no and thrice NO!

I cannot help anybody that wont help themselves or is so apathetic. I want somebody that will do whatever it takes, somebody that likes the thought of kicking down doors, walking through walls and ignoring gatekeepers.  I’ll screen applicants, but if I make a mistake and choose somebody that starts wussing out or making excuses I’ll drop them in a heartbeat with no apologies.

Areas To Work On

I really want you to have multiple areas of your life that you want to improve on and there has to be something to do with work such as advancing your career,  making the leap into becoming self-employed etc. Other things I can help with are getting fitter, lowering stress levels, goal setting etc.

I’ll be taking a slightly different approach to this than with normal life coaching clients and I’m happy to blend a bit of coaching with more consulting type work and of course some severe arse kicking if you slack off. I may even be asking some of my friends to help out if I think they can, but no promises on this one because I haven't even told them I'm doing this yet!

I have 20 years experience in sales in B2B and B2C, been involved in three start -ups and I’m happy to share that knowledge as well as helping with social networking if/when needed.

NOTE: If you are currently under the care of a mental health practitioner you would have to notify them and get their ok before we could work together. This is most definitely NOT therapy!

Recording The Journey

I would prefer it if you have your own blog or mailing list to help spread the word, but that’s not an absolute must.

However, what is a ‘must’ is that you will have to commit to writing about your experience at least once a month. If you don’t have your own blog I would consider somebody writing for this blog. No exceptions to this rule.

Language

You must use English as your first language and also be available to speak either via Skype or a landline phone if overseas. I have clients in Australia, South America, Europe and right the way across North America, so it doesn’t matter where you live if your English is 100% fluent and you’re flexible with your schedule to take into account potential time differences.

Timing

You will work with me for 6 months starting 1st May or thereabouts. The first 2 sessions will be an hour or so long and probably within a week or so of each other, but as we move along we'll stretch them out and probably drop them down to 30 minutes and make them more punchy. Having said that, you'll have my cell and my home phone number and I'll be available to help when you need it - within reason!

As we say in the book, it's important to be patiently unrealistic and it may take more than 6 months before you're truly living your Rich and Happy life, but then again it may take less, my job is to get you on the right track.

Subscribe

The final condition is you must be subscribed to this blog either via RSS or via e-mail. I mean come on, how serious can you be about this if you’re not even reading the How To Be Rich and Happy blog?

So if you’re still interested, e-mail tim at howtoberichandhappy dot com with the reasons why I should pick you above anybody else that may apply.

I also want to know if you have read How To Be Rich and Happy. This is will not be a factor whatsoever in my decision, I just want to know as it may mean I will need to alter my approach.

If you know somebody else that may benefit from working with a life coach, please let them know about this.

The closing date for applications is 9.00am on April 5th 2010 and I'll announce the winner here shortly after.

Rich and Happy Update: We have finally ordered the first 3,000 copies of the book and the great news is we have used a printer in the US. That means we get the books some time in May!

On top of that a French publisher wants to buy the rights to the book for French speaking territories so things are really moving.

Now before you rush to call the men in white coats and tell them to have their very best long sleeved jacket at the ready, let me explain what I mean and offer you 7 reasons that will prove most dogs are indeed rich and happy.

1. Dogs Don’t Hold Grudges

When my younger dog thought it was fun to bite my testicles a few weeks ago, I wasn’t happy and she knew it. After rolling around in agony for a period of time, I then shouted ‘NO!’ at her whilst pointing at my traumatized genitalia.

She sensed I was unhappy with her and skulked away in disgrace to lick her wounds. And before you ask, no I didn't want her licking my wounds by way of reparation.

Within ten minutes she was back complete with a waggly stump and wanting to play. How can you stay mad at somebody that is so forgiving and happy to be alive?

The answer for me is, I can’t and I suspect you can’t either. Happy dogs are like those people that are always in a good mood, always fun to be around and have charisma by the boat load.

2. Dogs Know Their Values

One of the things that rich and happy people understand is what drives them at a core level. The also understand that aligning with their values is absolutely critical if they are going to live the rich and happy life.

So if peace is a top value they seek peace. If love is at the top, they demonstrate love and if their number one anti-value is stress they do whatever is needed to get the proper recovery time from stressful events

Dogs know this too. Dogs may not have the range of values that humans do, but maybe that’s a problem with us rather than our four-legged friends. Loyalty, family, trust, love and in some cases independence are all important values to rich and happy dogs and ones that they never slip out of alignment with.

3. Dogs Don’t Judge People

My dogs don’t care whether you’re the Pizza delivery guy, the mail man, the Pope or even my mother-in-law, they are still happy to see you. They also don’t care if you’re black, white, beautiful, ugly, straight, gay, tall, short or even French. They love everybody that makes a fuss of them.

What would the world be like if it was ruled by rich and happy dogs, eh?

4. Dogs Don’t Waste Money

I have lived with dogs a a good deal of my life. Not once in all that time has one ever returned from the Boxing Day or Black Friday sales and said, “look how much money I’ve just saved!” And then proceeded to hold up a dress the cost of which could have wiped out the national debt of a small Caribbean country.

Now you may be thinking dogs don’t usually carry cash around with them and you would be right. However, if they did, they wouldn’t spend it on luxuries they didn’t need thinking they would make them feel more rich and happy.

Certainly they may go a bit nuts on the pigs ears order and I think steak would take the place of Pedigree Chum, but I doubt they’d be changing cars every two years or borrowing money to buy a home that has four guest bedrooms….you know, just in case people we haven’t seen in ten years want to come and stay.

5. Dogs Don’t Worry

We ran out of dog food one day last week. Did the dogs worry about it?

Nope.

Did they pace around wondering what they were going to have for dinner?

Nope.

Did they have a disagreement with each other over who had to get the car out and fetch some food?

Nope.

They just napped whilst I fetched the food.

Rich and Happy people don’t worry excessively and chronically. Rich and Happy people would prefer to take a nap than worry, and for the most part they would prefer to act than nap.

Worrying serves no purpose, taking action does. Rich and happy dogs take action….or have a nap.

6. Dogs Don’t Try To Keep Up With The Jones’s

Rich and Happy people concentrate on what THEY want out of life. Their happiness isn’t based on some imaginary score card kept by other people, it’s tied to how they feel about themselves and their life.

If they want a boat, it’s because they want a boat and not because their best friend has one. It’s also because they have run it through the ‘rich and happy return’ to decide whether it is going to improve the quality of their life by giving them more rich and happy minutes in proportion to the expenditure.

I take my dobermans to the dog park every day and guess what? They seem completely oblivious to what the other dogs are wearing. They never complain that their collars aren’t diamond encrusted or their leash made of the finest Mongolian Yak hide, they just run around and have fun sniffing each others buts.

For them a rich and happy life involves doing whatever they want (sniffing buts), whenever they want (any time they’re not eating or sleeping)

7. Dogs Don't Feel Guilty

Tori (the black one in the photo) ate a pair of $600 glasses with progressive lenses in about a week after I got them. Since she got told off about it I haven't noticed he struggling to sleep because she is racked with guilt. In fact I haven't actually noticed her looking guilty about anything. She will pull off a sheepish look when trotting past me with my boxer shorts in her mouth, but that's about as far as it goes. She knows rich and happy dogs have no time to feel guilty when a raid on the sock drawer is to be planned.

Of course I could come up with lots more parallels, but I'm intrigued to know whether you think dogs are richer and happier than human beings on the whole?

If you want to read the initial post which sets the stage, feel free.

In my first go at Spanish language training way back in high school, I vaguely recall doing anything with pronunciation.  Since then, whenever I’ve picked up a course or a new book on learning Spanish, I’ve quickly skipped past pronunciation.

It always seemed like the boring part.  I wanted to get to the good stuff where I would learn all the words and therefore be able to understand and start speaking the language.

Well, guess what my initial training down here consisted of?  Pronunciation.  And as I went through the exercise I quickly discovered two things.

First, I was pronouncing most things wrong.  Second, it was very easy to fix that, once I had seen what the correct way was.   As a mater of fact, if you do it correctly, just by practicing counting from one to twenty in Spanish, you can master most of the important components of pronunciation for the entire language.

And after just an hour of practicing and mastering this (I’m very good at counting to twenty), I realized something amazing.  I learned why despite picking up and trying countless audio programs, I had made little progress in the past.

All those times before, I had been trying to build a giant building, but I had refused to start with a concrete foundation.  “I’ll get to that later, or that’s not as important, I’d always say.  Let me just get to the good stuff.”

Except that if you build without a solid foundation, you never get to the good stuff, because you just keep crumbling.

Something tremendous happened after my hour of counting.  It was like someone handed me a two-way decoder ring.  Suddenly, I could understand what people were saying when they were speaking in Spanish.  And they could suddenly understand what I was saying.

I wasn’t fluent by any stretch, but with the foundation now firmly in my grasp, I was able to pick out words that before had seemed like gibberish, but that now made perfect sense.  And I was able to say words that sounded a lot less like gibberish, and a lot more like what they were supposed to.

There is tremendous relevance in my experience to you if you desire a Rich and Happy life.  Rich and Happy people have gotten that way because they took the time to build strong foundations.  They learned what their values are.  They discovered their beliefs and where those beliefs came from.  They became acutely aware of their Big Five for Life.

And because they started with those strong foundational elements, they then were able to successfully build Rich and Happy lives.

In a sense, they had turned on the Rich and Happy decoder ring.  Because once they understood their foundational elements, they could talk with clarity about what they wanted.  They could make decisions easily and without encountering massive stress around what was the right thing to do.  And because they were clear about what they wanted, it became easier for other people to understand and then help them.

I used to jump from Spanish program to Spanish program always looking for the magic one that would suddenly make things clear.  In that same context, I’ve met many people who bounce from book to book, course to course, and coach to coach in their quest to be Rich and Happy.

The Rich and Happy people I’ve studied over the last twenty years don’t fall into that trap.  They have learned that making the initial effort, laying the initial foundation, is what sets you up for even greater things down the line.  Without it, you just don’t make any real progress.

Hasta luego (until next time),

John

Note: Tim is now giving the ebook version of Don't Ask Stupid Questions away for FREE. You do not need to give any e-mail details, it is an automatic download, just click on the link and the book is yours with our compliments!

An interesting case has come up recently that illustrates this. It involves a thirteen year old girl who wants to sail around the world. I’ll give you the particulars and then some thoughts on how she, and you if you face something equally ridiculous, can get beyond it.

The young lady’s name is Laura Dekker. She has been taken into court custody in the Netherlands to prevent her from attempting to sail solo around the world.

Yes, God forbid we should want our young people to aspire to anything greater than playing video games, reading fashion magazines and hanging out at the mall.

Laura, who was born and spent the early years of her life on a yacht during her parents' own round-the-world trip, shared with media that the motivation behind her sailing dream is to “learn about the world and to live freely.”

Oh, bad, bad, Laura. Get back to the mall and the fashion magazines.

Learn about the world? Live freely? Who do you think you are? Why those kind of thoughts will enable you to be energetic, fulfilled, Rich and Happy.

Apparently this is not Ms. Dekker’s first brush with authorities. At the age of six she had mastered small sailing boats and was going solo across large lakes in the Netherlands.

By the time she was ten, she was sailing on her own aboard a 21 foot sailing boat. Despite lock operators giving her a hard time because she was a young girl in charge of a boat on her own, by the next summer she was sailing solo out in the Wadden Sea.

It was about that time when she first shared her dream of becoming the youngest person to ever sail around the world.

A lofty and impressive goal. One that her supportive, albeit skeptical, father supported. He made sure she took intensive navigation lessons, then safety training. Then he told her she would have to sail solo from the Netherlands to England and back, to show she was serious and could handle things on her own.

According to Mr. Dekker, when he told her that he was thinking, “So long on the open sea with wind, rain and waves - that will soon end any ideas of sailing the world.”

Except that it didn’t. Because as is the case with all people who are living a Rich and Happy life- getting a taste of what you love does not discourage you from getting more, it inspires you to even greater heights.

Laura made it to England. Where, get this- “British authorities judged it too dangerous for a 13-year-old to be at sea alone... They telephoned Mr Dekker and asked him to accompany his daughter on the trip home. When Mr Dekker refused, the English authorities in Lowestoft placed Miss Dekker in a children's home.”

Was she stealing things? Causing problems? Being a bad role model? Had there been problems during her voyage, expenses to governments because of her activities? No, she was just busily and SUCCESSFULLY positioning herself to be ready to do something no-one had ever done at her age. Bad Laura, bad Laura.

With his daughter placed in a children’s home for her naughty behavior, Mr. Dekker traveled to the UK to get her. He then allowed her to sail back on her own. Nicely done Mr. Decker.

I mean, bad Mr. Dekker. How dare you support your children’s dreams. Tell her to go the mall with friends, and hang out aimlessly for hours.

The British police were no doubt pissed at Mr. Dekker and Laura’s obvious refusal to live a “normal life,” and so they contacted social services in the Netherlands.

That’s when the courts stepped in and decided Mr. Dekker must be handling his role as a father poorly. I mean, his daughter was self-reliant, confident, incredibly skilled, well trained, driven, accomplishing amazing things well ahead of other children her age... Clearly those are signs something must be wrong.

So Laura was taken into court custody. She is allowed to live at home, but “her parents will not have the right to make decisions on her behalf for two months, at which time the case will be reviewed.”

It’s hard for me to even know where to begin with this in terms of how ludicrous I feel the situation is. This is all taking place in a country where you can smoke pot legally, prostitution is both legal and flaunted as a tourist attraction, and the history and financial well being of the country is linked to their prowess as sailers of the oceans (Dutch East Indies Company ringing any bells??)

Yet here we are, with officials deeming it inappropriate for a master sailor who just happens to be thirteen, to go out and sail.

Let me quickly finish my rant, and then I’ll become more productive and provide some suggestions for Laura and you, if you encounter something similar.

Back to the rant.

When did we as a human race stop celebrating the adventurous spirit and start trying to squash it?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composing music at age five and wrote his first symphony at age 8. If he lived today, would “experts” be telling his parents to give him some toys to play with, and take away his instruments?

Fu Mingxia won her first world champion title in 1991 at the World Swimming Championships. She was 12. That made her the youngest world champion ever in any sport. At the 1992 Summer Olympics she became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13.

Louis Crane entered the University of Chicago and began taking graduate-level mathematics courses at 14 years old. He is now a professor at Kansas State University and a quantum-gravity researcher.

Sho Yano started college at nine years old and graduated summa cum laude at 12 from Loyola University in Chicago. By 15 years old, he attended the Pritzker School of Medicine.

At the age of nine, Jackie Cooper became the youngest nominee for the best actor Oscar.

Those people, and I would argue Laura Dekker as well, are prodigies. They are the ones who re-define what is possible, in no small part because they have found something they are so intensely passionate about, that they love spending their time on it. The more time they spend, the better they get, to the point where they know more and can do more, at a young age, than most people can ever do.

THIS IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION, NOT OPPRESSION!

There are thirteen year-olds all over the world, who are getting pregnant, which not only involves their life, but the life of a baby. I haven’t seen any courts taking away parental rights from the parents of those kids.

Because of where she was born, Laura has citizenship in New Zealand as well. She considered the option of just leaving her current home and setting sail from New Zealand. However, it looks like that is a no-go option as well, as she could be treated the same way she is being treated in the Netherlands.

The deputy chief executive of the New Zealand Child, Youth and Family agency, Ray Smith, said “He did not think it was sensible for a 13-year-old to sail solo around the world. I think most people would share that view,” he told the New Zealand Herald.

Wow, way to go Ray. Very open minded of you. Oh, by the way, “most people” is a lousy proxy when it comes to doing something no-one has ever accomplished before. I’m sure “most people” didn’t think it was sensible for the Wright Brothers to try and fly either.

I had a teacher in college who kept a brilliant quote on his door. I saw it all semester while I was waiting for class, and it is perfect for this moment (apparently that professor had a ton of foresight, knowing it would only take me two decades to re-quote it).

“You don’t raise the skill of the runner by lowering the hurdles.”

And you certainly don’t raise the potential of the human race, or inspire future generations of kids, by dumbing things down to what “most people” believe or do.

Ok, enough ranting. I love the Netherlands by the way. Unlike what is evidenced in this court ruling, I have found the Dutch people to be incredibly free spirited, full of life, and adventurous. My guess is that this issue is a hotly discussed one. I’m leaving for the Netherlands in about three hours, so I’ll find out.

So how does Laura deal with her situation as she is trying to live a Rich and Happy life doing what she wants when she wants?

For this particular situation, she has a couple of options. For right now, I’d recommend using another piece of the formula- You Have no But, You’ve Got a Great Big Asset.

It would be easy for Laura to say “I wanted to sail around the world, BUT they just wouldn’t let me.” That won’t get her anywhere. However, she can turn this entire situation into a Great Big Asset.

The fact that her situation has generated so much publicity puts her in an amazing position to get massive sponsorship for when she can attempt her trip. She should be able to get the boat, all her equipment, and all other expenses paid for by someone else.

Having become newsworthy, her story is now also great material for a book. Had she been able to attempt her trip when she wanted to, regardless of the outcome the result would not have been as newsworthy as it is now. Newsworthy gets book deals and sells lots of copies, and in this case, because her story is so inspirational, the net result of the court’s efforts will be EVEN MORE PEOPLE will end up reading her book and being inspired.

I’m sure that’s what they had in mind.

Not hardly. But it’s a nice potential end-result.

This current situation also positions Laura well to speak about her experiences. She now has supporters around the world who via the Internet have read about her challenges. What she is facing could easily become a life-time worth of speaking engagements if she wants them.

In my mind there is also an issue of gender bias here. The current record for sailing around the world is held by a sixteen year old young man. I have a hunch that there would be a lot less fervor about Laura if her name were Bob. For some reason, a young woman out sailing the world is too dangerous, but when it’s “Bob,” he’s touted as an adventurer.

So if I was Laura, I’d take this opportunity to generate as much publicity as I could, and use that to turn sailing around the world into a zone three experience versus a zone one experience. (If you have no idea what that means, re-read the section of the Rich and Happy manual on the Rich and Happy matrix). That way not only is she doing whatever she wants, she’s also earning money in the process, which can then be spent doing other things she wants.

This will probably work best for her if she partners with others. A writer for the book, maybe some people to help her secure sponsorships, a good PR person... I have no doubt she could do all this on her own, it’s more a question of what does she WANT to be spending her time on. From what I’ve read, the answer to that is sailing, or preparing in other ways for her adventure, which means in order to log the maximum Rich and Happy minutes, her best bet is to partner for those other things.

I don’t know Laura personally, but I’m going to ask around when I hit the Netherlands and see if I can meet her. If not, I’m going to find a way to wish her good luck and tell her I admire the heck out of her.

I’ll let you know what happens.

John

By way of a first post, we're simply letting you get a taste for the book that goes on pre-sale on 22nd September and full release on 5th October, by reproducing the introduction.

How To Be Rich and Happy - An Introduction

Congratulations on taking one of the most important steps you’ve ever taken in your life. You’ve decided to decide. You’ve chosen to choose versus live a life that others chose for you. That right there makes you one of a select group of people.

If you read the information in this book, and apply it in your life, you will be part of an even more exclusive group- those who are Rich and Happy.

As you embark on this adventure, you may be wondering how this book came to be. How and why do a best selling inspirational author who’s works are in nineteen languages (John) and a renegade life coach with one of the most left field and successful life coaching blogs on the Internet (Tim) pair up to write a book called “How to be Rich and Happy?”

The answer is actually pretty straight forward. Part of it you’ll find in the personal story described in the the opening chapter. That will explain our own motivation for discovering the formula for being Rich and Happy. The other part, which is why write the book now, is simply because we listened to what people are asking for.

We have been friends for a number of years. A friendship that began because although we operate in different arenas (Tim in life coaching and online blogging and John as an author and speaker) and we have very different styles (Tim relies heavily on a very English sense of humor to get his message across whereas John is more serious and inspirational) we have a similar life purpose, which is to help people.

And when we would get together for a round of golf, or grab lunch, and discuss how things were going and what people were telling us, it kept coming back to the same answer- people are really struggling. We knew from our interactions with them, and through our own life experiences, that even if they couldn’t actually name it, what they wanted was to be Rich and Happy.

Tim was seeing it through his work with individual clients, and via his blog, and John was seeing it at his events when he was speaking to large audiences.

So when people asked us what we were working on next, we started telling them that we were working on a book called “How to be Rich and Happy.” And literally every single person responded with something close to “That’s the book I need.”

If you are familiar with John’s previous books; The Why Cafe, Life Safari, and The Big Five for Life- Leadership’s Greatest Secret, this will be a very different type of read. Those works are fictional stories with inspirational messages.

This is a non-fiction, tell it like it is book. That said, the underlying focus is still the same - to help people live the life they want live.

Although the book is written by both of us, for ease of reading, you’ll see that it reads as if there is just one author. The word “I” is the collective I of both of us. Think of us as science experiment gone mad, where two people’s brains and life experiences have been merged into one. Or, just realize that it is a heck of a lot easier to explain the stories and material the way it’s written than for us to keep clarifying who is saying what.

And now, let’s move you toward what you want and deserve- to be Rich and Happy.

John and Tim