by Jan Shoop
This post is the second part of a two-part series about a book I purchased in 2007 titled, The Success Principles. The book was written by Jack Canfield. Part one of the series is about how I came to purchase the book, and part two is about what happened when I followed the strategies in the book. If you missed part one, I posted the article last Thursday, April 28.
Here’s where things really became exciting.
After I bought the book, I read it cover to cover. I underlined key areas, tabbed sections and completed all the activities. The first thing I did, after reading the book, was buy a Goals Book. It’s just a blank, lined notebook that I wrote out my purpose and goals for 2008.
Here is a photo of my Goals Book:
Following the guidelines from the book, I wrote down my purpose:
“My purpose is to use my leadership, enthusiasm and intuition
to support and inspire others to be joyful and peaceful
and to express their own God given talents.”
Next, I wrote down my vision and goals for the following areas:
family & friends
body & health
free time, recreation & hobbies
spiritual growth
community service
Then I made a list of the 30 things I wanted to do or have, and places I wanted to go. I started my list with places I wanted to go. I had not traveled outside the United States much, other than visits to Mexico and Canada. I didn’t have a passport. However, I thought it would be fun to travel and experience more of the world.
My top three places to visit were:
China
Japan
Africa
I’m sure that sounds a little far-fetched, but that is where I wanted to go, so I wrote them down in my Goals Book.
To give you some perspective, I had no plans to travel to any of these countries and no idea how or when I would get there. However, the next week I went to the post office and applied for my passport. I even had the passport expedited, just in case a trip might come up suddenly.
Here is what happened:
In 2009, I was principal at StarShine Academy. In May of that year, the school participated in an educational conference in Shanghai, China. Thus, during the first week of May I found myself in Shanghai. The flight had a layover in Tokyo, Japan. I had just accomplished numbers one and two on my list.
In August 2009, I was invited to be part of an educational team that traveled to Monrovia, Liberia. The team provided three days of teacher training for over 800 teachers in Liberia.
Thus -- within 20 months, I had traveled to the top three countries on my list.
I still have my Goals Book and I update it every year around Christmas time. My advice to you is never to think that a goal is impossible or to difficult to achieve. With the power of intention, anything is possible.
If you want a copy of The Success Principles for yourself, here is the link to Amazon.
Enjoy!
Simple Parent Tips
Ageless at 80
