yo live your best life—on your terms! u were you were born ...original-pres.pdf · live your best...

Live your best life—on your terms!

I will show you, step-by-step, how to achieve the success you deserve!

Live your best life—on your terms!When you read You Were Born an Original, Don’t Live Like a Copy, you will beamazed to discover how easy it is to:

• Apply a simple 3-step formula that makes you more productiveby lunchtime than most people are all day

• Reprogram your self-image so you attract wealth andsuccess like a magnet

• Turn criticism into fuel that creates laser-like focus onyour personal and professional goals

• Use a variety of techniques to virtually eliminate stressand anxiety from your life

• Unleash new levels of charisma to elevate every relationship inyour life and become a leader that others want to follow

• Supercharge your productivity, creativity, and life energy


Personal development/leadership/motivation You

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Receive Jonathan Sprinkles’

FREE newsletter, The 5 MinuteMotivator, at

www.jsprinkles.com

Jonathan Sprinkles is known for being one of the most in-demand leadership strategists andsuccess experts in America. After nearly failing out of college, he turned his life around andbecame a Dean’s List student, then earned a position as an elitesalesman at the fastest-growing technology company in America.Now a successful speaker, author and entrepreneur, Jonathandelivers his energetic and humorous message to corporations,associations and colleges internationally.

NotACopy 7/23/06 9:52 PM

“An original is not one who imitates nobody,but one whom nobody can imitate.”

–Vincente de Chateaubriand

You Were Born an Original,Don’t Live Like a Copy!

How to live YOUR best life andachieve the success YOU deserve!

by Jonathan Sprinkles

To: ____________________

From: __________________

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Table of ContentsYou’re Lying 1

Watch Your Mouth 9

Quit Crying 19

Save the Drama for Your Mama 27

You Suck 39

This Sucks 49

Please Stop Staring 55

Bonus Section–How to be Mediocre 61

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ISBN 0-9726042

Copyright 2006 by Zoe Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording or any information storage andretrieval system without written permission of the publisher exceptfor brief quotations used in reviews, written specifically for inclusionin a newspaper or magazine.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is available for quantity discounts for bulk purchases.

Disclaimer-The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author andpublisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility for anyonewith respect to any loss or damage caused, directly or indirectly, bythe information contained in this book.

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For additional information on JonathanSprinkles, please visit

him on the web atWWW.JSPRINKLES.COM

or email him at [email protected].

We want to hear from you!Go to www.JSprinkles.com/testimonials and leave me

a few comments about how this book has helped you andreceive FREE motivational sound bites that will

keep you and your organization fired up all year long!

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Dedication

To Alexa, Ariana, Armisha, Brandon, Chloe, Georgette, Jamarre, Jarred, Kobi,

Marcellus, Merricks and Miles.

Uncle Jon loves you.

r

r

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IntroductionDid you know that most people who are rich and famous werelaughed at, mocked and criticized for the thing that eventually madethem famous?

ö Five years after NFL Coach Bill Belichick was fired by theCleveland Browns, he coached the New England Patriots to aSuper Bowl Championship. He is now the only coach in NFLhistory to win three titles in four years. I bet they miss him now.

ö Joanne Kathleen Rowling, aka J.K. Rowling was fired from hersecretarial job because she was found writing creative stories onher computer. The author of the Harry Potter book and movieseries, she is now a billionaire. Tell ‘em to put that in their nextmemo!

ö Michael Jordan was banned by NBA commissioner David Sternfrom wearing his original Air Jordan basketball shoe because itdidn’t have any white in it (but neither did the NBA!). The AirJordan line is now the most popular basketball shoe of all time.

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Just because the world doesn’t always see your value doesn’t makeyou any less valuable. Where would these people be if they caved inafter their first setback? Fortunately, they all had the guts to stick totheir plan, and it has obviously paid off tremendously.

Now it’s your turn. You have to find this same level of tenacity and“on purpose” living within yourself, knowing that it will come with aprice. Not everyone will understand you. Not everyone will appreciateyou. Not everyone will like you. Oh well!

You Were Born an Original, Don’t Live Like a Copy! is a compilationof my best writings on this topic from my 5 Minute Motivatornewsletter. This is a step-by-step guide to achieving success and happiness—however you define it, and on your terms. This book willreveal proven strategies for focusing your energy and talents so youcan hurdle any obstacle and achieve maximum results, just like thestories we just mentioned. Read it, re-read it, and watch your self-confidence (and your lifestyle) elevate to another level!

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YYoouu’’rreeLLyyiinngg

How to spot a liar 7/6/06 1:59 PM Page 1

You are SUCH a liar! Okay, not a completeliar, but you do lie sometimes. Wait, before you get angryand start looking at me like you were Mike Tyson and I wasan earlobe, let me make a quick confession.

I am a liar too! Let me explain. We each have two sides within us that are

fighting for our attention. One side motivates us to takerisks such as starting businesses, going back to finish adegree or expressing our deepest emotions to others. Theopposite side has but one agenda—more of the way thingshave always been. These two combatants are known asProbability and Possibility.

Probability is fed by the facts. Possibility is fed by yourfaith. Before making a decision, Probability consults withyour past to see what has been done. Possibility consultsYo

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with your purpose to envision what can be done. Possibilityis the architect of new inventions, record-breaking endeav-ors, second chances, rekindled dreams and changed lives. It is because of Possibility that you get out of bed everymorning with child-like faith, willing to make your life a little better today than it was yesterday. If it weren’t forPossibility, you would have given up long, long ago.

Probability is a liar, and it lives within each of us. It stag-nates you in the “paralysis of analysis” for so long that bythe time you figure out what you’re going to do, the oppor-tunity has already passed. Its cowardly nature prods you torecall all of the reasons why something CAN’T happen,why you SHOULDN’T try, and how you WON’T like whathappens if you fall short. Probability’s goal is to make you“play it safe” your entire life, shaking in your boots.Listening to Probability has kept you “in your place”for too long. Wouldn’t you agree?

I call Probability a liar because it always tells an incom-plete story. It reminds you of all the times you’ve failed butnever the times you’ve triumphed. You can always tellwhen Probability has whispered into your ear when youspend all your time worrying about what other people will

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say about you if you were to fail. Truth be told, you aren’treally afraid to fail, you’re afraid of the perception otherswill have of you afterward. This is why Probability is sodeceptive. On the surface, it looks like “common sense,”but in actuality, Probability is simply a manifestation ofyour own ego.

The first thing you'll have to do in order to live your bestlife is get over yourself and your fixation on people’s per-ceptions of you. You manage enough turmoil inside of you,don’t get distracted by the naysayers around you. Whenyou accept the challenge to perform on a higher level, youshould expect to struggle with the internal debate betweenProbability and Possibility. On one side, Probability willsay, “Look at all you’re risking if you lose.” ThenPossibility will shout back, “But you’ll never know all youcan do until you do all you can!” This inner debate createsPressure. Pressure is what makes losers break and makeswinners BREAK THROUGH! Which of these will yoube?

It’s just this simple—your destiny will be shaped by thechoices you make in response to pressure. You are eithergoing to accept the pressure of risk-taking or you will sitYo

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back and let your opportunities pass you by. But asLinda Ravenhill said, “An opportunity of a lifetime must beseized in the lifetime of the opportunity.” Even a million-dollar idea is worth nothing if it’s met with only 10 dol-lars worth of action.

If you want results you’ve never had, you’ve got to imple-ment disciplines you’ve never had. I can tell if you’re seri-ous about succeeding by watching how you spend yourtime. Dr. Mike Murdock put it best when he wrote, “Thesecret to your success is found in your daily habits.”Millionaires have millionaire habits. Healthy people havehealthy habits. Winners have winning habits. They face theodds, the critics, their past failures—and do it anyway! Theonly way you are going to stop hovering over the sameincome, the same weight, or same level of fulfillment is todevelop new HABITS! If you want something different,you’ve got to DO something different! If you really wantto change your standard of living that badly, your actionswill always speak louder than your words.

Once you’ve made the decision to develop new habits, you will then experience another “P”—Pain.Remember this, there is no growth without growing


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pains. Physical growth brings about aches and pains.Emotional, spiritual and mental growth does, also! There isnothing worth having that does not require that you “gothrough” in order to get to. That’s what makes it worthhaving! Know in advance that you may have the fight ofyour life on your hands, but it’s worth it. You may have tostay up all day and all night, but it’s worth it. You WILL betalked about, but it’s worth it! You may become so brokeyou can’t afford to pay attention, but it’s worth it! Only byenduring the pain of the process, can you experience thepleasure of the payoff!

I know I’m sounding a little bit like Jesse Jackson, butsurely, you still get my point. My friend, today I invite youto disengage the Probability within and tune into thePossibility within. How will you ever know how far youcan stretch until you push yourself to the limit? Listen tothe risk taker, the entrepreneur, the go-getter inside you.Don’t let the story of your life be summed up by the words“What if.” As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky proclaimed, “Youwill always miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”



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¤PPOOPP QQUUIIZZ::

#1 What one thing wouldyou do if you absolutely knew youcouldn’t fail?

#2What’s keeping youfrom doing it now?


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WWaattcchhYYoouurr

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I have a Confession 7/6/06 2:01 PM Page 9

He dribbled once, he dribbled twice,then three times. He spun the ball in his hands. He took adeep breath and focused on his target. He bent his kneesand took the game-winning shot.

BRRRRRRRICK!He missed it by a mile.“I KNEW IT!” he shouted. This scene has been etched in my mind for four years

since the day it happened. I know you’re thinking I was theguy who blew it. Obviously, you’ve never seen me playbasketball. Actually, I was playing a game of 21 with afriend of mine (who wanted to remain nameless, so I won’tmention Lee’s name). In the game of 21, the first to score21 points against your opponent wins the game. My friendhad 20 points, and this free throw would have won theYo

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game for him. Because he missed the game-winning shot,his score was reduced back to 15. This was all I needed tomake quick work of him and go home victoriously.

Although the game remained close, I knew I was going towin long before the game was officially over. Once hemade his bold confession, “I knew it,” he had already men-tally given the game to me. He already knew in his mindthat he was going to miss the shot, and his reality soonproved it.

Know this—your words have power! What you say iswhat you will eventually see. Most of us are never taughtabout the power of our confession, so we allow just aboutanything to come out of our mouths, depending on how wefeel at the time. If we feel angry, we shout and curse. If weare sad and depressed, we throw pity parties while pro-claiming everything that’s wrong with our lives.Unfortunately, in doing so, we are ushering toward us moreof the very thing that has us so upset.


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The Good Book gives us very direct admonitions to watchour confessions:

• “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”

• “You will speak a thing and it will be established for you.”

• “…the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Modern medicine has further reinforced this principle.The New England Journal of Medicine even proved scien-tifically that there is a direct correlation between our wordsand our health. Their study revealed that cells in our bodiesactually respond to the words that come out of our mouths.Incredible! So when you carelessly let words roll off yourtongue such as, “You make me sick,” you could be tellingthe truth!

Watch your confessions. Discipline yourself to only speakwhat you want to see. I am always saddened when I hearpeople speak negatively about everything under the sun.

How are your kids?Bad!

How are you?Tired.

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How’s your husband?Worrying me half to death.

Yuck! As success expert Ed Foreman quipped, “Have youever noticed that people who do a lot of whining and com-plaining have more to whine and complain about?” Don't beone of these people–SPEAK LIFE! If you don’t want badkids, bad health or a bad relationship, call these thingswhat you want them to be, not what they are right now.Speak those things that are not as though they were, untilthey are.

I can already hear your objection, “But Jonathan, if I’msick, I don’t want to say, ‘I’m getting well.’ I just want tosay, ‘I’m sick.’ What’s wrong with facing the facts?”

Good question. To that, I pose another question, what is afact? In this context, your facts are based on your percep-tions, and your perceptions determine your reality. It maybe a fact that you’re not feeling well, but it’s also a fact thatyou may be one of the .001% of people who will diebecause of the cold medicine you’re taking. Would yourather confess that instead? I didn’t think so. Thus, yourfrustration is coming because you’re caught between tworealities; what is and what is to be. But if you keep con-


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fessing victory, it won’t be long before one reality over-whelms the other. Speak it! Speak it! Speak it!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those “name it andclaim it” guys. I don’t believe that all we have to do is callthings out of the universe then go open the door and they’regoing to be delivered to our doorstep. It’s not that easy.Here is the way it works: first, we confess what we want,which creates thoughts and images on the screen of ourimagination or subconscious mind. Then, our minds showus in bits and pieces how to practically manifest this visionthrough our daily habits.

For example, if we say, “I am shedding 10 pounds,” sev-eral times a day, our minds will remind us of this confes-sion when we are about to take a bite of cheesecake orwhen we are considering skipping our workout that day. Ofcourse, simply confessing weight loss won’t cause us tolose the weight. Rather, our confession will guide the deci-sions that create the habits that cause us to lose the weight.

Do you think any great achiever says to himself, “Youknow, today I think I’m going to ruin my career. The luckystreak has ended, and I’m due for a big screw up. This hasYo

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been too good to be true.” Of course not! Top achievers arementally tough and they expect to win. Only habitual losersbelieve in the concept of “too good to be true.” The highachiever’s attitude is, “This may be too good to be true foryou, but this is right where I belong!” When asked aboutwhat makes Tiger Woods one of the best golfers in the his-tory of the game, one of his colleagues said, “The differ-ence is simple. When some of us win we are surprised, butwhen Tiger doesn’t win, he’s surprised.”

Just so you know I’m not pulling all of this out of thin air,I am passionate about monitoring our words because I wasthe victim of stifling my future due to a negative confes-sion. I grew up with very low self-esteem and was alwaysconcentrating on what I couldn’t do. I was concerned aboutwho didn’t like me and I nit-picked every flaw on everyinch of my body. I was my harshest critic and my ownworst enemy. The worst part about being self-condemningis that other people can only hurt you when they see you.The inner critic never goes to sleep. Nothing I did was goodenough. Ironically, this became the backdrop for my driveto succeed. Anyhow, publicly I was a success, but privatelyI was a mess. Oh, and also I stuttered when I got nervous.


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!Imagine that, a speaker that grew up stuttering. Even up tothe first few years of my speaking career, I was less con-cerned about the audience’s reaction than I was about sim-ply getting through my talk without stammering.

When I was good and fed up, I had to do something thatI had never done so I could have something I never had—peace. I read up on the power of the mind and how we havethe ability to verbally reprogram our minds to do absolutelywhatever we tell them to do. So, I programmed my mind tostop stuttering. I would repeat to myself several times perday, “I am articulate. I say what I mean and I mean what Isay.” Yes, it sounds cheesy and I felt really silly, but itworked. Within a couple weeks, I looked up and foundmyself effortlessly getting through an entire program with-out any obvious disruptions. I still have problems occasion-ally, but that’s usually because I’m getting too excited andtalking too fast. I have some big lips, and they just can’twork that fast. Ha, ha, ha!

Final note—always remember that the internal conversa-tion will always precede the external conversation. “I am”is the most powerful phrase that a human can utter.

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Whatever you attach to the phrase I AM is what you aredestined to become. It’s true that “as a man thinks in hisheart, so is he.” So, fill your heart with the possibilities.Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. Theremay be 99 things you can’t do, but don’t give up untilyou’ve completely exhausted the one thing you CAN do.Yes, there is a chance you may fail, but there is also achance you may succeed. There is a chance you may beembarrassed, but there is a chance you may be admired.This may be the beginning of the end, or it may be thebeginning of life like you’ve never known it before.Nothing happens until you speak, so speak life!


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QQuuiittCCrryyiinngg

QuitCrying 7/6/06 2:01 PM Page 19

Right about now, I am on testosteroneoverload. I can walk into any sports bar in America andwatch four or five different sports being played at the sametime. As a man, I can’t see heaven being too much differentthan this. Well, maybe that’s not true. Chili dogs wouldn’tmake us fat and hair would grow on men’s heads and not outof our ears. Oh yeah, in my heaven, Shaq and Kobe would beable to get along.

I have been from coast to coast in the last couple of weeksand I have found a common denominator among fellowsports fans that I never knew was so popular—EVERY-BODY blames somebody else for their team’s losses!

I have heard so much whining about bad calls, missedkicks, dropped passes, and poor coaching that it’s makingme want to throw a penalty flag of my own. My flag wouldYo

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be for flagrant complaining and illegal scapegoating. I’llget to Mr. Motivator in a minute. For now, I need to whipout Mr. Agitator.

Look—QUIT CRYING!Follow me for a minute. One bad call doesn’t cause a

team to lose a game. One errant shot or missed field goalcan’t make or break a season. We often blame the last per-son to have the ball, but in doing so, we completely over-look the fouls, fumbles, dropped balls and bonehead playsfrom the previous three quarters of the game. It is very con-venient, but equally inaccurate to lay 100 percent of thecredit or the blame on one lousy play. Sports don’t workthat way and neither does life—so quit crying! Just thinkabout it. When you have a team of burly, muscle-boundguys that are tough enough to chew nails, how can youblame a loss on a 5’9”, 150-pound kicker or a baldingumpire that is one doughnut away from looking like theMichelin Man? Please. Referees don’t lose games, a seriesof bad decisions do.

No one decision will change your life. Decisions, bothgood and bad, have a compounding effect. One decisionenacts a series of complimentary decisions that propel you


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toward success or doom. That first cigarette as a teenagerdidn’t make you a chain smoker. One trip to McDonald’s didn’t make your waist expand from a size two to a size 20overnight. Arriving to work late one time didn’t get you fired.

No matter the facet of life, there is a process involved.Success is a process. Failure is a process. You will contin-ually miss the mark and will be forever tormented if youinsist on trying to pinpoint one person or one event that isresponsible for the sum total of your life. It just doesn’twork that way.

We have all heard the melodramatic, excuse-laden,bunch-of-crap lines about how our childhood made us whowe are today.

• It’s all my mother’s fault.• I never received enough attention as a child.• I eat to cover up the pain from my past.QUIT CRYING! You’re better than that, my friend. You

didn’t choose the context you were born into, but you dochoose how you respond to it. Granted, some people areborn into situations that make it much easier to succeed inlife than most of us. But what good does it do to spend soYo

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much of your time admiring your neighbor’s lawn that youforget to water your own?

I have read tons of books on success, peak performanceand personal development. Not one of them said, “Step#1—blame everyone you can for your circumstances. Besure to include “The Man” on your list. He hates to be leftout.” A recent study reported that 75 percent of our world’stop leaders either come from an impoverished backgroundor have a physical disability.

What’s your excuse?As a matter of fact, keep it. Nobody cares.My father was my hero, mentor, best friend and soul

mate. He died of cancer 14 years ago, and I still can’t go toomany days without thinking how great it would be to talkto him just one more time. But at the end of the day, all ofthe self-pity and anger towards God that I can muster upstill won’t bring him back. He’s gone. So the best thing Ican do is suck it up, cherish fond memories of the times weshared, and try to live a life that would make him proud ofme. They call it “the past” for a good reason.

From today forward, you’re either going to make excuses


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or make improvements. The choice is yours. Whateveradversity you are presently facing or previous challengesthat remain unresolved will eventually resurface in yourlife. Better yet, it will also arise in the lives of your childrenand grandchildren as well. You think I’m joking? Have youever seen three generations of single mothers on welfare? Ihave. It broke me down. Read The Unexpected Legacy ofDivorce. You’ll see what I mean. The lesson will repeatuntil the lesson is learned.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, Mr. Motivatorcan return.

Instead of trying to dodge responsibility for unfavorableoutcomes, choose to grow from them for next time. Don’tbe in such a rush to get out of the situation that you missthe lesson that is inside it. You may want to expedite theprocess so that you’re not hurting anymore, not embarrassedanymore, or not flat broke anymore, but don’t forget thateverything happens for a reason. This thing, no matter howunjust, unfair, or unwanted it may be, was GIVEN to you toteach you, test you and then take you to the next level.

Olympic wrestling champion Roulon Gardner said (para-phrased), “I learned how to win by learning how to lose.”

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In life, you will lose, but don’t ever lose the lesson thatcomes with it. As the old folks used to say, “The blessin’ isin the lesson.” It’s okay to make a mistake. The key is toextract enough wisdom from the situation so you don’t endup in that situation again. Don’t be afraid of the darkness,for like a piece of film, it is in dark places that we develop.

The good news is, after this, you will be much stronger.There is life after losing the big game, life after divorce, lifeafter a scandal, life after bankruptcy, life after surgery, lifeafter being fired, life after losing a loved one, and yes, thereis life after Destiny’s Child’s farewell tour. No matter whatyou’ve been through, you CAN make it. The best is yet tocome! Don’t get so caught up in what used to be that youlose sight of what is to be! As Paul, a writer from antiquitywho was often haunted by his previous mistakes onceadvised, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all Ishould be, but I am focusing all my energies on this onething: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what liesahead.” Anybody can sit and lament about their misfor-tune, but only those determined to get their breakthroughwill get back up after they’ve been knocked down. Onevictory can’t make you and one defeat can’t break you.

I have a lot of love for former boxing world champion


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!Evander Holyfield. This guy is old as dirt, but every timean announcer asked him if he was going to retire after aloss, he’d say, “Nope. I’m just going to get back in line.” Atthe end of the day, that’s all you and I can do—just get backin line and wait until we get another chance to do thingsbetter the second time.

If you notice, nobody ever talks about how many timesDonald Trump has gone bankrupt. That’s because nobodycares! We’re all too busy trying to figure out who’s next tobe fired on The Apprentice.

Winners are losers that got tired of losing. Once you getback on track and create a new string of victories, nobodywill care about your losses anymore.

One day, you will look back and refer to this as an “until”time.

• I used to cry every day, UNTIL…• I never thought I could afford this, UNTIL…• People used to laugh when I told them about my

dream, UNTIL…Yes, it hurts now, but this too shall pass. So QUIT CRYING,

and start rebuilding!

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YYoouurrMMaammaa!!

DramaForMama 7/6/06 2:02 PM Page 27

Drama. Yuck! I am making an all-outassault this month on the mindless banter that crowds ourminds, keeps us tossing in bed all night, and totally kills ourcell phone’s daytime minutes. This junk in the trunk has gotto go! I jotted down a few “revelations” I’ve had about thetopic. Some are based on good decisions I’ve made, some arebased on bad decisions. Nevertheless, I feel strongly that Ihave arrived at Truth. Beware—I will be stepping on a fewtoes.

Read at your own risk.

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You can’t complain about what you allowHow many times have we heard, “He gets on mynerves,” referring to the same person week in andweek out? If people are mistreating you, getting onyour nerves, wasting your time, draining your energyor making you feel like less of a person, let themknow. If the behavior continues, let them GO! It’sthat simple. If you are allowing an energy-drainingperson to occupy mental and emotional real estate,they need to be paying some rent by makingdeposits into your life. Don’t allow them to occupyyour space rent-free. You make a choice every dayconcerning how much you associate with them. Ifthey do you wrong once, that’s their fault. If theydo you wrong repeatedly and you still allow themto hang around, that’s your fault.

You don’t have to pick up the phone. You don’thave to entertain their hours of babbling and com-plaining about problems they have no intention ofresolving. You don’t have to allow your coworker tobe disrespectful toward you without voicing yourdisdain. It’s a choice! If you don’t like the results


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of the choices you’re making, make differentchoices! I really appreciate the words of an ancientleader named Joshua whose admonition to his peo-ple was, “Choose ye this day,” or in other words,“It’s decision time. No more stalling buddy!” It’stimeout for being a passenger in your own life. Yourfirst step toward fulfillment is finally taking respon-sibility for your circumstances and choosing to dowhat you’ve got to do so you can get what you wantto have.

“If you choose not to decide, you stillhave made a choice.”

–Neil Pert

You teach people how to treat youWhen someone disrespects you or wastes your timeand you refuse to act, you have just written them anon-verbal permission slip to do it again. Saying

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“Yes” to their every request and “Oh, that’s okay”when they offend you doesn’t make things better.Dodging conflict only satisfies the “people pleaser”inside us. Conflict avoidance is conflict prolong-ing. “No”, “I’m busy right now”, and, “I don’t likethis” are perfectly acceptable phrases for you to usewhen appropriate. At times, they are mandatory.When you don’t stand up for yourself, you are sub-tly inviting the other person, in the words of Captainand Tennille’s famous song, to “Do it to Me OneMore Time.”

If you’re having problems with someone’s repeatedbehavior, it’s because you have made it acceptablesomewhere in the history of your relationship.Behavior tolerated is behavior encouraged. Didyou ever stop to think that the only reason why peo-ple call you in the middle of the night is because youpick up the phone in the middle of the night? Peoplewill only ask you for (another) loan if they knowyou’re one of the few people who is enough of asucker to actually give it to them. It may be time tohave a heart-to-heart with some folks and lay down


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some new rules in your relationships. Not only willthey respect you more for finally standing up foryourself, you will be very proud of the characteryou’ve developed in the process. Trust me on thisone.

Your good decisions DO NOT equal your familyand friends’ good fortuneI have to thank my friend Sanyika Calloway-Boycefor teaching me this principle. I almost jumped upand “got happy” when she shared this revelation!You see, I was living with a subconscious mentalblock that prevented me from reaching for greaterlevels of success. I had an inner phobia of beingwealthy because I was afraid that people close to mewould start asking me for money. I feared that I, aka,Mr. People Pleaser, would give in—and becomemiserable in the process. So, my solution was toeither hide my success by not talking about moneyor to avoid purchasing any lavish items that woulddraw attention to myself and cause people to ask,“Hey, how can you afford this?” As backward as this

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methodology was, it worked great for a while. Ioperated in this mentality for years as a matter offact. It taught me to live well below my means andto think first before I made emotional purchases.Unfortunately, it also brought me loads of inner tur-moil and paranoia. Sadly, I was living for other peo-ple more than I was for myself. I denied myself theright to enjoy the fruits of my labor just so I couldavoid having to tell someone, “No.” Frankly, itsucked big-time.

But dear friend, I declare to you that what YOU dowith your life is for YOU to celebrate however YOUchoose. Lazy people look at your new status as theirgolden ticket to a better life.

WRONG! I am all about sharing the wealth withthose who are genuinely trying to improve them-selves. But by no means should anyone feelresponsible for always rescuing GROWNFOLKS from the consequences of a series of baddecisions they have made. Life is about choices.When you make good choices, you reap goodrewards. When you make bad choices, tough!


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!Yes, people will say, “Man, you’ve changed.”

You’re doggone right. I’ve changed my zip code, mytax bracket and in a minute I’m about to change mycell phone number!

“Sometimes old friends are like anold pair of shoes, we outgrow them.”

–Kirk Nugent

Drama is a team sportMarvin Gaye and Kim Weston would interject intothis conversation the chorus of their 1964 hit song,“It takes two baby—me and YOU!” It also takestwo to make a good thing go wrong. It takes two toargue. It takes two to fuss and fight. It takes two togossip and fill an office or a home with unwanteddrama. Do you get my drift?

If you are in the midst of drama, you have a role init, be it actively or passively. You are either insti-gating the situation by participating in the con-

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versation or perpetuating the situation by listen-ing to someone else’s mess. Often times, we justifyour role in the situation as long as we are only pro-viding a listening ear. But as the old expression says,“The same devil that is in the rumor bearer’s mouthis in the rumor hearer’s ear.”

So don’t try to claim moral authority by saying,“It’s all her fault for coming to my desk and talkingto me about the latest dirt in her life.” You shouldask yourself, “What is it about ME that’s givingthe perception that it’s okay to come to me withsmall-minded talk?” This is where you’re going tofind the solutions to your problems. Stop looking atthe one finger pointed toward others and start look-ing at the three fingers coming back toward your-self. If YOU don’t value your time, nobody elsewill! Own your role in the drama, and then put a stopto the drama. Find new friends to hang out with atlunch and in the evenings. The more you fall in lovewith peace, the less tolerance you will have for “he-said, she-said,” and the people that enjoy thatgarbage. Remember, it takes two baby, me and YOU!


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“You are the statistical average of the five people that you choose to

associate with the most.”–Jim Rohn

The “issue”—IT’S YOU!One of my favorite authors, John Maxwell, shookme up with his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws ofLeadership. In it, he wrote that we don’t attract whatwe want, we attract who we ARE.

Ouch and double ouch! Here is an example of what he means; wouldn’t

you consider it highly unlikely that you’d ever seeOzzy Osbourne hanging out on the beach, sipping aBahama Mama with, say, the Pope? Why? It isbecause their core values and lifestyle choices arehighly incongruent. I’ll be very honest with you, Iused to be very comfortable with blaming my undis-Yo

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ciplined lifestyle on the people around me. In reality,the real problem was the man in the mirror.

There was something about me that made peopleskip past the other phone numbers saved in theirphone and decide to call me with hours of mindlesstalk. I was attracting “mess” because I was themessy person who loved to get the scoop on theoffice drama. I attracted disrespectful behaviorbecause I didn’t value myself enough to feel asthough I had the right to demand a change. And justas soon as I made the decision that these thoughtsand behavior patterns were no longer welcome inmy world, the corresponding people also disap-peared. For this reason, I have learned to be veryselective about who I allow to speak into my life,because the people who I put around me speak vol-umes about who I am.

If you believe all people are no good, you willattract all of the no-gooders of this world—and thereare PLENTY of them! And if you believe there isgood in everyone, you will attract the do-gooders of


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this world—and there are PLENTY of them also! Ifyour mentality is jacked up, you will attract peoplewho are jacked up.

Have you ever found yourself saying, “Wait, whyis this person being so nice to me? What is he tryingto get from me?” If your first inclination is tobelieve that nice people are out to get you, then sub-consciously you are expecting and attracting peoplewho mean you no good! I’ve even discovered first-hand how two good people with unresolved personalissues can act like children when faced with conflict.I won’t go there today, but can I get an “Amen?” Thebottom line is, as success coach Jim Rohn put it, “Ifyou don’t like the people you’re attracting, you mustdo something to become more attractive to a bettercrowd.”

“Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.”

–Spanish proverbYou

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YYoouu SSuucckk

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Idon’t get it. Why does it seem like every time you get a few good

things going in the right direction, there’s always some-body there to tell you, “You suck?” No matter how well-intentioned you may be, folks are still quick to start high-lighting your faults and inadequacies—even if they have tostretch to find them. As you can tell, I have issues rightnow. Be forewarned, I’m venting.

I had the best couple of weeks of my entire career recently.I was traveling through the Southeast, doing up to twoengagements per day. Have you ever hit your “flow” insomething, where it seemed like everything was clickingwithout any extra effort? Well, that’s exactly how I wasfeeling. As I traveled from place to place, I felt the momen-tum increasing, along with my confidence, my anointingYo

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and even my wit. Yes, I can actually be a pretty funnybrother when I put my mind to it. Anyhow, you get thepoint. Things were great. I had just sent out the notice toyou entitled “I just lost EVERYTHING,” encouraging youto contribute to my church’s effort to support displacedfamilies from New Orleans through SprinklesOfJoy.org.The responses were incredible. People were giving left andright, and then—I get this email from someone accusing meof trying to profit from other people’s tragedy.

WHAT THE???It stunned me for a second, but all I could do was laugh

because I knew this person’s response had nothing to dowith me but had everything to do with something inside ofthem. Nevertheless, I pressed on to my next round ofengagements.

In North Carolina, I received another shock. I performed(what was supposed to have been) a leadership talk, but feltled to talk in-depth about finding your purpose. I said thateverything and everyone who was created was called out ofeternity with a purpose in mind and how ironically, our pur-pose usually involves helping people stuck in the same sit-uations in which we previously struggled.


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I said, “The best things in your lives, they happened for areason; the worst things in your lives, they happened for areason. And it’s all working together for your good! Pleaseknow my friends, no matter where you are right now, thebest is yet to come!” Although I had no clue why I wasspeaking so passionately about this topic (it wasn’t any-where close to my normal talk), the crowd respondedtremendously, even though we were outside baking in theNorth Carolina heat. I felt like a piece of rotisserie chickenout there!

After the talk, I shook a lot of hands, signed a lot of booksand was getting ready to pack up. Then a lady came to meand said, “Mr. Sprinkles, I know I was the one you weresent here to say that message to.”

“How can you be so sure of that,” I playfully responded. “Because my plan was to go home today and kill myself,”

she said. I was stunned. Shocked. Silent. To make a long story short, she said that she had been

having a really tough time emotionally and didn’t feel likefighting anymore. But when she heard the part about “theYo

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best is yet to come,” it gave her a sense of hope and shebelieved that she could make it through this season. I feltlike a million bucks. It was an honor to be used like that andknow that even if she was the only person who listened thatday, it would have been worth the trip. I was back on CloudNine.

Fast forward two more days. I was stuck in Miami because Hurricane Rita was threat-

ening to flatten all of Houston. So, I decided to make themost of it. I hung out with some friends, laid on the couchand watched darn near all of season two of The DaveChapelle Show. (By the way, do you think I look like him?I hear people telling me that every other day. I don’t thinkso but—whatever.) I was relaxing Miami style, just waitingon the weather to clear up back home so I could finallysleep in my own bed. Everything was all good.

Then it happened again. My friend called me, telling me about a discussion that he

was a part of with some of our mutual “friends.” They weredogging me out because of some things that I did or saidfive to ten years ago. He was quick to dismiss their com-


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ments and even told them to grow up and get over the past.But it still stuck with me for some reason. Old friends andfamily members have a way of pushing your buttons likenobody else can, don’t they? You know, the funny part isthat I wasn’t even mad at them for saying what they said.Evidently, that’s just how they are. I was mostly mad atmyself—because I even cared! Why? For what? I don’teven talk to these people anymore. Why was I allowingthem to impact my belief about myself and whether I amreally making a difference in people’s lives?

Just because they said to me, “You suck” didn’t mean Isuck.

Two days later, I finally got back to Houston for a quick,24-hour stint at home. I checked my mailbox for the firsttime in two weeks. In it was a letter from a high school stu-dent I recently met at a conference. She wrote a beautifulletter to me, telling me how she had recently lost her closefriend in a tragic shooting. She didn’t know what to doabout her loss, but she had purchased my book and CD atthe conference and decided to dive into my products.Through my information, she started to finally get herbreakthrough and she felt like she could tackle the chal-Yo

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lenge of putting the pieces back together again. Finally, shelooked up the scripture I wrote underneath my signature,Ephesians 3:20, and things became clear to her for the firsttime.

Her letter was short but powerful. Her only goal—to letme know that I am making a difference in people’s lives. Icould go on and on about how much that letter meant to meand how “right on time” it was, but I’m sure you can imag-ine for yourself how it lifted my spirits, considering myrecent run-ins. So rather than explain the obvious, I’ll sharewith you the lessons I’ve learned as a result:

ö There will always be people in life that tell you, “Yousuck.” And there will always be people in life that tellyou, “You’re cool.” YOU choose which voice playsmost often in your mind.

ö We’re all works in progress. We say things like“nobody’s perfect” but we often fail to give our neigh-bors room to grow. Chill out. Instead of focusing somuch time on talking about why so-and-so is wrong,why not dedicate that energy to helping so-and-so to getright?


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ö We all have areas of our lives that suck. And? It’scalled being human. Yes, I have plenty of raggedy andsometimes trifling habits, but that still doesn’t meanthat I am not a great person overall. God mademan(kind) and said, “It is good,” knowing beforehandthat we were flawed. Shouldn’t we give ourselvesenough latitude to say the same about ourselvesdespite our imperfections?

ö When people talk about you, it says more about themthan it does about you.

ö Some folks are just crazy. ö Truth be told, every achievement of yours will high-

light someone else’s failures or lack of effort, especial-ly those that are close to you. That’s life. When you’reon the bottom, people will cheer you to victory. Butwhen you get to the top, they cheer when you fall. Sobe prepared, because it’s coming. Handle your busi-ness anyhow.

ö Anger and retaliation feel good—REALLY GOOD—but rarely solve anything. If someone can manipulateyour emotions, they control you more than you do.Yo

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That’s too much power for you to give up. Don’t go outlike that! If you get stuck between doing the right thingand the wrong thing, pray for patience, temperance andwisdom. Then pray for your accuser. They probablyneed it more than you know.

Please know that I am really, really okay with everythingthat has transpired. I am so happy to have experienced boththe good and the bad. These experiences have built tremen-dous character in me already.

When you’ve been called to something, you have toaccept that everything won’t be pretty and everyone won’tlike you. OH WELL!

Finally, here are some quotes that have helped me throughthe years that I want to leave with you:

“Nobody can belittle you without your consent.”

–Eleanor Roosevelt


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“All the water in the world can’t sinka ship until it gets on the inside.”

–Ed Foreman

If you don’t want me then don’t talkto me. Go ahead and free yourself!

–Fantasia Barrino

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TThhiiss SSuucckkss

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“I’m sorry sir; we don’t show anyrecord of anyone crediting your account. In fact, nobody inthat division even has the authority to make that decision.That said, if you want a new phone, that’ll be $330—NOW!”

Have you ever felt like you were the victim of a massiveconspiracy to ruin your day—or at least to make you looklike your driver’s license photo? Lately, I have felt like allof the evil forces of the world have teamed up with oneobjective in mind—to bring Mr. Motivator to his knees.

ö My computer at home got a virus—THAT SUCKED! ö The modem broke and I lost internet access, leaving

me without any means to check the flood of emails thatwere piling up—THAT SUCKED!

ö Even the mouse (the MOUSE!) crapped out—THATSUCKED! Yo

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ö My garage door has literally cracked in half (don’t ask)and needs to be replaced immediately—THATSUCKED!

ö My brand new, “faster than any machine previouslyknown to man” laptop won’t even blink when I pressthe power button. It’s dead. In addition, I have a hugeproject due “yesterday.” Furthermore, I am typing thisentire newsletter by pecking letter-by-letter on myPDA—while sitting in the middle seat on a shaky air-plane! And you guessed it—THIS SUCKS!

This brings me back to our opening dialogue. This was aconversation that occurred during a recent visit to my cellphone provider’s local store. Honestly, I intended to tellyou the whole story, but I am so tired now from punchingin letters and typing (at a rate of say, six words per minute),I’ll just get to the point. They made me tons of promisesand followed through on none of them, which became theicing on my miserable little cake. Consequently, I had tobuy a $330 phone-AND IT SUCKS!

Wow, talking about this has been very therapeutic by theway. Whew!


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Okay, there is a point to my sharing all of this with you.Several, actually. Here they go:

Everyone has stuff that sucks in his or her life.So what? It’s called LIFE! Because everyone hasstuff that sucks, people really don’t want to hear youwhine, complain, moan and be negative about allyour problems. Get over it, get on with it, and seekto become a better person because of it.

Times that SUCK help you appreciate timesthat don’t SUCK even more. You would never appreciate the sunshine if younever saw any rain.

Comedy =Tragedy + Time. One day, you’ll laugh about this.

Somebody out there has it worse than you do.Most of our problems are nothing compared to theYo

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“real” problems of the world. At least we have carsand jobs and clothes and homes and computers(when they work). With all this luxury that weenjoy, do we really have room to complain? Dothings actually SUCK or are they just inconvenient?The next time you feel like your life sucks, take astroll through an emergency room and take a goodlook at what you see. I recently did. Since then, Ihave refused to open my mouth to complain aboutmy measly problems.

When things SUCK, get tough!As I was enduring breakdown after breakdown, Ifelt overwhelmed and wanted to ball up in a cornerand disappear. But quitting is never an option; itonly makes it easier to quit something else in thefuture.

During my moments of feeling overwhelmed, Idiscovered my new formula for getting largeamounts of tasks done in a hurry:

ö Write ‘em down-Write down everything you


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need to do so you can see all your to-do’s infront of your face.

ö Line ‘em up-Group similar tasks together soyou can quickly move from one task to the next(i.e. clean the oven, wash dishes, mop thefloor). As you complete each task, cross it offso you can encourage yourself by seeing yourprogress.

ö Knock ‘em out-Keep going until your list has beencompleted. By the end of the day, you will feelaccomplished, confident and back in control ofyour life.

Well, my plane just landed, so I guess this is a perfectplace to stop. Well, that and the fact that the battery in myPDA is just about dead. So are my fingers from holding thistiny stylus.

Just remember, the best thing in your life happened for areason. The worst thing in your life happened for a reason.And it’s ALL working together for your good!

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WhyRUStarring 7/6/06 2:07 PM Page 55

“But mom, I’m not going tobe here much longer. I can deal with it for a little while andbefore you know it, I’ll be gone.”

I was on the phone, talking to my mother, driving to BWIairport in Baltimore, Maryland on a cloudy Thursday after-noon. You know, I seem to be flying in the most peculiar ofcircumstances these days. First I flew on September 11th,now this. This particular Thursday was the day HurricaneIsabel was supposed to touch down on the East Coast.

Of course, the sky was showing every sign of a pendingdownpour. The temperature was dropping quickly, thewinds were stirring, and the poor trees were barely able tohold on to their roots. Everyone in the city of Baltimorewas getting ready to take a beating. That is, everyone butme. I was dressed in sandals, shorts and a loose-fitting linenYo

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shirt. In this environment, I looked liked the one idiot thatforgot to check the forecast before he got dressed thatmorning. Hence, the argument with mom ensued. I knowwhat you’re thinking, and don’t get the wrong idea here. Iam a grown man and I haven’t lived at home in years. Butas my mother told me long ago, “I don’t care how grownyou are, you’ll always be son and I’ll always be your mother.”Aw shucks.

My mother, being “mom,” was trying to convince me thatI needed to put on a hat and jacket to prepare for the storm.I, however, was trying to remind her that although I was inBaltimore, my mind was on my next destination—sunnyMiami, Florida. My departure was only an hour away. Assoon as I got into the airport, it was smooth sailing fromthere. The only inclement weather that I would have to dealwith was in the BWI parking lot as I lugged my bags to theterminal. “Who cares?” I thought. “I’ll just suck it up for thefive minute walk and in three hours I’ll be on the beach.”

Of course, mom was partially right. The cold wind wasbiting at my exposed legs. And of course, people were staringat me like I was an idiot. But what they didn’t know was


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that I had something special on my mind. They saw whereI was, but they couldn’t see where I was going. Theywere thinking about disaster. I was thinking about my des-tiny. They were planning for evacuation. I was planning formy vacation.

It made me think about a concept I shared in my bookWhy Settle, “Don’t expect people to share your thoughts oryour decisions that don’t share your vision!” Quite simply,the people staring at me didn’t know what I knew, sothey couldn’t see what I saw or feel what I felt. Instantly,I caught the message: sometimes, getting ready for “there”will make you look out of place while you’re still “here.”

Have you ever been headed to a “Special Place” of yourown that people didn’t understand? Have your dreams everexceeded your circumstances? Have you ever stood outbecause your ambition was advanced far greater than thosearound you? Actually, the experience of not fitting in withthe “in crowd” is one of the essential building blocks formany great success stories. I have studied brilliant, wealthyand successful people and nearly all of them started outbeing the oddball. In their times of isolation, they becomeexceptionally independent and discover how to work onYo

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their dream without the support of others. This part isn’tsexy and it isn’t fun. It’s often very lonely, but it is always100% necessary.

Don’t give up on getting to your Special Place. You musthave the courage to hold fast to your plan, even if it doesn’t“fit” into your current environment. It is your vision, youridea, your destiny, your Special Place. You are pregnantwith an idea that you and only you must carry to term!If others don’t applaud your ideas, so what? It’s your dream,not theirs. All the convincing, selling and prodding in theworld may not change their minds, and that’s okay. Yourwisdom will sound like ignorance in the presence of fools.

Just so you know, I made it out of Baltimore safely a cou-ple of hours before Isabel hit. Interestingly enough, myplane was filled with people who also looked just like I did.Passengers were wearing everything from flower shirts toswim trunks. The airplane was filled with outcasts who,like myself, had also been persecuted for our nonconformity.But in the end, we all found comfort in knowing that weweren’t alone.

Two hours and ten minutes later, we touched down. It waseasy to see that we all had one thing in common—we were


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all focused on getting to our Special Place and believedwholeheartedly that the price we paid to get there was wellworth it.

So hold on. Don’t get weary in your well doing. Finish therace. It doesn’t matter what they say about you. It does mat-ter what YOU say about you. When your vision comes topass, you too will experience peace that surpasses allunderstanding, even in the threat of a storm.

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AvoidRich&Fame 7/6/06 2:09 PM Page 61

In order to live the life of your dreams, you have tobe the best of the best, smarter than the rest or just plain olelucky. Rather than focus your attention on how to be famousor wealthy beyond belief, why not figure out how to be justas average as possible? Instead of stretching toward yourpotential, see if you can reach it via remote control. Beingrich can’t be all that great. You’d probably throw your backout from having to carry around a heavy wallet all day. Whowants that?

Here are 10 ways to make sure that you will never have toworry about dealing with all the money, fame and successstuff. This is my personal recipe for mediocrity:

Blame others for your mistakesOne trait that is consistent among successful peopleYo

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is a high efficacy level, meaning they believe heav-ily in their ability to achieve their objectives. Theylook at life as a series of results, not chance or luck.When they don’t like the results that they are get-ting, they change their approach until they finallyperfect their craft.

You will certainly find yourself miles away fromsuccess if you look to make excuses instead ofimprovements. If you never own your actions, youdon’t have to be accountable for them. After all,who needs all the stress and pressure of making theright decisions anyhow? Don’t accept responsibilityfor anything…ever! If things don’t turn out right,it’s because your mother didn’t hug you enough as achild. See how easy it is to avoid growing up!

Other surefire scapegoats include:ö The governmentö Bad luck/karmaö McDonald’s ö God (you know what a temper He has!)ö The Man


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It’s much easier to give all of your personal poweraway and become a puppet to people, problems andpressures. Of course you will always be searchingfor validation from society, but maybe being achump isn’t as bad as people make it sound.

Always live in the pastSeventy-five percent of the world’s top leaderscome from impoverished backgrounds or have aphysical disability. Eighty percent of millionaires inAmerica are first-generation millionaires. But you,my friend, are free to wallow in self-pity and lamentabout how you didn’t have a fair chance at life.

Don’t allow the thought of getting over your set-backs to enter your mind. Nope, that’s far too liber-ating. Instead, be like the fleas in the jar that jumpedand jumped trying to get out but kept hitting theirhead on the top for so long that they finally gave up.Even when the top was eventually removed, the fleashad already decided that attempting to escape wasfutile and stayed put. They were so hung up on theirpain from the past failures that they never took hold

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of what was available for their future.If the flea story doesn’t grab you, just put on your

old letterman jacket from your “glory days” in highschool and brag about how athletic and good look-ing you used to be back in the day. If that's not agood time, I don't know what is.

DON’T READ!If you do read something, make sure it’s only lightmaterial that talks about Hollywood gossip or howto tell if your mate is cheating. Be sure to fill yourevenings and weekends with LOTS of televisionwatching and for bonus points, hours of video gameplaying. Hey, life was meant to be fun, right? Manyof the smartest people in the world have compiledtheir greatest thoughts through writing books. Youcould capture their wisdom and quickly turn yourlife around, but that would absolutely kill your tele-vision schedule. Give up primetime television? Yeahright.


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Burn every bridge you crossLife is about relationships. People will forget mostof the things that you say and some of the things thatyou do, but they will never forget how you madethem feel. If you think about the people who you loveand would do anything for, they probably sowed intoyour life on a consistent basis. They sent you cards,always said “thank you,” or were the ones who youcould always count on when you were in a jam.

One way to ensure that you end up on your own isto always talk behind people’s backs and deny anywrongdoing to their face. If they press you, givethem the puppy dog eyes and say, “Does this looklike the face of someone who gave your bossdetailed accounts of your wild behavior at happyhour last night?” Take more than your share of thecredit and less than your share of the blame. Don’t bea wimp; be the biggest jerk you can be! Make sureeveryone knows to avoid getting close to you oryou’ll surely stab them in the back. Especially offendthose who believe in you and have helped you out inthe past. If you do your job right, your Christmascard list should be really, really short this year.

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Keep up with the JonesesWhen two people always agree, one of them isn’t nec-essary. The quickest way to show how dispensableyou are is to be just like everyone else around you.Think about the classic voices of Tina Turner, StevieWonder or Elton John. They are classics for a reason:nobody can do their sound better than they can. That’salso why they get paid big bucks every time they stepon stage. Our differences, not our similarities are whatmake us stand out. Don’t stand out! You were born anoriginal, but decide to live like a copy.

Avoid mentors like the plagueMentor schmentor. Why would you want someonewho is already successful who has “been there, donethat” to tell you about how they made it? They’reprobably just bragging anyhow. I can’t stand it whenthey start asking you meaningful questions and chal-lenge you to be better in life. Trust me, you don’twant people all in your business like that!


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!Be very afraid of changeThe only people who should like change are babieswith wet diapers. Times are changing. Technology ischanging. Attitudes are changing. But you just staythe same. Hold down the fort and represent for thepeople of yesteryear. Keep your old ways of think-ing and your old habits. Those who embrace changeare probably very unstable and don’t know any bet-ter. You’ll show them, won’t you?

Sleep in late as often as possibleNo matter how much you love sleep, nothing comesto dreamers but dreams. Now, if you’re working onbecoming a dream analyst, you might be on the righttrack. But if you want to be rich and famous, yourtrain just derailed.

Imagine every hour you spend sleeping as anotherhour that somebody, your competitors are workingat getting better so they can take your place.Actually, if you’re in bed all day, they aren’t takingyour position away, you’re giving it away. By the

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way, the 45 minutes it takes you to actually get out ofbed after you wake up also counts. But don’t worryabout it. Get your beauty rest though. Sleep is some-thing you can never have too much of. It’s all good.

Look for handouts and hook-upsHave you ever peeled an orange in front of yourfriends? If your friends are like mine, they willwatch you do all the work (and even get that sticky,nasty orange stuff in your nails) and when you’redone, they’ll put their hands out and ask, “Hey, canI get a piece?” Oooh that makes me mad! There isnothing a hard worker hates more than someonewho wants a free ride. If you're unwilling to do any"real" work to become successful, find the peoplehigh achievers and ride their coattails. You can flyunder the radar for months! That is, until they figureout that you're lazy and useless, then you're busted.


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Make lots of excuses and be a hardcore pessimistThey say misery loves company, so with a bad atti-tude, recruit plenty of people to your side. It is nosecret that employers will take a person with aver-age skills and a dynamite attitude over someonewhose sour attitude makes them look like they’vebeen sucking on lemons all day. Look at the futurewith skepticism and fear. It’s true, your attitude really does determine your altitude, so fly low and Irepeat—no matter what happens, IT’S NEVERYOUR FAULT! BONUS- Talk about your goals, but don’t do any-thing to achieve them.

Be all bark and no bite. Talk about what you“shoulda, coulda and woulda” done if you only hada chance. Bore people with hours of banter abouthow you’re finally serious and are ready to make achange. They’ll love to hear that excuse again!

Strive to be among the 87 percent of people whoset goals and feel excited about them initially butsoon abandon them within two weeks, leaving themYo

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worse than they were in the beginning. This happensmostly because they spend more time talking thanthey do working. But it sure is a fun fantasy though!Next time you set a goal, buy the workout clothes,the gym membership, and while you’re at it, throwin a couple of workout videos, too. But, don’t youdare use them!

If you have already adopted one or more of thesetraits, good for you! You are well on the way toavoiding high tax brackets, finally being happy, orchanging your family's future forever. Just sit back,relax and watch life go by. Ahhhh.


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Don’t even THINK about having a conferenceor training event without putting “Sprinkles”on it! Bring Jonathan Sprinkles to your campus to create a customized Success Planfor your group. To book Jonathan for yournext event, go to WWW.JSPRINKLES.COMand submit a request. Spaces are limited andusually fill up very quickly, so ACT NOW!

To book Jonathan Sprinkles for your next event,please contact us at WWW.JSPRINKLES.COM.


Live your best life—on your terms!


Live your best life—on your terms!When you read You Were Born an Original, Don’t Live Like a Copy, you will beamazed to discover how easy it is to:

• Apply a simple 3-step formula that makes you more productiveby lunchtime than most people are all day

• Reprogram your self-image so you attract wealth andsuccess like a magnet

• Turn criticism into fuel that creates laser-like focus onyour personal and professional goals

• Use a variety of techniques to virtually eliminate stressand anxiety from your life

• Unleash new levels of charisma to elevate every relationship inyour life and become a leader that others want to follow

• Supercharge your productivity, creativity, and life energy


Personal development/leadership/motivation You

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Receive Jonathan Sprinkles’

FREE newsletter, The 5 MinuteMotivator, at

www.jsprinkles.com

Jonathan Sprinkles is known for being one of the most in-demand leadership strategists andsuccess experts in America. After nearly failing out of college, he turned his life around andbecame a Dean’s List student, then earned a position as an elitesalesman at the fastest-growing technology company in America.Now a successful speaker, author and entrepreneur, Jonathandelivers his energetic and humorous message to corporations,associations and colleges internationally.

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