Analyzing the Beatles

I just finished reading a great little book titled, The Five Best Decisions the Beatles Ever Made, by Bill Stainton. Bill is an excellent writer who outlines and explains the many great circumstances, ideas, and achievements that made the Beatles famous and quite wealthy. That’s right, they weren’t just a great band with great songs. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that helped make them so super successful.

As Bill says, their success wasn’t just luck mixed with their unusual genius. There were actually a lot of conscious decisions made along the way to push them towards their great success. These decisions aren’t something just for musicians and mega superstars. They can help pretty much any business or individual and Bill tells us about them in this book.

Not only that, this book is an easy and entertaining little read, and with so many great things about success and how to put them into practice, I’m sure any one of us can learn them and lift our lives. Or as Bill puts it, have “top of the charts success”.

Now, how is it that Bill Stainton came to write a book about the success of the Beatles? Well, it started with him becoming a fan.

The day Bill became a Beatles fan was February 9th, 1964, and he was only six years old. On that Sunday he joined the 73 million Americans who were watching The Ed Sullivan Show. Bill describes his first impression of the Beatles and what initially impressed him.

I don’t think it was the music –not yet at least. It probably wasn’t the hair although I clearly remember laughing myself silly because it seemed so long (times change, don’t they?) To be honest, I’m not sure what it was that turned me into a Beatles fan that day. They just had something.

I’ve subsequently spent many years analyzing the many “somethings” that made the Beatles what they were. I’ve never grown tired of listening to the music. I’ve never stopped being a fan.

And that’s how it all started for him. Now Bill gives keynote speeches on the Five Best Decisions the Beatles Ever Made for various businesses and industries on top of the many other wonderful and successful things that he is done with his life. Including writing this great little book.

Now, you’re probably wondering what those five decisions are, right? Well, I will talk about that in a future blog post but for now, I want to wish you all a wonderful new year and all the best in 2024.

Being with “True” Family

On the eve of our Christmas weekend, I have to say my thoughts are very much with my family. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive, fun, and loving family. I know many of you feel the same way. But on the other hand, I have known too many people that don’t have strong bonds with their relatives. The reasons for this are all over the map but in the end, these reasons aren’t as relevant as realizing what family really means and being with your “true” family on the holidays.

The phrase “Home is where the heart is” can be easily transformed into “Family is where the heart is”. It’s the same thing. I remember on another Christmas years back, seeing a news segment about a gentleman who won the lottery but without even a bit of hesitation he immediately determined he would not be leaving his job.

Many of us would probably think, “You suddenly have all this money, and you still want to work? Why?”

Well, as it turned out, he had a very good reason. He said it was because his work crew is his family. That is where he feels he belongs, and no amount of money is going to buy him that feeling anywhere else. I really thought that was great.

I hope you all are able to be at the place where your heart lies this weekend, where the people who make you feel loved and let you know that you belong with them are gathered around you. If it’s not actually your relatives, then hopefully you are surrounding yourself with those people who were truly your other kind of family, the people you laugh with and the people who are there for you 24/7.

This weekend, I hope you are exactly where you want to be and are making sure all those around you know how much they are loved and appreciated.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

The Connection Between Wealth and Giving

There are various reasons and motivators that push people to go after great wealth. But the real bottom line motivator to make even a little money is simply survival because we all need money for food, clothing, and shelter.

Thankfully, most of us have the basics to survive, especially here in the good ole USA. A large part of the reason for this is because of the great freedom and the wonderful free enterprise system that allows even a person born into poverty a good chance to rise above it all and make lots of money and even a fortune starting from scratch, as long as they are willing to put in the effort and the work.

One of the more unique motivators for achieving wealth can be that someone wants to make a lot so that they can give a lot. Now, some people would question that saying, “Why would that push or motivate people to achieve great financial success?”

My answer to that would be, “Because it can make the giver feel on top of the world with wonderful inner feelings that last and last. Plus, it’s a great legacy that can and will linger on long after the giver has passed on.”

I’ve been saying this for years, and I’ll say it for years to come. That feeling of giving back is so very good for the body, mind, and soul. That wonderful feeling can be had from giving both money and non-money stuff. Think of how you feel when you give someone a gift, or do a big favor for someone, or give a great compliment and you receive sincere, enthusiastic, and emotional thanks. There are not many feelings that are a greater reward than what you get when you are a giver.

So, if you and I really take the time to think it through, we may well see what a great motivator it can be for us to push ourselves to make more money so we can give more to others.

Also, never forget all those other things we can give–everything from sincere compliments and praise, our time, our service, and our sincere love and attention to others. The return on these kinds of investments are many times more satisfying than the return we get on our money investments.

My motto is becoming, more and more, “Give more to live more.” Or better yet, “Give more so others can live more!”

The Beauty of Being a True Believer

The beauty of being a true believer is that no one can ever prove to the believer that they are wrong.  True believers are totally convinced that they are right. I’m talking about a person who totally believes in a specific dream, goal, religion, or even myth. Whether it’s about life or death or about the person who believes that their own particular brand of religion is the “one true” religion, then for them, it is an absolute truth. 

How about the person who believes he is bound to fail at whatever he tries? Or the person who truly feels and believes she is the luckiest person in the world? If they really believe it, then it’s true for them and no one can prove their belief to be wrong, at least to them. And they live their life based on their version of the truth.

Belief is a matter of faith and confidence. It’s basically an opinion that some particular thing exists or is true, no hard facts required. This all makes it very difficult to argue with.

If you stop and think about it, maybe you would agree that whether the belief seems to be true or not, it won’t matter in the end. The only thing that matters is that the person really does believe that their view the world is true.

At this point, being such a strong believer doesn’t sound like such a great thing. But I’d like to show you how beautiful and very healthy it can be to be a true believer, because there really is a positive side to this subject.

So, here is the simple truth. Belief is one of the most powerful things a human being can have. Do you think that some of the young Taliban or al-Qaeda followers believe strongly in their cause? Do they really believe that if they strap on a bomb and blow themselves up along with some infidels they will go straight to paradise and be blessed with 72 virgins?

We know they must believe in this as we see the results of their actions in the news. But do the end results of such terrible acts bring these rewards they so fully believe in? Most of us, I’d guess, would say that, at a minimum, it’s questionable, but, more likely, the majority opinion would be that these beliefs are ridiculous. But what we think is the ultimate truth doesn’t really matter if that young man or woman Truly believes in that cause and their actions’ ultimate reward.

A belief think cannot be changed is so super powerful. So, why can’t we develop that kind of intensity and attach it to a wonderful and worthwhile objective that uplifts our lives and helps people around us, making the world a better place?

That’s the thing. I think we can. Extremists and zealots of all kinds believe what they do with such intensity because they chose to and because the people around them tell them it’s true and support their belief. It’s not impossible for us to do the same thing when it comes to our dreams, goals, and faith in ourselves.

We just need to set our doubts aside, surround ourselves with people who believe in us, and focus on positive thoughts. Like I said, belief is one of the most powerful things in the world and there’s no reason why any one of us can’t use it to make our lives and our world better.

The Miracle of My USA

I was going to tell you more about what I’ve learned about increasing longevity and enjoying excellent health through all the years of your life. But something else has been on my mind this past week.

I have been reminded many times through my writing and reading, that everything I do should be connected to that good ole USA. Okay, do you remember what USA is for me? It’s pretty simple and, no, it doesn’t stand for the country I live in. It’s an acronym I use to remind myself to live a life of Unconditional Self-Acceptance.

I know a lot of us struggle with accepting and loving ourselves unconditionally. We can be so very self-critical. But even if you’ve worked hard to have good, positive inner self talk and can truly say to yourself that you love and accept who you are, negativity can still sneak in. It’s not a given that once you’ve learned to accept yourself unconditionally that you’ll always accept and love yourself unconditionally.

You just have to give that USA some thought from time to time, and if you do, you will discover that living with that USA on the top of your mind will really lift your life. It can do this for pretty much any part of your life, from your career to your relationships. 

It’s so easy to forget about the meaning of my version of USA but it really can make a huge difference in your life. If you make Unconditional Self-Acceptance a super big goal for yourself, and think about it on a regular basis, you will see that by being more and more accepting of yourself and your life you’ll find more success, happiness, and contentment. And that’s because it’s that negativity and self-doubt that can really bring us down.

Whenever I focus on my USA, it helps lift my life in so many ways. It improves the way I do business as well as giving me the confidence and dedication I need to write my books. It has even lifted the quality of my tennis game. I’ve also seen how it can improve my relationships with my dear and wonderful hard-working wife, my super kids, and all my wonderful grand kids. Because when I can accept and love myself, it’s easier to love and accept everybody and everything about the people around me. And I mean everybody. Yes, everyone from new friends to long time buddies and, of course, family members!  

I’m sure you’re familiar with the feeling of being around people who don’t seem to like themselves very much. It can bring everybody down. So, if you stay focused on the good ole USA, you’ll be in a position to lift the lives of everyone around you instead of bringing them down.

It really does work. I say it even borders on the miraculous.