Meeting a Champion – Jimmy Shea at Mark O. Haroldsen’s Book Signing
This is a picture with me and Jimmy Shea, Jr. He came to one of my book signings at Costco. Jimmy is an Olympic champion with quite a story.
As Jimmy describes his life and how reaching his goals and overcoming blocks to becoming a champion:
“As a youth growing up in Lake Placid, NY, Jim’s involvement in sports helped him overcome the doubt he experienced due to his battle with Dyslexia. Having a severe learning disorder taught Jim the importance of perseverance and hard work. A lesson emphasized by his father and grandfather, both Winter Olympic Athletes.”
When Jim competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics (in the Men’s Skeleton), he became the only American to have the distinction of being a third generation Olympian. In 1932 his Grandfather, speed skater Jack Shea, became the first American to win two Winter Olympic Gold medals. In 1964 Jim’s father, Jim Shea, Sr. competed in the Nordic Combined at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics.
Jimmy also believes in giving back. He founded the Shea Family Foundation to help young Olympians in the sports he and his family have competed in for generations.
It’s great meeting people like Jimmy at book signings – thanks for coming!
– Mark O. Haroldsen
Mark O. Haroldsen’s Birthday Bash
Mark recently turned 65 and his wife Kimberly threw a huge party for him. You’ll see from the video how many people came to celebrate the day with him.
When everyone arrived, they saw this sign in front of Mark’s house:
As his manager and friend Mike Hansen says, “Mark never lets go of people.†You could definitely see that at his birthday party. The house was filled with friends – some from over 30 years ago. Richard and Ed flew in to celebrate – and we’ll post an interview with them shortly.
On page 90 of Mark’s book: How to Ignite your Passion for Living he talks about making checklists to plan social events (or anything else you’re doing). One of the things he has on the list is for the best caterers in town. I think he got that one – the food was healthy (most of it), there was more than plenty (and drinks to go around) and it was amazing!
Here’s a video taken at the party:
Learning Increases Passion
When you learn something new or challenge yourself, your brain is stimlulated to release hormones that make you feel good. As Mark talks about in his books this “feel good” brain chemical is prevalent when your young. Then in your 30s it begins to decline. You have to do things to stimulate it. One way is through learning.
The Internet has so many resources that are free – you can learn from the brightest people alive.
Here are two examples:
Academic Earth – has free lectures from the world’s top scholars
Ted – inspired talks from the world’s top thinkers and doers
I also listen to free podcasts and meditations on iTunes. What about you? What do you do to keep learning?
Mark O. Haroldsen Discusses New Book on YouTube
Here is a video of one of Mark’s news appearances. Notice how passionate he is as he talks about his new book: Ignite Your Passion for Living
Mark O. Haroldsen on Fox 13 Utah
Mark O. Haroldsen appeared on Fox 13 television station this week (click the link to view now) to talk about Ignite My Life Now – his new book. The interviewers asked him how to avoid getting discouraged over the economy. The first thing he said was “stop listening to the news.” I had to laugh.
You’ll see from the video that you really need to read his book – not just watch his appearance! And thanks for plugging the web site where anyone can get a free copy.
Of course Mark talks about goals and his BRAM formula which is to look over the – Benefits, Reasons and Motivations for a goal. Write down the benefits of your goal and the reasons you have it. Read those notes again when you’re weak and it helps you keep your focus.
ObsessedTV.com Debuts – Inteviews Passionate Entrepreneurs
Have you heard of ObsessedTV? It’s a show that interviews entrepreneurs to talk about their passion. It’s an online-only talk show. Rather than showing people fighting, it’s about happy people doing what they love.
“We want to create a destination that takes a deeper look into personalities that we know will make the audience and advertisers both very happy.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk, host — along with Samantha Ettus
The first one (it’s geared towards women) features renowned floral designer Preston Bailey.
I had a chance to do a quick impromptu interview with Ettus.
Why is it important to get story behind the entrepreneur?
Because if we could use anything in these difficult times, it is a dose of pure passion. All entrepreneurs have it in spades. For people who have their own businesses or those that have entertained dreams of starting them, there is nothing more motivating than hearing the stories of successful entrepreneurs.
Will my Mom want to see this show? She’s 50 and loves Oprah.
Definitely! This show is geared towards those people that love to hear the story behind the person. If you like to know what motivates people, what their personal lives are like, their professional paths and their personalities, then this show will become your favorite source of entertainment.
Putting your show on the web as opposed to television is a no-brainer, but are you worried that the “Oprah audience†is mainly still attached to their set top boxes?
We believe the Oprah audience is ready to take their passion for people online. But they are also representative of the kinds of people we are aiming at attracting. Those that love people and their stories. Most of our guests appear on talk shows every day giving expert advice but rarely are they asked about their paths to success and their personal stories. There hasn’t been an episode yet in which a guest hasn’t exclaimed, “I’ve never shared that before.â€
The possibilities are endless on the web. What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned so far?
The web makes it so that we are no longer constrained to three minute segments like TV talk shows and that has made these interviews far more compelling than any other medium can offer. Of course, I am constantly in awe of how much more there is to learn – it is exactly as you describe – endless – and changing at a jaw dropping clip.
Will you use social media tools on Obsessed, and how will you build the community?
We are going to get in the trenches – Our attachment to our community will be very different than any other show out there because I will be interacting with our audience on a daily basis through Twitter, Facebook, and Ustream. This will enable us to be in touch with our viewers likes and dislikes and respond rapidly to give our community the best show possible.
Check out ObsessedTV and tell me what you think in the comments!
Andrew Mager is an associate technical producer at CBS Interactive Business. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Mark O. Haroldsen Appearances at Costco in Utah
Costco has asked me to come back to do some more book signings for my new book, How To Ignite Your Passion For Living.
Please tell your friends and family to come on down to one of the Costco stores and check out my new book. I will even give their kids a brand new 2 dollar bill for their efforts. The parents will get a new audio on CD that I just did called 4 Sure-Fire Steps to Personal Wealth. And they don’t even have to buy my book—of course I will feel bad if they don’t, but I’ll get over it.
Here’s the schedule and locations…I’ll be coming to a COSTCO near you….
Friday, February 27th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
648 East 800 South ~ Orem
Saturday, February 28th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
573 West 100 North ~ Bountiful
Sunday, March 1st
1:00-5:00pm Costco
11100 South Auto Mall Drive ~ Sandy
Thursday, March 5th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
5201 South Intermountain Drive ~ Murray
Friday, March 6th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
1818 South 300 West ~ Salt Lake City
Saturday, March 7th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
3656 Wall Ave ~ Ogden
Sunday, March 8th
1:00-5:00pm Costco
3747 South 2700 West ~ West Valley City
It should be lots of fun and I hope to see YOU there also, and of course, the 2 dollar bill for the kids and the free CD applies to you, too. Bring the famiy—heavens, bring everybody!!!!!
Mark O. Haroldsen
PS. I have had some absolutely fantastic stories from people who read this new book who claim that it has given them a whole new perspective and lease on life–wow, that makes me feel so very good, and maybe I should be giving the book for free to everyone!!
-moh
Mark O. Haroldsen – More of My Heroes
There are friends and people I have met or who I want to meet who have made a lasting impression on me. In this post, I want to go over some of the heroes I know or want to meet. I’ve already written about two – Stein Erickson and Oprah Winfrey.
Here are some of my other heroes:
Roy Emerson
Roy is a super famous tennis champion who despite all his fame is incredibly warm, genuine, and giving. The world’s perception of famous people is usually wrong. We think of the famous as snots who are in rehab because that’s what is in the news. But in my experience, that’s not the case. Most of the time they are like Roy. Most of the time you can meet your heroes.
Paul J. Meyer
I talk about Paul in my book. He’s a half billionaire who was recently in the Dominican Republic getting treatment to repair his heart muscles. He’s sought treatment there because the country allows stem cell research and blood work. He hopes to regenerate his heart and get some extra years of life.
Paul is 80 years old. We’ve been life-long friends. He’s a very smart guy who I’ve known for 25 years. He’s a great salesman who started the SMI Institute. He was the first person to put motivational information on records and then on cassette tapes. He’s so organized that he can get so much done and is a workaholic!
Unknown to me, Paul told me he followed me for years. Then one day he wrote to me after reading my first book. Because of this book, he and his friends started to buy property. It has been a great friendship and he has stopped in Salt Lake City to visit.
Nando Parrado
I talk about Nando in my book and how he survived the near impossible. While stranded for 72 days due to a plane crash, many people cannibalized. Searchers had given up finding anyone. Nando hiked up a freezing mountain to escape. I talked about him in my post about finding mentors. He’s one of my heroes and I hope to meet him.
Who are your heros and why? Please leave your response as a comment below.
The Happiness you Get from Reading
Another focus I have this year is reading or re-reading good books. Paul J. Meyer says to take the 100 best books and read them over and over again. We tend to forget most of the best of what we read.
Reading has a huge positive affect on us. The contentment factor is much higher from reading than it is from watching tv. Studies have shown that even kids get more happiness from doing homework than from tv (though they’d probably never admit it).
I’m re-reading The Power of Now and Eat to Live (for the 5th time). Also a book about tennis techniques. Another one is You, The Owner’s Manual. I’m constantly reading and re-reading great books.
What books do you plan to re-read this year?
Looking Ahead in 2009 – Life Goals
My focus for the new year is my health and diet. Thanks to my daughter I’ve enrolled in a yoga class. There is everyone from a 7 year old to a 70 year old. As you age you lose your flexibility, you can’t move as easily. You must counter-attack this by pushing yourself, and by stretching. Another thing is by being in a group you introduce competition, which can push you to try harder and to not give up.
I’m eating more fruits and vegetables and natural foods now. It’s harder to do that eating out at a restaurant. So I try to stay home and eat where it’s easier to control. When I do eat out, I bring my own whole wheat pasta or choose healthier dishes.
Another focus of this year is that I have re-ignited my passion for public speaking. When I recently spoke to a Kiwanis Club group, I remembered how much I like speaking. It went well and I remembered why I like doing it.
I want to be on Oprah to talk about igniting your passion for life. I’ve been on 11 radio stations, and various TV promotions, but that would be the top of the top. Why do I want to meet her? She is a self-made multi billionaire who started from scratch. And she built this without taking advantage of other people. She did it through work.
What about you? What do you want to do in 2009 to live a passionate life?
