Coasting Through Life or Living It?
“Lucky are those who have passion for life. But blessed are those who have passion all their life.â€
That’s one of my favorite quotes. My heroes are people who have been leaders. Their personality creates an atmosphere. They set mind stimulating goals rather than take the easy way and think “I’ll just coast.â€
One problem is we rarely have good examples of people who live with passion their entire life. In the movies people who are successful and happy reach a certain destination. They reach some pinnacle of success and the movie fades out with them sitting around the pool. If you truly want passion all of your life, you can’t lounge around. You have to start creating it yourself. You must continue to challenge yourself to accomplish goals that are meaningful to you.
Instead we might be tempted to think, is this all there is? Happiness comes from the process of setting and reaching goals. We as humans feel so good when we’re totally involved in something. You’ve felt this when you’ve gotten lost in a novel, playing sports, or at work. You lose yourself, you are living in the now. You’re in the moment. That is living!
Great Ideas Live Forever
The great books of the world, unlike the great people, never die. Take the book: Think and Grow Rich. The message hasn’t aged at all. It is still spot-on today.
So far, in the month since it was released, my book seems to reach people of all ages. We’re at our home in Hawaii and as I talk about the year and look to the next, I’m seeing whales spouting off our back porch. One of our house guests here told me they gave a copy to their mother who is in her 70s. We also heard about a retired surgeon who is very excited about the book. I’ve also heard from someone in his 30s, who is already quite successful, and how he just loved it.
Right now my book is available on this site free of charge (get your free copy of How to Ignite your Passion for Living). I ask people to pay for multiple copies because they’re not for people to sell on eBay, but to spread ideas. It is my gift to you, in the spirit of giving.
I’d like nothing more for my books to leave a legacy that will continue to reach people who want to live passionately long after I’m gone.
Paying it Forward
I don’t think there is a greater feeling than to know you have truly helped and lifted the life of another human being.
I think you probably know the great feeling you get when someone sincerely and enthusiastically thanks you for something you may have said or done to help them out of a terrible jam or given them great hope or motivation.
I can only imagine how it must feel to literally save a human life! I’ve never done that, but I have experienced the rush from boosting someone’s passion for living.
I sincerely think this book will help your life – – – and I hope it will ignite, or reignite, your passion for living. If I’m right and it does do that for you, please, please, please pass it on – – pay it forward to all those people around you. It may save their lives, figuratively – and maybe even literally.
If you want to help in a big way, and in big numbers, I have made this much easier for you. I will make this book available for the very low cost of only $4.00 each if you buy 100 copies. In fact, even if you buy just 20 copies, I will still provide them for just $4.00 each. If you want to buy only four copies, I would reduce the price to $8.00 each (the regular price for softback is $14.95—the regular price for hardback $21.95—or $8.00 if you buy 20 or more).
If you don’t have a hundred loved ones and friends, then I would strongly suggest that you give this book to strangers. (I have found just as much of a thrill giving to total strangers – – okay, some of them think I’m nuts, and maybe I am, but it sure feels good for a long time to be giving back and trying to make a difference when it seems like everyone just wants to take).
Try for big time giving with big numbers, and I think you’ll be surprised at how much true joy and deep satisfaction it brings you. As you probably know that great “feel good high†you get from giving is from the brain chemical called serotonin. The receiver gets a big boost in their serotonin levels but so do you. Try it—I am sure you’ll like it!
Sincerely,
Mark O. Haroldsen
To order call 425-883-4904 or order online at www.ignitemylifenow.net
Straying Off Course and Getting Back
This year was a dichotomy – between almost losing my friend and then spending time celebrating life with him. At 65 years old, my friends are starting to die. It makes you contemplate what you’ve done with your life. These are wake up calls that make you introspective. In this case, I became rededicated to the same themes that I have been talking about for years.
At 65 you think differently than you did when you were younger. Basically when you’re younger, it’s ME, ME, ME. I’ve thought more about contributing to the world. Men seem to have this problem more than women. Incidentally. I think that’s why I believe God’s a woman. Women aren’t out there starting wars.
We all stray off-course. However, we can go back to setting goals and creating a passionate life. It led me to the promotion of my passion for life, and to my book that expresses and shares my ideals. Nothing would please me more than to give out a million copies and not make a dime than sell hundreds of copies and make a million dollars.
My book, Ignite your Passion for Living could be life-changing for many people. It could help the world immensely. The stories from people who have read it are just beginning to come in. I’ll share them with you as I get permission.
2008 – A Year of Celebration
When I reflect on 2008, it is was a life changing year for me personally. This year was significant to me, because my life friend almost died. Stein Erickson, the 81 year old legendary skier who founded Stein Erickson lodge, has been my close friend for centuries. It shook me to the core.
When you almost lose a significant person in your life it can make you question your own vulnerability. It can also make you rededicate yourself to getting the most from life again. You get a sense of your own time on earth ticking away and recommit to making the most of being alive.
Stein was skiing when he fell because a young boy got in his path. He was knocked out, and he broke his wrist and collarbone. He was in a coma. His friends and family were flying in from all over to say goodbye. But he pulled through. Not only that, but he was well enough to go on a trip to Paris with my wife Kimberly and I this past Fall. He and his wife accompanied us all over and we had an amazing trip.
We met his nephew who was the assistant to the president of France and had dinner with them.
Here is a video we took of our time together. In the next post, I’ll talk more about the affect almost losing my friend had on my dedication to live passionately.
See Mark O. Haroldsen at Utah Costco Book Signings
Mark O. Haroldsen will be signing his new book: How to Ignite your Passion for Living at two Costco locations in Utah.
Here is the schedule.
Thursday, Jan 29th
2-6 pm at the OREM Costco
648 East 800 South
Orem, Utah
Friday, Jan 20th
2-6pm at the MURRAY Costco
5201 S. Intermountain Drive
Murray, Utah
Saturday, Jan 31st
1-5pm at the SANDY Costco
11100 S. Auto Mall Drive
Sandy, Utah
Yes, that means you can purchase Mark’s book at Costco – and he’ll sign it. While there, be sure to share what ignites passion in your life and sign up for our email updates.
Start Small but Get Started
A challenge that faces us when under extreme stress is to keep focused on goals. You might be depressed or feel overwhelmed and the effect is you don’t want to do anything. This is precisely what you must do – act! You might not feel like getting out of your house – but do it anyway. Just getting started usually helps.
Focus on what you can do. Put deadlines with each step and keep focused on doing rather than perfection or worrying.
For example, you can set goals to:
- Eat right – which will help your energy levels and you’ll feel better.
- Exercise – challenge yourself to go on a walk, a bike ride, or anything. Start with a small goal, like 5 mins. or 15.
Small success leads to bigger success, especially as you continue over time. Leave a comment and tell me about some of your goals. How have you have broken them down into small pieces?
Finding Mentors – A Billionaire’s Secret
“I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming.”
– Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett’s 7 Secrets for Living a Happy and Simple Life
Part of success is mindset – and those who are successful at overcoming challenges or excelling make great mentors. They understand the power of your mindset. A mentor can be someone you know personally (or seek out and become friends with), people you read about, or those no longer living.
I like meeting people I admire – most of them are completely within reach. It’s surprising how easy it is to meet people if you are persistent – it’s something I’ve done all of my life.
I’ve met the Dalai Lama and the president of the United States, plus many people you may not know about who’ve done great things and overcome huge obstacles.
Where can I find great mentors?
One way to find mentors is through organizations. I’ve belonged to real estate associations, political associations, and other groups. Some are a waste of your time, but others like one I’m involved in is the Granite Education Foundation. This organization have been very helpful and extremely rewarding for me. Find organizations that are doing good work in your community and you’ll likely find mentors who you can learn from.
One way I find people to follow is I read newspapers, magazines (like Fortune, Forbes, Time Magazine, Newsweek) and see who is being talked about. Then I seek those people out. It’s not hard to get to know people. One way that can work – is to keep asking for an audience until you get a response.
Once I decided I wanted to meet the Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds and I did it through sheer persistence. Ray didn’t make his fortune until he was 55 years old. He started by studying the success of a small burger joint in Southern California and later bought it and franchised it around the world. He made several billion dollars.
He started out flipping hamburgers and 40 years later he was the CEO of the company. How did he do it? I wanted to talk to him, find out more. So I devised a method and I persisted. I called his office asking to meet him until one day he gave in. He gave me 20 mins. but when we got talking I was there for two hours. We became friends and he gave me great advice that helped in a huge way to build my own fortune.
Another one of my heroes was the billionaire Aristotle Onasis. The story goes that he wanted to meet a famous Argentinian businessman. He only made 25 cents an hour and had little hope of ever meeting the man.
His plan was to stand by the man’s gate every day, not saying a word. After standing in the same place for several weeks, this important man that he wanted to meet finally couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. He confronted Aristotle and said who are you and what do you want? And from that initial meeting, Aristotle learned a great deal that helped his success.
Another person I want to meet now is Nando Parrado. I am planning to travel to South America to meet him. He was one of the few survivors of a deadly plane crash in the Andes mountains. He spent 72 days in freezing temperatures then climbed over 17,000 foot ice capped mountains and led a rescue party to the other survivors. It just about killed him but he lived and wrote the book about his experiences in, “Miracle in the Andes.”
I always have a list of people I want to meet. What do I want to learn from these men and others like them? I want to know their thoughts – what’s inside of their heads. How they survived and thrived through difficulties. Some disclose it in their books but not all do. I want to know how their experiences affect their lives now. How it affects their thinking.
So one of my secrets to passion in life is to make a list of who you want to meet and why you want to meet them.
Taking A Long Term View in Tough Economic Times
“It is hard to maintain vitality when you are always hungry”.
– Aristotle Onassis
A question that people ask is how to follow passion for living when you are barely making a living. When things are difficult and you’re hanging on just to survive. Now the economy around the world is in turmoil. You could argue that it’s just about impossible to find passion in life, especially if you were already struggling. It’s true that it’s much more difficult to live in the present or have passion for life if you’re worried about basic human needs.
One way I approach difficulties is through mindset. I look at situations relatively. There are families in our country who are in tough situations right now. For example: a husband and wife with two kids, no savings, who are behind on their rent payments. Then the husband loses his job and they wonder how they will make it.
Read more
Top 3 Things you can do to Help Build Wealth
Many of you want to build wealth and these are the top 3 things that I’ve used to help me in my life.
- Read good books about finance. Then think about, and find someone to discuss your ideas with. Find someone who has been successful at building wealth. Don’t listen to the talkers of big success but the doers that have really done it.
- Record your thoughts in a journal as you read. This will help you retain knowledge.
- Write down your goals along with timeframes of when you will reach them.
I love this quote: “Always have two books – one to read from and one to write in.” As mentioned in the first point, find people that are good at what you want to learn. All my life I’ve looked for mentors – people who have been successful at what I want to learn. I’ll go into this more in my next post.
