"Make It Big"

      Browsing the real estate web world I came across a forum that mentioned this "Make it Big! 49 Secrets for Building a Life of Extreme Success".  I decided to just order it and see how it went. The book came in yesterday and I just wanted to make a quick post on the cool things I've been learning from it.

      Now, I was a little skeptical at first because of the title. 49 Secrets... I don't need to hear any more secrets but I fell in love with the book when I read the title to the first chapter. "Have a Vision for your Passion."

Here are a few of the Highlights from that Part One:

Vision for you Passion, Understanding your Higher Calling

      The book has an awesome intro describing who Mr. Frank McKinney is. Frank at 18 years old  bought a one way ticket to Florida to start his life with $50 in his pocket and a dream to succeed. That dream became a reality when almost 20 years later he had grown a successful business that builds new multi-million dollar mansions selling for $1- $20 million a piece. He begins the book trying to explain the first steps to success, or 'making it big'. He says,"To make it big, you have to know where you want to go and have endless passion for getting there... vision without passion, or passion without vision will never bring extreme success."p. 13. He makes it clear that 'making it big' requires both vision and passion. A passionate visionary is "... just someone who makes a conscious effort to look to the end of the deal and see it succeeding in a manner consistent with his or her plan." p. 15
      My favorite part about this book so far is he quickly dives into the real meaning of vision by saying, "Have a vision for your life that includes family, work, spirituality, and charitable contributions..." p.15 Vision including goals from those four categories helps us reach our 'highest calling'. This, as George Bernard Shaw says it, "is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a might one." 

Create a Personal Vision or Mission Statement 

     I served an LDS mission in Virginia and remember well studying on those humid mornings my fellow missionaries and I about our Purpose and Mission. A mission statement simply put is "Who you want to become.." p. 23. That Frank believes can help answer these three questions. 1. Whats my highest calling?, 2. What areas of my life am I focusing on at this time of my life?, 3 What is my vision for how I want to be in these areas? Frank takes a whole page in his book to show his own personal vision statement on page 24. This vision statement is important in the future decision making process, "working from a vision instead of mindless specifications helps all of my people make quality decisions." p. 29. The big take away here is have a mission statement first, then tie that mission statement to your goals. 

Introspection