Introduction
Success. Say the word aloud.
Success
Now listen to the echo of the word in your mind’s ear. What does it sound like?
“Success”
Yes: “Success”. Is there any more beautiful word in the English language?
Say the word aloud again. And again. Repeat at least fifty times.
Are you beginning to feel different? More confident? More optimistic? No? Don’t worry, we’re only just getting started, and these things take time.
If success is what you aspire to, then it is vital that you incorporate the word “success” into every aspect of your daily routine. Make it the first word you say in the morning upon waking, and the last word you say at night before going to bed. Say it in the shower, in the car, in the frozen food aisle of the supermarket, in the laundry room if you have one. Say it in a loud, commanding voice – unless you’re in a library or a church, in which case you probably ought to keep your voice to a near whisper so as not to disturb those around you.
Why am I urging you to do adopt this habit? Because, in the words of renowned self-help expert Marshall Brewster, “If you want to achieve success, you must first tune your mind to the frequency of success.”
And I think I’m on safe ground in assuming you want to achieve success. Otherwise, why would you have bought this book?
When you have managed to tune your mind to the frequency of success – as I have done – you’ll cease to be bothered by the question of whether success will come your way. The only question that will remain is when?
I still remember the exact moment when I stopped believing that I would probably achieve success, and started believing that I would definitely achieve it. The year was 2003, and the place was Los Angeles, California, where I was living with Kim, an American woman – now my ex-wife, then my fiancée. At that time, the two of us would idle away our evenings at bars, diners, cinemas, Lakers’ games, casinos, comedy clubs, house parties, and Mongolian barbecue joints. I won’t lie to you: my life in those days was meaningless and without direction. Success wasn’t exactly slipping away from me, but it wasn’t getting any closer, either. If you imagine success as a major international airport, I was like an aeroplane stuck in a holding pattern 30,000 feet above it.
Then, one night, everything changed. My bowling evening was cancelled at the last moment, and Kim was off auditioning for a part in a toothpaste commercial, so I found myself at a loose end. I scanned the local events section of the newspaper, came across a listing for a Marshall Brewster lecture taking place in South Pasadena that night at 8pm, and thought: why not? It struck me that Marshall’s lecture might, if I was lucky, give me some ideas I could use to help get myself out of the rut I was stuck in. I drove to the lecture venue. I had no clue what to expect, but when Marshall took to the podium, his presence was electric.
And his words changed my life.
Let me repeat that: Marshall’s words literally changed my life. There in that auditorium, Marshall succeeded in making me believe – and not just believe, but know – that I would one day be a great success.
From then on, everything was different. I was a changed man. My conviction that I would become a great success grew stronger with every passing day.
Now, twelve years later, it’s stronger than ever.
One of my aims in this book will be to instil the same sense of self-belief in you that Marshall has instilled in me. If my book does its job – and I have every confidence that it will – then, by the time you finish reading it, you will be well on your way to developing a “success mindset”. In addition, you will have all the tools you need to find your true self, forge successful relationships, flourish in your career, live in the Now, influence those around you, and become the master of your own destiny. In summary, you will be almost as well equipped for achieving success as I am.
* * *
As I’m sure you’ll have picked up by now, I am an enthusiastic disciple of Marshall Brewster. Marshall is, without a doubt, the foremost personal-development authority of his generation. His most recent book, Ten Steps to Triumph: The Universal Guide to Achieving Perfection in Any and Every Realm of Life, has sold 1.8 million copies to date. He has revolutionised the study of human motivation and self-fulfilment. He has inspired legions of people to transform their humdrum lives.
Therefore it’s only natural that you should ask yourself the question: “Why should I bother listening to the words of Marshall’s disciple when I could just as easily get my information from Marshall himself?”
The short answer is that whereas I am from the UK, Marshall is American and his books are geared towards an American audience. If, by some fluke, you happen to be American, then I have to admit that Marshall really is the only guru you need. Please read his books, and if possible, attend his lectures when his touring schedule takes him to your part of the country. There was really no need for you to buy my book, which is primarily intended for a British readership. I’m sorry. If you’ve still got the receipt for the book, then by all means go ahead and return it to the “bookstore”. I’ll understand.
But if you are British, you won’t find it quite as easy to benefit from Marshall’s wisdom, for a number of reasons. First, you are very unlikely to have the opportunity to attend a Marshall Brewster event. Although Marshall’s schedule of workshops and speaking engagements takes him all over the United States, from Sacramento to Louisville to Boston, he never ventures across the “pond” (I understand he has a thing about flying). So unless you can afford a plane ticket to America, and a hotel, and other sundry expenditure, you are out of luck.
You could, of course, buy his books, which, needless to say, are masterpieces. But be forewarned: they are 100 per cent American. This is inevitably going to be a barrier for many British readers. For example, when faced with Marshall’s colourful analogies – with their copious references to freeways, curly fries, realtors, monkey wrenches, station wagons, John Ritter, toaster ovens, the San Fernando Valley, Scotch tape, wide receivers, flag duty, the Scopes Monkey Trial, Aunt Jemima syrup, field goals, Grey Poupon, pitchers’ mounds, Ma Bell, the NRA, affixing one’s “John Hancock”, star 69 and crawfish – these readers are unlikely to have any idea what he’s talking about.
And it’s not just the American references that are the problem. It’s also the American tone of Marshall’s books. Let me give you an illustration of this. I once lent a copy of Marshall’s book Ten Steps to Triumph to my underachieving younger brother Vincent and urged him to read it. Imagine my disappointment when, returning the book to me several days later, he said, apologetically, “I couldn’t get into it. It was just a bit too… American.” When pressed to explain what he meant, Vincent pointed to a particular passage early in the book. The passage runs as follows:
And now, buckaroos, I come to the most important point of all. Remember the voice of your third-grade teacher? It’s the voice that told you constantly to sit up straight, be quiet, wait for your turn, don’t cause trouble – and you know what? The voice is still there, only now it’s lodged firmly in your own head, and it’s telling you to curtail all your most cherished hopes and dreams so that you don’t rock the social boat too much in pursuing them. That voice is a holdover from the past, and it needs to be told to PIPE DOWN! In the remainder of this chapter, you’re going to learn how to saddle up your proverbial horse, stick your spurs in, and leave a cloud of dust in your wake as you gallop right out of range of your unsatisfactory life-situation, eventually arriving at a land where you can lasso your dreams. And the voice? Don’t worry: the clattering of hooves will drown it out. YEE-HAW! Hold on tight, partners, ’cause it’s gonna be a THRILL-RIDE!!!
Stirring stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. But I couldn’t deny that Vincent had a point. Marshall’s prose was very American. Of course, because I’d had the experience of living in America, and being with Kim and all that, I was too accustomed to the American “vibe” to find the style jarring. For Vincent, though, it was definitely an obstacle. And it occurred to me that many British readers would feel the same way.
There is a gap in the market for a decent self-help book aimed at a British readership. That’s what I believe, anyway, and I am optimistic that I’ll find a publisher who agrees with me. If you’re holding this book in your hands, then of course it means I’ve succeeded. If you’re not, then it means – well, not that I’ve failed, but simply that I haven’t succeeded yet. Just be patient. Hopefully you won’t have to wait too much longer for the book to hit the shelves.
If I had to supply you with one final reason for reading my book, it would be this: as exhilarating as it is to listen to the Marshall Brewsters of this world, the Lord Alan Sugars and the Sir Geoffrey Boycotts – people who have attained a level of fame and fortune that gives their words an unimpeachable authority – the effect can sometimes be quite dazzling, like having a bright light shone in one’s eyes. It’s easy to be intimidated by someone of this stature, easy to think, “He succeeded because of his greatness, but I’m just a normal person. How could I ever follow in his footsteps?” I can promise that this won’t be the effect of reading my book. The fact is, I am someone very much like you – a humble traveller on the road to success. I may be further down that road than you are, and I may be moving forward at a greater speed, and I may have a far more powerful sense of self-belief, but the fact remains that my greatest success still lies in the future, not in the past or present.
In this book, I will not only give you the ground rules for attaining success, but will also illustrate them using examples from my own life. If you pay close attention to what I’m going to teach you, and put into practice what you’ve learned, then, before you know it, success will be within your grasp – every bit as much as it is within mine.
* * *
One of the most exciting things about the writing process is the sheer sense of possibility it affords. At this moment, I am sitting at my computer with a plateful of M&S chicken korma resting in my lap, typing out this Introduction between mouthfuls. Seven chapters lie ahead of me. I have made some notes, but they’re not very extensive, so basically the rest of the book is a blank canvas.
Yes indeed. A blank canvas, just waiting to be filled.
What makes the task feel more manageable is the fact that my evenings are (apart from Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I go bowling) completely free nowadays, giving me ample opportunity to write. Ever since splitting from my long-term partner Sandra a year ago, I’ve been living on my own and have had a lot more time to devote to the pursuit of my personal goals, at least on weekday evenings. The weekend is a slightly different story, because that’s when I get to spend time with our four-year-old son, Jack. But all things considered, I couldn’t ask for better conditions under which to work on this book – unlike the last time I tried to write it, when I was still living with Sandra and Jack. In those days I had so many distractions that making any headway at all was a major challenge.
There’s something else that encourages me and spurs me on. It’s the thought of how my life will change when the book is finished and my efforts are crowned with success. Set against the background of that success, the little challenges I face on a daily basis can be seen clearly for what they are: short-term inconveniences.
Does it worry me that I am having some trouble paying my rent at the moment? Not at all, because I know that success will eliminate my cash flow problems once and for all. Am I discouraged by the fact that my job at the haulage firm is uninteresting and a career dead end? Not in the least, because I know that a life of perfect freedom awaits me.
Everybody wants success, and it’s easy to see why. The life of the successful person is a life free of worry, free of strife, free of all the difficulties, large and small, that trouble the average non-successful individual on a regular basis. Everybody wants success because the prospect of success is the prospect of a wonderful new life. I consider it a privilege to be your guide on the journey that you will be taking to this glorious destination.
Gary Speedwell
June 2015
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