Secrets Of
Great
Success
Coaches
Exposed!
Dale Beaumont
With Darren Stephens & Foreword By Daivd Rock
Disclaimer
All the information, techniques, skills and concepts contained within this publication are of the nature of general comment only, and are not in any way recommended as individual advice. The intent is to offer a variety of information to provide a wider range of choices now and in the future, recognising that we all have widely diverse circumstances and viewpoints. Should any reader choose to make use of the information contained herein, this is their decision, and the contributors (and their companies), authors and publishers do not assume any responsibilities whatsoever under any conditions or circumstances. It is recommended that the reader obtain their own independent advice.
First Edition 2007
Copyright © 2007 Dream Express International Pty Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Beaumont, Dale.
Secrets of great success coaches exposed!
1st ed.
Includes index.
ISBN 9780980308631
1. Personal coaching. 2. Counselling psychologists - Biography. I. Title. (Series: Secrets exposed).
158.1
Published by Dream Express Publishing
A division of Dream Express International Pty Ltd
PO Box 567, Crows Nest, NSW 1585 Australia
Email: info@SecretsExposed.com.au
Website: www.SecretsExposed.com.au
Distributed in Australia by Gary Allen
For further information about orders:
Phone: +61 2 9725 2933
Email: customerservice@garyallen.com.au
Editing by Simone Tregeagle [simone@inkcommunications.com.au]
Cover design by Jay Beaumont [www.thecreativehouse.com]
Illustrations by Grant Tulloch [info@secretsexposed.com.au]
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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To my gymnastics coach of six years, Robert Hong, thank you for your daily words of wisdom, and for teaching me the principles of life and success.
Dale Beaumont
To my amazing wife, Jackie, and our seven beautiful children, and to the fantastic coaches who make up my awesome global team.
Darren Stephens
Acknowledgments
As with any major project, there are a number of very special people who contributed to making this book happen, so we’d like to take a short moment to say, ‘Thank You’.
To the 15 extraordinary success coaches featured in this book, the biggest thank you for accepting our invitation to be a part of this exciting project. It has been wonderful to learn from your journey and get a glimpse into how you impact the lives of everyone you meet.
Next, a huge thanks to Emma Lyons, our very special project manager, who worked tirelessly to pull all the material for this book together. You are amazing!
To the wonderful Simone Tregeagle and Kerrin Medenyak (from Ink Communications) and Neil Murphy, our great editors – thank you so much for your ongoing support. To Sharon Witt, your efforts with reading this book is also greatly appreciated.
To Jay Beaumont (Dale’s brother) for designing the book covers, to Bookhouse in Sydney who continue to do such excellent typesetting and to Robert Stapelfeldt – thanks for everything you do to bring all of the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ books to life.
Next, to Shaun Stenning and the rest of the team at Sure Fire Marketing, thanks for all your efforts in the rebuilding of the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ website and for the ongoing web development. We really value your work and thank you for the many emails after midnight.
Thanks to all the staff at Gary Allen (our wonderful distributors) and each and every sales rep that has helped to get these books into the stores – we greatly appreciate the work you do.
Praise from readers of the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ Series
“I love these books! I was given the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ series as a gift from my sister and business partner. As a professional and mother of two, stepping into the unknown world of business was very frightening to me. This series has made me realise that entrepreneurs are just normal people from ordinary backgrounds who do extraordinary things by sticking to their goals. They take action where others don’t. I could also see I wasn’t the only one juggling children, a profession and a new business and that gave me a lot of strength.”
Fiona Jones – www.bellabrazilian.com
“I really enjoyed reading about how seemingly ‘normal’ people were able to leverage their time and talents to create hugely successful businesses. Normally you read about these people and their success in BRW and the like and you think, ‘If only I knew how they did it’, and then you read a book like this and you think, ‘Hey, I COULD do that’”.
Effrim Alex Volkoff – Managing Director, Wolf Business Group P/L
“I recently purchased Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed! and have found it both inspirational and encouraging. This is definitely a book worth reading – real people with real stories and real experiences who have kindly shared with me, and many others, a wealth of knowledge and wisdom.”
Mary Nguyen – Wiley & Co
“These books should be compulsory reading in every school. I discovered that the people featured are not necessarily harder working, better looking, or born with more extraordinary genes. The only difference between them and us is how they think. They have the uncompromising belief that they will be great. Truly, these are amazing characters who will show you that anything is possible, as long as you believe that it is.”
Theo Winter – DTS International
“I won a voucher from Borders bookstore, which I used to purchase my copy of one of the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ books. What I love most about it is the insights and advice of the contributors. It will be a major motivating factor over the next year and I know I will refer to this book often. The way it is laid out, with similar questions, allows me to refer to all of them quickly, finding the answers I need. I especially loved that none of them ‘sugar coated’ anything.”
Sally Porteous – Mustang Promotions Pty Ltd
“I find the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ series to be very rewarding. Not only have such genuine and well-known people given to this project, they have given wholeheartedly and helped people realise that with focus and direction, they can achieve their ultimate goals as well. Thanks to this series, my career is now full-steam ahead.”
James Lantry – NLP Master Practitioner, Hospitality Trainer
“If there was one word to describe this series of books, it would be ‘real’. There are a lot of books out there that claim to tell real stories by real people, however, often they are misleading. These books provide numerous perspectives and answers to a number of different questions, and I can guarantee you will learn at least one thing from each chapter.”
Alice Hoyle – Beauty Therapist
“Everybody needs a little help, and when it comes to business, I believe the more help you can get the better. The ‘Secrets Exposed!’ books have provided me with advice and guidance when it comes to making decisions, learning new business skills and advancing in my career. I have come to respect the contributors and look up to them as my mentors.”
Helen Pettigrew – Legal Executive
Contents
Preface
If I were in your position right now I’d be wondering if I really needed to read this section. However, if this is the first ‘Secrets Exposed!’ book that you’ve read, could I ask you to please resist the temptation to skip ahead, as I’d like to briefly share with you why this book has been created and how you can best use it to impact your life.
When I was growing up I heard somewhere that there are two ways to live your life: the first is through ‘trial and error’ and the second is through ‘other people’s experience’. At the time I dismissed it as just another one of those sayings that sounds good, but doesn’t make much sense. Then, like most teenagers I finished school with stars in my eyes thinking, ‘This is great! My education is over – no more books, no more lectures, no more people telling me what to do’. How wrong I was. After a few months of bouncing around, not quite sure of what to do next, I stumbled across the idea of personal development and started to hear concepts such as:
• Formal education will earn you a living, but self-education will make you a fortune.
• Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
• You will be the same person five years from now, except for the people you meet and the books you read.
• Don’t wish that your job were easier, wish that you were better.
• You are your own greatest asset, so you must invest in yourself.
Since November 2000, I have been totally committed to becoming my own most valuable asset. After attending hundreds of seminars, listening to thousands of hours of CDs and reading shelves of books, I have discovered that the people who truly succeed aren’t any smarter, better looking or harder working than anyone else – they just think differently and have learnt to incorporate different values into their lives.
I am now in the very fortunate position of being able to travel internationally to present personal development seminars to teenagers and I am often asked, ‘What is the one thing you need to know to be successful?’ My answer is always the same: ‘The one thing that you need to know is that there is not one thing that you need to know to be successful’. I’ve learnt that success is multifaceted and that mastering one principle of success or area of your life isn’t going to take you to the top – the more you master, the more successful you will become. But if I did have to identify one of the most important success strategies, it would be this: ‘Find out what successful people do and do the same thing until you get the same results’.
That’s what this book is all about. The only difference is, instead of you going out and finding successful people, we’ve brought them to you.
You see, whatever you want in life, whatever you are shooting for, chances are that someone else is already living it. They have already invested years of their life and probably hundreds of thousands of dollars, they’ve made lots of mistakes, learnt from them and eventually succeeded. So why would you want to waste your own time, money and effort through ‘trial and error’ when you can fast-track your success by learning from ‘someone else’s experience’? As Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘If I have seen further it is because I have been standing on the shoulders of giants’.
Every time you pick up a book, attend a seminar or interview a successful person, you are compressing years of life experience into a few hours. With any of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ books, you can multiply that by between twelve and seventeen people and you’re looking at around 250+ years of experience and wisdom ready and waiting for you. It won’t prevent you from making mistakes of your own, far from it, but it will help you to make more calculated and purposeful decisions, rather than big, misguided and ignorant ones.
There is no shortage of information about how to achieve proficiency or even greatness in any area of life these days. Go to any bookstore or library and you’ll find the shelves sagging with titles from experts, all with their own theories and ways of doing things. But what I have discovered is lacking in almost all of these books is INSPIRATION. What’s missing is role models and mentors – the stories of people we can all look up to. People who started out exactly like you – with a dream in their hearts and with all the same fears and insecurities. Given the choice between reading a textbook or a dozen success stories about people who have actually done something, I’d take the success stories any day of the week. I’m not saying that theoretical information isn’t important, of course it is, but having presented hundreds of talks to all different types of audiences, I can confidently say that it’s always the stories that move people. It’s the whole, “If he or she did it, then so can I” that gets inside people’s hearts. When we’re inspired we get motivated and then we take positive action which leads to results.
The ‘Secrets Exposed’ books are not intended to be a one-stop-shop. They are an introduction to the wealth of knowledge available to you and to some of the real success stories of people who have reached the top in their chosen field of endeavour. That’s why at the back of each book you will find most of the contributors’ contact details and some of their other products and services that are available to help you continue your journey.
So, how did the whole idea for the ‘Secrets Exposed’ books come about?
Well, in 1998, when I was around seventeen, my nan gave me a copy of a book titled Collective Wisdom, by Brett Kelly. In it were transcripts of face-to-face interviews with a whole lot of prominent Australian personalities. And it was a fantastic read. Since then I have seen a handful of random ‘success story’ books, but the challenge I find with most of them is that they are either transcripts of interviews, that never really make complete sense in the printed form, or they are written by writers who paraphrase someone else’s story. The result tends to be a diluted message that doesn’t really allow you to get a sense of the individual’s personality or character.
In around 2001 I read my first Chicken Soup for the Soul book and realised that there were dozens and dozens of related titles designed to meet the needs of different people’s areas of interest. I thought that was pretty neat.
It wasn’t until January 2004 that the ‘Secrets Exposed’ idea boiled over. I was in my hotel room in Singapore relaxing after six straight days of presenting to hundreds of teenagers. I was reflecting on the ideas that had been shared with them. One of the most important was to seek out those who have already achieved what you want and ask them lots of questions. I was plagued by the thought that only a small percentage would act on that very valuable advice and that most would never take the step due to a lack of confidence, fear of rejection or an inability to contact the people they needed.
That’s when it hit me...‘What if I could find the people and put together a number of books covering a range of different areas?’ I knew it would take a lot of effort, so for the next three days, I sat in my hotel room and developed the basis of an entire system to make it happen.
Based on my experience with other books, I decided that these books had to be non-time specific and be written (not spoken) by the people themselves. This way the answers would be planned and well thought-out, providing richer content and more interesting reading. I also wanted to make sure that there was an even balance between practical ‘how to’ information and inspirational stories that gave an insight into the highs and lows of people’s real journeys. I also wanted to ensure that a percentage of every book sold was donated to a charity relating to the nature of that particular book.
When I arrived home I got into action. However, between working out of a tiny one-bedroom flat and trying to manage two other demanding businesses, my plans were a little slow in the beginning and I had to be resourceful. So I bought a plastic tub and turned the boot of my car into a mobile office! Anytime I could find a spare hour or two, I’d park myself at the gym or a nearby coffee shop and make calls from my mobile phone. Putting these books together has been both time-consuming and demanding, but it has also been a real privilege for me to have the opportunity to work with each of the people involved in the various books. Thank you, to each of you, for making it possible!
Well, I think you’ve heard enough from me. Now it’s time for you to discover for yourself the wonderful wisdom contained in these pages. I hope that you enjoy the read as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. And who knows, maybe one day we will be reading your story?
Dream Big!
Dale Beaumont
Creator of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ Series
Sydney, Australia
Download Your Free Audio Gift
Exclusive to readers of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ series...
In this 1 hour 43 minute recorded interview, author Dale Beaumont intimately shares the inner workings of the ‘Secrets Exposed’ series. Discover in greater details how he came up with the idea, how he managed to secure personal interviews with over 200 of the countries most successful people and what he believes are some of the most important business and life principles from each of the books in the series.
Simply visit the web page below and follow the directions to listen to or download the entire interview direct to your Notebook or PC.
Foreword
In 1997, after ten years of designing and delivering training, I had an epiphany. Training seemed to be hit and miss, but when I worked with people one-to-one, set goals and held them accountable, some kind of magic happened. At the time I saw several converging social, corporate and economic trends that pointed to the possible birth of a new industry. Ten years later, coaching is being taken up by significant numbers of business owners, entrepreneurs and executives.
I am proud to have been involved in the development of the coaching industry in Australia, running what has become the largest coach training organisation here, and getting involved in research and development in the field. It’s also been exciting to export an Australian approach to coaching to the US, Europe, Africa, Asia and now India. And I am thrilled to be helping large organisations in several countries integrate coaching into their cultures.
I couldn’t have done this without constant coaching myself, especially in the first five years. There were two big things I got out of being coached. First, starting a business is really tough and there are many times when you have to dig deep to find physical, mental and emotional resources you don’t think you have. Having someone to champion my vision made a huge difference. Second, it’s the nature of things to get caught up in the details of a project and lose the ability to see patterns that a fresh eye might see. Having a coach was like having an ‘extra brain’ that helped me see things I was missing.
The people in this book are some of the top coaches in the country. They are also coaching highly successful leaders and businesspeople. I encourage you to consider their experiences and insights carefully. As a result you may gain some encouragement or perspective to help you stay on track with the journey that is most important to you.
Enjoy!
David Rock
David Rock is one of the thought leaders in the global coaching profession. He is the author of Personal Best (Simon & Schuster, 2001), and Quiet Leadership (Collins, 2006), as well as the soon to be released Coaching With the Brain in Mind. He is the founder of Results Coaching Systems and is on the board of the NeuroLeadership Institute. See www.davidrockblog.blogspot.com for more.
Introduction
Success. Everyone wants it. Certainly, the term is well used, but what is it? How do you go about getting it? And how can a person have more success in their life in a faster and more predictable way?
These questions have plagued millions of people and inspired thousands of authors and speakers from all corners of the globe – leading to the birth of the self-help industry. Recently though, there have been several major shifts in this industry’s culture.
Driven by the desire to explore deeper levels of meaning within ourselves, the commonly accepted perception of success has changed. People are no longer simply defining success as the acquisition of material possessions or status within a corporate structure. Sure, wealth and career development are still part of the equation, and in many respects are essential to complete the overall picture, but people are now refocusing on the true meaning of success to seek greater balance and longer lasting fulfilment. Add to that, for decades many people had the belief that ‘If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself’. Not any more. That common belief is now shifting to, ‘If you want something done right, you need to assemble a great team’.
Today, people realise that nothing truly significant in life is accomplished on your own. It is through the help and support of others – and surely a coach (or mentor) is a critical component of any great achievement.
If you study the success of those who have achieved great heights you will discover that they had many influences and a lot of support – much of it coming in the form of a personal coach. And if you have read any of the stories in other books in the ‘Secrets Exposed!’ series you will know this to be true.
In this book we have assembled 15 exceptional success coaches – combined they have helped millions of people worldwide. In the pages that follow they share their wisdom and experience to help you achieve greater levels of personal success, fulfilment and happiness.
As for the content, you will see that we have covered a lot of ground: goal setting, career advice, maintaining a positive attitude, increasing productivity, improving relationships, achieving work/life balance, stress management, overcoming fear and other limiting beliefs, becoming wealthy and financially secure, personal branding, healthy living, raising children, becoming a coach and much more.
At the back of the book we have included the contact websites of every contributor. You’ll discover they have their own books, CDs or educational materials, which we strongly endorse and encourage you to investigate further.
Furthermore, a number of contributors in this book have also very generously offered valuable gifts to all of our readers. These gifts will empower you with even more cutting edge knowledge to take your growth and development to a whole new level. To receive them all you need to do is visit the specified website, follow the steps and download the bonus gifts – absolutely free.
Although this book has been created to assist anyone seeking to increase their personal and professional success, there is also valuable information in some of the chapters designed specifically for people who are already coaches themselves, or who may be considering a career in coaching.
Finally, as we always say, it’s what you do after you read this book that is going to determine its real value to you. So, go out there, apply what you’ve learnt and when you reach a goal – no matter how big or small – let us know so we can share your success story.
Enjoy!
Dale Beaumont and Darren Stephens
Email: info@SecretsExposed.com.au
Time To Change
George Fadduol
“Smile, celebrate, be thankful and be grateful. True prosperity involves a happy and enjoyable journey through life. Strive to make your gratitude larger than your success.”
Profile
George Faddoul
George Faddoul grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. He attended College Saint Marc, a school built and managed by Les Freres De La Salle and all of his schooling was in French. He came to Australia in 1967.
He worked in the banking industry for eight years, where he developed his finance and customer service skills. During this time he took an 18-month break to complete his National Service for Australia. After leaving banking, George switched to the automotive industry and quickly became the top salesperson for a company that had 12 car dealerships.
Five-and-a-half years later, he started his own used car outlet which operated very successfully for nine years. Deciding to take a break from cars, he spent 12 months with his family on the French Riviera, and another two years developing real estate and dealing in Australian art. Refreshed from his break, George started two new car dealerships, which operated successfully for another eight years.
Due to his thirst for practical knowledge and his insatiable appetite for personal growth and development, George became a master practitioner and trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy and hypnosis. Since selling his dealerships and becoming a full-time trainer, George has trained thousands of people in Australia and overseas. He is a dynamic presenter on a wide range of topics, from personal growth to powerful sales training.
George loves to travel, and enjoys the company of motivated people.
Growing up in Egypt, what were some of the ideals that were instilled in you at an early age?
I grew up in a beautiful family environment on the shores of the Mediterranean in Alexandria, Egypt. I attended College Saint Marc, a college built and managed by Les Freres De La Salle and all my schooling was in French. I participated in the French Boy Scout Movement, called Les Coeurs Vaillants – The Valiant Hearts. The motto ingrained in me since my childhood was, ‘A coeurs vaillants rien d’impossible’ meaning, ‘To valiant hearts nothing is impossible’. This was not to be embraced from a vain point of view, but rather from the humble stance of always striving to help, to assist, and to serve the community. The Coeurs Vaillants were taught from a very early age to find pleasure in rendering good deeds (to be good for goodness sake), and to take pride in serving the community.
My dear departed father was also a great influence in my life, with his timeless words of wisdom, ‘Everything in moderation,’ and ‘Moderation and temperance in all things’. These words miraculously appear to echo and reverberate in me every time I’m in need of them.
Why did you choose to start selling cars?
There were basically two reasons:
1. The desire to earn more than the bank where I was working could offer at the time.
2. The desire for stability. I was married, so I wanted to avoid the disruption that my family would have had to endure from my employment transfers every couple of years.
My darling wife, Nitsa, found an advertisement in our local daily newspaper offering a finance position – she wanted me to apply for it. Little did we know that this one step would lead me into a career as a successful car dealer.
“My approach was to assume the worst and expect the best.”
What were some of the techniques and strategies that you used to become one of the highest-selling salespeople in the country?
I quickly learnt the importance of under promising and over delivering – I would never promise something I could not deliver. When I first started selling cars, the older salespeople constantly reminded me that they had more experience than I did. However, as far as I was concerned all that meant was that they were still using the same training they’d learnt during their first month on the job, ten to 20 years earlier. I decided that if I was to survive and thrive, I’d better take my sales training seriously. I intuitively learnt, as Dan Sullivan says, ‘to make your learning greater than your experience’. Strategically, I made sure I didn’t take short cuts, but went through each sale step-by-step. The big buzzword at the time was ‘close’. But I learnt that what I had to do was to ‘open’. Think about it – how can you possibly close anything that has not been opened? One way I achieved this was to get potential clients into the ‘yes’ frame of mind. I always assumed the sale would happen, which made the ‘close’ appear easy and I also followed up with my clients, turning them into raving fans and great referral ambassadors. As Doug Malouf says, selling is a cinch. I totally agree – it’s simply a matter of preparation. My approach was to assume the worst and expect the best. That is, assume the worst will happen and prepare for any obstacles that can impede a successful sale, and always expect people will buy your product or service, that they will love it and bring you lots of customers.
At your peak, you had three car dealerships. Were you working a lot of hours and how were you able to balance your professional and personal lives?
I know some unemployed people who do not have a decent family life. So to me, it was never a matter of sacrificing one for the other, it was a matter of doing what needed to be done at the right moment in time. Remember the adage, ‘Wherever you are, be there’. Quite frankly a lot of people use ‘balance’ as an excuse for laziness. The truth is, you do have to attend to all major areas of life, but attending to them does not mean you have to give each of them an equal amount of time. We all get 24 hours a day, so if we need to spend eight to ten hours at our place of employment, and another eight to ten hours sleeping, showering, eating and so forth, then that leaves us with four to six hours a day for all our other endeavours.
To me, family time is not about quantity, it’s about quality and creating beautiful moments. If you think and talk about having a lousy family life, then you will. If you have rigid frames about having to have your weekends off in order to have a good family life, then you will need to have your weekends off to have a good family life. Perceptions and frames – that’s the problem! We tend to confuse our perceptions and our frames with ‘reality’. Granted, they are ‘our’ reality, but they aren’t the only reality. In my own case, the opportunity to meet more people and sell more cars was on the weekends, so I worked weekends and took my time off during the week. Remember, quality not quantity!
At the height of your success, what made you choose to sell everything and move to France?
I guess it was the excitement of having fulfilled my biggest goal at the time. There was also the novelty of heading in a new direction, selling up and moving to the French Riviera. Additionally, my second-eldest daughter Julie (who was 13 years old at the time) wanted to travel and live in France as an exchange student. So we moved to Antibes, nestled between Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo. We had holidayed there before and we loved it. Our eldest daughters Roberta and Julie learnt multiculturalism firsthand by living in an international bilingual boarding school. Our two youngest daughters, Jessica and Christine, attended the local kindergarten. Roberta and Julie will be the first to tell you that living and studying in France that year was one of the best school years of their lives (a good decision!).
What did you learn from taking this extended time away from normal life?
Taking time out allowed me to learn more about Australian art. It’s a hobby that both Nitsa and I pursue. We’ve gone on to build quite a nice collection of paintings from John Glover, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder as well as Sidney Nolan, the Boyd family and Garry Shead. Taking time out also allowed me to learn about developing real estate, which led me to develop a two-storey building, comprising six commercial offices, on a prominent corner in the heart of Wollongong.
My biggest mistake was not setting another goal immediately after achieving my first big one. Reaching a goal and not having another one to keep you going can lead to frustrations. Fortunately, I realised this reasonably quickly (two years later), when I went back to cars and developed another very successful car dealership. Having said that, going to the French Riviera would have to rank as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Who are the role models or mentors that have inspired you? What important lessons have you learnt from them?
I believe you learn different things from different people. For example, my father was a great influence and made an impression on me by overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve desirable outcomes. He lost a lung to tuberculosis at age 17, yet he lived to 93; he learnt to paint despite being partially blind and his paintings now hang in homes across the globe, from Egypt to Greece, from Canada to Australia; and he learnt to speak Greek at the age of 70.
I have also been influenced by Ed Litchfield, who taught me to never accept no for an answer – ‘No means they need to know more’. And Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones taught me that the only difference between the ‘you’ today and the ‘you’ five years from now is the books you read and the people you meet. I still use this saying today! Bill Dryburg was also a great role model during my first five-and-a-half years selling cars. Bill owned 12 car yards around the Wollongong area where I lived; he also owned a million-dollar mansion on a hill overlooking the city, and drove a Mercedes. How could I not be impressed? I adopted him as my mentor and instinctively knew that I had to learn everything this man could teach me. Then along came Jim Rohn, introducing philosophy to my repertoire – he is my modern-day Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all rolled into one. I met Jim on his first trip to Australia and I’ve seen him many times since.
As a success coach what is the most common question you get asked and what is your answer to it?
‘George, you’re always smiling, you’re always happy, what’s your secret?’ My answer is to start with the right attitude! They then ask me, ‘How do you fix someone’s attitude?’ I tell them to make sure they take their vitamins every day. ‘Vitamins?’
Vitamin A is for Attitude – everything counts. If you say it, do it.
Vitamin B is for Belief – believe in yourself and your product.
Vitamin C is for Courage – courage to ask for your outcome.
Vitamin D is for Discipline – the discipline to do what you ought to, the determination to see it through, and the dedication to stay on track.
Vitamin E is for Enthusiasm – enthusiasm is the elixir of the Gods. As Winston Churchill said, ‘Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm’.
“...going to the French Riviera would have to rank as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Vitamin F is for Fun – life is too valuable not to take this pill every day.
But then they chuckle and say, ‘Come on, come on, what are your real principles for success?’ I then take them through the five Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) principles for success.
Principle One: Know your outcome – imagine you’re boarding a plane. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that where you think you’re going is also where the pilot is going? Steven Covey says, ‘Begin with the end in mind’.
Principle Two: Take action – when the plane is parked on the runway and gets the clearance to take off, the pilot will apply full throttle – 100 per cent power for take-off. Nothing else will do. As my favourite philosopher, Jim Rohn, says, ‘Don’t just take action, take massive action’.
Principle Three: Have sensory acuity – that’s your radar; your positioning system that makes sure you’re still on track.
Principle Four: Develop flexibility – flexibility is the trait you’ll need to have in order to make the necessary adjustments to stay on course. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. So for things to change, you have to change.
Principle Five: Be excellent – always be on your best behaviour both physically and mentally.
What are the consistencies shared among all of the successful people you know?
These are the consistencies that I have observed in the successful people I have met, and those that I have grown to know through reading their books.
1. They focus and they know what they want. We say at our seminars, ‘Energy flows where attention goes’. Remember, you end up getting what you focus on, so make sure you focus on what you want! Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘You become what you think about most of the time’.
2. They prepare themselves for receiving the object of their focus by taking action. They make the connections, they study the masters in their field, they search for the books they may need and they read them.
3. They have the curiosity of an uninhibited child, they desire to know, they ask questions, they experiment, and they make sure they’re on track. They have resilience and see no failure, only feedback and an opportunity to improve. They believe in what they have to contribute.
4. They have creativity, which gives them the flexibility to find solutions to problems. They use the faculty of their imagination to get an idea, modify it, and then improve it.
5. They have persistence and perseverance. They endure the bad times, yet they don’t cling to their comfort zones; in fact, they stretch themselves and venture into the unknown. They take and accept responsibility, and are self-reliant.
6. They connect with their own sense of a higher purpose. They are in alignment with their higher self and with their maker (their God). They are grateful – they acknowledge their gift as having been given to them for a higher purpose.
What advice can you offer to people who want to start on the road to prosperity today?
Great question, but aren’t you already there? You really just need to look at what’s stopping you from moving forward. Often when I’m asked about the road to prosperity I begin by asking the enquirer about their favourite sport. I then ask about their sporting heroes and extract all sorts of statistics from them before asking them about their favourite businessperson. Invariably they look at me strangely. You know your sporting heroes, but who are your prosperity heroes? What are you reading now? Which CD or training course have you invested in lately? I believe these questions will determine how financially successful and prosperous you will become. Not only that, they will allow you to get started today!
For example, I was in a coaching session with a client who claimed the reason he could not achieve his goals was because he lacked advertising and marketing skills. So I went through my little routine of talking about favourite sports, and it turned out that this guy was an encyclopaedia on rugby. That was when I did my quick u-turn and asked him who his marketing hero was. You should have seen the look on his face. He honestly thought that I had forgotten what we were talking about and he wanted to continue talking about rugby. I interrupted by saying, ‘No, no, no – who’s your marketing hero? Which advertising or marketing book are you reading? Which marketing audio program are you listening to? What training course have you booked yourself in for?’ The penny dropped. I said, ‘You see, if you have not heard of John Caples, David Ogilvy, Chris Newton or Jay Abraham, and if you’re not currently reading a book on marketing, or listening to a marketing CD set, then it’s no wonder that you’re lacking some marketing skills’.
The strategy of applying a few great questions can start you on the road to success right now, in any area of your life. As Jim Rohn says, ‘If you want to be wealthy, study wealth’.
What is one of the funniest things that happened to you on your success journey?
I guess the funniest thing was when I arranged to buy out my partner in the last car dealership I owned. After his going away party, and just before our settlement, he came and saw me, expressing his preference to stay. One of my sayings is, ‘easy in, easy out’, so we reversed the transaction and I actually sold my share to him instead – which allowed me to launch my coaching and training company.
You run a successful seminar called How to Get a Bigger Bite out of Life. Can you explain how people can do this?
“...have the ‘human touch’ – that sincere smile, that special warmth and above all, be thankful!”
To be successful and to get a bigger bite out of life is to be in the process of achieving worthy goals, to be well adjusted in all areas of life, and to be able to enjoy the journey along the way. In order to do this, you first need to acknowledge that you need to become that better person – that new you! This is the concept of ‘me’ and ‘not me’. The ‘me’ has the problem, the ‘not me’ may be holding the solution. You then need to develop winning habits such as reading, listening to instructional CDs, attending seminars, and having great role models so you can learn to look at things differently. Then take the time to set worthy goals and follow the system that allows you to discover what you really want out of life. The next step is to make sure your attitude is on the right track and that you have the courage to see things through – in short, to keep doing anything that may be required to see your dream come to fruition. And finally, have the ‘human touch’ – that sincere smile, that special warmth and above all, be thankful!
What simple things, when done repeatedly, have the biggest impact on one’s life?
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! I always recommend that my clients take small incremental steps toward the attainment of their goals every day. Bill Gates said, ‘People tend to overestimate what they can do in the short term, yet underestimate what they can do in the long term’. For example, ask yourself why it is that so many of us buy gym memberships but never go? Why is it that we have every good intention of learning a new language, buying the CDs and the books, only to stop using them after day one? Here’s the best advice I can give you: make haste slowly. Remember that doing a little each day is the secret to staying on track when the going gets tough and it is the best way to remain focused.
Can you explain your Quit Cigarettes in 60 Minutes™ program and how you teach people to help others give up smoking?
This is probably one of the best trainings I’ve ever been involved with. It’s a four-day intensive training program where participants become specialists in helping people quit cigarettes in 60 minutes, and can earn $1,000 per day or more simply by following the system. How is it possible? Well, hypnosis makes it easy. All you have to do is sit back in a nice comfortable chair and relax; it doesn’t get much easier than that. Our unique hypnosis techniques make it so easy that after only 60 minutes people leave the session as happy non-smokers, experiencing no sacrifice or pain. This program is so good it comes with a lifetime guarantee. This means that if you start smoking again, whether in two days or in two years, all you have to do is give us a call and we will get you back in at no extra charge.
Quit Cigarettes in 60 Minutes™ has a 95 per cent success rate. How do you consistently maintain such a high success rate by offering only a one-hour session?
The beauty and the strength of this unique approach is that it combines the best of traditional hypnotherapy techniques with the new science of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), taking hypnosis to an even greater level of effectiveness.
What are your five favourite books and why?
1. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – what can I say? It’s been my favourite since I was seven years old and I still have my original copy (which I got second hand). Some people might think this is a children’s book, but let me tell you that you can learn more about life reading this little story than by reading thousands of pages written by other authors.
2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – this book details 13 steps to riches and has created more millionaires than probably 80 per cent of all the other personal growth and self-development books combined.
3. The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr Norman Vincent Peal – another classic about the power of your focus and your mind.
4. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason – a must-have book for every library. If you don’t own a book, start with this one. It will teach you how to save, how to lend, and much more.
5. The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn – I mention this in all my seminars. Jim is my favourite modern-day philosopher. If you ever get a chance to see him – do so. If you ever find one of his books, buy it. They don’t come any better.
“This program is so good it comes with a lifetime guarantee.”
My all-time favourite books in different areas are:
• Relationships – Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray
• Career – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Spirituality – The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Personal growth – How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Selling – How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins
• Advertising – Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
• Business – The E-Myth by Michael Gerber.
Here’s my challenge for you: make a list of your favourite books (they can’t be a favourite unless you’ve read them at least twice). It’s okay if you can’t make a list, just make the commitment to start your library today.
What are your top tips for reaching greater levels of success?
• Decide what you want, and believe that you will get it. This first step of knowing your outcome will help you make a great first impression. Once you decide, you’ll feel it in your bones. It will change your character and you will walk taller.
• Think about what you want and take an action (however small) toward attaining it each and every day. Be a cause in your universe and make no more excuses. At least once a week, take 20 minutes to brainstorm actions, and come up with a minimum of 20 ways to improve them – 20/20 vision.
• Save ten per cent of everything that comes through your hands. Set it aside to take advantage of opportunities. Start now! Once you metamorphose this tip into a habit, this alone will make you a million dollars in no time.
• Read 30 minutes a day, ten minutes aloud. You have no idea what this little tip will do for your confidence and your voice. It will also continue your education and your preparation. Invest in yourself, study prosperity and strive to make your learning greater than your experience.
• Apply the 80/20 rule to everything you do. Make lists, prioritise and work on your most important priority first. Ask yourself, ‘What’s the most valuable use of my time right now?’ Work, learn and play like you’re being watched. This will give you drive and resourcefulness.
• Have persistence and perseverance. Take care of your ‘J’ curve – the miracle of compounding. Some things are linear and some things grow exponentially.
• Smile, celebrate, be thankful and be grateful. True prosperity involves a happy and enjoyable journey through life. Strive to make your gratitude larger than your success.
What do you think we can do as proactive people to build a better tomorrow?
• Give a smile to every person you meet. It can be achieved with a sincere compliment, a thank you, a genuine encouragement or a pat on the back. It costs nothing – yet it’s priceless. Mark Twain said, ‘I can go two months on a single compliment’.
• Add a little more value to everything you touch. Make everything you touch worth a little more and be a little better – let your inner ‘alchemist’ begin to shine.
• Spend prosperously, generously and with an open heart. When paying your bills instead of damning them, bless them. Show appreciation for being provided with the service you are paying for.
• Have an open mind. For a better tomorrow, we need to learn to be more open-minded. I say ‘learn’ because I believe ‘open mindedness’ is a moving target that requires continuous learning.
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www.SecretsExposed.com.au/great-success-coaches
Authentic Self
Michelle Duval
“Diseases are simply an alert from the body to pay attention to one or more aspects of our biology, cognition, emotions, energy or spirit... So take charge of your health.”
Profile
Michelle Duval
Michelle Duval was born in 1972 and raised by two boisterous parents where she was taught to think outside the box. Despite facing many difficult events, Michelle discovered early on that she had a resilient spirit, a passion for learning, self-discipline and responsibility.
At 17 she deferred her university studies to take a coveted place in the very first hotel management school in Australia. With her natural intuition, curiosity, love for people, and desire to be of service, Michelle quickly excelled. At the age of 23, she was responsible for coordinating more than 1,000 staff members, some of whom had 20 years more experience than her, while personally hosting prime minsters and presidents, rock bands, CEOs and other visitors to Australia.
Michelle stood out with her uncanny ability to identify and cultivate the unique talents and potentials of others to achieve. Embracing these natural gifts, she studied in the field of cognitive behavioural science while expanding her career into marketing. In 1997, Michelle became a pioneer by founding Equilibrio, one of the very first coaching firms in Australia. Within just six months she had a full coaching practice and a three-month waiting list.
In 2002, Michelle co-developed the international Meta-Coach Training System®, training professional coaches in 35 countries in cognitive, developmental, and self-actualising coaching psychology. Michelle is a sought-after speaker on coaching and health, receiving requests from all over the world. She is also an author and continues to enjoy working with diverse international coaching clients.
Today, she lives in Sydney’s Queens Park, and can be found playing with her darling dogs, Lucy and Smudge, salsa dancing, enjoying pilates, trying her hand at screenwriting and cooking experimental concoctions for her friends and family.
Growing up, what were some of your early ambitions in life?
To this day my family still teases me about declaring at the age of eight that I would be the first female racing car driver to win the annual Bathurst V8 Super Car event! As a teenager I had many ideas and dreams for what were unusual business ideas at the time – from fresh juice bars, fashion labels and bookstore cafes, to finding new ways to help other teenagers make decisions about their future. I was deeply touched by philosophy and would spend hours pondering a new world through poetry and writing.
What made you decide to get into the field of coaching?
I found that there were particular recurring themes that contributed to my professional and personal experiences. These themes were also present in material that I enjoyed reading and studying. They included a passion for serving, a unique form of listening, an insatiable curiosity into human and societal functioning, heightened sensitivity for recognising raw talents in others, intuition, creativity, and a dogged persistence. I felt, and continue to feel, a deep calling and internal impulse pushing me to identify and make use of my given abilities, and to help others to identify and develop their personal abilities and talents. I believe when we accept and embrace our given gifts and talents we experience greater harmony and joy in ourselves and contribute our unique pieces to the growth of our modern world.
How do you describe success and your personal success philosophy?
While ‘success’ simply means the achievement of a goal, the term success has become synonymous with striving for audacious goals and the attainment of wealth, power, fame and status. Yet in reality, success has many other wonderful and diverse expressions. Success is cultivating your raw talents and developing to your fullest potential. Distinctive life experiences, attributes and talents reveal keys to your personal success. Those with a personality for leadership and public life may express some of their success through power and fame as politician Bill Clinton and actor Tom Cruise have. Those with unique physical capabilities may express theirs through competition, such as Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe have. There are, of course, those whose life experiences have included great adversity. Viktor Frankl and Christopher Reeve were brilliant ambassadors for tapping into otherwise undiscovered talents, leading to significant contributions to others. Accomplishment is embracing the adversities life throws at you and using them for success.
“...when we grow, develop and change, so do our meanings of success.”
As an evolutionary process, when we grow, develop and change, so do our meanings of success. A key ingredient is to then identify your personal criteria for success at the current stage of your life, apart from other people’s or society’s expectations of you. It includes questioning any assumed idea of success, and working out what success means for you personally. You will discover your own life philosophy, your personal values of how you wish to live your life, and visions for the cultivation and expression of your personal talents and abilities for your current stage of life.
Equally important is your implementation process. While the discovery of your talents, personal life philosophy and success criteria will be compelling and exciting, it will not be enough to motivate you day-to-day, especially when you hit inevitable challenges. Turning your philosophy into daily, weekly and monthly rituals will ensure you continually nurture your talents and successfully live out your life philosophy and fulfil your unique potentials. Ultimately, success is the adventure of living your life as a full expression of your authentic self. Anything less is a departure from your deepest fulfilment and your life’s greatest accomplishments.
What do you believe are the essential qualities or personal attributes of a successful person?
Successful people:
• are living examples of their own personal philosophy for life and success
• use rituals and practices to experience joy and the fulfilment of their philosophy
• have developed solid ego-strength
• will demonstrate agility and flexibility in their thinking
• possess a curiosity and hunger for learning, a passion for living, and a genuine comfort and joy in not knowing something
• are motivated beyond safety, security and belonging to the actualisation of their talents and abilities
• nurture a faith and connection with a power greater than themselves
• use their personal ability to manage their own mental, emotional and energetic states for vitality and wellbeing
• accept themselves and their abilities, while simultaneously contributing to their families, workplaces, and communities
• inspire by simply expressing and living as their authentic selves.
At a young age you suffered a serious illness. Can you tell us what it was and how you were able to overcome it?
In 2002, after a weeklong diving trip, I began experiencing spinning sensations, speech loss, paralysis down my left side, memory loss, debilitating and continuous sharp pains at the front of my head, loss of coordination in my hands and seizures. After eight long months of symptoms and many diverse misdiagnoses, three specialists confirmed that I had cerebral vasculitis and systemic lupus (SLE). The vasculitis was considered aggressive and the prognosis was grim. They predicted that within six months I would be deaf, blind and mute and that within two years the vasculitis would be fatal. Both are autoimmune diseases, where the immune system indiscriminately attacks the body, and this was occurring in the frontal lobes of my brain and throughout my body. The medical causes are currently unknown and there is no medical cure. Any medical treatment is considered to merely slow the progression of the disease or reduce symptoms. I was prescribed very heavy doses of steroids and chemotherapy, the side effects being infertility and impaired immune system function.