Just had a mind-blowing 75-minute conversation with my good friend and mentor, William E. Bailey. 82 years old and living the good life. He built a company from 0 – $60,000,000 a month in 12 years.

We talked about history, Genghis Kong, Afghanistan, politics, the gun control debate, success, goal setting, focus and even quantum mechanics and laws of physics. Some of my favorite things he said tonight…

“If you don't aim a rifle, no matter how good it is, it doesn't hit the target. So many people have so many gifts, talents, skills and abilities, but if they don't get focused, if they don't set daily goals, they will never hit their target, again no matter how good they are!”

“Wanna know what I think about long term goals babe? They aint worth a damn unless you have short range goals.”

“I've been reading a book or two every day for more than 30 days.” WHOA!!!!

“Totality begets totality. Total and complete focus is the fastest way to reach your goals babe.”

“Freedom from want frees up your mind to think. To really think, and that's the only real freedom in life. And unfortunately most people will never experience true freedom because they are incarcerated by want, and remain there by choice.”  Oh my goodness!!

And see if this one doesn't blow your mind like it did mine…..

“When I think about quantum mechanics, it relaxes my mind so that I can comprehend the intricacies & the simplicities of the universe.”

“If E = MC2…if energy = weight = mass, then energy has weight. If energy has weight, your thoughts have weight (science has proven this). If you let the weight of the negative past occupy your thoughts, you let that weight drag you back from future possibility. That's quantum gravity babe! This is why so many people fail in life. The gravity of the past is the dominate power in their life. If your past doesn't cause you to feel positive and hopeful, ignore it. You can control what goes into your mind, and what stays in your mind. Success can be as easy as replacing negative thoughts and memories with positive ones. You don't try to ignore the negative. You replace it with something positive. You harness the mass, the weight, the gravity of the good to overpower the bad. That simple babe!”

So, how about that!?!? I'd love to read your thoughts. Please share them below so the community can read them too.

My family and I went to Preston, ID this past weekend to look at home we are considering buying. Knowing that Preston is where the movie Napoleon Dynamite was filmed, we wanted to find some of the places that were in the movie and go there to take pictures.

So we Googled “where does Napoleon Dynamite live” and found a site that had all the addresses where all the major scenes took place. Jackpot! So we grabbed our iPhones and hit the road! 

We didn't hit all the spots, but we hit lots of them. I put some pics below just for kicks and giggles. Not going to help you live a higher quality of life, but fun nonetheless.

Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 3211 WORKSHEET

As we move deeper and deeper into the new economy, the speed at which we learn new things and acquire new skills is becoming increasingly more and more important….no urgent!

Trying to thrive in the new economy with outdated and irrelevant knowledge and skills is like playing by the rules of basketball while playing football. The fact is, the rules have changed and if life is has gotten hard for you in the last few years, it may be because of recession, and then again, it may be because you are outdated.

This is one of the worst things about the western educational system….when we get our diploma, we arrogantly think we are “done” with the need to learn. In large part, people are struggle in 2012 because they have a 1970′s, 80′s or 90′s education… or even worse.

It's time to get relevant and learn how to thrive in the new economy. I created a 5 CD audio learning course that teaches you how to do this very thing. It's called, “Staying Up in Down Times: How to Thrive in the New Economy.”  In the worksheet below, I will share with you how to get this cd program for only $47 ( a savings of $150). In the mean time…..

I want to share a system with you that I developed that has helped me, and continues to help me learn and acquire new skills at break-neck speed. It's called the 3211 System for Mastery.

But first, before I share that system with you, let me introduce you to the 6/80 Rule.

The 6/80 Rule states that there are only about a half dozen (6) things that make 80% of the difference in any endeavor. Now, it's not always going to be a half dozen things, and it may not be exactly 80%, but you get the idea.

For example, for your good health, there aren’t 1,000 things you need to do in order to be healthy. There’s only about a half dozen things that are going to make the bulk of the difference. They are as follows.

1. Proper foods
2. Proper hydration
3. Regular exercise
4. Proper sleep
5. Recreation
6. Meaning/connection

If you focus on those half dozen things, you can expect to be a very healthy person.

Whatever goal you have, whether it be a health goal, a business goal, a relationship goal or any other goal, there are only about a half dozen things that are going to make the bulk of the difference.

Alright, with that out of the way, now let's talk about the 3211 System for Mastery. It's simple.

The 3211 System for Mastery is a system to help you master any area of interest or skill in a fraction of the time it takes most people. You simply follow the formula below.

Every 90 days you: study 3 books, study 2 dvd/audio programs, attend 1 live seminar, workshop or class and take one online course. You will do this for each of the “half dozen things,” focusing on just one of the things per quarter. That's it. And in about a year and half or so, you will have a very, very high level of knowledge and/or skill in any area of your choosing.

I've put together a free worksheet to help you plot out your half dozen things as well as what educational resources you will use to master each of those half dozen things. Enjoy and please leave me a comment below.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 3211 WORKSHEET

Yesterday, I trained on a LIVE webinar called, “Success Strategies for the New Economy.”

We BLITZED the system and had way too many people trying to get on the webinar and not enough space. So, my apologies to all of you who tried so hard to get in and couldn't.

Luckily, we captured the presentation and you can watch it below.

Keep in mind, at the very end of the webinar I made a special offer where I am giving away more than $600 in bonus training material. That offer ends Friday, June 29th at midnight. Enjoy!

PS I'd love to get your comments below the video and feel free to share this with anyone you'd like.

I love when legendary business philosopher, the late Jim Rohn, used to say, “Success is easy! What can I say? It's hard? How can it be hard, when you live in America?” I always chuckled when he said that, because it's counter intuitive to what most people believe.

Most people believe success is hard, or that you have to break some rule or law, or hurt others to become successful. Wrong. Success is easy…. once you learn about and harness the laws and principles of success.

Wallace D. Wattles, best-selling author of The Science of Getting Rich, said it best when he said, “There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once those laws are learned and obeyed by any man (or woman), he will get rich with mathematical certainty.”

All of these laws can be found in 4 books that I give away for free. In my mind, these four books are the textbooks for creating success.

For now, however, I want to hone in on one little used success strategy; the habit of finding the benefit in every failure, setback and defeat. This concept is encapsulated in the idiom, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Napoleon Hill said it this way, “Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

Practicing this principle in my own life helped me create a multi-six figure business, almost overnight. Here's what happened…

Years ago, I invested $7,000 to join a coaching program with a best-selling author and motivational speaker (who I really like by the way and have considered a mentor for many years). For $7,000 I received all of his books and audio programs, a weekly group training call with him and, each of the participants were put into groups of 6-8 people who would meet weekly on the phone for a mastermind session.

Several times during the course of this coaching program, one of the ladies in my mastermind would bring up how disappointed she was about having invested so much money in this program, that she considered a waste of money. I didn't feel like it was a waste of money, but I did feel it was a bit much for what we were getting.

Towards the end of the program, this same women lost it. She was ranting about wasting her $7,000, dropping the “F-Bomb” and really letting it all out. While she was venting, I was asking myself, what is the equal or greater benefit in this situation? And as clearly as someone was speaking to me, I heard a voice in my mind say, “Create your own coaching program. Now you know what people like and what they don't like.”

And in that moment, the idea was born.

Within a year I had created my own coaching program which generated a five-figure income from the very first month. But the real benefit, or I should say, those who benefited most are those who enroll in my program. The habit of looking for the silver lining in all seemingly negative situations, not only resulted in additional wealth for my family and I, but it has resulted in helping people all over the world enjoy greater levels of success and freedom.

I was so humbled and grateful when I received the following testimonial from one of the former students of my coaching program.

My experience with C.S. Hughes's coaching program has been outstanding. I have listened to many programs, read many books and even experienced personal coaching. By far, this experience has been the most eye-opening and powerful training and development courses I have ever experienced. Not only was it very well thought out and informative, it was fun and entertaining along the way too. I have never felt so empowered in my life. Furthermore, I finally feel like I have a toolset that will continue to be of great worth. Absolutely spectacular. – Steve Larsen CFO AmeriFirst Financial

Where some in the coaching program I participated in may have felt that their $7,000 was wasted, I simply saw the $7,000 as research dollars to discover what works and what doesn't work, in an effort to create a coaching program as close to perfect as possible. As you can see from the testimonial above, it was money well-invested!

This concept may seem simple, but it is very powerful. And it's not just your life were talking about making better. We're talking about the lives of all the people you can impact by constantly looking for the “seed of greater or equivalent benefit” in every negative situation in your life.

It's a little used success strategy, but one that will make a major difference in your life and business.

Before moving on down the road in your busy life, take a minute to think about some negative situation you are experiencing right now, and spend some time scouring the situation to discover the equal or greater benefit. You'll be amazed at what happens when you make this a habit in your life.

Try it on.

Please take a minute and share this article or make a comment below. I'll do my best to reply to all questions and comments posted below.

Finally, after 18 months, my NewEconomyU course is up and running!

Over the last few years, I've had more than a few people offer to hire me to be their personal coach. At this time in my life, I'm just not interested in one-on-one coaching (this could change in the future), but I love the idea of helping lots of people experience breakthroughs and enjoy higher levels of success. And this was the inspiration for the program.

NewEconomyU is a 6 week, internet based coaching program that teaches people how to retool themselves for success in the new economy, and gives them the education they need to excel no matter what the economy does.

NewEconomyU 1.0 launches on February 20 and goes til March 30. The 1.0 class includes all of the following:

• • 6 online training modules which include dozens of audio, video and pdf training resources

• • 6 live Q & A group coaching calls

• • My 5-cd audio learning system, Staying Up in Down Times: How to Thrive in the New Economy

• • The MP3 version of Staying Up in Down Times: How to Thrive in the New Economy

• • My updated Staying Up in Down Times book (digital)

• • One ticket to my upcoming NewEconomyU seminar

 
I will be keeping class sizes small to accommodate more “personal time” for each question asked during live group coaching calls. To sign up, or to watch my pre-launch videos, click here.

This morning, I was reading the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, and “got” something I've never gotten before. It had a very profound effect on me, and thought I'd pass it along.

As the story goes, a man woke early in the morning to go hire workers for his vineyard. The first men he hired agreed to work for one penny per day. After those workers had been laboring for 3 hours, the man observed there were many still unemployed and standing around idle in the marketplace.  He hires the men and tells them to work in his vineyard and he would pay them what was right.

3 hours later, he hires more who were idle in the market, and 3 hours after that he hires some more, telling each to go work in his vineyard and he would pay them what was right.

At the 11th hour, he went again into the marketplace and saw that there were still men standing around doing nothing. When he asked why they were idle, they replied by saying that no one would hire them. So the man invited them to work in his vineyard, promising that he would pay them what was right.

In the 12th hour, when the evening had come and the work day was done, the man rounded up his workers to pay them. Beginning with the first to be hired and continuing to the last, he gave each of them one penny for their efforts.

Those who had been hired first were angry and felt they should be paid more than one penny, saying: “The last men you hired worked for only an hour, but you are paying them the same amount you are paying us. While we were working hard bearing the heat of the day, these others were standing idle in the marketplace and yet we earn the same as the them?”

The man answered by saying:

“Friend, I do you no wrong: did you not agree with me to work the day for one penny?”

After having read the sentence above, I found it difficult to continue reading the rest of the parable. I couldn't help but think, what have I agreed to? And I wanted to ask you, what have you agreed to?

At the end of the day, we get paid what we agreed to get paid. There are two ways we have made this “agreement.”

First, at some point in the past, you agreed with some man or woman how much you would work for. You made that agreement. You are not being held captive or at gun point. You are earning what you are earning because you agreed to earn that amount.

Years ago, when applying for a job at Home Depot, on the application it asked, “Desired Salary.” The first thing that came to my mind was, $10 an hour. But then I thought, what if they'll pay me 12?!

It was af if I was sitting there making an evil plot to trick Home Depot into paying me $12 an hour rather than $10. I was so excited about the prospect of getting $12 an hour, I became giddy and could hardly wait to turn in my application.

A few days later, I got a call from the manager at Home Depot who invited me to come down for an interview. When we got to the part on the application about money, she saw that I had written $12 an hour in the desired salary box, and asked, “Do you feel you are worth $12 an hour?” And sadly, I said yes. I “agreed” to $12 an hour. My self-worth was so low at the time, I sold my soul and threw myself under the bus for $12 an hour! Shameful.

Can you relate?

The other way we “agree” to what we get paid is with our subconscious mind.

There are two numbers we battle with all the time when it comes to money; the amount of money we want to earn, and the amount we feel deep within us that we are worth. With few exceptions, over time the income you earn is much closer aligned to what you feel you are worth “deep down” or in our subconscious mind, than to the amount you hope to earn.

This “deep down” amount is what you have agreed to earn. So at the end of the day, if you see others earning the same as you or even more, and they worked less hours or are less skilled or less likable than you, just remember the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. You do not get paid what you want. You get paid what you agree to get paid, either with yourself or with another person.

For those of you who are employed, what did you agree to be paid when you signed on? And for those of you who employ yourselves, you will find that you are earning round about what you feel you are worth. This is called your financial or success set point. Interesting isn't it?

This is why personal development and working on your mind is so critical. If you don't change, nothing is going to change for you.

Some of the hardest work you can do, is not sweating it out 12 hours a day in a vineyard. It's working on your mind; working to increase your self-image, self-worth, self-confidence, knowledge, skills and discipline. You are the captain of your fate, not your boss, the economy, President Obama, or your mamma!

You are not a tree! If you don't like how things are, you can move! You can change! It's your choice.

Will the exception of temporary dips in life, you earn what you earn because that is what you agree to be paid.

I'd love to read your comments about this article. You can share them below. And, please LIKE, SHARE AND TWEET below.

The Holidays are here and I wanted to give you a gift.

Here's a couple of audio tracks from one of my CDs. They are really good! (Am I allowed to say that if I made them?)

As we approach the new year, millions of people are hoping to do better in 2012 than they did in 2011, and these audios will help you with that. Enjoy!

If you would, spread some Holiday cheer by Liking, Tweeting or Sharing below.

Click below to download/listen to your audios.

Happy Holidays! – C.S. Hughes

A couple of days ago, I posted an article titled, The Power of Decision. Apparently, it struck it nerve because it's been “Liked” on Facebook more than 100 times in less than 48 hours. So, while we have some mental momentum going, I thought I'd post the follow up to that article, which is The Power of Commitment.

Decision and commitment are twin sisters. On one side of the coin you have decision. On the other is commitment. One without the other is useless. What good is it to make a decision that you are not committed to seeing out? And what good is it to commit to something you've not yet decided on?

There have been many things said about the power of commitment. Books have been written, and quotes have been coined on the topic by the dozens. One of my favorite quotes on commitment comes from Jeff Olson, author of the Slight Edge. He teaches, “Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do long after the mood you said it in has left you.” It's so easy to get exited in the moment, but the real test is what you do when you're in the trenches taking enemy fire. Persisting in spite of any obstacle, insurmountable or other wise, is what commitment is all about.

Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar once said, “Most people are committed like a Kamikaze pilot on his 39th mission.”

That one gets a smile out of me every time.

My favorite quote on commitment is below.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer; W.H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, 1951

Isn't that incredible?

Let me put this quote in my words with some commentary.

Until you are truly committed, there is always the possibility of you dragging your feet, or throwing in the towel, quitting, or more cowardly, just quietly back-stepping into the shadows of mediocrity. No matter your goal, your desire, your definite major purpose or chief aim, there is one basic truth that you must know in order to see your ideas and goals come to fruition. It's this; in the very moment that you truly and whole heartedly commit yourself, THEN Providence moves too! So many are going at life alone. They never engage the Power of Providence. Not that Providence wasn't always there and willing to assist, it most certainly was. But most never engage Providence. When a person is committed, they have stepped into a place of faith. And it is faith that unlocks the coffer of miracles.

How does one with no faith perform a miracle? He can not. And how can one with no faith accomplish her goal? She can not. Faith grows into full blown commitment, and commitment reels in the divine assistance of Providence. This is the difference between those who try and fail, and those who just simply do.

Providence defined is, the protective care of God. I don't know about you, but I want to invoke the protective care of God. Of course He cares for us anyways and always. But the question is, does He care about your goal? It's my belief that he doesn't care unless you do. And, what the quote above is saying is, that when you are committed to your goal, then God commits too. Incredible! And once God commits to your Goal, or in other words, commits to assisting you with the desires of your heart….

Then, all sorts of things will begin to happen that would have never otherwise occurred. As a result of your faith and commitment, Providence will cause that a whole stream of events will flow into your life, seemingly magically raising in your favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance. All the people you need to meet, you will meet. The leaders you need to attract, will arrive. The sales you need, the speech you need to perfect, the relationship, the money you need to make, the assistance of the right people, the mentor, the coach, the publisher, the designer… anything you need in order to accomplish your goal will mysteriously and divinely show up in your life.

And in the end, when success is perched upon your mantel, and you have experienced the pinnacle, the very top of the mountain, and possess the perspective and enlightenment of achievement, you will look back on your experience, and if you are honest, will realize you had Help. As hard as you worked, you had Help. As much pain as you endured, you had Help. Even with all the sacrifice, you had Help. And it is that Help that every high achiever should desire. And when you get it, you can and will enjoy every harmonious desire of your heart. And that, is the Power of Commitment.

Are you really truly committed to your goal? Let us know. And as always, if you enjoyed this article, please LIKE IT or SHARE IT using the Facebook & Twitter links below. And I'd love to read your thoughts and insights. Share below.

Most people never succeed in life, because most people never decide to succeed in life. They never make up their minds, with passion and certainty, and claim success! They never, like the Founders of the greatest nation on earth, made a declaration of their own independence from poverty and or mediocrity and the tyranny of control! Many just go through life living in silent despair, hoping that someday, things will get better. So sad… and such a waste of Life.

Surely, you want success or you wouldn't be reading this article. But have you decided that you will be successful, not matter what? No matter the cost? No matter the sacrifice? No matter the toil and the labor and the physical and emotional challenges involved? Success is forever hidden from the man or woman who fails to decide their own positive destiny.

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America made a bold Declaration of Independence from Britain.  This was not an announcement. It was not an affirmation. It was a powerful Declaration resulting from a fearless decision that would alter the history of the world…forever.

These men decided that they would in deed pay the price for sovereignty and freedom and success and independence. They decided long before they were in combat with “the enemy,” that they would pay any price. And they decided that they would lay down their lives if needed in the fight to bring their decision… their declaration into the forefront of reality.

Decision derives from the Latin decisio, which means a cutting off. The verb is decidere, which means to cut off (de = fff, caedere = to cut). This is where we get words like, scissors, incision and caesarean section. To decide is to cut off, to severe, to separate.

If you truly desire to be successful, you must cut, or severe, or separate yourself from poverty, from ignorance, from laziness and from any tyrannical powers in your life. You must decide that the fight for freedom and success is worth it. You must decide that you too will pay any price, that is honest, legal and ethical. And you too must decide that you will, with certainty, become successful, however that is defined in your own life.

So many approach their opportunities like toe-dippers. They hope to be successful as they stick their toes into the waters of opportunity. If it's cold, they don't get in. If it's hot, they don't get in. They only get in if it's comfortable, and if ever it becomes uncomfortable, they get out long before they have an opportunity to become successful. This is the approach of the masses, and this is why the masses are the masses. This is not the way to approach success.

Success sounds like this: “I don't care what the water feels like. I don't care how long I gotta be in there. I'm gettin' in and I aint gettin' out til I get what I want. 

Og Mandino, author of the Greatest Salesman in the World, said it best when he declared, “I will persist until I succeed.” This was his bold declaration and powerful decision. It did not matter that he was a drunk. It did not matter that he was unemployed. It did not matter that he could not pay his bills and meet his obligations. It did not matter that he was mentally and emotionally scarred from having killed so many people in World War II. It did not matter that his wife left him and took his only child from him. And it did not matter that he was roaming the streets considering suicide. All that mattered was his decision and declaration…. I WILL PERSIST UNTIL I SUCCEED.

It was that decision that led Og into a library where he would read the first of many books on the topic of success. And it was that decision that fueled his fight to become something and someone of significance. And it was that decision that led him to become a successful, best-selling author of more than 21 books.

After having earned my first million in my network marketing business, industry rookies would often ask me, “Was there ever a single moment where you knew for sure you were going to be successful?” My answer, was always yes, which brought an additional inquiry. “How did you know you would be successful?” My response….”I decided that I would be… no matter what.”

If you've not decided, with passion, boldness and certainty, that you will, no matter what, become successful, I hope you will do so now. Step away from the masses. Separate yourself from mediocrity. Cut yourself from despair. Sever yourself from poverty. Detach yourself from ignorance. And sunder yourself from your fears and excuses. Step into your greatness by making a bold, new decision and create your own liberating declaration of independence. And be willing from the start to pay the price, any price, that will be exacted from you during your journey.

You can. Your choice. Click here to learn more.

By the way, I'd love it if you would “Like” this post and share your comments below.