Find your Motivation

Figure out your Aspirations

Use your Gifts

Be an Inspiration

Be Confident

Please share with me what you have done so far in 2013 to apply the magic formula.

Talk to you soon!

Click here to learn about Magic & Motivation, a special event on Thursday, May 2nd in New Haven

Aesop’s Fables are a collection of short stories designed to illustrate simple sayings. One such story is called The Hunter and the Woodman. It is a tale of a cowardly hunter who was searching for the tracks of a lion. He asked a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any marks of the lion’s footsteps or knew where its lair was. “I will,” said the man, “at once show you the Lion himself.” The Hunter, turning very pale and chattering with his teeth from fear, replied, “No, thank you. I did not ask that; it is his track only I am in search of, not the Lion himself.” The moral of the story: a hero is brave in deeds as well as words.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” Motivation means acting! Have you ever listened to a group of people talking about the next big idea? These conversations frequently take place in a barbershop or at a Friday-night poker game. In these settings, friends discuss the next idea that will generate millions of dollars and create infinite happiness. Interestingly, many of these ideas are actually quite good and if executed, would probably do pretty well in the marketplace. The problem is that they end in the barbershop and at the poker table. No one bothers to take the next step. No one bothers to act. It’s all talk. Have you ever thought of an idea and then put it to bed only to see an infomercial two years later with a variation of that very idea? Yes, that’s right! YOUR IDEA! How does it feel to see someone getting rich off your idea? Maybe you like that feeling. More likely, you do not.

When an idea enters your brain, write it down. You’ll be surprised how quickly an idea will escape if you do not write it down. Many ideas may come to you while driving. I do not recommend writing while driving. Keep a little recording device in your car to record your brilliant ideas when they come to you and write them down at your first opportunity. After you’ve written down your idea, plot out the steps it will take to actually bring the idea to life – who needs to be involved? What is the investment? Is there a market for the idea? After you’ve written down your idea and the steps it would take to bring it to life, start making moves. In other words, GO FOR IT. Planning is a good and necessary step if you want something to come to fruition; ask anyone who has ever planned a wedding. However, too much planning often leads to paralysis and indecision. As my good friend Tony Soprano once said, “More is lost by indecision than by the wrong decision.” Yes, even gangsters can be philosophical. Perfection is not the goal – the goal is action! Actions speak louder than words; so stop whispering with your words and speak loudly with your actions.

In magic, there’s an effect called “Two Card Monte.” The spectator is given two Queens and with the wave of the magician’s hand, the Queens magically transform into Aces.

In life, when you receive two Queens, you cannot magically transform them into Aces, but you can play a different game with them. Play the game in which the Queens are the most valuable cards. Changing the game means using your abilities, strengths, talents and gifts where they are most useful – where you can make the most difference. If you weigh 120 pounds, are fragile and slow on your feet, you probably aren’t fit for a career in professional football, so why bother aspiring to become a pro football player? If you never meet expectations in your job despite giving it your all, it’s time to look for another job. If your marriage is stale – no, don’t look for another spouse; change the activities of your daily married life. Find a baby sitter once a month and have date night, or try going away for a weekend for no reason at all – you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to be romantic.

To live your magic life, you must play the game in which the cards you have been dealt are the most valuable. Every card can be an Ace. You just have to play the right game.

Click here for the entire Magic Formula.

Let the people that both discourage and encourage you inspire you. My college grades were average. When I graduated from college, my jobs were just like my grades – average. However, my average grades and average jobs got me into a top business school. Why? Because both the people that said I could do it and those that said I could not, inspired and encouraged me to push toward my goal. One of my colleagues at my second job after college refused to apply to top business schools. She said, “Nana; do you know what types of grades you need to get into those schools? What’s the point? It’s almost impossible to get in.” To that comment, one of my close friends said, “Nana, don’t listen to her. I got into Columbia Business School with a 2.4 GPA from Rutgers. Just apply! The worst that can happen is that they’ll say no…and you’ll be out the one hundred eighty dollar application fee, but who cares?”

You never have anything to lose by asking, but you always have something to gain if the answer is, “Yes!” Don’t think your GPA will put you in the running? Go for it – what’s the worst thing that can happen to you? Don’t think your boss will give you a raise? Ask – what’s the worst thing that can happen to you? Don’t think that she’ll go out with you because of your average GPA or average salary? Ask her out – and if she says no, ask her friend.
The worst thing that can happen to you when you ask is that the person will say no. However, the magic shows up in your life when you realize that the more important question is, “What’s the BEST thing that can happen to you?” The best thing that can happen to you is that the doors and windows to your magic life will open wider than your eyes can imagine. Always ask! If you don’t, the answer is automatically, “NO!” But if you ask, you never know. That’s the magic of life.

The executives of Decca Recording Company were not impressed during The Beatles’ first record audition. One of the executives said, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.”

In 1944, Emmeline Snively director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency told Norma Jean Baker, an aspiring model, “You’d better learn secretarial work or else get married.” Norma went on to become Marilyn Monroe.

In their book, Switch – How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath recount the following story about failure. In the 1960s an IBM executive made a risky decision that ended up in a $10 million loss. Today that’s the equivalent of just over $70 million. Can you imagine losing your company that much money? That would be a great incentive to pursue your dreams, because you could probably forget about your job. The CEO, Tom Watson called the executive to his corporate headquarters office. According to journalist Paul B. Carroll, here’s what happened next:

As the executive cowered, Watson asked, “Do you know why I’ve asked you here?” The man replied, “I assume I’m here so you can fire me.” Watson looked surprised. “Fire you?” he asked. “Of course not. I just spent $10 million educating you.”

When you begin to pursue your aspirations, don’t worry about whether or not you will reach the mountain top right away. No one succeeds immediately. A good professional makes his job look easy, but making it look easy takes hard work and many failures. Go ahead and fail. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next Marilyn Monroe.

1. If you inherited $20 million today, would you spend your days the same way you spend them now?
2. If you knew that you had only ten years left to live, would you stick with your current job or career?

As you answer these questions, you’re probably thinking, “Of course my life would change if I inherited $20 million, and if I only had ten years left on this earth, I would definitely quit my job; I would travel immediately to three or four destinations that I have always dreamed of visiting.”

With $20 million dollars you could pursue each and every imaginable interest – interests that are far from your present reality. However, you don’t need that kind of money to live your magic life.

It’s very easy to become stuck in a job, relationship, or situation that is so boring that you wonder how you got there. As difficult as it may seem to dig yourself out of such a ditch, you have the power to do it. The trick is to think of the 20-10 test and then apply the answers to your life in small doses. For example, instead of traveling to all four of your dream destinations immediately, choose one and make it your objective to visit it in the next two years. Don’t let anything get in the way of your objective. If you said that you would use your last ten years to become more active in community service, start doing so by volunteering a few hours a month to make a difference. The activities that you believe would be rewarding in your life are waiting for you – simply get rid of the imaginary barriers. Don’t be like the American Investment Banker. (Click here to read the story of the Millionaire and the Fisherman).
Use your answers to the 20-10 test to start living your magic life today. It’s easier than you think!