Be Great O T H E R P U B L I C AT I O N S by Peter H Thomas NEVER FIGHT WITH A PIG A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY 21 Steps to Successful Selling THE PETER THOMAS SALES COURSE PASSPORT TO BUSINESS SUCCESS LIFEMANUAL A Proven Formula to Create the Life You Desire Be Great • The Five Foundations of an Extraordinary L ife in Business—and Beyond PETER H THOMAS Founder of Century 21 C anada and L ifeP ilot Copyright © 2009 by Peter H Thomas All rights reserved No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the prior written permission of the publisher Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-5777 Care has been taken to trace ownership of copyright material contained in this book The publisher will gladly receive any information that will enable them to rectify any reference or credit line in subsequent editions Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Thomas, Peter H., 1938– Be great : the five foundations of an extraordinary life in business and beyond / Peter Thomas ISBN 978-0-470-16118-0 Self-actualization (Psychology) Success I Title BF637.S4T54 2009 158.1 Production Credits Cover design: Mike Chan and Natalia Burobina Author photo credit: Rita Thomas Interior design and typesetting: Natalia Burobina Printer: Tri-Graphic Printing Ltd John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd 6045 Freemont Blvd Mississauga, Ontario L5R 4J3 Printed in Canada TRI 13 12 11 10 09 C2009-903642-8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Foreword A Word of Introduction vii xi Foundation 1: Values Chapter – Chapter – Chapter – Chapter – Doing What Matters First Things First Why Some People Get All the Breaks When to Say Yes, When to Say No 23 39 51 Foundation 2: Focus Chapter – Chapter – Chapter – Chapter – Work Magic in Your Life Learn to RUMBA Three Luxuries You Can’t Afford Create Your Personal Brand 69 77 85 93 Foundation 3: Visualization Chapter – See It, Have It Chapter 10 – Believe You Already Have What You Want Chapter 11 – Rehearse for Success Chapter 12 – From Vision to Action 105 115 121 125 Table of Contents Foundation 4: Inspiration Chapter 13 – The Gift of Self-Renewal Chapter 14 – Recognize the Genius Within Chapter 15 – It’s Not What You Have, It’s Who You Have Chapter 16 – If You Never Quit, You Never Fail 135 147 155 169 Foundation 5: Reflection Chapter 17 – Look Back to Move Ahead Chapter 18 – The Touchstone for Health and Happiness Chapter 19 – Find Your Sanctuary Chapter 20 – Your Life Can Be What You Want It to Be 185 193 205 209 Acknowledgements W riting a book takes a great deal of support and teamwork, and this one was no exception While I have been living life by my values for decades, and sharing what I’ve learned with thousands of others everywhere I go, there are some key people who I would like to thank for their hard work, dedication and friendship both past and present Without them, this book would not have been as rich with detail and insight I would like to start by thanking Red Scott, who, on that beach in Hawaii many years ago, first opened my eyes to the importance of defining your values and aligning them with your everyday activities Paul Robshaw must be commended for having the guts to take my personal diary and encourage me to turn it into the LifeManual, which is now used to teach Acknowledgements thousands of people worldwide about the personal happiness that comes from living life by your own values Thanks to the following people for sharing their inspiring personal stories and advice about value-based living throughout the book (in order of appearance): Dru Narwani, Herb Capozzi and his father Pat Capozzi, Cheryl Wheeler, Don Slater, Ken Marlin, John Papaloukas, Praveen Varshney, Jamesie Bower, Alfredo J Molina, Norm Friend, Lawrence Henniger, Vince Poscente, Michelle Lemmons-Poscente, Jack Gilbert, Kumar Shivdasani, Steven Funk, Catherine Crier, Kevin Langley and Jack Vart I would also like to acknowledge the following friends and acquaintances for their support (alphabetically): Bonnie and Tony Addario, David Aisenstat, Keith Alper, Joe Arpaio, Luis and Maria Aspuru, John Assaraf, Leanne Atwater, Brent Barker, Alice Blais, Phil and Jennifer Carroll, Calvin Carter, Terry Castle, Robert and Maureen Chernick, Jacqui Cohen, Marty DeRito, Mike Desjardins, Doug Evans, John and Bunny Ferguson, Ian Ferguson, David Foster, Kristine Gilmartin, Morley Greene, Gerry Greiner, Mark Victor Hansen, Lars Hinrichs, Wayne and Erin Holm, Mark Horne, Bill and Karen Kilburg, Fadi Khoury, Silken Laumann, Dean Lindal, Gordon Mawhinney, Grace McCarthy, Bev and Bill McClung, Ron Mitchell, Michael and Inna O’Brian, Marty Park, Pat Pearson, John and Randa Pettifor, Cathy Ross, Minto Roy, Jim Rowe, Mike Schauch, Lauren Segal, Dick Simmons, Kerry Slavens, Brock Smith, Murray Smith, Tom viii ... PASSPORT TO BUSINESS SUCCESS LIFEMANUAL A Proven Formula to Create the Life You Desire Be Great • The Five Foundations of an Extraordinary L ife in Business and Beyond PETER H THOMAS Founder of Century... skyline, there is a great deal of engineering that goes into laying a solid foundation before the building begins to rise out of the ground And, like the skyscraper, before you can reach to the sky,... dreamed of Today I devote my life to inspire others on how to be great, through an organization called Life Pilot (www.lifepilot.org) My colleagues at LifePilot and I have had the privilege of influencing