Practice the Rule of 5

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #23

Today, Jack talks about seeking the advice of a teacher who told him, "If you would go every day to a very large tree and take five swings at it with a very sharp ax, eventually, no matter how large the tree, it would have to come down."

Practice the Rule of 5
From that lesson, Jack and his partner, Mark Victor Hansen, developed something called the Rule of 5. This means that every day, they did five specific things to move them closer to completing their goal of putting Chicken Soup for the Soul on the top of the New York Times Best-Seller List.

Every day, they did something to promote their book, including:

-five radio interviews;
-five copies sent to editors to review the book;
-five phone calls to network marketing companies;
-five free copies to celebrities; and
-five press releases.

In addition, they called in to radio talk shows, sent copies to ministers to help them in writing sermons, provided free copies to all of the jurors in the OJ Simpson trial, did book signings, got military bases to carry them, and even got gas stations, bakeries, and restaurants to sell the book. For two years, they did a minimum of 5 things every day.

Did this pay off? You bet! They sold over 8 million copies of their book, which was translated into 39 languages.

Anyone Can Practice Persistence
To make this point more clear, Jack tells about a phenomenal view near Lake Arrowhead, where an entire mountainside and meadow are covered in daffodils. A sign there reads:

One Woman--Two Hands, Two Feet and Very Little Brain
One at a time
Started in 1958

One woman changed the landscape over the course of 40 years by just doing one simple task repeatedly. Imagine the possibilities if we were to do a little bit every day for 40 years!

Persistence Results in Blessings
God's Word promises the following: "God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." (Rom. 2:6-7) In other words, our good works are something visible which give evidence of our faith in Christ, which is invisible. And by our persistence, we can win plenty of glory and honor in this world, as well as in the next.

The Rule of 5 is a very powerful principle, but it takes persistence to make it work. What are you willing to do to move closer to your goal? I'm going to do exactly what Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen did to get my writing published.

Today's Challenge
Choose one of your goals and make a list of things you need to do to move forward with it. Commit to doing 5 simple tasks each day. Like the daffodil woman, you can do anything if you stick with it long enough.

Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com