“Last week my wife left me. It was totally unexpected. I have felt a mixture of feelings from being hurt, feeling anger, betrayal and embarrassment. But listening to this today I have decided to not be angry anymore. I am going to choose to be happy and not be hurt or embarrassed any longer.”

I was so taken by this man’s sense of humility and courage, and his desire to be the creative force of his life rather than being victim to his circumstances or his relationship with his wife. I’m sure he was in a lot of turmoil and feeling like the world had crashed down on him. But he gained the self-awareness that he could still choose his response to his devastating personal challenges. He saw that he could act and not feel acted upon.

I commended him for his decision and affirmed that he can choose to let the anger go, to forgive and create his life. This is often a hard thing to do especially in painful situations like his.  The audience applauded him. I applauded him. I had never seen anything like it.

When I think of this man, I don’t know what will happen to him and his wife. But I do know that if he will grasp onto the principle of being proactive and seeing himself as the creative force of his own life with the choices he makes, he will find meaning and fulfillment in his life—he will eventually find peace of conscience.

Can you think of a situation or relationship in your life where you can choose a better, more effective response? Choose it now!

For far too long, we’ve neglected educating our children to become people who can think for themselves, take responsibility, be tolerant and respectful, and work with others in creative ways. Character development is central to the education process but has been lacking for some time. To fill that need, we need stronger partnerships between schools and parents to unleash the potential of every child—to learn, grow and become leaders of their lives. 

One successful program called The Leader in Me Process has been applied at A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. At its core is teaching children, starting at kindergarten, habits of leadership. They are learning how to be accountable, treat others with respect, solve problems creatively, listen to understand and be trustworthy. Academic scores have dramatically improved and behavior problems have significantly dropped. The whole school is involved with this process and parents are thrilled to partner with their school to promote leadership principles with their children at school and at home.  

This Leader in Me Process is being applied in over 200 schools worldwide with remarkable, measurable success. To learn more, please see my blog: “Our Children and the Crisis in Education.” 

You may also be interested in reading my book, The Leader in Me—How Schools and Parents Around the World are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. 

On April 13, FranklinCovey is offering you our Great Career iPhone app for only $2.99. This is a great tool for taking charge of your career. You might want to check it out to see if it’s right for you. Go to: http://bit.ly/aLlL7f

 I hope you will find yourself in a job you love, where you can make a difference and find meaningful purpose.  

The impact on societies across the globe cannot be understated as the Internet has provided a democratization tool for people to access information in real time across all boundaries. Still, there are some countries battling the policy of free access to the Internet as evidenced recently by China’s confrontation with Google. However, people find a way to get what they thirst for and eventually get around firewalls in ingenious ways.  

Who can forget the Twitter-revolution in Iran last year as thousands and thousands of Iranians took to the streets to give voice to their aspirations for legitimacy in their election outcomes? The human voice is deep and relentless. It cannot be suppressed. Our new Internet technology literally gives voice to countless people of all ages, ethnicities, race, gender, religions, political persuasions, rich or poor.  People who were previously disenfranchised are now empowered and equipped to express their voice! 

Recently, with the cataclysmic disaster in Haiti, donations poured instantly as people used their social networks and texting to pour their generous funds to the people of Haiti. It’s never been easier to click your way to making an instant impact in the lives of people in one’s own neighborhood or to far away neighbors across the globe.  

What Do You Predict for the Future of the Internet?

At the 25th Anniversay of .Com Policy Impact Forum in Washington DC on March 16, many prominent leaders from different fields discussed the impact of the dot-com sensation. These leaders shared their excitement along with their concerns for a free-wielding Internet/ technology. They looked through their “crystal ball” to predict what the future would hold with this powerful but challenging medium.  

So what are your thoughts? What do you predict is the future of the Internet? Are you better off today being connected 24/7? Are you feeling overwhelmed or do you feel more in charge of your life? Has your productivity increased or decreased? How do you discern the credibility or truth behind all the countless messages, ideas or agendas online? How are you using the Internet to find solutions to your pressing problems? How has the Internet brought you new opportunities or brought you closer to your family, friends, or loved ones? 

I encourage you to ask yourself: Where do I need to connect more? Where do I need to simply disconnect to gain better balance and control in my life? I know my grandchildren are already natives to the Internet. I am not. They face many great opportunities if they choose to anchor themselves on guiding principles that will help them determine what is good and what is not, and what is simply distracting or negative on the Internet. Without that anchor they are at risk of being enslaved by forces that will pull them in conflicting directions, leaving them without a principle-centered compass to help them take charge of their own lives.  

This is an exciting time with great opportunities for good. I look forward to the future and the promise of people all around the world and their desire for greatness. The Internet can be a powerful tool to fulfill that greatness!

The start of a New Year is always special. There is a feeling of renewal as we look to a new year, a new beginning and there is a sense of excitement for making changes or adopting new habits. However, do you ever find yourself making New Year’s resolutions only to abandon them? If you do, you are not alone.

I want you to be successful at one goal, only one goal this year—and that is accomplishing one small goal you know you can accomplish. I say start small so you can build the confidence and strength to do more. It’s all about taking what I call “baby steps.” Start small, keep at it, and stay consistent until you’re ready pick up the pace.

I also suggest that you work on your goal on a weekly basis. For instance, if you are setting a goal to reduce your sugar intake, set a goal to reduce the number of sugar-rich drinks you consume during the week. If you are in the habit of drinking soda pop everyday or several times a week, decide at the beginning of the week how many drinks you will reduce in your diet. If you go too fast and eliminate all your drinks, you may just fail at it because you are not emotionally, mentally or physically prepared to do so. So start small. Make a promise and keep it…make a promise and keep it. And soon you will enlarge your strength, confidence and capabilities to discipline yourself to achieve other goals.

Many years ago, I went on a sugar fast with a group of students. You can’t believe how difficult it was at first but as we achieved small victories, our will power and passion for achieving our goal became stronger and stronger. We actually found strength in saying “no” to sugar because we felt an inner strength, a strength that inspired us to grow our confidence and abilities to grow our character, our sense of who we wanted to be.

As you set your small goal, you may want to enlist the help of someone close to you. It’s important to have some support, encouragement and a system of accountability. You might even invite this person to set a small goal that you can encourage them on. Work together and create synergy to help each other.

I wish you well on your journey in 2010. You have the potential for greatness in you! Go for it! Start small. Make a promise and keep it.

What do I mean by that? I find that almost all successful people have experienced significant failures in life or in their work, but they have learned from their failures.

 On the other hand, people who don’t recognize their failures or don’t seek learning from them, are often the ones failing again and again. Why? Because they haven’t learned the lessons from the failure—they haven’t gained self-awareness or understanding; they haven’t understood others or their marketplace; they haven’t developed the maturity for humility and integrity—and they find themselves repeating their mistakes again and again. 

Think about the failures or mistakes you have made. How did you respond to them? What outcomes did you get? How have they helped you today? How have they not helped you—do you have something still to learn from your failures? 

If you want to make significant progress in your life, don’t forget to find success on the far side of failure!

First, winning companies slim down to a few key simple goals with clear targets and careful follow-through. Everybody in the firm knows the goals and what to do about them.

Second, winning companies maintain high levels of trust with their customers, employees, and suppliers. They are totally transparent about their commitments, what they can and can’t deliver. Only the most trustworthy companies survive the kind of turbulence we’re in now.

Third, winning companies do more of what matters. In tough times most people resort to “doing more with less,” but the real question is “more of what?”  Winning companies focus on giving more value-not just cutting back.

Finally, winning companies recognize that everyone gets scared when things get uncertain. Instead of allowing themselves to be paralyzed by fear, they channel their anxiety into results. They unleash people’s best ideas and energies instead of suppressing them or micromanaging them.

If you are interested in ordering the book, please Click Here and you will receive 30% off the price for the next few weeks. I know you will find many practical ideas in the book to help your performance.

In the second webinar last week, I spoke about the stress people are feeling in these turbulent times, especially as companies downsize and remaining employees face the challenge of doing more with less. Stress, of course, is a part of our lives even in stable times and we all need to learn how to create balance in life or we risk losing ourselves to mounting distractions and burnout.

Next week on August 25, I will present my final webinar of this series. I will be talking about how you can make a unique contribution at work and how to tap into your skills, passion, talent and energy. As yourself: what do I want to be remembered for at my job?

Hope you can join me. For registration information Click Here.

In response to this employment challenge, I am conducting a career webinar series.
If you or someone you know is concerned about job security or career advancement, I invite you to join my webinars. In these webinars you will learn the mind-set and skill-set necessary to not only survive but thrive in today’s turbulent times.

The first webinar on August 4 will focus on Employability: How to Keep Your Job, Secure Your Future, and Become Indispensable at Work. The key to achieving this is becoming a solution to your organization where you proactively find ways to create value and become a problem-solver rather than just an employee. This requires a new way of thinking and approaching your job.

I would like to hear from you…what are you doing to secure your job?

If you would like more information about the webinar on August 4 CLICK HERE

I was inspired and thrilled to meet Weldon Long, the author of The Upside of Fear, at a meeting focused on strengthening families. I’ve loved and endorsed his book and I’m convinced that he has a very special mission in life. He’s such a handsome and pleasant person, and it was a very emotional experience for me as well to visit with him and know the kind of influence he can have, particularly with people who have been in the same kind of situation he was in, and to see his courageous and thrilling path to freedom, prosperity and family happiness. We were both emotionally connected, and I am profoundly grateful to God for his exemplary life and desire to serve God’s other children. I pray to God for his dear wife and son and other children that they might have. I felt an instant love for him.

Weldon Long’s story:

On June 10th, 1996, my father died and my life changed forever.

At the time I was in federal custody on mail fraud and money laundering indictments – it was my third time in prison. In fact, I was a career criminal, high-school drop-out, homeless alcoholic. I had abandoned my three-year-old son and broke every promise I had ever made.

I was the personification of the bottom of the barrel.

In the days following my father’s death, the regret and remorse of a wasted life crushed me.  For the first time in my life I saw myself for what I truly was, and I was sickened by what I saw. I knew I had to change.

But there was a small problem: I didn’t know where to start. That’s when I found the book that changed everything.  In a small room that served as the facility’s library I found a copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by Dr. Stephen Covey.

As I began to read the book I felt a sense of excitement I had never before felt. I felt as though Dr. Covey was speaking directly to me. For the first time in my life I began to seriously consider the values that had governed my life, and I realized that I had not been breaking the universal principles of success – I was breaking myself against them. The personality ethic had governed my behavior as I pretended and faked my way through life. My only hope was living my life according to the character ethic described by Dr. Covey.

After reading 7 Habits I set out to rebuild my life and become a man I could love. Moreover, I resolved to be the father to my son I had never been.  Over the next 7 years as I served my third prison sentence, I began to see the fruits of implementing the 7 habits.  I began to take responsibility for my responses to whatever came my way in life. I began to visualize how I wanted my life to be years in the future. And I began to get my priorities straight.

By the time I left prison in 2003, I had earned my BS in Law and an MBA in Management. Within six months of getting out my son was living with me, and within a year I had married the most amazing woman I had ever known. Within three years of getting out my new wife and I owned the largest residential HVAC company in Southern Colorado.  And within four years of getting out of prison my wife and I owned a beautiful home on Maui. I had completed my transformation from Prison to Paradise by implementing the things Dr. Covey had taught me through those lonely prison years.

Today, my wife and I have successful companies and my son, who is now 16, is a happy, outgoing teenager with a bright future ahead of him. I have written a book about my journey called The Upside of Fear, which outlines my twenty year cycle of prison, poverty and addiction and how I broke the cycle. My hope is that others will learn from my story and come to realize the dreams really do come true – if we work for them.

My story would be amazing if it ended right there, but there is even more… way more.

In addition to writing, I do motivational and inspirational keynotes as a professional speaker. Recently I delivered a presentation to a group of Colorado Springs’ business leaders and professionals. Just before I began my presentation a man in the front row stood up and announced that Dr. Stephen Covey would soon be in Colorado Springs to address a small group. He said that if anyone was interested in attending the upcoming event to see him before leaving.

Dumbfounded, I heard the voice of the host introduce me, and as I stood before the audience I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. It was all I could do to stay focused on my task at hand and deliver the message I had prepared.

After my presentation I spoke with the gentleman who had announced Dr. Covey’s visit to Colorado Springs. He invited me and my family to attend the event and offered to get a copy of The Upside of Fear to Dr. Covey. As it turned out his daughter was Dr. Covey’s personal assistant. I could hardly believe my ears.

A month later I sat in the audience as Dr. Stephen Covey spoke. As I listened to his words I thought back to the time thirteen years earlier when I read 7 Habits in a dark, lonely place. I couldn’t believe the man whose words saved my life stood just a few feet away from me.

At the conclusion of Dr. Covey’s presentation a line formed as audience members approached the stage to shake the hand of the man who had no doubt impacted them all in some way. I approached the opposite side of the stage and took the opportunity to thank the man and his daughter who had made this special night possible for me and my family.

As we discussed the impact of hearing Dr. Covey live, I was approached by someone from behind. I turned to see the face of the man who had changed my life. There, no more than a foot in front of me, stood Dr. Stephen Covey.

I was speechless.

“I really enjoyed your book, Mr. Long,” Dr. Covey said.

“I, uh, I really enjoyed yours too. It saved my life,” I stammered. Seeing my nervousness, Dr. Covey softly smiled.

Suddenly I was overcome with emotion. I couldn’t believe the man who wrote the words that transformed my life was right there. I tried to speak, and I am sure I said something that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Suddenly he reached out and put his arms around me, and I began to weep.

It was one of the most profound moments of my life. The man whose words had comforted me in the darkest hours of my life was now comforting me again – this time the way a father comforts a frightened child.

For the next several moments, as I began to regain my composure, Dr. Covey told me I had a “Divine Destiny” and that I would have the opportunity to help others with my story. I thanked him for all he had done for me and my family. We shook hands and he quietly moved on to greet others in the crowd.

I stood there with my family and friends in circumspect silence. I thought about how my life had changed, and I was grateful for everything I had learned and the wonderful life those lessons had brought me.

A few days later I learned that Dr. Covey had agreed to write an endorsement for my book. The endorsement read:

“This book comes from a magnificent person who learned the lessons of life out of profound prison experiences. Despite the harsh language, Wally Long is a true diamond in the rough who produced this inspiring and illuminating account of the path he took to freedom and prosperity.”
Stephen R. Covey

I read the words and couldn’t believe the generosity of a man who had sold millions of books and is one of the most influential leaders of our time. The endorsement was written on June 10, 2009, exactly 13 years to the day my father had died and I set out on a journey to change my life.

I guess dreams really do come true.

Weldon Long – Author, The Upside of Fear: How One Man Broke the Cycle of Prison, Poverty, and Addiction.