Learn The Rule of 5
AFFIRMATIONS
for
Meditation and Reflection
I’m enthusiastically reviewing my breakthrough goal every day and completing five specific actions that are swiftly moving me toward achieving that goal.
I am being persistent and consistent, practicing The Rule of 5 every single day.
I am being rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment and determination as I work through my five daily commitments.
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
—ROBERT COLLIER
Bestselling author and publisher of The Secret of the Ages
When Mark Victor Hansen and I published the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, we were so eager and committed to making it a bestseller that we asked 15 bestselling nonfiction authors for their advice. We visited with a book publishing and marketing guru who gave us even more great information. We read John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Book.
We also sought the advice of a wonderful teacher, Ron Scolastico, who told us, “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.” That made a lot of sense and it led us to develop The Rule of 5. The Rule of 5 simply means that every day you do five specific things that will move you forward toward achieving your goal. I challenge you to do the same—commit to doing five things every day that will bring you closer to achieving success.
I’m enthusiastically reviewing my breakthrough goal every day and completing five specific actions that are swiftly moving me toward achieving that goal.
With the goal of getting Chicken Soup for the Soul to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list, we implemented The Rule of 5 every day, doing things such as giving five radio interviews or sending out five books to reviewers or asking five network marketing companies to buy the book as a motivational tool for their sales people or giving a seminar to at least five people and selling the book at the back of the room. On some days, we would simply send out five free copies to people listed in the Celebrity Address Book—radio deejays and talk show hosts, television and movie stars, directors, and producers.
We made phone calls, wrote press releases, called in to talk shows, gave out free copies at our talks, did free talks at churches. We did book signings at every bookstore that would have us, visited gift shops and card shops—we even got gas stations, bakeries, and restaurants to carry the book. It was a lot of effort, but once we chunked down our goals into smaller action steps and persisted every single day, it paid off handsomely.
You know what? About one year from the day it was published, Chicken Soup for the Soul finally made it onto a bestseller list. One action at a time, one book at a time, one reader at a time, the sustained effort of The Rule of 5 led to success!
Think you can’t do it? Of course you can—anyone can do five things a day if they’re focused on a goal!
I am being persistent and consistent, practicing The Rule of 5 every single day.
You have to create your own success story using The Rule of 5. No one else can determine your dreams and goals but you—and you will never find fulfillment or contentment trying to pursue someone else’s dreams.
Take a look at the list of goals that you created. What five things can you do each and every day to move closer to achieving them? If your goal is to get a raise or a promotion, you could get in early, dress the part, go the extra mile to make your customers happy, exceed your boss’s expectations, and so forth. If your goal is to get out of the rat race and buy a cottage by the sea, you could reduce expenses and increase savings, update your current home in order to sell it at a higher price, seek out a real estate agent who can find you great property deals, and create ways to increase your current income.
So, what are your goals—especially your breakthrough goal? Add The Rule of 5 to your daily routine and I promise you will get there faster!
I am being rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment and determination as I work through my five daily commitments.