I am writing this en route to Miami a few days before the Super Bowl. On the plane were a number of current and former NFL players, boxing great Evander Holyfield, and singer Usher. There was a lot of talent on that plane – people who were very good at one point before breaking through to greatness. Quite coincidentally, I had been thinking about the book From Good to Great by Jim Collins.  There’s no denying that many of the passengers had made that transformation. To be great in boxing, music or as an NFL player, takes more than being good, you have to be great. To play in the Super Bowl, an even higher level of greatness has to be achieved. As fate would have it, a former NFL player sat down in the seat next to me. In the course of our conversation, I learned that he played wide receiver for 15 years. He told me that his best years where his last few years before retirement. That made me curious as that is not always true for an athlete in their mid 30’s. He seemed interested in talking and I was interested in asking questions so I asked questions and he answered them. Below is part of our dialogue:

How do you go from Good to Great? It’s all about getting a chance to be great. I started my career with one team and I was labeled a C player. After a few years with that team, I was traded and with my new team I was given a chance to shine. My new teams belief in me and the chance I was given gave me confidence. When people believe in you and give you a chance, it boosts your confidence. Plus I knew that if I made a mistake they weren’t going to bench me. When people feel confident in you and your abilities you can achieve any greatness you desire. But someone has to give you that chance.

How does one obtain confidence? First you must work hard to learn your skill and be very good at it. Then you have to believe in yourself. Finally, you have to be prepared – mentally and physically when your chance comes.  You can’t be standing on the sidelines not paying attention. Sometimes getting a chance is like a fast ball that comes at you quickly. You can’t leave it to chance that you will be ready. You have to have done the hard work so you will be ready. Whether it’s business, sports, or life, you have to work on your skills, have the right attitude and not get down on yourself when you make a mistake.

Describe how your confidence and abilities changed in your career? In your early years you just try to make the team. Even if you just barely make the team, you are satisfied. When you are in your middle years, you have to be a starter. If you aren’t a starter by this point, it’s likely the team will get rid of you.  I tell everyone I was in the league five years before I became an ”every down player”. During those five years, I was watching and learning.

What advice would you give a rookie today? Watch the guys in front of you, particularly the ones that are successful. When I was a young player, I would watch how best players practiced. I would watch how they ran routes and how they prepared. I made it a point to take what they did and work to do it a little better. I believe if you do this, things will fall into place and you will achieve greatness.

 To what do you attribute to a long successful career? Three things:  Hard work, confidence, and attitude. It was during the last phase of my career that I had my best years.  As my skills began to diminish, I worked harder and played smarter. I kept my attitude in check and knew that because I had accomplished a great deal already, I could still get the job done. I think you achieve greatness when you are no longer in your prime and you can still get the job done at a high level.

Whether you are an asipring athlete, musician, artists, corporate manager or business owner, the journey of going from good to great starts today. Do something great today.

I’m not a golf fan but I am a sports fan and I am a BIG fan of people who fight against all the odds and succeed. DJ Greggory is one of those people and an inspiration to both able bodied and physically challenged athletes. He’s one of my new hero’s too. Born with Cerebral Palsy, his parents were told he would never walk. Yet walk he did - 900 miles in one year and he did it because he was passionate about golf. I think passion and determination are two of the most enduring qualities for success in life. DJ has both in big doses. Watch this clip entitled Walk On maybe it will inspire you to do something that you might have never imagined. Walk on…

Inspirational speaker Tim Richardson speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, healthcare, and financial services. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

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I am amazed when I read about the things kids do today. Yes there are some bad kids who are way worse than kids were when I was young but the good kids are SO much better. Zach Bonner is one of the good kids.  At age 11, Zach is walking from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo (actually Atlanta to Washington, DC) to raise money for homeless kids. He started his Little Red Wagon Foundation in 2005 and has raised nearly $50,000 in two previous walks (see the story of Zach Bonner in yesterday’s USA TODAY). What is amazing about Zach and the many kids like him who care, is the many ways they are giving back. I know when I was that age, I was more concerned with making my classmates laugh, trying to pull a prank on my teachers without getting caught, and other things equally as unimpressive.

Last week, when I was speaking in South Dakota, I had an epiphany. I was speaking to an audience member who told me she had moved from Southern California because of all the crime, drugs, and shootings. We talked about how to change things and her response troubled both of us (She told me she decided it was easier to move than to get involved). Our conversation lingered in my brain until I had the idea of developing a Kids that Care presentation. In it, I will talk to kids about other kids who are making a difference. My hope is that I can inspire another young “Zack Bonner” by telling his story. So, I’m looking for some kids that care and a school where I can talk about them …

Inspirational speaker Tim Richardson speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, healthcare, and financial services. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

Twitter with Tim or get LinkedIn

It’s so refreshing to see people who LOVE their job, particularly in today’s economic climate. It makes perfect sense to me that the people who are going to thrive today are the ones who give it their all, who are innovative in their approach to work, and who are passionate about what they do. Are you?

Check out this Southwest flight attendant rapping the preflight announcement. Look for ways to differentiate yourself today. Stand up and standout - it could very well make you RICH!

Inspirational speaker Tim Richardson speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, healthcare, and financial services. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

Twitter with Tim or get LinkedIn

Lately, I feel like Dear Abby.  Because I can be found under the search term “The Richest People in America”, I get a lot of emails requesting help, usually requesting money.  This week there have been several including from somone who I imagine to be from a Developing World Country. He didn’t mention his country in the email but I would guess based on both how he wrote and what he said he lived in a very poor area. Those who contact me erroneously assume me to be a person of great material wealth. Alas, I am just a person who defines RICH a bit differently.  I was encouraged that he had a great goal even if he felt challenged by his ability to achieve it.  He asked for advice and below are the suggestions I gave him. As I re-read it, I wondered what some of my contemporaries would have suggested. I would love to know what you would have told him. (you can reach his email below - just as he wrote it). Here’s what I wrote followed by his intial email:

Dear Z (short for his real name):

I applaud your dreams/aspirations.  Below are a few suggestions:
1) Network with other like-minded, positive people. Sometimes the people who you associate with can determine your demise or your destiny.

2) Read uplifting, positive books every day (The Power of Positive Thinking, Think and Grow Rich, The Greatest Salesman in the World, and the Bible - even if you aren’t Christian, the principles in Psalms and Proverbs are universal and very wise words.

3) Write down you goals every night before you go to sleep and tackle the toughest one first the next day. Don’t ever feel like the number of goals you have is important. Keep it manageable but stretch yourself too.

4) Never give up -it’s when things they most dire that it is more important than ever to keep trying. The last few strides before the finish line is a great time to really kick it up a notch.

5) Realize that every step (even baby steps) you take toward you goal with more you in the right direction.
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am very happy when i read about your hand works in term of helping societies that  need  help  so much.
I am a young man of 27 years old and frankly speaking has a great deal of interest in helping the venerable and  needy  in my  society  and  beyond. It will be my greatest joy to one day have all it takes to be able to achieve something of the sort. It is an instinct that existed deep inside me that any time i see people in trouble due to the fact  that they are street children, it made me cry. I think God blesses us so that we can also be blessing to others who can not afford.

I am very serious about this project and will not hesitate to start it if the means is available.

The following are my Plans for the future.

* Build a Church and attach to the Church will be a School for the Orphans and street children in my society in the whole country. The School will be from the Kindergarten to  Senior  Secondary  Level and  the  School should  be in position to sponsor the qualified ones to the University level.
* Form a Football Club purposely for the Orphans and the Street Children From Second Division  to the  Premier  Division  level  in order  to build the hidden talent they have inside them and other sports will also be considered.
* Build a hostel as from the beginning to contain about  500 to 800 people and the School Class rooms also the same.

Sir/Madam, the problem I have is that i am not doing the best of work to see myself achieving all this very easily, meanwhile, it haunt me all day long to strive hard in order to be able to achieve all this plans. What  i am trying to say Sir, is that i am not asking you to give me money to do this projects but what i am trying to say is, that i need a push to be able to achieve it.

At the moment, my interest is in Football Development and any help from you to begin something that will help me to accomplish this mission sooner or later will very well be respected

Thank you very much for your anticipated reaction in this regard.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, healthcare, and financial services. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

Michael Phelps, the decorated U.S. Olympic swimmer, could become the richest Olympian ever. He has shown competitiveness, hunger to win, humbleness and a great team spirit.  According to an article I read today USA Today by Christine Breenan, Phelps isn’t talking endorsements and going to Disney World, he is talking spending time with his mother, two sisters and friends.  Associated Press writer Paul Newberry writes that Phelps is the antithesis of Mark Spitz who was aloof and arogant according to team mates. Phelps is very popular with his team mates hanging out with them and serving as the unofficial ambassador for first-time Olympians. Somehow I bet that will carry over to the fortune that will likely be his when the endorsements start to roll in. 

Interesting, another AP National Writer Pauline Arrillaga wrote a thoughtful piece entitled Joys, burdens of being best face Phelps now. Arrillaga’s article put Phelps among some pretty good company including Sir Edmund Hillary, Chuck Yeager,  Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Bill Gates,   Stephen Hawking, Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong, Dr. Ben Carson, Barry Bonds, Pete Sampras, Carl Lewis and even fourteen year-old Sameer Mishra National Spelling Bee Champion.

I’m writing this post while at the Sheraton Hotel in Sioux Falls, SD. Believe it or not, a piece on Michael Phelps just aired on the CBS Evening news. Everyone stopped talking and tuned in to the segment. When it was over, conversations changed to Phelps and fellow U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres. Phelps and Torres both have lots of richness that await them. We have all become richer with pride, astonishment, and admiration just watching them.

 Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund and co-founder of the Jeffrey Roth Cycling Foundation. Click here for more information on professional speaker Tim Richardson.

I read about a cool idea in the July issue of Guidepost magazine. New Yorker Meghann Stepan and her fiance John want people to spend a lot of dough on their wedding gifts for their upcoming marriage. Not for them but for charities like Safe Horizon, Improve Your Life Skills and others. Through an organization called changingthepresent, wedding guests will make donations to charities that Meghann and John support. Cool huh?

So if you are thinking about getting married and don’t want the oft used fondue set, the Ginzu knife set, or the Ronco Bamboo steamer, join John and Meghann and ask for something that keeps on giving - a gift for someone else. I am so inspired I want to get married again (to the same woman of course). 

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund and co-founder of the Jeffrey Roth Cycling Foundation. Click here for more information on professional speaker Tim Richardson.

This story makes me feel greedy for wanting a house with one more bedroom and bathroom for my family of seven. Buried behind all the news of John McCain, Barack Obama, the summer Olympics, and Nicole Kidman’s new baby  is this story posted on www.CNN.com today. Thanks to my friend Charles for emailing me the link (Charles, if you read this in the next 60 seconds and email me the names of ALL seven dwarfs, you’ll win a brand new car!). Anyone else want to play?

Here’s the story:

Hannah’s Lunchbox was created by the Salwen family in Atlanta, Georgia, as a way to make a small difference in world hunger. Our belief is that we have more than we need while others don’t have enough; so we decided to sell our beautiful, large home (that’s a picture of it on the left side) and move into another one half the size and half the price.  We are giving half the sales price of our old house to a life-changing program run by The Hunger Project that is helping hundreds of thousands of people in Africa  move from poverty to self-reliance.

What financial worry do you have today? How could you think “differently” about it? You MIGHT not want to sell you house and give the profits away BUT there’s probably something you could do that would help others. Let me know what you are thinking…

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund and co-founder of the Jeffrey Roth Cycling Foundation. Click here for more information on professional speaker Tim Richardson.

Now that I am another year older (and wiser of course), I have some observations about living a RICH life. If you have been a reader of this blog, you probably know that when I write about rich I mean money driven and when I write about RICH I mean purpose-driven.

Last Friday, June 6th was my birthday and now that I am as old as Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, I am thinking I should have run for president! Actually, I am probably too dumb to offer much and too smart to want to put my family through what a politicial family experiences.  However, if Barack can talk about things for which he may not fully be knowledgeable, I am going to take that risk When I reach John McCain’s age, I may have the life knowledge but perhaps I won’t have the memory!  So here goes my stroke of insight pondered on my birthday (but NOT in my birthday clothes):

1. Listen. Thursday my wife and I flew to Daytona Beach, FL for the funneral of a 48 year YOUNG man. He was exuberant, intelligent, witty, a brillant musician, a talented dentist and a doting father of two young girls - an infant and a 2 1/2 year old.  Somehow in the midst of everything he had going for him, he felt he had nothing going for him. He took his life one week ago today. As I heard the words spoken about him at his memorial service, saw over 1000 people in attendance, and spoke with his many friends at the reception, I realized that there were probably some people, who IF they had reached out in love and with a listening and helpful ear, his death MAY not of occurred.  Listening to my best friend talk about it recently, I am convinced that listening is the key to many things, including healing.  Listen more. 

2. Go out on a limb.  Friday, I gave a speech to the Vermont Independent Insurance Agents. During the speech, I had an idea of something that would fit perfectly into my Living Rich speech. It was a concept I hadn’t intergrated into the speech before. It was a bit of a risk. I played the ”do it or not” tape in my brain a few times as I was speaking.  I choose “do it” and am glad I did. It worked and added value to a point I was trying to make.  Don’t let a potential fall keep you from going somewhere you haven’t been.

3. Travel the road less traveled.  Traveling to the Basin Habor Club where I gave my speech, the driver took the back roads. We could have traveled via interstate and made our trip a bit quicker.  Had we done that, we would have missed out on a tour through rural Vermont. We would have also missed  hearing some history about this great state.  Today on a bike ride in the rural area surrounding this beautiful place, I saw some incredible scenes and even met a few locals. The road less traveled was paved for me. How about you?

4. Live like you’re dying. Yesterday I met a retired physican. He is 57 years old and has esophageal cancer (which isn’t a cancer you want to have if you have to have cancer). I met Bob and his wife in the healthclub here at the Basin Harbor Club. He exercises everyday and lives an active life.  He bikes, kayaks, explores lakes, rivers and oceans by boat. Over a five year period, he and his wife canoed over 8000 miles across North America. He’s recently taken up golf.  He told me that he wasn’t afraid of death but he wasn’t going to let statistics ruin the life he had left to live. Today is the best someday to start living, particularly IF you feel like you aren’t living now.  

5. Breathe. That’s one reason I am here. To soak in the beautiful mountains and lakes of Vermont. I know there are three things that fuel me: 1) Time with my wife without our kids 2) Tim Time - taking time alone to renew, revitalize, and recreate and 3) Breathing - slowing down and smelling the roses. There’s a sign here at the resort that says “Slow Down and relax”. Nuff said. I’m off for a walk around the lake and back to my cabin on Lake Champlain. 

Note: This post title was inspired by a coment posted by a reader on my post about the Last Lecture.  He recommended I find out about Jill Bolte Taylor and her book My Stroke of Insight. Sounds like a good read. 

 Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund and co-founder of the Jeffrey Roth Cycling Foundation. Click here for more information on professional speaker Tim Richardson.

It’s graduation time and I my first graduation speech last week.  My professional speaker buddy Beth Terry sent a link to a great clip on failure (one of the points I discussed in my speech). Watch the video of famous people who failed here (President Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison)