The “Most Wanted Stories” List
( First Half: Chapters 1 – 14 )
Be part of our exciting new project and get your story published in our upcoming book,
The Success Principles for Teens!
(See Jack’s original Success Principles book to the right)
Below is a brief outline of the chapters in the book. Under each heading is a summary of what the chapter is about as well as a short list of stories we need. Many are very similar so please read each request carefully. Feel free to print this document out and share it with your friends and family.
If you see a story description that reminds you of a real-life example appropriate for this book, please write an outline of your story (about 200 – 400 words) with the main moral/lesson. Even if you don’t consider yourself a brilliant writer, we still want to hear your story! Just focus on getting the main events, ideas, and lessons written down and send them to:
[email protected]
Contributors whose stories are used will be contacted. We may not have time to get back to all submissions, so we thank you in advance for your time, creativity, and stories. We really look forward to hearing from you!
Cheers,
- Kent and Jack
www.coolstuffmedia.com
www.thesuccessprinciples.com
Chapter 1: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life
Summary: Ultimately, you are the person in control of the quality of your life—no one else. If you don’t like the way something is, it’s up to you to take charge and improve the situation. As long as we blame, complain, or avoid the facts/truth, we will never have the quality of life we want or deserve.
· Young person who was making poor decisions (E.g.: lying, cheating, using drugs, cutting school, missing practice, not trying their best) but ignored how it was affecting them. The situation worsened until they were forced to face the truth and make changes in their life. Lesson: Sooner or later, you will have to face the consequences of your actions—or lack of action—so you may as well confront things before they get worse.
· Someone who blamed other people (their friends, parents, teachers, coach, boyfriend, girlfriend, neighbor) for why they weren’t getting what they wanted in life. Possibly blamed other people or circumstances not realizing that they created the problem by making poor decisions. E.g.: “My friends made me …” “My parents ruined my life because they grounded me before prom…”
Chapter 2: Be Clear Why You’re Here
Summary: Every person is born with a purpose, but it’s up to us to discover it so we don’t end up focusing our time, energy, and attention on things that don’t fulfill us.
· How a young person found their purpose/mission that has since really shaped their life
· Story about person who found their purpose because they did what they really enjoyed doing. Their passion led them to discover their life purpose.
· Young person who wrote down/create their own unique mission/ statement. Explain how their purpose helped them make the “best” decisions and how it guided them to success and happiness
· How a young person stayed on purpose or redefined their purpose over the years to best suit their talents and abilities
Chapter 3: Decide What You Want
Summary: The number one reason people don’t get the life they want is because they are not crystal clear about what they want in life.
· Person who only focused on what they didn’t want and problems they wanted to avoid. But since they only focused on the negative, they continued to attract and experience it…
· Young person who was told by his or her parents what they “should” grow up to be or what they “should” strive work for in life. The person was not motivated to achieve these things because it wasn’t something he or she really wanted. However, once he or she wrote a list of what they really wanted in life, they found a new sense of motivation and drive to work hard.
· Person who one day decided to make a list of goals describing what they wanted to do or accomplish in their lifetime. How has that list shaped your life? What satisfaction has come as a result.
Chapter 4: Believe it’s Possible
Summary: Rarely do we accomplish more than what we believe is possible. The real limits to our potential are our beliefs about what we can and cannot do.
· Person who believed in his or her dream even when no one else did. This drove them to persevere.
· Person who believed in their dream or goal so much that they won the support of those around them, who in turn, helped them accomplish their goal.
Chapter 5: Believe in Yourself
Summary: It’s not so much skill that makes someone the best at what they do. It’s often a solid belief that they can do something that drives them to excellence. Believing in yourself instantly increases your ability to get the results you want.
· Young person who made the conscious decision to believe in themselves. The initial belief allowed them to take action. They didn’t wait for someone to say, “I believe in you.” As a result of believing in themselves they achieved results beyond what they initially expected.
· Person who didn’t believe in themselves but someone else did. This belief and support helped pushed this person to succeed. Eventually they built their own self-confidence and learned to believe in themselves.
Chapter 6: See The Best to Be The Best
Summary: Pessimists see difficulty in every opportunity, but peak performers recognize opportunity in every difficulty. Instead of getting discouraged by challenging or difficult circumstances, look for the opportunities that offer new possibilities.
· How a disaster or challenge turned out to be a blessing in disguise because they looked at the situation and searched for a positive meaning or lesson to pull from it.
Chapter 7: Unleash the Power Of Goal Setting
Summary: To be truly fulfilled and to get the most out of ourselves, we need something that inspires us to take action, work hard, and persevere during tough times. Specific and measurable goals provide motivation and direction so we don’t drift aimlessly through life.
· Any powerful/inspirational story about how goal-setting transformed someone’s life
· How a young person set some simple goals … accomplished them … then decided to set some more challenging goals. In the process, this person realized they were capable of much more than they originally thought.
· Young person who had casually set goals a long time ago, but did not continue to look at them until they “drifted” off course and forgot about them. They then learned from the situation and wrote the goals down and put them in places to constantly remind them of their goals. Also developed a way to hold themselves accountable to do something each day that moved them closer to their goal.
· Section: Mastery is the goal. Person who sets a goal to get a specific outcome, but in the process (or at the end) they realize that the skills they have developed, or the lives they have changed is far more important. Who we become is what matters most.
Chapter 8: Chunk it Down
Summary: Even the biggest dreams and goals can be achieved by breaking the process down into manageable bite-size chunks.
· How a person accomplished a big goal by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
· Person who never got started on their goal because they were overwhelmed by the first step. They eventually decided to get going without overanalyzing. Once they tackled the biggest (first) step of the process, the rest was much easier. (Based on this idea: One of the best ways to build momentum and keep it is to do the most important thing first.)
Chapter 9: Success Leaves Clues
Summary: Success is a science. There are specific things you can do to reproduce similar results. Learn from other people and take advantage of all the information we have at our fingertips.
· How a young person learned how to achieve a specific result/goal by learning from other people. This person discovered how learning from other people is extremely valuable in becoming successful in today’s world. (What resources were used to gain knowledge? Internet, library, magazines, interviews, seminars, mentors, coach, teacher … how did they help?)
Chapter 10: Release The Brakes
Summary: Many people drive through life with their psychological emergency brake on. They hold themselves back by holding negative thoughts and images of themselves struggling, messing things up, or failing to reach their goals. This chapter explores how to reprogram ourselves for success by training our brain to see constructive images and think positively about what we do want to have happen in our lives.
· Story about how a young person stepped out of his or her comfort zone to achieve her goals.
· In this chapter, we talk about affirmations. An affirmation is statement that describes a goal in its already completed state. For example: “I am a hardworking student who has earned a 4.0 GPA.” Simply put, its positive self-talk. When said regularly, this helps build confidence, self-esteem, and also improves performance. Have you used this technique before? If so, how has it helped you achieve remarkable results.
Chapter 11: See What You Want, Get What You See
Summary: One of the most effective but underused tools for success is the power of visualization. The clearer we envision things the way we want them, the more we tap into our potential and increase our chances of having things turn out the way we want them to.
· How a young person used visualization to achieve a specific result or goal. What did they do? How did it help them?
Chapter 12: Act As If
Summary: Nobody is born successful. This means we must be willing to put ourselves in situations that cause us to learn and grow. Sometimes we won’t have all the required information and fine-tuned skills to reach our next goal, but we must learn to act as if we are the type of person who can accomplish the goals we set—no matter how big they may be.
· How a young person did not necessarily have the experience or the existing ability to do something, but they took action toward their goal anyway. They acted as though they had the ability necessary until they did finally develop the actual skills. In other words, they faked it until they made it.
Chapter 13: Just Lean Into It
Summary: Even though life is uncertain, the future is not out of our control. Those who became super-successful didn’t know exactly what the outcome was going to be when they started following their dream; but they did commit to giving their best effort—even when there is no promise of success. This commitment and leap of faith is also known as “leaning into it.”
· Young person who faced challenges, but persevered by continuing to have faith in their dream or goal. They took a chance to follow their dream even when the desired reward/result was uncertain. In the end, they achieved their goal, but not in the exact way he or she originally expected.
· Young person who was very passionate about achieving their goal/dream. In pursuit of their dream, they faced challenges that caused them to discover a new passion that led them to a new goal/dream/destination.
· Someone who had an idea of what they were interested in doing, but instead of just thinking or daydreaming about it, they take action and tried it out. E.g.: “I’ve always thought about acting…” Well, try out for the school play and see what you think. Lean into it. “I think I’d like to be a chef.” Well, lean into it and become an intern at a restaurant to see if you like it. How did “leaning into it” help you make a decision or shape your life?
Chapter 14: Feel the Fear, but Do It Anyway
Summary: Even though we all face different circumstances, situations, and challenges, we all have to deal with the paralyzing power of fear. In this chapter, we discuss how to effectively handle our fear so it doesn’t hold us back from living our dreams.
· Person who faced their fears and took a risk to follow his or her dream. What was the risk? Why did they take it? How did it work out in the end?
· Story about someone who turned their fear into a driving force. For example: They were afraid they would not make it in the talent contest so they decided to work even harder instead of giving up. As a result, they became a better athlete, singer, student, etc.
· Someone who used to think, “I’ll do it when I’m not scared anymore…” but later realized that fear never fully disappears. They learned that fear is natural and took action towards their goals in spite of their fear. Could be something basic such as asking someone out for a date … trying out for a team, asking a teacher for support, etc. How have you learned to live with your fear?
