The BIGG Successs Show
How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
Motivational speaker and author Jim Bouchard, shares 3 tips that have worked for him. Read our show summary and find the link to receive 4 FREE chapters of Jim's book at biggsuccess.com.
Welcome to The Big Success Show. Today, we'll share three tips to get from where you are now to where you want to be. The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. Our guest today on The Big Success Show is Jim Bouchard. Jim is the author of Dynamic Components of Personal Power, Success the Black Beltway. Jim turned his love for martial arts into a thriving business. From there, he started his own publishing company and is now a successful author and speaker. Welcome to The Big Success Show, Jim. Good to have you. Hey, thanks so much for having me today. Well, you've achieved so much in your personal and professional life, Jim. And in one of your presentations on your website, you said that it's important to think about where you are now and where you want to be. So we'd like you to share three tips with our audience today on how you've done that. So what's the first? You know, the first one absolutely is that the only person responsible for my success is the same guy brushing his teeth in my bathroom mirror every morning. I mean, that's it. I know these are dirty words these days in the American lexicon, but personal responsibility. I'm responsible for my success. I don't need and shouldn't depend on other people to guarantee me anything. It's nice when they offer and it's nice for us to help one another. But certainly I can do much more good in the world if I make myself powerful. I become a better resource to others. So the number one tip is definitely you're responsible for your own success. Get out there and do it. Well, what's number two, Jim? Number two, start with power. I spent so much of my life, I suppose, waiting to feel powerful, waiting for these things to come. And that's how the martial arts philosophy got translated to business in real life as well. Martial arts really is all about developing power. Now it might be power for a kick or a punch or a self-defense technique, but the same components that we use to develop that type of power work in business on entrepreneurial life too. And that's what I started to find out. And also in personal relationships, so start with power. Now power is your ability, your capacity to act or perform effectively. And that's it. So the more we can develop ourselves, in fact, I look at it this way, perfection really isn't a destination. It's a never-ending process. And the more we embrace that process, the more equipped we are, the more prepared we are to take advantage of the opportunity that's out there. You know, it's interesting that you say it's about power. You often hear people say that they're powerless. They feel like they're powerless over their own lives because of the choices that they've made and they feel stuck. I appreciate that. I've been there myself and I'm sure that if we talked long enough, we'd find moments in all our lives where that's happened. Again, it comes back to personal responsibility. There may be conditions and circumstances beyond our control that cause us to feel that way or at least steer us in that direction. But at some point, we've got to put on the brakes and say, "Okay, from this moment forward, I'm going to improve my ability or capacity to get out there and take advantage of whatever opportunity is there." Or whatever opportunity I can be open to. One important distinction I think Jim might be that we don't have power fully over what happens to us, but we absolutely have full power over how we respond to it. Absolutely. That's a wonderful way to put it. I think we're right on the same page. Hey, that's a black belt pat on the back there, George. At least it's not a kick in the seat. We won't have to fight. All right. All right. Coming up, Jim is going to share his third tip to get from where you are now to where you want to be. Today we're talking with Jim Bouchard, author, speaker, and entrepreneur extraordinaire. And he's sharing his three tips with us. We've discussed two so far. Jim, what's the third? Well, you know, before I get in that, I've got to thank you guys. You give me such a nice build up. I'm going to take you everywhere. Perfect. We're going to be your personal intro people for all of your presentations, right? There you go. I'd be honored. You know, the third one, and probably could be the first in order of importance, is gratitude. Absolutely gratitude. I had a very nice compliment from a friend of mine I was having lunch with the other day. And he said, when he read my book, he said the absolute number one takeaway for him was my morning ritual. And he said, I hope you really do it, and it's not just something you put in the book. So I'll tell people, yes, it is something that I do. And as corny as it sounds, no matter where I am in life, whether I'm feeling abundance in material, emotional, and spiritual areas, or I'm feeling some scarcity there. Rather than worrying about what I don't have, I try to get up in the morning, take a look around, and spend a few moments just expressing gratitude. There's any number of ways to do it, and I'm not trying to tell people that one is better or more correct than the other. But I think it is important to take a look every day at what you have, and then start from there. So what were some of the things you were grateful for this morning? I'll tell you what. This morning when I woke up, I was grateful that I had Claritin. Yes, we should probably tell the audience that before we started this discussion, Jim was saying that he's having some allergy problems. Pine pollen in Maine, right? That's funny. All joking aside, one of the most wonderful things that I'm grateful for every day, and I'm sure you guys can identify with this, is to wake up and know that I'm in business with my wife, and that she's an extraordinary partner personally as well as in business. And no matter what, no matter what adversities we might face, if we face those together, we can succeed, and that's an awful lot to be grateful for right there. Absolutely, and I really hope Mary Lynn heard that, Jim. I'm very grateful for George. And now, Jim, what's really cool about your book is that we can actually read four chapters of it for free. Can you tell our audience how to get that done? Sure, very easy. Just come onto my website, JimBouchard.org, O-R-G, and for the people that aren't from the French speaking parts of the country like Maine, I'll say B-O-U-C-H-A-R-D. So, JimGouchard.org, and right on the home page, there's a link so that you can preview the book and download the first four chapters. That's about as easy as it can be, and we do have a link to your site on our blog today at BigSuccess.com, so that makes it easy too. I appreciate that. Hey, no problem. Well, thank you so much for being a part of the Big Success Show today. Thanks for having me, and thanks for the great work you're doing. It's so important to spread this message. It was great having you, Jim. Yep. I look forward to many more conversations. Definitely. Absolutely. Thank you. And along with the link to Jim's book that we just mentioned, you can also find a written summary of today's show on our blog at BigSuccess.com. And before we go, let's get our big quote for the day. Our big quote today comes from none other than Jim Bouchard himself. Good choice. Jim said, "You can only stand on the mountaintop for a moment. It's the journey that provides all the best memories." So even when the going gets tough, enjoy every moment of your climb to the top. Next time we'll talk about how a one young man made a big difference at work by adding his personal touch. And until then, here's to your Big Success. The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com. [BLANK_AUDIO]