Rudy Matthew - The good life rules 8 keys to being your best at work and at play

All the internal and external battles and mountains I had to climb to finally get this message into a bookand into your handswould have been in vain without the help of some exceptional people in my life. I'm truly humbled by all the support you all have given me. You gave me time to develop, and you never lost faith in my ability to deliver this message.

I wouldn't have been able to do what I love so much without the continuing support of more than 21,000 companies, organizations, trade associations, and community groups. You all have been generous enough to give me a chance to make a difference with your peopleand you've kept giving me those chances year after year. I make more than 300 appearances a year, and a giant majority of those are repeat business to groups I've spoken to before, and referrals from people who know what I do. That's a great, great honor.

Your friendships and your willingness to support me and my family are what made this book possible. So I dedicate The Good Life Rules to all the people who have attended one of my programs over the last eighteen years, to the organizations that took a chance on me when I was a struggling unknown, and to the people who give up some time from their weekends to listen to my radio show on WBAP in Dallas.

The stories in this book are my life, but I wouldn't have been able to figure out a way to organize and tell them if I hadn't found Matt Rudy. He's a fantastic writereven when the subject isn't golfand he's a great friend. Our chemistry was better than I could have even hoped, and I'm glad I listened to my own advice about listening to advice from good people. He made this book sound more like me than I ever could have. I'm looking forward to working with him on many other projects.

Johanna Bowman at McGraw-Hill saw something great in our proposal, and she stuck with us when a lot of editors might have given up. Thanks for being so patient! And the book never would have gotten off the ground without Farley Chase and Terry Whalin.

My business partner, Frank Massine, has been the best partner and friend anybody could ever ask for, and I'm so grateful for all the support he and his family have given me. Without Bonnie Shumate keeping me in line at the office, I'd never know what city I was in or how to get home. She's made me look so much better than I deserve.

I want to thank my mom and dad, Dick and Betty Dodge, for always sticking with me. They are my best friends, and they've given me unconditional support, dedication, and true love. My brother, Dick, gave me a one-on-one talk that made the difference for life, and my sister, Kathleen, has always helped me stand strong.

Most of all, I want to reach deep into my heart and thank my wife, Margaret. She's been my best friend, my girlfriend, my partnerand my soul matefor more than thirty years. Together, we have three of the greatest gifts you can have: my daughter, Nicole, brings faith and hope; my son Jonathan has taught me to never give up; and my son Zach truly has a great heart. Thanks to all of you for making a great team called "family."

A lot of the strength on our team has come thanks to Margaret's family, the Smiths. They accepted me into their warmand hugefamily and taught me so much about loyalty and trust from the inside out, and about truly enjoying life. Margaret's dad, Page, and her mom, Helen, were an inspiration, and it makes me smile when I think of how they used to say, "Man, this is living!"

I also want to acknowledge my Lord and Saviorthe Giver of great gifts, who has given me the passion to encourage others not just to know Him, but to know and understand how important you really are and how you do matter in this world. And how you are called to make a difference.

The Good Life Rules!

I've been sharing The Good Life Rulesin various formsto groups for more than twenty years. Over that time, I've been compiling and editing the list of what I call the Forty-Five Undeniable Truths of Life. These are the truths I've used to build The Good Life Rules, because they've held so true in all the personal and professional challenges I've experienced, as well as in the stories told to me by people across the country.

1. Love. What you feel in your heart you must act on. It is the window of truth.

2. Diminishing Intent. What you don't act on within a forty-eight-hour window, you will lose.

3. Habits/Control. You feel positive about yourself to the extent that you feel in control. Values/Principles plus Actions will determine whether or not you are in control. If you're working against this formula, you will create stress.

4. Responsibility. You must take full responsibility for your actions.

5. Compensation. Whatever you put in, you will get out. The more value you bring to your time, the more time will pay you for your value.

6. Value. Your rewards in life will be in direct proportion to the level of service or value that you offer in life.

7. Applied Effort. All things are amenable to hard work. Balance is the key.

8. Overcompensation. Always put in more than you take out.

9. Preparation. Professionals always take more time to prepare than others do.

10. Action. The more you take on, the more efficient you become.

11. Making a Choice. Nothing really happens until you make a choice. Right or wrong is better than no choice at all.

12. Imagination. It is your imagination that creates your opportunity.

13. Open Mind. Be clear on your goal, but be flexible on how you might attain it.

14. Concentration. The ability to stay on a task until completed. When you are where you are, be there.

15. Rest. You must have rest. Just don't rest too long.

16. Belief. If you don't believe, why would they?

17. Change. Disgust and resolve are two of the great mental attitudes that lead to change.

18. Asking. Asking is the beginning of receiving.

19. Basics. Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying fundamentals.

20. Persuasion. Better to understate than to overstate. Let people be surprised that you delivered more than you promised.

21. Discipline. The lack of discipline starts to crowd our self-esteem. Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.

22. Learning. When somebody is traveling down the wrong road, they don't need motivation to speed them up. They need education to turn them around.

23. Caring. Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person. The more you care, the stronger you can be.

24. Emotions. Emotions will either guide you toward the goal or lead you away from it.

25. Experience. Take time to remember the past so that you will be able to draw from your experiences. This will allow you to reinvest in the future for a different and better outcome.

26. Fascination. Fascination is one step beyond interest. Interested people want to see it work; fascinated people want to know how it works. Develop a childlike fascination with life and people.

27. Fear. If you do what you fear the most, then you control fear.

28. Sharing. Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.