Stovall Jim - Just Believe: The Story of Stanley Walters

Just Believe

THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF THE MESSAGE

Just Believe

THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF THE MESSAGE

TRACY J. TROST

with

Jim Stovall

Copyright 2011Tracy J. Trost

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request.

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ISBN 13 TP: 978-0-7684-3788-1

ISBN 10: 0-7684-3788-1

ISBN 13 E-book: 978-0-7684-8993-4

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 13 12 11

This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife Denise and my children, Greg, Wesley, Austin, Haiden, and Joscelyn.

It is your belief in me that allows me to Just Believe; anything is possible.

There are some moments in life that you experience where you walk away knowing you will never be the same. That is how I felt after my first meeting with Jim Stovall. Jim is one of those people who can present you with a question, and when you walk away you realize you need to make some changes in your life. Thank you, Jim, for your willingness to join forces with me to impact the world around us.

I would also like to thank the staff at NTN and, in particular, Dorothy Thompson for her Herculean effort to bring this book to press.

I would like to acknowledge Don Green at the Napoleon Hill Foundation for allowing us to use the wisdom and insight of Napoleon Hill. Steve Forbes, Harland Stonecipher, Paula Marshall, and the other people who have populated this fictional tale.

I would also like to acknowledge Tom and Marilyn Jestusfriends, counselors, and mentors. Your sowing in my life is reaping huge returns.

A special thank you to my staff at Trost Moving Pictures and Trost Consulting. Your hard work and dedication is allowing these dreams to come true. A special acknowledgment to Joseph Jestus, Carol Cummings and Evan Uyetake

Just Believe is a work of fiction. Although some of the characters are real people, they have been put into this novel for the purpose of sharing their wisdom and influence.

A large portion of the Ten Principals have been derived from the writings and teachings of Napoleon Hill. This information has been used with permission from the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

For more information on Napoleon Hill and the Napoleon Hill Foundation go to: www.naphill.org

I have written 15 previous books, and all of them are very special to me in one way or another. Each book seems to take on a life of its own as it is being written and when it is released to the world. At this writing, I have had five of my books either made into a movie or currently in production. It is a wonderful transition when the characters you have created in your mind pour onto the page and then are projected onto a movie screen.

This book you hold in your hands is a companion to the novel and movie entitled The Lamp. The Lamp is a very special story to me because of how it came to life. In 1994, I had the privilege of being asked to do a series of arena speeches with the legendary author Og Mandino. If you havent read Og Mandinos books, you are in for a treat. It was late in his life, and the promoter had told me that while I was on the speaking tour with Og Mandino, I would have to be ready to carry the program and do an hour-and-a-half or two hours of material if Og wasnt feeling well, but I might only do 20 or 30 minutes if he was having a good day. This didnt bother me as I was just excited to work with one of the greatest writers and creative forces of his generation.

About eight weeks before our first arena event, the promoter called me to let me know that we had a slight problem with the tour. He went on to explain that the previous night, Og Mandino had passed away. I told the promoter that if this was a slight problem, I didnt want to be around if we had a major issue. He asked me what I wanted to do, and I gave him the only reasonable response, which was to simply cancel the tour.

That promoter, who has become a dear friend, said, Before I cancel the tour, think about what you might do if you had an arena full of people and three hours to fill.

After thinking about it, I came up with an idea for a motivational/inspirational live variety show entitled Discover Your Destiny. The program included live music, audience participation, kids and celebrities on the big screen, my speech, and a one-act play I wrote entitled The Lamp. I actually played the part of Stanley myself, and my friend and talented colleague, Kelly Morrison, played Lisa. Since my acting from that time til now has been limited to brief cameos in all of the movies based on my books, it has become obvious to me that my talent lies in writing stories and dialogue for real actors.

Several years later, I expanded the one-act play into a book, and then in 2010 after completing our first movie together entitled A Christmas Snow with my friend and partner Tracy Trost, I shared The Lamp novel with him and was delighted that he saw the same potential for a movie that I had seen.

In these pages, you will relive Stanley and Lisas loss and their struggle to believe. You will learn about the power that Stanley and Lisa discovered through an old oil lamp. You will come to the same realization that they did as you understand that the real power is and has always been inside of you if you are willing to just believe.

Through millions of books in print, including the one you hold in your hands, I have the privilege of sharing hope and possibilities with people around the world. As I have done with each of those people, I would like to extend an offer to you. From this point forward, any time your troubles seem too great or you doubt in your own power to just believe, please email me (), and I will correspond with you personally as we engage your power and potential as you explore the ability to Just Believe.

Jim Stovall

May 2011

Dear Reader,

The story you are about to read is one that is very near and dear to my heart. It is not so much the people or the events in the story that mean so much to me as it is The Message that exudes from it. I was fortunate enough to meet Stanley and Lisa Walters when my friend and business partner Jim Stovall introduced us. Mind you, this was not your typical introduction. There was no formal meeting at a nice restaurant over a dinner or gathering of friends in a home. No this was an unusual meeting. You see, Stan and Lisa lived inside of a book. This book was written over 15 years before I was introduced to them

We had just finished filming our second feature film at Trost Moving Pictures, A Christmas Snow. Jim was telling me about Stanley and Lisa Walters and the lesson they had learned in their life through an encounter with a mysterious messenger named Charles. Stanley and Lisa had gone through some hard times, and they were pretty much at the end of their ropes. Then one day they were given a very special gift that brought them more than they could have ever expected. This gift was not like any other you would expect. It was not something that you could put your hands on, as it is more of a thought process than a tangible item.