Jack Canfield - The Success Principles for Teens. How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Canfield, Jack, 1944
The success principles for teens : how to get from where you are to where you want to
be/Jack Canfield and Kent Healy.
p. cm.
eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9795-0 (ebook) eISBN-10: 0-7573-9795-6 (ebook)

States. 2. Self-esteem in adolescenceUnited States.
3. Self-perception in adolescenceUnited States. 4. Self-confidence in
1. TeenagersUnited
adolescenceUnited States. I. Healy, Kent. II. Title.
HQ796.C332 2008

2008 Jack Canfield and Kent Healy

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher : Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

Art Director Kent Healy
Cover design by Sharon McPeake
Interior design by Brian Bengelsdorf
Illustrations by Paul Combs, for more information about Paul & his artwork visit
www.artstudio7.com
Inside book formatting by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

CONTENTS

If we did all the things we are capable of doing , we would literally astound ourselves .

Thomas A. Edison
American inventor and businessman

Y oure holding this book today because of the many people who have helped us enjoy success in our own lives. This book has been created as a result of a remarkable team effort. Wed like to give our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to:

Our families, who have shared their love, enthusiasm, insight, and support.

Jacks Family: Inga, Travis, Riley, Christopher, Oran, and Kyle.

Kents Family: Doug, Nina, and Kyle.

Our publisher and friend, Peter Vegso, for his continuous support and vision to make this book a reality.

Patty Aubery and Russ Kamalski, for sharing their valuable time, guidance, and creative ideas.

Dette Corona, our coauthor liaison, who impeccably managed countless details with care and diligence that has made this book possible.

Michele Matrisciani, Carol Rosenberg, Andrea Gold, Allison Janse, and Kathe-line St. Fort, our editors at Health Communications, Inc., for their devotion to excellence. Lori Golden, Kelly Maragni, Sean Geary, Patricia McConnell, Kim Weiss, Paola Fernandez-Rana, Christine Zambrano, and Jaron Hunter for doing such an incredible job supporting our books.

Tom Sand, Claude Choquette, and Luc Jutras, who manage year after year to get our books transferred into thirty-six languages around the world.

Thank you Liz George and Jan Thompson in the Cool Stuff Media office for their continual support and willingness to work hard and persist until the job is done.

Paul Combs, for your incredible artistic ability. Your creative and humorous illustrations have made this book more appealing and engaging.

Brian Bengelsdorf, for your creative layout design ideas that have helped us develop a unique book that is visually stimulating and enjoyable.

Sharon McPeake, for your keen eye and edgy design style used to create a cover for this book that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Tiffany George, for being open and supportive of the information in this book and allowing us to work closely with her students, who all provided such valuable feedback.

Our incredible panel of readers who helped make this book the best it could be by offering their feedback, personal experiences, and insight: Monia Akter, Alex Aponte, Victoria Baker, Kara Bluntach, Brittany Bogard, Cadience Buchanan, Carla Byrne, Kaylie Clendenon, Alice Clifford, Josh Davis, Audrey Egan, Rob Engel, Brianna Gibbons, Joanne Hein, Mary Hernandez, Teresa Huggins, Hailley Hukill, Nancy Hurtado, Kimia Kalbasi, Bita Khaleghi, Rachel Kramer, Crystal Kreisel, Alexandra Langford, Dana Law, Armando Lopez, Krystal Claire McLauchlan, Medellin, Jacob Miller, Jaime Nunez, Janelle OMara, Ashley Ortiz, Kelsey Remmes, Mandy Richardson, Kylee Sims, Nicole Vandever, and Lisa Wada

To everyone who submitted a story, we deeply appreciate your letting us into your lives and sharing your experiences with us. For those whose stories were not chosen for publication, we hope the stories you are about to enjoy convey what was in your heart.

From Kent to Jack: Thank you for being a continuing source of inspiration, support, and compassion. It has been an absolute pleasure and a unique privilege to work with you in creating this book. Your depth of knowledge and love for people is something I respect and admire. I am grateful to be part of your life as we work together to help others improve their lives.

I f youve had that thought before, then we already have something in common. But before you put this book down, let us tell you one thing:

This is not a book of good ideas.

This book doesnt tell you how to live your life. Far from it. This book includes what we call the timeless ingredients of success. Just like theres a recipe for your favorite dish, theres a recipe for achievement, too. We dont know about you, but we wouldnt get comfortable in our favorite chair to read an entire cookbook... but a recipe for success? Well devour that!

So, how could there be a recipe for success? Well, there are very specific trends, patterns, and similarities in the way successful people live their lives. They have developed very similar skills and habits that we can all learn from (the success ingredients).

Have you ever wondered why some individuals have so much happiness, energy, money, respect, and great friendships? Were they born with extra talent and abilities? Some people believe this, but we didnt buy it. Instead, we discovered:

Its true. We dont start out with the finely tuned skills we need to create the life we want. We must learn them as we go through life. However, we can fast-track our journey by applying the recipe of achievement from those who have already accomplished outstanding results.

What youre saying is great , but this isnt for me .
Im different... Im in a very unique situation.

If only we were given a dime for every time we heard that! The truth is, we used to think the same thing. How could somebody elses life be similar to mine? And, How would somebody else know about my challenges and what I need to do to turn my life around? Youre right, were all faced with unique situations, and we all have our own definitions of success, but the tools we need to get from where we are to where we want to be are universal.

It doesnt matter what your unique goals are. Maybe you want to ace an upcoming test, get straight As in school, become a famous rock star, a world-class athlete, a multimillionaire, a successful entrepreneur, or even become the president. If you learn the principles of successespecially as a teenagerand practice them every day, they will transform your life.

Remember, the challenges you are facing right now do not impact your future nearly as much as the way you react to them and what you do to change things. And, by the way, who doesnt want to improve their life and make it more interesting?