Growing up in a tiny little town in Kentucky, Stamping Ground, population 400 you see the world through different eyes. Thankfully I had two very supportive parents that did their best to handle my abnormal energy and curiosity.  They supported me in all my adventures. I was not a normal kid.  I loved to learn and experience new adventures, I tried everything,  That’s why I deeply understand “info product” junkies — the people who buy course after course, then never do anything with it. Those that attend webinar after webinar but are content to never put their knowledge into action. I learned early that I would rather TAKE ACTION and fail than to never take action.  Learning, studying and reading about soapbox derby cars was nothing like the thrill of being in the race.  Leaning magic tricks was nothing like the thrill of performing in front of an audience.  Listening to the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds, on the radio was nothing like being on the field and playing the game yourself.  Watching the Jr. Pros perform ½ time shows for the Cincinnati Royals ABA team or the Louisville Colonels was nothing like the thrill of trying out for the team, making it, and performing those half time shows myself. I had so many awesome experiences when I was a kid because I had very supportive parents.

Thank You Mom & Dad !

I was blessed with supportive parents that directed my abnormal imagination, curiosity and energy the best they possibly could have.

I believe there were experiences I had as a young kid growing up in a small town where everybody knew everybody that served me well and help me develop some solid foundations, after I discovered the world of personal development when I was twenty.

Here are 3 Important mindsets, that I feel most people don’t think deeply enough about.

INSIGHT #1: If it’s important, there’s ALWAYS a way to pay for it

I have always believed in the importance of events. The Bible says forsake not assembling yourself together for a reason. I have found that when an event is announced people’s immediate reaction is to pile up excuses as to why They Can’t Make it.

I have always encourgaed them to ask themselfs what they can do to make sure they are there. The right mindset will lead you to the right decions and possibilities. Jim Rohn said “What if the event you miss was the one that was going to change your life?”

I was raised in a middle-class home.  My dad was tight with his money and a strict budgeter.  If stopping at Dairy Queen after a baseball game was not in the budget for the week, it WAS NOT IN THE BUDGET! 
He made certain that we always had a great Christmas celebration and enjoyed a nice family vacation every year. Those were his priorities, and I respected that then and probably even more today.

They may not have money to buy you the coolest clothes but they would support me in my endeavors to earn my own money.  I sold everything as a kid, night crawlers, black berries, pears, I went bottle hunting regularly and turned them in for the 2 cent deposit at John Hall’s our small town grocery store.

I got a weekly allowance for my chores, but I always wanted more to buy baseball cards or magic tricks from Top Hat Magic Company in Illinois, and they would always support me in earning more money.

They even let me send away for a seed selling kit when I was six years old so I could sale flower seeds door-to-door. every spring and every fall I sold personalized Christmas cards.  I learned early that I could always sell things and make money to fund the projects that were important to me.

INSIGHT #2: Investing in yourself works

It’s not just about money. It’s about mentally acknowledging the need for help, and then finding a way to make it happen.  When I was twenty, I internalized one of the most important wisdom of the ages success principle I have ever learned and to this day live my life by.

“Formal education makes you a living, if you become self-educated you can create a fortune”

I have been on a mission of personal education my entire life.  I invested $1,500 of my own money way back in 1981 to take the Dale Carnegie public speaking course.  This was a no-brainer when I found out that IBM would refund 80% of my tuition if I passed the class.

Was I doing it all on my own? No. 

I borrowed the $1,500 from my dad, letting him know that at the end of the 8 weeks class IBM would refund me 80% and I would pull the other $300 from the profits I was making from my part-time side-gig Shaklee business that I was building that was paying me about $600 in monthly profits.

Having an instructor who could work with me and help walk me through how to be a public speaker I thought would be priceless.  To be honest, I enjoyed the class but I didn’t learn anything.  At the end of the first class, we all had to do a 3-minute impromptu talk. Then the class voted on the best one at the end of each session and you were given an award.  I was voted the best talk the first three weeks, and the fourth week they all said I was allowed to speak, but not eligible to win the award.   I realized two things from this experience.

I was in a class of grown adults that were horrified to speak in front of others and were just trying to overcome that fear.  I learned later in life that speaking in front of a crowd is the number one fear in the world.  Some experts say people fear that more than the fear of death.

Personally, I feel much more comfortable in front of a crowd than I do one-on-one with people.   I realized that because of performing magic as a semi-professional magician throughout high school, and doing half-time shows as part of the Jr. Pro team, I had no fear of crowds, AS LONG AS I NEW WHAT I WAS DOING OR WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.

I also learned how import recognition is for most people.  Honestly, I could care less about the trinket award I received after the first three classes.  But I realized after the 4^th week how important recognition is to most people when the lady who won it with tears in her eyes said “my grandkids are going to be so proud of me”

The truth is I received too much recognition as a child, and it warped by prospective on this, and later in my journey I had to really wrap my mind around this, and realize how non-normal my feeling around this topic really were.

A few years later when I heard the great Art Williams say,  “Millionaires would compete over a $10.00 Tee Shirt for the recognition”  That statement put me on a deep study of personal recognition, but it started with the Dale Carnegie public speaking class.

INSIGHT #3: Ask for help

One of my biggest takeaways from that class was how to ask for help.

Success in any area of your life — your finances, business, health, career, relationships, etc. — takes time and money and work.

Success is almost never effortless. So why do we pretend that it is? Why do we so often avoid getting help, especially in critical areas like our money and business advice?

The number one question you should always ask yourself is.

WHO IS THIS PERSON, AND WHY AM I LISTENING TO THEM?!?!

The surgeon Atul Gawande wrote one of my favorite quotes:

“Professional athletes use coaches to make sure they are as good as they can be. But doctors don’t. I’d paid to have a kid just out of college look at my serve. So why did I find it inconceivable to pay someone to come into my operating room and coach me on my surgical technique?”

I am thankful that I learned at an early age, that there is no shame in asking for help. I am even more thankful that in my small town of 400 there were always people that were willing to help and share with me from their personal experiences.  Tapping into the expertise and mentorship of someone who knows more than you do will always accelerate your growth. This is just common sense, but I am shocked today at how many people can’t get their ego out of the way of their progression.

• If you want to learn Spanish, get a few books from the library or download an app. If that doesn’t work, get a tutor!
• If you want to learn to cook, spend $150 on a cooking class. There are a ton out there. 2 years from now, you won’t remember the $150, but you’ll love having the skill of being able to make a delicious meal, anywhere, any time.
• If you want to improve your finances, get a good book on money.  This stuff is not that hard to figure out, if you ask yourself intelligent questions and be truthful with yourself and provide honest answers.

The easiest way to progress in any area of your life is just to admit that you need help.  I knew nothing about building a team of people when I started my entrepreneurial journey.  Today I am one of the few people walking the planet that knows what it feels like to develop a team of over 60,000 independent distributors with over 200 six figure earners, I have done that.

At the time of this writing is 2023 and this year I believe we will have 10 people on our current team of about 7,000 (on paper) that will earn 1 million dollars plus.  I know that sounds crazy, but it is true.  I talk more about that here.  40 Day Millionaire. 

Let others Poo-Poo at self-improvement. That old chestnut “LOL! What a scam! You could just do that yourself for free!” or “You can find all that info online” starts to look pretty old when you realize…they haven’t actually done it themselves.

The internet is full of people that are trying to teach you how to do, that which they have never done.  So I will say it one more time, ALWAYS ask yourself “Who is this person ,and why should I be listening to them/” and an even more important question is Who have they taught to do, what they say they can help me do? If this resonates with you — if you’ve ever felt ashamed asking for help because it seemed like you should do it on your own — send me a note and tell me about it.  I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

Dale Calvert