John Soforic

Gaining Your Family’s Support

By John Soforic on 11/01/2019

We need to be vulnerable at times to gain support. – the Wealthy Gardener

So much of personal success––and life fulfillment––depends on our daily interactions. Not only on the job, but also at home with family.

The media inundates us with stories of ambitious people who fail in family relationships. Hollywood is rife with such plots, partly because this story line resonates with the masses who watch these movies.

We know that unrestrained ambition can cause problems.

But what about ambitious individuals who care about family, and, in fact, sacrifice their free hours to protect and provide for them?

In my own life, I’ve always shared my financial fears and my hopes with my wife and kids. They knew my income, my expenses, my worries, my dreams, my plans, my wins, and my losses. I tried to express how my sacrifices would help pave a brighter future for all of us.

Because I openly shared my vulnerabilities with them ––instead of pretending I had it all figured out as an adult––my blunt honesty helped them learn what I was facing. In turn, they supported my efforts.

Spouses and children want us to succeed.

When they know we’re all on the same team, and when they understand how sacrifices help the family unit, they’ll support us almost always. When they don’t understand the sacrifices of achievement, it’s usually due to poor communication on the part of the ambitious one.

We need to be vulnerable at times to gain their support.

Options Equal Power

By John Soforic on 10/31/2019

Financial insecurity is a cry for options to strengthen your position. – the Wealthy Gardener

If we ever feel trapped in life, we need to think of a strategy to increase our options. Our success depends on the quality of our options.

Options equal power in all negotiations.

Your income is a negotiation with an employer, or at least it can be if you make a case for increased pay. If you own a small business, your income is an ongoing negotiation with a long line of customers.

In both cases, your options determine your power.

If you have solid employment options, you will get what you’re worth––either at your current job or a new one. If you don’t have options, however, you’ll take what you can get wherever you are.

“You never get what you deserve,” says Jalen Rose, “but only what you have the leverage to negotiate.”

Financial security comes from financial options.

Until you’re like a tractor to a farmer, you’ll have no financial security. You’ll only have power when others fear losing your services.

Being Remarkable

By John Soforic on 10/30/2019

We’re remarkable or we’re replaceable. – the Wealthy Gardener

Remarkability is standing out by surprise or due to rare quality. It doesn’t take genius. But it does take rare daily mindfulness.

A close friend of mine was promoted step-by-step to his present-day vice president position of a utility company. How did he do it?

“Everybody is always overly busy,” he told me, “but then a boss would have a new task that needed to be done. It’s another responsibility on top of the everyday jobs we already can barely handle. He would ask, ‘Who can do it?’ Everyone would grow quiet. I was always the one who volunteered. And so I just slept less than my colleagues.”

We see that his remarkability (and career advancement) was due to being mindful. He resisted a natural reaction to refuse work. By offering to help, by being part of the solution, he was appreciated and promoted.

Being remarkable is a daily choice.

We are remarkable when we speak with poise instead of frustration; when we’re part of the solution and not part of the problem; when we mind our own business; when we give our concentration only to the things in life we can control; when we take full accountability without excuses; when we obsess over quality; when we use our time with clear intention; when we show appreciation to others; and when we achieve excellence.

“By definition, remarkable things get remarked upon,” said Seth Godin. “Remarkable doesn’t mean remarkable to you. It means remarkable to me. Am I going to make a remark about it? If not, then you’re average.” We are either remarkable, or we are replaceable.

Keeping the Faith

By John Soforic on 10/29/2019

When times are bad, we see who can keep the faith. ––the Wealthy Gardener

The daily essence of self-mastery––at least in terms of personal achievement––is an ongoing state of focused faith in our days.

The faith of which I speak is not religious, but rather it is goal-oriented in nature. It is knowing what we want, and knowing it’s ours.

Faith is more than hoping wishing, dreaming, or wanting. It’s a certainty that can be gained with practice. Faith is a vision of the future that, when developed effectively, feels like a future inevitability.

Earl Nightingale said, “We only need a purpose and faith.”

But how do we implement this advice throughout life?

We must spend time alone to develop our faith. We must fixate our thoughts on a target and then trust that everything will take care of itself. The right plans and actions will spring from focused faith.

A deliberate daily ritual to develop faith attracts ideas, people, situations, and events to support our goals. Faith is a powerful force.

By practicing focused faith, we can gain control over our lives. But failing to cultivate our focus and faith leaves the future to chance.

When times are good, it is easy to be optimistic. When times are bad, we see who can keep the faith. Build your faith with ten minutes today.

Just focus, and feel it––whatever you desire––in solitude. If you adopt this ritual, your faith will grow. And your life will grow, too.

Expanding Our Knowledge

By John Soforic on 10/28/2019

We must continually stretch beyond our current understanding of things. -the Wealthy Gardener

How do we get the life of our dreams? We can realize our best life by outgrowing the one we’ve got. We can expand our knowledge, and by doing so we become unsuited for our current conditions.

Imagine that a successful entrepreneur––pick your most revered business leader––assumes your life. In this exercise, imagine this person is stripped of everything except their knowledge. He or she takes on your conditions.

What do you think would happen?

I imagine the person would regain their success, finding opportunities in your own back yard that you ignore or don’t even know exist.

In the same way, we can learn our way out of our current lives by growing mentally and spiritually. We can become more than we are today.

Using just a fraction of the 100 free hours contained in every week, we can expand ourselves through education. We can learn and grow and stretch our capabilities. And we will no longer fit in our current conditions.

Brian Tracy said, “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”

To reach our full potential, we must rise above our raising. We must stretch beyond our current understanding of things.

Our lives will be the result of choices, and the best decisions result from deeper knowledge. Learning expands our future opportunities.