Mike Litman:
You have a simple four step success plan. Can you talk about that?

Mark Victor Hansen:

Sure. Four principles: First of all, you've got to figure out what you really want.

In my case and in Jack's case (Jack Canfield - co-author Chicken Soup For The Soul), we didn't want a best-selling book. We wanted a MEGA best-selling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Beyond that, we didn't really want a best-selling book, we wanted to make a best-selling SERIES.

The clearer you are, the easier it is to execute.

So #1: you figure out what you really want.

#2: you put it in writing. And where I differ from all of my peers is, I say you've got to have too many goals. I've got over 6,000 goals in writing.

Most people say, “all I want is a new car.” When you were 16, Mike, you said, “Well, if I get a car the girls will like me.” And then you get a car and you find out that they want something else. [Laughs] So, figure out what you want.

#2: put it in writing.

#3, visualize it.

Flip Wilson said, “What you see is what you get.” We're talking about what you see with your inner eye.

We cut out the New York Times Bestseller list. Then we put our names at the top before we ever got to the top in real life. Then we put it on my mirror and we put one up at Jack's office, on his mirror.

So in our mind's eye, when we were shaving, or the ladies were doing cosmetics, we owned the concept that we were best-selling authors before we actually were best-selling.

Then, the fourth one, you take your two index fingers, and one and one equals the power of 11.

When you've got your team together, you get your dream together.

And two people can create miracles.