I must admit that I’m a little biased about this particular author as I’ve read everything he’s written, attended numerous seminars at which he was a keynote speaker, and have been strongly influenced during my career by his work.

Early in my career, as a regional manager for an international firm, I was charged with the task of finding a keynote speaker for our annual award’s banquet. Having read several of his books and having attended one his seminars, I contacted his organization to learn more about scheduling him for our special event. We chatted several times in preparation for his appearance and I must admit he made me feel as though I had known him for quite some time.

We had dinner together the evening before his presentation, and I shared the fact that I’d give anything to be able to impact people the way he does. His simple reply was: “Why don’t you?” I explained that public speaking scared me to death, and I would be indeed fortunate to survive his introduction the next day as that task also fell to me. He spent the rest of the evening sharing his wisdom on the importance of self esteem, self confidence, and risk taking. He obviously didn’t have to do that, but I certainly appreciated it and it was a turning point in my career! That’s the kind of man he is.

I managed to survive his introduction the following day, and he congratulated me after the program, suggesting that I pursue my aspiration to become a speaker. That was 25 years ago, and since that time I’ve had the privilege and opportunity to speak professionally to national and international audiences in a wide variety of industries … none of which would have happened without his encouraging words. I’m certain he wouldn’t recognize me if we bumped into each other face to face in an airport today. However, he’s been an inspiration to me for decades.

Allow me to explain why. The day after our dinner meeting, I watched this man stroll to the center of the stage and, within moments, captivate an audience of close to 1,200 people! Using no podium, no notes, no slides, no PowerPoint, he stared into the eyes of his audience and delivered his message of inspiration in a very quiet, precise, and informative way. You could have heard a pin drop. At the end of his presentation, the entire room stood as one and applauded for what seemed forever. I’ll never forget that presentation and the inspiration he provided to me and the other 1,199 people in that auditorium that snowy night in Fort Wayne.

Let me share with you some of the many reasons why this man can mesmerize an audience with what appears to be a great deal of ease.

Denis Waitley is much more than a best-selling author, speaker, poet and lyricist … he’s the world’s foremost producer of personal development and motivational audio programs. He is one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. His program “The Psychology of Winning” is the all-time, best-selling audio cassette program on personal and professional excellence based on his studies and consults in the following areas:

• Apollo astronauts pre and post their illustrious flights into space.
• Fortune 500 top executives from every walk of life.
• World-renowned Olympic gold medalists from many countries.
• Super Bowl champions from a variety of teams.
• Returning POWs from several conflicts.
• Heads of state from all over the world.
• Boardrooms of top multi-national corporations.
• Classrooms of students of all ages and cultures.

From years of interviewing “winners” from every walk of life, he created The Psychology of Winning in which he shares a remarkable set of strategies that can change your life dramatically. He found there is often only a small difference between the top leaders in every field and those who merely “do well.” In The Psychology of Winning, Denis Waitley offers simple, yet profound principles of thought and healthy behavior that guide men and women to the top in every field of endeavor … principles that give you the winning edge in every situation.

This very popular theme lead to additional international best sellers such as Seeds of Greatness, Being the Best, The Winner’s Edge, The Joy of Working, and Empires of the Mind. With over 10 million audio programs and many non-fiction books sold in 14 languages, Denis Waitley is the most listened-to voice on personal and career success.

For the past 40 years, he has inspired, informed, and enlightened millions of individuals with his 15 non-fiction books, hundreds of audio programs, and entertaining, penetrating live keynote lectures, seminars and television appearances.

Denis Waitley has painted word pictures of optimism, core values, motivation and resiliency that have become indelible and legendary in their positive impact on society.

Denis has been described by his peers as “the poet laureate” of modern-day philosophers. Career highlights include:

• B.S., U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
• Ph.D. in Human Behavioral Psychology
• Simulation Trainer for the Apollo Astronaut Program
• Rehabilitation coordinator for Vietnam POWs and Iranian hostages
• Former Visiting Scholar at the University of Southern California
• President of La Jolla Clinic Research Foundation
• President of the International Society for Advanced Education
• President’s Council on Vocational Education
• Author of “The Winning Generation,” a student-oriented video workshop used in over 1,000 schools nationwide
• Founding Director of National Council on Self-Esteem
• Associated with Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Science
• Former Chairman of Psychology, Sports Medicine Council, U.S. Olympic Committee
• Received the National Youth Award for outstanding work with young people

If you’re interested in learning more about the concept of winning, check out some of the following titles:

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Check Amazon.com for a list of his many audio cassette programs.

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.

Napoleon Hill passed away 38 years ago in 1970. However, you’d have to look long and hard to find a leader in today’s business environment that wasn’t strongly influenced by his work. This American author is considered to have influenced more people to become successful than any other person in history. He has been perhaps the most influential author in the area of personal success technique development, primarily through his classic book Think and Grow Rich, one of the best-selling books of all time.

In his many bestsellers, Hill taught people how achievement actually occurs, created a formula for the process, and made the average person feel as though they could achieve success. He summed up the process with a simple statement that will live on forever:

“Whatever your mind can conceive and believe … it can achieve!”

What a powerful statement! One that continues to be proven valid each and every day! Think about it.

If you can come up with an idea, strategy, concept, product, service, innovation, etc. …

If you believe in your heart and mind that it can be accomplished …

You’ll find a way to make it happen!

That simple but powerful declaration has served as a battle cry for many individuals, teams, organizations etc. for decades!

Napoleon Hill’s many works examined the power of personal beliefs and the critical role they play in your personal success. Many leaders in a wide variety of organizations credit their success to information they assimilated from his books, audio tapes, and personal appearance across the country.

Napoleon Hill was born into poverty in a one-room cabin in Wise County, Virginia. He began his writing career at age 13 as a “mountain reporter” for small town newspapers and went on to become America’s most beloved motivational author. His early career as a reporter helped finance his way through law school.

He was given an assignment to write a series of success stories of famous men, and his big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie, one of the world’s wealthiest businessman and philanthropist.

Mr. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, WIlliam Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, and F. W. Woolworth among others.

He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie’s help he formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experience of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took Hill over 20 years to produce his Personal Development classic Think and Grow Rich. As you read it, you must remember that you’re receiving advice from some of the greatest minds in the world!

This particular masterpiece has sold over 7 million copies and has helped thousands achieve success. He has also inspired many other authors and success gurus to follow in his footsteps.

Napoleon Hill enjoyed a long and successful career writing, teaching, and lecturing about the principles of success. His work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation.

Here are some interesting observations by one of our greatest gurus on achieving success, Napoleon Hill:

• “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements!” 
• “You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee!”
• “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.”
• “Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye, and you will be drawn toward it.”
• “The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.”
• “Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.”

To insure a complete and authentic corporate or personal business library, make certain it contains as many of the following titles as possible:

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Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.

Having written 170 book reviews for our website, I’ve had an opportunity to chat with a number of readers and clients about a wide variety of books and authors over the years. We’ve assisted many clients in their efforts to establish libraries within their organizations to provide resources for their employees.

Leaders in every field boast often about the benefits they’ve derived from reading the classic works of talented authors. Today it’s even easier to gain such knowledge through the advent of cassette tapes, CDs, PDF, MP3, IPOD, Executive Book Summaries, etc. Lack of time in no longer a viable excuse. I’m amazed at the vast number of readers who are unfamiliar with so many of the celebrated works and authors available to readers today. For that reason, we’ve decided to create a feature to provide a short bio on some of those great writers and acquaint our readers with some of the titles they might want to add to their personal and/or business libraries.

If you’d like to recommend a particular author to be spotlighted, drop me a note at:

Dr. Kenneth Hartley Blanchard

You may not recognize the formal moniker if you’re not an avid reader. Most of his fans know him simply as Ken Blanchard, and he’s known around the world simply as “Ken.” He’s probably best known for his phenomenal best-selling book, The One Minute Manager®, coauthored with Spencer Johnson and the popular series that followed under the umbrella of the One Minute series. The One Minute Manager® has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide in 27 languages, 10,000 copies still sell every month. making it one of the best-selling management books in history, and it still regularly appears on best-seller lists more than 20 years since it was first released! He has coauthored over 30 other best-selling books.

Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy from Cornell University, his master’s degree in sociology and counseling from Colgate University, and his Ph.D. in educational administration and leadership from Cornell University.

The 69-year-old Blanchard is an American author and a prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant known as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate men in business today. Few people have created more of a positive impact on the day-to-day management of people and companies than Dr. Kenneth Blanchard.

Ken’s impact as a writer is far reaching. If you’ve had the opportunity to see him in person or view any of his many videos, you’d think you were listening to your favorite uncle or a trusted neighbor. His many books are very insightful, easily understood, and filled with traditional wisdom which is effortlessly transferred to real life situations.

Ken is Chairman and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®—a family-owned global leader in workplace learning, employee productivity, and leadership and team effectiveness. Founded in 1979 by Ken and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, their goal—and those of their 28 international offices around the world today remain much the same—to provide leadership and performance solutions that unleash human potential, create engaged employees and customers, and drive organizational results and profitability.

Now, more than 29 years later, their concepts and processes have been successfully tested by individuals and organizations around the world. Their concepts resonate with people—they make sense—and they work!

Ken is a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees and throughout the years has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the field of management and leadership.

He has been a guest on a number of national television programs, including “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show,” and has been featured in Time, People, U.S. News & World Report, and a host of other popular publications.

His admirable list of best sellers includes:

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Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.