“The life given us, by nature is short, but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal.” —Cicero
The sunrise was dazzling as the entrepreneur and the artist walked hand-in-hand along the seashore to meet the billionaire at the designated meeting spot for the next morning’s mentoring class.
Mr. Riley was already there when they arrived, sitting on the sand, eyes closed in a deep meditation.
He was shirtless, wearing camouflage-patterned shorts similar to the ones The Spellbinder styled the day he appeared on the beach and a pair of rubber diving booties with smiley face emojis scattered over them. You would have been more than amused if you saw him in them.
An assistant rushed out of the billionaire’s home the instant he raised a hand toward the heavens, displaying the universal victory sign. Three crisp pages of paper were efficiently extracted from a shiny black leather satchel and handed to the titan of industry without a word being exchanged. Stone Riley simply offered a slight bow of appreciation. In turn, he gave a sheet to each of his two students.
It was exactly 5 AM.
The billionaire then picked up a seashell and skipped it across the water. It appeared as if he had something profound on his mind this morning. Gone were the usual lightheartedness, festivity and awkward antics.
“You okay?” inquired the entrepreneur as she touched a bracelet engraved with the words “Straight on hustle. Rise and grind. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
The tycoon read the words on the bangle. He placed a finger onto his lips.
“Who will cry when you die?” he asked.
“What?” exclaimed the artist.
“What will those who know you whisper about how you lived once you’re no longer here?” The billionaire articulated the question in the manner of a skilled actor. “You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no
heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.”
“Those are your thoughts? Brilliant,” stated the artist.
The billionaire looked mildly embarrassed. “I wish! No, they belong to the stoic philosopher Seneca. They came from his treatise On the Shortness of Life.”
“So why are we talking about death on this beautiful morning exactly?”
queried the entrepreneur, appearing a little uncomfortable.
“Because most of us alive today wish we had more time. Yet we waste the time we have. Thinking about dying brings what matters most into much sharper focus. You’ll stop allowing digital distraction, cyber diversions and online nuisances to steal the irreplaceable hours of the blessing called your life. You never get your days back, you know?” said the billionaire in a friendly but firm fashion. “I reread Chasing Daylight yesterday after my meeting in town. It’s the true story of high-powered CEO Eugene O’Kelly, who was informed he had only a few months left to live when his doctor discovered he had three brain tumors.”
“So, what did he do?” asked the artist softly.
“He organized his last days with the same commitment to orderliness he ran his business life by. O’Kelly tried to make up for the school concerts he’d missed, the family outings he’d passed up and the friendships he’d forgotten. In one part of the book he shared how he’d ask a friend out for a walk in nature and that this ‘was sometimes not only the final time we would take such a leisurely walk together but also the first time.’”
“Sad,” was the contribution of the entrepreneur as she nervously played with her bracelet. The worry lines on her forehead reappeared in full blazing glory.
“Then last night I watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, one of my favorite movies,” the billionaire continued. “It’s also a true story, about a man who was also atop the world, an editor-in-chief of French Elle magazine. Jean- Dominique Bauby had it all and then suffered a stroke that left him unable to move any muscle in his body—except for his left eyelid. The condition’s called
‘locked-in syndrome.’ His mind still worked perfectly. But it was as if his body was encased in a diving bell, totally paralyzed.”
“Sad,” said the artist, echoing his companion.
“Get this,” added Mr. Riley. “His rehabilitation therapists taught him a communication method called ‘silent alphabet’ which allowed him to form letters of words by blinking. And with their help, he wrote a book about his experience—and the essential meaning of life. It took him two hundred thousand blinks, but he completed the book.”
“I have nothing to complain about,” the entrepreneur said quietly.
“He passed away shortly after the book was published,” the billionaire kept on. “But the point I’m trying to offer with all this is that life is very, very fragile.
There are people who will wake up today, take a shower, put on their clothes, drink their coffee, eat their oatmeal—and then be killed in a motor vehicle collision on their way to the office. That’s just life happening. So, my advice to you two special human beings is not to put off doing whatever it takes to express your natural genius. Live in a way that feels true to you and pay attention to the small miracles every day brings.”
“I hear you,” commented the artist as he tugged a dreadlock and fidgeted with the Panama hat he’d chosen to wear for this morning’s coaching session.
“I do, too,” stated the entrepreneur somberly.
“Enjoy every sandwich,” added the artist.
“Very wise insight,” said Mr. Riley.
“It’s not mine,” the artist replied sheepishly. “They are the words of songwriter Warren Zevon. He spoke them after he discovered he was terminally ill.”
“Be grateful for every moment. Don’t be timid when it comes to your ambitions. Stop wasting time on insanely trivial things. And make it a priority to reclaim the creativity, fire and potential that is dormant within you. It’s so important to do so. Why do you think Plato encouraged us to ‘know thyself’? He understood intimately that we have vast reservoirs of ability that absolutely must be accessed and then applied in order for us to lead energetic, joyful, peaceful and meaningful lives. To neglect this hidden force inside of us is to create a breeding ground for the pain of potential unused, the frustration of fearlessness unembraced and the lethargy of mastery unexplored.”
A kite surfer whizzed by. And a school of crown squirrelfish sailed through the water that was as clear as Abe Lincoln’s conscience.
“This brings us beautifully to what I wanted to walk you through this morning. Please look carefully at your sheet of paper,” the billionaire instructed.
Here is the learning model that the two students saw:
History-Maker Focus #1: Capitalization IQ
The mogul explained the concept of capitalization developed by eminent psychologist James Flynn. The valuable insight he conceived is that what makes a legendary performer so good isn’t the amount of natural talent they are born into but the extent of that potential they actualize—and capitalize. “Many of the finest athletes in the world,” Mr. Riley observed, “had less innate skill than their competition. But it was their exceptional dedication, commitment and drive to maximize whatever strengths they had that made them iconic.
“It’s the old ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog’ insight,” declared the billionaire as he rubbed his chiseled abdominals absentmindedly and put on a new pair of sunglasses, the kind you’d see on a surfer in southern California.
“The Spellbinder taught me early on that by joining The 5 AM Club, I’d have a gorgeous window of opportunity every morning to cultivate my highest assets, take some time for myself and do the preparation needed for me to make each day a tiny gem. He helped me understand that successful people use their mornings well and that by rising before daybreak, I’d win a primary victory that
would set me up for a triumphant day.”
“I never seem to have any ‘me time,’” interjected the entrepreneur. “My schedule’s always so full,” she repeated. “I’d love to have a block in the morning to recharge my batteries—and do some things that would make me a happier and better person.”
“Exactly,” remarked the billionaire. “So many of us lead time-starved lives.
We absolutely need to have at least an hour first thing in the morning to refuel, grow and become healthier, more peaceful people. Getting up at 5 AM and then running The 20/20/20 Formula, which you’ll soon learn will give you an extraordinary head start on your days. You’ll be able to concentrate on high- value activities instead of letting your day control you. You’ll experience energy you never knew you had. The joyfulness you’ll reclaim will blow you away. And your sense of personal freedom will totally soar.”
Mr. Riley then turned around to display a temporary tattoo on his muscled back. It bore a quote by French philosopher Albert Camus that read: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
Below these words, on the industrialist’s back, was an image of a phoenix rising from the flames. It looked exactly like this:
“I so need this,” the entrepreneur said. “I know my productivity, gratefulness and calmness would improve so much if I had some personal time every morning before it all gets so hectic.”
“Me, too,” said the artist. “An hour to myself every morning to reflect and prepare would be a game-changer for my art. And for my life.”
“The Spellbinder taught me early on that investing sixty minutes in developing my best self and my greatest skills during what he called ‘The Victory Hour’ would transform the way the rest of my life unfolded mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. He promised it would give me one of those Gargantuan Competitive Advantages we discussed yesterday. And lead to the formation of absolute empires of creativity, money, joy and helpfulness to humanity. And I need to say he was completely right.
“Anyhoo,” chirped the billionaire. “Back to the concept of capitalization and the importance of intelligently exploiting whatever primal gifts you’ve been given. Too many among us have bought into the collective hypnosis that those with extraordinary skill are cut from a different cloth and have been divinely blessed by The Gods of Exceptional Talent. But that just ain’t so,” observed the billionaire, a wisp of his farm boy manner emerging.
“Dedication and discipline beats brilliance and giftedness every day of the week. And A-Players don’t get lucky. They make lucky. Each time you resist a temptation and pursue an optimization you invigorate your heroism. Every instant you do that which you know to be right over the thing that you feel would be easy, you facilitate your entry into the hall of fame of epic achievers.”
The billionaire stared at a gigantic seagull clutching its slimy breakfast. He then released a loud burp. “Oops. So sorry,” he spoke in the tone of apology.
“As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the latest research emerging on successful people is confirming that our private story about our potential is the key performance indicator on whether we actually exploit that potential.”
“What do you mean?” requested the entrepreneur as she stopped taking notes on her device to look into the eyes of the billionaire, who had now put on a tight t-shirt that read, “Victims have big TVs. Leaders own large libraries.”
“Well, if you’re running a mental narrative that says that you don’t have what it takes to be a superb leader in business or an acclaimed expert of your craft, then you won’t even start the adventure of getting there, will you? And world- class is a process, not an event. Running a limiting psychological program that says ‘everyday people can’t become great’ or ‘genius is born, not developed’ will cause you to think it would be a complete waste of time to do the studying, put in the practice hours and prioritize your days around your heartfelt desires. What would be the point of investing all that labor, vigor and time and making all those sacrifices when virtuoso-level results are impossible for someone like you, under your belief system? And then, because your daily behavior is always a function of your deepest beliefs, that very perception of your inability to realize victory becomes real,” noted the billionaire. “Human beings are hardwired to act in alignment with our self-identity, always. You’ll never rise higher than your
personal story. Important insight there.”
He then peered out into the ocean at a small fishing boat with a net strewn across the end of it. A fisherman in a red shirt was smoking a cigarette as he navigated the vessel away from some dangerous coral reef. The billionaire mumbled another mantra to himself.
“I am grateful. And I am forgiving. I am giving. My life is beautiful, creative, productive, prosperous and magical.”
Then he continued the discussion around capitalization.
“The positive psychologists call the way we embrace a story about who we are and what we can achieve and then behave in a way that makes that fantasy actually come true ‘The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.’ We subconciously adopt a thinking pattern by learning it from the people who most influence us at an early age. Our parents, our teachers and our friends. Then we act according to it. And since what we do creates the results we see, this generally faulty personal story becomes a reality of our very own causing. Amazing, right? But that’s how most of us operate through the best years of our lives. The world is a mirror. And we get from life not what we want, but that which we are.”
“And I guess that the more we accept that core belief about our inability to produce excellent results in whatever it is we hope to do, the more we not only reinforce it so it becomes a trusted conviction but we also deepen the behavior that’s associated with it so it becomes a daily habit,” recited the artist, sounding professorish instead of bohemian in the pure morning air.
“Wonderfully said!” replied the billionaire excitedly. “I love the ‘trusted conviction’ idea. That’s good. You should share that phrase with The Spellbinder if you see him today. I think he’s out fishing but, knowing him, he’ll be getting some sun here on this beach later in the morning.”
The billionaire continued. “Every human being has an instinct for greatness, a hunger for the heroic and a psychic need to rise toward the heavens of their finest capability, whether we remember this consciously or not. A lot of us have been minimized and pushed down so much by the dark and toxic influences around us we’ve forgotten all we truly are. We’ve become masters of compromise, slowly and steadily allowing in more aspects of mediocrity until a point arrives where it’s our standard operating system. Real leaders never negotiate their standards. They know there’s always room to improve. They understand that we are most connected to our sovereign nature when we are reaching for our best. Alexander the Great once said: ‘I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.’”
The billionaire inhaled audibly. A butterfly fluttered by. And a crab scampered past him.
“I’m here to remind you,” he carried on, “that each one of us holds a profound capacity for leadership within us. And as you now know, I’m not speaking of leadership in the sense of having a title, a lofty position or needing some formal authority. What I’m referring to is so much more weighty and exquisite than that. It’s the true power inside a human heart versus the transitory power delivered by a big office, a fast car and a large bank balance. What I’m speaking of is the potency to do work that is so great we just can’t take our eyes off you. The capability to create massive value in your marketplace. The capacity to impact—and disrupt—an entire industry. And the power to live with honor, nobility, audacity and integrity. So that you fulfill your opportunity to make history, in your own original way. Doesn’t matter if you’re a CEO or a janitor. A billionaire or a ditch digger. A movie star or a student. If you are alive today, you have the ability to lead without a title and make your mark on the world, even if you don’t currently believe you can due to the limits of your current perception. Your perception isn’t reality. It just isn’t. It’s just your current perception on reality, kindly remember that. It’s simply the lens you happen to be looking at reality through at this moment of your ascent toward world-class.
Makes me think of the words of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who wrote, ‘Most people take the limits of their vision to be the limits of the world. A few do not. Join them.’”
“So, there’s a large difference between reality and our perception of reality, right?” inquired the entrepreneur. “It seems from what you’re saying that it’s almost as if we see the world through a filter that’s made up of all our personal programming. And we run the program so much we get brainwashed into believing that the way we are seeing the world is real, right? You’ve got me rethinking the way I see everything now,” she admitted as the skin on her forehead scrunched together like a rose contracting in the cold.
“I’m beginning to question so much,” she went on. “Why I started my business in the first place. Why social status is so important to me. Why I have such urges to eat in the sleekest restaurants, live in the best neighborhoods and drive the most stylish cars. I think part of the reason I’ve been so crushed by the takeover attempt at my company is because I get my identity as a human being from being the founder. Honestly, I’ve been so busy driving my career, I haven’t stopped for gas in terms of really thinking things through—and living intentionally. And it’s like The 3 Step Success Formula you taught us yesterday.
As I develop better daily awareness around myself and why it is that I do what I do, I’ll make the better daily choices that will give me better daily results.”
The entrepreneur was unstoppable.
“I have no clue what my authentic values are, what I want to represent as a