Would You Be My Brutus Today? Would you rather work with a man who takes no action or a man who takes action? Would you rather work with a man who takes no risks or a man who takes risks? Would you rather work with a man who makes you work for something or a man who gives you a piece of the pie for nothing? Would you rather go with the flow or forge your own path? Would you rather work alone or with a partner? Would you rather put the future of the company ahead of your own career or play to win? Will you stay in the country to enjoy life or go to the country to live? Do you seek challenges or work-life balance? You have just made a list of your core values. They don't have to be right, just be true. You may even want to add a few more if you need it. To me, success boils down to making good decisions. By making a decision, you make a commitment to act on that decision. There are three keys to success in decision-making: **1. Define your mission.** This is your purpose in life. Why are you doing it? What is your mission statement? The purpose of your business, and how do you fulfill that purpose? **2. Decide to make a difference.** All great missions start by making a difference. Make the difference you want to make. **3. Make a plan.** A plan is simply a road map to where you want to go. A clear mission and purpose give you a direction to go in, while a plan provides you with a road map. If you plan, you will not be lost on the road; if you make a plan, you can be sure to accomplish your goal. There are no shortcuts. In each of these sections I have listed examples of how my career decisions have worked for me. ### **HOW YOU LOOK HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHO YOU ARE** A lot of people think having a good appearance is a matter of making good choices. They believe that if they simply make good choices, they will not only look good but also feel good about their life. I would like to invite you to look at it differently. It is not just your appearance that determines who you are. What you believe, the decisions you make, and the actions you take to support those decisions all affect who you are. The first step to success is to know that who you are is independent of what you look like. The decision to make a difference or not to make a difference—the choice to act or not to act—sets the stage for who you are. If you decide to make a difference, you will attract the support that creates your destiny. If you do not decide, your destiny will create you. ### **REINVENTING THE WHEEL OF LIFE** In my early years, before I decided to change my life, I often tried to decide how I was going to become successful. Why? Because until you decide that something will happen, it rarely does. At age seven, I decided to win. At thirteen, I decided to make something of myself. At twenty, I decided to be a millionaire. At thirty, I decided to start my own company. At forty-five, I decided to make a difference. My whole life, I have decided to change my life. Today, at age fifty-one, I can truly say that I have made a difference in the lives of people and companies by making good decisions. You can, too. I believe that making the right decisions can change your life—big-time! It is not about what you already have; it's about where you are going. It's about taking control of your life and being in control of your future. That's my job. Every day I am working on it. When you take control of your life and your destiny, you will change your life. When you take control of your future, you have more power to make things happen in your life. You will put in place the decisions that make the life you want to live a reality. Make your decisions. Make it happen. You have to know the difference between making decisions and making choices. Most of the time when people ask me what they should do, they don't know the difference. **_Making Decisions:_** Deciding whether you will keep a job, a business, a relationship, or an addiction (whether it's gambling, alcohol, drugs, or whatever). There is no right decision for everyone. There is one right decision for you, not for me, not for her, not for him. The right decision for you is what makes you feel good about your life, not what someone else thinks is the right decision. **_Choosing:_** Choosing what you want to do. It's what you want to do, not what is best for you. For me, the difference between making a decision and making a choice was never so clear as in 1993. My wife, Carole, and I went to the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. I had already qualified for the big bucks, because of the U.S. Open Tennis Championship, an annual championship on the PGA Tour that is open to international amateurs as well as professional golfers. Before the tournament, we had flown to Florida. My friend Frank, who was now a vice-president at Microsoft, and his wife, Judy, invited us to their beach house in Florida. On our second day there, Frank said he was putting me in the pro-amateur tournament for a ten-grand entry fee. Since I already had guaranteed entry in the qualifying tournament for a thousand dollars, I was not really interested, because I could not win on Frank's money. "No problem," he replied. "How about coming along and watching my twenty-year-old son compete?" I looked at Carole. She had no idea how expensive this weekend was going to get. "Frank," I said. "I appreciate your offer, but I have just as much to lose as your son does. There is no need for you to come up with two thousand dollars. Why don't you take my family instead? I'm not going to play for money." Frank looked at me as if I were crazy. "What do you mean? I am going to take a chance on you, and my son is going to be there to watch him play against the best. I thought you knew that golf is a family affair." As Frank had seen me play, he should have realized that I did not know what golf was like as a family sport. I was thinking about playing, but I had no idea that golf is such an event. I explained to Carole why he was right about me doing well, but I also told him how much money we had to lose if I lost my guaranteed entry. In the end, we played. We made a lot of money on the weekend and enjoyed it. I came in fifth, with Frank winning a hundred thousand dollars. Carole and I walked away from the tournament with a check for more than two hundred thousand dollars in our pockets. Looking back, I had made the right decision. I had taken control of my life. I had made the decision not to play for money. It's a decision that has paid me back in spades. One of my life goals is to change the lives of many people, so I am going to use this book to help you change your life, too. I know that the next step to success is to make decisions. My purpose is to teach you how to make the right decisions. Making a decision that leads to your future starts with being the creator of your future. Making decisions is not about what has been, but rather what can be, if you choose. Making decisions is what you do with your life. Being in control of your life does not mean doing what everyone else does, in order to fit in, or even to please everyone else. If you are going to make a difference in your life, then being in control of your life is not about following anyone else's path. It's about stepping out into the unknown and being your own person. Making the right decisions will ensure that you have what you want and you are in control of your future. You can start to make a difference today by making good choices and by creating a plan to achieve them. It is time to take control of your life and to be in control of your future. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Once you have decided to create a plan, the choices you make and the decisions you make lead you to create your future. Every day I wake up with a clear mission in mind. I have decided that I will dedicate my time to change the way people work and live. You can change your life, too. It all starts with a decision. ## **3** ## **CREATIVITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN COMPETITION** I decided to create a business empire by building a company called The Learning Annex. I decided to move to San Francisco and attend Stanford University. I decided to start a home business. I decided to go to Europe with my mother. These were just a few of the important decisions that changed my life. The decisions we make determine the kind of people we become. What you choose determines what kind of person you will become. In other words