Maynard G. Krebs, a.k.a. Bob Denver, died recently. I remember him as a child growing up in Gilligan’s Island. But mostly I remember him as the beatnik on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” I was eight at the time the show first aired, and I was tickled to death when Maynard heard the word “Work” and this word shot shock waves through his whole system, having a high-pitched voice that got loud as he said the unmentionable, “WORK!?”

Maynard was playing the bongos, hanging out at the coffee shop where poets read poetry and the hip crowd made music.

Was Maynard a success? Of course, because he was accomplishing something that was important to him. That is our definition of success: the accomplishment of something that is important to you.

Most of us, however, would like a little more success than Maynard had. And of course that does take “WORK!?”

But not the kind of work where you just keep slogging along. You are either going forward or backward in life. There is no staying in the middle, staying just where you are today.

The kind of work that successful people do is goal setting, and goal planning; developing success characteristics and values to follow as they move forward in the adventure of life; and putting together a band of merry people to help them become successful, whether personally or in business.

Taking all of these ingredients and putting them together so people can move forward in life, have purpose and strive for better.

It is so much more than just rolling up your sleeves; it is about working the mind that will help you create your success. You can learn more about working your mind for more success at www.lifemotivations.com.

Charles Schultz’ renowned comic strip, Peanuts, provides our life-lesson for today in the character of that loveable loser, Charlie Brown, an icon of the ill-fated underdog: determined, yet doomed. How has this ostensible loser won our hearts, despite losing time-and-time-again? What lessons can we learn from his loserliness to increase our own chances of becoming and remaining winners?

Breaking it down into success-relevant terms and concepts, we see that Charlie Brown actually has a lot going for him: he never loses hope, he keeps trying, and he constantly networks with his close circle of friends - expressing his goals, hopes, and dreams to one and all. He has certainly cultivated aspects of a pleasing personality, and he consistently maintains a positive mental attitude, at least with regard to those around him.

Why then does Charlie Brown remain such a loser? Okay, yes, the simple, “real” answer would be that Charles Schulz made him a loser. In the words of the inimitable Jessica Rabbit, “I’m not bad; I’m just drawn that way.” But, I digress. The useful answer, as I see it, is three-fold: Charlie Brown remains a loser due to his negative self-image, negative self-talk, and his unwillingness to divest himself of those who sabotage him at every turn. Rather than jettisoning his Dream Killers and the emotional baggage they produce, Charlie Brown forgives them again-and-again.

His characteristic expression “Good Grief” is self-defeating to the core. It’s an oxymoron: Grief is not good, nor is it good to have friends who give you grief. To quote the bard “What’s gone, and what’s past help, should be past grief.”

Charlie Brown anticipates being a loser. Experience fails to temper or modify his irrationally high mental models of others, from the belief in Lucy’s trustworthiness to the merits of the unobtainable little redheaded girl. He anticipates being a loser. Rather than learning from the past, he persists in reenacting the same behaviors hoping for a different result. Thus, he fails time and time again for the simple reason that he has failed to surround himself with those who will enable, support, and otherwise facilitate his success: Napoleon Hill’s creation of the Master Mind group.

This is Charlie Brown’s downfall in a peanut shell. His so-called friends are all out to sabotage his efforts. He believes in Lucy - who charges a nickel for listening and giving out bad advice, calls him a “blockhead,” and has never once held that football in place; pines after the little redheaded girl who ignores him; and allies himself with other misfits and outcasts from an insane beagle to another child who has yet to give up his security blanket (perhaps in part due to near-constant abuse from big sister, Lucy). Even his own family tends to degrade Charlie Brown, from the dog who is mostly interested in him as a meal ticket to his sister, Sally, who calls him “wishy-washy.” Finally, in Charlie Brown’s mental model of the world, nature itself conspires against him: raining out the one ballgame he had a shot at winning, and consistently animating trees to eat his kites.

Charlie Brown needs to review his past, change his behaviors, and cultivate relationships with those who can and will propel him toward success. In critically examining his past, he must identify the behaviors - his own and others’ - that have prevented him from achieving his goals. To do so would mark his turning point. In this maturation process, Charlie Brown needs to discover which talents he can develop through education and/or by engaging in successive approximations of a successful performance. Rather than repeatedly practicing failure, he could be coached and supported toward successful efforts. Experience of even small successes will help him to discover new talents, and with talent will come the confidence to move away from those Dream Killers and toward even greater success.

Now that you have been reading your goals at least two times a week, and you believe the goals would be good for you, who do you need to help you start realizing these goals? It is time to start to put together a Master Mind group that will help you reach your goals, and at the same time help them reach their goals.

PS: Check out the recent Weekly Challenges as an introduction or to find a new success technique.

“The surest way to go broke is to sit around waiting for a break.”

For many years I sold cars, and I keep calling on people who bought other products after I tried to sell them mine. I had one person who kept buying Mercedes-Benz’s, but would come in and always look at my product (BMWs). I always called him and let him know I was interested in reaching out for his business.

This went on for years, and I always took the time to give him a full presentation every time he came in. I always asked him why he didn’t buy my cars time after time, and he always kind of gave me a vague answer. Now, I know a lot of sales people would have called him a stroke, and did. He would come on to the lot and people would feed him to the green pea if I were not around. After several years, I finally ended up selling him several BMWs for his company. He told me he always wanted the cars, but his brother in law had been selling Mercedes and until he retired recently he had gotten Mercedes from his brother in law. When he went back to the Mercedes store after his brother in law retired, he felt he was being taken for granted since he had always bought Mercedes. Since I had taken the time with him all of these years, he was now ready to change brands.

So when do you give up, and tell the mooch to move on, feed him to the green pea? Stay with them and even if you don’t sell them you may sell some referrals (But more on that later).

This United States President and his wife both suffered from major mental illness.

1. Herbert and Lou Hoover
2. George and Martha Washington
3. Abraham and Mary Lincoln
4. Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower

Email us the correct answer and you will get a FREE Mp3 download of Step Jones’ CD, You Are a Winner