My Personal Visit with Jack Canfield

On December 8, 2011, I had the pleasure  of spending close to two hours up-close and personal with Jack Canfield in a booth at The Palms restaurant in Las Vegas.  I spent about twenty minutes interviewing Jack for my radio show, How to Thrive After 35, and the rest of the time we just talked. This was all just a dream a few short months earlier so I thought it would be fun to share with you how I turned this dream into reality. This is a story of setting a goal, dreaming big, synchronicity, not giving up and seizing opportunity. This is a story of excitement and accomplishment. My wish is that my story will inspire you to dare to dream big and go after your dreams too. You just never know what could happen if you just take action.

Here’s what happened:

I first met Jack Canfield in July 2011 at the eWomen Network conference in Dallas where both Jack and I were interviewed for an Oprah-inspired documentary to air on the OWN network. Jack was interviewed right before me so when I walked into the room, I had the unexpected opportunity to introduce myself to Jack and of course have a photo taken with him. Other self-help experts interviewed for the documentary include Lisa Nicols, Les Brown as well as others, some of whom are also known for their appearance in the movie, The Secret. I was so excited to meet Jack and be interviewed for the Oprah documentary that I didn’t even think to invite Jack to be a guest on my radio show. It only occurred to me afterwards. Even then I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I just knew it was something I wanted and had to do. The goal was set. The seed had been planted. The dream had begun.

However, as things like this often go, I just dreamed at how amazing it would be to have Jack on my radio show and then got stuck at the dream stage.  I just put it out there and in a sense let it go as I had no idea how it could possibly all come together. Then as synchronicity, law of attraction, divine intervention or whatever you want to call it, a few months later, I interviewed Steve Olsher, known as America’s Reinvention Expert, who mentioned that he is co-starring in a new self-help movie called The Keeper of The Keys starring Jack Canfield, Marci Shimoff and John Gray. How amazing was that? This was the link to Jack that got the ball rolling. From there I introduced myself to Robin Jay, the producer of the film.

Robin and I totally hit it off and I knew I had to have her on my radio show too. I was completely enthralled with her energy and her concept of taking the hell out of self-help movies. I was then totally honoured when she invited me to attend the Red Carpet Movie Premiere event in Las Vegas as well as the V.I.P. Luncheon to meet all the stars of the movie. I came up with the idea to have all the stars and co-stars on my radio show to promote her movie and give added exposure especially to the lesser known co-stars of the film. It turned out to be an ideal opportunity to meet them all in person and do some live instead of the usual recorded interviews. If you haven’t yet listened to my interviews with these self-help experts posted to date including an amazing interview with Marci Shimoff, please be sure to do so at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/howtothriveafter35.

Building on the personal and professional connection I had already made with Jack, I invited him to be a guest on my show to not only promote his role in The Keeper of the Keys film, but also to promote his personal story of how he became the success he is today as well as his newest book, The Golden Motorcycle Gang which Jack is clearly very passionate about as you'll hear in the interview.

After many emails with his office back and forth, I was told that I could have five minutes with Jack following the V.I.P. luncheon event at the Palms restaurant in the Caesar’s Palace hotel and that it was up to me to grab him after his photo sessions. Needless to say I stood close by as I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by and managed to even get in on the photo session too. I knew I only had a few minutes so we had to improvise as to location for the interview. We quickly grabbed a booth in the restaurant as I didn't want to waste any precious time traveling to another location. The unfortunate part is that the acoustics were not great and there is some background noise in the interview, but that was the compromise I had no choice but to make.

Sitting in that booth one-on-one with Jack Canfield was surreal. After months since the idea came to me, it was finally happening. I was excited but not nervous. I was proud that I could be an example of what Jack teaches in terms of setting and achieving goals which is partly what we chatted about in the radio interview. There I was sitting in a restaurant booth directly across someone I have looked up to for years. After all, Jack Canfield is the co-author of the #1 New York Times best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has sold more than 500 million copies in 47 languages. He is considered America’s number one success coach and authored the bestseller “The Success Principles”. Jack is also a featured teacher in the movies The Secret and Tapping the Source and most recently The Keeper of the Keys; and has appeared on more than 1,000 radio and television programs. Jack is also the CEO of the Canfield Training Group and the founder of the Transformational Leadership Council.

I did not ask Jack for anything. I did not ask him to endorse my book or the typical things that authors may ask of him. It meant more to me to just have the time with him to get to know one another, to share, to engage, to connect and to share him with the listeners of my radio show around the world. I invite you to listen to my interview with Jack and not miss a moment. I do apologize for the background noise, but if you can put that aside and focus on the content, I promise you will be engaged and inspired. I invite you to soak in Jack’s wisdom and learn from his experience and of course to get copies of his books and join his online community at http://www.jackcanfield.com.

LISTEN TO INTERVIEW NOW

GET YOUR COPY OF THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS MOVIE ON DVD NOW

Does one's body size and appearance determine our expectations?

Have you seen the YouTube video about Jonathan and Charlotte on Britain's Got Talent? See  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOuJ0WxsopA. As much as I was moved to tears by their beautiful singing and humility, I was also intrigued by how Simon, the other judges, and the entire audience laughed as this boy and his friend first came on stage. Although those laughs quickly turned to applause and tears when Jonathan and Charlotte started to sing, I couldn’t help but wonder why they were all laughing in the first place? Is it because of Jonathan’s size and appearance?  Did his size and appearance cause everyone to have such low expectations of what talent this boy could possibly have?  

If yes, then why would they have such low expectations of him? Is it because there’s this notion or pre-judgment in our society that someone who is oversized and not attractive in the mainstream way can’t possibly be talented? Is talent only reserved for the slim and beautiful among us? How many people on the judge’s panel and in the audience consider themselves religious or spiritual, I wonder? If many of them are, then as they sat there laughing, does it mean they believe that God only chooses attractive people to bestow his/her talents and gifts upon? I’m just sharing my thoughts here and I’d love to hear what yours are. I wonder how many of those reading this article feel the way I do. Does what happened in this video imply that we really expect less from people who are overweight or less attractive than our society’s definition of beauty? If some of those people are already self-conscious enough as it is in their size and appearance, do our obvious low expectations of them help or hinder them? What then happens to their expectations of themselves?

As a personal coach who helps people lighten up for good through healthy lifestyle, weight management, stress reduction and emotional resilience, I have come across clients in my own practice who have told me that although they say  they want to lose weight, get in shape and improve their health, lifestyle and confidence, underneath it all maybe on some level they don’t really want to. Why do I say this? Because I ask them ‘what underlying reason might you have to stay exactly the way you are now?’ An answer I’ve heard more than a few times goes something like this: “Maybe if I lose the weight and get healthy and confident, I’d have no more excuses to go after my dreams. Other people’s expectations would be higher of me and I’d be more than likely to have higher expectations of myself because I’d have no more excuses. I don’t know if I want that responsibility to live up to and what if I fail?” I’m not saying this is true for everyone, but the question I have for you is what are YOUR expectations of YOURSELF? What are YOUR excuses for not living the healthy, happy life you want? Do you truly want to be healthy and happy? What is stopping you?

These are the questions I help people answer in my coaching practice. I have helped many people set themselves free and move forward in their lives in more positive and meaningful ways by learning how to LIGHTEN UP FOR GOOD in ways that are way more meaningful than just a number on the scale. Many of us are overweight in ways that don’t even show up on a scale as our excess weight is carried in our hearts and in our minds. That weight can be just as harmful to our health and quality of life than the physical weight we can see on our bodies.  If you want to weigh less, beat stress and truly lighten up for good, then start today by simply making the decision that you are worth it and then get started. The decision will lead to commitment and if you are truly committed, then the right solutions will find you. Make the decision, make the commitment and never give up.

What are your thoughts on what I’ve shared in this article? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please send comments to roslyn@roslynfranken.com.

For more information about Roslyn’s LIGHTEN UP coaching services, visit http://www.roslynfranken.com/coaching.htm. Roslyn offers a limited number of complimentary telephone consultations each month. To take advantage of this opportunity, send email request to roslyn@roslynfranken.com with subject line: Complimentary Consultation Request. Or call today at 613-843-0155. Consultations are booked on a first come first served basis, so don’t wait, email or call today.

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