Bio
As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre - and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of more than 125 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success.
Behind the empire Time Magazine called the "publishing phenomenon of the decade" is America's leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees, and educators. Over the last 30 years, his compelling message, empowering energy and personable coaching style has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve their dreams.
Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack has studied and reported on what makes successful people different. He knows what motivates them, what drives them, and what inspires them. He brings this critical insight to countless audiences internationally---sharing his success strategies in the media, with companies, universities and professional associations.
Jack is a Harvard graduate with a Master's Degree in psychological education and one of the earliest champions of peak-performance, developing specific methodologies and results-oriented activities to help people take on greater challenges and produce breakthrough results.
His proven formula for success reached global acclaim with his most recent National Bestseller, The Success Principles™: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. This new standard in self-improvement contains 64 powerful principles for success utilized by top achievers from all walks of life and all areas of commerce. The Success Principles ---and the entire empire of "Principles" books, products, coaching programs and branded retail merchandise ---is Jack’s most recent offering to the more than 100 million readers he currently reaches worldwide.
His other best-selling books --- The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, Dare to Win, You’ve Got to Read This Book!, and The Key to Living the Law of Attraction , --- have generated millions of bookstore and Internet sales, and have launched complementary products such as audio programs, video programs, corporate training programs and syndicated columns to enthusiastic individuals and corporate buyers. His audio program, Maximum Confidence, has sold more than 350,000 copies through Nightingale-Conant alone.
He is the Founder and Chairman of The Canfield Training Group in Santa Barbara, California, which trains entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and motivated individuals how to accelerate the achievement of their personal and professional goals. Jack is also the founder of The Foundation for Self-Esteem in Westlake Village, California, which provides self-esteem resources and trainings to social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals. Jack wrote and produced the Goals Program, a video training program for California welfare recipients. To date, the program has been responsible for helping 450,000 people get off welfare.
Jack is the founder and former CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul® Enterprises, a billion dollar empire that encompasses licensing, merchandising and publishing activities around the globe. Jack's nationally syndicated newspaper column is read in 150 papers worldwide, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul® radio shows are syndicated throughout North America. Chicken Soup for the Soul® has also been a featured television program on both the PAX and ABC networks.
Jack's background includes a BA from Harvard University, a Masters degree in Psychological Education from the University of Massachusetts, and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Santa Monica, Parker College of Chiropractic and St. Ambrose University. Over the past 30 years, he has been a psychotherapist, an educational consultant, trainer and a leading authority in the areas of self-esteem and peak performance.
Jack Canfield holds the Guinness Book World Record for having seven books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller List. He also holds the Guinness Book World Record for the largest book-signing ever for Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul. And he's the only author to have won both the ABBY (American Booksellers Book of the Year) Award and the Southern California Book Publicist Award in the same year --- honoring him as both an outstanding writer and a consummate book marketer.
Jack has also been a featured guest on more than 1,000 radio and television programs in nearly every major market worldwide - many of them on a repeat basis. A sample of these shows include Oprah, Montel, Larry King Live, 20/20, Inside Edition, The Today Show, Fox and Friends, The CBS Evening News, The NBC Nightly News, Eye to Eye, CNN's Talk Back Live!, PBS, QVC and many others.
Jack is a featured teacher in the movie “The Secret”, “The Opus”, “The Cure”, "The Tapping Solution”, and “Yes IS the Destination...No is How You Get There.” He has recently been filmed for inclusion in two more films entitled “Discover the Gift” and “Awakening.” His Dream Big Collection informercial has also been seen on television stations across the United States and Canada.
Jack is the founder of the Transformational Leadership Council, an international professional organization for owners of transformational training and coaching companies and thought leaders in the field of personal and organizational training. He has conducted more than 2500 training groups, workshops, and seminars and has consulted with and spoken to more than 500 school systems, universities, corporations, hospitals, professional associations and mental health organizations in 32 countries around the globe.
Some of Jack’s distinguished clients include: Virgin Records, Sony Pictures, Merrill Lynch, Monsanto, Hartford Insurance, Glaxo Smith-Kline, Scott Paper, Coldwell Banker, Federal Express, TRW, Ameritech, NCR, Young President’s Association, Chief Executives Organization, General Electric, U.S. Department of the Navy, Siemens, Cingular Wireless, Accenture, Children’s Miracle Network and hundreds of others.
He has been inducted into the National Speakers Associationʻs Speakers Hall of Fame, is a recipient of the Rotary Clubʻs Paul Harris Fellowship, is a recipient of the Golden Plate Award from the National Achievement Summit, and received the Chancellor's Medal from the University of Massachusetts. He has also been named Motivator of the Year by the Business Digest twice, received the Speaker of the Year Award from the Society of Success and Leadership and received the National Leadership Award and the Champion’s Award from the National Association for Self Esteem.
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Use Feedback to Your Advantage
1 May 2012, 10:12 pm
 Once you begin to take action on a project or a goal, you’ll start getting feedback about whether you’re doing the right thing. You’ll get data, advice, help, suggestions, direction - and even criticism - that will help you constantly adjust and move forward, while continually enhancing your knowledge, abilities, attitudes and relationships.
But asking for feedback is really only the first part of the equation. Once you receive feedback you have to be willing to embrace it and respond to it.
Positive or Negative ... it's ALL good!
There are two kinds of feedback you might encounter, negative and positive. We tend to prefer the positive: results, money, praise, promotion, raise, awards, happiness, inner peace, etc. It feels better. It tells us we are on course and doing the right thing.
We tend not to like negative feedback: lack of results, little or no money, criticism, poor evaluations, complaints, unhappiness, inner conflict, pain, etc.
However, there is as much useful data in negative feedback as there is in positive feedback. It tells us that we are off course, headed in the wrong direction, and doing the wrong thing. This is priceless information!
How Most People Handle the Negative
Three of the most common – and unproductive – responses to negative criticism are:
• Caving in and quitting. How many times have you or someone you know hit an obstacle and given up the goal because it was too hard or “not meant to be”? This is a poor way to respond to criticism, because all it does it keep you stuck in the same place.
• Getting mad at the source of the feedback. How many times have you responded with anger, hostility or resentment when someone has given you negative feedback? This serves only to push away the messenger and the feedback, when the message you’re receiving may be exactly what you need to hear to move closer to your goal.
• Ignoring the feedback. We all know people who tune out everyone’s point of view but their own. The sad thing is that the feedback they are blocking could significantly change their lives, if only they would listen.
If you fall into any of these traps, try to remember that feedback is not criticism. It is simply information – corrective guidance that’s meant to help to get you back on course to achieve your goal. I like to refer to negative feedback as information for “improvement opportunities.”
Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.
Thomas Edison is reported to have tried over 2,000 different experiments that failed before he finally got the light bulb to work. He once told a reporter that, from his perspective, he had never failed at all. Inventing the light bulb was just a 2,000-step process. If you can adopt that attitude, then you can be free to take an action, notice what result you get, and then adjust your next actions based on the feedback you have received.
The Most Valuable Question You May Ever Learn
In the 1980s, a multimillionaire businessman taught me a question that radically changed the quality of my life. So what is this magical question that can improve the quality of every relationship you are in, every product you produce, every service you deliver, every meeting you conduct, every class you teach and every transaction you enter?
Here it is:
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality
of our relationship during the last week?”
Here are a number of variations on this question that have served me well over the years...
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate:”
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-our service? |
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-our product? |
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-my teaching? |
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-this class/seminar/workshop? |
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-this meeting? |
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-our date/vacation? |
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-this meal? |
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-my coaching/management? |
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-our performance? |
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-my parenting/babysitting? |
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-this book? |
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-this recording/show? |
Any answer less than a 10 always gets this follow-up question:
“What would it take to make it a 10?”
This is where the really valuable information comes from. Knowing that a person is dissatisfied is not enough. Knowing in detail what will satisfy them gives you the information you need to do whatever it takes to create a winning product, service or relationship.
Ask Yourself for Feedback
In addition to asking others for feedback, ask yourself for feedback, too. Your body is very adept at telling you whether you are on course. When you are relaxed and happy, your body is telling you that you are on track. When you are constantly exhausted, tense, in pain, unhappy and angry, then you are off track.
Take time to listen to what your body is saying to you. Take time to listen to your physical sensations and your feelings. They are sending you important messages.
Remember, feedback is simply information. You don’t have to take it personally; just welcome it and use it.
For more on Using Feedback to Your Advantage, review Principle #19 in The Success Principles Book.
If you donʻt already own a copy of the book, get one today in our Success Store
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
"Keeper of the Keys" Now Available on DVD
29 April 2012, 9:35 pm
Achieving success effortlessly requires being clear about your purpose … but then letting go of any attachment you have as to how that purpose manifests. Sometimes what the universe creates is far better than anything you could imagine on your own.
I had another good reminder of this truth recently – and I’d like to share the story of what resulted.
My purpose is to inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy. How that’s manifested in my life has ranged from building the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire to delivering keynote speeches around the world to seminars and workshops. I have very clear goals for living my purpose in specific ways but I’ve also learned to stay open to what the universe brings.
Several months ago, such an opportunity appeared in the form of Robin Jay, an award-winning author and speaker who invited me to play a starring role in her new film, The Keeper of the Keys. The first truly funny self-help movie, this groundbreaking film goes far beyond the parade of “talking heads” that has dominated the self-help genre since “The Secret” was released … incorporating humor and an actual plot to entertain while imparting an important, life-changing message.
The story revolves around Michael, a cynical and negative fellow who is eyeball-deep in challenges. In short order, he loses his job, his fiancée, and his home. Like so many people who have struggled with or are facing similar challenges in our current recession, Michael falls into a pattern of blame and playing the victim.
But there is another way, of course … which is where I come in! Along with my dear friends Marci Shimoff and John Gray, as well as 15 other personal development speakers, coaches and authors, I help to teach Michael about 7 essential keys for happiness and success.
The Keeper of the Keys is sure to delight and entertain fans of the self-help genre, as well as friends and family members who may be new to personal development. If you know anyone who’s been tempted to blame their situation on their boss, their relationships, the government, or their dysfunctional family, this is a must-see movie.
Co-founder of the Spiritual Cinema Circle Stephen Simon said, "The Keeper of The Keys is the most innovative and entertaining film of its kind ever made. Wildly original, howlingly funny, fast-paced, and utterly delightful in every way, the film is truly a gift to the world.” (Stephen also produced Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come, and he produced and directed Conversations with God and Indigo. When he says this is the best movie of its kind ever made, you can trust that he knows what he’s talking about.)
Want to watch the movie trailer? Just click on the video below:
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The Keeper of the Keys has just been released on DVD and you can order your copy now.
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Newest Articles
3 May 2010, 8:47 pm
Welcome!
One of the most pervasive myths in the American culture today is that we are entitled to a great life---that somehow, somewhere, someone (certainly not us) is responsible for filling our lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time, and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist.
But the real truth---and the foundation of all 64 of The Success Principles---is that there is only one person responsible for the quality of life you live.
That person is you.
And your life is uniquely yours... Yet, many of us share important similarities within 7 categories essential to enjoying a life filled with happiness, joy, and fulfillment. My hope is that this database serves as a resource of empowerment, inspiration, and finally...action towards the life you have always wanted.
In Support and Celebration of your Success,
Starting out on your own? Moving up in your company? Or looking to take things to the next level? Many times a significant positive change is much closer than you think if you are ready to take 100% Responsibility for everything in your life and the results that you are getting.
Time spent with loved ones is often referenced as the most important of all 7 categories, yet for many working class people, it has become the most difficult to fulfill. Re-connecting with those you love recharges your mind, renews your purpose, and uplifts your mood. Be open to the possibility that there is plenty of time in the day to fit it all in.
The most visible of the categories, changes made here not only look good, but feel good as well. A healthy body results in a healthy mind. Improve your health and start picking away at your personal fitness goals. By maximizing your body and well being, you help improve your ability to excel in all other areas of your life.
Contrary to popular belief, the opposite of happiness and success is not sadness and failure, but rather that of stagnation. As beings we are designed to grow and evolve; challenging ourselves internally as much as we do externally.
The greatest levels of contentment and self-satisfaction are experienced by those who have found a way to serve others. In addition to the true inner joy that is created by serving others, it is a universal principle that you cannot serve others without it coming back multiplied to yourself.
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