John Zajaros Blog

Randy Pausch Taught Us All a Lesson About Life, Love, and the Real Meaning of Success

As we plod through our lives, wondering about and debating its meaning, just how we fit into the grand scheme of things, there remains forever embedded in the minds of millions the image of Randy Pausch giving the world a gift…The Last Lecture.

This is not a post about the meaning of Professor Pausch’s selflessly magnificent gift, it is simply a nod from one professor to another, one teacher who loved touching the lives of a few with his self and his message.

It has been a little more than a year and a half since the passing of this great man and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of the message he left behind. Randy Pausch exited doing what he loved, sharing his knowledge with the world, his magnificent gift…The Last Lecture.

Ultimately, I believe a large measure of our immortality is based upon the impact we have had on those left behind, on how those we’ve touched remember us as they continue through life. If our immortality is measured by how people remember us, and for how long, Professor Pausch’s immortality is assured.

In marketing terms, we are remembered in terms of positioning and our differentiation.

In other words, positioning, how people talk about us when we are no longer around; and, differentiation, how we have separated ourselves from “the herd,” from the rest of the people, businesses, whomever or whatever we are being compared to on a daily basis.

One thing is an absolute certainty, Randy Pausch’s positioning and differentiation certain reflect the profound impact he had on the world he lived in, and the World as a whole; thus, making Professor Pausch one of the greatest men of our time. Randy Pausch’s loss is felt to this day by those who knew him…and by others who wish they had.

How many have made such an impact?

I would argue…not many!

Of all the videos I have watched, four stand out:

1) The Last Lecture

2) The video below

3) The announcement of his death

4) A video compilation that has since been pulled of highlights of Professor Pausch’s Last Lecture and  a song by Eric Hutchinson. I have squirreled it away because it is has been pulled back by “the powers that be” and I have refused to take a chance of losing it…until now. It inspires me often, I hope in sharing it that it will inspire you!

The videos speak for themselves, enjoy a celebration of life and a demonstration of the true meaning of life, love, and success…Professor Randy Pausch.

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
440-821-7018 (cell)
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

Or: Persistence, Determination, Honesty, Integrity, and a Bucket of Oysters

Whenever I think about positive mental attitude statements and affirmations, my mind always comes back to Erma Bombeck’s classic title:

If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?

Talk about effective marketing!

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to Eben Pagan interview Joe Sugarman, one of the greatest copywriters and direct marketers of our era, the founder of BluBlocker Sun Glasses. Joe Sugarman sold millions of BluBlockers and made millions of dollars in the process. The story is an interesting one, one for another day.

In the interview, Eben and Joe discussed many topics, topics related to marketing, success, and life. I recommend it if you can find a copy, it is well worth the time.

Of all the topics discussed, the topic of persistence piqued my interest. Persistence and determination are among of my favorite topics, along with desire, perception, perspective, and assumption…as you well know, particularly if you have visited any of my blogs.

You see, I believe the most crucial ingredient, the characteristic that defines us and determines our success, is persistence.

In my opinion, and in the opinion of many men and women smarter than I, persistence, and its partner determination, are central and recurring themes in almost every success story I have ever listened to, read, witnessed or been a part of…including my own.

Persistence, when combined with determination and honesty, almost always assures one’s success long term.

If integrity and honesty are not part of your makeup, all of your effort will be for naught.

No one can sustain success long term without integrity and honesty!

Getting back to the teleseminar with Joe Sugarman and Eben Pagan, Joe Sugarman made an interesting comparison, one worth sharing:

Life is like a bucket of oysters. In life, we are guaranteed

success if we persist. In the bucket, we know there is at

least one pearl. Opening the oysters is hard work and quite

often we end up cutting our hands, getting discouraged,

and wondering if it is all worth it when we are only half

way through. However, we know there is a pearl in the

bucket…if we just keep digging for it!

That is exactly like life!

The sad thing about it?

Many people end up losing sight of the reward, giving in and giving up as difficulties ensue. I have known so many men and women who, on the very brink of success, have thrown in the towel, unable to continue, unable to complete the task that would surely yield the pearl they had been striving for.

Like shucking oysters in search of a pearl, success in life demands a combination of skills.

The skills, when combined with a certain finesse, and finally brought to fruition through persistence and determination, often yield rewards impossible to imagine as we hover over the bucket, intent upon the task at hand, opening the oysters.

If we get bogged down in the task, complete with the difficulties, forgetting to focus on the pearl, we may not see it through.

Failure along the way is a certainty. Failure, when viewed as a setback, as a learning experience, can be a valuable lesson, another on the way to acquiring the pearl. Persistence in spite of the failure, and even because of it, will take us one step closer to discovery…and success.

Ultimately, if we keep the pearl in focus, remembering to apply both finesse and persistence, remembering that life will yield a pearl the magnificence of which we can’t possibly imagine, we will succeed.

Interestingly, as we progress through life we will find not one pearl but a succession of pearls, life’s reward for persistence, determination, honesty, and integrity…all along the way to an empty bucket and whatever awaits us in the hereafter.

Another, larger bucket…or perhaps a string of pearls?

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (office)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

PS, If you want to read a little bit about Joe Sugarman’s latest venture, something I immediately got involved with because it promises to help so many of my readers with various health issues and challenges…from pain to energy and illness to aging! It is truly an amazing product and the best I have come across, anywhere! If Joe Sugarman is on board you can be certain it is the very best available or he simply wouldn’t offer it!

I was watching and listening to the HBO Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Rock Concert from Madison Square Garden this morning.

Watching the 25th Rock Hall Concert, I still can’t get over the aging rockers refusing to give in to age and, perhaps more inspiring, conventionality. I think the thing that struck me most as I watched was the diversity of talent, every man and woman, each solo artist and group all have their individual style and grace…their own voice.

Bruce and Bono!

As I was watched The Boss and Bono, along with the rest of U2, I was struck by their very different styles. These rock and roll legends, these men whom have done as much for others behind the scenes, in terms of philanthropy, as any two men alive; and there, side by side singing about life, love, and hope.

Interestingly, while engaged in the same profession, and with many of the same qualities, humanity, compassion, and empathy, they are still as far apart stylistically as two entertainers can be.

As I watched, and it was in watching, much more than listening, that their real differences became apparent, I was struck by the fact that these two men, so very successful in the same endeavor, were so different from one another in the same moment.

Bono and The Boss, as different as night and day, yet both creating beautiful music in their own distinct fashion, their own style. These two mythic performers, deities of the rock and roll era, standing side by side and singing in complete harmony were as different in how they deliver their message, their performance, as any two performers can be; and yet, their harmony was incredible.

Both performers clearly belong on the same stage, however different their stylistic expression may be. All you have to do is watch, and then listen, but mainly watch these two performers, so different and yet so much the same to get a real sense of the contrast between them.

So, what is it all about?

It’s about finding your own voice! Both men have found their calling, their love for their work, their love of life, their voice…literally and figuratively.

While watching night and day on the same stage, both creating something beautiful, individually and collectively, something different and yet uniquely the same, I was moved. The collective voice they created was something uniquely theirs in that moment.

Success in Life

Because each of these rockers had given himself permission to express his voice in his own way, they both seem at one with themselves, with their true nature.

One only has to watch The Boss and Bono standing side by side, so very different, and each succeeding in ways unimaginable only a few years ago, to know that all things are possible if you give rise to your own voice, your passion, that one thing we are all put this planet to do.

The one thing!

It is in finding that one thing, and giving yourself permission to explore and express your voice, that true success is achieved.

Success in business and in life is certainly a progression, a journey, but more than that, it is a consequence of finding your voice and allowing it to do what only you can do with it, in very much the same way The Boss and Bono have….

Sing!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (office)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com

Family First Entrepreneurship Isn’t Just a Catchy Phrase, It’s A Commitment to a Way of Life that Provides so Much!

Today I share what is possible when your family comes first, in all things!

The remarkable thing is that a year ago, had someone told me I would have had the kind of day I had today? I would have questioned whether they had been into my pain medication…or worse!

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed making it. Well, most of it. Connie helped with the ravine stuff, I was kind of busy! I thought I would give the ravine a shot. It looked a lot more precarious than it was. The sack of potatoes, Kailyn, loves being thrown around and has complete confidence in my ability to keep here safe. I don’t know the same was true of Connie?

Once again, and I can’t state this forcefully enough, Family First Entrepreneurship isn’t just a catchy slogan, it’s a life commitment, and a way of life, every day!

This is just a short note to mention we took Sunday off and spent the day with our two little granddaughters, Kailyn and Brynn, and it was wonderful!

If you would like to share a moment with the Zajaros/Purdy Family, there are other moments on my YouTube Channel and I am currently building my channel at isofa.tv, a really cool video platform.

Ultimately, the rewards of a Family First lifestyle are myriad!

If you haven’t read the book ONO: Options not Obligations pick up a copy today, you can find it at bookstores or there’s a link to it on many of my blogs! It is a fast read but you will want to read it more than once. It will change your life!

Another great book, along the lines of accumulating wealth in a responsible manner and not through any of these new wave, hyped methods being espoused of late, is The Millionaire Next Door, while a bit dated the principle and concepts are as robust today as they were in the mid-1990s.

Apply the above works to your life and you will have charted a course to a life of successes. Apply the Family First Entrepreneurship ideal and you will be a complete success!

Contact me anytime!

John Zajaros
216-712-6526 (HOME)
216-539-7412 (BUS)
johnz@johnzajaros.com (contact me anytime)

The Meaning of Life and The Definition of Success

Life is funny sometimes!

Life is funny…as in peculiar, perplexing, uncertain, difficult, a conundrum. And yes, sometimes life is also funny, as in ha-ha, amusing, and downright hysterical! Very often, it is somewhere in between.

Success in life, on the other hand, is elusive, perplexing, rewarding, frustrating, and amazing. In other words, success is the ultimate paradox, disconcerting and awesome, often all in the same moment, at times in the same breath.

Success is elusive because most people don’t understand what success is, perplexing because they are chasing something they think will define success, without actually understanding that success is nothing close to what they envisioned or imagined.

Success is rewarding because, when it comes, and regardless of how fleeting it may be, it validates our efforts and is one of the most amazing experiences we can have as human beings…providing we recognize it along the way!

Success is a paradox because it is often accompanied by incredible heartbreak, even failure; and, it tests our mettle in ways we never imagined, in the fires of life.
While exploring the rain forests of Central America we used to say Heaven and Hell were one in the same, around every bend, in every experience, in each and every moment.

The reason for this?

We had to endure incredible hardship on our way to amazing experiences. We had to endure incredible physical trials in order to get to pristine locations, places where few people had been for hundreds of years, untouched and unspoiled by humans. We had to endure bugs that would literally turn any exposed skin into sores, sores that, if scratched, increased in discomfort exponentially, all the while taking in some of the most incredible experiences of our lives. We had to endure intense heat and humidity, enough to stagger many in our party, only to jump into a river, clothes and all, a river so clean you can drink from it without fear of any of one hundred possible diseases or infestations. Imagine snakes and tarantulas along side of the most amazing lightening bugs imaginable, as big as silver dollars lighting up the sky. Imagine one hundred different tests each and every day while experiencing the time of your life, in each and every moment!

Life is like that!

Success is like that!

We often hear people say that life is a process, a progression, but deep down inside many still assign success to things instead of to experiences. Success, like life, is experiential!

Why is success experiential? Because it is a process!

That’s why people say it is a progression. Success is very much like life, in that as we progress through it we can either live one year 30 times or we can live 30 years.

Life, like success, is a process, a learning opportunity we are not meant to survive…but it can be amazing along the way. The end result is the same! It is up to each of us how we progress, how we experience the tests along the way.

I often mention Tony Robbins when I talk about success because I have been listening to Tony and people like him for decades. Napoleon Hill, then Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziglar, J Douglas Edwards, Wayne Dyer, and others all have the same message, enunciated in different ways…but there is a common theme.

The theme?

Build one day upon the one before!

*Whether as a template for a lifetime, as Napoleon Hill suggests.
*As a 30 day all out quest, repeated again and again, as Earl Nightingale challenges us to do.
*Or as CANI! Constant and never ending improvement! as Tony Robbins suggests.

The result is the same, an incremental approach to life. The method is similar, using forward motion, baby steps to build something amazing!

Baby steps?

What About Bob? is one of my all-time favorite movies and does the whole baby steps thing in such a great way! Take the time, Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus at their best!

While we are on the subject of movies, and Bill Murray, watch Groundhog Day! Talk about a message cloaked in comedy! Do it over until you get it right, can you imagine? Can you imagine being given the chance to live every day until you get it just right?

You do!

You are!

Each and every day is a major do-over!

We have two choices, we can go on into the next day, week, month, year, decade in the same way as the one before…or we can have a do-over. Because every day we live is in essence a chance to reshoot the day before, to get it right…Groundhog Day!

If you haven’t watched those two movies, do so! They will not only make you laugh until you cry, therapy in and of itself, but you will learn something about life and do-overs! We all get them each and every day…it is all about perspective and about living each moment and building upon the one before, learning from our successes and our failures on the way to CANI!

Constant and Never Ending Improvement!

Well, enough for now! The video below will help you get a sense for the mindset I have been developing over a lifetime. I thought I might share a little of it.
Remember! Build, remember, and make it better each and every day. Your life will be amazing and success will be a done deal!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com

johnz@ultimateinternetmarketing.info
Video Title:
Life, Success. and a Sculpture on Halloween!