First Book

The first book Dan ever gave me to read was "Lessons From Great Lives, Learning to be Rich in All Areas of Your Life!"  He actually co-authored it...go figure! Dan had given this book to his daughter Crystal, my wife, as a gift when it was first published. My initial thoughts were, "I can't wait to see what he wrote inside, I bet it's something quit profound for Crystal to have and cherish throughout life." To my surprise this is all I saw, written in Dan's very own handwriting the following:

                                                        









Translated:
To Crystal                          

enJoy the Journey OF
LiFe!

Saper vedere

Love
Dad
9/10/07

My first thought was, "Say What (translation please)?" My second was "That's it? A nice phrase with some latin words!""Come on Dan, this was your girl you were writing to not some stranger! Why so few words? and what's with the latin?" To make matter worse, I soon discovered that Dan writes this exact same message in everyone's book he signs.

As I calmed down and gathered myself together I began questioning, thinking deeper and wondering...WHY?  What sort of advice/message is Dan trying to portray behind these few words? There has to be a bigger picture, what's the meaning behind these words? As I thought more and more about it this is what i concluded:

Sometimes we may feel ripped off because of how much we don't receive (like I felt for Crystal). We tend to have this notion that more must mean better. Yet, I've come to learn that this isn't always true. Just like more money doesn't guarantee more happiness or a better life, neither do the expensive name brand clothes guarantee better relationships or popularity with peers.

It's not the size of the gift, but the preparation, content, and love that goes into the gift that truly matters. Dan said more in those 7 words than I could try to say this whole blog. Those 7 words are filled with knowledge and wisdom to keep you thinking every day of your life.

Let us start with the first 5 words, "Enjoy the Journey of Life."

Life seems to be full of surprises. We hear time and time again, "life is like a roller coaster, it's full of many ups and downs." It's true isn't it? Life is full of ups and down, however we all seem to want more ups or all ups, and very few if any downs. This is the very antithesis of a roller coasters where we want ALL downs and NO ups.

I'm guilty of wanting more ups in my life. Who isn't? Who wants to experience and go through the down (trials, troubles, afflictions, heartache, misery, death) life throws at you? One thing I have learned over the years and have come to accept is that their must be opposition in all things. Everything has its opposites. How would I ever experience or taste the GOOD if I didn't know the BAD? How would I know the JOYS life has to offer, without experiencing the PAINS? How could I delight in SIGHT/LIGHT, if there were no BLINDNESS/DARKNESS? WHY would I care about my HEALTH, if I never experienced SICKNESS? And  how could I experience SUCCESS if I had no FAILURES.

You see, part of life's journey is experiencing oppositions, both the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, none are exempt from it wrath. So if experiencing opposition is inevitable how should we react when life throws us curve balls here and there? We can start by saying...

I WILL make the best of my current circumstances! I WILL live each day of my life as if it were my last! I WILL hold nothing back! I WILL not let challenges effect my life for the worse rather, I WILL be a fighter, a conqueror over my trials and fears! I WILL have and maintain an attitude of gratitude! I WILL enjoy life's journey everyday whether it be good or bad! I WILL preserver, I will SUCCEED! WHY?
Because I CHOOSE TO!

In response to the question "how are you doing today?" Dan without fail replies with enthusiasm,"I'm havin' the GREATEST DAY of my LIFE!" How cool is that? Should we and could we not all respond in such a way? Of course we can!

The choice is ALWAYS yours! You may not be able to determine your family or environmental conditions, however YOU determine your own reactions, lifestyle, and future/destiny. Your LIFE, your SUCCESSES, your "greatest work", depends solely on you and nobody else!

....To be continued (upcoming blog: Saper Vedere!)

Who is Dan McCormick?

The road to riches for Dan McCormick was, and is, paved with PRINCIPLES and HABITS. 

Dan's journey began at the age of nineteen as a young man focused on building a secure financial future. Armed with only his personal convictions and an intense desire to improve his chances of success, Dan was determined to beat the odds.

Having grown up in a humble, single parent home and facing a world where a college degree was the ticket required for financial success, Dan McCormick took the road less traveled.

A self-made millionaire at the age of twenty-two, just three years after he took his first step into the direct sales industry, Dan had traveled farther and faster in life than most of his peers. People had become his focus, not for what he could take from them, but for what he could give to them.

Dan learned to LISTEN to the experts, to those who knew more than he did in his industry. He discovered that helping other people reach their financial and personal goals is what propelled him forward towards his own. With an unbridled enthusiasm, he has built a business that has generated over a billion dollars in worldwide sales.

Where does his drive come from? How does he stay motivated and focused on the road ahead? What maps does he use to navigate the seemingly endless dead ends and detours in life that can take a person off course? 

The answer lies within his MISSION in life: To INSPIRE individuals to align their lives with PURPOSE, RESPONSIBILITY, VISION, and PRINCIPLES of greatness. 

As Dan's son-in-law, I can promise you he not only teaches such a mission, but tries to live by his mission every day of his life. I firmly believe this has been and is the key to his success. Dan lives by EXAMPLE, he PRACTICES what he preaches.  Thus, it comes to no surprise that I and many others want to emulate him, be him, and BECOME like him; not only as a businessman and leader, but as a husband and father.    

As lucky as I am to have the privilege of being Dan's son-in-law, I've had the amazing opportunity of living under the same roof as him for the past year. It's been an amazing journey and life changing. I've received priceless ADVICE and COUNCEL from him as a father-in-law and as a partner in business. Most of this blog is going to be about LESSONS, PRINCIPLES, and HABITS Dan's taught me and others GREATS like him that I feel the rest of the world should be aware of too. 

"Great Work"

So why have I chosen the title of my blog, “Becoming Magnum Opus?”

I’m sure many of you are wondering what “Magnum Opus” exactly means. Magnum Opus is Latin for “great work”.  It is the greatest, most popular, or most renowned single work of an artist, composer, or writer; it’s “a masterpiece”. 

Masterpieces of today would consist of the Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) by Leonardo da Vinci, Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”, or William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. However, as wonderful and inspiring as they may be, I personally believe that the greatest and most important MASTERPIECE’S one will ever create is “YOU!

We all aspire being better husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, friends, business owners/partners, leaders, writers, and in anything we do. Don’t fool yourselves; this takes time, patience, and practice. Just think about it. How much time and effort do you think went into producing and creating each of the masterpieces listed above? Do you think they just sat down and created what they did in a matter of minutes, hours, or days? Of course not! They researched, planned, practiced and developed their talents to do what they did and to become who they were. They exerted all their energy into the NOW of what they were doing until they achieved and obtained their own magnum opus. We too, must set aside time in the day to develop our personal lives so that we may obtain talents and BECOME who we want to be and what we were born to be. 

My wife, Crystal, is recently learning this. Just about everything comes naturally for her. However, she set a goal to learn how to play the piano. She would hear me and others play effortlessly and thought she could do the same in a matter of weeks or months. The frustration soon kicked in when days turned into weeks and weeks months and she still wasn’t playing the songs others and I could play. Hang in their Princess; it took me 7 years of lessons to be able to play how I do now! 

Just as it will take some time for Crystal to learn how to play the piano, so too, will it take days, weeks, months, and maybe even years to develop and engrave qualities, traits, characteristics, HABITS, and PRINCIPLES into your life. We seem to want things so fast that many of us aren’t willing to go through the peaks and valley’s to get us where we want to be. 

A painting consists of many ordinary and individual brush strokes, much of which are unrelated yet work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting. Each principle we develop, every book we read, and every life we touch is an individual brush stoke on your personal canvas of “YOU”.  No one stroke may seem relevant at the time or is very noticeable however, just as all the colors and markings of a painting lead to a beautiful masterpiece, so too, will our consistency in doing seemingly small things in our lives lead to significant and personal results in the future.

The hardest person to change, yet the easiest, is YOU. It’s easy to find faults in others and to know where they need improvement; nonetheless we must realize we all have them. You must discover your faults, your weaknesses, and then strive to make those weaknesses become your strengths. In time, you will learn to master any obstacle that comes in your path.

The best way to learn how to BECOME is to learn from those who have already BECOME. There are many greats from the past and present whose lives show us how to find answers through applying principles they’ve lived by and learned in their life’s journey. One of the GREATS who has BECOME, is my father-in-law and mentor, Dan McCormick.