307. Keep on Learning, Never Give Up, and Nurture a Childlike Love of Life

Right out of college, Jason began using 30-plus tried and true recipes for baked goods his grandmother had perfected through the years. “She was my first investor. She didn’t invest money, she invested recipes.” Jason scaled up the operation from her flea market sales to an expanded baking and sales operation. In a year, sales had reached $60,000, of which $20,000 was profit.

The first turning point came when Jason was a sophomore in high school. Up to that point, he’d been envisioning his future as Dr. Shurgot, pediatrician. Both his parents were in the medical field and he saw himself following in that tradition. “But a turning point came when I went from seeing myself as Dr. Shurgot to Jason Shurgot, international businessman. The world was changing and I saw everything was going to become a global marketplace.”

“The journey is the best part. You’re going to start feeling more alive, going toward your own version of success. You’ll be all about loving life, much more. That’s what I teach. It keeps me more child-like. A child is a beautiful soul, and everything is a new experience and a new adventure to them. They rarely say they can’t do something. Following the road less traveled, even when I scrape my knee, it’s going to heal and I’m going to learn from that. I’m not gonna put my hand on the hot stove again. I think that’s what I’ve learned. You just have to be willing to try again and again.”

1. Visualize: What do you really want out of life?

2. Plan: Clarify what you are doing to reach your goal. Eliminate whatever is not congruent.

3. Execute: Just do it. Start making daily progress. Forgive yourself whenever you slip up, and start again.

4. Allow yourself to be child-like and joyful on your journey.

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch or on YouTube

The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne

The Alchemist, Paolo Coelho

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level, by Gay Hendricks, Ph.D.