A stranded driver, a wise caretaker, and the 12 pillars that hold up a rich life - told as a short story.
Pillar 1, personal development. A job can be taken from you; the person you become cannot. Read, study, and apply what you learn - the only way things change for you is when you change.
Pillar 2, total well-being. Let one dimension slide and the whole person wobbles. Make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you.
Pillar 3, the gift of relationships. Gardens stay alive on three gifts given again and again - time (quality AND quantity), effort, and imagination. Weeds grow for free; gardens do not.
Pillar 4, achieve your goals. Charlie starts Michael on a list of 100 things to do in a lifetime. The deepest reason to set a goal is not the prize; it is the person you must become to reach it.
Pillar 5, the proper use of time. Every day holds many opportunities but only one best one. The pain of discipline weighs ounces; the pain of regret weighs tons. Days are expensive - spend each one wisely.
Pillar 6, surround yourself with the best people. Charlie sorts every relationship into disassociation, limited association, or expanded association. Ask hard questions about every close influence: what is this person doing to me?
The rest of this summary — and the one thing to do this week — is in the PDF.
Download the free PDFThe big idea comes wrapped in a story. Michael Jones is 40, a salesman stuck in a flat career with a marriage gone cool and his college dreams long shelved, when his car dies on a country road. He walks to a plantation-style mansion on an estate named Twelve Pillars, owned by the wealthy Mr. Davis. Charlie, the estate's caretaker, gets him back on the road - and over a series of return visits, teaches him the Twelve Pillars of Success behind Mr. Davis's wealth and fulfillment.
The first pillars are personal. Personal development: work harder on yourself than on your job. Total well-being: health is three-dimensional - body, soul, and spirit. Relationships: a garden kept alive with time, effort, and imagination. Goals: write them down - Charlie starts Michael on a list of 100 things to do in a lifetime, and teaches him to set goals for what they will make of him.
