Jack Canfield

I was recently interviewed by Vavasaur.com, a website dedicated to personal empowerment, resources, and connections of all men.  The interview is below.  Enjoy.

VAVASAUR: What is your most successful business accomplishment?

JACK CANFIELD: There are two. The first is a book I published in 1993 called Chicken Soup for the Soul. I worked for months using the “Rule of Five” where I took five action steps every day, six days a week, to help that book become a bestseller. It took 14 months before it hit the Washington Post bestseller list, then 2 weeks later it hit the New York Times list, climbed to number one, and stayed there for 3 years. That was the most diligent and focused campaign of my life with my co-author Mark Victor Hansen. The book went on to sell 20 million copies worldwide and spawned a series of books with 220 titles and 150 million copies sold in 47 languages creating over a billion dollars in gross sales, plus it spawned a licensing division. I’m very proud of that vision, that effort and the results it produced.
The second is a book I wrote called The Success Principles, which sold 600,000 copies in 17 languages worldwide. My main work is training and coaching people in the principle of success. I give speeches, run workshops and give training sessions. My work is successful because I use experiential exercises and activities – people actually learn it and integrate it and are affected by it rather than just intellectually educated by it.

VAVASAUR: Why should a client do business with you?

JACK CANFIELD: I promise my clients that if they work with me and do what I teach them, they will double their income, or if money is not their goal, double their impact, within 3 to 5 years. They will have twice as much free time and a greater balance between work, family and personal time.
I also offer a money-back guarantee, whether it’s a speech or workshop, to an individual or company buying a product. We’ve had only 5 people ask for a refund in 15 years of doing business, so I know that what we do works.

VAVASAUR: What actions have you taken to get through the economic downturn?

JACK CANFIELD: The first year after the market crashed we saw a 30% drop in revenue. There was less money around and the people that had money were more cautious. We went to our marketplace and asked them what they needed and what they could afford. We found that they didn’t want to spend money on travel and hotels or be away from their business. So we traveled to our clients, offered shorter seminars and workshops and started webinars online. We started our Inner Circle Club, an online community of people devoted to achieving more success. We lowered our speaking fees and offered perks. We started giving more and asking for less. People wanted greater value, and there are only two ways to produce more value – either lower the price or increase the benefits to clients. I teach a model called E + R = O    (Event plus Response to event equals Outcome). The recession was an event and many people just caved in or hunkered down, but creative people looked for ways to better serve their clients. They wanted to get more value from us so we gave it. It worked out will because we are almost back to where we were.

VAVASAUR: What advantages came from the downturn?

JACK CANFIELD: We figured out ways to adjust our training to accommodate more people, which allowed us to lower our prices but also have a greater overall net profit at the end. And creating the Inner Circle Club was something we had talked about but had never got around to, and it has proved to be profitable. Also through our webinars, we found many people who responded to video teaching, so we’ve started offering a lot of our information in the form of video lessons. I go into the studio for a day or two every month to video and interview people who are experts in their field.

VAVASAUR: How important is balance in your life?

JACK CANFIELD: I teach an exercise where you create your ideal vision in seven areas of your life – financial, job/career, relationships, health/fitness, fun/recreation, personal, and contribution. If you set goals for your ideal life in each of those areas, then you create a balanced life. That is how I live my life. I’m a big believer in therapy, counseling, coaching, retreats and meditation. Meditation has been proven to reduce stress, increase health and extend life. I also exercise regularly take daily supplements, eat healthy and practice yoga nightly.

VAVASAUR: What legacy do you want to leave?

JACK CANFIELD: My life’s purpose is to inspire and empower people and organizations to live their highest vision and dreams in a context of love and joy. My legacy to accomplish that is the more than 200 books I have written that uplift and educate people and my success principles workshops because I’ve now trained 100+ people to conduct them and given them the rights to use all my material. Ultimately, I’d like to leave a legacy in our school systems where a course on Life Skills is part of every curriculum and people see that the human element is as important as the intellectual element in the education of children.