Introduction

John W. Sims, a highly successful businessman, spoke of a time when he was traveling with an associate. The associate said, “John, aren’t you going to put on your seatbelt?”

John replied with his raspy tenor voice, “Why, are we going to get into a crash?”

“Well, no, but you know, seatbelts save lives…”

John retorted abruptly in his usual blunt way, “Seatbelts don’t save lives.”

“Of course they do! See, I was driving down the road with my family and something told me to make sure everyone was wearing their seatbelts. So I turned around and had the family get all belted up. Right after we turned a corner, there was another vehicle coming straight at us in our lane; it was a head-on collision, and we all survived because of those seatbelts!”

John was firm, “No, the seatbelts didn’t save your life, whatever told you to put them on saved your life.”

Probably a decade has passed since we heard John relate that story. Leaving a lasting impression on us, its message has deepened and taken on new meaning. The more experiences we have, the more profound the idea becomes. He is right. It wasn’t the seatbelts that saved their lives. True, they played a part in the actual physics of keeping the bodies secure during impact, but the credit belongs to the voice of warning. The “life-saving” seatbelts were there during the entire trip. But the timeliness of the prompting, and the man’s response to it, changed the would-be tragedy into a miracle.

This reminds me of a time when Leslie and a girlfriend of hers planned a date for me and another young man back when she was in high school. Earlier in the week, with the intention to take us to a picnic, she and the friend prepared a recording, which described their every move as they traveled from the starting point to the final destination.

When it came time for the event, the other young man and I waited at a payphone for instructions as to where to find a hidden audio tape player. The instructions over the phone told us to “Turn it on and follow the directions explicitly.”

At the end of the journey was the picnic fit for a king. But along the way, the girls followed us, incognito. The most hilarious moments came when we tried to follow the instructions on the recording, but in the wrong places. Having accidentally fallen out of step, we found that the description of the ladies’ actions no longer suited our surroundings and to them, it became absolutely laughable. If we had only known where the girls were trying to take us, we could have improvised and found our own way without them stepping in to point us in the right direction.
While this type of activity is good, clean fun for teenagers going to a picnic, it’s an entirely different story when applied on life’s journey to happiness. Yet, in actuality, this kind of nonsense happens all the time.

Sometimes we look at others who have reached an admirable destination in their life, and proceed to imitate the same steps that they took in an effort to achieve the same results. While we may learn a great deal from people who have what we want, we must realize that we are not always on the same sidewalk, so to speak, as they were on when they began their journey to the picnic. We also must not be so surprised when we end up with different results after duplicating their actions.

Have you ever seen the disclaimer attached to their success stories, “results not typical?” Believe me; I know that legitimate programs are truly fabulous, for we’ve had a number of them work wonders in our life. But, why aren’t the results typical? What about the people who followed the directions perfectly but failed to enjoy remarkable results? How can we know if a “get wealthy,” “get skinny,” or “get happy” program is going to deliver in our life?

If we want the same results as someone else, we shouldn’t so much do what they did, but rather learn how to think like they do. What they did may very well be exactly what is required to achieve the same success; but we each bring with us different life experiences, and a different variety of baggage. These elements make a difference in our results.

Therefore, we must discover the little voice inside of us that helps us get the direction and the timing right. If we have our eyes on the picnic table, and it is in clear view, then instinctively we will know how to get there. If we meet with an obstacle and cannot make it on our own, then inspiration will lead us to the right instructions designed perfectly for us, to take us from where we are, to precisely where we want to be, at a pace that is right for us. We can enlist the “inner voice” to help us find our way simply by keeping a clear image in view of exactly where we’re trying to go.

By learning to recognize the voice, and submitting to its advice, soon enough we become the latest success story and provide the next inspiring testimonial for the fabulous “get happy” program. Is the ‘program’ responsible for our success? Not any more than the seatbelt was exclusively responsible for saving the family from death.

Success comes as a result of preparing oneself for inspiration, and then being willing to pay attention to it and do what it says. I’ve learned that before I make big decisions, I must first have a clear picture in mind and on paper of the outcome I am seeking. What is the lifestyle I am after? In what kind of home do I want to live? What kind of relationships do I want with my family members? What kind of friends do I want to have? (Which picnic would I like to attend?) I must answer these questions in detail and actually commit the answers to paper. Then, and only then, do I look for the inspiration to direct me. That is when I’m ready to listen to and consider someone else’s advice. That is when I am the student who is ready for the teacher to appear.

However, since every idea that comes our way may be either a proverbial lifesaver, or actually the gate to a path of devastation, who can know the difference? It’s therefore completely natural to be paralyzed with fear and remain with the misery, which is familiar to us, rather than to take a risk and hope for the best.

The message in this book will teach you how to take the risk out of taking risks. You will be able to move forward with confidence in pursuit of your dreams. You’ll know who to listen to, and you’ll be able to trust what they say. In short, you’ll be able to proceed methodically toward your worthy ideal, whatever it may be.

You might be thinking: How could anyone be so certain? If that’s your question, this book is for you. This particular story is about one man’s struggle to thrive financially, but the principles apply to any objective a person might have. Having enjoyed a measure of financial success with the principles contained in this book, we’ve also applied them to more trivial things, such as locating a roll of lost packaging tape in our utility closet, or obtaining the perfect parking spot in a time crunch. These principles are even effective in simply finding the answer to a pressing question on my mind. Bottom line, it works. All we have to know is what we really want. In other words, the first thing we must do is simply “pick our picnic,” so to speak.

Following is a modern-day allegory, presented in two parts: Part I is a nearly exact copy of Leslie Householder’s award-winning, best selling story, The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can. It has undergone some minor updates and revisions, while Part II is presented as its sequel. The original story is included here so that readers who are unfamiliar with it will have the proper foundation for what is to come.

Trevan Householder