Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life

Copyright © 2012 by Trevor Blake

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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ISBN 978-1-936661-72-5

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To Audrey, who taught me that even in the darkest moments we can
still choose to turn our attention to the sound of songbirds, and to
Lynda, who lights up my life every time she steps in the room
.

Dear Reader
,

I know that life can often feel like you’re thrashing around in quicksand. The harder you struggle, the deeper you sink, until you can’t see how you’ll ever be free. This doesn’t have to be your experience. I’ve taught the principles of the
Three Simple Steps
to individuals and groups for many years, and it has been a joy for me to see the dramatic changes in people’s lives. For a long time, many of them have encouraged me to write it all down. So I’ve written
Three Simple Steps
to show you how to free yourself and become everything you are meant to be.

This book is the real deal. I came from a poor background with as many hang-ups as anyone else. I had no family or business connections to help me get ahead in the world. Honestly, I have no identifiable skill or talent. I have, however, diligently studied the attributes, talents, and insights of self-made men and women.

I observed three common behaviors in them all that helped them break free from the quicksand of their situations. What intrigued me was that even though they went against the common thinking of the time, their behaviors have since been shown to match up with our modern understanding of the laws of energy.
Three Simple Steps
provides a map to success in business and life based on proven laws of physics, and is supported by recent neuroscientific evidence.

I resisted writing this book until I felt as though I could stand up and talk about what it takes to achieve the American dream. When I was younger and not motivated by financial independence, I used these steps to achieve a life of travel and adventure, visiting more than fifty countries while earning a mid-six-figure salary. After I turned forty, I used the same system
to achieve financial independence. I started a company with a few thousand dollars, and it sold a few years later for more than $100 million. Then I did it again in another business field entirely. I am currently building my third company in less than ten years. I’m not bragging or talking myself up; I want you to know the truth, and to trust what I’m going to tell you.

Quality of life
means different things to different people. In Western civilization, it is impossible to achieve a higher quality of life without financial resources. Becoming financially successful is at the core of this book. For me, however, the path to financial independence went hand in glove with improvements in all aspects of a balanced life. Our lives are not meant to be a struggle but a joyful trip, and I hope this book can help you realize that.

The number
three
has significance throughout human history. It is the tripartite nature of the world as heaven, earth, and waters, or the three phases of the moon. It is human as body, soul, and spirit. Whether it’s the Holy Trinity or the Yin-Yang-Tao, any person can understand and apply a complex concept through an appreciation of three key elements.

Think of a television. It is a complicated piece of technology. You don’t have to become expert in the science of fluorescence or plasma technology to understand the three simple actions of the on/off switch, channel button, and volume control in order to have an enjoyable viewing experience. So it is with understanding the concept of success, and all you need do is make three simple changes in your life.

Similarly, this book has three parts, each dedicated to one step, which must be practiced in the order written. Success cannot be achieved by changing the order or by skipping a step. The first step is to escape the quicksand by reclaiming your individual mentality. The second step empowers you to create those moments of insight that separate the successful from the
rest. The third step shows you how to turn your ideas into your new experiences.

I’m hoping this book will really speak to a few of you in particular. I was a road warrior for many years, spending more time in airports than my home. I know the feeling of racing around while trying to convince yourself that what you are doing actually counts for something. But I remember how I felt while I was living that life; there was a gnawing in my solar plexus reminding me that I was born to make more of my life . . . to make a difference. That feeling of wanting to control our own destinies, but not knowing how, is what I call “the quicksand feeling.” Psychology teaches that men value respect over love, and we want to look back on our lives with a measure of pride that we achieved something worthwhile.

In sharing my three simple steps, I have also met many women who sacrificed their aspirations to raise and nurture a family. As the family members find their own paths away from the home, these wives and mothers can suffer from a very real sense of grief. They often speak of a lack of confidence when returning to a work environment that has changed drastically in the intervening years, especially in terms of technology. Today, however, being fifty years old feels like thirty used to, and there is a whole new adventure awaiting anyone brave enough to try. You just need to know how to get it started.

This book is also a rallying cry. Every week, I meet people who are desperate to be in charge of their own futures, but they can’t come up with an idea to help them get started. Others have an idea but then spend thirty minutes telling me why now is the wrong time to start it.

There is never a wrong time to take control of your life. There have been thirty-two major recessions in the United States since 1850. In each one, household names like General Electric (US economy collapse and run on gold) and Microsoft (stagflation)
started off as small businesses. In fact, sixteen of the thirty companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average were started during a recession. These include Procter & Gamble, Disney, Alcoa, McDonald’s, and Johnson & Johnson. After every recession, there is an upsurge in the pioneering spirit that is unique to America. The 2001–2003 recession period saw the number of personal businesses grow from 16.9 to 18.6 million, and I started my first company right in the middle of it. History shows there is never a bad time to reinvent yourself. Don’t get left behind.

If you check
Amazon.com
, you’ll find more than nine thousand titles in the category of
self-help success
. Many of them offer a helping hand, but the choice is overwhelming: the thirteen paths to . . . the forty-eight laws of . . . When all you want is to improve your quality of life, how are you supposed to learn forty-eight laws about anything before the quicksand pulls you under?

Some self-help book authors have sizeable egos. You can often identify these by the coiffed head with scary white teeth that leers at you from the cover. The pages read like Sunday sermons full of queasy quotations taken out of context. Puking parables exhort you to staple a resignation letter to your boss’s head and buy a one-way ticket to Tibet. As valuable as their information might be, it can’t be digested without a bottle of antacids in hand. This book will show you how to get out of the quicksand . . . without inducing indigestion.

The most popular books in the self-help category were either written almost a century ago or based on ideas from that era, when our culture and society were very different. It was an even more male-dominated world, and the basic laws of physics that we all take for granted today had not been generally accepted. Most of the authors, both back then and more recently, did not achieve the success they were preaching about until
after their books started to sell well. It is dubious information, to say the least.

This book
is
the real deal. I have all the money I need, and all profits I receive from this book will go directly to cancer treatment research and development. I am also donating a free copy to every library in the United States for reasons you’ll discover in the story.
Three Simple Steps
is a map to success in business and life. Though I am normally an intensely private man, at the behest of my publisher, I have illustrated the steps with authentic personal stories that show how an ordinary life is made extraordinary by doing nothing more than applying these principles. In return, I ask only that you share your own success stories from implementing the
Three Simple Steps
in your life at
www.threesimplesteps.com
.

Let’s get started.

Cheers,

Trevor Blake