"Buy the book for yourself or a friend today!

This is part of a series of post on successful people and how they have integrated the 8 Cylinders of Success in their lives in their own words. Buy the book if you want to find and align your 8 Cylinder of Success.

1. Principles » Your Dashboard

What beliefs equate to success to me?

Being Well Read. Failing and Learning from it. Patience.

“I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.”

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

“Patience is a key element of success.”

2. Passions » Your Keys

What do I love doing and why?

Solving BIG Problems. Empowering Others. Enhancing Communication.

“I want to admit that I am an optimist. Any tough problem I think it can be solved.” – TED.com

“I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.”

“I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re interested in.”

3. Problems » Your Fuel

What social, scientific, technical, and/or personal problem do I want to solve?

Malaria (How do we stop a deadly disease that is spread b mosquitoes?) Educational Inequity (How do you make a teacher great?) How do I get a computer in every home?

“There is more money put into baldness drugs than malaria.” – TED.com

“I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.”

“Until we’re educating every kid in a fantastic way, until every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of things to do.”

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.”

“I believe that education is the most important thing to get right for a country to have as strong a future as it should have.”

“In terms of doing things I take a fairly scientific approach to why things happen and how they happen. I don’t know if there’s a god or not, but I think religious principles are quite valid.”

4. People » Your Motor

Whom do I want to serve?

The Poorest Kids. Unhappy Customers. People threatened by malaria.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

“We don’t have the user centricity. Until we understand context, which is way beyond presence — presence is the most trivial notion, just am I on this device or not; it doesn’t say am I meeting with something, am I focused on writing something.”

5. Positioning » Your Lane

What do I want to be #1 in the world at?

Software Program Development. Innovation.

“The finest pieces of software are those where one individual has a complete sense of exactly how the program works. To have that, you have to really love the program and concentrate on keeping it simple, to an incredible degree.”

“We are always saying to ourself…we have to innovate. We got to come up with that breakthrough. In fact, the way software works.. so long as you are using your existing software.. you don’t pay us anything at all. So we’re only paid for breakthroughs”

“Microsoft has had its success by doing low-cost products and constantly improving those products and we’ve really redefined the IT industry to be something that’s about a tool for individuals.”

“Microsoft has had clear competitors in the past. It’s a good thing we have museums to document that.”

6. Pioneers » Your Pace Cars

Who are my models, mentors, and/or guides?

Google. Apple. Firefox. DOS. Greatness.

”Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.”

“The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. In my case, I went to the garbage cans at the Computer Science Center and fished out listings of their operating system.”

“To create a new standard, it takes something that’s not just a little bit different; it takes something that’s really new and really captures people’s imagination — and the Macintosh, of all the machines I’ve ever seen, is the only one that meets that standard.”

“The browser space that we are in we have about 90 percent. Sure, Firefox has come along, and the press love the idea of that. Our commitment is to keep our browser that competes with Firefox to be the best browser – best in security, best in features.”

“You’ve got to be willing to read other people’s code, and then write your own, then have other people review your code. You’ve got to want to be in this incredible feedback loop where you get the world-class people to tell you what you’re doing wrong…”

“Before Paul and I started the company, we had been involved in some large-scale software projects that were real disasters. They just kept pouring people in, and nobody knew how they were going to stabilize the project. We swore to ourselves that we would do better”

7. Picture » Your Road Map

What’s my vision for myself and my world?

Unified Problem Solving. New Leadership. A Global View. Increased Productivity.

“The road map to get rid of this disease involves many things. It involves communicators to keep the funding high, the visability high, to tell the success stories. It involves social scientist so we know how to get not just 70% of people to use the bed nets but 90%. We need mathematicians to come in an simulate this, do monte carlos things, to understand how these tools combine and work together. We need drug companies to give us their expertise. We need rich world governments to provide aid for these things. And so as these elements come together, I’m quite optimistic that we will be able to eradicate malaria.”

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

“I do think this next century, hopefully, will be about a more global view. Where you don’t just think, yes my country is doing well, but you think about the world at large.”

“In the decade ahead I can predict that we will provide over twice the productivity improvement that we provided in the ’90s.”

“The two areas that are changing… are information technology and medical technology. Those are the things that the world will be very different 20 years from now than it is today.”

8. Possibility » Your Destination

What would be possible in the world with me that is not possible without me?

Positively Engaging the Rich in the Lives of the Poor. Friction Free Capitalism. The Digital Workstyle.

“Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out, we’d want to get involved.”

“The Internet will help achieve “friction free capitalism” by putting buyer and seller in direct contact and providing more information to both about each other.”

“It’s pretty incredible to look back 30 years to when Microsoft was starting and realize how work has been transformed. We’re finally getting close to what I call the digital workstyle.”

Purpose » Your GPS

Get Great People to Solve Great Problems.

“A goal I had there was to draw more people into to work on those problem because I think there are some very important problems that don’t get worked on naturally, that is the market does not drive the scientist, the communicators, the thinkers, the governments to do the right things. And only by paying attention to these things and having brilliant people who care and draw other people in can we make as much progress as we need to.”

"Buy the book for yourself or a friend today!

This is part of a series of post on successful people and how they have integrated the 8 Cylinders of Success in their lives in their own words. Buy the book if you want to find and align your 8 Cylinder of Success.

1. Principles » Your Dashboard

What beliefs equate to success to me?

Excellence. Fearlessness. Spirituality. Joy. Significance. Personal Evolution.

“I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.”

“I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly.”

“If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit.”

“It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are – not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within – that you can begin to take control.”

“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you I the best place for the next moment.”

“I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace – a connection to what matters.”

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path with take on greater meaning.”

“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”

2. Passions » Your Keys

What do I love doing and why?

Giving. Touching Lives.

“I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life.”

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

“What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come.”

“You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it.”

3. Problems » Your Fuel

What social, scientific, technical, and/or personal problem do I want to solve?

How does one self-love? How does one overcome fear (of failure)?

“Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way.”

“ I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.”

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

“The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.”

4. People » Your Motor

Whom do I want to serve?

Those who feel disempowered.Women.

“I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on this planet is to encourage people to empower themselves.”

“I am a woman in process. I’m just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.”

5. Positioning » Your Lane

What do I want to be #1 in the world at?

Self-mastery. Finding truth.

“Use what you have to run toward your best – that’s how I now live my life.”

“I’m a truth seeker. That’s what I do every day on the show – put out the truth. Some people don’t like it, they call it sensational, but I say life is sensational.”

“We are each responsible for our own life – no other person is or even can be.”

6. Pioneers » Your Pace Cars

Who are my models, mentors, and/or guides?

Phil Donahue. Sojourner Truth. Harriet Tubman. Ida B. Wells. Madame C.J. Walker. Fannie Lou Hamer.

”If there never had been a Phil, there never would have been a me. I can talk about things now that I never could have talked about before he came on the air. There’s room for both of us.”

“I am where I am because of the bridges that I crossed. Sojourner Truth was a bridge. Harriet Tubman was a bridge. Ida B. Wells was a bridge. Madame C. J. Walker was a bridge. Fannie Lou Hamer was a bridge.”

“For everyone of us that succeeds, it’s because there’s somebody there to show you the way out.”

7. Picture » Your Road Map

What’s my vision for myself and my world?

Personal Freedom. Making Good. Sharing. Royalty. Making A Difference In Others’ Lives. Brightness.

“Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi. I knew there was a way out. I knew there was another kind of life because I had read about it. I knew there were other places, and there was another way of being.”

“I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.”

“My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with.”

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”

“When I look into the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes.”

“What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people’s lives.”

“Even the wildest dreams have to start somewhere. Allow yourself the time and space to let your mind wander and your imagination fly.”

8. Possibility » Your Destination

What would be possible in the world with me that is not possible without me?

People choosing their own paths.

“Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.”

“Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.”

“ Devote today to something so daring even you can’t believe you’re doing it.”

“Your mistake does not define who you are…you are your possibilities.”

“Everyone has to learn to think differently, bigger, to open to possibilities.”

Purpose » Your GPS

Demonstrate Greatness Beyond Imagination.

“What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine.”

“All my life I have always known I was born to greatness.”

I am extremely happy to announce that both of my books, The 8 Cylinders of Success and Good Excuse Goals are ready for pre-order. The first books helps you figure out where to go in life personally and professionally and the second book explains how to get their through community and goal setting. My ultimate intention is to create the world’s most effective purpose-driven goals setting community.

The 8 Cylinders of Success addresses underemployment—the state of employment where an individual is working below their potential because they aren’t passionate about the work or their employer doesn’t bring out the best in them by allowing them to play to their strengths. Good Excuse Goals is new goal setting methodology proven to end procrastination and perfectionism forever through setting event-based goals in small groups every 30 days instead of date-based goals every year.

All pre-orders receive free shipping and will be delivered by December 15th, just in time for the holidays. Order one as a gift for someone you know and one for yourself. Thank you for supporting me in the pursuit of my purpose as I seek to help others find and align their lives with their purpose!

The 8 Cylinders of Success
How to Align your Personal & Professional Purpose

We’re all on the journey of life, but how do you know you’re going in the right direction?  What’s your purpose?  How do you discover it? Your life is your vehicle to design, drive, and maintain. Unfortunately, too many people end up back seat driving through life or driving other people’s vehicles and never take the driver’s seat of their own lives. Using the 8 Cylinders of Success™ framework, this book and workbook will help you design the vehicle of your life and achieve your highest personal velocity in your personal and professional life and avoid underemployment.

The 8 Cylinders of Success™ is a framework created by Jullien Gordon based on academic research in performance optimization, self-motivation, positive psychology, and happiness and the in depth study of some of the world’s most successful people.  The 8 Cylinders of Success™ includes your: principles, passions, problems, people, positioning, pioneers, picture, and possibility.  Together, they lead to your purpose, which is your personal GPS system that continuously guides you in the right direction throughout life.

The 8 Cylinders of Success is organized in short chapters, each offering a guiding question for your personal and professional life, two quotations, a personal story from Jullien’s pursuit of purpose, a company profile, and an exercises to help you gain clarity on your life purpose.  You will learn:

• How to examine your life to discover your true purpose
• How to draw motivation from within yourself
• How to find meaning and fulfillment in your career

Jullien realizes that the x-factor to success is knowing your why.  His personal life experiences that have lead him to self-identify as a purposefinder, have aligned in way that connect with millennials to mothers. Jullien believes that we all have a unique purpose and that once we align our lives with it, we will experience true happiness and fulfillment.  Purpose is not an end destination—it’s a way of being. The 8 Cylinders of Success are as follows:

Good Excuse Goals
How to End Procrastination & Perfectionism Forever

Good Excuse Goal (TM) setting will transform the way you set goals and eliminate your excuse. It will help you end procrastination and perfectionism. It will help you develop a healthy rhythm for your life that allows you to accomplish 12 powerful things in a year rather than nothing at all. It will help you create a support system for yourself and your goals through community accountability. It will help you accomplish whatever it is that you want. I developed the Good Excuse Goals book as a quick and easy to use system for you to accomplish your goals faster. In fact, this book was written in 30 days using the same goal setting process that I’m going to teach you.

Good Excuse Goals is an event-based goal-setting strategy that leverages the power of purpose, people, and programming to help you achieve your goals in less time. By simply changing the sequence of events that make up the goal setting and goal achievement process, you can significantly increase the likelihood that you will achieve any goal you set. The main differences between old goals and Good Excuse Goals are as follows:

Principles: GXG Goals vs Old Goals

About the Author

Jullien Gordon, The PurposeFinder, is the country’s leading voice on purpose and motivation for the millennial generation. At the age of 27, he already has 10 years of experience working with millennials as a CEO, coach, and counselor. He believes that his purpose is to help as many people as possible find their purpose and reach their full potential by helping them make a living doing what they love. He is currently CEO of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company designed to help millennials discover and align their lives with their purpose through motivational teaching and speaking, executive coaching, and employee motivation consulting.

In 2007, Jullien received two masters degrees from Stanford University—his MBA and Masters in Education—before going on to become the Associate Director of Talent Recruitment for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, one of the leading talent development organizations for college students and young professionals.

He is also passionate about writing. He blogs regularly at JullienGordon.com on millennials, purpose, love, and life. Jullien Gordon is originally from Oakland, California and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Pre-Order Today »
Pre-orders receive free shipping and guaranteed delivery by December 15th

1. Seek and accept exceptional opportunities despite pay or prestige.
2. Take as many risk as possible before buying a house or starting a family
3. Develop one or two extremely valuable skills through dedicated practice

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t. I love my life the way it is, but for those of you who wish you had a do-over or are preparing to raise children, check this out:

Train Your Parents (Age 0-5)
Use crying and other tactics like playing using mother against your father to get your parents in the habit of giving you what you want. This will be important later. When you do this, make sure you impress them when you get it.

Ask Your Parents (Age 6-14)
Ask your parents to expose you to as many things as possible until you find your passion. If it interest you, ask. Make them say no. Offer to do chores and get straight As if they say yes. Find friends who do cool things and mention that “Jonny’s parents said it would be educational”. Once you find your passion, stop playing with it and start practicing and studying it like it’s homework. This is how you can crystallize it into a skill. If your parents don’t come through, as a kid, you can raise money from all of their friends at work, church, and in the neighborhood. Raise half the money for that trip or those lessons on your own and then ask your parents to match it.

High School (Age 15-18)
Commit to being great something…anything. Nobody in the Guinness Book of World Records got in there by chance unless it was biological. Everyone made a conscious choice to be great at whatever they chose. Choose something! Use your free-time after-school and in-school to develop your passion. No matter how obscure, if you become a expert at a subject or skill, you’re almost guaranteed to get paid in the long-run. Continue to tap your parents’ bank accounts until they encourage you to get a job. If you end up getting a job, don’t take any old job. Do minimum wage work for a person or organization that you’re passionate about.

Community College (Age 19-20)
Live at home and go to a community college for your first two years and save up to $20,000 in tuition and living expense. Do the minimum necessary to get the grades you need to transfer. Use the rest of your time to develop your passion. To become an expert at something requires 10,000 hours of practice, which equals 20 hrs/week, 50 weeks/year, for 10 years. If you start now, you’ll be an expert by 30.

Top-Tier Public University (Age 21-22)
Transfer to the top in-state public university for your last two years. Get out of the house for a second. Apartments are cheaper than dorms. Continue developing your passion during this time. Join clubs, national organizations, and activities that will develop your passion. If you can find classes that support your passion, then great, but in most cases, your college won’t have any. Maximize your student loans (it’s the cheapest money you’ll find) and use it invest in yourself and/or your business.

Post-Undergrad (Age 23-26)
After graduation, move back home and defer your loans. If you’re an entrepreneur, get a part-time job (20 hours max) that covers your living expenses and allows you to invest in your crazy ideas or save a little bit.  At this stage of life, time is your most valuable/expensive resource. While your friends work, you should be creating. If you’re the employee type, commit this four-year period to entry-level grunt work FOR YOUR DREAM JOB (not just any job, especially high-paying ones). Get so great at what you do, that you have the skills to start your own company or advance in the organization. When you have the option to leave, that’s when you get the highest pay.

All Eggs In One Basket (Age 27-30)
Move out! By now, you should have a little bit of savings to buy some real estate or an idea developed to the point where it’s generating revenue on the side. For the employees, take a risk in your career and go to business school and/or pick something specific to get great at based on where you see the industry you love going. If you’re at a Blockbuster-like company and see a Netflix-like company on the rise, jump ship. For the entrepreneurs, take it to the next level and commit to following your passion full-time. Use the intellectual, social, and financial capital you’ve gained since college to making a living doing what you love.

The tour will officially begin at UCLA in January and we hope to fill Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Route 66 actually ends in Los Angeles, which is symbolic of our journey backwards to when a college degree was valuable and the focused on making sure students developed holistically. Today, a college degree has become commodity.

Today, I lead my Driving School for Life course. This is the second road trip in UCLA. It was one of the most powerful road trips I’ve ever lead. I’ve officially issued 190 licenses to live now. Sunday is a day to relax. Considering that I spend 5 years of my life in LA (3 as an undergrad and 2 as director of a non-profit), I have plenty of people to see including my little brothers.

I’m headed back to New York on Continental on Monday night. I’m going to review the video (soon to be posted), make adjustments, and continue to rehearse until the presentation is perfect. Overall, I felt great and I can’t wait until the tour starts.

Here’s an email I got on Monday from a parent in attendance:

I remember when we first met. You were wearing all black and I was afraid of you. At the time, I was dating Good Enough. I didn’t want to take a risk on you. With Good Enough, I was safe, secure, and comfortable. But Good Enough wasn’t good enough. I needed more. I needed to be pushed…be challenged.

That’s when we met face-to-face. I guess opposites attract. Who would  have thought that a Successful and a Failure would date. It’s like mixing vinegar and oil or a Capulet and a Montague. I acted like I couldn’t stand you, but when I relaxed and just truly embraced you, I learned so much from you. I wish more people got to know you like me and would stop judging you.

You remember who introduced us? My first business introduced us back in 2005. All my other friends hated you. But I didn’t care what they said. I had to see for myself what you were all about. I invested my time, money, energy, and identity in you. You showed me things about myself that I didn’t even know about like my ego and my self-doubt. You knew how to press my buttons and now I know myself better.

I know I ran away when we broke up. It was me, not you. In hindsight, I have to admit that you made me better. And for that I want to say thank you.

I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing you around. I hear you’re out there still breaking hearts. I don’t want the next time we meet to be awkward.

As you’d always say, “If you fall out of love with a Failure, make sure you fail forward.”

Sincerely,

Mr. Successful

Imagine looking for an ATM. Because of your familiarity with your city, you have an idea of where the closest ATM may be. So you create a plan to get there and go. Little do you realize that there is one that’s even closer than the one you went to, actually along the way.

The end goal was to find an ATM. When you have an intention, you are open to the fact that there may be a closer ATM. You are more focused on the why than the how. Sometimes the forward thinking process required for planning closes you off to better options. Plans require a lot of assumptions-that we know what’s best and the best way to get there.

A strong intention will open you up to the infinite ways to accomplish your goals. You will miss less opportunities. A friend that owes you money may pass by. You may find money on the ground. You may see what you’re looking for at a garage sale for cheap. There are so many ways to get what you want and if you learn to let go of your way, you will start to see the invisible ATMs.

Expect the unexpected!

1. Employment of individuals with greater skills than the job requires
2. Involuntary part-time works—workers who would work full-time if they could but can’t find it
3. Overstaffing—businesses hiring workers who aren’t fully occupied when at work

Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without work. The currently unemployment rate is at 12%, but nobody knows what the UNDERemployment rate is and that the biggest problem the economy has right now. When I speak of UNDERemployment, I am referring to first definition above—the employment of individuals with greater skills than the job requires. It is impossible to sustain an economy when the cost of the worker exceeds the value they are creating and that is usually the case with UNDERemployment.

Lets say that there are 100 employees in the economy. If 12% of them are unemployed, then that means 12 people are without work. Now, if the UNDERemployment rate is 50%—meaning that 88 of the employees are only working at half of their capacity—then essentially, the value of those employees is only 44 (88 x 50%) and the other half is left on the table as wasted potential. Therefore, whereas unemployment leads to a loss of 12 employees, UNDERemployment is 3.5 times greater. UNDERemployment is worst than unemployment if it is above 14% (because 14% of 88 = 12.32).

The first version of UNDERemployment is primarily caused by two things:

• RESTRICTION: Risk-averse companies managing employees too tightly and lot allowing them to create the most value they can
• REPRESSION: Risk-averse employees pursuing careers that aren’t aligned with their greatest strengths and passions

The way companies can combat RESTRICTION is to open dialogues with employees who interact with the customers on a daily basis and find out where they see opportunities to add more value for customers, their teammates, or the company at large. The way to decrease REPRESSION is to help prospective employees find their purpose and passions in a safe environment and then recruit based on their intrinsic motivations rather than using extrinsic things like salary to attract (the wrong talent).

If an employee makes $0.10/minute in profit for their company for one year, they would create $52,560 (=$0.10 x 60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days) in value for the company. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but the reason the economy has tanked is because most employees aren’t meeting this plateau. The average American earns about $40,000/year, so we have to figure out how to support each other in creating more value than we take through innovation (or educated risk-taking) and better recruiting practices.