A Tasty Success: Read the Story of Jack Canfield

Today’s story will be about one of America’s most successful writers and businessmen, whose books inspired thousands of people to make the change they’ve always wanted. Who is Jack Canfield? And how did he get to where he is right now? Let’s talk about it.

Who is Jack Canfield?

Jack Canfield is an American businessman, motivational speaker, seminar leader, institutional trainer, novelist, and acclaimed writer. He was born on August 19, 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States of America. 

After graduating from Harvard University, Jack began his career as a high school teacher in an inner city in Chicago. It wasn't long before Jack became very enthusiastic about motivating his unmotivated students. Jack's research led him to self-made Chicago millionaire and successful scientist W. Clement Stone. Stone was the publisher of Success Magazine, president of Combine Insurance, and author of The Never Fail Success System. Stone is also co-author of Success Through a Positive Mindset.

He worked at the Stone Foundation to bring these success principles to schools and junior clubs in Chicago, and then in the entire Midwest area. His desire to better understand achievement motivation led him to return to graduate school in Massachusetts, where he earned a master's degree in psychological education. After completing his studies, Jack got a job conducting research seminars for school teachers, counselors, and psychotherapists, and later for corporate leaders, managers, salespeople, and entrepreneurs. He studied the principles of self-esteem, high performance, and motivation for achievement and success.

Chicken Soup for the Soul:

Canfield had a talent for writing that emerged during his studies at Harvard University. He was also a staunch supporter of the Law of Attraction and the theories proposed in the book and movie “The Secret.” 

In 1990, Canfield had some ideas he shared with Mark Victor Hansen to start a self-help book project, and the idea turned into a series called "Chicken Soup for the Soul," a collection of stories to help inspire and motivate people to achieve their dreams, launched by Canfield at 48 years old.

The book collects sixty-eight stories from the lives of real people whom Canfield met during his lectures over the course of three years. But the project initially wasn’t as successful as he had hoped after he and the co-author struggled with rejection by more than 144 publishers over the course of 14 months. One publisher told Canfield that the book would not sell 20,000 copies, to which Canfield replied that he had hoped to sell at least 500,000 copies.

In the end, a small publisher in Florida was convinced to print and publish the book, saying that they would have some success because of the name of the book, but the success of the book was great and amazing. So, Canfield and his friend began writing many books aimed at a specific audience; for example, the book "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul" focuses on the problems and hardships of young adults and teens. The series has grown into a world-famous brand and company. Canfield has sold more than 500 million copies in more than 43 languages and has grown into a billion-dollar empire.

The Success Principles As Told By Jack:

Besides the motivational talk, Canfield also published Principles of Success in 2005, which included 64 principles that ensure success in various fields. In this book, Canfield discusses how one can get from where they are to where they want to be. Jack Canfield gathers in this book what he asserts are 64 essential lessons for achieving goals and creating a successful life. The book is divided into six sections: The basics of success, transforming yourself for success, building your own success team, how to create successful relationships, success and money, and now the success begins.

These chapters included the basic principles that one should always carry, such as taking 100% responsibility for your life, defining clearly what you want to do, and believing that whatever you desire can happen, as well as principles aimed at creating better relationships with others, such as keeping your agreements, speaking brilliantly, and telling the truth quickly. Canfield also presented ideas that he claims can bring success with money, build a successful team, beat procrastination, and get all projects started right away.

Other Tasty Achievements:

In Santa Barbara, he has launched self-esteem seminars, created the Canfield Training Center, and established the Leadership Council for Change, which is a group of renowned authors, speakers, and leaders who help and motivate people, coach them to reach their peak creativity, and teach them how to conduct motivational conversations for the public.

Additionally, Canfield appeared in Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret," which explores many theories about individual success and focuses on the law of energy attraction. Canfield agrees that this theory can help people achieve success in their personal and professional lives. He also appeared on many popular TV shows, such as "Good Morning America" ​​and "NBC Nightly News."

Jack Canfield has received many prestigious awards, including the 1995 American Bestseller Award, the 1996 Storytelling World Award, and the 1999 Angel Network Award.

Jack’s Personal Life:

Jack Canfield married several times, and his first marriage was to "Judith Ohlbaum," whom he met while studying at the University of Massachusetts in 1971, and they had four children. About five years after his first marriage, specifically in 1976, Canfield separated from his wife. Two years after his divorce, he married for the second time to "Georgia Lee Noble" and had one child with her. His second marriage lasted 21 years and ended with his separation from his second wife in 1999. He returned in 2001 and married for the third time to "Inga Marie Mahoney."

Finally:

“If you can’t find the path to success, then make your own one.” That’s what Jack said, and that’s what he has done over the course of his life. Creating one success after another, Jack taught us that everything we want in life is just across the threshold of our fears. Once we get rid of them, the world becomes ours.