Jim Fobair stands in front of the audience and begins the seminar with a question, "Has anyone ever had to start over in life?" he asks. One hand hesitates, and then rises. Two more join followed by several more until half of the audience has it's hands raised. Finally, Jim raises his. It's a simple question, but the response always seems to surprise him.
|
The possibility of self-improvement had worked it's way into Jim's life. He began to read more and started to attend seminars regularly. Realizing he could change his life and improve his situation was a powerful idea. He grabbed on and didn't let go.
|
"There are two things that will hold you back." Jim says. "One is a past success: if your stuck in the past because of someone you used to be, You'll never be able to get going in the present moment. And the other is the past failure, you have to let go of your failures as well. I've had both, and i've had to let go of both."
As a younger man, Jim worked as a mattress salesman in Minnesota. He was working for a small paycheck, and struggling to make ends meet. He felt dissatisfied with his job, and that dissatisfaction had bled through to his personal life. "I had a long list of reasons why I wasn't succeeding at my goals and dreams. I blamed everybody." Jim said. "My list was so big that I even blamed my pickup truck." This mentally had him stuck in the same depressing rut. |
Gradually, Jim's outlook on life changed. And even though he now believed in himself, he still needed an opportunity. Sitting in the mattress shop every Sunday, he'd scour the pages of the Minneapolis Tribune's want ad section looking for an opportunity -- any chance to apply his newfound outlook toward something more than a dead end job and a meager salary. The answer came two years later in an ad for Herbalife. It read, Are you Earning What You're Worth? Jim knew he wasn't.
Jim realized he just needed the right vehicle, and this was it. It only took one meeting, and he was in the driver's seat. Ninety days later his salary jumped from $1,000 a month to $10,000 a month, and he quit his job at the mattress store. Two years later he became Herbalife's top distributor in the world, earning more than $100,000 each month. He was only twenty-eight years old. |
"I took out a piece of paper and wrote down all the things holding me back,
all the excuses I was making." Jim remembers. Then he ripped it up and threw it away. On another sheet of paper, he printed just one word: "You" "That's the day my life turned around. There could be no more blaming and no more excuses. That's the day I went to work on myself." |
The success didn't stop. In the early 90's Jim launched his own health and nutrition company. For ten years, life looked and felt like success should. His company was profitable, his family was happy, he managed a large group of employees, and he traveled in a corporate jet. From mattress salesman to CEO, Jim Fobair had built more, achieved more, and seen more than he thought he ever would.
And then it came crashing down. Continue >
|