Dan Waldschmidt: Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become extraordinary

Dan Waldschmidt

Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become extraordinary

Published with permission from WALDSCHMIDT PARTNERS INTL.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

* * *

At the beginning of the book, opinions and reviews of readers who liked it are usually given. But, in essence, why do you care about other people's opinions?

Read the book and draw your own conclusions.

Where it all started

I still remember the taste of cold, oiled metal on my tongue.

At 25 I was going to die. I just wanted to get rid of the pain. That day I sat on the steps of the garage with the barrel of a gun in my mouth, in a drunken stupor, with a feeling of bitter, murderous hopelessness.

I had everything I could want. But I destroyed everything...

I always wanted to be extraordinary, amazing, eccentric. I wanted to change the world and, of course, I have already achieved a lot.

By the age of twenty-two, I was known in Washington business circles as the Wunderkind, the head of a growing company that was rapidly expanding on both sides of the East Coast, doing business around the world. I had a wonderful wife, a wonderful son, and a house too big for the three of us. And to those who did not try to look behind the screen of luxurious suits and carefree chatter, it seemed that everything was fine with me. However, inside I was full of guilt and lack of confidence in my own strength. I'm tired.

Despite my passion for extreme sports and my penchant for working my ass off—often spending days at a time at work—I had lost the ability to bend the world to my will. My marriage was in tatters. Into a million little pieces. And I acutely felt how the fragments of this catastrophe pierced my being.

I was not paying attention to my wife, so another man appeared next to her. For some time I pretended that I didn’t notice anything and that I didn’t care what was happening. But the feeling that someone has taken your place eats away at your soul. It drove me crazy. I blamed my wife. He cursed her. I tried to throw it out of my life. So what if I didn’t have time for it?!

But somewhere deep down, I clearly understood that my selfish behavior and inability to show love ruined our beautiful relationship. I could no longer pretend that this drama wasn't tearing my heart apart.

It's not like this was my first time losing something. I had failed many times before, but, as a rule, I saw them as another step towards success. And I always considered success as something inevitable. It seems that was the case.

Only this time, failure befell me in my family life. And it seemed that nothing could be done.

I was going crazy because I couldn't change anything on my own. I have always been able to solve any problems and tasks before anyone else thanks to my unbridled, focused, superhuman enthusiasm. But it was beyond my control to do anything in this situation. I couldn't get my wife to believe me. Or love me.

And it caused unimaginable pain.

Although from the outside everything probably looked different.

Yes, I didn’t want to lose my wife – but not for any sensible reasons. I couldn't afford any loss. Never! Never! So I changed my behavior for a few months - just enough to show that I was an exemplary family man. I followed all the formalities: I began to spend more time with my wife, took her to expensive restaurants, and organized fabulous shopping tours. I expected that three months of exemplary behavior would return her love and respect to me. I even told her about it. But this only further alienated her.

Therefore, I went to what was best for me - to extremes. I worked longer. He swore louder. Trained harder. I spent every waking minute trying to calm the pain.

Day after day, I closed the office door behind me and sobbed over my desk. My assistant knocked politely, reminding me of the meetings. I washed my face, straightened my tie, and went off to make incredible deals. But inside I was depressed and emotionally broken. This means that even more effort had to be made. That's what I did.

I pushed myself to the point of exhaustion, and even harder. At one point, I even lost nine kilograms in a couple of days; and during merciless training in the gym, he contracted a staphylococcal infection. And at first the doctors were unable to detect it.

Title: Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become extraordinary
Writer: Dan Waldschmidt
Year: 2014
Publisher: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber (MYTH)
Genres: Foreign psychology, Self-improvement

About the book “Be the best version of yourself. How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary by Dan Waldschmidt

About the book by Dan Waldtschmidt “Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become extraordinary"

Who among us did not dream as a child of becoming an outstanding person - popular, talented and charismatic? These childhood dreams rarely progress into adulthood, but in vain! When starting to realize themselves, many people seem to deliberately hide their potential, being content with only a small part of what life provides them. Dan Waldschmidt harshly criticizes this thinking with its many internal limitations and gives delightful examples from the lives of individuals who can be ranked among the most outstanding people in the entire history of mankind. Read the book “Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become outstanding” will be of interest to everyone who wants to take a fresh look at themselves - from the height of all possibilities and hidden reserves.

The author's style is very specific - Den Waldschmidt points out to the reader his shortcomings, and this bitter truth of life touches a nerve. The pages of the book seem to “scream” about how insignificant a person can be and how certain qualities aggravate his life, communication with others, and even his well-being. This approach makes us seriously think about the organization of our living space, about the mistakes that we make every day. This work is especially useful for people who are not afraid of self-criticism and know how to analyze their behavior.

After such a unique psychological preparation, you can begin the key stage of the author’s methodology - self-improvement. Dan Waldschmidt gives a lot of valuable advice and recommendations, illustrating them with the example of some people's success stories. The author colorfully presents one hundred and twenty-six life rules and mottos that are guaranteed to lead a person to his dream. But to follow many of them, you need to have an iron will and endurance. As vivid examples show, it’s never too late to start improving yourself. An interesting fact is that the author began work on the book “Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become outstanding” in a difficult emotional state - he tried to commit suicide out of despair and hopelessness. However, strict discipline and the ability to pull oneself together did their job.

Starting to read this manual on self-improvement, you feel the powerful energetic message of the author, which is concentrated in apt, succinct phrases and emotional appeals. I want to parse this wise creation into quotes, write them down in my notebook and constantly keep them before my eyes, inspired by this elixir of fortitude and faith in great achievements.

On our literary website books2you.ru you can download the book by Dan Waldschmidt “Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become outstanding" for free in formats suitable for different devices - epub, fb2, txt, rtf. Do you like to read books and always keep up with new releases? We have a large selection of books of various genres: classics, modern fiction, psychological literature and children's publications. In addition, we offer interesting and educational articles for aspiring writers and all those who want to learn how to write beautifully. Each of our visitors will be able to find something useful and exciting for themselves.

Today I finished reading the book “Be the Best Version of Yourself” by Dan Waldschmidt and decided to immediately write my review and review, since it makes sense for everyone to read it. Personally, I took away many important principles from this book that apply in all areas of our lives to achieve success and prosperity.

The first thing I want to note is that the book “Be the Best Version of Yourself” itself is very nicely and uniquely designed, the font is large, so 200 pages of this book can be read in a few days. The first sentence in this book "You don't need any other books on achieving success"— having read it, I can completely agree with this statement, since it contains all the necessary principles for achieving success. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific principle and I liked that there are real stories of people who have achieved success thanks to these principles, so all the information is well-reasoned and easy to follow.

Quotes from the book “Be the best version of yourself”

Here are some principles that I wrote down for myself from this book:

Stop making excuses for yourself!

To understand how important it is to get rid of excuses, you need to understand the results of your individual actions. For example, reading one book a week for 22 years - learn 1144 new ideas from the smartest people from all over the world. Making 5 important contacts a month for 35 years means getting to know 2,100 new people you can count on in difficult times. By getting up 1 hour earlier in 27 years, you can become a master of anything according to the 10,000 hour rule.

The more often you fight, the more often you win.

It turns out that such great people as: Sigmund Freud, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Stan Smith, Charles Schultz, Vincent van Gogh, Leo Tolstoy, John Creasy, Hank Aaron - all of them failed, but despite their shortcomings and weaknesses, they found strength and became outstanding people who contributed to our society. Therefore, if something doesn’t work out for me now, it doesn’t mean it won’t work out in the future.

For every success achieved, there are as many failures, not counting minor mistakes.

This principle says that failure is part of success. I can confirm from my own experience.

At all times, ordinary people have achieved outstanding success.

Of course there are exceptions in the form of child prodigies, but for the most part, successful people are ordinary people who got their act together and became great.

Success is about you, not what you do or have.

All successful people have the same qualities. They are not afraid to take risks, they are disciplined, they are generous, they know how to get along with people.

Making an effort is simply taking the next step.

Any achievement is daily work. The key word is “daily”. By doing exercises every day, you guarantee yourself a healthy body. By reading books every day, you guarantee yourself good intelligence. By paying attention to your loved ones every day, you guarantee yourself success in your relationship. By working on your project every day, you guarantee yourself success in your career or business. Etc. and so on.

To achieve something, you must first become different from others.

This means not thinking according to a template, not doing according to a template, then you will be unique and interesting to others.

By making mistakes, you open up new opportunities.

It’s better to try 10 times and make mistakes than never try and make no mistakes.

It takes serious focus to make significant changes that will take you to the next level.

Here we are talking about concentration and willpower, which need to be developed.

A lot of life comes down to doing hard things when you least want to.

“Be the best version of yourself. How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary by Dan Waldschmidt

This book describes the stories of ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary success. They exude incredible energy. They will not leave anyone indifferent and will definitely inspire you to new achievements in your professional and personal life, because these are stories from the lives of real people from different fields of activity who took risks and achieved outstanding results.

This is a book for those:

who wants to achieve outstanding results in anything;
who loves bright books and inspiring stories that evoke a storm of emotions;
who wants to give a friend or loved one a book that can change their life.

Dan Waldschmidt

Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become extraordinary

Published with permission from WALDSCHMIDT PARTNERS INTL.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

* * *

At the beginning of the book, opinions and reviews of readers who liked it are usually given. But, in essence, why do you care about other people's opinions?

Read the book and draw your own conclusions.

Where it all started

I still remember the taste of cold, oiled metal on my tongue.

I had everything I could want. But I destroyed everything...

I always wanted to be extraordinary, amazing, eccentric. I wanted to change the world and, of course, I have already achieved a lot.

Only this time, failure befell me in my family life. And it seemed that nothing could be done.

And it caused unimaginable pain.

Although from the outside everything probably looked different.

Therefore, I went to what was best for me - to extremes. I worked longer. He swore louder. Trained harder. I spent every waking minute trying to calm the pain.

I spent four days in the intensive care unit of the hospital. They brought infectious disease specialists to see me, and they did a blood test for AIDS and other autoimmune diseases. Everything was clean. Doctors could not understand what was wrong, and saw one way out - to try different antibiotics. If one did not help, another was prescribed. Then another one. And so again and again. Eventually I got better.

But my body was broken. I was weak and out of shape. Everything I worked so hard for was gone. And this caused me even more suffering.

I always believed that I could cope with any difficulties, and I always made enough efforts to overcome them. But now, for the first time in my life, I was physically unable to do this. Not only did I let my family down, I let myself down. The only friend I had left (myself) abandoned me. And I couldn't get rid of the feeling of loneliness. I was consumed by my failure. Terrible thoughts were constantly spinning in my head.

This time I was defeated. It's time to quit the game.

If the staph infection didn't kill me, now I wanted to do it myself. That's how I found myself in the middle of the garage, completely drunk, with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a gun in the other.

Tears rolled down my face. My sadness poured out into sobs. It was so deep and caused so much pain that I was ready to die. There was no other way out. I longed for death. Brushing away my tears, I grabbed the box of bullets. In a daze (after all, I would have to do the job myself), I painstakingly shoved bullet after bullet into my .22-caliber Browning until the clip was full.

I took another sip of whiskey and staggered to the back porch of the garage. Sitting down, I awkwardly slammed my glass on the step with a crash. But he survived. For a few seconds this observation distracted my attention from sad thoughts. But they immediately came again.

I picked up the gun and brought it to my head. I was curious, which would be better - to put the gun to the temple or to the mouth? Can I at least not screw this up? I decided that shooting in the mouth would be safer.

I was completely serious when I tasted gun oil on my tongue. Partly I was wondering if I would dare to do this, and partly I wanted to get it all over with as soon as possible. I'm tired of suffering.

Soon the pain will go away. I nodded, as if confirming to myself that I was doing everything right.

He put his finger on the trigger and began to press...

You don't need other books on achieving success.

You don't need success books. Is it true. You already know everything you need to know: set goals, work hard, don't back down or give up until you get what you want. You can repeat this even in your sleep.

I know something about this!

I know how to achieve success. I was expelled from the university twice. And in theory, I shouldn't have made a single cent, but I made many millions of dollars. (And lost many millions.)

As a leader, I managed significant sales growth for ten years. How a consultant taught companies around the world to do the same.

I became the head of the company at the age of twenty-five. But I'm not an entrepreneur, I just got into the business field and made my way.

I know how to break the rules and be a superstar - not only in business, but in life. But I'm unremarkable. I'm an ordinary guy who has done some pretty extraordinary things and become wildly successful.

However, this book does not give the usual stupid advice on how to achieve success. It talks about the “baggage” in your head that keeps leading you to failure. I know enough about this.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books on achieving success and high performance. But they lack practical, if painful, discussions of the emotional challenges associated with success. They do not pay attention not only to actions, but also to states. And this is a huge oversight of the authors, because your actions will not lead to success until you deal with the deeply personal problems in your life that cause you to behave this way.

In fact, success is not a series of actions, but a state.

Success is not what you do, but what you are.

Published with permission from WALDSCHMIDT PARTNERS INTL.

5th edition

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holders.

* * *

At the beginning of the book, opinions and reviews of readers who liked it are usually given. But, in essence, why do you care about other people's opinions?

Read the book and draw your own conclusions.

Prologue. Where it all started

I still remember the taste of cold, oiled metal on my tongue.

I had everything I could want. But I destroyed everything...

I always wanted to be extraordinary, amazing, eccentric. I wanted to change the world and, of course, I have already achieved a lot.

It's not like this was my first time losing something. I had failed many times before, but, as a rule, I saw them as another step towards success.

And I always considered success as something inevitable. It seems that was the case.

Only this time, failure befell me in my family life. And it seemed that nothing could be done.

And it caused unimaginable pain.

Although from the outside everything probably looked different.

Therefore, I went to what was best for me - to extremes. I worked longer. He swore louder. Trained harder. I spent every waking minute trying to calm the pain.

But my body was broken. I was weak and out of shape. Everything I worked so hard for was gone. And this caused me even more suffering.

This time I was defeated. It's time to quit the game.

Soon the pain will go away. I nodded, as if confirming to myself that I was doing everything right.

He put his finger on the trigger and began to press...

You don't need other books on achieving success.

I know something about this!

I know how to achieve success. I was expelled from the university twice. And in theory, I shouldn't have made a single cent, but I made many millions of dollars. (And lost many millions.)

As a leader, I managed significant sales growth for ten years. How a consultant taught companies around the world to do the same.

I became the head of the company at the age of twenty-five. But I'm not an entrepreneur, I just got into the business field and made my way.

However, this book does not give the usual stupid advice on how to achieve success. It talks about

“baggage” in your head that continues to lead you to failure. I know enough about this.

In fact, success is not a series of actions, but a state.

Success is not what you do, but what you are.

Everything you strive to achieve, all your goals, dreams and desires are the creation of your inner essence, not actions. Therefore, we will not talk about how to succeed, but about how to be successful.

This is not the kind of book that tells you to follow a series of steps to make millions of dollars. It's about something completely different. (Although it is possible that this will lead you to exactly this result.)

This book is about important truths that are not commonly talked about and that you will not find in typical success literature. This is a behind-the-scenes look at pain, fear, love (yes, love) and other important feelings that determine great success, no matter how you get there.

This book is about who you are, why you are not where you want to be, and how to fill your life with incredible possibilities.

This book will take you back to what really works. It's about how an ordinary person like you and me can become extraordinary, whether it's running a company, making deals, or training for the Olympics.

What you read in it will change the rest of your life. You will exceed your expectations. Set yourself unimaginable goals. You will be happier. And you will get incredibly much pleasure from it. Undoubtedly!

I deliberately made the book very short. There is nothing for me to describe, because the true essence of high performance is extremely simple. In fact, all of it can be contained in one word -

But perhaps that would be too brief.

“Being” the best version of yourself is a very empowering idea. There's something deeply satisfying about making the most of your potential.

Only you know your true potential.

But I'll tell you this: it's much bigger than you can imagine.

And here is the question you should ask yourself: “Who am I? Who do I want to become and why do I need it?

Take your time. Think it over carefully. This question is deeper than it seems.

Unfortunately, I came to the answer the hard way. But at the same time I learned something. Something that cannot be faked. What needs to be felt, lived. Which should cover you completely. This is what will make you successful.

What I'm talking about? What kind of condition is this?

It's an obsession. That determination and strength of character that ultimately determines success.

The point is that you cannot avoid difficulties in the future. They will inevitably arise. Life will beat you down a lot. You'll get an uppercut to the chin and fall to the floor. And most likely, this will happen at the most unexpected moment, when your arms are lowered and you cannot stand firmly on your feet.

This is why everything you have done in the past and will do in the future does not matter! At that moment, when you are lying in the ring, covered in blood, the only thing that matters is the strength of your spirit. What is inside of you plays a decisive role.

Unbridled courage is what will lift you off the floor.

For such a case, there is no magic formula or special super plan consisting of seven steps. Just a crazy obsession with one thought - to get up. And the more effort you put into getting back on your feet, the faster you recover, the sooner you will limp towards the finish line, which is called success.

This requires courage.

Not brains. Not muscles -

and perseverance.

Because success lies not in the amount of knowledge, but in the strength of spirit. This is not a list you can download from the Internet, a blog post you can repost on Twitter, or a business strategy you can copy from a best-selling business book.

You must be more resilient. You must be desperate for more. You should be more careful.

In fact, you already know what to do. In any case, it's not that important. What is more important is to know what you will do with it? Who do you decide to become?

Let's talk about this.

Stop making excuses for yourself

The only thing that matters is what you do. Whatever it is. Small things. Large ones. Even annoying mistakes.

What matters is that you're wasting your time. Blame others for your failures. Sometimes be lazy. This is important because you want to achieve your goals. And on the way to them there is no room for excuses. This path has been followed by each of the great people who have achieved success in life.

Sigmund Freud was booed on stage when he first presented his theories to a group of scientists in Europe. He continued his work and was awarded the Goethe Prize for his work in the field of psychology.

Winston Churchill, one of the greatest political leaders of the 20th century, became prime minister at the age of 65, although he lost the election. The king appointed him to this post when the previous prime minister received a vote of no confidence.

Albert Einstein He did not speak until he was four years old, he could not read simple words until he was seven years old, and he was later expelled from school. Subsequently, his theory of relativity revolutionized physics.

Henry Ford did not achieve success as a farmer, did not succeed as an apprentice or mechanic, and became bankrupt four times. However, he perfected mass production.

Stan Smith They didn’t hire the boy who picks up the balls because of his clumsiness. Smith is an 8-time Davis Cup winner and is considered one of the best doubles players of all time.

Charles Schultz was refused publication of all his cartoons published in the school annual magazine. Schultz was not hired by the Walt Disney Company. But he created the most popular comic book series - Peanuts.

Vincent van Gogh in his entire life he sold only one painting – to his friend’s sister for about $50. He painted more than 800 masterpieces, seven of which are worth a total of $1 billion.

Lev Tolstoy was expelled from the Faculty of Law for poor academic performance. His teachers considered him “learning disabled.” But he became one of the world's greatest novelists (think War and Peace).

John Creasey failed as a salesman, clerk, factory worker and aspiring writer. He received 754 rejections from publishers, but wrote more than 600 novels and is considered one of the greatest detective writers.

Hank Aaron did not qualify for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball club and lost his first league game with a score of 0:5. He later broke the Major League Baseball home run record and held it for 33 years.

Letting go of excuses means taking responsibility for all aspects of your life and creating a future you can be proud of.

So what if no one has done this before.

Become a pioneer.

So what if it didn’t work out for you a couple of times already?

Reconsider your approach.

So what if you don’t have a higher education?

Be curious. Learn.

So what if no one believes in you?

You don't need approval to succeed.

So what, it will be difficult.

Great success is achieved through pain and loss.

So what if you’re trying, but so far you’re not succeeding.

Being brave is always the right decision.

So what if people don't follow you.

They will follow as soon as you do something worthwhile.

So what if you get hurt?

This is the price of courage.

So what if you are underestimated?

Your ego won't let you rest on your laurels.

So what if everything you were taught turned out to be wrong.

Create new rules.

So what if the experts don’t agree with you.

Experts may be wrong.

So what if you give more than you receive?

Maybe you'll just be happier.

So what? So what? So what?

Rest what if- just excuses. You need to look inside your soul and fight the demons that are preventing you from achieving success.

You will not become a winner until you stop paying attention to the fears and failures that are holding you back.

First, you need to believe that you can be great, no matter who you are at this stage in life.

Carl Joseph (nicknamed Sugar Leg) was born in Madison, Florida. He was the fourth of ten children in the care of a single mother. His poor family did not have money to visit health and sports institutions. This is probably why Karl worked hard to become an outstanding athlete.

Growing up, he played basketball and football on the street. He fought older guys, which taught him to be tough. More than once he was brutally thrown to the ground, but he always jumped up and entered the fight again.

In seventh grade, Karl joined the basketball team. Standing under the hoop, he would jump straight up and throw the ball into the basket. And that was just the beginning.

In high school, he played basketball, football and ran cross-country, while setting records in almost every sport. At one competition, he high jumped 1.72 meters, after which he turned, threw a shot 12.2 meters and threw a discus 39.6 meters.

At one of the football matches with much taller and stronger opponents than him, Karl managed to block 11 times, intercept 1 ball and block 1 shot.

In college, the young superstar did not give up sports. Karl played as a middle linebacker at Varsity

Bethune-Cookman. Five of his teammates subsequently went on to play in the National Football League. The Wildcats won the conference championship thanks in large part to Carl's inspirational example.

The fact is that Karl was born without a left leg. All the competitions in which he participated took place in unequal conditions: everyone ran, turned and jumped on two legs, and Karl did all this while jumping on one.

No prosthetics. No crutches. Only courage.

When a reporter asked Karl what limitations he had, he replied, “None.”

So, what was your next excuse?

It's important to let go of excuses if you value your future. If you create a future for yourself that you work hard for, then your efforts are very important, right? And you probably don't want to ruin everything. If you had a list of things that you should never spoil, your future would be number one on it.

Your decisions shape your destiny.

Don't believe me? Believe me, it's true.

Sooner or later, your actions—and who you are—will determine the outcome you get.

What does it mean? Here's a practical example. Let's calculate how much sleep you actually need and how choosing to sleep less will affect your life. Simply get up one hour earlier every day for fifty years and you'll get approximately 2,281 extra work days (or 6.25 years) to reach your goals.

The more often you fight, the more often you win.

Your daily decisions – or excuses – add up over time. It's easy to say that you need to work hard. Everyone knows this, right? But saying it doesn’t mean doing it.

Your future depends on the decisions you make, not on your ideas. Cause-and-effect relationships are at work here, not chance. You actually influence what you receive.

We all wish we had that extra 6.25 years to achieve our goals. But given a billion minute-by-minute opportunities to make a decision, for example, to still laze in bed or get up and go win, most of us choose the first. At this moment, the decision seems insignificant - just think, just an hour. But its results are fateful. Literally.

The decisions you make hundreds of times a day shape your future. They are all taken into account.

So how can you change your future today?

First, believe in your worth. In the significance of your actions. The fact that your immediate actions change your opportunities in the future.

It's your way of thinking; and a bold way of thinking, if you like. This means that you:

keep a positive attitude when you are scared;

you're fighting to the bitter end, even after receiving a punch in the gut;

stay honest, even if it embarrasses you;

set aside time to develop new skills, talents and ideas, although it would be much easier to just “be yourself”;

make an effort to boost morale without letting anxiety control your decisions.

To understand how important it is to get rid of excuses, you need to understand the results of your individual actions. Staying positive 20 times a day for 15 years is like having 109,500 opportunities to create a happier future.

Winning one more time every year means getting the opportunity to boast of thirty incredible, stunning successes throughout your life.

Tell the truth 1 more time every day - get 365 additional reasons to trust yourself.

Make five important connections a month (not on Facebook or Twitter) for 35 years - get to know 2,100 new people you can count on in difficult times.