Chapter 1: The Spark of a Dream

Imagine going on a camping trip, starting a campfire, then letting the fire die down. You pour water over it and go on with your daytime activities. In the evening you come back to camp to start the fire again only to realize under those ashes, there are some burnt embers still red and hot. A strong wind passes by, blowing away those ashes, lighting up the burnt wood. Sparks ignite into flame. A wildfire rages.

***

When I turned 36 years old, I felt like those buried embers. All my hopes and dreams were disappearing in the busy life of a demanding job, family, traffic, bills and social obligations. I was busy all the time and didn't get much done. I wasn't poor. I just didn't have money. I tried several different jobs. I got involved in a business but backed out quickly. I joined a network marketing opportunity but felt disconnected. Even outside of work, I was getting bored with all the weekend birthdays, BBQs and sporting events.

Many times I thought to myself, "How did I get here?" Maybe I married too young. Maybe my wife and I had kids too soon. Maybe I should have held on and not bought a house so early. Maybe that's why I can't get another degree or a better job. I felt burned, like dead wood.

I was a low key guy, almost invisible. In the spring of 1985, a man walked into my office and invited me to a BPM, a business presentation meeting. Smelling a network marketing deal, I gave him an empty promise and didn't show up. He came back the next week to invite me again. I got curious and wanted to come, but something held me back at the last minute. I stood him up a second time. After that, he never returned. It was the breeze before the first spark.

A few weeks later I bumped into a lady in the hallway of my office. She invited me to the same meeting. This time I was ready and willing.

***

The BPM meeting that Saturday morning was the strong wind of my life. It blew me away. It fired me up. Up until that point, I was burning inside, but the flames of desire had found no oxygen. The dream that was buried inside finally burst out with the air of hope. I realized my dream was still alive, that it was always there. It just finally woke up.

***

I think everybody has a dream. When I was a kid, I was fascinated with pictures and stories of faraway places. I always wanted to get out of my neighborhood -- the poverty, the war, the old traditions. I wished I was a bird, so I could fly all over the world. Like a miracle, the war ended in 1975. I ran away and found myself in the U.S. I was so happy to be here. I was free and ready to go. But reality set in -- the settlement in a new land, the struggle to survive, the maintenance of a busy life. All around me, in the land of opportunity, everybody got busy their entire life, then died. My situation was almost the same. For 10 years, I didn't go anywhere. Most of my vacations were short road trips to Southern California where I stayed at a friend's or relative's house and went back home. I was stuck in a rut, and my dream slowly disappeared with every passing year.

***

In the past 28 years, meeting and talking to countless numbers of people, I found a good majority of them lost their dream due to many different reasons or excuses.

When we are in our 20s, we are busy finishing school. Finally out of college, we look for a job and want to make a good impression at work. We get married and start a family by our 30s. A new house and kids take all our time. We are busier into our 40s as job pressure mounts, not to mention more expenses, more debt and more work with the growing children. By our 50s, we work harder to keep our job or have to get retrained to learn new technology. Our kids' college bills pile up. Our parents are getting old and need help. We're exhausted by our 60s and fear retirement without enough savings. 

In this day and age, how can anybody have enough time? Everyone around us wants our time -- our boss, our family, our friends. Traffic gets worse every year. And now there is all the email, voicemail, and texts we have to check, not to mention Facebook, Twitter and whatever other technology lying on the horizon. Each day we have 10 things to do and we're lucky to finish two. We're typical modern people -- pressured, hurried, frustrated, a candidate for heart attack. 

It's hard for us to have money. Our lifestyle increases faster than our paycheck. We intend to buy a Toyota but drive home with a Lexus. Or closets are full of more shirts, shoes and purses than we can store, and fashion labels keep coming out with new versions. We continually update our smartphones, laptops and tablets. Our children also want the same things. Many times their clothes and phones are more expensive than ours.

Everyone else will spend our money too. We're invited to all kinds of parties and events. We're so popular we don't want to disappoint people. All of these unpredictable expenses will blow away our budget. If we lose our job, our finances will collapse. Many people are just one paycheck away from bankruptcy. We have neither the time nor money to do anything. I know. I was one of them. 

Our coworker talks about getting laid off as well as problems with the manager. Our friends talk casually about current events or celebrities. Everyone feels lucky just to have a job. They feel bad for the ones who don't have one. Everyone tells us to take it easy. At home we hardly talk with our spouse about anything other than how to deal with the children and the bills. We like to talk about our problems. And we like to talk about other people's problems. 

We become settled and accept things the way they are. We lose our courage. We analyze everything, the pros and the cons, so we don't have to do anything. We're afraid to make a mistake. We end up talking about things that are safe to talk about. We chat, text, talk and post pictures about the food we ate and the party we attended. When we were young, we complained that our mom picked us up late and talked too much on the phone. We complained that our dad just sits on the couch cheering for some unknown ball players. Now we are doing the same. Life has come full circle. Indifference is the numbness of the soul, the last nail in the coffin of our dream. 

***

People do such good things for others. We work hard for our boss. We get good grades to make our parents proud. We sacrifice for our family members. We do things for others but fail to do things for ourselves. We live our lives for others but unfortunately forget our own needs. We forget our own purpose, our own happiness and our own dream. 

***

Every time I walk into the office for the BPM, it feels as if I'm walking past the gate into Heaven. That first BPM I saw changed my life. It changed thousands of families' lives. Now when I do my own BPM, I see miracles in the eyes of the employees -- both old and new. 

Have you ever asked yourself...

If you had one minute to live, what would you say to your spouse and children?

If you had one hour to live, who would you want to spend time with?

If you had one day to live, what is the most important thing you would want to do?  

If you had one month to live, how would you like to see things properly prepared for your loved ones?

If you had one year to live, what priorities must you complete?

If you had five years to live, what would you want to do for your family, people you care about and especially you?

We have one life to live, and life is short. Every minute that goes by without a purpose is a minute lost. Some people wait until late in life to make a bucket list. Why don't you make a dream list for yourself today? That's not to say that you put down the big house and the fast car, although that's fine if that's what is important to you. But I want you to reach deep in your heart and find out what you love the most, what you care about the most and what you want to become the most. You will be surprised to find what you have inside you.

Believe in your dream. This is your dream. Take possession of it. It's yours. No one understands it. No one can take it from you. Thus, don't let the doubters and naysayers destroy your dream.

Live your dream. A climber who struggles every step to conquer Mt. Everest is living their dream. An athlete who is training for the Olympics is definitely living their dream. As for me, to be in business and be my own boss is a dream come true. You don't need to wait until you make big money and have an important title to live your dream. You live your dream every day.

I remember when I received my first check, it was too small to compare with the money I make now. But it made me so happy, a lot more than today. I lived my dream every day going out doing presentations, sharing my story and sharing my dream. I felt as if I was the luckiest person in the world. I had a job. I also had a great business. I did have failures and frustration, but I quickly knew that is part of the challenge I needed to overcome to build a bigger dream. 

I feel so privileged to have a business that can help peoples' dreams come true. The greatest achievement a person can have is the ability to share their dream. When we live our dream, we become the spark that ignites other peoples' dreams.

Prologue     Chapter 2