Today I'm thrilled to be having a fantastic conversation today with a true legend in the book, author, and personal development space Mr. Mark Victor Hansen, best known for his work on the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
At 75 years old, Mark exudes the energy and enthusiasm of someone half his age. As you listen to him, you'll witness his remarkable ability to spot and create opportunities, turning simple problems into powerful solutions. It's an art he has mastered over the years and today he is bringing some of that knowledge to you.
Remember, you don't have to do it alone. You're just one step away from your next great opportunity.
About the Guest:
Mark Victor Hansen is best known as the co-author for the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series and brand, setting world records in book sales, achieving #1 New York Times Bestseller 59 times, and over 500 million books sold. Mark also worked his way into a worldwide spotlight as a sought-after keynote speaker, and entrepreneurial marketing maven, creating a stream of successful people who have created massive success for themselves through Mark’s unique teachings and wisdom. With his endearing charismatic style, Mark captures his audience’s attention as well as their hearts. Having spoken to over 7,000 audiences world-wide with his one-of-a-kind technique and masterful authority of his work, time and again he continues to receive high accolades from his audiences as one of the most dynamic and compelling speakers and leaders of our time.
He is also a prolific writer with 307 books authored or co-authored. Many popular books such as the Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, Dare to Win, One Minute Millionaire which has inspired and helped thousands of people the world over to become millionaires. Mark has also made a profound influence through his extensive library of audio programs, video programs and enriching articles in the areas of self-development, life mastery, leadership, exponential business growth, big thinking, sales achievement, and publishing success.
Connect with Mark:
Email: reception@markvictorhansen.com
About the Host:
Jim Padilla is the founder and CEO of Gain The Edge - a done-for-you provider of industry-leading sales systems and unicorn sales professionals which he co-heads with his wife and entrepreneurial partner-in-crime, Cyndi Padilla.
Through their unique blend of laser-targeted selling systems, inspirational team-building expertise, and 60+ years of combined sales experience - Jim and his wife have generated over 1/4 bn in sales for a long line of high-level, visionary entrepreneurs.
Jim’s mission is to help purpose-driven thought-leaders untangle themselves from the day-to-day minutiae of seeking leads and sales for their business so they’re free to amplify their impact.
When Jim’s not making dollars rain down from the sky, you’ll regularly find him at the driving range - hitting a bucket of balls. Jim credits his time on the driving range as the main source of his best ideas.
Recently relocated back to California, Jim & Cyndi are immersing themselves in family time with their three daughters & four (soon to be five) grandchildren.
Connect with Jim at https://jimp360.com
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Hey, opportunity makers. Welcome back to another amazing episode. And I know I say that a lot, but you know, they are all amazing. I'm having an fantastic conversation today that you're really going to enjoy one of the legends of the, of the book space of author space of the personal development space. Mr. Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul theme with that series and along with a plethora of best selling world class authorships in books and stories, he's so well connected and has so much attachment anatomy, an attachment to his attachment, but his connection, the direct connection to legacy and success for so many others, soon to be me, as we were working on on my book, but I want to share with you just I'm just really honored to bring them to you. Exciting being around them. 75 years old going on 25 He's got the excitement and the energy of people half his age. And in his in just the with the intention and the smarts, the experience and the expertise from billions of dollars worth of transactions and ventures and business opportunities that have come along the way. And you'll see exactly what I talked about as an opportunity maker as you listen to him because he's going to be sharing the the true essence of opportunity making of creating opportunities for yourself and for others of building solutions that come from simplicity solving a simple singular problem and turning it into something powerful. And then, of course, you know what my my perspective on that is, no matter what idea you have, you have never been closer from idea to execution and implementation than you've ever been in the history of the world. That technology exists. The people exist, the resources exists, you have entire networks of people just waiting to help you bring whatever your solution is to bear. All you have to do is share the opportunity, create the opportunity, put it in front of people, and then be the glue pull in if you don't have all the details to be able to make it happen. You pull in people like me get pull in people like market your hands, you pull in people like like Kevin Harrington, or anybody else that you're going to hear and see on the show. But bottom line is you never have to do it alone. And you're literally one step away from your next great opportunity. So enjoy the interview. And then let me know how things are going make sure that you please rate review and subscribe, let us know you're here. Go to the show notes. We have all of Mark's contact information as well as some prizes and resources from us so that we're always looking for ways to be able to serve you and help you become one step closer to creating great opportunities. Right, enjoy the episode. All right, so welcome back to another awesome episode of the opportunity makers podcast, as you just saw with the formal introduction that we had there for Mr. Mark Victor Hansen, I want to present to you the the man the myth and the legend himself right here. And Mark How about in your own words outside of the formal bio introduction that we just shared? Tell people a little bit you've got such a huge, credible record in your your business and in life, which parts of it do you want to highlight? How do you define yourself now as as a person of success?
Mark Victor Hansen:What a fascinating way to ask that question because it became to me sort of in my meditation at you'd want an abbreviated thing right when I was my wife and I do a prayer meditation together for an hour every morning, because I think when you're in tune with the infinite you're in tune with life. And what it came to me is that I'm supposed to say you know, I was a speaker that wrote right I was a professional speakers starting 55 years ago it's a little hard to believe and getting paid for it and appeals are bad you're the best selling author I've ever heard you got to put it into books or the first book I did was this one stand up speak out and when not available anymore, but we sold 20,000 copies in little itty bitty audiences of six or 10 and I said this in the New York Times bestseller is not a world bestseller, but it's my best seller now let me sign it. And I sold 200,000 Sorry 20,000 books made $200,000 The first year I was doing books and then isn't even write more so he did more and then most people know that I'd be went from a speaker that writes to a writer that speaks then did the whole chicken soup of the Soul series which now we're somewhere between 500 million and 600 million books USA count. And look when you're number one in Greece number one in Vietnam you get paid once a year, nobody knows but they keep sending me checks so I know that we're pushing the edge of that envelope My goal is sell a billion books, which is outrageous and crazy and nuts and but then I'm outrageous crazy and nuts and do original books and people like to read them. And then because it COVID the book industry got crushed. We went from 19,000 bookstores to something like 400 right because it couldn't open and you can't sell books and they weren't good bye bye so and in great houses like Random House, which I'm with and you know, I did like this book with Random House, woman and millionaire oops, sort of three and a half million In copies, it's a great book. And it's still the number one book in finance that in a couple of years. So then we became a publisher of Martha Canton library. And we've taken 18 books to number one, and we're, this year we got 100. And we're hoping to do one one or several with you, because we believe no one should write a book, they ought to write sequels and prequels and like I was talking to somebody this morning, they said, Well, who do you read for fiction? I said, Well, my neighbor is Clive Cussler. And I've read everything he writes it guy, I'm reading that right now. I'm reading his Atlas book. I said, Yep, that's exactly it. Because once you find somebody you love that touches your heart and soul, you want to go with him or her or them.
Jim Padilla:Outstanding. Yeah. Yeah, and I'm also I am looking forward to, to putting some books together with you. Because I know, I got several stories to tell. But I just, you know, being able to do it in a manner that creates opportunity, you know, I mean, so that's a big theme for us. That's why the podcast, that's why I do this, what the books gonna be, and the opportunity makers, and we're very, we're both wanting to honor and celebrate those who have bastard creating opportunities. And we're looking to create a movement of people who are desiring to become opportunity makers. So this is a multifaceted podcasts intent. And part of the reason that they brought you here is because you have you know, through think if you were to think through those through that lens, through that lens of creating opportunities for yourself and others, you probably be overtaken with all with how many, how many ways you check those boxes in your career. Because when you write a book, you're creating opportunity for yourself. You're creating opportunity for people who wrote it, produce it, edit it, read it, people who get re read and implement and execute and then in turn, create new directions in their life. And then as you turn this into an empire of book building, and creating and then building machine that creates and builds books and tell stories for so many people in the world to the tunes of millions and hundreds of millions. And as you said, billions. What is it being an opportunity maker mean to you?
Mark Victor Hansen:Well, first of all, thank you that is exactly eloquently stated, Jim. And first of all, you know, you had the idea, the vision, right? Solomon said, without vision people perish. And Solomon understand, was in Israel, but he controlled all the business in 22 countries around and there was no war, because there's a real entrepreneurial leader now an entrepreneur finds a problem, fixes it, scales it and makes a vast profit. And should there a lot of people out there say, Well, they didn't earn it looks, I promise you, I earned it. I worked 18 hours a day. And sometimes I can't sleep at night. I'm so excited to write think and do the next deal. So and from a book business, we get turned on by 144 publishers. Right. And then we sold it ourselves our agent and fired us. And you know, it wasn't fun in our respective wives. At that time, Jack, Dr. Jack Canfield myself, you know, we went through the tortures of the dam got there, because I said, Look, Jack up, in some sense is nine years old. There's someone out there who's gonna buy this thing. Well, so far, we've done 2 billion at retail books. And then I created the licensing business because one weekend, I read George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's book, and they made as you know, you watched at everybody watching et call, but at that time, they made 800 million at the movie and they made a billion and a half and licensing is now I just read this week. 3.6 billion in licensing. So I go into Jack and Hey, Jack, we're gonna go license and he said, What do you know? I said nothing. He said that. How do you qualify? I said, when I was in graduate school, I was with Einstein's best student Dr. Buckminster Fuller. And we I know learned everything because when some year but a system you're either in the system or outside the system, we're out but in a year, I'll study everything, meet everyone. And then we did a billion in licensing like we did 170 157 million a dog food last year, Chicken Soup for the Soul dog food, and I don't wrap it, I don't eat it. I don't package it. I don't have to worry about returns. It is the licensing is a greatest business in the world. But I created the a billion dollars. Let me just do one more metaphor because you're so good at listening, and I thank you for giving me this open forum. The first time I heard what you asked. Somebody asked Jim Rohn he and I were doing those big seminars with 4000 people at a time and Jim is living philosopher. He's dead now. But you can you can see his philosophy on YouTube liking see all my videos on YouTube? Somebody said, Well, what happens with a million dollar house you bought Jim? Jim's answer got me. He said I don't have a million dollars. The bank doesn't have a million dollars. It went to an electrician. It went to a floor guy. It went to a title guy left Ward guy a Fan Guy light guy, air conditioning guy. The million went all over the damn place. So when you and I create an opportunity we don't create an opportunity for one everyone's as well, you know if you're a billionaire you must be greedy. No billionaire has done a billion dollars where the service a high quantity and quality of service with a positive mental attitude equals a billion dollars and Isay Forbes magazine said there's 22 million multimillionaires America. That's true, I'm sure. But there's 3000 3000 billionaires, I'm saying there's way more than ever because they don't want to be. We're doing books, a lot of but I can promise you they're billionaires.
Jim Padilla:Right? Right. Yeah, I love that perspective. I'm really glad you embrace that. If, you know for people who are listening, and people who are tuning in here, people are looking for I think people work too hard to try to find the opportunity instead of just embracing opportunities that are all around. So let's talk to them. Go ahead. What's your thought on that? So
Mark Victor Hansen:Marcus did two books with guys that fit exactly that and not everybody's got to go to college. Because over 70% of people don't go to college and some of them don't make it through high school and you say well, you're never gonna make it No, no, no, no ladies and gentlemen, the trades are making a huge fortune. We just did a book called elevated sold 100 1,001st couple days. And with Tommy Mello here, Tommy Mello was told, you're not smart, you gotta add and I said, Hey, pal, I gotta add, add means your plus and everybody it means add not subtract those teachers negative. It's like the doctrines of voodoo doctrine said you're gonna die. And then we've written a lot of books lately with people that have lived 3040 50 years longer than the doctor said they could live the point is Tommy mellow, figured out he could fix garage doors, then he started to do garage door company, he now has 1000s of employees. This year, the company would do a billion dollars. He takes people that can't get a job anywhere else. He teaches them for six weeks, they all have to read the kind of stuff you and I write self help action books, where you take self determination, action, that kind of 380 books that I've written, like, ask and all that in my book is highlighted when you go in and but now Tommy's elevate book is next men, Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence. He's taking people that never made money in their lowest they make 100,000 a lot of make a million year doing garage doors. And he's created a new garage door spring and kids once you get into business, you see every problem that exists. The other guy we did is paving the way Brian Hess. Only four years ago, Brian Hess was just a company guy, and he found a way to fly drones over asphalt and see where the holes are. Now he does all of Walmart, all of that. He's he's got 4000 employees, but he made 50 million net last year, and he's in his 30s, maybe 40. I don't know how old he is. But the point is, the opportunities are hitting us all the time. And we're good. Oh, that's a problem. Problems are good problems or opportunities in disguise. You got to put on your workloads, roll up your sleeves and go to work.
Jim Padilla:Exactly. That's the whole that's the thesis of this entire podcast, the deal is all these problems that have people feeling doubtful, anxious, unsure, uncertain, and they're pulling back and circling the wagons and retracting when really all that's doing is it's raining down opportunities, every single one of those problems is an opportunity for a solution. And for somebody to lead the way. You know, you're talking about all these amazing solutions and things that you do and I love, you know, I get very excited the Bronx, Puerto Rican me comes out and I go, but the end of the day, I'm just super excited about life. And I can hear that in you. It's like you're sometimes you're talking so fast, because you're just trying to get to the next thought, because you're gonna see so many things that are coming. And I love that. But what about what do you say to the person who's listening right now who is like God, but I don't know how to create a garage door or build a solution or I'm just a simple guy. You know, where's the opportunity for me?
Mark Victor Hansen:Let's just do the garage door. Everybody that comes in meets Tommy Melo and he'll train you for free for six weeks, he gives you a truck that's painted with a one garage door in his face on it. And he's opened up in 35 states because I know his numbers really well. And I've been to his his headquarters. If you come to Arizona, I'm going to ask you to go Jim, and get interviewed by him. But cuz he's got a big podcasting studio. He's got 38,000 square foot studio. But so far, he's given up 400 trucks to people that they had no money, they end up making 100,000 a year and they paid for the truck earnings. So there's a lot of businesses that you can start with nothing except your own sweat, equity. And yours. I'm just giving you an example a two. I can name 100 off top my head. But this isn't a podcast about them. It's podcasts about opportunity is infinite because God's infinite problems are infinite. And if you stop looking at problems as Oh, dang, I can't solve that problem. If you have a problem. You need to get out of the human sense of perspective, go into a higher perspective look down at and say, what's the solution to my problem? And could I sell that solution?
Jim Padilla:Amen.
Mark Victor Hansen:Every day we have 50,000 idea ideas blow through our head. All you got to do is pick one I'm going to do one more example. As you know, the most famous book of last century was a Here's the diamonds by Dr. Russell Conwell reformed Temple University and everyone ought to read it. It's one of the self help books that I always recommend. But he is doing his little talk and the lady in Washington DC, who's working for President Abraham Lincoln is 1860s right or early before he got shot. She pinned papers together the papers for the presidents and said, I just heard Conwell Conwell says you take the little thing and you solve the problem and you get a big solution. She invented paperclips. Well, you go down to Philadelphia, the paperclip goes up six feet in it. You can see it anywhere in Philadelphia, you go downtown Philly, and she made it and made yourself really rich. One more example. Because it's little things ladies and gentlemen. I worked for major markets but the bonus market was dentist and I met the dentist who said everybody's got a piece of string but they don't know what to do with it. All I did is put wax on it. He made $2 billion dollars with dental floss. And Zig Ziglar used to always joke because I told the story and Ziggy said, you know how many teeth you gotta floss. Only the ones you want to keep.
Jim Padilla:Yeah, that's, you know, it we do we make it so much harder. And you know, I remember my high school economics teacher, Mr. eliminator never forget him. awesome guy. Super, super smart. And he his biggest regret is that he carried around this burden that he couldn't stand it couldn't get over. He had two PhDs one of the most educated people he had ever met. And his neighbor down the street. The people there had the parents had died and their young son in his 20s Whatever some apparently some lazy pot dope smoking kind of guy was doing was going nowhere and doing nothing literally spent his days sitting out in a lawn chair, sunbathing himself in the front yard, and mist eliminators that he drove by that house every day and just couldn't stand watching this guy wasting his life and wasting his youth. And he he had sunglasses on, and he was so lazy in his desire to just chill that he didn't want to put his sunglasses on the ground when he took them off. So he invented what became the paper keepers. And so in his laziness, he became a multimillionaire, because he was simply solving his own problem. And then someone else monetized it. And he made millions off of it. And so and then, so Mr. laminator went from frustration for watching this guy waste his youth to frustration for this guy making millions off his laziness. But it was, I always think of him as an opportunity maker up just like he created opportunities for himself and others simply by solving a small problem.
Mark Victor Hansen:Well, there's a lot of problems. I mean, if there's 8 billion people live in a planet currently and there are, there's a billion least that many problems if there's not twice, I don't know how many problems you got in your life. But let's just take more than one. Yeah, more than one. I mean, by the way, when I was getting I was going to be a doctor physiology originally and the head of physiology said, problems for the first time in life. And if you want to see life, I go see if there's a problem, something irritating it, but it is. So one of the problems is we all create five pounds of garbage every day, no matter what. And one of the books we're doing is with Pete, Dean Rose, who created spend 300 million now he's really spent a lot figuring out the solution. We've agreed five pounds of garbage, all our garbage dumps are full, right and in Wayne housing and did a good job 50 years ago, but they're not safe anymore, because their allegiance ruined going to pollute our water. Like what's happening in Philadelphia today, because of the two train wrecks as we do this. It'll be history for some of you because of that problem. But the point is, he's figured out how to take every garbage and turn metal to metal, glass, glass, plastic, plastic, and 60% of garbage is water. He's gonna make billions if not trillions, and I'm an adviser to his company. So of course, I'm interested in this. But everybody's got to be interested because I opened a pyramids in Guatemala, and in the head of Harvard, anthropology and archaeology, and I wrote the article for for National Geographic, but every day we discuss argue, what the heck killed 10 million Muslim Americans 2000 years ago. And now I think I know it was polluted germs, viruses, and bacteria, because people upstream would go to the bathroom and water and people downstream got it. And then they walked 30 miles and ate whatever they got. They got and they all died, like, disappeared. And everyone said, what was the Spaniard? I said, None of the Spaniards you're dealing with 1500 years too late, right? Or early? How everyone? Look? Does that make sense?
Jim Padilla:Yes! That's, you know, and that's that's the essence of this is like I just want people to see so many different ways and some ways to, to execute so many ways to think about it. So many ways to just sit in the reality that exists here. Because bottom line is what's happening in the world is happening. It's always going to be there. Your choice is do you let this stuff take you out? Or do you let this stuff be the launchpad this spring pad for springboard for your success. And it doesn't mean you have to create the you know, you don't have to be the one who created the paper keepers. You just cook Create a solution, and then somebody is going to find it and you create another solution and you create another solution. And then somebody else these days, it's so easy back then close to when you started, right? You, you share a message right now. And within minutes, you can find somebody who can market it, who can build it, who can sell it, who can get it launched and done. Whereas it used to take years to make that happened.
Mark Victor Hansen:That's why the publishing industry is in trouble because they take three years, you give them a book today, it's three years old, and we get it done like a baby in nine months. Right? It just, it just could you. If you're in business, the three questions are asked generally, and you might have different questions, but can you make it better? Can you make it faster, and can make it cheaper? Those are the three basic questions. And the answer is that like, take peepers keepers, somebody made a heck of a lot of money marketing, somebody else made it distributing. And all that guy owned was one thing, which is everything, which is a trademark, which was the idea that it trademark patented or registered, I don't know what he did, because I don't know. I never looked it up and never heard the story before today. But it's like the guy who were doing the story in a new book we got coming out called the money wants me that I've written and the guy that created God, what is the band you put over your nose and stretch your nostrils, he couldn't sleep at night. And he and his wife, you know, complained and complained and complained. And then he put that little band together. I'm gonna call the Nose Nose. It's got a better name than I did. And I lost it. Anyhow, the point is, he's made a fortune just because he had the problem, solved it for himself. And we you solve it for you. You solve for everyone. You just do a little prototype That's cheap. And if you haven't got any money, you go to university and say do you have a research department you haven't here I live in Arizona and Scottsdale but we affiliate with to the two biggest population University GCU, Grand Canyon, and ASU where our kids went some orchids, Arizona State University and an innovation bar, you can go in there and they will help you create your innovation. They will even pay it they both got all the tools. They got the 3d printing. So anyone who gives me stuff, I say look, you go talk to my friend Jim because he owns opportunity makers. He doesn't believe in any excuses. I don't believe in any excuses.
Jim Padilla:Exactly. So that's a perfect segue for I was gonna ask you how how can people cultivate the mindset that we're this is natural. Versus this could have only happened to me one time or I missed the opportunity or I missed the window? What's the mindset that needs to be cultivated here? How did he do it?
Mark Victor Hansen:You got three questions or all at once. I'm gonna do the first one to mindset when I'm bankrupt. 1974 I tried to be Dr. Buckminster Fuller, my teacher and I built Geodesic Domes I built the we're at Wall Street Racquet Club, Botanical Garden De Beers, and I suddenly couldn't get PVC which is a plastic product out of Monsanto. I'll do 40,000 A month I thought I was big guy. 26 years old I am hot stuff. And they shut me off because of the oil embargo which I don't know if you're even born in but the point is I went bankrupt overnight. I went bankrupt so fast a checkbook I learned how to go bankrupt by yourself. Funny now not funny thing because I wanted to kill myself. When I started listening to audio tapes back then we had first Sony recorded today. You can do it on your cell phone, you can listen to my stuff on YouTube. You've got to shut off all the negative news Shut up. All the relatives are saying you can't do that. Who do you think you are you don't have any money you don't have any brain you don't have any connection? Whatever you need God support you in getting it so and I'm I believe spirit runs a mind which runs a body. So that's the model I believe. And if you don't believe that, go pick somebody else. But watch my videos and I'll tell you what to read who to read how to read. And there's the stuff that'll because I believe inspiration is the key that turns on the engine call your life. And you're either inspired a distance by it and one of the videos I just did on YouTube is you're either depressing or expressing. And what we're saying is the economy right now all the media is depressing. When I went bankrupt, I quickly realized New York Times which I read everyday faithfully because I thought I was an intellectual. It's all the news fit to print. It's all the bad news fit to print. 98% of it is all the stuff going wrong somewhere in the world. I stopped reading that 100% listen to audio tapes driving around the car bought everybody that was anybody. Back then it was Cabot Robert Zig Ziglar Paul Harvey, you know I name all the names and they all became my friends. I within weeks I'm speaking and talking and telling everybody how to be feel. As a matter of fact, we just wrote a book is how to be up and downtimes with Mitzi Perdue because chicken maker in the world.
Jim Padilla:What's what is the boldest opportunity that you when you look back? You're like just so glad you were part of
Mark Victor Hansen:I'm even glad I went bankrupt because if I didn't go bankrupt, it wouldn't got me out of what I shouldn't do in and do what I should do. But when I started speaking, right, I get this audio tape that I had sold my way through college, as I think I said earlier in his talk, but there's a tape by the Dean of speakers, a guy who's starting the National Speakers Association at the time, Kevin Ross Purdue is just a giant, and somebody you can watch on YouTube too, but is are you the cause or the effect and I listened to it literally, I checked it off like notches on a belt 287 times, and I can give you the whole talk right now. But he said, Ed, the creature circumstance or the creator, I said, Oh my god, I created this bankruptcy. If I created it, he's saying, hang on, create it and recreate it, not kill myself, because I was suicidal. Because I thought, My money, my net worth, and so forth with the same they're not leaving, don't assume you're hanging on by your fingernails, some you got fired yesterday in tech or whatever, and you're feeling trashed, or your bank got crushed, and they fired everyone including you, and you can get your money out. Whatever it is. That's an opportunity. I know it sounds doesn't sound good. But it you got to make it your best worst experience. And you got to listen to only positive stuff, because you'll start having ideas that click and then suddenly, they'll compound. I mean, did I know I become the world's best selling author? Well, actually I did. Because four principles, figure out what you want. I knew I want that, put it in writing, it's got to be writing. And I teach that everyone's got to have a little three by five card that says I'm so happy. Whatever it is you're doing, doing this by this, look at this four times a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner. And when you're and then most importantly, before you go to sleep, and you close your eyes visualize that you are already where you want to be. Christ had pray though, the thing for which you're praying has been received has been received. You gotta be there before you get there, which seems like gobbly, Gook and impossible. And then number four, you got to get a team to get your dream. And there's somebody close to you. It could be your wife, it could be your mastermind partner. It could be your church, temple, ashram, mosque partner, I don't know who it is, but to come together, they have the power of 11. And what what Jim and I are saying now is what Thomas Jefferson said, Look, if your candle has been blown out by adversity, the problem, the tragedy, that trauma, whatever. And my candles lit light years in mind doesn't take anything remind but makes a world for Fulbrighter that quick, we're actually gonna get lit, because the opportunity maker, you were trying to make it so you get the consciousness of the opportunity. So you deliver the opportunity. And there's 1000s and maybe millions, even billions of people that can benefit once you get your tail working.
Jim Padilla:Amen. And I just wanted to show you that I actually have my my card here as well, same card. I am so happy and grateful now that I am earning in excess of $100 million annually through multiple sources in a manner that's pleasing to God. Yes, that is my daily mantra.
Mark Victor Hansen:Oh, so let me talk to the multiple sources. So it's 1986 or 87. Bob Proctor who I went to companies with his flying back from Taipei de la gets to LA. And he'd had his little yellow pad and wrote what do people want, they want to make a million dollars, how faster and six five days, calls me at 230 in the morning woke up because there's no cell phone back then. And my little daughter is becoming a better at Ada chickens on one acre Newport Beach. And a whole place just goes crazy. The dogs are barking, you know, because they're scared because the middle of the night you're supposed to be sleeping and we there's no way to shut up phones, you may not be old enough to know that there was no boss which unfolds in the old days. Right? In any case, Bob says I got it we're going to do MSI is multiple sources of income. And later I wrote the book. This book One Minute Millionaire with Bob Allen changes to multiple streams of income. But everybody that's rich has multiple streams, if you got one screen means you got a job which I have redefined. It's just over broke an acronym. And I don't want you to be just over but I want you to be vastly rich because Christ would have come they might have life and have more abundantly and Deuteronomy one one says you're supposed to increase your income by 1000 fold. Now, if you're making $1,000 a year and your 1000 fold, that's a million that's pretty serious amount of money. That's a lot. A million is 1000. Now you're a billion.
Jim Padilla:So, on that note, what do you see as the future of opportunity making for people? So what if somebody shows up right now and say, Man, I'm just late to the party.
Mark Victor Hansen:There's no such thing as late to the party. We're doing books with eight to eight year olds right now. And we're doing books with kids as young as four years old. This kid is just asking all the questions of universities parents are writing it down, because somehow this kid came through precocious his name's Austin. And his dad said, Hey, would you publish a kid's book? And I said, Well, unfortunately, Scholastic, which my kids used to go to, and I had a lot of money. So I said, you can buy anything you want. And I did. I said, but it sort of doesn't exist because schools were closed for two years. So it's having a big hiccup. So I said, look, let's do it all over again, but we're gonna do it and do it bigger, better and stronger and for less expensive and make sure every kid in the world and every language gets a book and then all sudden, you know, Nick, the cystic the guy with no arms and no legs. Do you know who needed an appeal? We don't go on there typing the armless guy and watch his videos, but he's a close friend. We're doing his book called Give me a hug. He says that 7 million people hug him and he wanted to kill himself. When he was six, because he felt so handicapped, like he could never do anything. And his father said, don't be a victim to a victor. And he was going to lay himself down two inches of bath water and drown. And then he went through his head that his dad been praying for him and said, No, no, no, don't kill yourself. Now he's created a brand new product that's out now called multitude. And we're going to be one of the first use it. But is when we do books we do it is a electronic hard bounce off bound. And audio because 70% Of All books are now audio, drive into work or exercising on your elliptical or whatever. And he does it in 85 languages. 98% accurate, because his own mind nobody, like when he met. Kevin Sorbo is also a dear friend of mine, Hercules, and he didn't move guides not dead and all that I love Kevin and he said, Kevin, I'm stronger than you. I'm gonna hit you with my bicep and tricep. He said, Oh, yeah, I don't have any.
Jim Padilla:That's great. Yeah, you know, so much of that. I mean, you How much stuff do you actually manifest when you are so clear on the thought and the vision, but then you put the action that way that's with it. And then you started attracting all the right opportunities.
Mark Victor Hansen:You're gonna have self determination, action. And today, we're, as you know, we had this young kid come up to us, we're done talking to 700 people at the collective down in Houston. And kid comes up to me shaking and trembling and go with me. You can see how smart he was. I said, What are you shaking about? He said, you intimidate me. I said, I can intimidate anyone, especially somebody start like you, kid. What's your story said, Well, I'm 14. I'm worth $843,000. I passed a real estate test at eight years old out in Ohio. Eagle Scout, and I'm, and I'm just finishing my black belt and Akito. I said, can we add to your story how we did his book, and it is this his book, Devin. It has been number one last 14 weeks, and we had dinner with him on Sunday. His dad flew him in. But now he's 15. And he's a millionaire. I don't see awesome. Yeah, that's great. So you can't give me any stuff. Well, I'm a kid so I can't do it. Now we ghost writer ghost edited a book. If somebody's got a book. We'll edit it in Brophy. And if they don't we listen to their whole story, we interview him intensely. And we we craft words that are irresistibly compelling to read.
Jim Padilla:So obviously, this is going to change based on every person because everybody is in a different environment and all the opportunities exist in your environment. But you can also reach into other environments and solve problems there. But just what would you say to somebody right now who is looking for the opportunity? How would you go about finding the right opportunity for you? Do you have a strategy and process?
Mark Victor Hansen:Yeah, first of all, go deep inside and Okay, so I told you our Ask book is the best seller of our time. And the reason is, is that we teach exact I've never had you ask the question as to well, but what you do is you go deep inside your mind right before you go to sleep 101 times you say God what's my money making opportunity? They'll make me million god what's my money making opportunity to make me millions God towards my money making opportunity? Make me millions now? Why do you do it? 101 times and you push back sleep, push back slumber, God watch my money making opportunity. They make me millions. Here's what here's what happens. You got a consciousness which makes the decision now you're going to make millions and have an opportunity. Subconscious which you're over endowed. You're born with. The number I'm given as 18 billion, it could be a trillion brain cells, I don't know it's a lot more than you were all born over and dog. But you got to get by the noise you got to get by the garbage. You got to get by everything and go deep penetrating into your mind 101 times and all sudden, it'll click because you were born with opportunity. You were born. subtitle of the book is the bridge for your dreams, your opportunities to your destiny. When you came into life, you had a destiny code intrinsic. I don't know what it is. Jim doesn't know what it is. I'm gonna take anything away from my dear friend, Jim. I'm just saying hey, look, it's there. It is in the pattern of your 3.5 billion gene code. We now know that for the first time just in last year, so you've got it. But you can't get to it until you program your mind possibly incorrectly. And the world goes out of its way to hold up a mirror and say you're not good enough. You're not tall enough, thin enough good looking enough, smart enough. You are glasses and they don't girls don't make path to that guy to wear glasses is what you and I heard when we're in fourth grade right? Which is idiotic, but that's why they make contact lenses, which is another problem solved right? And then they made throwaway contact lenses and then they made ortho k and then they sing reshape the cornea. All that stuff is compounding ly good idea. So every one of us got an idea that you can harvest and if you can't ours are the fourth principles. You got to have two together to move the mountain and Jack and I created after all the region Action that anyone could possibly stand. We said nobody will publish us or agent for artists who will sell ourselves and we made a billionaire out of our publisher HCI health communications.
Jim Padilla:Mark, I appreciate you sharing all this man I can I can sit here and talk to you about this stuff forever. Obviously, I want to put people in front of you. So you know, what's the way for people to be able to connect you and get more of this. You're you mentioned the YouTube channel. And obviously, you've got a lot of ways to help people. And you can't help everyone. So who's the who should be coming to you seeking some support and guidance? Okay, well,
Mark Victor Hansen:Okay well, if you want to do books, which is part of our biggest business, because we're now making movies and all that, but you go to Mark Victor Hansen library.com. And you just fill out the little thing, and then we'll get back to you and try to help you do a book and you know, we charge 29,900 If we ghost write it with you with all your words, your thought your name on it, your book rights, if we just got to edit it, if you get something great, and all we got to do is fix it. It's only 18,000. So those are the two charges that if you're hiring me for a speech, which I literally still talking all around the world, like the last couple days, we've gotten hired to talk in Ireland, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Iceland, all you know, in a couple of coming days, but I've been in 80 countries and paid but in America, we're starting to do seminars a lot again and MIT domestically is 35,000, internationally as 75,000. And I'm thankful that my name and fame gets an audience. And that's why I say everyone ever wanted to write a book because it gives you automatic credibility, it makes you the word authority has hidden in it, the word author, and everyone's got a story that they ought to author because somebody will buy your signature. The old joke is no buy your book, they just want your signature. And this I'm willing to give my signature all day long. And I've signed long as I've ever signed books is 12 and a half hours I talked to 38,000 people in an Amway meeting with the president united states and we had great singers, we had great family, everybody there, but I just was in line so long, I couldn't believe it. Holy God, I think we sold 16,000 books that day, or something like that. It was just it was mind blowing really fun. And I hugged all the people took pictures is great. There's, I don't think there's a more fun book than the business in the book business. But I love a lot of businesses. I mean, fogged in, like I said different businesses. So there's everyone's got more opportunity. And if you need to get to me, the email address it gets to me as reception@markvictorhansen.com, reception@markvictorhansen.com. But you got to be very specific about what you want. Because we get a gazillion emails a day and we go through and fast. And if it's if I can help you, we help you. And if we can't, we can't. I mean, and I'll tell you I'll be honest, because I got no vested interest in dragging you forward. I'm not here I'm making. I'm making a lot of friends. But I really, let's go to the bigger question that you asked. The bigger answer is inspired by Buckminster Fuller, we can make the world work for 100% Humanity physically, chemically and spiritually, for the first time in human history. We got the technology, but we got to have the right ethics and the right morality. And today people are either God full or God less and I'm obviously I'm a God full seemed. And somebody who said, Will you talk about God too much. I said, Look, God made the universe he made all the opportunity, there's an opportunity without God. So if you don't see it the way I see it be an atheist. But here's the problem with atheism. I learned this from a guy you got to watch on YouTube called John Lennox, Dr. John Lennox, from Oxford in England. And he said, Look, he argues with atheists every day, and it shows he's brilliant, but he says, You can't take nothing times nothing equals nothing in math. He's a math scholar. You got to have some time something to get some.
Jim Padilla:Right. That's pure wisdom. You know, I love seeing you go. Can you share how old you are?
Mark Victor Hansen:Yeah, I'm 75. But the Bible says Genesis 3:6 are supposed to minimum 120 years. So I'm gonna live be 100 Twice up with options for renewal because I believe, look at 75 I'm in front of you do 100 pushups right now I can't do it because I can't move the camera there. But the point is, I exercise hard every day. So you've got high quality of life and I do 78 nutraceuticals a day in vitamins and herbs and all that and then you want a high quality of life. Now if you've got a crappy life, and you're going to die tomorrow, what the heck's it worth but if you gotta buy quantity, life and high quality life with a positive mental attitude, why not shoot to 127 options for renewal? Because they're your Why be a minimalist? Most people say well everybody dies at in America today I'd cream life insurance was 8587 men, two years younger than women, but you are retiring and then you say well, I'm going to retire to nothing and go drink Kalita margaritas are daiquiris on a Caribbean island. That's a vacation is boring. Not that you shouldn't golf once a wire or play pickleball or whatever your bridge poker Whatever your deal is, but that's a an avocation. Not a vocation, you need to be in charge of the challenges in your life and not retire your body parts too big G early, he doesn't want them. You if you're here, you probably got some competence and the only equality all these guys talking about everybody ought to be equal, no, we're equal in the level of the competence you bring to the show. I am a very competent writer. I'm a very competent speaker. I'm a very competent business thinker, originator creator, and I put stuff together that nobody else ever thought of putting together.
Jim Padilla:There you go. And that's why part of why I share this I get at your age, you know, you're just getting started. And I think one thing, that one common trend that I see as an opportunity maker as one who works with a lot of opportunity makers and connects the opportunity that exists around you, and increase your lifespan. It doesn't give you hope. It can give you a purpose, it can give you a mission. It can give you things ways to serve people that you never thought of. And all of that is the thing that drives humanity.
Mark Victor Hansen:So let me talk to that. And I won't use a guy's name because he's a dear friend. But he flew us to Guatemala as Jenny's a billionaire. And he's, we opened up the pyramids of Guatemala and are opening up more so I had a reason to call him today. But he said, Look, I'm 81 and I'm dying. I got brittle bones. And I got this problem with my I said, Hey, look, you and our dear friend, so my wife, amongst other things, has a degree in nutrition. And I'm just gonna tell you, you don't get brittle bones. If you're eating your celery, if you're eating your carrots, and you're eating three, act I wouldn't say avocados, three almonds a day because almonds had the only vitamin B 17 him and they're they don't exist anywhere else. Now, the governor of California doesn't believe that we ought to water almonds because they take a gallon of water a day. And he says they're not essential. I say the opposite. They're totally essential. And we've had ours today. So the point is, I said look to this guy said, you have got 24 grandkids, you are rich, you you are too damn smart. And you haven't written your book yet. Because, you know, God won't let you die until you finish your mission. And you've been to 120 countries. I mean, he just he's a great archaeologist, anthropologist, and a superstar banchory on the biggest bank between America and a country in Latin America. And I said, your stories haven't been told. And I said, Wouldn't you like to know what your grandparents did three generations back? He says, I have a genealogy chart. Is it No, no, no, no, no, no, that isn't it? Wouldn't you like to know that? They had an outhouse? Would you like to know what they really did? Would you like to know how they suffered and overcame their problems? You said, my God. I said, You're the first generation we're the first generation and yes, I wrote a little book called Speed write your life story. Steve write your autobiography. And it's selling like crazy because, you know, Mitzi Perdue said her daddy created the Sheraton hotel chain. During the Depression did 400 new hotels got everybody to work, everybody happy, everyone paid. Everyone fed every day and he took care of them. And then her husband created Purdue chicken, which is a 20 million chickens a week for mostly it's Costco is white label. The point is, and she is doing a miraculous stuff. And she's an octogenarian and one of our closest friends. I mean, I've done three books with her as I've told you, that the point is, no one is supposed to retire from something enough and without Linkletter, I wrote the book, How to make the rest of your life the best, right? We said, don't retire, put on new tires and go into new, bigger, better direction. And it could be volunteering, it could be charity, because Genesis three 126 says, You're created in the image and likeness of God, therefore you're here to create, contribute and be charitable. And I said to this guy said, you aren't allowed. I said, just what you just said, I'm doing different words, but you will get healthy because you got a new purpose. You're way too important. You got this guy. I said, You got 1000 or 10,000 stories that the world needs to hear. And your kids grandkids great grandkids and all future generations need. They said I think you've just given me like back I said, Good. Tell your voodoo doctor to go to hell, he doesn't get to say you're gonna die. It was an eye opener wouldn't do crack.
Jim Padilla:Oh, your I love it. You know, I mean, I want the insights and that's what people are looking for here. Like I said, we're definitely going to have you back because I appreciate you and what you're sharing and who you are. And I definitely look forward to you know, getting the opportunity to makers book as well as the rest that are inside of me that that you know, you will help cultivate and curate. So, I'm just going to you know, we're going to send people off right now. We're for the on the opportunity makers podcast and I would just, you know, what's your parting thought? What's the last thought you want them if they don't if they forget everything else from today? What's the one thing you want to hang on to?
Mark Victor Hansen:I forgot To say, yeah, go to the book club af.com. Go to the book club ask.com. It's free. And we want to help you become a master asker. Because if everyone learns to ask, the Bible says clearly asking you a wish to receive, but there's two parts, most people say, I asked, I didn't get anything. Well, no, no, no, no, the big guy says you got to be in a receptive mood. And we teach you how to do that. Just like we said, look, here's how you ask for opportunity. 101 times where you go to sleep. And the opportunity is going to come. And I forgot to say one other thing. And that and I thank you for letting me have one more bit of airtime here. You got to have a pen and paper next to bed or your dictating machine or your computer, because the ideas are going to come but they're like wet, slippery fish. If you don't nab them, immediately, they're gone forever. And you're gonna go, I have the best idea last night, you'll tell your wife or your husband, or kids, and I can't remember it. Well, no, no, no, that doesn't count. I get up out of bed, get my little lazy butt out of bed, because I'm isolated very deeply. But God gives me ideas in the middle of the night I go, yikes, that's illuminating. That's Reville revelatory, I've got to go do something, and my wife does the same. So it's not a surprise when we wake up with in the morning with each other and says, What happened last night? Well, those are the stories that came to me, and I'm gonna do them. And we did get it done.
Jim Padilla:Perfect. So we'll have those in the show notes for you, along with marketing, Victor Hansen, library comm as well as the email to be able to reach out, we'll make sure you get connected and just just do reach out connect you. I mean, you're dealing with somebody who's got all the experience in the world that you even if you just glean a little bit of the insights, a little bit of the energy and the passion and direction, that's the number one thing I want you to look for, show up every time you you're in one of these engaged experts space, whether it's virtually or otherwise or on these calls. Look for the thing, look for one idea. And I want to always encourage you to capture the mindset capture the energy, the beliefs, it just like the master asker that is a common thread that I'm hearing from, from opportunity makers from millionaires and billionaires on a consistent basis, the ability to ask is so important and the ability to ask clearly, right when you master the art of the request, you can win just about anything you need in life. And it's super important ask with intention and with with expectation to receive, and I just did a video on it yesterday, I firmly believe that it has been be a tool and a horrible hallmark of my success. So Mark, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate and honor the time, and I know we're going to have some great reviews from from this episode. So go check out mark and go become an opportunity maker. Take advantage make serve the world change life for you and those that you serve. We'll see you soon.