Volume 1: The Pursuit of Excellence

Welcome to Volume 1 of The Great Ones Online.

From Pappy selling American flags to diplomats in the early part of the last century, to praying for snow days and the opportunity to dig out cars in Brooklyn in 60s, Aaron Young shows us the evolutionary track of a tycoon—the early influences, the pivotal moments, the mentors along the way—all of it. The lessons for anyone seeking a high level of success pile up with such velocity, layer upon layer, that only repeated viewings enable us to catch even a fraction of them.

This explosive interview reveals the mind set of a consummate business leader, a person driven to the pursuit of excellence in everything he does and provides us all with an inspiration to excel as well as the tools to do just that. A true masterpiece.

Here is a free preview of the interview. Paid members, scroll down this page to access the full hour-long interview, video commentary by Ridgely, PDF materials, exercises and the full explanation of Edict XI – Thou Shall Pay the Price.

Free preview of Volume 1 – The Pursuit of Excellence:

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Free sneak peek at this volume’s associated edict (from The Great Ones book):

EDICT XI – THOU SHALL PAY THE PRICE

Grudge no expense –
yield to no opposition –
forget fatigue – till,
by the strength of prayer and sacrifice,
the spirit of love shall have overcome.
Maria Weston Chapman

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Welcome The Great Ones Online Members – This is YOUR SPECIAL SECTION!

Here is the full version of Volume 1 – The Pursuit of Excellence

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Wasn’t that incredible? Now take a look at this video from me.

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Be sure to read these insights for Volume 1, The Pursuit of Excellence:

Volume 1 – The Pursuit of Excellence

Also, do these exercises to reflect on what you’ve learned and how it applies in your life:

Volume 1 Exercises

EDICT XI – THOU SHALL PAY THE PRICE

Grudge no expense –
yield to no opposition –
forget fatigue – till,
by the strength of prayer and sacrifice,
the spirit of love shall have overcome.
Maria Weston Chapman

Explanation of Edict XI

I often get into heated debate with zealous advocates of the concepts that books like The Secret and The Law of Attraction put forth; not because I disagree with the basic theory, but rather because I have a much different opinion of what the authors intended to communicate than some of the commonly espoused doctrine. The notion that by holding a thought cause it to magically manifest, is absurd to me.

No matter how long my wife thinks about a pearl necklace, for example, it is not going to ooze out of her pores and suddenly appear on her neck.

On the other hand, if a person consciously chooses to fixate on a pearl necklace as a dominant desire, opportunities will likely present themselves through which—assuming they take action—may ultimately result in the manifestation of that necklace.

The key words here are “opportunities” and “action.” We must remain open to the possibilities and when a door opens, take the action; whatever that action is. Then, and only then, will we see results. Paying the price means taking action; the two go hand in hand. In fact, paying the price means taking extra action. There are all kinds of possible prices that we may need to pay for success—missing our child’s sporting activity, arriving late to a family event, accepting an unfavorable handicap on the golf course, passing on the boys’ or girls’ weekend, foregoing the theatre or a night out of bowling—and so on. Paying the price means embracing the mental attitude to do whatever it takes at whatever the cost—and the highest levels of success will unquestionably extract a correspondingly high price.

To earn the rank of black belt in the practice of Akayama Ryu Jujutsu, it is made abundantly clear early on that a significant price will be demanded. You will first teach yourself how to fall; which means that by definition, you will learn how to get up after you do. You will then be thrown to the ground with equal vigor—again requiring you to build your get-off-the-ground-and-fight muscle. You will likely enjoy blood on your uniform, bruised ribs and limbs, an injury or two, and ongoing aches and pains. After doing this for years, our sensei offers the following promise:

“Though I truly hope that you never get into a real fight throughout your life, at least this once, you will know that you have.”

That would be the day of the black belt test—an exercise in absolute survival during which fellow practitioners trounce you into oblivion, and your only hope is to pay the price, suck it up and come out alive and relatively intact. Ironically, if you make it, you immediately pass from senior student at the top of the heap; to the newest sensei at the absolute bottom of the pecking order.

Why would anyone go through that?

Many people mistake the black belt for the goal itself. Not so. The black belt is a mere symbol of achievement. It represents the iron-will forged inside through the years of relentless effort punctuated by both joy and suffering. You wear it with pride and earn the knowledge that unlike the majority who drop out, you were willing to pay whatever price called for to attain it.

You take the fall.

You get up.

You fight again.

You keep fighting…for as long as it takes.

No one passes the test without paying the price.

Price means that which must be given, done or undergone in order to obtain something. In business, we pay the price to make one extra follow-up call after others stop dialing. We pay the price to stay in our office long past quitting time (notice that it is called “quitting” time—nothing that you or I want to be a part of.) We pay the price to close one more sale than our colleagues, who have sauntered off to “Unhappy Hour” where they complain about why things are the way they have made them to be.

They say that misery loves company, but success loves company, too. Paying the price means doing what others are unwilling to do in order to have the things that others will never have. The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the “extra.” If you want extra, do extra, think extra and learn to be extra. Pay the price.

Not surprisingly, those who work late quickly find out that the rank and file are no longer online or available by phone. It is not that hard, however, to connect after hours with CEOs, senior executives or top producers. Go figure. And then some wonder why they get paid so much more than the average. It’s not complicated. They produce more and work harder than the rest; paying the price long after the masses have moved on to the couch and remote control.

Notice how the edicts of the Code run together and work in harmony. Paying the price fits perfectly with executing a plan and exercising discipline. In addition to the action that goes with all three of the above, paying the price adds a mental element that further serves to breed the necessary confidence to never quit. When we embrace and accept that we are willing to pay the price, we send a powerful message to ourselves, both consciously and subconsciously, that says:

“I will till the land until I get the crop.”

“I will smile and dial until I make the sales.”

“I will challenge and better myself until I become the leader required to guide this team.”

“I will seek out and master the skills I need for success.”

“I will take the fall and get up as many times as needed or demanded of me.”

“I will reach the goal, no matter what it costs.”

As Thomas A. Buckner once said:

“To bring oneself to a frame of mind and to the proper energy to accomplish things that require plain hard work continuously is the one big battle that everyone has. When this battle is won for all time, then everything is easy.”

Successful people simply comprehend and live this. Pay the price; do the work; and the results will come.

At the end of the day, one thing is certain: the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

With his hands cut to shreds and covered in blood, the Old Man gave the Boy this crucial lesson. To win a great battle, pay the price. To achieve a great victory, pay the price.

In addition to all else, to become a Great One, each of us must pay the price.

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