A Personal Thank You to My Friend & Mentor Jack Canfield
I first heard about Jack Canfield in the 1990s when the Chicken Soup books started to come out.
This was the beginning of my journey as to how I live today at the age of 76.
Before I went into the Peace Corps, I came was researching some things to download so I would have material for classes and English Club in Ukraine, and I came across his other book, The Success Principles. Of course, there is The Aladdin Factor and The Power of Focus too.
Both amazing books!
All of Jack’s books have helped me ask a lot of questions about what is important to me and what it is that I can share with others and more importantly, finding out what my purpose is while on this planet. I do find that I refer to The Success Principles often and find that is my favorite. I even purchased the teenage version for my grandson.
I added Jack onto one of my vision boards years ago as a person I wanted to meet. I got the opportunity in October of 2019 at a private mastermind group he was leading and hosting in Santa Barbara, California. I found him to be warm, kind and authentic and very easy to talk to and feel comfortable around.
I decided to attend because I was going in several directions professionally and needed some kind of guidance and focus. Between the mingling with Jack’s staff and the other participants, the clouds started to clear. It became clear that I was on the wrong track and had gone in a direction that wasn’t working out at all. I ended up letting go of a business I had invested years in and also a ton of money and moving in a different direction that aligned with what was important to me. But I wouldn’t have gotten that clarity without attending the mastermind and working through the issues with like-minded people and Jack’s inspiration and clarity.
What really endeared him to me was when I told him hello from a mutual business associate I had been with in Norway, and he told me this great story about the guy’s wife and Bill Clinton in a bookstore in New York and used the colorful language I knew the guy would have used telling the story and we laughed and laughed at this secret we now knew and now shared.
I don’t know how often Jack does these retreats, but he knows how to set it up. The site was lovely up on a hill overlooking Santa Barbara with palm trees, ponds and a really good restaurant. The housing units were like condos with all of the conveniences and gardens and windows you could open to smell the sea air. And the temperature was lovely for October.
We dined in their restaurant on the first evening and that was magical with the lights of the city and an opportunity to get to know our fellow participants. And the week continued to get better and better as we spent a lot of time discussing our particular needs and requests from the group about various marketing, coaching, communication or relationships goals.
I ended up signing up for Jack’s Train the Trainer Program – Online and from that I was able to write a course and a book as well as many articles that speak to my true purpose and passion.
Because of the time spent in Santa Barbara and spending time with Jack, his staff and the other people attending, I was able to sail through the shit of 2020 with vision and purpose. So thank you Jack, thank you very much.
We are the same age and you are a true inspiration and a role model for what my message is all about, to have a brilliant, kick-ass second half of life. I shall continue on this path and one day soon, post pandemic, host a retreat of my own to pass the torch, just as you did. I aim to bring like-minded people together, in a beautiful place for connection, passion, purpose and planning.
Your friend & fan,
Kathleen E. Sinclair
PS- here are a few photos I grabbed at the Mastermind in Oct 2019, 26 people were accepted to attend. I was honored to be chosen as one.
