Find A Way

By Dennis McCurdy

If you're looking to find your way to your full potential, Find A Way is a must-read.
Some say Find A Way is a book for life, your life, one that you will go back to over and over to refresh and remind you about how you can accomplish and achieve whatever it is you want. There are no secrets to living a successful life, but there are basic principles you can use on your path to success. Understanding those principles and learning how to take action is the premise of Find A Way. Some of those basic principles are setting goals and action, action, action, and creating habits that work for you; most important what gets in your way and stops you, and why. He shows you how your own thoughts and beliefs can send you to the top or keep you at the bottom. This book is an easy read and has the feel of a friendly neighbor sharing the secrets that enabled him to win in life. Reading Find A Way will pay big dividends in your life and steer you on your own path.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dennis McCurdy
• Release date: Nov 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9780979886300

Dennis McCurdy

A self-employed businessman since the age of 23; Dennis understands what it takes to be successful; his company, McCurdy Group, was awarded the prestigious 5 Star Designation in 2003. As president of Adam Beck Institute, he speaks frequently about personal development and growth. His 6-week workshop, Find A Way, was developed for individuals who want to invigorate their life, reach for their dreams, and learn new ways to achieve... Those who have attended his presentations agree–Dennis is a practical and down-to-earth coach/guide. No frills just lots of meat and potatoes. Dennis is the author of; Find, A Way, A Guide to Getting The Most From Life, and 52 Ways To Find A Way and he is currently working on his third book, “Suck it Up Cupcake, How to Stop Screwing Yourself and Get the Life You Want” Having grown up in a small rural New England town, and with no role model for success, Dennis speaks about his becoming a successful from the point of view of the average person; He walks the talk A Dennis served at Phu Cat Airbase, Bin Din Province, Republic of South Vietnam with USAF in the 12th Security Police Squadron from July 1970 to July 1971. Dennis is a Firewalking instructor

Book preview

Preface

I never read book introductions and forewords. I don’t understand why we have them. This was the response I gave my editor, Rita, when she said I needed an intro to the book.

Now Rita can often be quite literal. Okay, maybe not an introduction or foreword, but definitely a preface.

What’s the difference?

She gave me a quick education. The foreword is a statement about a book, and it’s usually written by someone other than the author. An introduction generally details information relevant to the text, material that should be read before the rest of the book. But a preface discusses why and how the author did the work of the book. I warned you she was literal.

But what’s so important about what I have to say? A lot of people have said the same thing. People a lot smarter than me.

She stared at me, hard. If you didn’t think you had something important to say, why the hell did you spend the time and money to write this book? And then she smiled at me. Time for you to revisit your chapter on self-talk.

Rita was right. Those little voices were at it again. I’m not educated. I don’t have a college degree. Who do you think you are, Mr. Big Shot!

I can hear those voices, Dennis, Rita said. So try to shut them out and listen to my voice instead. You are a very successful businessman. And you became successful because you found a way. No one taught you. Thirty years ago, you weren’t reading all those books you now devour. Instead, you reached down into the depths of your being and found a way. That’s what makes your book stand out.

She had a point. I use to think anyone who wrote personal growth and success books was perfect. But no one is perfect. We are all wounded in one-way or another. I have made mistakes. I still make mistakes. But I learn from them. I Find A Way.

This book, by no means, has all the answers; I don’t know or have all the answers. No one does. I am writing it to share some of the things I’ve learned, some of the things I did right and wrong. I started writing it because I had stopped paying attention to my goals and dreams.

What I hope this book will convey is that there are no secrets to success. It is a process. An on-going process; one that will only end on the day we take our last breath. What you’ll find, however, are some basic laws or principles that you have to follow to be a successful person and to have a successful life. I have culled this information for you through personal stories, examples, and the wisdom of others.

My sincere hope and wish for you is that you Find A Way to the life you want for yourself.

Find A Way

Dennis

Chapter 1

What It Means

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

We are all different; we have different styles, personalities, habits, and beliefs — ways of doing things that affect us every day in every aspect of our lives. Find A Way is a means to make your life work better for you, and help you live the life you want for yourself.

What does Find A Way mean? It’s really quite simple. It means uncovering and discovering methods that work for you, and overcoming obstacles that get in you way.

Many people have some kind of a life vision or goals. And some have no clue as to how to live the life they want. No matter which category you are in, this book will help. It will help you start the process; it will help you refine your process.

Let me give you an example. I’m a morning person; and I like coffee shops. I have several spots, but most mornings between 6:00 - 6:30 A.M. you’ll find me rolling into Annie’s Country Kitchen, my favorite spot. I have a quiet booth hidden away in the corner where I read, write, and work blissfully. If one of the waitstaff sees my car pulling into the lot, a hot cup of Annie’s Joe is waiting for me at my booth. What a beautiful sight! I am immediately in full swing, full productive working mode. I can work undisturbed for hours to my heart’s content. The waitstaff knows, too, to keep me full and caffeinated.

The other customers at Annie’s jokingly suggest that I pay the owner rent. Maybe they’re right. Lenny isn’t making much money on me! So, here’s my rent, Lenny. If any of you good folks reading this book are ever in Sturbridge, MA and you want good food (Judy, my better half, or so she tells me, especially likes the spinach omelet), fast service, and lots of wonderful, smiling faces, stop and say Hi to Lenny and his crew at Annie’s Country Kitchen! (Oh, and be sure to look for me at my booth and say Hi too!)

What’s the point to my story? I needed to Find A Way to set my focus each morning. I needed a time and place, outside the office or my home, to get certain things done. My morning time at Annie’s works for me; I protect that time very carefully. I am an extrovert and a morning person, so I get energy from the outside environment and the morning hours. I am able to focus to the point where I don’t even hear the hustle and bustle. (Sometimes I am so focused I burn my mouth with the fresh coffee I didn’t see them pour!)

Begin to Find A Way by establishing your special time and place — to plan your life, dream, write your goals, work, write that book, write those letters, work on your business or business plan, meditate, THINK. Whatever you need to help you live the life you want. Find what works for you; find your place and your time. It will be worth it. Even if in the beginning it is only for ten or fifteen minutes, grab what you can. Start!

Man’s mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

— Oliver Wendell Homes

This book is a result of my rediscovering some life vision, dreams, and goal-setting exercises I had done over the past twenty years. One of the exercise questions asked: What do you regret not having done in your life?

I had dreamed of conducting seminars and workshops on success building. I had dreamed of writing a book one day. I had dreamed about being a motivational speaker. In fact, one day my children, thinking they were making fun of me said, Dad you sound just like one of those tapes you always listen to! As they laughed, I thought: Yes, that would be cool. So what was stopping me?

Henry David Thoreau wrote: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What did Thoreau mean? He was talking about the millions of people who have talents, gifts, desire, ideas, visions, but who fail to take any action. People, who settle, accept beliefs like, You can’t win…You’ll never get ahead… What’s the use in trying?

Do you find that it is just easier to sit back and watch others do? It’s been said that 90% of success in life is just showing up. Ask yourself, honestly now: What’s your no-show percentage? Is it fear that keeps you in the no-show percentile?

Fear and self-sabotage caused by negative beliefs are the main reasons most people never reach their goals. How many books and magazine articles have you read, or news stories have you heard about individuals or groups of people who have accomplished amazing things? I would wager at least one a day.

You have a choice: show up. You took the first step away from being a no-show when you picked up this book. Keep reading. This book will help you do what you want. It will help you Find A Way.

Find A Way is simple. There are no secrets to success, but there are some basic principles you can use on your path to success. Learning those principles and taking action is the truth of success. It’s all up to you.

Look into your heart. What is your gift, talent, or skill? What is that something that only you can bring to the world in your own special way? Now let me ask you: Do you want to keep your music — your special gift — quiet and unused? Lost to the world and only for you? Or do you want to share it with us? I hope part of the reason you are reading this book is that you do wish to — and want to — share it with us. For if you touch even one life, help one person, make one person laugh or feel good; change one small thing in the world with your gift, you will have lived a full, complete life. You will have made the world a better place, if even for a moment.

If you need to make changes to find the success you want now is the time. There is no better time.

Like the Nike commercial says: Just do it. And keep doing it. And doing it. And doing it.

If this is your first personal growth and success book, then it’s a good start. And by no means should it be your last. Let it be the first of many. For now, I recommend you read this book again and again — make notes in the margin, underline, and highlight — and keep referring to those notes and passages as you continue to grow and reach your dreams and goals. Copy the quotes that resonate with you and post them around your home and office. Go, too, to www.find-away.com and sign up for my free weekly motivator.

If you have read similar books, you’ll find that this book places more emphasis on a few key areas — areas I feel are most important and sometimes overlooked. The techniques recommended will help you get started, enable you to improve what you are doing now to reach your goals, and set the stage for reaching the next level. The more you expand yourself the easier it will be to Find A Way to achieve whatever you want for your life and in your life.

Open your mind and make your life one of continual learning, whether it is from books, CDs, workshops, formal education, or mentors, or the world around you. But keep in mind the most important idea you need to understand is to Find A Way.

Find A Way that works for you.

Take Action – Part One

Do what you have always done, and you get what you have always got.

— Anonymous

Numerous good opportunities and results have occurred in my life because I was willing to take action. I have owned numerous real estate properties, either by myself or with partners, and I still get a little nervous every time I make a deal. It’s human nature; it is part of the process. And it keeps you sharp.

A common fear is the fear of success. The solution to conquering this fear and to attaining success is to learn to enjoy the process. Every day we do things we like, and we do things we don’t like. Try this quick exercise:

1.

Think about something you like to do.

2.

Now, think of something that you don’t like to do.

How can you make the latter more pleasurable? By changing the way you think about what you don’t like.$

Changing your thoughts can and will change your attitude. Changing your attitude can and will change your actions. And changing your actions can and will change your outcome.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

— Frank Law

Some of you will say, No, I can’t do it. But, in truth, you can. And on some level you know that you can. But the very thought of doing creates fear; fear that you may have to do something or look at something in a different way.

How do you begin the process of change? By thinking about what you will gain, and not about what you may lose. Make that which you find less pleasurable a challenge. I’ll get this job done in two hours today instead of three. Focus on the challenge. Shift your focus to the process.

When I was seventeen, one of my first jobs was at Rom’s Restaurant in Sturbridge, MA. At one time, Rom’s was one of the top 100 grossing restaurants in the country. It was big — could seat several hundred people — and it was always busy.

I made pizza and cooked short order foods like French fries and fish ‘n’ chips. We also made our own onion rings. Short order cooks were responsible for their own set up. This task included lugging cases of French fries, gallons of clams, and buckets of onion rings, chicken, and fish from the walk-in cooler. It was not fun. Neither was washing the pots and pans and the floors fun. What were my choices? I could complain and hate being there (okay sometimes I did), or I could change the way I thought about my job.

I chose the latter. I decided to make a contest out of it. Each day I set a challenge for myself. Could I carry four cases of French fries with a gallon of clams on top? (Of course, I couldn’t exactly see where