Maximum Pumptitude: Pumptitude, #2

By Kim Yost, Donna Yost and Linda Dessau

Are you ready to go full blast and live at maximum pumptitude?

If you were pumped up by my first book, you're going to love this new collection of inspiring stories and practical lessons.

Pump up your energy, attitude, faith, productivity, personal brand, relationships, legacy, and future!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kim Yost
• Release date: May 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9780615625492

Book preview

Are you ready to go full blast and live at maximum pumptitude?

If you were pumped up by my first book, you’re going to love this new collection of inspiring stories and practical lessons. You’ll learn:

•How Drew Dolski overcame adversity to break the one-day sales record at Art Van on Black Friday 2011 (Chapter 8)

•How my wife Donna turned her car into a university on wheels (Chapter 3)

•How we opened six Brick stores in Montreal in one single day (Chapter 5)

•The power of the Life Chest, in our own Jon Gordon-inspired fable (Appendix A)

•How to navigate through the Six Stages of Life (Chapter 11)

•How to pump up your faith, energy, attitude, time, productivity, brand, relationships, legacy and future

•And much, much more!

Life 2000 Ltd.

1583 Heronwood Court

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302

Copyright © 2012 by Kim Yost

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, or other - without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012938438

ISBN-13: 978-1-7333338-1-8

First printing, May 2012

Printed in Canada

CONTENTS

Foreword by Jon Gordon

Acknowledgments

Who is Kim Yost Now?

Praise for Pumptitude

Introduction

1)   Embrace the genius of the WILL

2)   Be open for learning

3)   Unlearn your old habits, I dare you

Chapter 1: Pump Up Your Faith

4)   Remember what’s important

5)   Face your fears

6)   Persevere

7)   Find Heaven on earth

Story: The steelhead trout

Story: The birth of my daughter

Story: How I first met Donna

8)   Change your programming

Chapter 2: Pump Up Your Energy

9)   Take a power nap

Story: The sleeping book

Chapter 3: Pump Up Your Attitude

10) Beware of Grumptitude

Story: Kim’s day as a tornado

11) Control your emotions

Story: David misses a meeting

12) Ride out the cycle of self-improvement

13) Banish excuses

14) Stress for success

15) Shield yourself against the naysayers

Story: Donna’s car was a university on wheels

16) Be smart, hungry and humble

17) Learn from Coach Wooden’s legacy

18) Win the lottery every day

Chapter 4: Pump Up Your Time

19) Compound your interest

20) Find the key to time

21) Defuse the time bomb

22) Work twice as hard today

23) Hunt out time wasters

24) Do the four Ds

25) Go vertical, not horizontal with your time

Chapter 5: Pump Up Your Productivity

Story: The Idea Man let this one slip by

26) Eat the elephant

27) Clear the decks

28) Install a filter for your in-basket

29) Double your productivity

30) Avoid death by entitlement

31) Do it yourself

32) Set a game book at home

33) Learn to love what you hate

34) Make friends with momentum

35) Play power ball

36) Summarize

37) Cut your losses

38) Combine thought with action

Story: Home Show Canada and the story of the napkin

Story: Taking Montreal like no other – six stores in one day

Story: The $1 million dollar challenge

Story: Vines of the world

Chapter 6: Pump Up Your Brand

39) Protect your reputation

40) Zig and zag

41) Understand yourself and who others think you are

42) Play to win

Story: Motivation for a movie buff

43) Walk with purpose

44) Bring on your personal best

45) Be an expert in your own space

Chapter 7: Pump Up Your Relationships

46) Be choosy with your time

47) Keep it figgy

48) Leave the garbage outside

49) Get the message from the source

50) Beware of the drama vampires

51) Trust everyone

52) Forgive

53) Know who you can count on

54) Dare to be with the best

55) Check your ego at the door

56) Listen for something new

Chapter 8: Pump Up Your Recognition

57) Be on the lookout for heroes and teachers

58) Take a thank you walk

Story: Drew’s triumphant record-breaking Black Friday success

Chapter 9: Pump Up Your Legacy

Chapter 10: Pump Up Your Future

59) Anticipate the future

60) Work for your supreme effort

61) Have higher expectations

Chapter 11: The Six Stages of Life

62) Seek to know and understand yourself

The six stages of making a great life

63) Stage 1: Build your foundation, ages 0-16

Story: From a broken leg to a painting passion

Story: After school pottery time

Story: Hit the books, then hit the rink

Top Four Learnings in Stage 1

64) Stage 2: Education, ages 17-27

Top Four Learnings in Stage 2

65) Stage 3: Career, ages 28-37

Top Four Learnings in Stage 3

66) Stage 4: Experience and wisdom, ages 38-47

Top Four Learnings in Stage 4

67) Stage 5: Financial independence, ages 48-57

Top Four Learnings in Stage 5

68) Stage 6: Sharing, coaching and giving back, ages 58 and beyond

Top Four Learnings in Stage 6

Chapter 12: Conclusion/Summary

Chapter 13: The Growth of a Team

Story: Black Friday 2009

Story: A bad attitude is like a flat tire

Story: More than selling furniture

Story: The student was ready and the teacher appeared

Story: How our buying team has grown as a team

Story: It takes a team to accomplish success

Story: We are Art Van!

Story: The timing was right

Story: The Team, the Team, the Team

Story: 9+2+2+1=Success!

Appendix A: The Life Chest Story

Appendix B: Recommended Reading List

Appendix C: Index of names

Life Chest: Photo Album

FOREWORD

Celebrated author Jon Gordon has inspired people around the world with his best-selling books and talks. I mention several of his books in Pumptitude and continue to refer to his characters and ideas in Maximum Pumptitude. (We’ll learn a valuable lesson in Chapter 3 from Joy, the bus driver from The Wall Street Journal bestseller The Energy Bus.)

I was so thrilled when Jon agreed to contribute to this book.

Jon Gordon

I often say that leadership is not just about what you do but what you inspire and empower others to do. Great leaders utilize their experience to guide people through uncharted waters and challenges. They lift people up when they are feeling down. They encourage people to go above and beyond their own limitations. They inspire people to believe in themselves. Great leaders move people to take actions that improve themselves and the world around them.

The world doesn’t need more negativity and impossible thinkers. The world needs more optimists, encouragers and inspirers. The world needs more people to speak to the hearts of others and say: I believe in you. Follow your passion and live your purpose. If you have the desire then you also have the power to make it happen. Keep working hard. You’re improving and getting better. Keep it up. The job market is not great but I believe you’ll find the right job for you. We’ve hit a lot of obstacles but we’ll get the project finished. Even if you fail it will lead to something even better. You’re learning and growing. The world needs encouraging leaders who have been there and done that and who will teach others what they have learned.

That’s why I love that Kim Yost has brought together all of his leadership, experience, empowerment and encouragement into this powerful book. Filled with 68 powerful lessons, Kim shares what he has learned from building winning teams and leading successful companies. He provides you with the encouragement and wisdom to chart your own path to success.

I hope you enjoy Kim’s book and may his lessons inspire and encourage you to lead and encourage others in a powerful way!

Jon Gordon, Best-selling author of The Energy Bus, Training Camp, The Seed and Soup

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In Pumptitude, you met some of the people who are the most special to me: my mother Yvonne Nordstrom, my Papa Tony, my wife Donna and my daughter Ashley.

And then there were my mentors: Brian Tracy, who taught me so many of the ideas that I share with you in the book; Art Van Elslander, Chairman of Art Van Furniture in Michigan; and Bill Comrie, Founder of The Brick Warehouse.

Their wisdom, support and guidance continued to inspire me as I pumped ahead with Maximum Pumptitude.

And to the team that helped me put both of these books together – my wife Donna Yost, my CEO coach Karen Wright and my ghostwriter Linda Dessau, thank you for your excellent work and your ongoing support. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Maximum Pumptitude is dedicated to my Nana, Marie Sherman.

Nana, born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1913, was a very hard-working woman of European descent.

Nana worked in her uncle’s bakery, where she met her husband, Nils Nordstrom. She married at 17 years old.

As you may remember from my story in Pumptitude, when my mother had to move to Vancouver to look for work, Nana and Papa devoted a year and a half of their lives to caring for me and my two sisters.

Nana showered us with great baking and lots of love, constantly saying, Kim, no matter what you try, you will never fail. You can do anything you set your mind to.

I paid attention to those words, and truly believe that her kindness and support were instrumental in my drive for success.

Marie Sherman (Nana)

Marie Sherman (Nana)

WHO IS KIM YOST NOW?

The palest of ink is worth four times the best memory – so write it down.

– Bill Comrie

If you’re curious about how I got to this point in my life, there is a full account of my history in the Who is Kim Yost chapter of my first book, Pumptitude. You can read about my early years as a businessman (I started my first business at age 11) and how I moved from the stockroom at Woodward’s to President and CEO at The Brick and then CEO of Art Van.

So who is Kim Yost now, and how do I keep so pumped up and excited about the things that I’m doing? That’s easy: I constantly read both my books and attend all of my speeches! Okay, now that’s funny, but it’s also true. Another way, for sure, is to surround myself with great, positive-thinking people who live to achieve and are always hungry for learning.

So why Maximum Pumptitude, and not just put Pumptitude to bed? I had to keep going, because there were more stories to tell, and I’ve got a lot more to share.

Kim signs copies of...

Kim signs copies of Pumptitude in Primo International showroom in Las Vegas

PRAISE FOR PUMPTITUDE

One of the best things I’ve been hearing from people who read Pumptitude was that, even though they were never really readers, they were now reading more books – starting with the books I recommended.

And they’re sharing this passion with others; people are buying multiple copies for departments, teams, companies and friends. It’s exciting to know people are reading it, learning from it and passing it on.

When I reached the landmark of one hundred copies sold, my friend Gary Duncan, Vice President of HR at Art Van, joked, You must be almost done ‘cause you’ve got to have run out of family and friends. You’re not funny, Gary.

Here are a few emails we have received about my first book, Pumptitude:

I just completed reading your fabulous book, Pumptitude.

There is more meat in those 100+ pages than any other book I’ve read.

Several of the many takeaways for me were: the red folder; really, really, really; energy vampires; GSD; SMART goals, average people have hopes, and leaders have vision; three types of people in the world – people who don’t know what’s going on, people who know what’s going on, and people who make things go on. I also enjoyed the anecdotal vignettes, such as the wife telling her husband they won the lottery.

My compliments and thanks to you for adding value to me and to everyone who reads the book.

We greatly value our relationship with Art Van Furniture, with you and your team. Looking forward to many mutually profitable years.

Ralph Stern, Successful Entrepreneur, Owner of Paul’s TV of California

Your book arrived right in time for the New Year. It came at a perfect moment, just when I needed it most. Kim has harnessed the power of positive thinking and has given us a road map to personal and professional success. What a profound effect you have had on me. My plan is to share Kim’s philosophies with as many people as possible. Pumptitude will be the template for myself and Primo International’s 2012!

John DeFalco, Sr. Executive V.P., Primo International

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your book. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and passion. I’m looking into a Life Chest!

Cindy Crawford, Supermodel

I finally finished your book (I know you are shaking your head, but had to be honest – just did not fit it in, shame on me), I skimmed it a few times