You are here: Home

Take the Stairs Treasure Hunt!

February 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

Attention all New Yorkers! This afternoon we’ll be visiting several bookstores in NYC signing copies of the newly released #TakeTheStairs! Between 3 – 7pm we’ll be going to stores all over the city so be on the lookout and be the first into the store to get a signed copy! 

Here is where we will be:

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
82nd & Broadway
2289 Broadway
New York, NY 10024

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
86th & Lexington
150 East 86th Street
New York, NY 10028

 Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Citigroup Center
160 E 54th Street
New York, NY 10022

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Fifth Ave
555 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Union Square
33 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Tribeca
97 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Court Street
106 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Park Slope
267 7th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215

See you in the “stairwell”,
Rory Vaden

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff, Take The Stairs Official Tour Stops

YOU Were Born to Win – Find Out How

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My mentor and “America’s Motivator” bestselling author Zig Ziglar has written what is sure to become a beloved classic, Born to Win.

Zig takes his 40+ years of teaching about success and how to get it and puts it all in one easy-to-understand book.

The Born to Win philosophy is both “profoundly simple” and “simply profound.”  Zig says, “You were born to win, but to be the winner you were born to be you must plan to win and prepare to win.  Then and only then can you legitimately expect to win.” In this book, Zig shows you how you can prepare yourself for success and change your world!

In Born to Win you will discover how:

  • You can begin to win right away
  • Two driving forces fuel action
  • Practice prepares you for victory
  • To get the advice you need
  • To stop worrying about results
  • To always expect the best
  • Being born to win can drive your business to new levels of success

To celebrate the release of this groundbreaking book, Zig’s friends and colleagues have put together an amazing offer. If you purchase the book today, you’ll get instant access to tons of bonus gifts, including my Take the Stairs 60 Minute Signature Keynote on Audio and eMinibuk of Quotes – a $30 value! Check out the details here.

The entire bonus package is worth more than $2,184 including gifts from leading industry experts such as Bob Burg, Dianna Booher, Tom Hopkins, Dr. Tony Alessandra, me, and many, many others.

“Born to Win is Zig Ziglar’s legacy for all of us.  Don’t miss it!  If you think he’s already impacted your life, as he has mine, then hold on—your life will get even better after reading Born to Win.  It’s the best of the best of Zig Ziglar.” — Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level

If you’re serious about winning in life, learn how with Born To Win.  Begin your journey today!

See you in the “stairwell”,
Rory

P.S. If you purchase today, you’ll receive over 32 bonuses!  Order now!

P.P.S. If you’ve never read Zig Ziglar, find out why Seth Godin says, “Zig Ziglar is the real deal!  He’s an authentic voice, a light, and a life changing mentor and model for millions.”  Click here to find out more.

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff Tagged With: , ,

ANNOUNCEMENT: Take the Stairs nationwide bus tour – Free events across the country to raise thousands of dollars for local schools!

January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Could you use more self-discipline? Or do you know a teenager in your life that could use more self-discipline? If you answered yes to either or both of these questions then you’ll be excited to know that from February 20 – March 20 I will be teaching FREE live Take the Stairs events all across the country!
nationwide take the stairs tour
As part of our book launch for Take the Stairs (Penguin publishing) we will be taking a tour bus across the country and have partnered with local schools to provide free programming in a community near you and to raise money for local schools and youth character education non-profits!
Our tour bus will be visiting 20 different states and we’ll be hosting events where we teach all 7 strategies of the Take the Stairs methodology to help you and your teens to:
- Understand the psychology of overcoming procrastination
- Simplify the process of making self-disciplined choices
- Be able to start doing the things you know you should be doing when you don’t feel like doing them.
These events are for anyone who wants to:
- Make more money
- Be more productive
- Be in better physical shape
- Have less stress
- Enjoy more fulfilling relationships
and just have more peace, satisfaction, and fulfillment in every area of life!
Most of the events will be in the evening from 6-830 pm and you can find a full list of events and register at:

www.takethestairstour.com

Events are free to register and come to but seating is limited so you must register online in advance at www.takethestairstour.com. The event is recommended for anyone 8th grade and up!
A suggested donation of $10 per person will be collected at the door and 100% of the money will be given back to that local school district or local youth character education non profit!
You can help by:
- Going to www.takethestairstour.com and registering yourself/family members/ and friends to come to a live event
- Spreading the word about these free events all across the country by blogging about it, sharing it on your Facebook page, or sending messages on Twitter.  Go to our Facebook fan page (www.roryonfacebook.com) to find shareable links
- Introducing us to any media contacts you might have who might be interested in covering the story of the Take the Stairs Tour to help get the word out to more people!
Our goal is to have 1000 people at each event and to raise $10,000 for each school/charity with a total of $250,000 for local schools during our 30 day tour!
Help us provide this important education for young people and to raise money for America’s schools! Join the Take the Stairs tour now at:

www.takethestairstour.com

See you in the stairwell,
Rory
Filed Under: Take The Stairs Official Tour Stops, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to “Own” Your Dream

January 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

motivation hard workIt is a peculiar truth of life that we often do not appropriately value the things we don’t directly pay for. One of the problems with credit is that it enables us to have something that we “want” now even though we might not really need it. And had we been forced to earn the money for it first then we might have decided later that it’s not worth the money because it’s not worth the work we had to put in to get it.

Unfortunately many of us approach our dreams with the same buying-on-credit philosophy that we use to buy our stuff. We want to find a way to get them without having to pay for them upfront. In other words we want the accolades, the raises, the notoriety, the freedom and the status but we’d rather not have to put the work in for it up front in order to get it. But even though we think that is what we want, it ultimately doesn’t satisfy.

A dream that is handed to you wouldn’t be worth as much as one you had to pay to own. It wouldn’t have the same significance, the same meaning, and it wouldn’t represent the same success. Even though we may not realize it, the satisfaction of reaching the dream comes from having paid the price in order to get it.

So if you have a dream – any dream – you don’t want it on “credit”. That is, you don’t want it “given” to you and you don’t need it to “come easy”. You want to work for it, you want to earn it, you want to pay the price for it. You want to own it! My friend and author, Randy Gage, often says “you should be the number one investor into your own dream.”

There are 3 currencies you can use to invest in owning your dream: time, money, and energy. If you have a dream that you want then you can own it by investing any one of those 3 things into it at any moment.

And as the “Buy-In Principle” of the Take the Stairs methodology reminds us, “the more we have invested into something the less likely we are to let it fail.” So don’t wait for your dream to be given to you. Don’t expect an easier way for it to show up. Don’t think it’d be better if it just happened. Instead, start investing! Start paying the price and you’ll be amazed at the power you have once you truly “own” your own dream.

See you in the “stairwell”,
Rory Vaden

Filed Under: Self-discipline Strategies, Standard Lessons Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

7 Solutions to Sustainable Self-Control

January 17, 2012 By 1 Comment

Ahhhh….January. Its that time of year again where we all are optimistic about our resolutions and all that the New Year has in store for us. In the past I’ve spent time focusing on what we can do to increase our self-discipline to make the year great. Just to switch it up this year, I thought I’d provide a couple ideas on the sister of self-discipline, which is self-control.

If self-discipline (my entire area of study) is how to get yourself to do the things you know you should be doing when you don’t feel like doing them, then the sibling (self-control) is how to get yourself to STOP doing certain things that you know you shouldn’t be doing when you do want to do them.

Self-discipline is mostly about overcoming procrastination and self-control is mostly about overcoming temptation. The psychology of both is closely related and all of the “Take the Stairs Methodologies” and solutions apply to both. I’m not telling you what you shouldn’t do; I’m just sharing some ideas for how you can stop doing things that YOU decide you don’t want to do anymore. So here are a few tips for those of you trying to resist the temptations of food, substances, spending money, or other light addictions in 2012. (BTW in case you didn’t know, I’m not a doctor so use at your own discretion)

1. Leverage long-term vision to endure short-term sacrifices: The amount of your resistance will be directly proportionate to the clarity of your vision and the strength of your why. Set a mental alarm so that whenever you are tempted by something, the vision of what matters most to you immediately pops into your head. Focus on the change that you want to see in yourself by envisioning what your life will be like once you’ve made the change. You’re likely to find that it immediately deadens some of the power that temptation has over you in the present moment.

2. Move away from the line: We tend to flirt with temptation a lot. We think “I’ll just have a little more” or “I’ll just have one” or “No one will even know if I do it now”. The seductive nature of temptation draws us near and we slide down the slippery slope until one day we wake up and find ourselves somehow having crossed way over the line. So as my friend David Avrin would say, take pride in running the opposite direction of the line! Don’t try to fool yourself into the façade of “a little bit” just avoid it altogether. Celebrate the fact that you rejected the temptation and are running the complete opposite way from it!

3. Pass on the first round: Momentum is a force that we tend to drastically underestimate. When the flight attendant comes by asking if you’d like a drink tell her “no, I’m good for now, maybe later”. At the party when they are passing the slices of cake around (or insert any other substance) say, “actually, I’m not quite ready for that but I might take some in a few minutes”. Make a deal with yourself that if you resist temptation during the first round and later you still decide that you want it that you’ll allow yourself to go for a little (assuming its something legal here). What you’ll discover is that if you can say no to the first round it is WAY easier to say no to each of the subsequent rounds. The power of momentum sets in and before you know itwhat was once a sacrifice to give up, later isn’t even a temptation.

4. If you don’t really want it, don’t go for it: Its amazing how unsatisfying so many indulgences are. We finish cookies that we don’t event like. We buy more drinks when we’re already wasted. We do stupid stuff just because the people around us are doing it. Stop that! Its one thing to look forward to a piece of cheesecake that you’ve been working out hard all week for. It’s another to just be indulging in something because it’s right in front of us. If you’re going to do it, make sure that you really do want it. You might realize that it’s not worth that much to you after all. In the event of peer pressure my mom always taught me that you can always use “The Medical Excuse” by saying “I’m not feeling good right now” or take a vitamin and then tell your pressuring friends “I can’t do it because I’m on medication.”

5. Get control of your environment: Let’s be honest. If you look at the activities that are on your self-control list they are probably all likely to happen around a certain time of day, group of people, or specific location. Don’t put yourself in compromising situations, don’t be around people or places that you know are going to push you the wrong direction, don’t have that crap in your house, and men – when a woman bends over to pick something up immediately look the other way! Get rid of, and physically remove as far away as possible all reminders and inklings of this past temptation.

6. Go old school on it!: There is a strong case to be made for good old fashioned will power. We don’t like to challenge each other on stuff as much these days because our “escalator mentality” is one of “you leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone”. But we’re disserving each other by not stepping up, slapping one another around a bit and instead dictating a challenge like, “Suck it up dude. This is bogus. I’m calling shenanigans on you. You need to get your crap together. Seriously? C’mon. You’re better than that.”

7. Take the Stairs In Pairs: Not only is everything more fun with accountability but its also more effective. Each time we check in with our accountability partner it renews our commitment moving us back to the top of the Law of Diminishing Intent curve. As part of the Take the Stairs book launch this February we’re challenging everyone to pick an accountability partner for 2012 to get serious with about self-discipline. Then write a blog, post some tweets, share somestatus updates, and create some pictures and publicly announce who your #TakeTheStairsInPairs partner is going to be in 2012. Make sure you announce what your goal is for the year to hold each other accountable to!

You can start by going to www.roryonfacebook.com and submit a post on our fan page of what your goal is going to be and tagging who your accountability partner is! Make sure to include the hashtag #TakeTheStairsInPairs when talking about it on Facebook or Twitter. Good discipline to you in 2012!

See you in the “stairwell”,
Rory Vaden

Filed Under: Health Tips, Self-discipline Strategies, Standard Lessons Tagged With: , , , , ,

20 What’s to Find Your Why

November 28, 2011 By 5 Comments

Recently a close friend of mine asked me the question “What do I do if I don’t have a specific goal? What will it mean for my life if I don’t have clarity about what I’m supposed to be doing? What if I’m still searching for meaning?”

It’s been said that if you find your WHY you’ll discover the HOW. But for a lot of people they have a hard time finding their WHY. So here are 20 WHAT questions that might help you find your WHY.

  • What amount of money do you want to make?
  • What places would you like to visit in the world?
  • What type of job would you like to do each day?
  • What would your perfect day look like in terms of how you spent your time and what you were doing?
  • What are the characteristics of your perfect spouse?
  • What do you want to look like?
  • What do you want to give back to the world?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • What are the things you believe in most?
  • What people can help you get to where you want to go?
  • What are the things you would like to have?
  • What are the most exciting things you’d like to try?
  • What events would you like to go to?
  • What type of house do you want to have?
  • What people would you like to meet?
  • What amount of money do you want to have at retirement?
  • What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
  • What things would have to happen in order to accomplish that huge dream?
  • What do you want people to think of when they think of you?
  • What people do you want to spend most of your time with?

It is important to note that a fulfilling purpose isn’t a prerequisite of action but it is a catalyst for it. Spend time answering these questions however and you will likely find your WHY and that should get you moving to action quickly!

You’re welcome to answer these questions below in the comments section. Have fun!

See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the Stairs – Success means doing things you don’t want to do

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff, Standard Lessons Tagged With: , , , , ,

‘Take the Stairs’ Book Cover Revealed!

October 19, 2011 By 6 Comments

I’m so excited to show you the cover of my book!  Here it is!  What do you think?

I’m honored to have some of my favorite authors gracing the back cover:

“I always say that personal finance is only 20% head knowledge—and 80% behavior. Behavior change is hard, because it requires something a lot of people are missing these days: self-discipline. If you want to make a change in your money, business or relationships, do not miss Take the Stairs. It gives you the tools you need to take control of the only person holding you back: yourself!” –Dave Ramsey, host of The Dave Ramsey Show and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover

 

This book won’t let you off easy – and that’s why it’s great. Rory Vaden gives readers what they need to get focused and tackle problems head on – and win.”- Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back.

 

“This book on self-discipline shows you how to develop the courage, character and determination you need to succeed in anything you attempt. It can change your life!“ – Brian Tracy, New York Times bestselling author of Eat That Frog

 

“Take the Stairs will change the way you work and live. Rory Vaden has created a gem of a book that will inspire you to do the little extra things that make a HUGE difference. This book gives you a solid plan for success. Two words, BUY IT!” – Chester Elton, Best-Selling co-author of “The Carrot Principle” & “The Orange Revolution”

 

Buy from 800CEORead: Take the Stairs at 800CEORead
Buy from Barnes and Noble:  Take the Stairs at Barnes and Noble
Buy from Books A Million: Take the Stairs at Books A Million
Buy from Indiebound: Take the Stairs at Indiebound
Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tribute to Steve Jobs Discipline of Innovation

October 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff, Self-discipline Strategies Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mission: 1,000 Kids

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Join me and SUCCESS Magazine publisher Darren Hardy to help improve the lives of 1,000 kids. Watch video below to learn more.

Kevin and Grant’s story was so inspiring that we want (at least!) 1,000 more kids to have this same experience!

And YOU can help!

So, à la TOM Shoes model, we are doing a one-for-one (until October 14th).

Every hardbound copy you buy, we will buy and distribute softbound copy to a deserving kid (watch video for more info).

Go here to order The Compound Effect in bulk.

Each copy = one kid… and the potential to change their life forever!

Thank you for your help! – Darren Hardy and SUCCESS Team

10 Ways You Can Help Share The Compound Effect on Facebook and Twitter

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff Tagged With: , , , , ,

Official release date for the Take the Stairs book is….!

September 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

We’re so excited to share with you that our publisher Penguin has finalized an official launch date for the Take the Stairs book and it is Tuesday February 7, 2012! The book will go on pre-sale long before then but only to our personal followers and fans. We’ll share more with you about that in the coming weeks. There are some BIG THINGS happening with the book already that we thought you might like to be the first to know.

The book as of now will have distribution in more than 80 airport stores and should be in most major brick and mortar retailers. Media is building as well as we just found out that we’ll getting a personal interview with Darren Hardy from SUCCESS Magazine for his Success Audio Series which goes out to an exclusive group of 30,000 people in Darren’s fan base in early 2012. We’ll be a guest on one of Roxeanne Emerich’s programs for financial institutions later this fall, and keep your eyes out around March of 2012 and you might just see a cover story here and there on the Take the Stairs movement.

The most important part of all the things related to the book is we are currently planning a 14-20 city nationwide tour (with a tour bus and all) where we go to cities and host FREE events for teenagers, parents, teachers, coaches and school administrators, where I’ll be teaching all 7 strategies that are in the book LIVE. We are passionate about reaching people with the message of self-discipline and plan to see several thousand people face to face in a 3 week time span. We want to give teens and parents a chance to come to an event that will be fun for both of them. We’re currently looking for sponsors for the tour to undercut the price of it so we can make it free but make no mistake the tour is happening for sure one way or another!

To give you a little preview of what is to come in the book itself here are some of the reviews we’ve gotten from other authors who have had a chance to read it and endorse it!

“This book is a compelling and challenging call for all of us to accomplish greatness. It not only shows you how to make self-discipline more sustainable, it will reignite your passion to achieve.“ –Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Traveler’s Gift & The Noticer

“I always say that personal finance is only 20% head knowledge—and 80% behavior. Behavior change is hard, because it requires something a lot of people are missing these days: self-discipline. If you want to make a change in your money, business or relationships, do not miss Take the Stairs. It gives you the tools you need to take control of the only person holding you back: yourself!” –Dave Ramsey, host of The Dave Ramsey Show and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover

“This book on self-discipline shows you how to develop the courage, character and determination you need to succeed in anything you attempt. It can change your life!“ – Brian Tracy, New York Times bestselling author of Eat That Frog

“The easy way is never the excellent way. Rory Vaden knows this and teaches you the timeless truths of achieving excellence in your personal and professional life. Take the Stairs is a refreshing look at what it really takes to succeed.  For get rich quick or wish upon a star, go elsewhere. For an agenda for excellence, read this book. Rory gets it.”- Mark Sanborn, Bestselling author of The Fred Factor and You Don’t Need a Title to Be A Leader

“Take the Stairs will change the way you work and live. Rory Vaden has created a gem of a book that will inspire you to do the little extra things that make a HUGE difference. This book gives you a solid plan for success. Two words, BUY IT!” – Chester Elton, Best-Selling co-author of “The Carrot Principle” & “The Orange Revolution”

“‘Get rich quick, easy and painlessly’. Don’t be fooled. There is no escalator to the top. This book will tell you the truth about what it really takes to become a massive success in every area of your life–if you choose to Take the Stairs.” — Darren Hardy, Publisher SUCCESS Magazine, bestselling author of The Compound Effect

“If you rarely finish the books that you buy, Take The Stairs will be a change for you. After just a few pages, I was hooked, and I read this absolute treasure of inspiration and practical advice in one sitting.  Rory is the real deal.  This isn’t a book of cheerleading and motivational platitudes.  This is the book that can change your life.  I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to take quality of work and life to a higher level.” -Joe Calloway, Bestselling author, Becoming A Category of One

“Pure and simple, this should be the only book on the shelf in this category- because it’s the only proven way to achieve authentic, sustainable success. In his book “Take the Stairs” Rory Vaden provides a timeless message with a timely sense of urgency.  While too many spend their lives searching for the ever-elusive shortcut to success, Rory lays out the only sure path in existence – having the discipline to be clear with your goals, work hard and do what most people are unable, or unwilling to do.  Rory Vaden believes it, teaches it and lives it every day.  Buy this book and heed this message!”- David Avrin, Author of It’s Not Who You Know – It’s Who Knows YOU! (2010 John Wiley & Sons)

“You can’t spend 30 seconds around Rory without getting inspired to change your life. You’re about to spend a few hours with him. Get ready.”- Jon Acuff, Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of Quitter, Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job

“An inspiring and empowering book on how to harness your potential and become great.” – Randy Gage, author of The Prosperity Mind

There is lots more information to share about the tour, the new website for the book, a whole new look for Take the Stairs and several other details about the book itself (possibly including a free chapter if we can talk our friends at Penguin into it! ;) ) Sorry we are not yet allowed to release the cover of the book yet but should have that for you within the next two weeks along with the official subtitle. You’ll see it here first though for sure!

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement and of course we’ll continue sharing ideas and best practices here on the blog in the meantime. Please leave a comment below if you have anything you want to share or if you have questions!

See you in the stairwell,

Rory Vaden
Take the Stairs - Success means doing things you don’t want to do

Filed Under: Other Fun Stuff, Take the Stairs in the Media, Take The Stairs Official Tour Stops Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts