Old Masters, Young Guns

Introduction

Expelled!

For fourteen-year-old John Ross Appleton (JR to his friends), the journey in the headmaster's car from Carmel College to the family home in Northam, Western Australia, seemed like an eternity.

It might also have been the beginning of the end, but (to borrow an expression from another high-achieving dyslexic*) it was simply the end of the beginning and the start of a journey which has seen JR become one of Western Australia's most influential, well-loved, best read and universally admired entrepreneurs.

School … primary school, secondary school, any sort of school was a nightmare for the young JR. As an undiagnosed dyslexic with a bubbly, larrikin nature, learning or anything to do with formal lessons and perceived boredom went, literally, right over his head. While the pursuit of prescribed earning was beyond him during his formative years, the pursuit of fun and laughter was a prime preoccupation every day.

As a disruptive influence, the irresistible force of JR Appleton met the immovable object of stiff school formality, and there was only one outcome … a win-win for all concerned. The school was rid of the larrikin, and the larrikin was rid of the school – although his unexpected return to the family home was not exactly greeted with delight at the time.

It seems, however, that JR was blessed with kindly, supportive and loving parents who provided all their children with a safe and happy home, as well as a code of ethics designed to stand the test of time. That solid foundation was critical to the unfolding story outlined in this book.

Excelled!

Plenty of hapless larrikins lose their way at a tender age, and never find their true path, or discover their real reason for existence (we all have one if we look hard enough).

Old Masters, Young Guns contains the story of a young man who, despite an apparent disadvantage and lack of education, discovered that he possessed special skills which were highly valued by others; skills that he could use and develop to advantage.

His choice, from the beginning of his working life aged fourteen, was to be different ... to take the path less travelled, to excel and be the best at whatever he chose to do. Over the course of time, he used his friendly nature, persuasive skills and hard work to become a genuinely excellent salesperson in a number of fields – motor vehicle sales, retail, corporate account management, Yellow Pages directory advertising, direct sales and multi-level marketing.

He tried his hand at business … and made a small fortune, only to lose it because he failed on one occasion to listen to his 'inner voice of warning'. One bad decision, a hard lesson learned and accepted for what it was – a chance to learn and grow. The fortune returned, re-built once again through hard work, intuition and entrepreneurial skill. By his own admission, JR was always searching for something which really 'ticked all the boxes', and provided more than wealth and the trappings of success.

By chance (is anything really by chance?), his partner Penny's serious illness in the early 1990s led him to discover a world class nutritional company, which just happened to be launching in Australia at the time. It's strange how the Universe works sometimes! Out of adversity arose the opportunity to give Penny the best possible chance of health and well-being and in the process, they built a very successful business which now positions JR in the top 100 of the company's associates worldwide.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame, and acknowledged as one of the rare 'Million Dollar Club' breed, he has made the most of his talents and at last found peace in the knowledge that he is doing what he loves best - working with a company he believes in and helping others.

JR has become the widely acknowledged as a master networker, and a 'King of Networking' in Australia. That's not bad for a country larrikin kid kicked out of school for being a 'no hoper' at age fourteen!

And there is more to it than that. The real reason for this book is not to showcase personal business success, but to provide inspiration for those setting out on their journey … young people, 'Young Guns' especially, who want to step out and succeed in their own right. In JR’s words:

Why the Old Masters?

There is a close correlation between success in direct sales and personal development. In fact, without personal development, the knocks of rejection and disappointment would be too hard to bear – for network marketing and direct sales is not for the faint hearted. While many attempt the journey and find that success eludes them, some (like JR and the leaders he has mentored) find it very rewarding financially. It comes down, of course, to the 80/20 rule – the Pareto principle which is a constant in all our lives.

When it comes to the literature of personal development, the material reaches back to the mists of time – from the Bible through to that famous body of American motivational speakers who wrote their way to fame and fortune in the 1920s and 30s.

This knowledge is often repackaged by eager authors, presenting it as new material or as new truths. Whereas, in fact, there is nothing new under the sun - just reminders from the Old Masters whose work provides the foundation which continues to inspire and motivate today.

This book is designed to be different, and is dedicated to all Young Guns who aspire to be the best that they can possibly be – just as JR reached out for inspiration, in the heady days of the 1960s. You'll find aspects of the JR journey threaded throughout the book, working hand in glove with the wisdom of the Old Masters who he has read so thoroughly and deeply.

Along the way, we hope that you pick up on some of the values JR lives by and the lessons he learned about the importance of developing relationships that work for all of us. Above all, it's your book. JR wouldn't have it any other way!

JR’S FOREWORD

Old Masters, Young Guns is not a book that is necessarily going to lead you to riches overnight or grab you with new revelations. But it will, I hope, make you stop and think about some of the core values we need to possess in order to be both a good corporate citizen and a good person.

The idea for the book actually came out of my involvement with a group of young people that I dubbed the ‘FBI Young Guns’ - the FBI part standing for ‘Future Business Institute’. And yes, unbelievably, I was able to register the name as a business!

The name came to me when I was driving home and a Shania Twain song came on the radio. One of my great passions is music and I like Shania Twain’s music, particularly the song that was playing.

So, on a whim, I drove to a music shop, bought the Shania Twain DVD with my favourite track on it, took it home, pushed ‘Play’ and up came an ‘FBI warning: Do Not Copy!’. The letters ‘BI’ immediately made me think of ‘Business Ideas’. That’s it! I decided on the spot. I’m going to have a business called the ‘FBI’.

But then I wondered and thought - how will I ever get that name registered? The old story - have a go! So I submitted the application and, predictably, the response was, ‘You can’t register the initials FBI’. Innocently I asked, ‘Why not? It stands for Future Business Ideas Institute and it has been set up to train young people’.

To my surprise they then said, ‘Well, if it’s a training institute, you can have it.’ It was as easy as that!

My involvement with the Young Guns evolved as a ‘random event’ (to coin a word that seems to appear frequently in the vernacular of today’s generation).

While on holiday in Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, my lovely partner Kate and I were strolling around the shops and taking it easy. We happened upon a psychic lady and Kate said she wouldn’t mind going to see her for a reading and asked would I like to come?

For a lark I said yes and we sat down in front of an attractive young lady who immediately asked if I knew why I was there? I casually replied, ‘No, we were just cruising past and thought we’d drop in’.

She then looked directly into my eyes and dropped a bombshell, saying ‘You are on this planet to teach’. This sounded like a bit of a joke, seeing as how I was expelled from school, a fact that I smilingly relayed to her, but she reiterated, ‘You are here to be a teacher’. I left feeling a little bemused and put this improbable thought to the back of my mind.

Then a little while ago a good friend asked me if I would have a talk to a young bloke who was a very talented, naturally gifted golfer and all-round sportsman. A really terrific kid apparently but one who, according to my friend, was rather lost and out of sorts.

So I agreed to have a bit of yarn with him, but then I thought rather than single him out for a one-on-one ‘lecture’, that he might not appreciate or respond to, why not include two or three other young blokes, who were his peers, we could put on a workshop, talk about personal development, have a bit of fun and see how it went.

On the first day about eight or nine kids turned up, though unfortunately, the young golfer wasn’t one of them. The next time it grew to seventeen, and then it was twenty-two and it just evolved from there.

Apparently those at the first session started texting and tweeting each other (is that the correct term for it?) saying that these ‘sessions’ with me were great. A sort of early version of viral marketing at work you could say! Lo and behold, our young golfer friend also presented himself at the second and subsequent meetings.

After several informal gatherings, the interest and involvement started to grow, so we decided to formalise the arrangement. They were all young people so we decided to call our little group ‘FBI Young Guns’.

And if I think about it, this exciting and amazing group of young people acted as the catalyst to reinvigorate and enthuse me out of a fugue I had been in since I had lost my previous partner Penny after her battle with cancer.

Kate obviously noticed this rekindling of a spark within me and said, ‘You know the one thing that seems to fire you up is working with these young people. I can see that you are passionate about helping them. Perhaps this is the start of the next leg of your journey, the teaching role that the psychic said you were destined to take on’. And you know what? Kate was right, as usual!

I had established a successful business that was running itself and while I was still dabbling in investments and projects here and there, I was more or less retired. I’d lost the fire, the desire to discover what was still out there in the Universe waiting for me. Young Guns helped me resume my journey, as a teacher! My ‘students’ love it because what I am teaching them is attitude. That’s the magic word for me … it’s all about attitude!

Our tag line for FBI is: ‘When positive people get together great things happen’. And happen they did. First, with the mentoring programme, and then the idea of writing this book.

When Roger and Barbara Andrew, Ross Addison and I started collaborating on the book, it was agreed that there was no such thing as an original idea in business – rather the knowledge, procedures and tenets we adhere to today are based on, or have evolved through, the thoughts and teachings of those who came before us.

While some of the messages and thoughts you will read on these pages are not new, the interpretation and conclusions drawn are all our own. This book lays no claim to being a triumph of original thought. It is merely my ‘take’ on doing business today, based on those pearls of wisdom handed down to us across so many years of invaluable experience.

In the pages that follow we have reproduced a lot of thoughts and ideas from people, both the Old Masters and some present-day inspirational leaders and authors, whose work and writings I personally admire and respect.

I don’t see myself as an original thinker. I’m no genius. I didn’t even finish high school. I am simply an observer of life … the successful way of getting things get done … the way people knit together and network. Quite simply, I put people together. I am a ‘connector’.

No one ever said you have to pluck something new and ground breaking out of the ether to achieve success. I’ve simply taken on board a few life lessons, applied them to my own life experiences, and sprinkled them with a little humanity and humour. Never forget humour, as it is a very important part of doing business and of making the most of life in general.

When I combined these elements and mixed them all together I came up with what is my take on success.

This can basically be summed up in one word – ‘relationships.’ Seeking out and developing, nurturing and maintaining personal connections that will open doors, give you strength and support, and provide you with an abundance of new opportunities and experiences that will remain with you all of your life.

And who could ask for anything more?

Conversations With A Young Gun!

Dan King is a young man on a mission and, as he will freely admit, that mission has been inspired, formed and activated by his Foundation membership of the FBI Young Guns movement.

Dan’s friendship with JR and professional golfer Mostyn Farmer, who was instrumental in forming the original group, has enabled him to convert promising but unrealised potential into well honed skills and a career in which he has already taken the first steps towards achieving excellence in his chosen field.

While we focus on the Old Masters in this book, and their inspiration and example that drives the content on every page, this book is equally about the spirit of the Young Guns in all of us - the young at heart. As his leading protégé, Dan is a fine example of JR’s original desire to inspire others to excel through the medium of personal development.

In this interview with Roger Andrew, conducted exclusively for the ‘Old Masters, Young Guns’ project, Dan King provides an insight into what life’s journey looks like from the Young Gun perspective, and how the Old Masters material fits into shaping the adventure.

Roger: It would be good to have your thoughts on the creation of the FBI Young Guns, and what it has meant to you over the past 12 months or so.

Dan: Even from a young age, I felt it was important not be average, and I always wanted to achieve something great, and operate outside the box. To be perfectly frank, I did not really feel that the school system and university was supporting me and delivering what I needed. I was looking for something else and I found the material that JR introduced to me was so special. The blindfold had been removed, and suddenly I could see!

At that point I discovered that I had far more direction and control over my life, and could become my own guide – although there have been times when I have definitely needed JR’s thoughts and advice, and with a few wise words he has been able to put me straight!

Roger: So what’s the story with university at the moment?

Dan: I’m on deferral, and have a year and a half left on an Accounting and Business Law degree. Although I was good at the work and enjoying what I was doing I was starting to feel that it was not going to take me where I really wanted to go. I was increasingly resistant to conformance, being restricted and having my choices limited – it just didn’t feel right, and it become harder and harder to put the work in to pass the units for my courses.

I feel that I am on a different path now, where personal and business goals, as well as the satisfaction of building lasting relationships, have come to the fore. I have become absolutely clear about what I want to do. I have become good at it, and being skilled at something reinforces the overall feeling of satisfaction.

Roger: Tell us about what has got you fired up – and where you are headed.

Dan: I have always been interested in health and nutrition, as well as helping others – so that is my life and career choice. Becoming involved with my company actually happened by chance when I worked with a woman who was very ill with a degenerative disease ... in fact the medical opinion was to move to aggressive treatment and to consider organising her affairs. I had been learning about nutrition and so I started researching and preparing organic and nutritious food, which I thought might help.

On my final day at that job she advised me to get my degree in Accounting or legal qualifications, and then she said, ‘If you want my opinion, I think your path in life is to help people in the area of health. You have a pretty good understanding of business, and some commercial nous, so perhaps you should set up a Wellness Centre where you can help people’.

She had planted the seed and that was the first time anyone had opened my eyes to something different. The next week I went to uni to defer my course and said to myself that I now knew what I wanted to do in life – and I was ready to start! I had had enough of wasting time, and that was the impetus I needed.

Roger: How is she now?

Dan: As you know, Roger, I have been working with what I believe to be the world’s finest nutritional supplements for a while now, and I not only kept in touch with her, but suggested that she should try them. Within four months she was greatly improved, had lost a considerable amount of weight, was exercising and looking good – in fact she was glowing!

All her cancer counts had come way down, she was diet conscious and far more aware of her health – so that has been a great success story. In fact, I received a phone call from the oncologist saying: ‘Those results are unheard of, what did you put my patient on?’

That blew my mind! After just three months of working with the nutritional company it was a clear sign that I was on the right path! From that point onwards, I put my heart and soul into the business 100 per cent, paid for a trip to the USA to meet the founder, and committed myself to going the full distance.

Roger: So nutrition is your passion, and that is part of your long-term vision? It may take some time to fulfil, so what about keeping body and soul together in the meantime?

Dan: I wouldn’t say it’s nutrition so much as reaching potential in all aspects of life. I have a corporate sales role with Australia’s leading manufacturer and distributor of personal fitness equipment, and that came about as a direct result of Young Guns as well! The opportunity occurred when I was playing golf with the owners of the company. I just happened to mention that I was looking for a full time role and so they offered me an opportunity to apply.

During the interview I mentioned that I was helping to develop the Young Guns group, and that we were studying the work of Earl Nightingale and Zig Ziglar and getting stuck into goal setting and more importantly, goal hitting. I could see the interviewer’s eyes light up and he told me right there that they wanted me to be part of the team. Even though I didn’t have any experience of corporate sales they were happy to train me, and it has worked out very well.

Roger: A classic example of selling yourself!

Dan: Yes, I suppose they could see that I had the right attitude. It was a key thing and I have cultivated it.

Roger: How did you meet JR in the first place?

Dan: Again it was through playing golf! I met Mostyn Farmer who is a golf coach at Collier Park, and he just picked up on a couple of things to help me with my game. He is a very close friend now – Mostyn has a heart of gold and just loves helping people. One day he said to me, ‘You’ve got to meet this guy called JR. He’s really cool, and considering what you want to do in life he might be able to point you in the right direction’.

Mostyn was right – I knew immediately that JR had something that I needed to know about, and in addition to introducing me to the world of self development, I believe he saw in me someone who could help him get the Young Guns going.

Roger: Had you had any exposure to personal development reading before meeting JR?

Dan: No, but I was ready to receive this information, as I mentioned before. I was in the zone of asking questions and finding people who I needed to talk to and doing the things I needed to do when JR came along. Dan the student was ready, so the teacher appeared! I had had enough of being part of other people’s plans, and I was keen to make my own plans. That reminds me of Jim Rohn who said that if you don’t make your own plans you’ll probably always fit into someone else’s plans, and that rang a big bell with me.

Roger: Were you at the first Young Guns session?

Dan: Yes, and in fact Mostyn played a big part in that. I had said to him that I knew a lot of young people my age who I believed could really achieve great things. I could see it in their eyes, but they did not have a way to do it or know what to do next. It’s always good to have exposure to people who have been there before, faced down the challenges and succeeded – and I mentioned to Mostyn that I had been fortunate to meet JR, but there were others I knew who had not had the same chance.

To cut a long story short, Mostyn and JR got together and organised the first event. JR said, ‘You know what Dan? We should develop a little group, just for fun, why don’t we give it a go?’ He planted that seed for me, and watered it by saying that I could have a leadership role. I thought, ‘Leadership - that sounds really good to me! Leadership means I’m giving something back and that I’m challenging myself’ and then I started thinking about all the leaders I had been reading about.

Roger: I have seen you present to a large audience, and introduce speakers without notice and without notes, that’s quite a skill. You must have acquired it as a result of standing up at Young Guns.

Dan: JR encouraged us all right from the start. We all got used to getting up and speaking very briefly on white board topics from Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziglar, James Rohn and other inspirational authors. In the early days I was very nervous – everyone was very nervous – but you get over that and gain more confidence in front of the group. Now it’s something I really enjoy and feel comfortable with – and it’s a skill which links well with the career I have chosen for myself. It is essential to be able to speak confidently in public – but JR introduced us to it very gently, gradually and we have become used to it!

JR talks about ‘connection’ a lot. Being able to connect with an audience is a special skill, which he has in abundance. It has rubbed off on me and now it is my role and my chosen task to transfer this confidence to others.

Roger: Let’s talk for a moment about the Old Masters. Who has had the greatest impact on you?

Dan: I would have to say, James Rohn, Earl Nightingale and Zig Ziglar; these three especially have changed my life. I read widely, and also like to listen to personal development CDs in the car because that’s effective use of my time.

Roger: How do you see the future of Young Guns?

Dan: Sometimes, people see the education, the learning that comes about from reading the books as a bit intangible and separate to daily life. People want results, they want to move forward themselves and be part of change, so I am integrating the material with the business I am developing. The whole aim of our group is business development! And, as JR always says, it’s very closely linked to personal development and by bringing the two together we are giving people a real outlet for their personal growth. I have taken what I have learned and applied it to the leadership role - and that’s where I really started to develop because I was showing others the way, and communicating the passion.

Roger: How are people taking to that?

Dan: A number of people I am working with have really taken some of the teachings and the notes and applied the information and it’s great to see their growth. They’re so grateful to have the opportunity – and the support and encouragement that go with it.

One of my friends has had a great deal of challenges, and to the untrained eye you’d think the problems would wear him down – but, as Jim Rohn says, ‘the same wind blows on us all.’ That’s just such a powerful concept and now that my friend has the skills, he is even more determined to face the challenges and he is so much happier as a person. It’s so wonderful to see, and it didn’t take much you know, just a little bit. As JR says, there is a ripple effect, and introducing the Old Masters teaching has a powerful positive impact on people’s lives in ways that you could never imagine.

Roger: What’s the format of Young Guns these days?

Dan: We run it as we have always done, as an informal workshop. From the beginning JR really took the reins and ran the show, which I wanted because I had no idea how to do it. I needed to see how it was done, and now of course I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to introduce and manage the sessions. We have some structure to keep us on the right track and that team approach has allowed us to bring other people through and get them involved.

Roger: It seems