John Assaraf is the two-time New York Times bestselling author of Having it All and The Answer. He has made appearances on Larry King Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Anderson Cooper 360 and other major media outlets, and is also one of the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management Distinguished Thought Leaders.
TAMMY LAWMAN: You have such an amazing and impressive bio. You’re an entrepreneur and bestselling author. You’ve made film and TV appearances. Most of us have trouble succeeding in just one area of our lives. What’s your secret?
JOHN ASSARAF: The secret is a lot of hard work, but it’s more than hard work. When I was younger, my life was really going down the wrong train on the wrong track. I was blessed to have some wonderful mentors who were able to show me that I had more potential, which I knew and felt inside, like I think a lot of people do. They showed me how to do it, and they kept me accountable to doing it.
At a very young age, I was really blessed with people who had a blueprint for me to follow. What I’ve subsequently discovered in my studies and my travels is true for just about every single result that anybody who’s listening wants to achieve, whether it’s better health, more money, better relationships, or a deeper spiritual connectedness. With anything that we want to achieve, for the most part, somebody has already done it, written about it, and taught it.
What we have to do is really be open to the idea that no matter what has happened in the past, we can let it go. Let go of the addictions of our past and the opinions we have about that. We can start on a brand new way of thinking and behaving right now, today, if we’re just willing to let go of some things that we may not be happy with, proud of, or content with. Then we start to do things differently that will yield a different result in a day, a week, a month, or six months.
The process to climbing Mt. Everest is not straight up. It’s zigzagged. Sometimes you take a few steps backward like Chutes and Ladders. The whole idea is to move toward a destination that you want to achieve. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired when I was in my late teens. I was lucky that it happened early to me. Maybe that’s because I started working when I was 8 years old at the dry-cleaner, 9 years old at the pharmacy, 10 years old at the grocery store, and 11 years old at the factory pressing clothes.
I got into the business world at a very young age because I wanted to have money. I had a wonderful mentor who really was able to show me a different way of thinking and behaving. Then I became a voracious student of success principles, methodologies, and disciplines. I’ll tell you from a person who didn’t like school and left at grade 11, it’s been a wonderful journey that has had trials and tribulations, highs and lows, and ups and downs.
It’s been just wonderful to be able to learn, apply, and teach to other people so they can really get away from any of the negative thoughts and feelings, the lack of confidence or the uncertainty that they may be feeling and really get into a space of more confidence, certainty, and faith that there is a way for them to achieve success in their own lives. That’s what I’m passionate about today: showing people that they can no matter what.
TAMMY LAWMAN: Awesome. You talk about helping people to let go of all the bad things in their life. You would think that would be easy for people if it’s something that?s causing us pain. Why is it so hard for people to do that?
JOHN ASSARAF: The good news is we can let it go. The challenging news is we become addicted to the emotions around the negative self-talk, the people that we hang around with, our environment, and our circumstances. We actually-and this is serious-neurologically become addicted to all of it: the stories, the past, and the opinions of others. We become addicted to that.
What we have to realize is that these soft addictions become hardwired, and once they become hardwired, we do everything to maintain them. The good news is that’s the way the brain works. The bad news is that’s the way the brain works. What we need to understand is how to learn to let go of these thought addictions, perception addictions, and behavioral addictions.
Now with the latest brain research, we have a much clearer and better idea of how to do that. I was fortunate that when I was in my early 20s, I was taught the art of visualizing a new life. I was taught to do meditations, affirmations, and things that most people weren’t doing back in the early ’80s. I was fortunate that my mentors and teachers taught me how to do those things early. They also taught me to upgrade my skills on a consistent basis.
TAMMY LAWMAN: Fabulous. Now of all of the explanations I’ve heard, I love your explanation the best of how the Law of Attraction works. Can you share that with our audience?
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For more information about John Assaraf and his work, please go to JohnAssaraf.com
