My 101 Successes in Life

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Ranked #928 in Me, #115,724 overall

101 Important Things That I Have Accomplished in My Life

This webpage is a reminder to me about the important things that I have accomplished in my life.

It comes in handy when I get down about some of the things I am trying to accomplish.

By looking at "My 101 Success" list, I realize that I have accomplished a lot of things that many people only dream or talk about accomplishing. It gives me a psychological boost when I need it.

I would suggest that you create your own to give yourself a boost when you need one.

Ernie Zelinski
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 110,000 Copies Sold and Published in 8 Foreign Languages)

and
The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 Copies Sold and Published in 17 Languages)

and

Career Success Without a Real Job

Success #1: Having Made a Living Without a Real Job for Over 25 Years 

Success #2. Writing My First Book "The Art of Seeing Double or Better in Business" 

Do It Badly - But at Least Do It!

Apparently 81 percent of Americans, think they should write a book, but only 2 percent have completed a manuscript.

What's more, only about one in ten manuscripts ever gets published.

So, remember if you think that it is no big deal to write a book because you think that you can write one, WRONG!

As the Buddhists say, To know and not to do is not yet to know."

When I wrote my first book, I was turned down by all the publishers to which my literary agent Joan Kellock submitted it.

I can recall meeting with my friend Catherine Williams and she saying, "So, are you going to practice what you preach." I had already decided to self-publish so I was able to say, "Yes, of course."

I knew nothing about publishing or marketing a book. I felt, however, that if I was to dive right in, I would learn as I go.

In September 2009 it will be 20 years since I self-published The Art of Seeing Double or Bettter. I may have to organize a big celebration like the one I had in October 2005 to celebrate my 25 years without a real job.

This book only sold about 5,000 copies but it got me started on the road to being a successful self-publisher and writer.

In short, when I self-published my first book, I was practicing this motto:

    Do It Badly - But at Least Do It!
I continue to follow this motto to this day.

My First Big Rejection Letter That Led to Many of My Successes 

The image to the right is a scan of the letter I received from Literary Agent Joan Kellock which indicated that all the British and American publishers had rejected my first book The Art of Seeing Double or Bettter.

This is my first big rejection letter that let to many of my successes as a writer and self-publisher.

Success #9: Getting Fired from My Job as an Electrical Engineer with Edmonton Power for Taking Too Much Vacation Time 

Yes, my being fired is one of my big successes in life. Indeed, it was a blessing in disguise leading to my never returning to engineering, a profession I disliked.

The person in the photo on the right is me when I worked as an Engineer with the Bechtel Corporation just before I went to work for Edmonton Power (now known as Epcor) from which I got fired.

Success # : Having My Books Published in 20 Different Languages 

Here are the languages in which my books are published:

  • English
  • Spanish
  • Portuguese
  • Chinese
  • Korean
  • Japanese
  • Indonesian
  • French
  • Greek
  • Turkish
  • German
  • Finish
  • Italian
  • Dutch
  • Arab
  • Czech
  • Polish
  • Russian
  • Bulgarian
  • Hungarian


Note: The last two languages are in the works after my recently having sold rights to publishers in Hungary and Bulgaria.

Check out more of the foreign editions of my books at:

Success # : Having My Books Published in 27 Different Countries 

Here are the countries in which my books have been published:

  • Canada
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • China
  • Taiwan
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Indonesia
  • France
  • Spain
  • Greece
  • Portugal
  • Turkey
  • Germany
  • Finland
  • Italy
  • Holland
  • Lebanon
  • Czech Republic
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Malaysia
  • India
  • Hungary
  • Bulgaria

Success # : Having Become a Professional Speaker After Being So Afraid of Speaking to an Audience 

Up until my last year of university, I was much too afraid to speak in class.

In fact, I lived in fear that the professor was going to ask me a question. I knew that my voice would quiver and I would likely mess up the answer even if I knew the right answer.

So it was a major success in my life to become a professional speaker and talk in front of an audience as big as 1,500 people.

Here are the asssociations and organizations to which I spoke over the years:

  • Alberta Career Education Network, Edmonton
  • Turkish Society for Quality (KalDer), Istanbul
  • Human Resource Professionals of Ontario, Toronto
  • Greater Edmonton Teachers Association Convention, Edmonton
  • Calgary Teachers Convention, Calgary
  • District Academy of Osteopathic Medicine & Surgery, Akron, Ohio
  • Alberta Family and Social Services
  • CDI College, Edmonton
  • Grande Prairie Community College
  • Medicine Hat College
  • NASAGA, Ottawa, Ontario
  • Alberta Assocation Of Rehabilitation Centres, Edmonton
  • International Winter Cities Conference (1996), Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Recreation Association of Nova Scotia Conference (1995), Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • Forrest Lawn High School, Calgary
  • Alberta Association Provincial Planning Committee, Lac La Biche, Alberta
  • Osgoode High School, Ottawa, Ontario
  • Marpole Community League, Vancouver, B.C.
  • Canadian Home Care Association, Edmonton
  • East Kootenay Community College, Cranbrook, B.C.
  • Canada Centre for Management Devopment, Calgary
  • Federal Business Development Bank, Prince George, B.C.
  • BC Hydro, Vernon, B.C.
  • Procor Sulphur Services, Calgary
  • Canadian Industrial Innovation Centre, Creativity Presentation, Toronto
  • Peace River & District Further Education Council, Peace River, Alberta
  • Canadian Centre For Management Development, Richmond, B.C.
  • Canadian Association for Productivity & Inventory Control, North Vancouver, B.C.
  • Certified General Accountants of BC, Vancouver, B.C.
  • Associaiton of School Transportation Supervisors, Vancouver, B.C.
  • BC Parks & Recreation Association, Vancouver, B.C.
  • City of Prince George, B.C.
  • Searle Canada Inc., Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper, Alberta
  • Saskatchewan Public Service Commission, Regina, Saskatchewan
  • Minerva Seniors Institute, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta
  • Canadian Trucking Association
  • Alberta Dairyman Association
  • Co-op Stores, Canmore, Alberta
  • Medicine Bottle Drug Store Chain, Edmonton
  • Tolko Industries, Vernon, B.C.
  • Alberta Agriculture
  • Canadian Association of Actuaries, Banff Springs Hotel
  • Canadian Association of Insurance Women, Westin Hotel, Edmonton
  • Alberta Society for Services to Family and Children, Edmonton
  • Transport Canada
  • Public Works Canada
  • London Ad and Sales Club, London, Ontario
  • Pirelli Cables, Toronto, Ontario
  • Petrosel, Wistler, B.C.
  • Company's Coming Cookbooks, Edmonton
  • Capital City Savings Credit Union, Edmonton





"Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price.
- Joan Didion"

Success #21: Having 101 Book Deals with Publishers Around the World 

Foreign Right Sales for Any Book Are Not Easy to Get

Apparently a book published in the U.S. and Canada has about a one in twelve chance of selling translation rights to even one foreign publisher.

Thus, I have to be grateful and feel good about the fact that I have now 100 book deals with publishers around the world. The book on the right is GUÍA HACIA LA FELICIDAD, the Spanish edition of my book The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness published by San Pablo in Argentina.

Given that I have 13 books, each of my books has an average of 7 book deals whereas the average book published in North America has less than 1/10th of a book deal. This means that my average book has been 70 times as successful in the foreign-rights sales field as as the average book published in North America.

And I have never gone to the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany where a lot of book rights deals are supposed to be made.

This is an e-mail that I received on March 13, 2009 from an agent in Bulgaria for 3 of my last 4 book deals that jumped my total from 97 book deals to 100 books deals:



Further to this I had another book deal from a Korean publisher to make it 101 book deals

Success #39: Career Success Without a Real Job 

Career Success Without a Real Job

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Chapter 1: Life Without a Real Job Will Set You Free

    Chapter 2: Unreal Jobs - So Many Worlds; What to Do?

    Chapter 3: Extraordinary Success Is Achieved by Ordinary People

    Chapter 4: Get Creative - You Will Surprise Yourself and Change the World!

    Chapter 5: It's Not Just an Unreal Job - It's a Real Business!

    Chapter 6: Prosperity Comes When You Do the Right Things with Your Life

    Chapter 7: The Work Model for People Too Prosperous to Do Mornings

    Chapter 8: It's All in How You lay the Game, Isn't It?

Success #10: Having Quit Smoking Cigarettes and Having Quit Drinking Beer - I Still Love Drinking Red Wine, However! 

Notice the cigarette pack in this photo of me at the Chateau Lake Louise.

It's been over 25 years since I quit smoking cigarettes.

This is one of my biggest accomplishments in life.

Smoking cigarettes was a mental curse on me.

Success # : Having Met Actor Leslie Nielsen and Exchanged Books with Him 

Photo of me and actor Leslie Nielsen. I am holding Leslie's book The Naked Truth and Leslie is holding my international bestseller The Joy of Not Working (over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages).

Success # : Having Met Author Jack Canfield, Author of Success Principles 

This photo was taken by a fan of Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be who also happened to know me as Ernie Zelinski, author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor.

The photo was taken at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

SUCCESS #82: Having a Copy of "Career Success Without a Real Job" sell for $210 and Another Copy for $200 

Photo Taken on Aril 4th, 2009 at the One Child's Village Charity Auction and Fundraiser

The first two copies of Career Success Without a Real Job sold for a total of $410.

See



Allso see Career Success on Twitter.

SUCCESS #93: Having a Group in Belgium Want to Name a Cafe After Me Called Les Principes de Zelinski 

.
Not so long ago I received an e-mail in French that I had to be request in English:

The writer stated that a group in Brussels wanted to name a cafe after me.

See



Incidentally, I had a book published with the title Les Principes de Zelinski (I had no part in selecting the title, by the way) but to have a cafe with this name would be an honor.

Success # : Writing "The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness" in 3 Weeks by Practicing the Art of Non-Finishing 

American Edition of The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness Published by an American Christian Publisher - 2nd from Left on Top Row
Note: The Book Was More Buddhist than Christian

In 2000, I was writing a book called Zen I Got Rich when I decided to "Practice the Art of Non-Finishing," something that author Tim Ferris advocates.

The next day I walked into Dubaji's Cafe and told all the women I was writing a book called The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness, which I would complete in a week.

I was wrong. It took me 3 and a half weeks. But I had the book in published 2 months after I got the idea for it.

Meeting Legend Ben Kerr through The John Oakley Show on CFRB Radio in Toronto 

Ben Kerr was one of the most intriguing individuals that I - and thousands of other people - have ever met. You could often find Ben performing his songs before hundreds of people either at the St. Lawrence Market or at the corner of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto 's busiest business and tourist district.

I first encountered Ben late October 13, 1993, when he called the John Oakley talk show on CFRB Radio which I was a guest, discussing with listeners the joys of being unemployed and The Joy of Not Working.

After a few words with Ben, I promised to meet him in person on the corner of Yonge and Bloor the next day and give him a copy of The Joy of Not Working. In exchange, Ben agreed to sing his song I Don't Want to Be the Richest Man in the Graveyard.

Ben later wrote two songs relating to my books:

    The Joy of Not Working
    The Joy of Not Being Married

You can read more about Ben Kerr in my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and:

"Never retreat. Never
explain. Get it done
and let them howl.
- Benjamin Jowett"

Success #32: Creating the Retirement Quotes Cafe Website and Having It Rank #1 or #2 on Google for Related Keywords 

Type "retirement quotes" into Google's search engine and you should see that two of my webpages from separate websites come in the top-ten positions on the first page.

In the Number 2 spot is The Retirement Quotes Café and in the Number 3 spot is The Retirement Quotes Page on My The Joy of Not Working Website

by Vipbooks

Ernie Zelinski is the author of the international bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Finan... (more)

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