'Chicken Soup' author taking aim at roadblocks to success

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Jack Canfield, the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire, is sure of many things.

He's sure he can help people reach their full potential.

He's sure, after 35 years, he has the right formula to make that happen.

And he's sure that if he can make people aware of his methods, they'll thrive.

"Basically, the most common roadblock is the lack of awareness," said Canfield in a recent telephone interview. "Basically, we live in a culture where there is not a lot of education about awareness and a lot of education about success."

But, he said, "I've been doing this now for 40 years in 37 different countries; we get pretty amazing results."

Canfield said he conducted a workshop in Indiana for a real estate company a few years back. And, he said, "86 percent of all the salespeople either doubled or tripled their income in the next two years."

Untangling the unconscious messages people give themselves is also key. About 85 percent of our actions are motivated by the worldview that we created as a child, he said.

Only about 15 percent is determined by a use of will, he said.

During his seminar, he said, he uses interactive exercises to help people get in touch with subconscious roadblocks and clear the way for success.

To create his most recent book, "The Success Principles," Canfield interviewed successful people in a variety of careers. He homed in on 64 principles that helped them achieve.

He said one key thing they all had in common was the willingness to try something new.

Think of trying to play the piano for the first time, he said. Your fingers feel awkward on the keys. It feels foreign. The music doesn't sound good. It's an uncomfortable feeling.

But if you practice, that awkwardness eventually goes away, he said.

In trying new endeavors, he said, too many people hit that awkward stage and stall.

"They have to realize the same old same old thing isn't going to cut it," he said.

The current economic difficulties might actually help spur people to action, he said: They might have no choice.

"You can't just be upset that the environment is changing," he said. "You have to shift with it."

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© 2008, Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.).