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Strategies for Success

John R. Barker Success Interview

Josh Hinds: John, thanks for taking the time to be with us here. Can you give us an overview of your background? What did you do prior to the path you're on now?

John R. Barker: Sure. I joined the Air Force out of high school. I wanted to see the world and make money. I had a hard time being away from home and became pretty depressed. I was quite shy then - I lacked self-confidence.

I went to see a counselor who recommended I start reading. I discovered "How to Win Friends and Influence People" at the library and that really whet my appetite for personal development. From there I won numerous awards in the Air Force, including Airman of the Year and being selected for duty in the White House.

I spent nearly 4 years in Washington, DC and I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people as well as to do a lot of traveling. The whole experience taught me to raise my personal expectations and it really broadened my horizons.

After six years in the Air Force I knew I wanted more education. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California. My high school GPA wouldn't have gotten me into most state schools, so that was some big growth for me.

Based on my own experiences, I knew I wanted to help people who just needed a little push or spark to recognize their own potential.

Josh Hinds: Can you share with everyone what you do now? As well as touch on what you do with the other organizations that you work with please. In addition to your own coaching that is.

John R. Barker: What I do splits into a couple of related directions. First is my passion for personal development, for helping people succeed. I have been developing a program called the Amazing Momentum Generator for a few years now that incorporates the best of what I've learned, while seeking to fill some of the holes I've experienced with other programs.

The other part of what I do is work with some of the top personal development companies to build their online businesses through affiliate programs and joint ventures. It's a lot of fun because I get to work with great people like you while being in a continual learning process, both about the business of personal development as well as from all of the material I have exposure to.

Josh Hinds: John, what are your three most successful habits?

John R. Barker: 1. I'm an avid learner and I like to question conventions. Specifically, the habit is questioning perceptions of what is possible.

2. Releasing. Success has come to me in life when I have let go of being attached to "the only way". Anyone who feels stuck or frustrated would really benefit from this practice. Personally I think the biggest obstacle to success is the attachment to mediocrity, to convention, to the norm. It's not that it's what we want, necessarily. But it's safe.

3. Putting fun and recreation into my days. I am of the belief that if one area of life is out of balance, then the rest of life will be out of balance. And, if I improve one area, such as having more fun, then everything else improves. It's easy to get into the work, work, work rut as the only way to reach our goals.

Josh Hinds: You've got so many incredible projects going, yet you don't seem to lose sight of what has to get done. I have to ask you, how do you manage your time? What specific time management techniques work best for you?

John R. Barker: This is a key part of the Amazing Momentum Generator program and it really works for me, and everyone who's put it to work for them. First, I put my time into 4 general categories:

A. Activities that produce a direct result; work that creates income now. Activities that feed my energy level.

B. Work that is likely to produce a result; work that will lead to producing income. Activities that I expect will enhance my life, if not now then down the road.

C. Maintenance work; work that needs to be done (at least seemingly) but doesn't really move anything forward.

D. Time that is just wasted.

I try to spend as much time as possible on A's, then B's. C's can be delegated, systematized or automated. And D's should be eliminated altogether. I think when we evaluate our time in this way - I periodically keep a sheet that "grades" my time - we become aware of ways we can get more leverage on our time.

Josh Hinds: Can you share a bit about The Sedona Method with us? Also, how did you come to work with them?

John R. Barker: Tara, my wife, and I spent 8 hours in Sedona on a road trip and fell in love with it. We took a big leap of faith and decided to move here, knowing very little about what we were getting into! Our first few months in Sedona were a real challenge, then I responded to an ad Sedona Training placed in the local paper for an Office Manager.

They felt I was over-qualified, but I knew I wanted to learn more about the business of personal development and I wouldn't accept "no" as an answer! After about 5 weeks they promoted me to handling their online business development.

The Sedona Method is a terrific program. It teaches a simple set of techniques that allow us to release our unwanted thoughts and feelings - in essence our resistance. It was a stretch for me initially because I was accustomed to the "set goals, get fired up and push hard" approach. But I have also believed for a long time that feelings are a bigger influencer to success than thinking.

Releasing is a very unique approach. The purpose of goals when we use releasing, and goals are still important, is to show us the places we resist results. In other words, almost everything is a paradox. If you want more money, then you are holding the feeling that you don't have enough. Want equals lack. This feeling of lack, creates lack.

We all act how we feel. If I feel sad, I act sad. If I feel confident, I act confident. These feelings stop momentum and forward movement.

If you don't have the money or relationship you want it probably isn't about working harder but rather you are holding resistance that prevents you from having it no matter how hard you try. I've tried a lot of really good stuff over the years, but learning to release has produced the best results for me.

Josh Hinds: What are some of the necessary ingredients you believe people must acquire in order to become successful?

John R. Barker: 1. Clarity and focus - It is surprising, even for myself, how challenging it is to get crystal clear about what we really want. For example, I waited a long time to meet my wife, Tara.

Then a friend said, "I'm tired of listening to you whine about how you're never going to meet the right woman. I want you to make a list and include exactly what you want in your dream woman." So I made a list about 5 pages long! Before I was looking at everyone! Which was fun, but not getting me anywhere.

When I narrowed down, specifically, who I was looking for it was easy - she was obvious. We met, we dated, we fell in love and we were married within 10 months of my making the list!

One of my favorite authors is Neville. He wrote, "Attention is powerful in proportion to the narrowness it's focus." The more focused our attention, the more powerful our intentions.

2. Control of our time - My experience is few people truly control their time personally or professionally. It's very easy to let the demands of others take over - whether that be family, friends, colleagues, advertisers, whomever. The most challenging aspect of current times may be the demands placed on our time. A lot of people are vying for our attention.

3. Optimal mental and physical health - For me this includes a clean diet, releasing, yoga, swimming, camping and regular breaks both during my day and occasionally to get away from my day-to-day life. Yoga has been a tremendous discovery for me.

I used to be into a lot of contact sports and weight lifting. Yoga is the only exercise I've ever done that is both a good workout (tougher than it looked!) and leaves me feeling more energized afterwards.

Also, Tara and I recently began eating a nearly all raw-food diet and I am amazed by the increase in my energy and how much better I feel mentally and physically. Tara is a Naturopathic Physician, so she insists I eat pretty well anyway and we've both been conscious of how different foods affect us, but this has been amazing. Highly recommended. And this comes from a guy who occasionally lived on French bread and gummy bears in the past! LOL.

4. Leverage - I think each of these five points are highly important, but leverage is the key to producing BIG results. I think with enough leverage, anyone can accomplish anything they want as quickly as they want.

5. Attitude, Feelings and Expectation - I'm reluctant to use the word expectation because that's an attachment, but the real difference in my life between where I am and where I think I was headed began with raising my personal expectations.

I expected to get A's in college and I did what I had to do to get them. I've expected to succeed and I've done what I had to do to reach that personal level of expectation for excellence.

Josh Hinds: I also know you're involved with Bob Scheinfeld's organization and their Eleventh Element offering. Could you tell us more about what it is as well as how it works?

John R. Barker: First, Bob is a tremendous example and a terrific person. I wanted to work with Bob and I feel lucky to be in a position to make a contribution to his organization and to learn from him.

The Eleventh Element is about tapping into our intuition. Success is often viewed as something formulaic; set the goal, plan the steps, take action, produce results. And yet, that doesn't always work and it happens differently for everyone.

But by accessing the "Eleventh Element", the missing link is revealed. We've all have a sense that is often not utilized - we tend to out-think ourselves. That sense is intuition.

We've all had the experience of knowing who is calling before we answer the phone, someone we were just thinking about. Or having the sense that someone is looking at us without seeing them first.

We are constantly receiving hunches, or intuitive messages if you will, that are often ignored or we think ourselves out of them without taking action.

It's a very non-traditional approach to viewing how business and personal success occurs, yet Bob clearly shows how it's been the key factor for almost every success story out there. This program could be a breakthrough in our time, on par with Think and Grow Rich which many people are comparing it to.

Josh Hinds: Would you let everyone know a little more about "The Amazing Momentum Generator"? That is can you give an overview of what it involves, and what a person can expect to gain from it.

John R. Barker: The Amazing Momentum Generator is a 35-day program designed to produce extraordinary results by utilizing many of the principles I've shared here. I really get excited about making dramatic shifts in my life, about creating momentum around a project or a goal that takes on a life of it's own. That's the idea of this program.

The program begins by exploring and removing resistance and then it builds momentum. Many view success as powering through obstacles. I think the biggest obstacle is simply the resistance we impose on our self - the roadblocks we create throughout our life. We all have them - the ways we spend our time, the food we eat, the people we surround ourselves with, the jobs we hold on to, etc.

The first time I did this program - I tested it on myself first! - I completed about 10 different projects, some that I'd been working on for several years - in 35 days!

It's a very intense program. It requires an intense focus and a real commitment to making things happen. I'd call it a sprint. It's a program that isn't for the casual or someone content with small changes.

Josh Hinds: John, what would you credit as being the most important steps you have taken to improve your business?

John R. Barker: Rich Dad, Poor Dad has been very influential to me. "The rich don't work for money, they work for knowledge." When I joined Sedona Training I knew I had things to learn to take it to the next level. Things I just wasn't going to learn on my own as fast as I could by being in a successful business environment. While I brought a lot to their business, I also dramatically accelerated my learning curve.

I have also sought to create leverage and assets everywhere possible. I don't believe in doing work that doesn't continue paying dividends. In fact, nearly half of my income is now passive. It hasn't occurred overnight, but by maintaining that focus I'm well on my way to reaching one of my most important goals.

Josh Hinds: What is your best piece of advice to people trying to significantly improve their time management skills?

John R. Barker: I think the best piece of advice I can offer, period, is to simply become aware and be quiet. When I become aware of where I spend my time, then and only then can I make choices about it.

When I become quiet enough in my mind to see the direction I really want, then I can make choices about how I want to spend my time.

I recognize in myself and in most people this sense of "I've got so much to do! I don't have 5 minutes to just sit and be still!" And yet, doing that brings a sense of knowing and direction. I like to start my day by doing this - by releasing my attachments or any negativity I feel and getting clear on the ultimate result I want from my day.

It might be that's to be happy, to have fun, to achieve a major breakthrough, whatever. Often I don't think about it again all day, but when the end of the day comes and I reflect it is amazing how often I have the day I wanted in terms of that intention.

One thing I haven't shared about myself here is that I have a VERY short attention span. I work in bursts with great intensity, then I rest my mind and get some exercise. I am not methodical and while I always have a plan, it doesn't always go that way for me. I allow myself flexibility in how and when I work, but that requires focus and awareness.

I often keep track of how and where I'm spending my time, especially if I don't feel I'm getting as much from it as I'd like. And if I don't quiet my mind, then I end up doing all kinds of things that aren't productive!

Josh Hinds: John, again I appreciate your being with us. Is there anything else we didn't touch on that you'd like to share with everyone? Also, please let everyone know how they can contact you if they wish.

John R. Barker: Sure. I'm firmly convinced that living a great life really comes down to 2 things.

First, keep it simple. The more complex something is, the less likely it is to produce the results you want. The more I simplify my life, the easier success comes.

Second, believe in yourself. This is such a cliché, but trust in yourself is where it all begins. Take complete responsibility for everything that occurs in your life and trust your ability to either manage it or make the best of it. You can, you will and you always have.

Josh, thanks a lot for the opportunity to share some ideas with your readers and for the excellent service you provide to all of us. I've learned a lot from you and all that you offer over these past years. You truly do things the right way.