When Jack Canfield was trying to get Chicken Soup for the Soul off the ground, he asked a number of best-selling authors and publishing experts how he should go about it.
He received more advice than he could possibly act on, and soon found himself so overwhelmed him with options that he had no idea where to start.
Then a friend named Ron Scolastico said, “If you would go to a very large tree and take five swings at it with a very sharp ax, eventually, no matter how large the tree, it would have to come down.”
Out of this advice Canfield developed what he called The Rule of Five. Every day he would do 5 specific things that moved him toward the goal of getting Chicken Soup on the best seller list. It might be 5 radio interviews, or sending 5 books to reviewers, or calling 5 bookstores, and so on.
Eventually the ax felled the tree; two years after the book came out, it made the New York Times list, where it stayed for many months.
Where can you apply the Rule of Five in your life?
Can you make a 5 minute call of encouragement to one of your friends each day? Or send 5 Thank-You emails each morning? Or read 5 pages of a book? Or review 5 memory verses?
As you survey the areas of your life and ministry that present the greatest opportunities for growth, think about how Canfield’s Rule of Five can work in your favor. How can you take 5 strong swings at the tree day after day?
Solomon said, “He who works his land will have abundant food.” (Proverbs 12:11)
The Rule of Five is a great way to start working your land.
Today’s memo was updated from a previous post.
