David Michael Ferruolo
Life Success
A Practical Guide for
Making Your Dreams Reality
Excellence is achieved through
Hard work and determination…
When David Ferruolo sent me his soon-to-be published manuscript to review, I was more than happy to oblige. After all, David is a former Navy SEAL, successful businessman and most importantly, a Uechi-ryu black belt! Heck, even if he sent me a book on fly fishing I would have said yes.
Besides, as an “old” Uechi-ryu black belt. . . and one recently relocated to a strange and foreboding place called Mount Dora, Florida. . . with a new dojo to fill, import business that needed my attention and a beautiful wife who keeps me busy in any spare time, remodeling our new home, I could use a transfusion of motivation and inspiration!
I haven’t read a “self-help” book in quite a few years. Most are filled with the same admonitions and advice packaged in different wrappers. People who really need the advice, get motivated enough to buy the book and scan through it, then forget everything until the next infomercial appears with a new, highly inspirational sales pitch.
Truthfully, when I began reading David’s book, these thoughts were going through my mind. However, within a few pages I realized that David’s book was different. Yes, the familiar messages were there, but his writing style, examples and focus were presented in such an entertaining manner, that you sort of forgot that David’s book was teaching some very important life-lessons.
Success does not mean you are a super millionaire. Of course, this may be nice, but being successful in life has little to do with money and everything to do with how you choose to live each day. The adventure of life is just that-an adventure. Every day, you should be content with what you have and where you are, but (we should) also strive to be a better person and achieve a better place. Success is living your life to the fullest and following your heart and dreams.
This is something we can all benefit from. I don’t know about you, but unless I win the lottery, chances are pretty slim that I should expect that any of my work efforts will reward me with extreme wealth. Dave’s book presents success-options instead of hard-core definitions and carrot on the stick hopes and dreams. Instead of the usual motivational formulas that dwell on the idea that wealth should be an ultimate goal, David focuses on those qualities of life that are attainable to all and most importantly, shows you a simple formula for achieving these “realistic” goals. Probably the most important point David gets across in a most dramatic fashion is:
Who says you cannot be happy and peaceful and successful at the same time? Anyone can make money, but success should also mean that you are also happy.
Followed by his suggestion for the reader’s primary goal in the quest for success:
. . . So as you work through this book and put your success plan into action, remember your primary everyday goal should be inner peace, harmony and happiness. . .
Like so many people, I always measured success by the size of my bank account. For some strange reason, my life has been filled with “successes”, but none of these high points in my life had anything to do with making money. Dave hit me over the head with this realization:
Money and happiness are two separate and independent goals.
Throughout the book, Dave gives us realistic and workable methods that helped him achieve the kind of success we all dream about but few will experience. The formula for all this is essential to the book, but the most important message is in understanding the true nature of our life-quest. As Dave describes it:
I believe that peace and happiness are the most sought-after “wants” in today’s society. These simple desires manifest in our minds as cars, homes, romances and gadgets, but sometimes when we look deeper into why we want these things, we uncover the core motives behind them. . . .There are many motivational factors, but peace and happiness are always at the root of each one.
. . . True success, in my book, means being happy and fulfilled while living a good life. Being wealthy would be a great bonus, but it can never, never buy a blissful life!
. . . Do not get fixated on money to solve your problems. This will only bring more stress into your life. Know that the true source of happiness is you and that nothing external can do the job for you.
. . . Think about it: if money is the source of bliss, why are so many millionaires unhappy?
Most of us have a few wealthy friends. How many of them are truly happy?
If you are frustrated and unhappy where you are in life right now, more money will still leave you unhappy. If you are a negative, pessimistic person with a propensity to complain, money will not change your outlook on life. The simplest way to change your life is to change yourself. Success and greatness grow out of character, not wealth!
Personally, I have incorporated Dave’s formula for happiness and success into my life. I’m going to savor every moment of doing something enjoyable. I’m going to live every moment in the “now” instead of complaining about what happened or looking forward to what is going to happen, meanwhile missing out completely on what IS happening.
Hopefully, I will be able to convince Dave to spend SummerFest weekend with us, so we can get to know him better and learn more about he special formula for success. Maybe he can bring a few cases of his new book with him as well…
George E. Mattson
PS. You can purchase Dave’s book here. . . on Amazon!