The runaway hit movie “The Secret� featured Lee Brower and his Gratitude Rock. During this interview he said, “I do tend to advocate some unusual practices, which I know some people may resist initially. I tell people to evict the word “goal,� for example, from their vocabulary. In my office I charge people money every time they utter that word!�
It’s not everyday that I get to interview a multigenerational wealth expert who is this cool and refreshingly transparent. Buckle your seatbelt and come along for the ride.
Hey, what’s wrong with having goals?
LEE: It’s a sham. Goals have done more to harm people than anything else. Think about it: when you set goals, they are nothing more than expectations (and usually other people’s expectations), than your own ideals. Guilt and shame get in there. Guild itself isn’t bad, but shame is when you feel bad about who you are. Shame happens when you don’t achieve the ideal. So I prefer to talk in terms of vision—the vision you have for yourself—and the steps you need to take to get there. When it comes to planning and building a business, vision is going to be your secret key to success.
What challenges have you faced over the years?
LEE: The biggest obstacle was and probably always will be me. I tend to get in my own way of success, and I know this is a pitfall of many others. I have to remind myself to stay open-minded and long-sighted. Sometimes I have to be willing to hear other perspectives and take to heart an idea or concept that may not naturally jibe with my own philosophy at first. And sometimes I have to find a way to be grateful for bad things that happen. Adversity can be a great teacher. In order to grow you have to let go. Once I learned to let go and live in this amazing world of abundance and not with an attitude of scarcity, but with an attitude of gratitude, then things began a‘hoppin. When people ask me for the code word for success, I say its gratitude. Just that one word can cause a psychological shift in your mind that helps trump daily stress and the obstacles you’re going to encounter. Try a carrying your own gratitude rock around and see how it changes you.
What have you done to create loyal followers?
LEE: The story of my Gratitude Rock caused quite a stir. It was featured in the popular “Secret� film and book that’s still going around making headlines. You see I keep a rock in my pocket at all times. It’s meant to be a reminder to appreciate what I have and feel grateful for everything that happens. There have been times in my life where I found myself so focused on the overwhelming tasks of each day that it was hard to see the good in practically anything. I think we all have those moments. During one particularly difficult time I had with one of my daughters, I came across a smooth rock on a beach in the shape of a butterfly. My daughter’s name is Mariposa, which means, “butterfly� in Spanish. I thought it meant something so I picked it up and sent it to her. It became a source of strength for the both of us and since then, I’ve picked up countless rocks, choosing one to carry with me each day. Every time I touch the rock in my pocket, I reflect on specific things I am grateful for, and each night, the rock reminds me to capture the day’s positive events so they are not lost to memory. I’ve shared the “Gratitude Rock� idea with others over the years, and the ripple effect from that first rock continues to spread.
In your opinion, what are the advantages to being an entrepreneur versus having a day job?
LEE: You are unrestricted in the implementation of your unique ability as an entrepreneur and your opportunities are truly unlimited. Day jobs typically come with fixed incomes, which I think translates to fixed creativity, a fixed exchange of ideas, and a fixed level of success, achievement, and happiness.
With entrepreneurship, the sky’s the limit. We all have the capacity to be an entrepreneur. It’s in our genes as humans—as survivors. Women especially, many who remain the primary caregiver and “homemaker� of families, stand to benefit enormously by entrepreneurship. While balancing life as a business owner and CEO of the family is not easy, entrepreneurship offers the kind of flexibility that we just don’t see in mainstream corporate America. What’s more, a working mom who is able to carve out her own business will have more to give back to her family because she’ll find new ways to utilize her skills, talents, and creative juices. This ultimately will allow her to make more deposits into what I call the “family bank,� which again has less to do with physical things like money as it has to do with intellectual, civic, and human value. To take a term from Jim Collins, if you want to go from “good to great� as a person, as a parent, as a business professional, and as a citizen of the world, I think there’s no better place to explore and develop oneself than in the world of entrepreneurship. Hands down, being your own boss entails having a truthful, honest understanding of yourself to succeed. Of course, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. But I would encourage as many people as possible to try.
People claim they want to be a millionaire or to launch a million dollar business. What is your take on this trend and do you feel this is beneficial or unproductive?
LEE: While on the one hand seeking to own a successful business can be an admirable vision for yourself, I’m bothered by today’s generation of young people who seem to want money and fame more than anything else, but aren’t necessarily willing to do what it takes to get there. In other words, they want the millionaires’ life but aren’t willing or don’t know what to do to achieve that. There is so much more to starting a successful business and seeing it through than just declaring, “I want to be a millionaire.� This quest for the quick fix is fueled by the ever-swelling explosion of reality television and Internet sites that promote instant celebrity. I find that many of these types of people lack a true understanding of themselves. They see the grass as greener on the other side and will “get� their sense of worth and a high self-esteem when they land it big in the business world. Not so. Before you seek to be wealthy, I say seek to be worthy! Elevate yourself as a human first, and then I bet you see the results you want in life, both personal and professional. Only then can you usher in the successes that will carry you to where you want to be. And when you do this, the universe will open up to your ideas and vision—you don’t have to go find them aimlessly.
Do we need to have a certain mindset to achieve success? What has gotten you where you are today?
LEE: Letting go and truly understanding that I need the talents of a team and other relationships to grow. No one can be successful working in a vacuum. You can’t do it by yourself. Surround yourself with the best people you can to help enhance your talents and skills, or bring new ones to the table. Also be willing to hire people smarter than you. These will make you most grateful!
What tips can you give us to embrace our dream if we don’t have confidence or feel we don’t possess whatever it takes to succeed?
LEE: Begin with celebration. Celebrate who you are, what you have achieved and your uniqueness. Develop a system of positive thinking. See your vision and visit it frequently. Get in motion. Take small steps, but get into motion. Once in motion, don’t compromise the things that matter most in your life; stay balanced. Learn from your motion and make course corrections. Celebrate your progress often and continue to make course corrections. Ask questions that begin with what, who, or how rather than statements that begin with I wish, I want, I hope or I gotta.
What challenges inspired you to launch your latest book, “The Brower Quadrant”?
LEE: My frustrations and disappointments as a traditional financial advisor is what initially inspired me to change up the system and set a new benchmark. Today I am routinely inspired by the very people I’ve helped change for the better. Don’t get me wrong. I’m no saint and I’ve had plenty of personal challenges in my own life to fill numerous tomes. But it is by virtue of these very challenges that help me to reach new insights on how we can optimize our experience and legacies in this lifetime. My hope is that with my book and new website at LeeBrower.com, more people will find me and listen to my message. The book and site offer people an enormous collection of tools and practical strategies they can start using today to implement my system into their lives. For the entrepreneur, these come in especially handy when dealing with all the challenges that running a business (and, I presume a home life, too) brings.
What is unique about your business that gives it an edge over your competitors?
LEE: My strategies help people go beyond traditional financial planning. I liken it to the difference between having Tiger Wood’s clubs and trophies, and learning his swing and course knowledge. The traditional estate planning industry has been focused on the transfer and dividing up of the metaphorical trophies and clubs. My company’s system helps people gain the knowledge and skills they need to create lasting legacies. The system is based on a radical definition of “wealth� unlike any other. And it has less to do with physical things, as it has to do with intellectual, civic, and human value. So in the end, you not only maximize your wealth, but you maximize who you are as a person and member of the world at large. Everyone deserves to learn the lessons the rich have known and followed for years, don’t you think?
2 Responses to “Up Close and Personal with the ‘Gratitude Rock’ Guy”
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August 14th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Great article, my wife and I are starting a business and invesiting in real estate and I foudn it very interesting.
Any advise will be welcome.
August 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Thank you Michelle and Lee!
Lee, I must say your Gratitude Rock idea has made a huge difference in my life. I had a little bag of purple rocks that my daughter got somewhere when she was little. I put them everywhere in my home and when I look at them, I stop and take a moment to be grateful for all the blessings in my life. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to be a Mompreneur. Thank you for sharing your insights on the benefits of Entrepreneurship for Women.
Michelle, I have just discovered your site but I am enjoying it very much! Thank you!
~Sandra