Mark Victor Hansen

As a benefit to our blog subscribers (at the end of another great year), we will share the foreword to Dave’s best-selling book Have A Great Year Every Year. The contributor is Mark Victor Hansen, who is best known for his “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.
If you have not read this powerful book, take the time to read this foreword and then call our office (703-591-2940).

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Millions of dollars and billions of hours have been spent buying and reading books or listening to tapes, the intent of which was to make the reader/listener better informed and thus enabled to develop a life or business plan that insures some modicum of success.

In my authorship of over 74 books, the circulation for which at this writing is over 82,000,000 copies, I have read through thousands of manuscripts, listened to hundreds of proposals and examined the writings or works of the popular authors of our times. As such, I feel both qualified and compelled to author this introduction to the second edition of “How To Have A Good Year Every Year”.

This book may appear to contain vignettes and examples about the success stories of others, yet it is so much more. You are given this opportunity to view the world of success through the objective eyes of Dave Yoho and herein lies the difference with this and many other books you’ve read in the past. Because Dave Yoho founded a successful multimillion dollar conglomerate which he sold when still a very young man and has made over 5,000 speeches, represented many of the Fortune 500 companies as a consultant and sits on the board of public corporations, you are receiving the benefit of his ability to disseminate information, separate fact from fiction and ultimately describe realistic ways for you to emulate the patterns described in the case histories.

The first edition of “How To Have A Good Year Every Year” was embraced by corporate leaders and everyday citizens of the U.S., Canada, Australia as well as Japan and China where it was translated into their language. The point is that, through Dave’s eyes the information has universal appeal to which you, the reader, will soon attest.
Dave has had a first hand working knowledge of the majority of the individuals featured in the book. Thus he was afforded opportunities to observe and participate in the inner workings of the material which he has chronicled herein. Dave’s keen ability to work within large organizations while ferreting out the human interest stories makes this book both exciting and replicable to those who read the material.

Dave Yoho’s writings are also influenced by the two major educational forces which drive the success of his large consulting business: business management and psychology. He is a board member of a public corporation and a member of that company’s audit committee, at a time when these complex representations require much more than the general understanding of business issues. Additionally, his ability to foresee issues of the future which affect business decisions have attracted Fortune 500 companies to utilize his skills on an advisory basis.

Now, balance the latter against his experience and understanding of sociological and psychological issues which face businesses everyday and you will see the emergence of the unique personality who is equally at home in the halls of giant corporations and the offices of entrepreneurs. It is through these exposures and experiences that he was given access to the people whose stories, methods of operation and successful patterns make up the body of this great book.

Most of all, “Have A Good Year Every Year” is dedicated to people issues. It is about people who have accomplished unique goals and many who faced impediments that would appear to be barriers. I trust that your response to reading this book will be similar to mine. I feel uplifted by the potential of humankind, I am inspired by the ingenuity of my fellow men and women and I stand in awe of those who despite difficult beginnings rose to the top.

The late Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said it better than any book reviewer when the first edition of Dave’s book was released: “A great book . . . wise, helpful and provocative . . . It has helped me. I’m sure it will help you, too.”

I feel twice blessed since I have read this material and, more importantly, have had the opportunity over the past 30 years to know, befriend and associate with the author, Dave Yoho.

Dave firmly believes in his EPOD theory (Energy, Persuasion, Optimism, Discipline) which is the genesis of the material in this book. Moreover, he subscribes to the theory that most individuals and organizations possess some or all of these components to some degree. Throughout the book you will see the case histories divided into headings of each of those components. Having heard Dave speak on this subject many times, I understand both the basis and measurability of the EPOD theory. You, the reader, are then challenged to measure your own style and practices to determine where you can improve your own contribution to this four-part program which when applied will aid you in improving your performance.

I know you will find this book a longtime and worthwhile addition to your library. I trust that you, like many others will start to practice and then gain from the implementation of the ideas you will find in here.

Once more, I applaud your choice of this book and encourage you to continue your journey of ‘discovery’ with this type of reading. I leave you with a phrase that I have often used in my Chicken Soup For The Soul Series: “The size of your thinking determines the size of your results.” Dave Yoho will expand your thinking.