[INTRODUCTION]

Hal Elrod: Hello, it’s Hal Elrod, and welcome to the Miracle Morning. I mean, Achieve Your Goals podcast. Close enough, right? I am thrilled to be joined today by Dan McCormick, the author of the transformative new book, which I’m holding up right now if you’re watching on YouTube, Awakening Who “I Am”: Two Words to Ignite Your Transformation, which you wrote with Ken Shelton, foreword by Hal Elrod, yours truly. Dan’s become a good friend and the afterword by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, one of my favorite authors.

So, in this episode, we dive deep into the powerful journey of self-discovery and awakening, utilizing “I am” affirmations. Now, if you follow my work for a while, I mean very specific approach to affirmations, which differs from Dan’s. And that created a really interesting dialog today where I wouldn’t say we debated, I actually like invited a healthy debate, but it was just pretty insightful us each sharing different ways to approach affirmations. But here’s the important part is both of us have utilized affirmations to transform who we were as individuals, overcome limiting beliefs and create success, like measurable success beyond what we imagined possible.

Dan, he went from being at 19 years old, no money, no career, and he was a millionaire within three years. Once he learned affirmations at 19, he shares the pivotal moment that inspired this journey, this transformation, where utilizing affirmations, he was able to become a millionaire within three years. It’s pretty remarkable. Now, you don’t need to go on to be a millionaire for affirmations to change your life, but really, you’ll learn a unique approach today, different approaches on how you can transform from the inside out to become the person that you need to be utilizing my favorite personal development practice, which are affirmations.

And again, Dan is an expert. I mean, he literally wrote the book on this. So, whether you’re feeling stuck or you’re seeking clarity or you’re just ready to step into the best version of yourself, this conversation will leave you inspired and equipped to take meaningful action. So, grab a pen, open your mind, and let’s dive into the incredible wisdom that Dan has to share.

Before we do, I want to let you know that today’s episode is brought to you by the Miracle Morning App. Yes, it is 4.9 out of 5 stars in the App Store. And the reason is this app is the simplest, most effective way to implement a morning routine and specifically, a Miracle Morning. So, if you’ve read the book, this is kind of like the books, like here’s what you do and how you do it in the apps like, hey, hit play or use the journal or use the affirmations prompts or the visualization prompts. All six of the SAVERS practices are represented in the app.

And I want to take just a minute to tell you, not a minute, 30 seconds, I’m going to read you this review from New Hope, PA. New Hope says simply the best. This is an App Store review. They said since starting the Miracle Morning nine months ago, I’ve been hoping there would be an app. I was so happy when the beta version was released and I was lucky enough to test it out and give feedback for improvements. I completed the advanced option of the 30-day challenge on the app and it was fabulous. Nice to have an online accountability partner to track progress throughout the month. I plan to do the 30-day challenge again and again because the app is super easy to use and fun to watch my progress.

I highly recommend it for those new to the Miracle Morning and those who have been practicing for a while. It’s perfect for any experience level. And for those who don’t know, the app is new and improved. There is now a plus one feature, where if you get the premium app, you can invite anyone to use it at no additional cost. It can be a spouse or family member or colleague. And we now have live events that come with the app. I don’t know any other app that does this. I’m sure there’s probably a few, but we do live events online that come at no additional charge for all premium plus app subscribers. And you can try it free today for seven days in the App Store if you’re an iPhone user, or the Google Play store if you are an Android or Google phone user.

All right, without further ado, let’s talk about how to transform yourself and your life using the power of “I am” affirmations.

[INTERVIEW]

Hal Elrod: Dan McCormick, it is good to see you, man. It’s been a minute.

Dan McCormick: It’s been a minute, man. Happy New Year! It’s great to be with you. And it’s going to be a lot of fun to share some nuggets.

Hal Elrod: Yeah, you’re one of my… Actually, it’s funny, I’ve had someone say, I’ve heard you tell people they’re your favorite people, like, multiple times. I go, I’ve got at least like probably 30 to 50 of them, right? And I think that’s a blessing. And you’re probably the same. When you’re…

Dan McCormick: I actually heard a guy years ago on an interview on CNN, this old show called Pinnacle. And the guy said his dad told him that if he could count five great friends in his life, that’s a success. So, to have super five great friends or 50 great friends, that’s a great success.

Hal Elrod: Yeah, yeah. I say that a lot about my closest friends. I go, anyone would pray to have a friend as good as any of my top 15 friends that are just there for you, supportive, loving, I mean all of the things, man. So, for those that don’t know, you and I met, you brought me in to speak at an event that you were hosting.

Dan McCormick: Right.

Hal Elrod: And we hit it off immediately. I think it started when? Well, hey, just you’re that guy, right? You exude love and acceptance and positive energy. But then you took me to your favorite restaurant, which was all organic, grass fed, smooth. And I was like, okay, you’re my people, Dan, you’re my people so… And then we found out that we both, a lot of our success, we credit to affirmations, right? And you started… take us back. Like, a good place to start is when did you get introduced to affirmations? I know that you hosted the Og Mandino podcast. Correct me if I’m wrong on that exactly. But yeah, when did affirmations get into your world? Because that’s really where you’ve got this new book, Awakening Who “I Am” that teaches seven foundational affirmations. This is my favorite topic to talk about, quite literally, affirmations. So, I’m excited to like geek out with you and just teach our listeners as much as we possibly can about how they can transform their lives using the misunderstood power of affirmations. So, where did it start for you?

Dan McCormick: Well, I think it all starts when people have a need, right? I had a need as a young man. I had no self-esteem. I had no self-worth. I had no net worth. I went to Washington State University and finished in two weeks. Now, most people call it dropping out. But for me, I was finished, it was over. And I had to find a way. And lo and behold, it just started through. My wife, I met in business the following summer. We were fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.

And her dad had a book club. And that book club always was reading the Zig Ziglar. We’re talking back in the 70s, in the 80s, Denis Waitley, Og Mandino. My wife was always reading this when I met her. And so, that was the first book ever put in my hands for someone that didn’t like to read. And when Og taught us in The Greatest Salesman in the World, that incredible story that he told, is he taught us through scrolls. But one of those scrolls is written in an affirmation form, and it’s I am nature’s greatest miracle.

And so, I literally had to figure out how I was going to add self-esteem to my life, self-worth, value other people. And I just learned through that, it was the first book I ever read. And Og gives you an incredible challenge in the journalized version. So, he asked you to read one scroll a day, three times a day for nine months. There’s 10 scrolls. And lo and behold, he says at the beginning of the book, I’m going to give you 75 to 1 odds that you’ll even do this.

Hal Elrod: Wow.

Dan McCormick: Right at the beginning, right? And he says, and people are going to risk doubling or tripling their income over this. And so, I started doing it. So, the first book, remember, I didn’t know really how to read. I didn’t really know how to study.

Hal Elrod: Now, you were how old at the time?

Dan McCormick: I’m 19. I mean, I finished college in two weeks at Washington State University, being on the tennis team. I was there to play tennis, had a knee injury, had a reckless driving ticket, driving home two weeks later, and I was back building tennis court, stringing tennis rackets when I got home. And this book shows up in my life the following August and my life changed. Eight months later, I married my wife. Here we are 42 years later, 14…

Hal Elrod: 15 grandkids later. You said your 15th grandchild, right?

Dan McCormick: 15th grandchild just showed up. And we’re just so blessed that affirmations came into my life.

Hal Elrod: Wow! So, Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. You read the three scrolls a day. And how many scrolls did you say there were?

Dan McCormick: So, there’s 10 scrolls. The first scroll, as you just kind of read it on a Sunday night, is today I begin a new life. Og wrote these scrolls from the paradigm of an alcoholic. I never knew that. He literally was facing his own life when his wife… he’s an alcoholic at the time. His wife and daughter leave him and he’s facing this thought, maybe I’ll just commit suicide. Whoa. That’s heavy, right?

Walks into a library, meets W. Clement Stone’s writings, works. And lo and behold, 1968, The Greatest Salesman in the World was born. And thank goodness, because it helped my wife and I pass our first million dollars in income. I’m 22 years of age, and yet it’s been a part of my life, every day of my life. And then I meet you and things go crazy.

Hal Elrod: So, when you were 22, so from 19, by 22, within three years of reading that book, you had achieved your first million-dollar-income year?

Dan McCormick: Yeah. And I always attribute that to marrying up, of course. I’ve got an incredible wife. We’re business partners. We’re traveling the world. We’re speaking to audiences around the world. And lo and behold, it just stayed with me. There was one part of my life, and you love to talk about this, I didn’t know what love was. I didn’t know how to feel love. I didn’t know how to affirm another person. And so, in Og’s first scroll, the second scroll, I will greet this day with love in my heart, that was the one that stuck out for me. It’s kind of like every morning for 40 years, I would arise to say, “I will greet this day with love in my heart.” And it’s really powerful. It goes… there’s a lot of layers to that onion, if you will.

Hal Elrod: Now, it’s interesting you say that. Literally, a few minutes before we jumped on this recording, I was doing, I was bench pressing. I’ve got my workout room right behind the office. And I was listening to an Instagram video with Aaron Abke. Have you heard of Aaron Abke?

Dan McCormick: I don’t know Aaron. Oh, I might.

Hal Elrod: A young guy, relatively young, I mean, he’s probably mid 30s or so. But he talked about to know God, the only way to know God is to love every person, right? And he said, if you don’t love every person that you see, then you don’t really know God because each person is God’s creation. This is a really powerful paradigm. Yeah, and so, I love you just reminded me that greeting every day with love, every person with love. And to me, that’s not to get off track in terms of this topic of affirmations. But I think that loving all people unconditionally, it’s the greatest opportunity that we have in front of us.

Dan McCormick: Yeah. And teaches us that really clearly. And it really, I think as you and I, when we first met long ago, you were at a funeral when I had you on my show. And I was going to my business partner’s funeral who had just crashed in his jet. And when you go through and you just lost a dear friend and it’s just like it changes the way you feel about empathy and compassion. As you go through life, you get older, you appreciate love, kindness, respect, understanding. Compassion and empathy are two of the highest valued words using the science of axiology that even exists in the world. So, compassion and empathy is a big thing, and continuing to share love is what you do.

Hal Elrod: Well, what is the science of axiology?

Dan McCormick: So, it’s the measurement of words. It’s using math to measure the value of words. I do it at the University of Tennessee. And so, at the Og Mandino company, where I hosted that podcast for, I think, it was 45 episodes, you do that every week. But I tried to interview the greatest salespeople in the world. And so, it was called The Greatest Salesman. And Dave Blanchard, the owner of that company that bought Og’s company taught me those principles, compassion and empathy, huge on the level of measurement of words.

Hal Elrod: Powerful. I’m curious, by the way, how many kids do you have that gave birth to those 15 grandkids?

Dan McCormick: We have four married daughters. We have four daughters.

Hal Elrod: Wow! Four girls. You live between Utah and Southern California, is that right?

Dan McCormick: Orange County, California, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, up there on the lake.

Hal Elrod: And have any of the… there was a fire in Orange County Forest. My dad’s cabin burned down a couple of months ago. Did that get near you?

Dan McCormick: Yeah, we were in our house in Idaho and my daughter was actually evacuating our house here. That was the airport fire that then turned to went out to Riverside. And now, of course, we’re dealing with L.A. fires, and prayers and thoughts for everybody out there.

Hal Elrod: Unbelievable. All right. So, talk about… so, you start with Og Mandino. That’s where you learned about the scrolls. When did you learn, and maybe it was the same time, but the word affirmations, when did that come into your vocabulary, speaking of words? And how did you start applying them?

Dan McCormick: So, it’s a great thought because as you know, when I walked into that convention center two years ago, September, so that would have been like 30 months ago now. I walk in that Salt Lake Convention Center and your book is on the table and my assistant is on the other side. And I’d given thought to affirmations, but I hadn’t gone as deep as I have on other words. And so, my assistant says, “Hey, it’s $50 for the book and the journal.” I said, “Great.” But I might not read it. And I come to know, I had posted about your book. Years earlier, they show up on the memories on Facebook, you know? And I never bought it or rented or studied it.

And so, here’s Brittany Cornine, this lady on the other side of it. And she says, “Dan McCormick has read Miracle Morning.” And it jolted me, Hal. I went home from that convention, and I noticed, you said at the beginning of the book about the documentary. And I said, “Honey, let’s turn on the documentary.” It was Sunday night, September 12, 13, something like that, two and a half years ago now. And your book was already sitting on my reading table. So, I have my book thing right here. And this is the very first copy. I watched the documentary. Boom! I always got up at 5:00, 5:30, but man, I was mind over mattress. I was ready to apply what you were offering. I love genuine, authentic Giants. And the page turner for me that never turned is where I keep it. And that’s the book building on the three imperative arguments. I leave the book open right there every day.

And that’s where I kept saying, “I am nature’s greatest miracle.” That’s Og, that’s scroll number four. And then you kept saying, “Every single day, I’m just as worthy, deserving, and capable as anyone else on the planet to achieve whatever I want.” And I started writing these things down, and I kept going deeper. And then I start, I mean, I got thousands of names in my phone because that’s my business, that’s your business.

Hal Elrod: Yeah, sure.

Dan McCormick: Everyone I was calling, I was saying, “Have you read Miracle Morning? Have you watched the movie?” I’m geeking out on this stuff at so many levels. I can’t find any of my public speaking friends that know you. And so, finally, I reach out to Andrea Waltz from Go for No! And she says, “I think I know who can connect the two of you.” And so, I was going deeper and deeper. And at the time, I started writing my book, but I put “I am” in front of all affirmations, thinking deeper that “I” means exist, “am” means with God. And so, what follows “I am” follows you is the T-shirts that I make and the QR code that I put on my car. What follows “I am” follows you. And so, for the last 30 months, it’s a deep, deep, specific dive from scrolls and principles to affirmations.

Hal Elrod: I’m writing this down. What follows “I am” follows you. That’s brilliant. “I am” follows you. Elaborate on that.

Dan McCormick: So. if you are in the defamation space and you say, I’m fat, I’m lazy, I’m sick, I’m tired, right, you’re going the wrong way. That’s the wrong energy. But if you say “I am,” as I start off my book as inviting you to be my co-creator, I tried to do something that no one had ever done before. I want people to sign the cover page as my co-creator. I want you to create with me. I want you to live with me. I want you to literally go through these affirmations. And “I am” is just the paradigm that adds the value of heavens, the spirit with you, God with you. And so, to me, I literally never say an affirmation unless it’s the positive. I filter any possible friend or negativity out of my life. I caution people, hey, look, if you go there, I can’t be here. It’s not the vibrational energy I want to resonate on. So, hopefully, that impacts it a little bit.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. No, absolutely. I mean, I’m reading the book and I love that within the first chapter or two that I was not just signing the first page, but that I’m actually writing. It asks like, hey, after you teach the benefits of affirmations, you’re like, which of these affirmations, which of these benefits do you want in your life or are you most committed to, most excited about?

Dan McCormick: And so, when you start off, by the way, with the creation piece, right? So, I loved one of your recent podcasts when you were talking about neuroplasticity, right? And so, when you think about this notion with your app and your book, the SAVERS, and you think about what I’ve done with my book and my affirmation videos and all the things that I’ve done, everything was programmed around neurogenesis. The idea that last night when you and I slept, baby nerve cells were being born. The idea that when we wake up the very first thing on my coin that I feel and that I think about because the SAVERS is part of it, but I am nature’s greatest miracle. And I put a magnet right here. I am a magnet for miracles.

Einstein said that you either believe that everything is a miracle or nothing is a miracle. So, I go every day, I’m on a podcast right now with a guy that is a living miracle. Like did a miracle of all miracles, literally, right? And so, then on the other side of the coin, I have the seven affirmations that are in my book. And it’s just an invaluable thing to say I am a creator, because what do you create every day? It’s what follows “I am.”

Hal Elrod: Yeah. What you believe you are, right? Yeah, if you believe you’re unworthy, then you’re not going to pursue things that a worthy person would pursue, if you believe that you’re not creative, right? But yeah, if you believe… yeah, now, it’s powerful. I think about like when I used to… the reason I train for that marathon that I ran is I used to affirm I am not a runner. I am not a runner. And I realized, wait, that’s a limiting belief. How about I am committed to becoming a runner, right?

I want to talk about two things. And let me say them out loud, then I’ll decide which order we should approach them. One is the different way that you and I approach affirmations, right? So, obviously, the book is Awakening Who “I Am,” and “I am” as in quotes. I have kind of a more like left brain practical approach. So, I want us to discuss that, right? Maybe even debate it for our audience. And then the other piece though is… actually, let’s start here. Why the title, Awakening Who “I Am”? I know, in the book, you explore the concept of awakening. So, how do you define awakening? And why do you think that it’s such a pivotal process for personal growth?

Dan McCormick: Well, it’s what Miracle Morning gave me. It was an awakening. I was on my plateau. Now, most people around me wouldn’t say Dan’s in pain or he’s hurt or he’s not doing well, but I wasn’t growing. I was sitting there living my best life on a plateau. I was sitting there not growing. And there I pick up your book and it was the awakening, for me. Now, we can look in the New Testament and the Savior says he goes early off in the morning up in the hills to pray and meditate. There’s an awakening, there’s a way, there’s a pattern for doing this that you gave everybody. And so, I just was able to adapt it to my own way and literally have that awakening for me.

And then, you always wrestle with titles, right? And so, you never know what is the perfect title. Certainly, The Miracle Morning is the perfect title, but the subtitle of my book is really critical, and that is the two words to ignite transformation, right? We all know we need inspiration for transformation. And Romans 12:2 says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So, again, it comes back to all this stuff in the morning to get it right first thing. First thoughts, first thing, first light, get it right.

Hal Elrod: What do you think, what are the obstacles? I think it’s important that a lot of us or a lot of folks, when you’re pursuing what you want, we avoid thinking about the obstacles because they might discourage us, they might overwhelm us. But the problem is, if we don’t foresee the obstacles, then when they show up, that’s when they discourage us. And then when they overwhelm us, as opposed to going, you know what? This is a potential obstacle. Okay, I’m aware of it. How might I overcome that when it arises? Or maybe I’m facing it now. So, what do you think, when it comes to people awakening to their true selves, their full potential, or even utilizing affirmations to do so, what are the most common obstacles that people face and how might they overcome them?

Dan McCormick: So, I’ve really been fond of this phrase, that flow before phone. And if you let Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn rule your morning, you are going to struggle. It is an impediment to your success, your flow, your neurogenesis, the SAVERS, everything. And so, if people are watching this today, write that down, flow before phone. If you wake up and check email and go to those Instagram, all those social media platforms, it’s an impediment. It’s going to stall you.

I have this one lady, maybe 65, mid-60s, and she’s like, “Dan, I just can’t get through your 18-minute affirmation video.” I made this 18-minute affirmation video for me. I needed to borrow upon because I know you recently were quoting and loved James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. But here I am writing this book. And James Clear said something that just rocked my world. He said, quoting Naval Ravikant, “In order to write a great book, you have to become the book.” And I added that to my book. And I made this 18-minute affirmation, just said, “Dan, if you’re going to do this to answer your question and have a little bit of dialog about it, about maybe even some debate about it, then you have to become the book and you have to be willing to give that 18 minutes.”

And so, I mentioned that phrase, “Flow before phone.” And she said, “Dan, I could never do your 18-minute affirmation video.” Now 18, Hal, is approximately 1% of your day. Eighteen minutes used to feel like 90 minutes to me. Just that scatterbrain three years ago, feeling like you’re missing out on something. And she comes back to me and she says, I was going to give it one more try to not touch my phone and just go through the 18 minutes. And it changed my life. So, to answer your question specifically, it’s a desire, it’s a focus, it’s a flow before phone. Desire, the best description I’ve ever heard of desire, is a motivating conviction that moves you to action. And so, that to me, is the biggest impediment to answer your question.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. I was talking about this yesterday. I was being interviewed on a show and I talked about the idea that when we check our phones first thing in the morning, we literally put our brains in a state of reactivity. You are reacting. As soon as your phone goes off airplane mode, if you kept it on airplane mode during the night, which hopefully you did, minimizing the EMFs that are flowing to your body and your brain. But now, you’re bombarded with notifications. And so, you are in a state of reactivity, reacting to the notifications, reacting to the text messages that come in, the emails, social media posts, on and on and on. And I love that flow before phone.

Dan McCormick: Flow before phone.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. You allow yourself to get into flow, take care of your mental and emotional wellbeing before the phone. So, let’s talk about the way you approach affirmations with “I am.” And let me first start, I’ll start being the counter… what’s the word I’m looking for? Counterpoint. So, I often say that the two problems with affirmations, I’m going to tell you, here’s my take and then I want you to tell me yours.

Number one, lying to yourself doesn’t work. So, I say that if you say I am wealthy, now even though many self-help gurus and I think even you would argue potentially against this, I always say if you say I am wealthy, but your bank account balance is negative, then you are potentially creating an internal conflict that you go, I am wealthy or I’m a millionaire, like I was taught by a well-meaning self-help guru, but my bank account balance is negative. And now, there’s an internal conflict, right? As if we don’t have enough internal conflicts just being human beings.

The second problem with affirmations is I’ve said that we’ve been taught to use this flowery, passive language that promises an almost magical result, such as I am a money magnet. Money flows to me effortlessly and in abundance. (A) I don’t believe that’s how money works, meaning if you go and interview 100 millionaires or billionaires and say, “How did you make a fortune?” They go, “Oh, I just became a magnet, and money flowed to me effortlessly.” They’d probably say, “I worked my butt off, like I overcame a lot of obstacles and self-doubt and fear. It wasn’t easy. And I kept going and going and going and going and going and going and getting knocked down and getting back up. That’s how I made $1 million,” right? Not it flowed to me effortlessly and in abundance. So, I’d love for you to speak to both of those. And I think there’s nuances, very little as black and white. So, you might say, yes, there’s truth there, Hal, but you’re not looking at this side of it. So, I’m open to learning right now.

Dan McCormick: Yeah. I love the word nuance, by the way, because there is no two people that are going to go down the same path with the same thoughts. And we’ve got 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day. We repeat most of them every day. But I’m reminded of the time you entered, you group text me and Dr. Benjamin Hardy, and I love the fact that you had the foreword to my book, and he has the afterword to my book because you both, to me, resonate everything about this question. And what Dr. Ben reminds us of is qualitative versus quantitative.

So, I can say “I am” like and I can put whatever follows that, but as Neville Goddard would say, “Feeling is the secret.” Like, if you can feel and believe, I call it sensory stacking at the end of my book. We go through the visual, the auditory, and the kinesthetic and the seven levels of affirmations. And so, when I think about, I am worthy qualitatively, I think I am a creator, I am intentional, I am… all of the seven affirmations in my book, qualitatively, you changed my life, Hal Elrod, on this page the moment I read that page because I never turned the page. I literally, as Bob Proctor said, you just look at that page every day until you master it.

I remember 30 months ago, having people on my team, top salespeople, people that have written massive, successful books, and I’d say, you’ve got to read this book and I want you to call me. And I would ask them, “What did you get out of the three imperatives?” And I would get answers that weren’t great. Like, “I don’t know that I heard that.” I’m like, “Did you read the book to say you read a book or did you do the work?” Like, you got to do the work, right? And so, I’m all-in on the qualitative change of your life, no matter who’s listening today. And you and I both know with the podcast, someone can hear this six years from now, six months from now.

But the qualitative aspect of your life changes the minute you incorporate the two words “I am” and you start filling in the blank because you can be a creator and not be a millionaire. You can be intentional and not be a money magnet, right? Qualitative change. And Dr. Ben said to me on that first phone call when you connected us, he said, “Dan, if you read the introduction to my book, it’ll change your life. It’ll 10x your life.”

Hal, six months later, here I am now, stacking what I’m writing for my book, what I’m reading from your book and his book. And I just became this huge magnet for miracles, if you will. And literally, my life 10x, like it’s indescribable. People couldn’t even comprehend what happened. You becoming a great friend, my coauthor. I didn’t even know Ken Shelton, who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for Covey. I didn’t know you. I didn’t know Ben. I didn’t know Ken. And here I have all these people in my life through “I am” affirmations and the qualitative aspect of my life change first and the quantitative. Oh, my gosh. It has just exploded my life in every category.

Hal Elrod: It reminds me when I think about the word magnet, I think about the quote from Jim Rohn that sparked the Miracle Morning. It was the quote that gave birth, if you will. And honestly, in some ways, it co-created if you will. Jim Rohn said your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development. But it’s the second part of the quote that I’m talking about, and I don’t always share the second part. It was, because success is something you attract by the person you become, that to me is the practical application of what it means to be a magnet for success, wealth, relationships, etc. When you become the person, you develop the qualities as you spoke about. You embody the vibe, the energy that is attractive to other people and attractive to people that have opportunities that you can both benefit from. That’s what it means to be a magnet.

And I found that for myself, I think my whole life, like when I was in Cutco, I used to always joke that, I’m like, I don’t want to sell anything. Like, I don’t know any sales tricks. I’m just a super enthusiastic person. So, I was a magnet for people to buy Cutco from me just because of how I was showing up, the energy that I was… and many people, he was like a whirlwind. They were like, he was like a Tasmanian devil. They were like, I don’t even know what you said, but you seem excited about the knives, I guess I’ll buy them. Let’s go.

So, I do think that with the “I am” affirmation, and let me scroll up to get this, how you said it, what follows “I am” follows you. And so, you think about, for those listening, almost anybody watching or listening, this is a majority of Miracle Morning practitioners, right? And think about, whatever you’re affirming, I am _____, right? No matter what, there’s no other option. Or I am committed to _____. That’s usually how I word my “I am” statement. It’s “I am” followed by committed to and then _____. So, it could be I am committed to becoming the father that my children is… or whatever, I’m committed to continuously becoming or getting better or I’m committed to following through. I’m committed to doing the thing, whatever it is. I like that committed to, because for me, it’s just that extra umph, like I am, what am I committed to?

And I’m looking… where was that section? So, I’m looking in the book, and I mentioned earlier, I liked that I got to write in the book and I wanted to read what I wrote. Here we go. Affirmation in Action. What are your thoughts about yourself when you’re not consciously thinking? And I want to share this for people? (A) I was like, huh, I really examined that. What are my thoughts when I’m not consciously thinking? Because consciously, I judge my thoughts, I make sure that I only say the ones that are positive, right? Because I know better. I’ve been in the game a long time. Like I’m not going to speak negatively about myself out loud. I’m not going to consciously think negative thoughts.

However, think about this, if you’re listening, what thoughts are we most often unconsciously thinking or consciously thinking? The answer is unconsciously. Most of our thoughts, the 60,000 to 80,000 you mentioned, Dan, are unconscious. So, we’ve got to be aware of those. And I loved that that was the first question. And you’ve got blank lines. And I actually wrote in the book. Here’s my answer, Dan, what are your thoughts about yourself when you’re not consciously thinking? I wrote down in one word, negative. I think how much worse my mental/cognitive abilities are now before cancer and chemo. So, it’s interesting just being aware, right? And then, I’m like, “Wow, I need to change that.”

And affirmations for me changed my life and my mental and emotional wellbeing and my confidence in everything that you talk about in the book back in 2008. But like many things in life, we get away from what got us to the dance, right? We get away from the basics. And so, just that, answering that question brought me self-awareness where I’m like, oh, I still got a lot of work to do. I’ve got to go back to the basics. I’ve got to relearn affirmations. And so, it’s interesting how this book came into my life at the right time because I would have been like, I would have never bought this book, Dan, because I’ve been like, I’m a master of affirmations. I teach affirmations. Well, I don’t… there’s nothing I have to learn. And I’m like, oh, I actually don’t know as much as I think I do. And then in the second question, it says of the science-based benefits you just read, which is the most exciting or important for you to manifest? I wrote four answers to that.

Dan McCormick: Love it.

Hal Elrod: Number one, reduce stress and anxiety and cultivate inner peace. That’s the first benefit that I am, what is it, most excited or important to me. Number two, enhance performance, productivity, and goal attainment. And by the way, if you’re listening right now, these are the benefits of affirmations when you do them daily. Number three, be happier, make lasting changes in the way I think and feel. And the number four, science-based benefit that I am most excited about and I feel is important for me is to enhance self-image, self-esteem, self-love, and self-confidence.

And so, I just wanted to share that with you as the author because [inaudible 31:36]. But just for you to see, like that’s the impact that already, just that alone is worth its weight in gold. And then now, I’m learning affirmations in really a different way than I’ve learned them before. So, let’s give your teaching. How do you teach affirmations to people? And if you want it, like I love inserting, maybe if you’ve got a personal example in your life where affirmations were transformative, like I share my… when I was diagnosed with cancer, I used affirmations to beat cancer. When I was training for my ultramarathon, I used affirmations to be able to train and follow through with that. So, I have multiple accounts of affirmations were transformative in my life. I’d love to hear a story from you and specifically how you use them in a way that people can apply to their own life.

Dan McCormick: You’ve said so many cool things. And by the way, I’ve always got my Jim Rohn quote book with me because I was…

Hal Elrod: I love that. I have that book, too.

Dan McCormick: I traveled the world with Jim. I was able to go on cruises with Jim. I was able to be on stages with Jim way back in the day. And all of the things you just said, I was putting this as kind of like my self-help Bible. And then I realized that what got me here won’t get me there. You know what I’m saying? I had a sunk cost bias that this is all I needed, but then you awakened within me the notion that there was more for me. And so, while I’m teaching affirmations, I’m always thinking about how do I keep it simple, okay? Because one of the first interviews I did with Richard Paul Evans and even your friend Honoree, keep it simple. And so, I was talking to Ken Shelton, who worked with Covey on the 7 Habits, and I said, “Ken, 7 Habits isn’t easy. I interview audiences all the time. Nobody can remember the 7 Habits.”

Hal Elrod: I can remember them all.

Dan McCormick: I ask audiences, nobody can. And so, I said, “How can we make it simple?” Well, to make it simple, to really ingrain that teaching requires repetition. You and I both love the phrase, “Repetition is the mother of skill.” It is so true because I want to say them all day long. I am a creator. I am intentional. I am present. The lady in my book that is in the story version of I am present, she is grown up in a very well-to-do family, and in her mind, she thought self-help was just weird. You’re not going to walk into the bookstore and buy a Tony Robbins’ book. I mean, I’m good, right? And so, she said on a podcast with me, this is a seven-figure-a-year woman just cranks, “I am present because I am prioritizing.” And if you want to change your life, if you want to ignite transformation, keep it simple and recognize that there’s two words, “I-exist,” “am-with God,” what follows “I am” follows you.

And the example I’m going to give you to answer your question is the day Nathan died, my friend that kind of brought us together on that podcast that we did. And he crashed his own jet. Everybody else on the plane lived. He was worth unbelievable sums of money. He was a rock star of rock stars in the world of direct selling and investment in real estate. And the day he died, another super achiever, when we got on the phone the day he died, said, I will never forget Nathan’s famous talk called Be a Finisher.

And so, the seventh affirmation draws upon the Lord’s New Testament verse that says, “I am the author and the finisher.” And so, every day, I kept saying, I am a finisher. I am going to finish this book. I mean, you talk about writing being hard for you, I mean, look, writing for me is anxiety, right? And so, I went with I am a finisher. And my wife and I, it’s become our mantra around the house, do you have to finish the project, the dishes, the garage, the backyard, the closet cleaning, the library cleaning-up? I am a finisher became such a remarkable mantra in my life. And it just borrows again from scripture. And so, hopefully, that gives you some sense to be able to say, I am a finisher. I mean, for me to have this, if one of my teachers in high school was to say, Dan McCormick, least likely to ever do this.

Hal Elrod: Me too, dude.

Dan McCormick: Yeah. So, here we are sitting here and you sold millions of copies, and I thought my goal this year would be to sell 8,000 copies to match your first-year effort. So, that’s my goal of the year, because I want to be a finisher. But more importantly, if I never sell another copy of the book, it’s already changed my life 10x multiple times. And hopefully, those that’ll read it can take the time like you have to really personalize those affirmations, peel away the onion and go as deep as you’ve ever gone. And I’m confident that you will let those two words ignite the transformation in your life.

Hal Elrod: Yeah, y’all, Dan, I agree with what you’re saying so much. And when you just said I am a finisher, it made me think about, it sums up what you just said, which is the words that follow “I am” follow you. And if you say I never finish anything, I never follow through, right, well, then that becomes your identity, and we can’t help but live in alignment with our identity. But if you can repeat the identity, I am a finisher or I am a great parent or I am a dedicated spouse, whatever, or I am financially abundant, whatever it is, or you can throw in that I am committed to, earning X amount of dollars and providing financial freedom this year, whatever it is, if you repeat it every day, your subconscious does not know the difference between what is vividly imagined and repeated day after day after day after day after day, that becomes your reality. Like, when you wake up from a nightmare, you’re not actually getting chased by a guy with a knife, but you’re sweating and panting and breathing heavy like you are because your subconscious doesn’t know the difference.

So, the book, I’m holding it up right now, Awakening Who “I Am”: Two Words to Ignite Your Transformation by Dan McCormick, my good friend, and Ken Shelton, foreword by Hal Elrod, yours truly, and afterword by my good friend Dr. Benjamin Hardy. This book is already transforming my life, someone who’s been doing affirmations for 15 years, and it’s teaching me all sorts of new ways to think about them and implement my life, Dan. So, thank you for the work you do.

And I just love you as a person. Like, I just love who you are. And so, there was no doubt in my mind that the work that you produced was going to be of your heart and your mind and your soul. And I have no doubt this book is going to make a huge impact for others.

Dan McCormick: God bless you, my friend. Great to be with you. And God bless everybody who gets a chance to read Miracle Morning, Awakening Who “I Am,” and I look forward to sharing the journey with everybody.

Hal Elrod: Everybody go grab a copy of Awakening Who “I Am” on Amazon and I love you so much. I’ll talk to you all next week. Dan, I love you too, brother. I’ll see you soon.

Dan McCormick: Thank you.

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