by Molly Mullins

In the summer of 2014, I had completed 5 years of nursing school, graduated with honors, was madly in love and had a full time job waiting for me; yet I had never been so disappointed in myself. Why, you ask? 

Well, one stupid test had me believing I wasn't good enough and erased all of my great accomplishments in my head. I had failed my nursing boards and was not taking it well. Then one night that I ran into my mentor, Trisha Jacobson. She asked if I would be interested in joining the Pathways to Success Team and attend Breakthrough to Success with Jack Canfield. My heart told me to go but my head kept making excuses about why I couldn't. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I needed something to get me through the challenge. The opportunity was sent my way and I decided to go for it.

BTS brought out a lot of anger and sadness that I needed to release. I thought about things I had never thought about and realized why I was the way I was. I was in tears most of the training days but left the training with a better understanding of myself as well as a boost in confidence that I was able to bring back to my life. 

BTS allowed me to open up about my life to complete strangers. They were non-judgmental and supportive. They encouraged me to follow my dreams and not listen to what others were telling me to do. This was a freedom I had never experienced. 

Trying to explain my BTS experience is nearly impossible. I am so glad I went. There is not a day that goes by that I don't use the skills I learned and the self-awareness I gained.

Being a nurse and a human being in general, it is easy to practice the success principles and see the good in people. I am constantly looking at how I affect other people and the way having a positive mindset makes my life more enjoyable and attracts others to me. I find that approaching my patients with respect and trying to understand why they are the way they are makes me able to take better care of them. 

I am proud of who I am now and  can honestly say I am good at what I do. When teaching my students, I can truly relate to them and provide them with the confidence they need to move forward. I am reminded that everyone starts from the bottom and the journey upward is a wonderful one.

The success principles don't go to waste in personal life either. There are many times when I find my discussions with people more productive because of tools that Jack taught me. I am not afraid to help others recognize their own problems within so that they can better understand their ability to communicate effectively. I also find that I have become an advocate for others to achieve their goals whether small or large. The list goes on and on. I will never forget what I learned in August of 2014.

Most of all, I learned that I'm glad I failed my nursing boards because even though I did, I still had honors from five years of nursing school, I was still madly in love, I still had a full time job waiting for me and I got an amazing lesson from Jack Canfield that will carry me through the rest of my life.

Molly is 23 and lives in North Conway, NH with her fiancé Chris and their cats Hunter and Loki. She maintains a busy nursing practice, is a clinical instructor and incorporates the success principles into her work with her patients and students.

by Faith Jacobson

Prior to my trip Arizona for the Breakthrough to Success live event in the summer of 2014, I had no idea what to expect. Based on the summary of the program I had been given I understood that Jack’s work was life changing, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant for me. Although I was anxious about what the program would entail, I soon realized that joining the Pathways to Success Team and attending the seminar was a great decision. 

The most incredible part of the experience is that I didn’t need to attend Breakthrough to Success knowing what I was looking for. Instead, I was led through a bunch of activities and experiences and discovered things about myself that I never knew. 

Since my time with Jack I have become more fully aware of all I really learned. I uncovered what I am truly passionate about. I learned how to dream big, how to set goals, and how to succeed in creating a life that I will be honestly content with.  

I met amazing people from all around the world and made connections that will last a lifetime.  The success principles are geared to individuals of all ages and provided us with the tools for us to become our greatest selves.  

The success principles taught me how to have a more positive outlook on my life. At one point, I paused for a moment, stepped back and began to see the limiting factors that were preventing me from being as successful as I could be. I learned that is impossible to do everything you dream of doing if there are unaddressed obstacles standing in your way. And then I learned some tools to overcome those blocks. 

I realized it was just as simple as opening up, letting people in and building stronger connections to the people I love. That also allowed me to be more positive.  

I discovered that you can also make progress in your own life by making connections to those around you.  I have always been an extrovert, however I have learned how to listen better to others and to connect with the people who have a positive effect on my life rather than those who bring me down.  

Indeed, the success principles and Breakthrough to Success has definitely had an unforgettable impact on my life!  

Faith is 15 and heading into her junior year of high school. She is a motivated student as well as an active participant in athletics, student government and loves to spend her time mentoring younger kids.

Meet Faith and the rest of the Pathways team and learn more about their Breakthrough to Success experience here!

We're gearing down from the Be Kind Festival in the Mount Washington Valley where members of the Pathways to Success Team and the Teen Clinic coordinated a Free Hug Team. The idea originated from the first time I attended Breakthrough to Success with Jack Canfield. When I came back to the clinic, my peer ed team was anxious to hear about my experience. My week was profound and there were so many things to share, I shared the one thing that had impacted me the most. Hugs.

I can still remember the looks on their faces. They thought I was crazy. I continued and shared what Jack had taught us:

• According to Virginia Satir, a prominent family therapist, we need 4 hugs a day to survive, 8 hugs to maintain and 12 hugs a day to thrive. 
• Hugging increases the serotonin levels in our brains and helped us feel connected and even had health benefits. 
• Jack demonstrated the ideal way to hug ... "heart hugging" ... lining up left check to left and cheek-heart to heart ... and talked about the physical and mental health benefits. 
• He then instructed us to get up, mill around the room and get some hugs. 
  

All 325 of us stood up. We were strangers from all over the world. We had each signed an agreement to fully participate in the activities, so we awkwardly made our way around the room and practiced heart hugging each other.

Each day of the event Jack would add a little bit more to our hugging exercise:

• Hug in silence
• Add a little eye contact
  
• Hold hands
  
• Breathe with the person you are hugging
• Maintain eye contact for a little longer before breaking away

Day by day, the connection among the group of strangers got stronger. By the end of the week, the connection was palpable. The room was filled with an amazing energy during the silent hug process. It was phenomenal to experience. At the close of the event, feedback indicated that heart hugging was a favorite part of the entire 7 day event. Jack encouraged us to go out and teach the people in our families, workplaces and communities how to heart hug and teach them the importance of getting lots of hugs.

Back in the clinic, I shared Virginia Satir's data and demonstrated heart hugging. Mikayla was the most resistant. I met Mikayla in 7th grade health class when she was 13. I was teaching a unit on growth and development ... and she was being a feisty teenager.

I liked her instantly. I felt like I had known her forever. Funny how that happens with some people. A few years later, she participated in the Teen Clinic Peer Education Training Program. Eventually, I hired her to work with me in our Teen Clinic and Community Outreach Program. That's how we got connected and came to participate in Kindness Weekend together and ultimately the Pathways to Success for Youth Team.

About six months after Breakthrough to Success, the peer ed team was asked to coordinate an activity for the Be Kind Festival. Mikayla came to me and told me she wanted to coordinate a Free Hug Team. I thought she was kidding. It turns out she was not. 

The impact was profound. We now offer hugs at all our events and teach heart hugging in most all of our presentations. We distribute iHug buttons and explain proper hugging etiquette and the importance of making the hug offer and getting consent. After the event, I got a message from one of the teens who participated on the Free Hug Team. He wrote: 

"Thanks for one of the greatest days of my life. Everything about it was great." 

Someday we'll write a book about our experiences and it will be profound.

There is a whole lot more to Mikayla's story. She had some struggles growing up and lost her Mom to terminal cancer when she had just turned 18. I got to witness her process as she was going through some things that no teen should ever have to experience. But I also got to witness her transformation that goes beyond my ability to put it in words. So I'll let Mikayla tell you about it herself.

http://www.kindnessmiles.com/blog/archives/07-2011