The Pledge
Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life
Agora Series

Successful people don't sit around waiting for everything to be "100%" right or to be "absolutely sure" they will succeed. They don't need absolute assurance, because they realize life doesn't provide any. To get what they want out of life, they set specific goals and put together a formal plan to achieve those goals, one step at a time. Successful people know that the cost of failure is modest compared to that of inaction. Failure means they are smarter the next time. Inaction means there is no next time-there's only a lifetime of regret. In The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life, author Michael Masterson reveals how to become successful-and not just financially, but in every area of life. The book

• Offers simple tips to making immediate changes and to establishing long-term goals
• Details strategies on becoming more productive at the office and defeating depression
• Explains why simplifying goals into four major ones makes them much easier to achieve

The Pledge teaches readers how to start and finish projects they have been dreaming about for years, boost confidence, strengthen skills, build wealth, and enjoy life.

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: How to Live Your Abundant Life Starting Today 1

Part One: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life 9

Part Two: How to Turn Your Biggest Dreams Into Reality 17

Part Three: Your Abundant Life, Day by Day 41

Part Four: Creating a Richer, More Enjoyable Life 69

Part Five: The Push You Need to Succeed 95

Part Six: Skills of the Most Successful 123

Part Seven: The Obstacles to Your Success—and How to Defeat Them 147

Part Eight: Building Your Wealth 171

Conclusion 195

About the Author 205

Index 207

MICHAEL MASTERSON has developed a loyal following of more than 450,000 subscribers with Early to Rise (www.EarlyToRise.com), an e-newsletter published by Agora, Inc. Throughout his remarkably successful business career, Masterson has been involved in two businesses that grew beyond $100 million (one of which has grown to nearly $300 million), two more that exceeded $50 million, and several that surpassed the $10 million mark. He is also the author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon.com bestsellers Ready, Fire, Aim; Seven Years to Seven Figures; Automatic Wealth;Automatic Wealth for Grads . . . and Anyone Else Just Starting Out; and Changing the Channel (with MaryEllen Tribby), all published by Wiley, as well as Confessionsof a Self-Made Multimillionaire.