Willie Blythe or William J. Blythe IV, take your pick. This is a story right out of the foundations of the Shortcuts Way of Living. That's because William J. Blythe Fourth, a true golden loser if ever there were a golden loser, proved the power of shortcuts, and proved more than adequately that horrific circumstances determine who and what you become, at least as much as you allow them to.

Although the particular phrase, "Shortcuts Way of Living " was not specifically articulated until decades after William began his arduous and compelling journey, the life and deeds of William J Blythe IV indisputably parallel the foundations and principles underlying the Shortcuts Way of Living. How wise are those who learn from other people's pains and pleasures, successes and failures, hm?

What a name to begin life with, more so when you're born in a tiny town of 1200 people, with poverty a standard of life.

His dad died before he was born. His stepfather, Roger, used to beat Billy's mom when alcohol would take over in the house. Living in Hope, Arkansas doesn't promise too much, does it?   Well, he did have 2 things going for him: he was a decent student, & his mom preached the value of persistence on a daily and oft-repeated basis.     It would seem he learned well from her.  With the Boy's Club, he went to Washington, D.C.; took a tour of the White House, and actually got to shake hands with the President of the United States. A photographer happened to be less than 5 feet away, and took a photo of the US President shaking hands with young Billy Blythe...... There's a lot to be said of that photograph, and of the smiling, near-arrogant gleam in the eye of that 16-yr old kid.

Common to these people is the same identical first step:
the ability to describe with exquisite precision what they want, usually in ten words or less.
When you see this happening with hundreds of people who've individually climbed up to the three highest rungs of America's corporate leadership, the scientific word is "pattern."
 
Patterns do not occur accidentally,
particularly patterns of excellence
 
Excellence is nothing more, and nothing less,
than doing something finely, and repeatedly: a pattern.
Paying heed to these patterns means reducing the trial and error process,
and provides shortcuts to duplicating the desired result.

Secondly, most of them have written notes on what they're aiming at. If it's not worth putting into writing, it's probably not worth considering... ...unless, of course, you know more than the CEO's of our Fortune 500 companies.
Put it in writing!