| There is no guarantee that I will ever achieve my | | | | Financial |
| life's dreams and go on to live a hugely successful | | | | I shall give myself a score from 1 to 10 based on |
| existence. In fact, unless I know precisely what | | | | my current financial status relative to the income |
| "success" means to me, I will never be a winner | | | | and net worth I desire to generate. If I am a |
| during this lifetime. Knowing is the key. Success is | | | | multi-millionaire and have already attained financial |
| not only reached by those who keep their fires | | | | freedom, I shall award myself the maximum |
| of desire burning strong and who keep trying and | | | | score of 10. However, if I am on skid row, with |
| trying again until they succeed, but it is reached | | | | zero savings, high indebtedness and low earnings, |
| by those who know what they desire. Those | | | | perhaps I warrant a score of only 1 or 2 at most. |
| who attain greatness display the winning character | | | | Business |
| trait of perceptiveness. This is the shrewd ability | | | | How is the success of my business; or do I even |
| to know what "success" means to them. | | | | have a business as such? I shall give myself a |
| Success can be defined as the progressive | | | | score from 1 to 10 for this area based on how I |
| realization of specific objectives. As success | | | | rate today compared to my ideal business |
| relates to my life, this is the continual attainment | | | | scenario. |
| of my own clearly defined desires. Like many | | | | Career |
| people though, I may not yet have determined | | | | I shall give myself a score from 1 to 10 for the |
| exactly what success means to me, therefore I | | | | career area of my life. This score must |
| have little chance of attaining it until my goals are | | | | accurately reflect my occupational status today |
| clearly set. Success, it can be said, is to decide | | | | relative to how I see myself in an ideal future. Do |
| exactly what I do want, establish specific plans of | | | | I have the job of my dreams or am I |
| action, and then take enthusiastic action to | | | | unemployed? Depending upon where I am right |
| achieve what I most desire. However, to attain a | | | | now professionally, this will dictate my rating. The |
| lifetime of success, some form of measuring | | | | higher the score, the more successful I am |
| system needs to be in place to gauge how | | | | career-wise. And, likewise, the lower the score, |
| successful I am presently compared to how | | | | the more dissatisfied I am vocationally. |
| successful I want to be. For the Empowered | | | | Mental |
| Millionaire, this measuring system is the PEP Rating. | | | | If I am mentally very alert with an excellent |
| Success is not necessarily being the best or | | | | memory and sharp intellectual skills, I shall rank |
| having the most or being number one or finishing | | | | myself very highly here with perhaps a score of |
| first. Real success is a journey of continuous | | | | 8 or 9 or 10. However, if I am mentally dull and |
| improvement and is found in doing the best that I | | | | have psychological fatigue with a poor memory, I |
| possibly can in all endeavors with which I am | | | | should give myself a low score. |
| involved. Fortune definitely favors the person who | | | | Social |
| assesses where he or she is now and uses this | | | | If all my social objectives have been met and I |
| information to make well-versed decisions to | | | | consider myself presently to be hugely successful |
| successfully guide their future. Therefore, in my | | | | within this arena, I shall give myself a high score |
| quest for success, I must learn to employ this | | | | here. Whereas, if my social life is a huge |
| same technique of analyzing my present position | | | | disappointment relative to my ideal, my score of |
| to make better judgments for the future course | | | | perhaps 1 or 2 or 3 should accurately reflect this |
| of my life. The lesson here in this PEP Rating | | | | fact. |
| exercise is to give all ten areas of my life a score | | | | Spiritual |
| and then combine all scores into a final total that | | | | I must give myself a score dependent on |
| accurately reflects my current status. This will | | | | whether I am spiritually satisfied right now and |
| certainly increase my chances for success and | | | | consider myself to be highly enlightened or |
| lessen those of an unfavorable outcome. | | | | whether I am divinely disillusioned and nowhere |
| To be hugely successful on an ongoing basis, I | | | | near enlightenment. |
| need to measure where I am in the ten areas of | | | | Family |
| my life at this precise moment in time with where | | | | Have all my family aspirations been met and am I |
| I desire to be at a specific point in the future. By | | | | living a joyful life of blissful contentment with my |
| knowing where I am presently compared with | | | | kin? If so, my score here will be very high. If not, |
| where I say I want to be, this will enable me to | | | | a low score will accurately reflect this status. |
| more accurately assess my efforts. The way | | | | Material |
| that I measure where I am now is by way of | | | | This material area is an extremely personal one in |
| calculating my PEP Rating. PEP (which stands for | | | | that the goals I establish here will vary |
| "Personal Empowerment Percentage") is the | | | | enormously depending upon how materially |
| evaluation system that I shall use to determine if | | | | voracious my appetite is and how successfully I |
| I am on course to design my ultimate lifestyle. By | | | | have fed my materialistic hunger? However, the |
| way of my PEP Rating, I shall give each of the | | | | higher my level of contentment today with the |
| ten areas of my life an individual score from one | | | | material possessions I have accumulated, the |
| to ten based on how that area presently parallels | | | | higher my score. And, likewise, the lower my |
| with my ideal scenario. | | | | present level of satisfaction, the lower the rate I |
| To calculate my own PEP Rating, I must analyze | | | | will give myself here. |
| the ten areas of my life and follow these two | | | | Adventure |
| steps: | | | | If I am living an exciting, adventurous lifestyle in |
| 1. Give each area a mark from 1 to 10 for how | | | | keeping with my ideal, I should rank myself very |
| my life is today compared with my ultimate ideal. | | | | highly here with perhaps a score of 8 or 9 or 10. |
| It is vital that it is my ideal, not that of someone | | | | However, if my recreational time holds no |
| else. I should not judge myself against the world's | | | | exhilaration and is dull, I should give myself a low |
| best in that area. | | | | score of perhaps 1 or 2 or 3. If I feel |
| 2. Add these marks together. This number out of | | | | middle-of-the-road and my life ranks only average |
| a maximum total of one hundred represents my | | | | adventurously, my score would be around the |
| PEP Rating. | | | | middle mark of 5 only. |
| There is no right or wrong rating. I will find that as | | | | To live a balanced life, should I make it a new |
| my life's circumstances change, so my PEP Rating | | | | winning discipline of mine to check my PEP Rating |
| will also change. The lower the number, obviously | | | | on a regular basis? Yes, as this will help me to |
| the more room for improvement I have. | | | | compare just how well-balanced my entire life |
| Correspondingly, the higher the number, the more | | | | truly is, and in which areas I require most |
| successful my life presently. | | | | improvement. As one of my ultimate objectives, I |
| Physical | | | | shall strive to attain harmony and fulfillment in all |
| I shall give myself a score from 1 to 10 for the | | | | ten areas of my life. I must not be too |
| state of my health and general physical condition | | | | narrow-minded, focusing on improving just two or |
| today relative to my ideal. If I am supremely fit, | | | | three areas. Instead I shall expand my horizons |
| with an excellent body, and always feel | | | | and seek continual progress within all ten areas. |
| invigorated and full of energy, I should give myself | | | | # # # |
| a high score of 9 or the maximum 10 points. | | | | James Lee Valentine is an "Empowering Author |
| However, if I am overweight, out of shape and in | | | | Extraordinaire" having written more than sixty |
| constant ill-health, my rating here may only be 1 | | | | books on personal empowerment and financial |
| or 2 or 3. It is up to me to decide upon what | | | | mastery now published in twelve countries |
| score I warrant based on how my health really is | | | | worldwide. |
| today. | | | | |