In Celebration of MHS Class of 1958

In Celebration of MHS Class of 1958

A Tribute and Celebration

We were the class of 1958, members of the Greatest Generation as well as children of the Greatest Generation. Born in 1940, we are also called members of the Traditional Generation.

Our childhood, post World War II, "was the best of times . . . it was the age of wisdom . . . it was the epoch of belief . . .it was the season of Light . . . it was the spring of hope . . . we had everything before us . . .we were all going direct to Heaven . . . ." (A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.) At least, that's the way I felt about it. We were truly blessed.

- Ouida Tomlinson -

This blog is a place for 1958 graduates of Meridian, Mississippi, High School to stay in touch, post their news, items of interest and photographs.

CLASS OF 1958 MEMORIES (Click to read all posts relating to sports, honors, graduation and other memories of our class in 1957-58.)

FACEBOOK PAGE FOR CLASS OF 1958
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MHS58/

____________________________________

HOME


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

John Chancellor - Autobiography

I moved to New Orleans in 1960. In 1963, I married Dianne Richard. We have one child, Cheryl Ann.

I have learned a lot about hurricanes and the damage they can do. In 1965, Betsy flooded our apartment and we lost everything. Fortunately, that was not too much. In 2005, Katrina flooded our home – this time we lost everything except the china and crystal. But we gained a better appreciation of life and what was important.

I have spent most of my working life in accounting or financial management. In 2004, I was in charge of financial forecasting for a small ($50 million revenue public company) and I could see our path was perilous. I committed myself to becoming independent. This involved a career shift and a process of continual learning.

I am now a mentor/business coach and am in the process of helping six individuals launch their own businesses.

I am an avid reader, averaging a book per week (my English teachers are turning in their graves.) I post reviews of most of the books I read on Amazon.com. I rank in the top 1% of reviewers on Amazon.

I offer lifestyle advice on Allexperts.com and enjoy a 99.75% positive feedback rating.

I have written one book – Designing Your Life – which I use in my work, I have compiled a collection of my favorite quotations – Words to Live and Work By – which I use as a “business card” and I do a weekly email called Lessons in Life. This goes out to people all around the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and a few other countries. One of my readers has translated some of the lessons into Japanese.

My two favorite books are As a Man Thinketh by James Allen and A Manual For Living- Epictetus. I highly recommend these books to anyone who is looking for direction in life.

3 comments:

Martha Markline Hopkins said...

Hi, John,

Thanks for your post. I'm sure you are helping many people in many ways with your current calling.

David N. James said...

John,

I began reading the pdf manuscripts for your upcoming books and I like what you say. As I mentioned, I expect us to be discussing parts of them as I get further down my reading paths.

I think it ironic that about 60 years ago, a minister, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, published “The Power of Positive Thinking” to the scorn and ridicule of the psychology community. “We find St. Paul appealing, but St. Peale appalling” Now, 7 million copies later...
Positive thinking, with admittedly some more useful knowledge added along the way, is becoming a "soft" science.

Keep up the good work. Folks often find they need, not a dramatic shift away from themselves, but a recognition that what they have has just not been harnessed to the right horse needed to get them where they say they want to go.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read of your stuff so far. You are obviously positioned to provide good value to your clients.

I thoroughly enjoyed your post/auto-bio.

John Chancellor said...

David,

One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Peale.

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

Thanks for your comments and I have learned the lesson well. I know we only learn from criticism, not praise. So any comments are appreciated.