Book Nook: 7 Checklist Items for Success - A Guide to a Richer and More Successful Life

Dr. Jean Gilnord Mathurin, a Haitian immigrant who raised himself from a dishwasher to a United States’ Naval Medical Officer, has written a guide for those who feel there is something more to life than just enjoyment. I had a chance to review his self-help book, 7 Checklist Items for Success: A Guide to a Richer and More Successful Life. Through sound advice, Dr. Mathurin offers insight from first-hand experiences and weaves in the wisdom of others, including Warren Buffett and late self-help authors Zig Ziglar and Napoleon Hill. Kirkus Reviews hails 7 Checklist Items for Success, “a book of noble, sincere, and expressive advice for living.”

Instead of just urging readers to avoid doubt, Dr. Mathurin explains how to transform desires into reality despite the fact that at times the reader will doubt their ability to succeed. While other books educate on how to find and draw out self-success, 7 Checklist Items for Success also shows the reader how return success to those around them. Additionally, the book relays the importance of having the courage to remain committed to keeping the flame and charisma of their desires animated not just at the start, but even beyond the realization of their goals. Often highlighted is the fact that the more people the reader helps become successful, the more the reader’s success will increase. The book is intended to be a life-long resource that readers can refer to often.

7 Checklist Items for Success explains that to be successful in life, it is crucial that one seek to know his or her life’s purpose. Once you have a purpose, there are seven steps to follow:

1. Goals: Have goals for your life, short-term (daily to yearly goals) and long-term goals (1 to 10-year goals), and most importantly, daily goals.
2. Action: Pledge to take action on every intuition and idea you conceive about your goals during the day.
3. Courage: Have the courage to go the extra mile with everything that you do.
4. Value: Remember that human resources, starting with yourself, are the greatest resources in the industry. Be genuinely interested and enthusiastic about everyone you meet.
5. Invest: Seek to create value in yourself and in everyone around you.
6. Giving: Seek to know what people around you want in life and help them get it. The truth is most people want to be successful, but the key is also to want to help others to be successful.
7. Legacy: Seek to perform more acts of kindness to others and give more in terms of the time you spend with them, the smiles you bestow on them, and the words of encouragement you speak unto them.

I had a chance to interview him to learn more.

Why did you decide to write this book?

As a parent, I am sensitive to the needs of any youth as if it were the need of my own children. I decided to write this book as a guide to help my 16-year-old nephew. After his father died, he was having a tough time coping with the loss and was making some poor choices as a result. I used to talk to him a lot about getting his act together, but each time I spoke to him, I found that I needed to go over the same advice I shared with him in the previous session. That experience thought me something known many other parents: It takes a longtime to counsel a teenager! After spending so much time with my nephew, I decided to write down the advice for him so he could have access to it whenever he needed. While writing these success principles for him, I realized there might be other young folks, like my nephew, or maybe my son one day, who might benefit from this information. That is how the idea of writing this book came up.

What sets it apart from other motivational books?

 7 Checklist Items for Success is different from other motivational books because it is the result of my personal life struggle in Haiti. What I talk about in the book are the experiences that have helped me to go from a dishwasher to a physician and Naval Medical Officer. My 25 years’ experience of reading self-help books to raise myself from limitations to a more successful life serve as the foundation to which the more successful life of my personal story is based to show the reader how commitment to the 7 items discussed can help even those in desperate circumstances, like I once was, to achieve a more successful life.

I believe anyone, no matter their circumstance, can achieve a more successful life. This book will encourage the reader not only to believe but to know that a more successful life is possible, and that they can not only discover a life of meaning but make a difference by helping other people reach their potential, too. 7 Checklist Items for Success delivers a message of hope for a more successful future and aims to make the world better by seeking to improve the lives of others. It references tips from motivational giants like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and Napoleon Hill to give the reader a broad overview of the motivational movements in recent decades that they can use as a foundation during their journey to a more successful life.

Why is it important to get teens motivated?

Beyond the importance of getting teens motivated, I believe it is important to help them understand the importance of helping other people. I believe that teens of any background can accomplish any level of success they desire to reach as adults. I believe that the best way for teens to achieve meaningful, lifelong success is by focusing on helping other people. Helping other people also has the added benefit of creating a sense of self-fulfillment, and at the same can create a sense of gratitude. I believe that gratitude is like an analgesic to calm the pain of the daily challenges of life. Such feelings of fulfillment and gratitude are the feelings I hope can help improve the daily living of millions, not just for the holiday season, but for years to come. To put it plainly, teens motivated with a sense of helping others are exactly the type of individuals who all of us would wish to have as the future leaders in charge of shaping our nations and our world. These are the types of people who seek to make the world a little better for all mankind now and beyond.

What makes the holiday season a good time to start new habits?

 The holidays are a time of reflection for what we are grateful for. That sense of gratitude brings with it a sense of clarity for our life which may help most people to focus on what is truly important, such as the sense of life’s meaning that we derive from helping other people. That sense of meaning is a good starting point to take the decision to start new habits and look for ways to help others around us. Starting new habits such as those of seeking out ways to help others will create in us a sense of gratitude with the likely benefit of creating within us the spirit of the holiday, not just for a season but for every day of our life.

About the Author:

Dr. Jean Gilnord Mathurin is a board-certified primary care physician, Resident in Aerospace Medicine and public speaker. He was born into poverty in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and raised himself from a dishwasher to a United States’ Naval Medical Officer. He attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida and graduated from Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. His naval career began during Officer Candidate School in 2010 in Newport, Rhode Island. Dr. Mathurin aims to help others reach a more successful life from the lessons he has learned from his journey as a Haitian immigrant. His goal is to one day work as Global Health specialist for USAID or the U.S. Department of State in Haiti. He has previously served in the Pacific and currently resides in Pensacola, Florida with his wife and two children. His hobbies include photography, reading, and listening to audiobooks. He is fluent in Creole and English.

Connect with Dr. Jean Gilnord Mathurin on Facebook @7checklistitems, Twitter@JeanGMathurin, Instagram@the7checklistitems, YouTube@7ChecklistItems and atwww.7checklistitems.com.

7 Checklist Items for Success: A Guide to a Richer and More Successful Life is available in hardcover, paperback and e-book on Amazon and other retailers. An audiobook is also available.