“The longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that something will happen in your favor. No matter how hard it seems, the longer you persist, the more likely your success.”                                                    Jack Canfield

1990 – Santa Barbara, California: Jack Canfield was on a mission. By day, he managed his small training company, and each night at 10 p.m., after his wife, Georgia, went to bed, he worked for a couple hours on his book. He wrote two inspirational short stories each week with a goal of 100 in a year.

Jack achieved his goal. When he shared the manuscript with two employees they asked about the title. I’m calling it “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” Jack proudly stated.  “Chicken soup for the soul? Really?” laughed one employee known for speaking his mind. The employee later left the company over ‘Jack’s stupid book.’

Jack Canfield spent his teen years in Wheeling, West Virginia. From a modest upbringing, education played a significant role in his life. A wealthy aunt paid his tuition to attend Linsly Military Institute, one of the oldest military schools in the country. Scholarships allowed him to attend Harvard University, where he graduated in 1966 with a B.A. in Chinese history. In 1973, he earned a master’s in educational psychology from the University of Massachusetts.

He taught in Chicago inner-city schools, worked for W. Clement Stone, an early pioneer in personal development, and then managed the New England Center for Personal and Organizational Development before starting The Canfield Training Group in Santa Barbara in 1988.

Jack frequently told inspirational stories about ordinary people to emphasize his points in his training classes. After several attendees asked if his stories were in a book they could share with friends and family, Jack got the idea for Chicken Soup. He completed the 101^st story in the summer of 1990.

A few months later, Jack and his business partner, Victor Davis Hanson, took the manuscript to an agent in New York. The feedback from publishers was brutal: It’s a dumb title. Nobody reads short stories. No one is going to read this book. 22 publishers rejected it.

Their next stop was the American Book Sellers Association convention in Chicago. Jack and Victor went booth to booth trying to sell their book idea. 122 agents, publishers, or booksellers turned down Chicken Soup. It was a long flight back to California.

The manuscript went into the desk drawer, but Jack didn’t give up. The project was dead until 18 months later when Jack met Peter Vegso, the owner of a small health and wellness publishing company in Florida named HCI. Peter loved Jack’s stories and decided to give the book a chance.

“How many books do you think we can sell?” Jack asked Vegso. “Maybe 10,000,” Peter shrugged. “I’d like to sell 150,000 copies by Christmas,” Jack continued. “Good luck with that,” the publisher told him. Chicken Soup for the Soul was released on June 28, 1993. It sold 1.3 million copies in 18 months, making the New York Times and USA Todaybestseller lists.

Chicken Soup became one of the most popular and loved books ever published, selling 11 million copies in 47 languages worldwide. Readers asked for more stories, so Jack published a second helping of Chicken Soup, then a third and a fourth. Today, there are more than 250 Chicken Soup titles in print. The company has sold more than 500 million copies, and more titles are being published. The paperback series holds the Guinness world record for having seven books simultaneously on the New York Times bestseller list in May 1998.

Jack Canfield sold his billion-dollar publishing company in 2008. Today, the 80-year-old author and motivational speaker travels worldwide, holding personal and corporate training seminars on his keys to success, which begins with perseverance. He has spoken to two million people and is a member of the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame.

“The ability to persevere in the face of any obstacle in the key to success in life,” says Jack. “Little Jackie Canfield from Wheeling, West Virginia, was turned down by 144 publishers. What if I had stopped after 100? My life would not have been the same. That is why you never give up.”