About

Welcome to Success Begins Today, my name is John Richardson. I am the Data Manager of a large K-12 school district, where I handle the student data for over 21,000 students. I have worked at the district for over 10 years. I began my career repairing Mercedes & Volvo automobiles while a student at Citrus College in Southern California. I worked in the auto repair field as a technician, service manager, and in outside sales for over 20 years. In the mid nineties I changed careers and retrained in the field of Computer Networking. Taking a 50% pay cut I slowly climbed the ladder in my new endeavor and became certified as a Novell CNE. I also started learning about Leadership and Communications with Toastmasters International. After a stint with the County of San Diego, I ended up at a small town school district in the Temecula Valley in 1999. Over the next ten years it would double in size in both students and schools.

I started my first blog, Success Begins Today, on April Fool’s day in 2005. Since then my readership has grown from 50 visitors a month to over 15,000 at the beginning of this year. I published my first book, a mystery novel entitled, “The Path of Consequence,” in 2009. Currently I am working on my first non-fiction book on Social Media which I hope to have published this summer.

Having an intense interest in personal development, I enjoy reading and writing about the subject. My goal with this blog is to take what I have learned and turn it into tools and concepts that you can use in your daily life. If I can save you time, help you become more productive, or find ways to help you organize your life, my goal here will have succeeded. I don’t claim to be an expert, but just a traveler on the path to success, who has discovered some cool things along the way. I value your ideas and feedback. Please feel free to leave comments and ideas on any post you find interesting.

MY INTERESTS

While I love personal development, it is not the most important thing in my life. That position belongs to my family. I have been married to my wife, Joyce, for 27 years. We have one daughter, and a new grandson. We live just outside of Carlsbad, California.

In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, graphic arts, and public speaking. I am a long time member of Toastmasters International, and an apprentice member of the National Speakers Association. I enjoy speaking to groups large or small about improving their lives and helping them to find the motivation to do so. I hope you enjoy your time here.

John Richardson

Things To Explore While You Are Here

Goal Setting Toolkit
This paper based kit has business card sized reminders that you can take with you in pocket or purse. You can put them on your desk or clip them to your monitor. They can be attached to your dashboard in your car. You can take them almost anywhere.
The kit includes nine different cards for different goal setting needs. You may find that you use many of them or find one particular one that you print over and over.

The Walleteer
A simple tool for organizing your thoughts, goals and even your life. This simple little device requires no batteries, is totally customizable, and fits neatly in your pocket or purse. You can create one in five minutes and be on your way to organizing your day. With some simple options your desk will be transformed into an organization station. You’ll be able to see your appointments, daily goals and your next actions in one place.

Subscribe To Our RSS Feed & Our Success-Connect Newsletter
Once a month, our e-mail edition of our free Success-Connect newsletter is published. It previews some of the new things to come, and has a useful download for the office or home. Make sure to sign up so you don’t miss out on the fun.