Motivational Speaker and Author Hansen Visits Korea
By Kim Ji-soo, Jeyup Kwaak
Staff Reporter, Korea Times Intern
Thirty years ago he was penniless. Today he is one of the best-selling authors in history.
Mark Victor Hansen, famous for his bestseller ``Chicken Soup for the Soul'' series, has visited Korea, the ``72nd country'' he has ever been to, for a public lecture at the Sungkyunkwan University on Tuesday. His visit was sponsored by the Korean Leadership Center.
He opened the press conference by saying how Korea's almost unprecedented pace of economic development is for him a poignant story of inspiration. He then drew the parallel between the economic miracle and his striking personal journey, where he rose from rags to riches as a publishing tycoon and marketing genius.
Hansen said ``Chicken Soup'' was at first rejected by 144 publishers when he planned it 15 years ago with another motivational speaker Jack Canfield because almost no one at the time saw the demand for a book filled with short motivational stories. They could not be more mistaken; to date, the series have sold more than 157 million copies, becoming a New York Times bestseller, translated into more than 50 languages, and earning accolades from around the world.
He attributed his success mainly to meeting what he considered ``the only one shortage in the world: awareness and good thinking.'' This was because he had found there was no shortage of money, time or resources in the world; they were just waiting for the right motivation. To prove the point, he gave a stunning example of writing 101 books in 97 days with his business partner Royce Kreuger, who was also present on Tuesday. ``Poverty only belongs in museums,'' Hansen said, echoing the famous remark by another inspirational figure, the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
In addition to his international tours -along with his 6,827 personal goals is to visit every single country in the world -- he has quite a few additional projects. Notable among them is the YouPublish.com, a virtual company founded by Kreuger, he, and James Skinner. Without any employees or a corporate office, it is a ``wisdom exchange,'' a platform where any amateur or professional writer can upload their writings to get them eventually published.
Furthermore, he has written books like ``Cracking the Millionaire Code'' and ``One Minute Millionaire'' that address wealth creation. Hansen also announced the plan to produce 1 million millionaires by 2014, so that they in turn would give 1 million each to churches, charities, and other equivalent non-profit organizations.
He is not stopping there. Claiming to possess a body ``as good as a 28-year-old's'' thanks to regular exercise and a diet that includes the daily ``nine different fruits and vegetables'', he has climbed several of the tallest mountains in the world. Even after retirement, he said, ``nobody should be doing nothing.'' They could pursue a new occupation, volunteer, or simply do something they love.