Best-selling author, motivational speaker and business executive Dan Milstein has just written a new book to help you reach your highest potential. \t A man known for motivating others and overcoming his own challenges to create the Gold Star Family of Companies, specializing in Financial Services, Sports Management, Publishing and Film Production, and also the nation’s #1 mortgage lender, shares what has inspired him and how he inspires others in his new book Rule #1 Don’t Be #2 - You Get What You Work For, Not What You Wish For.

Known for his own strong work ethic and “don’t-quit” attitude, Milstein lays out 25 Rules for how he got where he is. It’s not a soothing book of inspiration; instead it’s a motivational how-to that can propel you from mediocre in the top of your field. \t “While you’re asking whether the glass is half empty or half full, I’ve sold it,” says Milstein in his book. Mincing no words, Milstein’s chapters, titled: “Get Off the Couch,” “Failure is Your Best Teacher” and “You Can’t Stop Believing” mix an inspiring, motivational approach with his “no holds barred” work ethic. Milstein believes no dream is too big, but he reminds readers that it’s not dreaming, but hard work and dedicated planning, that will get them where they want to go. \t “By the time they have a solid ‘career,’ ninety-seven percent of the people who have a dream will have ‘settled’ into a life of the mundane,” says Milstein in the prologue. “Only three percent of those who dreamed of pursuing their passion will be successful. What’s different about this three percent? I can tell you they weren’t born with silver spoons, and they weren’t simply luckier than the rest. 

Milstein knows something about hard work. He came to the United States at the age of 16, with only 17 cents in his pocket, when his parents fled the religious and political persecution in Russia. Having survived that and the Chernobyl disaster, Milstein’s biggest problem in the US was learning how to navigate in high school where he didn’t speak the language. Wanting more in life and with an immigrant’s vision uncolored by entitlement, he found a job at McDonald’s and worked full time, sandwiching high school in between two shifts. The job taught him a strong work ethic that has stayed with him.

It sustained him while 62% of his industry’s competition was crashing down around him during the recession. He talks about it in his book: \t “During that time, I called a company-wide meeting, and looking at the sagging shoulders and somber expressions of my people, I realized I was about to give the most important speech of my career. I announced in a clear, strong voice that Gold Star would NOT be participating in the world’s recession. I went on to assure them that although many of their spouses and family members had lost jobs, theirs would be secure with Gold Star. I vowed that we would emerge from these trying times stronger than ever—and explained how we were going to capitalize on the recession as the platform for our growth strategy.”

That year they opened a number of branches, recruited the industry’s top talent, and significantly expanded their national footprint, growing by over 700%. This expansion named Gold Star to the Inc. 500’s fastest growing companies in the United States. The growth was sustainable. Their business doubled the following year. Milstein has filled the book with stories of people who are successful and have inspired him: athletes, inventors, mothers, and survivors. It’s a collage of people who have overcome great odds to realize their goals. Even though many would consider Milstein to be at the top of his career today, he says that he never thinks of himself as successful.

He is constantly working hard, striving to remain independent and always achieving. Anyone, he says, can make it. “No one is born successful. Success or failure is only determined by where you stop.” \t Whether you are a business person looking to better yourself and your company, a recent college graduate entering the work world for the first time, or a person who is fed up with their current job and looking to make a change, this book is for you.

Prepare to be inspired.  Rule #1 - Don’t Be #2 - You Get What You Work For, Not What You Wish For (ISBN 978-1-947165-03-8, 2017, hardcover ($19.99) e-book and paperback, 236 pages, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 800-CEO-Read and www.DanMilstein.com

View the book trailer: http://bit.ly/RULE1-Trailer