Ethan Willis & Randy Garn

September 2011
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This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of Utah Valley Business Q

Ethan Willis and Randy Garn, co-founders of Prosper, in Provo, continue to run their company the same way they did when it started 12 years ago. They help people identify their prosperity goals and give them the skills and coaching to make those goals a reality.

"I love seeing people succeed," Garn says. "I love seeing people catch fire. My dad was a teacher and a coach, so I've always loved teaching. I enjoy watching others make the most of their skills and abilities."

Willis on the other hand, learned many lessons by watching people in his life try business ventures without success. It led him to want to help others avoid failure pitfalls.

"A lot of time, people only need someone to hold them accountable," Willis says. "They need a mentor who knows the path and will make sure they stay committed."

Prosper has built its success on assisting others reach their potential. The company's one-on-one coaching has achieved exceptional customer service ratings — which has been features in publications such as Forbes.com, CNBC and CBS Money Watch.

The success of Willis and Garn — as well as their various business ventures — stems in large part from their ability to learn, grow and evolve.

After helping numerous authors write best-selling books — including Ken Blanchard's "One Minute Entrepreneur" — Willis and Garn are reaching out by writing their own book .

The new book — appropriately titled "Prosper: Create the Life You Really Want" — provides tangible strategies for an individual to identify what prosperity means to him or her and then to achieve the desired prosperous result.

"As we've coached people the last 12 years, one thing we noticed is that not everyone has the exact same idea of what 'prosperity' is," Garn says. "Each book comes with a free assessment that allows for people to define, create and live their definition of Prosperity. "

This book will bridge the gap between what you really want and what it takes to get there.

Willis and Garn outline six prosperity practices to help you determine the course your life should take to achieve your "prosperity" and how to get there. They include "earning from your core," which involves working in an area you love because you will be more naturally motivated and better skilled to succeed.

"Doing what you're uniquely capable of doing gives you a distinct competitive advantage on your competitors," Willis says. "It's no wonder, then, that those who do what they love enjoy a better life."

"Prosper" also educates on a basic formula (money + happiness + sustainability) for prosperity that the authors have developed over years of research involving 70,000 students in 80 countries.

The book also marks a new chapter in the company's life — the spotlight.

"We've been behind the scenes on a lot of books," Willis says. "This is our time to go mainstream. We're going to be in bookstores and airports. The book will be translated into 14 languages. We've done it for other people, but this will be the first time our organization and message will be front and center."

The additional phase of Prosper's business will also only improve the services they offer to current clients.

"We will be a more valuable partner to our existing clients," Willis says. "As the Prosper brand grows as the most trusted name in personal coaching, it will bring additional credibility to the well known authors and companies we currently partner with."

The core of the company's business is, and will continue to be, one-on-one coaching and mentoring. Right now, the company averages about 1,500 one-on-one coaching sessions per week. Prosper will also offer coaching in relation to the company's own book.

The one-on-one coaching is critical. Since no two students are exactly the same, personal attention — and the subsequent accountability — is key to the program's success.

"We enjoy working with people," Garn says. "We enjoy helping them develop the perspective and insight that will lead them down the path to prosperity. We have the experience and capabilities to train people to create a better life."

While Garn and Willis continue to lead Prosper into the future, they both recognize the importance of employees and staff in making the company a true success. "The passion and culture of our 400 employees is about how we can help people prosper. We share that common goal and that is why we have such a strong camaraderie," Willis says.

Their's is a relationship business. Employing people who can develop positive relationships has been a key to success and will be in the future, too. Now, they are ready to take their message to world in a bigger way.

Six Prosperity Practices™

Practice 1. Locate Your Polaris Point. Everyone's Polaris Point is unique. It's your envisioned future: what you aspire to become, to achieve, to contribute, to create. It also includes the role money will play in those aspirations. A true Polaris Point is clear and compelling without being overly restrictive. It serves as a unifying focal point for your ongoing efforts, a goal that inspires creativity, and a catalyst for profound action.

Practice 2. Live in Your Prosperity Zone. When your earnings are aligned with your Polaris Point, we say you are living in the Prosperity Zone. There's no prosperity in having a Polaris Point that your earnings cannot support. At the same time, there's no prosperity if your earnings overwhelm your Polaris Point. You are living in your Prosperity Zone when your Polaris Point and earnings are in balance. This allows for sustainable prosperity.

Practice 3. Earn from Your Core. Sustainable prosperity fl ows from your unique talents and abilities. Make an inventory of what really motivates you. What do you do that feels more like play than work? The more you leverage the energy that fl ows from that kind of passion, the bigger the competitive advantage you can deliver, and the more income you can make. If you could be doing anything, what would it be? How can that be channeled into building prosperity?

Practice 4. Start with What You Already Have. You have "hidden" assets around you to waiting to be discovered. We show you how to put them to use. The pursuit of prosperity is fueled by an awareness of the abundance you already have, not by the abundance you believe you lack. The fullness of your plate when you start, however little your plate contains, matters less than realizing that your plate isn't empty. Whether you start with a little or a lot, if you emphasize what you already have, you tend to end up with the most.

Practice 5. Commit to Your Prosperity Path. This is your new prosperous life that you have created — the road stands before you. You are now empowered by a clear direction that you know deep inside is directed to your personal Polaris Point. Apply your core abilities, resources, and life experiences, put metrics around it, and make yourself accountable. Something powerful happens when you decide to decide to live the life you really want.

Practice 6. Take Profound Action. Go for it! Implement the prosperity plan that marries personal satisfaction with a sustainable income stream. Per sis tence is required in taking this step and the next step on the long- distance path to prosperity. No get- rich- quick schemes, just the "law of the harvest."