This is an effort to study how successful people think and uncover what drives them. If you truly understand their belief systems, levels of commitment and positive attitudes toward life--and integrate these ways of thinking into your own belief system--you should be able to succeed at anything you put your mind to.
These 8 "secrets" are:
- Take 100 percent responsibility for your life
- Live your life "on purpose"
- Be willing to pay the price for your dreams
- Stay focused
- Become an expert in your field
- Write out a plan for achieving your goals
- Never give up
- Don't delay
1. Take 100 percent responsibility for your life
In a society where people blame everything from their parents to the government for their failure to get ahead in life, these men and women refused to buy into the mentality that says "I could succeed if only it weren't for _____."They realized that when you say someone or something outside of yourself is preventing you from succeeding, you're giving away your power to that someone or something. You're saying, "You have more control over my life than I do!"
Successful people don't buy into this victim thinking. Rather, their personal credo is "If it's to be, it's up to me!"
Example of Les Brown
Consider Les Brown. Abandoned by his parents at birth and labeled "educable mentally retarded" by his schoolteachers, he had every reason for giving up on himself and his dreams. But when a high school teacher told him "Someone else's opinion of you does not have to become your reality," Brown realized in that moment that his future lay in his own hands. He went on to become a state legislator and author, and today earns $20,000 per hour as one of America's top motivational speakers.What Brown understood was that there are certain things in life you can't control, such as nature, the past and other people. But there are things you absolutely can control, such as your thoughts and your actions. Taking 100 percent responsibility for your life is one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself.
2. Live your life "on purpose"
Perhaps what separates these motivational superstars from others more than anything else is that they live their lives "on purpose." That is, they are doing what they believe they were put here to do.Dyer has purpose
Professional public speakers will tell you that the time they feel most alive is when they are on stage, connecting with an audience. Says Wayne Dyer, "Having a sense of purpose in your life is the most important element of becoming a fully functioning person!"The difference between living your life on purpose and not living it on purpose is like night and day. The latter consists of simply getting through the week with the least amount of problems while expending just enough effort to get by.
Do the job now
But, when you live your life on purpose, your main concern is doing the job right. You love what you do--and it shows. Your conviction is as evident as it is persuasive. And you will find that people want to do business with you because they sense your commitment to giving your all.Mike Ferry found purpose
How do you live your life on purpose? By finding a cause you believe in and creating a business around it. For example, Mike Ferry, who was once a top salesperson selling audiotape programs, believed realtors needed help developing sales skills. So he started The Mike Ferry Organization, a seminar and training company for the real estate industry. Today, he earns more than $10 million a year from seminar and product sales. Like Ferry, once you get your life on purpose and focus on providing value for others, the money will take care of itself.3. Be willing to pay the price for your dreams
Wanting a big house, a luxury car or a million dollars in the bank is all very nice, but the problem is that practically everyone wants these things. The question then is, "Are you willing to pay the price to get them?"This is one of the major differences between the successful and the unsuccessful. Successful men and women find out what it's going to cost to make their dream come true. Then they find a way to make it happen. Most importantly, they don't complain about the work it takes to achieve their dreams.
Les Brown says he has a callus on his left ear. Why? "When I decided to get into speaking, I had no credentials, no reputation, no credibility and no experience. So I had to call a lot of people," Brown explains. "I called over a hundred people a day, day in and day out, to ask for an opportunity to speak to their group. This callus is worth several million dollars!"
You can get practically anything you want in life--if you are willing to pay the price.
4. Stay focused
Every day, we are bombarded with hundreds of tasks, messages and people all competing for our time. This is why the ability to focus on your goal is so critical to achieving it. Focusing requires giving up some things in the present because you know the time invested will pay off big-time down the road.Chicken Soup efforts
When Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen compiled their first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, they were turned down by 30 publishers. But instead of giving up, they stayed focused on their goal. "We did three to four radio or newspaper or magazine interviews a day, five days a week, for a whole year," Canfield recalls. In every interview, they talked about why the country needed this book now more than ever.Eventually, a small publisher called Health Communications Inc. decided to take a chance and publish the book. It not only became a number-one bestseller but also hatched an entire series of Chicken Soup books that have sold more than 10 million copies! That's the power staying focused on your goal can give you.
Focus on dreams
Spend as much of your day as you can focusing on achieving your goals and dreams. Every day, ask yourself, "Is what I'm doing right now bringing me closer to my goal?" If it's not, do something that will. Focusing is like any habit: the more you do it, the easier it gets.5. Become an expert in your field
One striking factor about all 15 motivational speakers I interviewed is how seriously they take their profession. Their drive to be the best at what they do is phenomenal. They'll do almost anything if they think it will help improve their speaking skills.Fripp took classes
For example, Patricia Fripp, who speaks to Fortune 500 executives on how to become more successful, took a comedy workshop and hired a private speech coach because she wanted to improve her speaking ability. Fripp did this after she had already been named "One of the Ten Most Electrifying Speakers in North America" by Meetings & Conventions magazine. To Fripp, being one of the best simply wasn't good enough; she wanted to be the best she could be.What do you do?
If someone followed you around at your business all day with a video camera to make a how-to tape for people who want to do what you do, would it be a tape you'd be proud of? Or embarrassed about? If the latter, make the decision today to work toward being the best in your field. How? By studying the experts. The quickest way to become successful is to find out what the best are doing, then do what they do.6. Write out a plan for achieving your goals
Taking the time to write out an action plan, or map, for how you're going to achieve your goals is one of the best ways to get there faster.Brian Tracy set goals
Brian Tracy, one of America's most successful business sales trainers and speakers, points out, "Goals that are not in writing are not goals at all. They are merely wishes or fantasies."Need a map
Most people try to reach their goals without taking the time to write out an action plan. This is like trying to drive from Los Angeles to Denver without a map. Forget the fact that your odds of reaching your destination are extremely slim. The frustration and wasted time, energy and money will probably cause you to give up long before you get to the Rockies. With a map in hand, however, you'll not only enjoy the trip much more, but you're also virtually assured of arriving at your destination in the shortest time possible.7. Never give up
It may sound simple, even obvious, but when you're truly committed to achieving your goal, giving up isn't even an option. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.Dyer never gave up
In the mid-1970s, Wayne Dyer quit his job as a professor at Wayne State University to promote his new book, Your Erroneous Zones. However, no major talk show would book the then unknown Dyer. Did he give up? Not on your life. He loaded his car from floor to roof with hundreds of copies of his book, and then spent a year on the road traveling from small town to small town and appearing on any radio or TV talk show that would have him.Once on the air, Dyer would give out the number of the local bookstore and say that his book was available there. After the interview, he'd quickly drive over to that bookstore, where the manager would say, "Oh, you're Wayne Dyer? We've been getting lots of calls for your book!" Dyer would reply, "Well, I have a case in the car--would you like some?" "Oh, yes! And would you sign some while you're here?"
By the end of the year, The Tonight Show was calling him. And by the end of the 1970s, Your Erroneous Zones had become the number-one best-selling nonfiction book of the entire decade. This is what the power of perseverance can do for you.
8. Don't delay
In his book Live Your Dreams, Les Brown recalls talking on the phone one day with a friend named Marion. The very next day, Marion's husband called to tell Brown she had died.A few days later, Les was helping the husband clean out Marion's office when he came across some notes for a play she had been working on. Unfortunately, the play would never be published. Marion was the only one who knew how it was supposed to end, and now she was gone.
The lesson here is that Marion didn't know how much time she had left to accomplish her dreams, and neither do you or I. We must remember that we don't have forever. The clock is ticking, there are no time-outs, and sooner or later your number is going to be called. Top achievers know this, but rather than seeing it as something negative or depressing, they use it to spur them on to go after what they want as energetically and as passionately as possible.
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