There are 17 major principles of success and one must first be aware of them, then embody them and then act and live by them to achieve success in any field and area of life – the principles of definiteness of purpose
Key Takeaways
All success begins with a definiteness of purpose. Develop a definiteness of purpose which arouses a burning desire in you, one which never leaves your thoughts, one which you can devote your life to. A burning desire backed by a solid and actionable plan which excites and brings in other great minds (a mastermind group). A group of disciplined and sharp minded people can achieve multiples more than an individual ever could
The first step from poverty to riches is the most difficult
Every great endeavor and road to riches begins with a clear vision of what one seeks and when it evolves into an obsession, the subconscious mind works on it until it is realized. A positive mental attitude is what gives power to ones thoughts and plans
There is a definite law between giving and getting and not understanding or appreciating this has disappointed and ruined many men and endeavors
A burning desire is not enough if you do not bring forth a useful product or service rendered in the spirit of harmony
The very best way to distribute wealth is to disturbe the means by which to achieve it. Money earned is far more powerful than money given
Carnegie’s definition of success – the power with which to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others
Personal power is achieved through a combination por personal traits and habits. The 10 point rule of personal power
The habit of definiteness of purpose
Promptness of decision
Soundness of character – intentional honesty
Strict discipline over one’s emotions
Obsessional desire to render useful service
Thorough knowledge of one’s occupation
Tolerance of all subjects
Loyalty to one’s personal associates and faith in a supreme being
Enduring thirst for knowledge
Alertness of imagination
Mastermind Group – an alliance of two or more minds working together in the spirit of perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose
Seems like a worthy mission statement for any organization
The 9 key human motives (top 3 most powerful and should be in harmony for a successful mastermind group)
The emotion of love – the gateway to one’s spiritual power
The emotion of sex
Desire for financial gain
Desire for self preservation
Desire for freedom of body and mind
Desire for self expression leading to fame and recognition
Desire for perpetuation of life after death
The emotion of anger – often expressed as envy or jealousy
The emotion of fear
Mental attitude of the mastermind group, like for every other group or organization, is the most important characteristic which determines the success of the group
One of the most beauitful sights on earth and one of the most inspiring is that of a group of men that work together in a spirit of perfect harmony. Each man only thinking in terms of what he can do for the group
The relationship between the men in the mastermind group should be confidential. The alliance should never be discussed outside the ranks of the members
A marriage may be the most important mastermind group you will ever form
Who we surround ourselves with on a daily and intimate basis is therefore so important for our happiness, development and future achievement
An educational alliance is also always important to have as continuous learning is key, especially when it comes to acquiring specialized knowledge. What we read and learn should be as carefully consumed as the food we eat. Public libraries, one’s associates, groups and clubs and other contacts which have exoertise relevant to your definite purpose are some of the greatest resources
Attractive personality traits – positive mental attitude, flexibility, sincerity of purpose, promptness of decision, courtesy, tone of voice, smiling, expression of the face, tactfulness, tolerance, frankness of manner and speech, a keen sense of humor, faith in infinite intelligence, appropriateness of words, emotional control, alertness and presence, effective speech, versatility, genuine fondness of people, good showmanship, clean sportsmanship, personal magnetism (sex energy)
Applied faith is of utmost importance and a prerequisite for any major undertaking
Every failure has in it the seeds of a similar advantage. Is there is such thing as permanent failure until you accept it
Adopting a definite plan and a burning desire to achieve it is the beginning of all success
Mans arch enemy is fear – fear or poverty, ill health, criticism, loss of love, old age, loss of liberty, death; failure. Build faith by ridding the mind of these thoughts of fear
The habit of going he extra mile – rendering more service and better service than is expected from you and that you are paid for
Goodwill and confidence are necessary in every walk of life and going the extra mile is the best way to achieve both. The law of compensation is such that no many can truly do more work than he is paid for for he will eventually reap the rewards of his effort
Use organized individual effort – planned action. initiative and action, never procrastination, is found in all successful men
Found in all successful leaders – definite purpose, definite motive, mastermind alliance, self reliance, self discipline over head and heart, persistence, a well developed faculty of imagination, definite and prompt decisions, opinions made on fact and not hearsay, capacity to create enthusiasm at will and direct it, keen sense of fairness and justice, tolerance and open mind, going the extra mile, tactfulness and a keen sense of diplomacy, listening much and talking little, an observing nature, determination, capacity stand critisicm without resentment, temperance of appetites, loyalty to all who deserve it, frankness with those who have a right to it, familiarity of men’s desires (love, sex, other motives), attractive personality, effective salesmanship, concentrate full attention on one thing at a time, learning from ones own and others mistakes, willingness to take responsibility of ones subordinates, adequately recognizing merits of others, applying golden rule to all relationships, positive mental attitudes at all times, full responsibility for all take one undertakes, keen sense of values
Knowledge is of little use until it is put into some form of useful service
Creative and synthetic imagination
Turn definite of purpose into consistent and emotional user thought to tap into power of subconscious. The two key driving emotions are love and sex
9 based motives printed out and worked into DCA
Carbegues morive is to make men and not money
It is ibky through mans partnership with woman that he dan reach his highest potential
Ritualized positive thinking habits and strict use of time are key
Learning from defeat and realizing it is temporary is necessary for success
Causes of failure – the habit of drifting through life without a definite major purpose, unfavorable hereditary foundations (only cause of failure not subject to elimination and even this can be managed), habit of meddlesome curiosity in others affairs, inadequate preparation, lack of self discipline, indifference to opportunities towards self advancement, ill health, not aiming high enough, unfavorable environmental influences, habit of negative mental attitude, lack of emotional control, indecision and indefiniteness, succumbing to 7 basic fears, wrong selection of a mate, over caution, excess tendency towards chance, wrong choice of associates, wrong choice of vocation, lack of focus to main effort, indiscriminate spending, failure to budget and use time properly, lack of controlled enthusiasm, intolerance, failure to cooperate with others, desire for power not based on merit, lack of loyalty, egotism and vanity, exaggerated selfishness, opinions and plans not based on know facts, lack of vision and imagination, lack of a mastermind group, not aligning to forces of infinite intelligence, vanity of speech, speaking before thinking, covetousness, revenge, greed, procrastination, speaking slanderously of others, ignorance of the power of thought, lack of personal initiative, lack of self reliance, lack of a pleasing personality, lack of faith in oneself, of others and of God, insufficient power of will because of poor thought patterns
Conjuring up willpower and enthusiasm and inspiration is an important skill to have
Getting an outside perspective on self is always helpful
Splitting ones energy and attention takes away from ones superpowers
A well ordered life requires preparation, commitment and vision. They plan their life like they plan their business. 1/3 sleep, 1/3 work, 1/3 growth and healthy recreation – opportunity time
The golden rule may cause temporary losses but massive permanent long term gains
Conservative living and saving on a regular schedule is important for self discipline and any pote rial future issues
A healthy body is as important as a healthy mind and healthy thought patterns. Eat so that you’re not too full, eat balanced meals, enough fruits and veggies, slow eating, no snacking between meals, no liquor, supplement with lacking vitamins and minerals, mind must be conditioned and grateful for the meal (no stress or fighting while eating)
Relaxation by clearing the mind of all thoughts and stresses should be done for at least an hour per day
8 hours per sleep per night is required for a healthy body, mind, spirit and attitude
At least one hour per day for a recreational sport should be worked into one’s schedule
Hope inspires good health and good health inspires health
Frequent flushing and detoxifying of the sewer system is required through healthy eating, fasts and plenty of water
Avoid too many medicines and drugs. Listening to the body is often the best thing you can do
Cosmic habit force – the particular application of energy with which nature maintains the relationships between all atoms of matter. It is what gives power to our thoughts. We are ruled by our habits which are formed by thoughts and experience. We control our destinies by the amount we control our thoughts. This law translates our thoughts into their physical equivalent through the most efficient means if we are dedicated and open to the opportunities the universe presents. This gets man to focus intensely on every way to translate his thoughts into reality. The power of the cosmic habit force is multiplied by the mastermind group as multiple people are purely focused on the same goal
Everything worth having has its required price to pay. Nothing comes for nothing
What I got out of it
The combination of a burning definiteness of purpose and a harmonious mastermind group is the keystone to all success
No matter the domain, the highly successful have a kind of ferocious determination that plays out in two ways. First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, they had direction. It is a combination of passion and perseverance that makes high achievers special. In a word, they have grit
Key Takeaways
How talented somebody is has no relation to their level of grit. “Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.”
The Grit Scale measures somebody’s grit and is incredibly predictive of who will stay in a job and persevere, more so than extroversion, emotional stability and conscientiousness
Those who defy the odds are especially gritty
What we say we care about may not correspond to how we truly feel – people say they prefer hard workers but most people honestly prefer “naturals”
Focusing on talent is dangerous as it detracts from the importance effort has regardless of outcome
“Greatness is many, many individual feats and each one of them is doable.”
On people’s predisposition to like “magic” – Nietzsche “With everything perfect, we do not ask how it came to be. Instead, we rejoice in the present fact as though it came out of the ground by magic.” – we prefer mystery to the mundane. Mythologizing natural talent lets us all off the hook
Talent x effort = skill. Skill x effort = achievement
To do anything really well you have to overextend yourself
Life is a marathon. Consistency of effort is everything. Grit is more about stamina than intensity
Grit has two components – passion (consistency over time towards a goal rather than intensity) and perseverance
Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare
Example of the importance of having a life philosophy from book but for me – Learning, building something worthwhile, spending and cultivating quality relationships with quality people is what makes me happy. I’ve made up my mind what I want to do. I’m happy when I’m doing any of these things so I only do things that help me be happy. – “The more unified, aligned and coordinated your goal hierarchies are, the better.”
It is important to figure out what your top level goals are and avoid lower level goals at all costs as these are the distractions
Grit, like any other characteristic, is a function of our genes and our experiences
Social multiplier effect – small environmental or genetic differences can trigger a virtuous cycle which are multiplied socially, through culture, because each of us enriches the environment of all of us
Older people rated grittier and this may be because people develop the capacity for long-term passion and perseverance as we get older because of life experiences
Lectures don’t have half the effect of consequences
Four key characteristics which gritty people have in spades but are developed over time – interest (intrinsically enjoying what you do, comes about through discovery, development and deepening), capacity for focused, deliberate practice (zeroing in on your weaknesses, to be gritty is to resist complacency), purpose (deeply believe that your work matters), and hope (rising-to-the-occasion kind of perseverance),
Gritty people engaged in more deliberate practice and experience more flow. Deliberate practice is for preparation and flow is for performance
Deliberate practice – a clearly defined stretch goal; full concentration and effort; immediate and informative feedback; repetition with reflection and refinement
Routines are a godsend when trying to accomplish something hard. Schedule a place and time for deliberate practice
Grittier people are dramatically more motivated than others to seek a meaningful, other-centered life. Purpose is a tremendously powerful source of motivation
“Fortunate indeed are those who have a top-level goal so consequential to the world that it imbues everything they do, no matter how small or tedious, with significance.”
Job crafting – adding, delegating or somehow customizing your work so that it better aligns with your interests and values
Hopelessness stems from suffering you think you can’t control
Optimists habitually search for temporary and specific causes to their suffering whereas pessimist assume permanent and pervasive causes are to blame
A growth mindset, believing you can improve and nothing is fixed, is highly correlated with grit
Overcoming a potent experience at a young age changes the way you deal with adversity later on
Demanding yet respectful, supportive and loving parenting the best method for raising gritty, happy and successful children. Children must feel unconditional love but know that only their best effort is expected
Young children thrive and learn a lot of life lessons from structured extracurricular activities which are difficult and interest them
Hard Thing Rule – everybody in the family must have something of their choosing that they are working deliberately on improving
The people and culture we surround ourselves with help from our identity and it is from this combination that we can really enhance our grit
The origin of great leadership begins with the respect of the commander for his subordinates
What I got out of it
Interesting read on the importance of grit (passion and perseverance over the long-term) in success. Demanding, supporting and loving parents/coaches are incredibly important to developing grit in young kids
One of the most common maladies of our time is a misunderstanding of success. In this book Morris lays out the simple truth about success, what it is and how to have it
Key Takeaways
Socrates determined that most people spend the most attention on the least important things and the least attention on the most important things
There are 7 C’s of Success, 7 components of a successful mindset, 7 means to a successful life
Conception – you need a clear and precise conception of what you want, a vivid vision, a goal or set of goals powerfully imagined
Confidence – you need a strong confidence that you can attain your goals
Concentration – you need a focused concentration on what it takes to reach your goal
Consistency – you need a stubborn consistency in pursuing our vision, a determined persistence in thought and action
Commitment – you need an emotional commitment to the importance of what you’re doing and to the people with whom you are doing it
Character – you need a good character to guide you and keep you on a proper course
Capacity – you need a capacity to enjoy the process along the way
If you’re after power, understand power for what purpose
The happiest people in the world are people who love what they are doing, regardless of whether wealth, fame, power and elevated social status ever come their way. The happiest people in the world realize that true success is up to them – using their talents and following their heart to bring about important change in their lives and lives of others
Self-knowledge is the greatest source of personal power on this earth
We need to put aside time to simply sit and think – to understand ourselves, what we want, what we love and value
Goals must be clear and specific
Satisfaction Audit – asking yourself what you like and dislike in your life and how to go about changing what you dislike
Self-knowledge, self-discovery and self-definition
Our values give rise to our goals
Goals and desires are subtly but very different – you can’t have a goal that you don’t intend to act on
Imagination is more important than knowledge
Losers visualize the penalties of failure where winners visualize the rewards of success
Good to ask yourself what the worst case scenario is – it is often not nearly as bad as we initially make it out to be
Do everything to the best of your ability – that way you can look back on your life with no/few regrets
Celebrate, no matter how small, whenever you reach a goal
Whenever you achieve your goals, you must set yourself new goals immediately
We all need support when we confront something difficult – need cheerleaders (Stutman)
It’s easy to underestimate the power of negative thinking
Precursive faith – faith that runs ahead of evidence
You can’t please everybody. Don’t even try and don’t let it bother you
Nothing worth doing is easy
By learning how not to do something, you put yourself in a position so that you’ll be able to do it. Failure = learning
Aim to be a realistic optimist
Important to communicate confidence to yourself with self-talk and to others through how you carry yourself, what you do, how you speak/dress, etc.
One of the most elusive traits today is self-esteem, aim to be moderately high in this arena
Third party compliments do amazing things (Stutman)
Nothing builds your own confidence like the hard work of good preparation
The most consistently lucky people happen to be those who are best prepared
“Everything we do can be, in one way or another, preparation for what we can contribute in this life. The good we do, and even the mistakes we make, can prepare us for greater good. But I cannot stress too much the importance of deliberate, thoughtful and specific creative preparation for any success we hope to attain.”
Most people underestimate their limits and underestimate their strengths
Intelligent preparation can make hard work much easier – knowledge itself is leverage
Little things mean a lot and can make all the difference
Expect the unexpected – even the best plans are made with incomplete knowledge
What seems very bad at the time can turn out to be very good in the end
Fail soon, fail often, fail forward
No matter what, always learn from your failures
Do not think that a successful plan, thought process, goal, etc. will translate into a different context
Always look for the sages – the guys who have been around forever and have seen a lot
Most successful people love to magnify their success through younger people
Must know when to be stubborn and consistent in your goal but also when to be flexible in your approach
Small inconsistencies should never be ignored
The 5-I Framework for Positive Change – Ignorance, Indifference, Inertia, Information, Imagination
Enthusiasm – theos (God) en (infused)
Energy, enthusiasm, emotional commitment is the ultimate aphrodisiac. People are attracted to people who care
“By the work one knows the workman” – Jean de la Fontaine
Successful living and successful working is a process of self-discovery, self-invention, self-discipline and self-indulgence
Make everything sacred. Aim to only have beautiful things around you
Have to work in renewal and relaxation – learn when to take a break, stretch out, gain perspective and slow down. Better to sprint and rest than slowly trot along (The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working)
Selfishness is self-destructive
Elevate characteristics and not people
Arete = excellence, virtue (human excellence and ethics are one in the same)
“I believe I have an ethical obligation to be the best I can be in everything I do, across a broad range of activities, compatible with the realities of my situation.”
Avoid compartmentalization – integrate all parts of your life
“True success is best thought of not as a far off destination, or an end state of any kind, but as a process, a dynamic process of successful living…Enjoyment should not be the end goal but interwoven through the way.”
Enjoyment must come from within
Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems
Be people’s biggest fan – celebrate with them, appreciate them, acknowledge them (Stutman)
We tend to enjoy whatever we are doing the most when we are most immersed in it
We are happy when we are growing
Everyone needs a sense of uniqueness, a sense of union with something larger than the self, a sense of usefulness and a sense of understanding
What I got out of it
One of my favorite books of the year – success needs to be interwoven into your daily routine/journey, 7 C’s of Success
One of the all-time leading books on creating and maintaining wealth. However, in many ways it is also a practical guide on how to live and conduct yourself to achieve a quality and happy life.
Key Takeaways
Must have a Definite Chief Aim (DCA) and focus on it intently. Can have no doubt and must have a burning desire to achieve your DCA
Thoughts are manifested into reality so must have a very clear picture of what you want and make sure no negative thoughts creep in. Figuring out your DCA is often one of the more difficult things you’ll have to do
Habitualize positive acts and emotions as much as possible. Habits require less willpower and will allow you to achieve more
Having a mastermind group is vital
What I got out of it
In many ways this book, although centered around wealth and investing, preceded many of the same sentiments found in “self-help” type books such as Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret. You must have a very clear goal that you think of often before you can make it happen.
