 | Success is like fishing |
| When most people look back on their lives and particularly which parts of them were successful, they’re often surprised at how these successes came about. More often than not, the opportunities we expect to be fantastic turn out to be not worth the time we invest in them; while those we expect to amount to nothing can turn into the greatest of our lives. |
| Success is mostly about failing a lot |
| Woody Allen once said "Seventy percent of success in life is showing up". It seems obvious, but convincing yourself to follow this advice can sometimes be difficult. |
| Become a stubborn competitor |
| There's one character trait that unites almost all the successful people. It's seen in those with good careers, good financial positions, and attractive partners. |
| Is there something you want? Why not ask for it? |
| One of the big differences that I've noticed between those who get what they want and those who don't comes down to one simple behavior - whether they're willing to ask for it. |
| Be generous to the future |
| The future is like a giant spiritual bank account. You can invest in it, or withdraw from it any time you like. How you treat this bank account plays a big part in deciding how successful you are. |
| Keep your ears and eyes open, and your mouth shut |
| Who wins in life? Often it's the lucky, but just as often it's the best informed. The quality of our decisions is directly related to the quality of our information. Therefore, it's important to make sure your information is top-notch - this isn't as easy as many people think. |
| Work on your weaknesses first |
| We all know somebody who's excellent in some parts of their lives, but performs poorly at others. You might be such a person yourself. It's so much easier to spend time improving what we're already good at, than to concentrate on our weaknesses. |
| Positive thinking is for losers |
| Since Norman Vincent Peale's book "The Power of Positive Thinking" was first published in the 1950s, belief in the clout of excessive optimism has almost become a modern religion. If only people can believe in themselves, their abilities and how great their future is going to be, everything will work out just fine, the argument goes. |
| Self-esteem has to be earned |
| It seems obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a moment, that sound decisions must be based upon good information. If we say that good information is basically "the truth" and look at decisions as those that are made to improve our lives, it seems strange that a modern semi-religion has grown around encouraging us to lie to ourselves. The lie I'm talking about is, of course, building up our "self-esteem". |
| If you have a problem, look in the mirror first for its source |
| Consider the following scenario. Mr Smith has been a dedicated employee at a big company for over fifteen years. He has a mortgage, two children at private school, and a nice car, all paid for with debt. |
| Learn how to weigh up opportunity and risk |
| Every sensible person lives with one eye on the future. We go to work so we can get paid next week, we go to school so our life chances improve, we try to anticipate bad things that may happen so we can avoid them, we invest in the future in the hope it will pay off. But of course, the time and resources we have to invest in the future are limited. We can't take every opportunity available to us, so we must choose carefully. And with every choice, we take the risk of loss. |
| How to deal with bullies |
| One of the biggest problems many of us face comes in the form of bullies - that is, people who deliberately torment others. Of course, bullies come in many different forms, from the schoolyard tough-guy, to the "friend" who tries to scare you into doing things for them, to the brutal dictator of a country. |
| Make sacrifices, but don't get too carried away |
| We all have to forgo things we'd like to have today in order to get a bigger reward tomorrow. We spend unpaid time educating ourselves so we can get a better job, we save for retirement, and we work hard to buy nice things. |
| Six tips for getting organized |
| Organization is one of the big secrets of success. Organized nations are usually more successful than chaotic ones; as are organized businesses and people. We all know that it's something we should try to be, but often people fail to do so even when they put in a lot of effort. Here are my six tips to help you get more order in your life. |
| Never be completely satisfied with your answers |
| What is the key force driving humanity forward? The answer is deceptively simple, it's the ability to question our own beliefs. Unfortunately, this ability is in constant conflict with another part of our nature - our tendency to insist the answers we already have are good enough. |
| Take lots of small losses for some big wins |
| Poker strategy contains many good lessons about dealing with the world. The best of all is that you have to be willing to take lots of small losses in order to hunt out a few big gains. |
| Don't steal from your future self |
| Imagine you were in a close relationship with someone who treated you terribly most of the time. They'd spend your money before you even earned it, damage your health through negligence, force you to deal with the side-effects of drink or drugs, ruin your career prospects and mess up your relations with other important people in your life. |
| Seven tips for powering up your communication skills |
| Most people don't spend too much time thinking about improving their communication skills. I speak, they should listen, is the attitude. That's a pity, because effectively getting your message across is a hot-button for success in most fields. |
| Everybody loves a modest hero |
| The business of trying to impress people is a tricky one. Of course, we all like to pretend we’re above seeking the admiration of others. “I don’t care what anyone thinks!” is a popular phrase. But anyone who follows this philosophy is likely to find life difficult. |
| Three good tricks for catching out liars |
| The world is filled with liars. We all tell porkies to some degree in order to get what we want. Of course, some people lie more often than others. |