NFIB

Managing Your Future: Advice from Some of the World's Most Successful People
03/ 25/ 2002


Many successful men and women have commented on principles that led to their success. Often it seems that these principles are universal, and that they have been the guiding theme of almost every successful person's life. In today's Workshop, Jeff Moses highlights seven success principles that are based on advice from individuals in a variety of fields.

1) As Charles C. Noble once said, "You must have long-range goals to keep from being frustrated by short-range failures." It is important for a person to know where he or she wants to go, so many experts in the field of success management suggest writing down specific goals. For instance, write down exactly what you want to have achieved one year from now, five years from now, and ten years from now. Then write down exactly what you have to do to get there. This plan will help keep you on track so that you're not thrown off by short-range failures.

2) Abraham Lincoln said, "Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than anything else." If successful people agree on any single point, it is that their own inner resolution to achieve their goals was powerful enough to overcome all outward obstacles. Set your vision high, then resolve to achieve your goals.

3) Don't be afraid to fail. Most successful people insist that they learned more from their failures than from their successes. In fact, many successful people have failed at many things they have attempted. The important thing is that they did not give up. "The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way," said Dale Carnegie. This theme is echoed throughout the volumes of success literature. "Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again," Henry Ford wrote.

4) Determine that you will excel in your chosen field. As Vince Lombardi said, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." Many times a person who is having difficulty in his or her field needs only to gain further training in order to be successful. Never regret or avoid spending time improving yourself. In almost all cases, the most successful people are the most equipped to achieve excellence.

5) Don't give up your values along the way. Malcolm Forbes once commented, "Contrary to the cliche, genuinely nice guys often finish first or very near it." You don't have to sell out to succeed. Seek out business relationships with others who value honesty and ethical behavior. Creating and nourishing such relationships will provide a foundation for your own success.

6) Persistence is the key to meeting goals. On this topic John D. Rockefeller wrote: "I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."

7) As a person's career progresses, inevitable ups and downs occur. Many unplanned obstacles appear along the way. In the face of these, courage is necessary, because only courage can keep a person on target. "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear," said Mark Twain. "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you must stop and look fear in the face...You must do the thing you think you cannot do," wrote Eleanor Roosevelt.

These principles and others are the key for today's entrepreneur to reach the goals they have set for themselves. Studying the world's success literature enables a person to understand how others have been successful. Taking these great words to heart is an important aspect of managing our own successful futures.

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