NFIB

10 Rules for Bouncing Back
04/ 14/ 2003

The important role of motivational books was cited by nearly all the comeback small business owners interviewed for "The Great Comeback." (At least one, Dave Ramsey, is a best-selling author himself.) To see what magic they unlock, MyBusiness columnist Harvey King spent a weekend sampling some of the genre's best-known titles. Here is some of what he discovered:

If you think misery loves company, forget it. Misery loves the company of someone who's left misery far behind. At least that appears to be the secret of successful success books.

Together these books contain dozens of lists of steps, habits, guidelines and principles for reaching business and personal goals. Synthesized, their collective philosophy of fulfillment boils down to this Top 10 list of truths:

1. Despite your defeats, you are not defeated until you believe you are.

2. You are not lazy, you are uninspired.

3. Whether you think you are going to succeed or fail, you will.

4. Too many people with far greater limitations than you have proven wrong the reasons you accept for why you can't succeed.

5. Be honest and admit you know what you really want, then put that specific goal down in writing and develop a plan to achieve it.

6. Never forget your written goal. Each day, remind yourself of it and renew your commitment to it.

7. Anything worth having (or being or doing) will come only as the result of hard work, persistence, continuous learning and, likely, specialization.

8. Follow the Golden Rule (the real one, not: "He who has the gold, rules.")

9. Passion is the key to fulfillment. Other required traits are flexibility, confidence, optimism, commitment and persistence.

10. Start right now.

Despite their similarities, each book has a unique twist--a secret sauce that helps differentiate it from the sea of other books in the genre. Except for Who Moved My Cheese, the books are neatly divided into a series of lessons or essays easily read in daily chunks. (Cheese is so short, it's already a one-chunk--or slice--read.) Each book depends upon a unique metaphor demonstrating that success, achievement and fulfillment do not result from passivity, but require active journeys up steps, down highways or through mazes.

Each, in its own way, brings hope and inspires action. Each, in a strange and inexplicable way, seems based on the movie Rudy.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Steven Covey
Simon & Schuster
(June, 1989), $25.00*

Who Moved My Cheese?
Johnson and Blanchard
Putnam Publishing Group
(September, 1998), $19.95*

See You at the Top
Zig Ziglar
Pelican Publishing Co
(June, 1982), $22.00*

Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill
Renaissance Books
(October, 2001), $28.95*

What Should I Do With My Life?
Po Bronson
Random House
(December 24, 2002), $24.95*

*price of hardback edition

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This article originally appeared in the April/May 2003 issue of MyBusiness magazine.

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