Nothing succeeds like success It Is common observation that one who has tasted his first success obtains

even more triumphs and opportunities in quick succession. Nothing, indeed, succeeds l ike success! Though this phenomenon could be attributed to fortune or sheer luck, a deeper in sight would reveal hours of prayerful toil and preparation that had preceded the 'turn of the tide'. The 'success mechanism' within, equips itself thus with the needed knowledge, wherewithal and also the right approach and attitude. All the se generate favourable vibrations and situations around. Shakespeare (Julius Caesar IV, 3) observes on seizing opportunities, as they com e: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, /which, taken at the flood, leads to fortune/ Omitted, all the voyage of their life/ Is bound in shallows and miserie s." The inability to seize opportunities does not, however, explain fully the failur es and even repeated failures which haunt even certain receptive, seeking, since re and toiling persons. A complex combination of factors could perhaps be the re ason possibly including also influence of occult forces, effect of past acts and retribution (karma) or planetary positions and destiny. These are believed by s ome as impenetrable citadels. Though it could be difficult to identify the actual obstacles, as applicable to specific cases, the aspirant would be enabled to obtain a breakthrough finally b y practically applying inspiring exhortations on perseverance and persistence. I n the final analysis, even the most stubborn resistances from within and without could thus be overcome. Patience and prayerfully hoping and waiting these are e njoined in the inspiring injunctions of the Tamil bard, Valluvar (Kural 154, 155 ) and The Bible (Proverbs; 16, 32), "He that ruleth his spirit is better that he that taketh a city." The Bhagavad Gita declares (2, 38) that one who is constant in loss and gain or pleasure and pain will not incur any sin. Ella Wheeler Wilcox in Worthwile, obse rves thus on resilience and continued cheer, even amid difficulties: "'Tis easy enough to be pleasant, /When life flows along like a song; /But the man worth wh ile is the one who will smile/ When everything goes dead wrong." Indeed, ultimate success, often beckons one who can, to quote H W Longfellow, "l earn to labour and to wait"! Nothing would, then, succeed like success.

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS THIS is a statement with which we are all familiar; and we all know it to be tru e; but do we know why it is true? When we begin to think of this statement, really think, we find it to be pregnan t with facts and possibilities far beyond anything the majority ever imagined; a nd when we understand these facts and possibilities we shall find the real secre t to all success. The understanding of these things, however, cannot be gained until we study care fully the psychology of success itself, as well as the psychology of the above m entioned statement. And we realize beforehand that we shall, through such a stud

y, find facts that will positively prove invaluable. When we think of success, we usually think of the accumulation of wealth, but th is can never be more than a small fragment of success, because success in realit y signifies any form of attainment or achievement that is truly worthwhile. And it is very important that we realize this larger meaning of success before we at tempt to comprehend the psychology of success. The fact is this, that anyone who is advancing in their work, is successful to t hat degree, whether their recompense be large or small; and no one can be spoken of as successful unless steady advancement is clearly evident. It is only the m ind that is moving forward, or rising in the scale, that can succeed, because su ccess invariably implies the adding of more and more to what we already possess, whether those possessions be tangible possessions, achievements and attainments or riches of mind and soul. When we understand the full meaning of success, we shall find that the reason wh y nothing succeeds like success is due to the fact that the psychological proces s of success contains, within itself, the real power for success; and when that power has actually been placed in action, it tends invariably to produce greater and greater success. This is something we shall understand perfectly before we are through with this important subject, and we shall find it interesting to the extreme. When we examine any movement in life that is steadily advancing, or examine a su ccessful enterprise, or some great achievement in the process of development when we examine these things, we find two factors that are chiefly concerned. One of these is the human mind, or group of minds, directly responsible for what is bei ng accomplished; and the other is the effect produced by this particular accompl ishment, upon other minds, near or far, interested or unconcerned. In other words, when you examine success, you will first meet the mind that is p romoting that particular success; and it will be very interesting to note how su ccess affects that mind, and how the process of success is affected in return. I n fact, it is right in this very place that we shall discover why nothing succee ds like success. And when we make this discovery, then the real secret to succes s will be a secret to us no more. We know that whenever an individual begins to succeed, certain things begin to t ranspire in his or her mind certain things that have not transpired in that mind b efore; that is, not in the same degree; and this is particularly significant. In the first place, that individual begins to appreciate themselves; and the mom ent real self-appreciation enters any mind, the power to become and achieve actu ally doubles in that mind. Thus we realize how success, in this regard, gives th e mind the power to succeed more. In like manner, there is increase of self-confidence, ambition, aspiration, and the desire to attain and achieve on a larger scale. All these things arise more and more in the mind that has begun to succeed; and they all are positive forces for still greater success. Then we discover that the coming of success tends to produce greater harmony of action among all the forces and faculties of the mind; and this is extremely imp ortant, because the mind that can work in a state of active harmony has from thr ee to ten times the capacity of the mind that is unstable, confused or chaotic. This fact illustrates very clearly how success, when once begun, actually create s within itself the power to produce greater success; and that is one reason why

nothing succeeds like success. More important than any of the foregoing is this: that whenever the individual b egins to succeed, then their mind begins to act more successfully. When you find that you are a success, you begin to infuse your mind with the idea of success wi th the feeling, the consciousness and the spirit of success. And accordingly, yo ur mind will proceed to work more successfully, thereby giving you the power to succeed more largely than before. This very thing we all can appreciate perfectly; and we fully understand how the success of the individual must increase in the tangible world as the mind is tr ained to act more successfully in the mental world. Like causes produce like eff ects. A mind that is a success in itself that operates successfully as a mind will n aturally produce success when called upon to act in the practical world; and thi s practical success will naturally increase with the increase of successful acti on in the mind itself. These are all self-evident facts facts that illustrate most forcefully the importance of the subject under consideration. Thousands of young men and women go out into the world expecting to succeed, not having given a single thought to the great principle, that the mind must be a s uccess before the man can be a success. And therefore the majority do not realiz e their cherished ambitions nor their lofty dreams. We must have efficiency in the mind before we can have it in the shop. The workm en of the mind must be trained in efficiency and skill, and inspired with the sp irit of success, before the man himself can produce success. But paradoxical as it may seem, success itself, when once begun, invariably creates, in the mind, t he power to produce still greater success. A most important fact is this, that when you begin to succeed you begin to feel, more and more, that you can succeed; that is, you begin to think that you can; and we are beginning to understand the real reason why he can who thinks he can. When you begin to think that you can, then you will find that all your faculties and talents begin to act, with greater ability and power, upon the one thing yo u are trying to accomplish, and results will increase remarkably in consequence. We can readily note the difference between the man or woman who thinks that he o r she can, and the one who doubts their own ability. The latter will not put fo rward a great deal of energy; in fact, they will express but a small fraction of their ability and power; but success does not come in that way. The former, how ever, will turn on more and more of the current; he or she will apply themselves more and more effectively; they will become thoroughly enthused, and will expre ss their very best under every circumstance. We may state the fact in this fashion: He who thinks he can, will arouse within him the power that can. And whenever we begin to succeed, we will begin to think and know that we can. This will lead to greater and greater success; and here w e find another reason why nothing succeeds like success. Every individual mind can reach the goal in view, and accomplish what is desired , if all the power of that mind is concentrated upon the one thing that is to be done. In other words, if all the talents and energies of any mind are directed upon the one object in view, that object simply cannot fail of realization, no m atter how difficult it may seem to be, for the fact is, that there is enough pow er in any mind to realize any human desire, provided the all of that mind is cor rectly applied. And he who really thinks that he can will apply more and more of that all. The psychology of the statement, "He can who thinks he can," is very simple, but

in the application of the principle, the individual must be absolutely certain that he or she does think they can. To illustrate, you may have a great achievement in mind, and you may have come t o the conclusion that you positively can see it through successfully; but here i s a fine point. You may think that you can; but if the undertaking is very diffi cult, one that will require much talent and time, you may, the more you consider the magnitude of the project, find all sorts of little doubts coming up in your thoughts; and these may be followed by a score of "if's" and "but's"; so that r eally, after all, you are not exactly thinking that you can. You are simply on t he outskirts of the "can," and not as yet in the very spirit of the real I Can. Here we must remember that mere hope or a general belief is not sufficient; nor will it avail to pretend that you can, or try to "bluff" your mind into the idea that you really do think you can. The fact is, that when you actually think tha t you can, and think so in the very spirit of that conviction, there will be no doubts; absolutely none; and where there are no doubts, there are no impossibili ties. When we analyze this state of the mind thoroughly, we shall find that every forc e, every element and every atom of the mind becomes imbued with the spirit of "I can" whenever you really think that you can. The whole mind, and the real life and essence of the whole mind, becomes aroused with the same positive conviction ; and this means that the whole mind and everything in the mind will begin to co ncentrate positively upon the object in view, and proceed to work with full forc e for the one thing you wish to accomplish Here, then, we find the very thing we all have been looking for; that is, the se cret of causing the whole of the mind to work with full force for the object we have in view; for we all agree that when all of the mind every force, faculty, ele ment and power in the mind when all these work together upon any project, then gen uine success will positively follow. This may seem to be a farfetched statement; but we know that every mind contains undreamed of possibilities and latent forces beyond all limitation. Then we hav e the vast subconscious field; so that every mind has sufficient upon which to d raw for the realization of any goal or ambition conceivable. And there is nothin g that creates a greater draw upon the marvelous powers of the mind, than the de ep interior feeling that you can. Another fact of vital importance in the same connection is this, that the human mind has the power to reproduce itself again and again on a larger scale; that i s, your own mind has the power to make itself twice as large, twice as powerful and twice as brilliant as it is now; and then rebuild itself a second time on a larger scale, a third time, a fourth time, and any number of times for an indefi nite period. Every individual faculty or talent also has the same power; and, th an this fact, there is possibly nothing more stupendous in the entire psychology world. When we appreciate this fact, we shall never hesitate when facing difficult or g igantic undertakings; and under no circumstance will we ever say, "It cannot be done"; for every individual mind has the power within itself to make itself larg e enough and great enough to achieve anything. Illustrating this fact, you may have an exceptional ambition, an ambition that r efuses to be "downed"; but your common sense informs you that your mind will hav e to be twice as large, twice as able, twice as powerful as it is now before tha t ambition could be realized. Should you give up? The average person would; but here we come face to face with this stupendous fact your own mind can reproduce i tself on a larger scale, and become twice as powerful and twice as able. Then sh

ould you give up your cherished ambition? Positively not. On the contrary, you w ould proceed to rebuild your mind again and again until it became large enough t o make that ambition come true. There are thousands of promising men and women who declare, "I would like to do this"; "I have that particular ambition; but I have not the talent; I am not abl e enough to do what I want to do." But what of it? The mind can grow. You can be come able enough. That which is small today can become great and powerful tomorr ow. The force that can produce this increase in your own mind, or in any special faculty or talent, does exist now in your own mind. And the first step necessar y to cause this great force to proceed with its wonderful work, is to awaken wit hin yourself the deep interior feeling that you can.

When you succeed at something that you've tried really hard at, it instills conf idence in you. You become mentally stronger and more willing to try new challeng es, which, when success is reached in these new endeavors, even more confidence is built up, you try something else, succeed again, gain even more confidence, a nd the cycle continues. Nothing succeeds like success. Words of truth

TYPES OF SUCCESSS !! There are basically six unique ways of viewing success. Each person probably cannot fit neatly into one category, rather we will each be a blend of a few of them. Here are six types of success: 1. Puritan. Work as hard as possible to prove yourself as worthy. People who follo w the puritan mindset were often raised in an environment where they had to cont inually prove themselves, or had to keep living up to certain standards. Each ac hievement adds more to their sense of worthiness, and there is always another go al once the current one is achieved. 2. Materialistic. Gain as much luxury and status as possible. A vast majority of people in Western society become sold on the material view of success very early in life. Media and society seems to promote and almost worship those individuals who have a great deal of money or possessions. 3. Power. Gain as much control as possible. Similar to the material view, the po wer view wants to control and be the person who chooses. Of course, we are all c ompletely free to choose how we live, yet some people view gaining power/control over others, such as in a managers role at work. 4. Spiritual. Detach from temptations in life and transcend the present. Some peop le choose to reverse the material/power view of the world and go for a more piou

s view of life. They choose to resist desires for material gratification, instea d choosing to be connected to rewards in the spiritual realm. 5. Contributor. Create a better world for other people and future generations. T hose people who feel a drive to contribute to the world are the ones who tend to really make a difference. It doesn t have to be on a world scale, it can simply b e the desire to help people through their everyday struggles. For some people, b eing able to give back is the most rewarding way to live. 6. Escapist. Have as much fun and as many peak experiences as possible. These pe ople believe life is simply one big experience. Our time on earth is meant to li ved to the fullest and we are meant to live deep and suck out all the marrow of l ife, as Thoreaux famously espoused. These types of people are always searching fo r fun, for experience and for the next thing to get them excited.

SECRETSS OF SUCCESSS!!! What is it that makes people successful and I mean really successful compared to you or me? Are they smarter or do they work harder? Are they risk takers or hav e powerful and influential friends? The financial newspaper Investors Business Daily (IBD) asked these same question s a few years ago and started a multi-year search for the answer. They studied i ndustry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs to understand the traits they all h ad in common that contributed to their success. Reproduced here is their list of 10 Secrets to Success along with my commentary on each no-so-secret, secret . I decided to reproduce the list here and comment on each of the traits in hopes of motivating you and myself in the process. It s time for me to take my own advic e and start on the path to my dreams. I hope to motivate you, by using myself as an example. I originally came across this list when I was staring at some papers on a refrig erator owned by someone who was very successful both personally and financially. My family and I had just spent the night as a guest in a great house in the sub urbs of Boston. We were living life large as we played pool in the rec room, dra nk wine from the wine cellar, and enjoyed a dip in the hot tub. The problem was, neither of the couples in the house owned the property or the life we were pret ending to have. You see, my friends were house sitting for the original owner an d they had invited us to stay for the weekend. It wasn t until the morning after our little party that I noticed something taped to the refrigerator something that impacts me each time I read it. It was the IBD 10 Secrets to Success. Once my head cleared, I quickly copied them down and read them over and over again. After our vacation I made copies and posted them in m y home office and inside a journal I decided to keep. The problem was, after a couple of months I forgot about the secrets and they fe ll by the wayside. And so did my actions towards my goals. At the time the artic les 7 Ways to Grow the Action Habit or How To Motivate Yourself Self Motivation didn t exist and I lost my motivation. Well, I re-discovered the list and want to share it with you now. I hope you take these not-so-secret, secrets to heart and realize your dreams whatever they may be. 1. How You Think is Everything. Always be positive. Think Success, not Failure. Beware of a negative environment . This trait has to be one of the most important in the entire list. Your belief t hat you can accomplish your goals has to be unwavering. The moment you say to yo urself I can t , then you won t. I was always given the advice never say I can t and I to strike those words from the dictionary.

I ve found that from time-to-time my attitude waivers. A mentor of mine once said i t s ok to visit pity city, but you can t stay and there comes a time when you need t o leave . Positive things happen to positive people. 2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and de velop a plan to reach them. Write down my dreams and goals? Develop a plan to reach them? You mean like a pr oject plan? Yes, that s exactly what this means. You may have heard the old adage: A New Years resolution that isn t written down is just a dream, and dreams are no t goals. Goals are those concrete, measurable stepping stones of achievement that track y our progress towards your dreams. My goal is to start a second career as a freel ance writer what are your goals? 3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action. Be like Nike and Just do it . I took action by reaching out and started writing. Ev ery day I try to take some action towards my goals. It may be small, but it s stil l an action. Have you taken action towards your goals? 4. Never Stop Learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training & acquire skills. Becoming a life long learner would benefit us all and is something we should ins till in our kids. It s funny that once you re out of school you realize how enjoyabl e learning can be. What have you learned today? 5. Be Persistent and Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up. I think every story of success I read entails long hard hours of work. There is no getting around this and there is no free lunch. But, if you re working towards something that you re passionate about, something you love then is it really work? 6. Learn to Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your m istakes. I think you have to strike a balance between getting all the facts and making a decision with incomplete data both are traits of successful people. Spend time g athering details, but don t catch analysis paralysis . 7. Focus Your Time And Money: Don t let other people or things distract you. Remain laser focused on your goals and surround yourself with positive people th at believe in you. Don t be distracted by the naysayer s or tasks that are not helpi ng you achieve your goals. 8. Don t Be Afraid To Innovate: Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity. Follow through on that break-out idea you have. Ask yourself What would I do if I wasn t afraid? 9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island. Learn t o understand and motivate others. Successful people develop and nurture a network and they only do that by treatin g people openly, fairly and many times firmly. There is nothing wrong about bein g firm just don t cross the a-hole line. How do you deal with people? 10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility, otherwise numbers 1 ter. 9 won t mat

POWERFUL PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS A principle is a rule or law concerning a natural occurrence. When principles ar e applied, the results are predictable. Today I want to talk about seven success principles that will make your success a natural occurrence. These principles a re timeless; they will work today the same as they worked 2,500 years ago, the s ame as they will work 2,500 years from now. If you follow the success principles, success will surely be yours. Contrary to popular opinion, public debate, and what you may have seen on television, succes s is not the result of good luck. Success comes from the proper application of p rinciples. With that said, here are seven powerful success principles. 1. Prepare It s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference. -Paul Bryant Success occurs when the prepared individual creates their own opportunity. Are y ou prepared? Preparation is the foundation of success. It often takes years to p repare for success, there are no overnight successes. What appears to be overnig ht success is usually the result of at least 10 years of preparation. 2. Get Started What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe If you re not in action today, you don t have a tomorrow, just a longer today. So ge t into action now, and begin to move in the right direction. 3. Move in the Right Direction The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. -Oliver Wendell Homes Are you moving in the right direction? If you re moving in the right direction, no matter your speed, you will eventually get to your intended destination. It s not that important where you are right now , what matters is where you re headed. Don t get discouraged because you haven t arriv ed; it s only a matter of time before you walk into your dream. 4. Dream and Act To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. - Anatole France What you dream today will become your tomorrow if after you finish dreaming it you wake up and turn it into a reality. Dreaming is necessary, it frames your think ing, but it s not enough. You need to develop a step-by-step action plan to turn t hose dreams into reality. KEY TO SUCCESS !!!

Success is everybody s dream. But what is the key to success? How can you be succe ssful? In my post about defining successful people, I wrote that we should measu re success based on how much we give rather than how much we receive. Fortunatel y, it also works nicely the other way around since those who give more almost al ways will also receive more. Based on that, you can see that the more value you give to others, the more succ essful you will be. So how do you pave your way to success? How do you become mo re successful? The answer is amazingly simple. Here it is: The key to success is making yourself as useful as possible to others. That s it. Making yourself as useful as possible to others. If you focus on applying this, others will realize the value they get from you a nd they will attract more people to come to you. These new people will also real ize the value they get from you and they will attract even more people to come t o you. The virtuous cycle begins and you are now on your way to success. With this principle in mind, you should aim at increasing your usefulness to oth ers. How do you do that? Here are some ideas: Be observant of needs To be useful to others, you should always be aware of even the slightest clues o f needs. The more sensitive you are to the needs of others, the more appreciativ e people will eventually become. The best scenario is being able to anticipate a need before the other people are even aware of it. Find solutions to the needs Now that you are aware of needs, the next step is finding solutions to them. The solutions you offer should be as useful as possible. To be able to do so, there is no other way but to continuously build your own value. It is from the value you have that you could give value to others. Be proactive to help Do not wait for the other person to ask for your help. Be proactive. Give your h elp even before they ask. Be sincere What matters is not only the solution you offer, but also the way you deliver it . Being sincere means being glad to help others without expecting anything in re turn. Make it your joy to give something to others. People can somehow distingui sh whether or not you are sincere. Go the extra mile Doing the above four steps is good, but add this one if you can: give more than expected. First, give what is expected, and then add a little more. If you do th e above four steps people will be appreciative, but if you add this one step the y will be impressed.