Essential Success Principles

1. Ahead of any other requirement is your personal motivation. If you want 'it', you can have 'it' (whatever 'it' is) if you will do enough of the right things. But without a burning desire, neither ability nor knowledge will get you what you want.

2. If your level of 'want' is sufficient, the next step is action. Thinking without doing won't get you what you desire. Action is vital.

3. Use Pareto's Principle to choose how to use your time. Most of our actions do not contribute much to achieving our goals, only a small part do. So consider how you spend each hour of the day so that you don't find yourself saying, 'If only I had more time'. Remember, successful or not, everybody gets only 24 hours a day. It's what you choose to do in that period that determines your outcomes.

4. Many objectives cannot be reached without concentrated effort, so focus your energies. Massive action will achieve massive results. Diffused efforts leave you with a disappointing array of uncompleted projects.

5. Become confident. Others will respect your opinions and advice if you deliver them positively; a diffident manner invites disbelief.

6. Become an expert in your subject. Become an author, write articles and reports, post them on the internet. Give talks on your topic. As a specialist you have credibility and influence.

7. There is a challenge which comes with increasing authority and success, you must always be alert for arrogance. It can creep up on you and is insidious and damaging. The truly great are humblewith it. When you know a lot, you realise that it's actually only a very little.

8. Be respectful. Every single individual on this planet knows more about something than you do. Respect gets you respect. Self-importance has the reverse effect.

9. Listen with full attention. Don't impatiently wait for your chance to talk, hear what other people are saying and attune yourself to the emotion behind their words. This is how empathy is generated. It's a thousand times easier to get what you want when empathy is working with you.

10. Sometimes your ideas will be wrong. Accept that this can happen, learn what you can from the experience and then move on. Sincere belief that you are right does not mean that you are. Even Albert Einstein had to face this truth.

11. Develop your 'sales' skills. If you cannot make a convincing case for your ideas or you are doomed to a life of implementing those of other people.

12. It’s easy to believe your own dreams. Give your plans a 'reality check' early on. Try and sell the idea to someone, you'll quickly learn what the constraints are. The real-world feedback will allow you to adjust and focus your concept.