The skill of self confidence | Dr. Ivan Joseph | TEDxRyersonU

As the Athletic Director and head coach of the Varsity Soccer team at Ryerson University, Dr. Joseph is often asked what skills he is searching for as a recruiter: is it speed? Strength? Agility? In Dr. Joseph's TEDx Talk, he explores self confidence and how it is not just the most important skill in athletics, but in our lives.
"I am the captain of my ship and the master of my fate."
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The Courage to Live Consciously | Steve Pavlina

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
– Helen Keller

In our day-to-day lives, the virtue of courage doesn’t receive much attention. Courage is a quality reserved for soldiers, firefighters, and activists. Security is what matters most today. Perhaps you were taught to avoid being too bold or too brave. It’s too dangerous. Don’t take unnecessary risks. Don’t draw attention to yourself in public. Follow family traditions. Don’t talk to strangers. Keep an eye out for suspicious people. Stay safe.

But a side effect of overemphasizing the importance of personal security in your life is that it can cause you to live reactively. Instead of setting your own goals, making plans to achieve them, and going after them with gusto, you play it safe. Keep working at the stable job, even though it doesn’t fulfill you. Remain in the unsatisfying relationship, even though you feel dead inside compared to the passion you once had. Who are you to think that you can buck the system? Accept your lot in life, and make the best of it. Go with the flow, and don’t rock the boat. Your only hope is that the currents of life will pull you in a favorable direction.

No doubt there exist real dangers in life you must avoid. But there’s a huge gulf between recklessness and courage. I’m not referring to the heroic courage required to risk your life to save someone from a burning building. By courage I mean the ability to face down those imaginary fears and reclaim the far more powerful life that you’ve denied yourself. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of going broke. Fear of being alone. Fear of humiliation. Fear of public speaking. Fear of being ostracized by family and friends. Fear of physical discomfort. Fear of regret. Fear of success.

How many of these fears are holding you back? How would you live if you had no fear at all? You’d still have your intelligence and common sense to safely navigate around any real dangers, but without feeling the emotion of fear, would you be more willing to take risks, especially when the worst case wouldn’t actually hurt you at all? Would you speak up more often, talk to more strangers, ask for more sales, dive headlong into those ambitious projects you’ve been dreaming about? What if you even learned to enjoy the things you currently fear? What kind of difference would that make in your life?

Have you previously convinced yourself that you aren’t really afraid of anything… that there are always good and logical reasons why you don’t do certain things? It would be rude to introduce yourself to a stranger. You shouldn’t attempt public speaking because you don’t have anything to say. Asking for a raise would be improper because you’re supposed to wait until the next formal review. They’re just rationalizations though – think about how your life would change if you could confidently and courageously do these things with no fear at all.

What Is Courage?

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
– Ambrose Redmoon

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.
– Mark Twain

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.
– John Wayne

I like the definitions of courage above, which all suggest that courage is the ability to get yourself to take action in spite of fear. The word courage derives from the Latin cor, which means “heart.” But true courage is more a matter of intellect than of feeling. It requires using the uniquely human part of your brain (the neocortex) to wrest control away from the emotional limbic brain you share in common with other mammals. Your limbic brain signals danger, but your neocortex reasons that the danger isn’t real, so you simply feel the fear and take action anyway. The more you learn to act in spite of fear, the more human you become. The more you follow the fear, the more you live like a lower mammal. So the question, “Are you a man or a mouse?” is consistent with human neurology.

Courageous people are still afraid, but they don’t let the fear paralyze them. People who lack courage will give into fear more often than not, which actually has the long-term effect of strengthening the fear. When you avoid facing a fear and then feel relieved that you escaped it, this acts as a psychological reward that reinforces the mouse-like avoidance behavior, making you even more likely to avoid facing the fear in the future. So the more you avoid asking someone out on a date, the more paralyzed you’ll feel about taking such actions in the future. You are literally conditioning yourself to become more timid and mouse-like.

Such avoidance behavior causes stagnation in the long run. As you get older, you reinforce your fear reactions to the point where it’s hard to even imagine yourself standing up to your fears. You begin taking your fears for granted; they become real to you. You cocoon yourself into a life that insulates you from all these fears: a stable but unhappy marriage, a job that doesn’t require you to take risks, an income that keeps you comfortable. Then you rationalize your behavior: You have a family to support and can’t take risks, you’re too old to shift careers, you can’t lose weight because you have “fat” genes. Five years… ten years… twenty years pass, and you realize that your life hasn’t changed all that much. You’ve settled down. All that’s really left now is to live out the remainder of your years as contently as possible and then settle yourself into the ground, where you’ll finally achieve total safety and security.

But there’s something else going on behind the scenes, isn’t there? That tiny voice in the back of your mind recalls that this isn’t the kind of life you wanted to live. It wants more, much more. It wants you to become far wealthier, to have an outstanding relationship, to get your body in peak physical condition, to learn new skills, to travel the world, to have lots of wonderful friends, to help people in need, to make a meaningful difference. That voice tells you that settling into a job where you sell widgets the rest of your life just won’t cut it. That voice frowns at you when you catch a glance of your oversized belly in the mirror or get winded going up a flight of stairs. It beams disappointment when it sees what’s become of your family. It tells you that the reason you have trouble motivating yourself is that you aren’t doing what you really ought to be doing with your life… because you’re afraid. And if you refuse to listen, it will always be there, nagging you about your mediocre results until you die, full of regrets for what might have been.

So how do you respond to this ornery voice that won’t shut up? What do you do when confronted by that gut feeling that something just isn’t right in your life? What’s your favorite way to silence it? Maybe drown it out by watching TV, listening to the radio, working long hours at an unfulfilling job, or consuming alcohol and caffeine and sugar.
But whenever you do this, you lower your level of consciousness. You sink closer towards an instinctive animal and move away from becoming a fully conscious human being. You react to life instead of proactively going after your goals. You fall into a state of learned helplessness, where you begin to believe that your goals are no longer possible or practical for you. You become more and more like a mouse, even trying to convince yourself that life as a mouse might not be so bad after all, since everyone around you seems to be OK with it. You surround yourself with your fellow mice, and on the rare occasions that you encounter a fully conscious human being, it scares the hell out of you to remember how much of your own courage has been lost.

Raise Your Consciousness

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
– Anais Nin

Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.
– Amelia Earhart

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
– Eleanor Roosevelt

The way out of this vicious cycle is to summon your courage and confront that inner voice. Find a place where you can be alone with pen and paper (or computer and keyboard). Listen to that voice, and face up to what it’s telling you, no matter how difficult it is to hear. (The voice is just an abstraction – you may not hear words at all; instead you may see what you should be doing or simply feel it emotionally. But I’ll continue to refer to the voice for the sake of example.) This voice may tell you that your marriage has been dead for ten years, and you’re refusing to face it because you’re afraid of divorce. It may tell you that you’re afraid that if you start your own business, you’ll probably fail, and that’s why you’re staying at a job that doesn’t challenge you to grow. It may tell you that you’ve given up trying to lose weight because you’ve failed at it so many times, and you’re addicted to food. It may tell you that the friends you’re hanging out with now are incongruent with the person you want to be, and that you need to leave that reference group behind and build a new one. It may tell you that you always wanted to be an actor or writer, but you settled for a sales job because it seemed more safe and secure. It may tell you that you always wanted to help people in need, but you aren’t doing so in the way you should. It may tell you that you’re wasting your talents.

See if you can reduce that voice to just a single word or two. What is it telling you to do? Leave. Quit. Speak. Write. Dance. Act. Exercise. Sell. Switch. Move on. Let go. Ask. Learn. Forgive. Whatever you get from this, write it down. Perhaps you even have different words for each area of your life.

Now you have to take the difficult step of consciously acknowledging that this is what you really want. It’s OK if you don’t think it’s possible for you. It’s OK if you don’t see how you could ever have it. But don’t deny that you want it. You lower your consciousness when you do that. When you look at your overweight body, admit that you really want to be fit and healthy. When you light up that next cigarette, don’t deny that you want to be a nonsmoker. When you meet the potential mate of your dreams, don’t deny that you’d love to be in a relationship with that person. When you meet a person who seems to be at total peace with herself, don’t deny that you crave that level of inner peace too. Get yourself out of denial. Move instead to a place where you admit, “I really do want this, but I just don’t feel I currently have the ability to get it.” It’s perfectly OK to want something that you don’t think you can have. And you’re almost certainly wrong in concluding that you can’t have it. But first, stop lying to yourself and pretending you don’t really want it.

Move From Fear to Action, Even if You Expect to Fail

When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.
– Orison Swett Marden

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.
– John Quincy Adams

Now that you’ve acknowledged some things you’ve been afraid to face, how do you feel? You probably still feel paralyzed against taking action. That’s okay. While diving right in and confronting a fear head-on can be very effective, that may require more courage than you feel you can summon right now.

The most important point I want you to learn from this article is that real courage is a mental skill, not an emotional one. Neurologically it means using the thinking neocortex part of your brain to override the emotional limbic impulses. In other words, you use your human intelligence, logic, and independent will to overcome the limitations you’ve inherited as an emotional mammal.

Now this may make logical sense, but it’s far easier said than done. You may logically know you’re in no real danger if you get up on a stage and speak in front of 1000 people, but your fear kicks in anyway, and the imaginary threat prevents you from volunteering for anything like this. Or you may know you’re in a dead end job, but you can’t seem to bring yourself to say the words, “I quit.”

Courage, however, doesn’t require that you take drastic action in these situations. Courage is a learned mental skill that you must condition, just as weight training strengthens your muscles. You wouldn’t go into a gym for the first time and try to lift 300 pounds, so don’t think that to be courageous you must tackle your most paralyzing fear right away.

There are two methods I will suggest for building courage. The first approach is analogous to progressive weight training. Start with weights you can lift but which are challenging for you, and then progressively train up to heavier and heavier weights as you grow stronger. So tackle your smallest fears first, and progressively train up to bigger and bigger fears. Training yourself to lift 300 pounds isn’t so hard if you’ve already lifted 290. Similarly, speaking in front of an audience of 1000 people isn’t so tough once you’ve already spoken to 900.

So grab a piece of paper, and write down one of your fears that you’d like to overcome. Then number from one to ten, and write out ten variations of this fear, with number one being the least anxiety-producing and number ten being the most anxiety-producing. This is your fear hierarchy. For example, if you’re afraid of asking someone out on a date, then number one on your list might be going out to a public place and smiling at someone you find attractive (very mild fear). Number two might be smiling at ten attractive strangers in a single day. Number ten might be asking out your ideal date in front of all your mutual friends, when you’re almost certain you’ll be turned down flat and everyone in the room will laugh (extreme fear). Now start by setting a goal to complete number one on your list. Once you’ve had that success (and success in this case simply means taking action, regardless of the outcome), then move on to number two, and so on, until you’re ready to tackle number ten or you just don’t feel the fear is limiting you anymore. You may need to adjust the items on your list to make them practical for you to actually experience. And if you ever feel the next step is too big, then break it down into additional gradients. If you can lift 290 pounds but not 300, then try 295 or even 291. Take this process as gradually as you need to, such that the next step is a mild challenge for you but one you feel fairly confident you can complete. And feel free to repeat a past step multiple times if you find it helpful to prepare you for the next step. Pace yourself.

By following this progressive training process, you’ll accomplish two things. You’ll cease reinforcing the fear/avoidance response that you exhibited in the past. And you’ll condition yourself to act more courageously in future situations. So your feelings of fear will diminish at the same time that your expression of courage grows. Neurologically you’ll be weakening the limbic control over your actions while strengthening the neocortical control, gradually moving from unconscious mouse-like to conscious human-like behavior.

The second approach to building courage is to acquire additional knowledge and skill within the domain of your fear. Confronting fears head-on can be helpful, but if your fear is largely due to ignorance and lack of skill, then you can usually reduce or eliminate the fear with information and training. For example, if you’re afraid to quit your job and start your own business, even though you’d absolutely love to be in business for yourself, then start reading books and taking classes on how to start your own business. Spend an afternoon at your local library researching the subject, or do the research online. Join the local Chamber of Commerce and any relevant trade organizations in your field. Attend conferences. Build connections. Enlist the help of a mentor. Build your skill to the point where you start to feel confident that you could actually succeed, and this knowledge will help you act more boldly and courageously when you’re ready. This method is especially effective when a large part of your fear is due to the unknown. Often just reading a book or two on the subject will be enough to dispel the fear so that you’re able to take action.

These two methods are my personal favorites, but there are many additional ways to condition yourself to overcome fear, including neuro-linguistic programming, implosion therapy, systematic desensitization, and self-confrontation. You can research them via an online search engine if you wish to learn such methods and increase the number of fear-busting tools in your arsenal. Most of these can be easily self-administered (implosion therapy is the notable exception).

The exact process you use to build courage isn’t important. What’s important is that you consciously do it. Just as your muscles will atrophy if you don’t regularly stress them, your courage will atrophy if you don’t consistently challenge yourself to face down your fears. In the absence of this kind of conscious conditioning, you’ll automatically become weak in both body and mind. If you aren’t regularly exercising your courage, then you are strengthening your fear by default; there is no middle ground. Just as your muscles automatically atrophy from lack of use, so your courage will automatically decay in the absence of conscious conditioning.

Now this may sound overly gloomy, so here’s a positive way to look at it. Heavy weights can be a physical burden, but they are helpful tools to build strong muscles. You would not look at a 45-pound dumbbell and say, “Why must you be so heavy?” It is what it is. Heaviness is your thought, not an intrinsic property of the dumbbell itself. Similarly, do not look at the things you fear and say, “Why must you be so scary?” Fear is your reaction, not a property of the object of your anxiety.

Fear is not your enemy. It is a compass pointing you to the areas where you need to grow. So when you encounter a new fear within yourself, celebrate it as an opportunity for growth, just as you would celebrate reaching a new personal best with strength training.

Catch a Glimpse of Your Own Greatness

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.
– Erica Jong

The highest courage is to dare to appear to be what one is.
– John Lancaster Spalding

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

So what do you do with your newly developed courage? Where will it lead you? The answer is that it will permit you to lead a far more fulfilling and meaningful life. You will truly begin living as a daring human being instead of a timid mouse. You will uncover and develop your greatest talents. You will begin living far more consciously and deliberately than you ever have before. Instead of reacting to events, you will proactively manufacture your own events.
Courage is something you can only truly experience alone. It is a private victory, not a public one. Summoning the courage to listen to your innermost desires is not a group activity and does not result from building a consensus with others. Kahlil Gibran writes in The Prophet, “The vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.” The purpose of your existence is yours alone to discover. No one on earth has lived through the exact same experiences you have, and no one thinks the exact same thoughts you do.

On the one hand, this is a lonely realization. Whether you live alone or enjoy the deepest intimacy with a loving partner, deep down you must still face the reality that your life is yours alone to live. You can choose to temporarily yield control of your life to others, whether it be to a company, a spouse, or simply to the pressures of daily living, but you can never give away your personal responsibility for the results. Whether you assume direct and conscious control over your life or merely react to events as they happen to you, you and you alone must bear the consequences.

If you commit to following the path of courage, you will ultimately be forced to confront what is perhaps the greatest fear of all – that you are far more powerful and capable than you initially realized, that your ultimate potential is far greater than anything you’ve experienced in your past, and that with this power comes tremendous responsibility. You may not be able to solve all the woes of this planet, but if you ever do commit yourself 100% to the fulfillment of your true potential, you can significantly impact the lives of many people, and that impact will ripple through the future for generations to come.

What is the difference between you and one of those legendary historical figures who did have such an impact? You both had many of the same fears. You both were born with talents in some areas and weaknesses in others. The only thing stopping you is fear, and the only thing that will get you past it is courage. What you do with your life isn’t up to your parents, your boss, or your spouse. It’s up to you and you alone.

Catching a glimpse of your own greatness can be one of the most unsettling experiences imaginable. And even more disturbing is the awareness of the tremendous challenges that await you if you accept it. Living consciously is not an easy path, but it is a uniquely human experience, and it requires making the committed decision to permanently let go of that mouse within you. Going after your greatest and most ambitious dreams and experiencing failure and disappointment, running butt up against your most humbling human limitations instead of living with a comfortable padding of potential – these fears are common to us all.
The first few times you encounter such fears, you may quickly retreat back to the illusory security of life as a mouse. But if you keep exercising your courage, you will eventually mature to the point where you can openly accept the challenges and responsibilities of life as a fully conscious human being. Continuing to live as a mouse will simply hold no more interest for you. You will acknowledge within the deepest recesses of your being, I have awakened to this incredible potential within me, and I accept what that will require of me. Whatever it costs me, whatever I must sacrifice to follow this path, bring it on. I’m ready. Even though you will still experience fear, you will recognize it for the illusion it is, and you will know how to use your human courage to face it down, such that fear will no longer have the power to stop you.

Embrace the Daring Adventure

Before you embark on any path ask the question, does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it and then you must choose another path. The trouble is that nobody asks the question. And when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart the path is ready to kill him.
– Carlos Castaneda

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
– Kahlil Gibran

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
– Dale Carnegie

As you develop a sense of your true purpose in life, you may begin to feel an uneasy disconnect between your current life situation and the one you envision moving towards. These two worlds may seem so different to you that you cannot mentally conceive of how to build a bridge between them. How can you balance the practical reality of taking care of your third-dimensional obligations like earning money to pay your bills and taxes, pleasing your boss, raising your family, and maintaining social relationships with people who can’t even relate to what you’re experiencing vs. the new vision of yourself you desperately want to move towards? A whole host of new fears may crop up related to this seemingly impossible shift. How will you support yourself? What will become of your relationships? Are you just deluding yourself?

The best advice I can give you here is to forget about trying to build a bridge. Focus instead on independently beginning the process of manifesting the new vision of yourself from scratch, as if it were a totally separate thread in your life. If this creates a temporary incongruence in your life, just do it anyway. For example, suppose you currently work as a divorce attorney, but your courage tells you that you must eventually abandon such adversarial work. You envision yourself passionately teaching couples how to heal their broken relationships. But you can’t even fathom yourself as a trial lawyer trying to speak about healthy relationships, and on top of that problem, you can’t see any way to make a decent living in this new career, at least not quickly. There’s just too big a disconnect between this new vision and practical reality. So instead of trying to bridge this gap, just begin building your new vision completely from scratch in whatever time you have, even if it’s only an hour or two each week. Keep doing your regular work as an attorney, but in your spare time, start posting anonymously on relationship message boards to give couples advice on how to heal their relationships. Use the oratory skills you developed as an attorney to begin speaking to small groups about healing relationships. Perhaps create a new web site, and start writing and posting articles about your new passion. You don’t have to hide the fact that you’re an attorney, but don’t worry about bridging these two worlds. Live in paradox. Just start developing the new you, and allow the old one to continue in parallel for a while.

What will happen is that you’ll develop skill in your new undertaking, and you’ll eventually be able to support yourself from it, even if you can’t see how to do so right away. You may not be able to see a way to support yourself in your new vision right now, and that’s fine. Just begin it anyway, doing it for free, without any concern of how to turn it into a new full-time career. Patiently wait for clarity; you will eventually find a way to make it work. Then when the time is right, you’ll be able to peacefully let go of the old career and focus all your energy on the new one. At some point you’ll be able to commit fully to your new self. Your passion for your new work will eventually overwhelm your fear of letting go of your old source of stability. So instead of trying to transform your old career into your new one, just start the process of building your new one, and let your old one gradually fade. Even if you can only invest an hour a week in your new undertaking, you will probably discover that this hour is more fulfilling to you than all the other hours put together, and that passion will drive you to find a way to gradually grow this presence until it fills up most of your days. The most important thing is to begin now by introducing your new vision of yourself to your daily life, even if you can only initially do so in a small way.

No matter how difficult it may seem, make the choice to live consciously. Do not succumb to that half-conscious realm of fear-based thinking, filling your life with distractions to avoid facing what you feel in those silent spaces between your thoughts. Either exercise your human endowment of courage and progressively build the strength to face your deepest, darkest fears to live as the powerful being you truly are, or admit that your fears are too much for you, and embrace life as a mouse. But make this choice consciously and with full awareness of its consequences. If you are going to allow fear to win the battle for your life, then proclaim it the victor and forfeit the match. If you simply avoid living consciously and courageously, then that is equivalent to giving up on life itself, where your continued existence becomes little more than a waiting period before physical death – the nothing as opposed to the daring adventure.

Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be. You may go broke. You may experience failure and rejection repeatedly. You may endure multiple dysfunctional relationships. But these are all milestones along the path of a life lived courageously. They are your private victories, carving a deeper space within you to be filled with an abundance of joy, happiness, and fulfillment. So go ahead and feel the fear. Then summon the courage to follow your dreams anyway. That is strength undefeatable.

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Why You Need Discipline to Achieve the Good Life | Jim Rohn

We spend our lives gathering knowledge, skills and experiences. But what are we doing with it? 

What’s at the core of achieving the good life? It is not learning how to set goals. It is not learning how to better manage your time. It is not mastering the attributes of leadership. 

Every day in a thousand different ways, we are trying to improve ourselves by learning how to do things. We spend a lifetime gathering knowledge—in classrooms, in textbooks, in experiences. And if knowledge is power, if knowledge is the forerunner to success, why do we fall short of our objectives? Why, in spite of all our knowledge and collected experiences, do we find ourselves aimlessly wandering? Settling in for a life of existence rather than a life of substance? 

There might be many answers to this question. Your answer might be different from everyone else you know. Although there might be many answers to this question, the ultimate answer might be the absence of discipline in applying our knowledge. The key word is discipline, as in self-discipline. 

It doesn’t really matter how smart you are if you don’t use your knowledge. It doesn’t really matter that you graduated magna cum laude if you’re stuck in a low-paying job. It doesn’t really matter that you attend every seminar that comes to town if you don’t apply what you’ve learned.

We spend our lives gathering: gathering knowledge, gathering skills, gathering experiences. But we must also apply the knowledge, skills and experiences we gather in the realms of life and business. We must learn to use what we’ve learned.

And once we’ve applied our knowledge, we must study the results of that process and refine our approach.

Finally, by trying and observing and refining and trying again, our knowledge will inevitably produce worthy, admirable results. And with the joy and results of our efforts, we continue to fuel our ambition with the positive reinforcement of continued progress. Pretty soon, we’ll find that we’re swept into a spiral of achievement, a vertical rise to success. And the ecstasy of that total experience makes for a life triumphant over tragedy, dullness and mediocrity.
But for this whole process to work for us, we must first master the art of consistent self-discipline. It takes consistent self-discipline to master the art of setting goals, time management, leadership, parenting and relationships. If we don’t make consistent self-discipline part of our daily lives, the results we seek will be sporadic and elusive. It takes a consistent effort to truly manage our valuable time. Without it, we’ll be consistently frustrated. Our time will be eaten up by others whose demands are stronger than our own.

It takes discipline to conquer the nagging voices in our minds: the fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of poverty, the fear of a broken heart. It takes discipline to keep trying when that nagging voice within us brings up the possibility of failure.

It takes discipline to admit our errors and recognize our limitations. The voice of the human ego speaks to all of us. Sometimes, that voice tells us to magnify our value or accomplishments beyond our actual results. It leads us to exaggerate, to not be totally honest. It takes discipline to be totally honest, both with ourselves and with others.

Be certain of one thing: Every exaggeration of the truth, once detected by others, destroys our credibility. It makes all that we say and do suspect. As soon as a business colleague figures out that we tend to exaggerate, guess what… he or she will think we always exaggerate. And they’ll never quite hold us in the same regard again. Never.

The tendency to exaggerate, distort or even withhold the truth is an inherent part of all of us. It starts when we’re kids. Johnny says, “I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it!” Well maybe Johnny didn’t do it, but he probably had something to do with it. And then it continues when we’re adults: exaggerating the benefits of a product to make a sale, exaggerating our net worth to impress old friends, exaggerating how closer we are to closing a deal to impress the boss. Only an all-out, disciplined assault can overcome this tendency.

It takes discipline to change a habit, because once habits are formed, they act like a giant cable, a nearly unbreakable instinct.

It takes discipline to change a habit, because once habits are formed, they act like a giant cable, a nearly unbreakable instinct that only long-term, disciplined activity can change. We must unweave every strand of the cable of the habits, slowly and methodically, until the cable that once held us in bondage becomes nothing more than scattered strands of wire. It takes the consistent application of a new discipline, a more desirable discipline, to overcome one which is less desirable.

It takes discipline to plan. It takes discipline to execute our plan. It takes discipline to look with full objectivity at the results of our applied plan. And it takes discipline to change either our plan or our method of executing that plan if the results are poor. It takes discipline to be firm when the world throws opinions at our feet. And it takes discipline to ponder the value of someone else’s opinion when our pride and our arrogance lead us to believe that we are the only ones with the answers.

With this consistent discipline applied to every area of our lives, we can discover untold miracles and uncover unique possibilities and opportunities.

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Are You Prepared for Success? | Brian Tracy

Are you prepared for success? Earl Nightingale once said that if a person does not prepare for his success, when his opportunity comes, it will only make him look foolish. You’ve probably heard it said repeatedly that luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Only when you’ve paid the price to be ready for your success are you in a position to take advantage of your opportunities when they arise. And the most remarkable thing is this: The very act of preparation attracts to you, like iron filings to a magnet, opportunities to use that preparation to advance in your life. You’ll seldom learn anything of value without soon having a chance to use your new knowledge and your new skills to move ahead more rapidly.

There is a series of things that you can do to become ready for success. All of these activities require self-discipline and a good deal of faith. They require self-discipline because the most normal and natural thing for people to do is to try to get by without preparation. Instead of taking the time and making the effort to be ready for their chance when it comes, they fool around, listen to the radio, watch television, and then they try to wing it and dupe others into thinking that they are more prepared than they really are. And since just about everyone can see through just about everyone else, the unprepared person simply looks incompetent and foolish.

The Golden Hour

We live in a knowledge-based society, and knowledge in every field is doubling approximately every seven years. This means that you must double your knowledge in your field every seven years just to stay even. You’re already “maxed out” at your current level of knowledge and skill. You’ve reached the ceiling in your career with your current talents and abilities. If you want to go faster and further, you must get back to work and begin to prepare yourself for greater heights. You must put aside the newspaper, turn off the television, politely excuse yourself from aimless socializing, and work on yourself. Get in the habit of awaking earlier in the morning and spending the first 30 to 60 minutes reading something uplifting, informational, educational. Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The first hour is the rudder of the day.” This is often called the “golden hour.” It’s the hour during which you program your mind and set your emotional tone for the rest of the day. If you get up in the morning at least two hours before you have to be at work, or before your first appointment, and spend the first hour investing in your mind, taking in “mental protein” rather than “mental candy,” reading good books rather than the newspaper or magazines, your whole day will flow more smoothly. You’ll be more positive and optimistic. You’ll be calmer, more confident and relaxed. You’ll gain a greater sense of control and well-being by the very act of reading healthy material for the first hour of each and everyday.

Plan Your Day

Another thing that highly successful people do is plan and prepare for the entire day. They review all of the tasks and responsibilities that they have for the coming hours. They carefully make a list of all their activities, and they set clear priorities on the activities. They decide which things are most important to do, which are secondary in importance, and which things should not be done at all unless all the other things are finished. They then discipline themselves to start working on their most important tasks and stay with them during the day until they’re complete.

The natural tendency of the low performer is to do what is fun and easy before he or she does what is hard and necessary. Underachievers always like to do the little things first. They are drawn to the tasks that contribute little to their careers or future possibilities. But high achievers discipline themselves to start at the top of their list and to work on the activities in order of importance, without diversion or distraction.

In everything you do, preparation is the key. If you want to be ready for success, you have to plant the seeds well in advance of the harvest that you expect. Do what the winners do: Think on paper. Memorize the winner’s creed: “Everything counts.” Everything you do is either moving you toward your goals or away from them. Everything is either helping you or hurting you. Nothing is neutral. Everything counts. A young man once asked a successful businessman how he could be more successful faster. The businessman told him that the key to his own success had been to “get good” at his job.

The young man said, “I’m already good at what I do.”

The businessman then said, “Well, get better!”

The young man, somewhat self-satisfied, said, “Well, I’m already better than most people.”
To that, the businessman replied, “Then be the best.”

Those are three of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard: Get good. Get better. Be the best!

A quotation by Abraham Lincoln had a great influence on my life when I was 15. It was a statement he made when he was a young lawyer in Springfield, Illinois. He said, “I will study and prepare myself, and someday my chance will come.”

If you study and prepare yourself, your chance will come as well. There is nothing that you cannot accomplish if you’ll invest the effort to get yourself ready for the success that you desire. And there is nothing that can stop you but your own lack of preparation.

Think about the message in this beautiful poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

“Those heights by great men won and kept

Were not achieved by sudden flight;

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.”

Remember that preparation requires self-discipline, because your natural tendency is to do more and more of the things that come most easily to you and avoid those areas that you don’t enjoy because you’re not particularly good at them yet. It requires character for you to admit your weaknesses in a particular area and then resolve to go to work to develop yourself so those weaknesses don’t hold you back. In other words: Prepare yourself for success … or when opportunity knocks, it will make you look a fool.

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW …
It’s not what you don’t know that can cause you to miss out on success; it’s what you think you don’t need to know. Perhaps you have never studied the intricacies of how to raise money to support a new venture … you have never needed to. But, how many ideas have you had that get dispelled because they are “too big” or would “cost too much money”? Maybe they would seem smaller, more achievable 'allowing you to entertain them' if you knew how to obtain venture capital. You don’t need to learn every subject in depth. But, take the time to learn what you think you don’t need to know, at least at a cursory level. If the occasion comes to dig deeper, then dig.

So let me know what you think below!

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Emotional Intelligence - EQ | Travis Bradberry

As the bestselling coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, I'm often asked to break down what emotional intelligence is and why it's so important. Here goes...

Emotional Intelligence Is the Other Kind of Smart.

When emotional intelligence first appeared to the masses in 1995, it served as the missing link in a peculiar finding: people with average IQs outperform those with the highest IQs 70% of the time. This anomaly threw a massive wrench into what many people had always assumed was the sole source of success—IQ. Decades of research now point to emotional intelligence as the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack.

Emotional intelligence is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. Emotional intelligence is made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competencies: personal competence and social competence.

Personal competence is made up of your self-awareness and self-management skills, which focus more on you individually than on your interactions with other people. Personal competence is your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your behavior and tendencies.

• Self-Awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your emotions and stay aware of them as they happen.

• Self-Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and positively direct your behavior.

Social competence is made up of your social awareness and relationship management skills; social competence is your ability to understand other people’s moods, behavior, and motives in order to improve the quality of your relationships.

• Social Awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on.

• Relationship Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions and the others’ emotions to manage interactions successfully.

Emotional Intelligence, IQ, and Personality Are Different.

Emotional intelligence taps into a fundamental element of human behavior that is distinct from your intellect. There is no known connection between IQ and emotional intelligence; you simply can’t predict emotional intelligence based on how smart someone is. Intelligence is your ability to learn, and it’s the same at age 15 as it is at age 50. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is a flexible set of skills that can be acquired and improved with practice. 

Although some people are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others, you can develop high emotional intelligence even if you aren’t born with it.
Personality is the final piece of the puzzle. It’s the stable “style” that defines each of us. Personality is the result of hard-wired preferences, such as the inclination toward introversion or extroversion. However, like IQ, personality can’t be used to predict emotional intelligence. Also like IQ, personality is stable over a lifetime and doesn’t change. IQ, emotional intelligence, and personality each cover unique ground and help to explain what makes a person tick.

Emotional Intelligence Is Linked to Performance.

How much of an impact does emotional intelligence have on your professional success? The short answer is: a lot! It’s a powerful way to focus your energy in one direction with a tremendous result. TalentSmart tested emotional intelligence alongside 33 other important workplace skills, and found that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs.

Your emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills—it impacts most everything you say and do each day. Emotional intelligence is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.

Of all the people we’ve studied at work, we’ve found that 90% of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence. On the flip side, just 20% of bottom performers are high in emotional intelligence. You can be a top performer without emotional intelligence, but the chances are slim. Naturally, people with a high degree of emotional intelligence make more money—an average of $29,000 more per year than people with a low degree of emotional intelligence. The link between emotional intelligence and earnings is so direct that every point increase in emotional intelligence adds $1,300 to an annual salary. These findings hold true for people in all industries, at all levels, in every region of the world. We haven’t yet been able to find a job in which performance and pay aren’t tied closely to emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence Can Be Developed.

The communication between your emotional and rational “brains” is the physical source of emotional intelligence. The pathway for emotional intelligence starts in the brain, at the spinal cord. Your primary senses enter here and must travel to the front of your brain before you can think rationally about your experience. However, first they travel through the limbic system, the place where emotions are generated. So, we have an emotional reaction to events before our rational mind is able to engage. Emotional intelligence requires effective communication between the rational and emotional centers of the brain.

“Plasticity” is the term neurologists use to describe the brain’s ability to change. Your brain grows new connections as you learn new skills. The change is gradual, as your brain cells develop new connections to speed the efficiency of new skills acquired.

Using strategies to increase your emotional intelligence allows the billions of microscopic neurons lining the road between the rational and emotional centers of your brain to branch off small “arms” (much like a tree) to reach out to the other cells. A single cell can grow 15,000 connections with its neighbors. This chain reaction of growth ensures it’s easier to kick this new behavior into action in the future. Once you train your brain by repeatedly using new emotional intelligence strategies, emotionally intelligent behaviors become habits.

Please let me know what you think below.

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25 Books for Success | Erin Casey

Out of hundreds, the editors of SUCCESS have narrowed our list to 25 must-read books for achievers. The task wasn't easy, although our criteria were simple. These are books we've read, liked and that made a difference in our lives. We chose books that take a comprehensive approach to money, life and personal development because we know that one-dimensional success really isn't success at all.

You might wonder why your favorite book didn't make the list. Well, we could've filled the magazine with dozens more books. Our top 25 are by no stretch of the imagination the only books you should read. To the contrary, we know reading about and applying techniques and success strategies are the best ways to discover and stay focused on your life's journey.

We hope our list opens your eyes to something new, inspires you to pick up that volume you've always meant to read or to re-read a favorite classic. If you have suggestions on what we didn't include, we want to hear from you.

We encourage you to find a book that interests you and carve out a few minutes every day to read at least a few pages. You'll be amazed at the difference it will make in your journey toward success!

1. How To Win Friends and Influence People

First published in 1937, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie was an overnight success with staying power. Today, this book is regarded as one of the all-time best for its lessons on dealing with people.

The chapter titles seem, at first, a little manipulative: "Six ways to make people like you," "12 ways to win people to your way of thinking." But the reality of Carnegie's teachings is that none will work if the intent is manipulation. The word "genuine" appears repeatedly throughout the book. Only with authenticity and honesty will Carnegie's methods work consistently.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is packed with anecdotes from historical leaders and lessons learned or taught by some of history's greatest businessmen, making the read as interesting as it is enlightening. And the methods--calling a person by his or her name or looking at the situation from the other's point of view--work in business and in personal life with family and friends.

Carnegie's book is a classic. Though he credits many people for inspiring his ideas, his methods are the foundation for many of today's personal-development and business-management books.

2. The Richest Man in Babylon

Too often, life doesn't turn out as expected. And money, or the lack of money, plays a large role in people's ability to handle life's ups and downs. Perhaps that's why, in the 1920s, banks and insurance companies decided to distribute short parables written to educate people on important financial principles. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason began in 1926 as a series of pamphlets, the most famous ones later compiled into one of the best-loved money guides of all time.

The book begins with two men realizing that, while they lived a meager existence, one of their childhood friends had become known as the wealthiest man in Babylon. Despite growing up in similar circumstances, their friend seemed to have created a life of gold while they barely scratched out a living.

The situation is all too familiar even today. And like the men who'd come to the realization that they'd failed to think beyond the day at hand, readers have the opportunity to sit at the feet of the richest man in Babylon and learn how to build wealth. They learn how to plan for the future, make wise investments and how to view money as a tool rather than a measure of success.

With time-tested principles and an engaging format, The Richest Man in Babylon is an excellent introduction to finance, and a classic.

3. Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill, inspired by business legend Andrew Carnegie, spent 20 years of his life studying the lives of some of history's most successful people. The culmination of his research was the in-depth series, The Laws of Success. In 1937, Hill published another book, Think and Grow Rich, founded on the same philosophies of success. This book condensed the wealth of knowledge he's accumulated into 13 principles for successful living.

Shorter and perhaps easier to get through than its multivolume predecessor, Think and Grow Rich is as applicable today as it was when it was first released. The title's principles are founded on Hill's belief in the power of the mind, and his famous quotes, such as, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve," have changed the way millions of people view their lives. When read in its entirety and its principles put into action, Think and Grow Rich not only helps people change their views on life, but also the way they behave and, ultimately, their reality.

More than 30 million copies of Think and Grow Rich have been bought by business students, entrepreneurs and goal-setters around the world. When it was re-released in 2004, it rocketed once again to the top, holding a place on BusinessWeek's Best Seller list for paperback business books for more than 20 months.

Think and Grow Rich is a timeless classic that should be read by everyone interested in improving their lives and reaching their goals.

4. The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying

Suze Orman (Crown, 1997) As a financial expert, Suze Orman offers advice on the nuts and bolts of managing money. But whether you're watching her on television or reading her advice in O, The Oprah Magazine, or in one of her best-selling books, such as 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, her message is clear: Wealth is an attitude and money isn't the key to acquiring true financial freedom.

In this acclaimed book, Orman challenges readers to face their financial fears and acknowledge the importance of planning for the future. With a three-pronged approach, Orman tackles the mental, physical and spiritual issues that keep people from reaching financial freedom. Also available in audio format, 9 Steps to Financial Freedom encourages personal growth while offering the education necessary to begin the process of building a rich life.

Again, it's the total approach to financial success that sets this and the other financial books on this list apart. Acquiring wealth isn't as simple as piling up the green stuff. Your beliefs about money, yourself and the world around you have as much to do with wealth as do the riches you acquire.

5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

While Stephen Covey wasn't the first to write a book on becoming a better, more effective person, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People marked the beginning of a revitalized interest in personal development. With a 15th anniversary edition released in 2004 and more than 15 million copies sold, this book has helped millions change their perspective and their lives.

Unlike many authors of books in this genre, Covey doesn't promise a simple, quick fix for creating a better life. In fact, mastering the seven habits he outlines could take a lifetime. But as with many personal-development efforts, it's what you learn as you work toward becoming a truly effective person that matters.

The habits are divided into three sections: Private Victory, Public Victory and Renewal. Private Victory focuses on the individual's view of himself. The first three habits are: becoming proactive, beginning with the end in mind, and putting first things first. These habits will challenge you to take responsibility for your thoughts, beliefs and actions. The Public Victory section focuses on creating meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships. And because being effective requires energy and focus, the seventh habit, "Sharpening the Saw," encourages you to engage in activities that promote mental and physical renewal.

Covey says that when our behavior contradicts our beliefs or when our relationships consistently fail, any successes we achieve feel hollow. This book takes a total approach to success and encourages growth and maturity beginning with self, which leads to stronger relationships and greater success at home and at work.

6. Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

Dan Millman (HJ Kramer, 2006) The first of Dan Millman's writings, this book is an inspirational story based largely on his college years. The book delves into the notion that a person can be accomplished and successful without feeling alive or genuinely happy.

Millman learns "the way of the peaceful warrior" from a mysterious old man he names Socrates. His mentor leads him through a journey of self-discovery. The lessons the young man endures and later accepts are applicable for anyone searching for greater meaning in life.

7. The Law of Success In Sixteen Lessons by Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill (Combined Registry Co., 1966) Twenty-six years of research, including interviews with more than 500 self-made millionaires, laid the foundation for this massive collection. After studying the methods and accomplishments of masterminds such as Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Graham Bell, Napoleon Hill compiled what he learned, offering it to the world as the Laws of Success.

More than theories for a book, Hill applied the precepts to his life and discovered immeasurable success. The book's size might seem intimidating, but Hill wrote so it could be taught to high school students, keeping the text rich but easy to understand. This personal-development guru paves the road to success with timeless wisdom.

8. Acres of Diamonds: All Good Things Are Possible, Right Where You Are, and Now!

Russell H. Conwell (Filiquarian, 2007) Opportunities for success, wealth and happiness often lie under foot and yet go unnoticed. This little book, originally a speech by Russell Conwell, serves as a reminder not to overlook the abundance right on our doorstep.

This timeless work is freely available online, in both written and audio formats, and addresses the myth that fame and fortune are waiting somewhere "out there." He also dispels the notion that men and women of integrity shouldn't desire money or wealth. "Money is power, and you ought to be reasonably ambitious to have it. You ought because you can do more good with it than you could without it," Conwell said. And to that end, he advises readers to begin searching for the diamonds in their lives… at home.

9. As a Man Thinketh

James Allen (Filiquarian, 2007) Published in 1902, "This little volume" as James Allen refers to it, has been a source of inspiration for millions and has influenced the work of many respected personal-development leaders. And with statements such as, "The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears," Allen paved the way for many contemporary philosophers.

At its core is the belief that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Allen uses eloquent period language to bring readers to the realization that thoughts and character are inseparably intertwined. Equally as important is the lesson of personal responsibility taking precedence over thoughts and actions. He prescribes focused time to reflect and discover yourself and your dreams, and to put forth energy and time to make those dreams reality. This book, now in the public domain and freely accessible on the Internet, should be in every achiever's library.

10. Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed

Brian Tracy (Simon & Schuster, 1995) As suggested by this book's subtitle, "Strategies and skills that will unlock your hidden powers to succeed," it's likely you already possess what's required to create success in your life. Those who apply these strategies provided by Brian Tracy can make changes that quickly produce results.

Learn how to create success that encompasses every area of life-health, personal and professional happiness, relationships and wealth. Whether you're already on the road to success or just getting started on your success journey, the principles outlined in the book will help you realize your true potential. Build the life you want and attain the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that you control your destiny.

11. The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn 

Jim Rohn & Ronald Reynolds (Jim Rohn International, 1981) In The Seasons of Life, Jim Rohn and Ronald Reynolds draw parallels between life and the changing seasons. When you learn that change is the only guarantee, you can make the most of each season as it comes into your life.

It's possible to learn and grow from every experience. The authors help readers understand that every season is necessary and valuable-even winter, when life seems harsh and your actions unfruitful.

12. See You at the Top

Zig Ziglar (Pelican Publishing Company, 2000) There's room for you at the top! Zig Ziglar's message has inspired millions to change their lives by helping them do, be and have more than they dared dream possible.

Ziglar offers a nuts-and-bolts approach to developing the self-image, attitudes and habits that make people successful. Learn how to set and achieve goals, how to create momentum that propels you forward in life and why being focused on others is a critical aspect of success. This step-by-step guide will help you excel in every area of life.

13. The Magic of Thinking Big

David J. Schwartz (Pocket Books, 1995) Thinking big separates the achievers from the average. In this best-selling classic, David Schwartz suggests that it's not necessarily intelligence or work ethic that move people up the ladder of success, but the personal choice people make to believe that something bigger and better is possible.

Make time to reflect on your life's goals and expand them. Once you have a clear picture of what you want, focus your energy on achieving that goal. Keep your eyes fixed on your goal and do not allow the small thinking of the world around you to cloud your vision. Schwartz offers practical advice for putting the magic of thinking big to work in your life.

14. The Power of Positive Thinking

Norman Vincent Peale (Fireside, 2007) The belief that positive thoughts lead to a positive reality isn't a new phenomenon. Decades before The Secret, Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking. The book teaches readers that focused, intentional and unyielding belief is required before they can achieve the lives they desire.

The philosophies from this best-selling book have helped millions reach their personal, financial, spiritual and relationship goals. Learn to replace negative thoughts with positive beliefs and to break the worry habit by cultivating a character that isn't swayed by circumstances.

15. Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

Anthony Robbins (Free Press, 1992) Within each person is a sleeping giant of greatness. With this book, motivational coach Anthony Robbins seeks to help you "take immediate control of mental, emotional, physical and financial destiny."

Not one to do things in a small way, Robbins found huge success, lost it all and then, using the techniques outlined in this book, took control of his life and his success. This personal-development classic delves into the specifics of goal-setting, achieving success in relationships, talking to yourself and discovering your true potential.

16. Developing the Leader Within You

John C. Maxwell (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Developing the Leader Within You makes the theories of leadership personal. For those struggling to take the next step in their careers or who doubt their leadership abilities, the book offers practical methods for developing leadership skills.

Recognizing that some people have innate leadership-personality traits, the book provides direction
for becoming more effective. But John Maxwell's book debunks the myth that only an exclusive few are born to be leaders. Instead, he suggests that everyone benefits from learning self-discipline, seeking mentors and adding to their skills through training.

Maxwell defines leadership as influence and points out that a management title isn't a prerequisite. Regardless of your career, position or personality, learn how to become an effective leader.

17. The One Minute Manager

Kenneth Blanchard (HarperCollins Business, 2000) Apply the principals taught in The One Minute Manager and watch your team's productivity and job satisfaction grow. This allegorical tale pulls together the wisdom gained through experience, allowing readers to prosper without making their predecessors' mistakes.

The One Minute management style allows leaders to be efficient and effective with their time. The short chapters in this easy read focus on interaction between managers and their teams. By setting goals that encourage, redirecting, reprimanding and praising appropriately, leaders can get more from their teams while earning their respect.

18. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

Jim Collins (Collins, 2001) If good is the enemy of great, can good companies become great? And if so, how is that transition made with lasting effect? These are some of the questions central to the research that led to the publication of Good to Great.

Five years of investigation uncovered the characteristics that made uncommonly great companies outshine their competition and earn significantly higher profits. Comparing the differentiating traits of good companies and their great counterparts, Jim Collins and his research team learned that, among other things, leaders who willingly work with their heads and hearts, rather than their egos, are required to take a company from good to great. Such leaders create the foundation for the culture and sustainable results that propel an organization to excellence.

19. The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich

David Bach (Broadway, 2003) Who wouldn't want to become a millionaire automatically? The truths related in this book, as in Bach's Finish Rich series, are that nothing great is accomplished without forethought. But with a little planning and by putting many aspects of your finances on autopilot, you can be on the road to wealth.

The automatic aspect plan allows readers to save time while saving money. And though many of the principles aren't new, Bach's easy-to-understand approach helps the reader understand them in a new way. Some of the highlights include principles such as paying yourself first, and advice about why and how to save for retirement-even if you're hard-pressed to make ends meet now. Bach also provides advice for accomplishing short-term savings goals and explains that giving is an important part of wealth.

20. Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert T. Kiyosaki (Time Warner Paperbacks, 2002) The paradigm shift related to work, employment and entrepreneurship has been a long time coming. In one of his most-read books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki reveals the value of taking control of your financial destiny through entrepreneurship and investing.

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Kiyosaki contrasts the differences between what the rich and the poor or middle classes teach their children. As a young man, Kiyosaki was taught by his "poor dad" to follow the path of least resistance: Get an education, get a job and work hard. His "rich dad," his friend's dad, mentored him to do the opposite. The book acknowledges education is important but it isn't always best received in a formal learning environment. Lessons include the value of self-employment, how to be self-employed without limiting yourself to the constraints of an employee, and how to create and take advantage of residual-income opportunities. Instead of working hard for money, use the principles in this book to make money work for you.

21. The Greatest Salesman in the World

Og Mandino (Frederick Fell Publishers, 2001) Ten ancient scrolls hold the key to wealth and happiness in this classic parable. A young camel boy wishing to improve his station in life takes his master's words to heart: "No other trade or profession has more opportunity for one to rise from poverty to great wealth than that of a salesman." Desiring success and wealth, the young man sets out to become the greatest salesman in the world.

This pocket-sized book can be read easily in an hour, but it's packed with wisdom for those pursuing a career in sales. Far more than a how-to book on closing the sale, the story encourages the reader to contribute to society and to grow in peace of mind and in heart. Those who apply the principles in the scrolls will learn how to overcome the challenges of sales, how to persist through trials and, ultimately, how to succeed.

22. The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource: Including The 10.5 Commandments of Sales Success

Jeffrey Gitomer (Wiley, 2003) Jeffrey Gitomer has an extremely low tolerance for lamenting salespeople and that comes through in the bold and fast-paced tone of his books. The Sales Bible puts more than 100 sales facts, tips and solutions at your disposal to help you "make sales while others are whining!"

This book magnifies the details of every aspect of sales. Learn the basics and understand how recent changes in selling affect you and your pitch. Discover the keys to setting yourself apart from the competition and finding your prospect's button. The table of contents is designed to help you quickly identify specific topics. Or just start reading from cover to cover for an excellent education from someone who knows the profession from the inside out.

23. Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

Dr. Spencer Johnson (Vermilion, 2002) For many people, change can be challenging. It can cause fear, anger and the feeling of being out of control. This popular parable examines change and what happens to those who choose not to embrace it.

"If you do not change, you can become extinct," is one of the many truisms the characters learn in Who Moved My Cheese? What's holding you back? Are you taking note of small changes that could lead to more significant changes in the future? In the maze of life, it's possible to successfully deal with change if and when you clear your mind of expectations and understand that while your comfort zone may be cozy, it's not necessarily the safest place to live.

24. Chicken Soup for the Soul Series

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, with other contributors (Health Communications Inc., 1993-2008) Need inspiration? The phenomenal success of Chicken Soup for the Soul offers inspiration on many levels. From the tenacity it took to get the first Chicken Soup for the Soul published (Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected by 140 publishers and their book agent before finding a publisher willing to take a chance on their idea) to the thousands of touching and thought-provoking stories, these books will warm your heart and may help you view life from a new perspective.

The original Chicken Soup for the Soul went to the top of the best-seller list in less than a year. Today, one or more of the Chicken Soup books is consistently listed on the New York Times and other major best-sellers lists.

As an entrepreneur, parent or business leader, staying at the top or your game requires regular jolts of passion and healthy doses of laughter. Find both by picking up a copy on a topic that interests you. With more than 170 titles in the series, you're sure to find one that inspires you.

25. Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude

Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone (Pocket Books, 1991) Success through a Positive Mental Attitude was first published in 1960, written by two of history's greatest personal-development leaders, Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone. For almost half a century, this book has been the launching point for those who want to change the direction of their lives.

Hill and Stone recognize that each person has their own definition of success. But whether your desire is to build great wealth, own profitable organizations or be a world-renowned artist, the authors point out, "You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying. Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying with a [positive mental attitude]."

This book addresses all areas of life. From getting the job you want to building better relationships with those around you to living healthier longer (Stone lived to be 100 years old!), this book takes an inclusive approach to success, beginning with your state of mind.

Why a must-read? When you're looking for advice on how to create a successful and rewarding life, why not get the answers from those who have "been there, done that?" These thought leaders and business experts used the principles of positive mental attitude and experienced a lifetime of rewards.

Have you read some or all of these books?  What do you think?  Which one will you read next and why? Please let me know below.

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