Eight Steps to
Succeeding at the Game of Life The following was written by the author of Hidden Wealth and was a part of the first three editions of the book. It was removed from the fourth editon of Hidden Wealth so that that edition would be strictly dedicated to surplus goods information. However, readers found this information so motivating that the author chose to share it with everyone, regardless of whether they bought his book or not. The information can be life-changing. Feel free to print it out and post it where you will see it everyday. Share it with friends, relatives, loved ones and business associates. Reproduction for commercial purposes without written permission from author strictly prohibited. Your Formula For Success The world is full of opportunities. Nearly anyone with a truly strong desire to succeed at something can succeed. People with enormous disabilities have overcome them to become world class athletes, corporation presidents or famous role models. Yet many other healthy and educated people have difficulty coping with life's problems. They never seem to get out of first gear. Out of 100 people who start in the working world at age 20, only five will be financially independent by age 65. That's a fact, as shocking as it may seem. Only 5 percent of the population of our country, our great country filled with opportunities, ever reach the status of being truly financially independent! Now how can that possibly be? Surely they have the drive and desire to succeed when they graduate from school armed with fresh knowledge and a lot of spunk. But what happens in those 40 or so years in between? Why is it after all those years of learning experiences and hard work, they're often no better off than when they started out? After years of studying what makes people successful, I've concluded there are eight basic key elements individuals either have or lack that affect their chances of reaching a high level of success. But let's first define success. Success is not the accumulation of money and material things, although to some this may be part of it. Success is the process of reaching a plateau in life where happiness and piece of mind are achieved; where one feels they have the choice and opportunity to do whatever it is they feel they personally want to do with the rest of their life, and the satisfaction that they have accomplished most of what they have set out to do thus far. The process of achieving success for every individual is different. Obviously the processes for Donald Trump and Mother Teresa are going to be vastly different. But both believe their process is the right one. Your individual values will plot the route you'll personally take. But to achieve true success as in my definition just given you, you'll need to develop all eight of the key elements I'm about to tell you about. Apply these key elements to your life, your career and your business and you cannot fail. Study these key elements over and over until you fully understand how they can play such a critical role in success. Once you understand them, everything else will seem to fall into place so easily. Once you apply them, you'll be amazed how simply success can be achieved. Key Element #1 - The Right Attitude Have you ever gone into a store or other business only to be waited on by a person who was unfriendly, rude or otherwise distasteful? Have you ever called a company and been greeted by a voice on the phone that was cold, nasty or short with you? Of course, we all have. We then wonder why that person is the way they are. We say they have a bad attitude. Why are they that way? They may just be having a bad day. Maybe things have gone wrong at home. But usually it's because they are dissatisfied with their job. They're bored and they feel they really don't want to be doing what they're doing. They don't feel they're appreciated for their work and their wages often reflect it. What these people don't seem to understand is they're probably getting paid only what they're worth. You see, they don't understand the secrets to success. They believe they should be paid more than they earn. They want to be paid a good salary before they will do good work. They don't understand they have this formula backwards. They don't understand that they need to earn their wage in the way of good service to others before they will get paid a good wage in return for what they have done. The quality of their service is what determines their worth, not simply their presence at a job. The same applies to a business. If a business does not provide a good service to a community, it will not prosper or receive a good income. What one receives is in direct proportion to what one provides in the way of service. If you serve your community well by providing good quality products and services at fair prices, then you will receive in return a good income and repeat business from your customers. Those that refuse to give or do more than they're paid for seldom receive more than they give or do. You cannot receive more than what you earn for very long. Many people go through the motions of putting in their time at work or at their business but their minds are focused somewhere else. Their efforts are only half-hearted and a "that's good enough" attitude is often the norm. A clerk in a store often feels the only way they can increase their income is to work more hours or get a second job. But what about if they changed their attitude? Becoming more helpful to customers, learning more about ways to help their employer increase business, doing things they aren't required to do; wouldn't an employer recognize these key elements in an employee? And wouldn't it make that employee indeed more valuable to that business? Apply these same principles to a business that is competing with other similar businesses. By offering to wash the windshield of a gas customer's car, by giving away some insignificant item free of charge, by keeping your store sparkling more than anyone else's and by simply saying to the customer, "Thank you for your business. We surely appreciate your coming into our store!" All other things equal, wouldn't these things give you the edge over your competition? Your attitude about what you do and how you do it will affect your success. Remember, the person of least value to an organization is usually the first to go when hard times hit. The same is true for businesses. Are you a vital part of your organization? Is your business a vital part of the community or is it just another place to shop? You can change your life by changing your attitude. Your environment is a reflection of you. What kind of attitude do you have? What is the degree of service you provide to your employer or your community? To increase your service, read good books on your field, listen to tape programs. They can be extremely motivating. But just like anything that needs attention, it must be kept up. Just as you'd mow and fertilize your lawn, you need to constantly strive to maintain and improve your attitude and career. Model successful people. What are their contributions to society? What have they done better than anyone else in their field? Most of all, keep a positive, self-expectant attitude in every situation. Key Element #2 - Non-Conformity Another reason so few people today succeed is that they go around acting like the 95 percent of the people who are unsuccessful. They conform. And they conform to the wrong group. We learn conformity at an early age. We're taught by our parents, from childhood, to act like the other children. Our schools teach us to do everything the same. There is no encouragement to break from the group and become an individual. Everyone must think and act alike. Our military is even more rigid. Anyone who differentiates from the norm soon learns they must pay the price. Then, before long, they're on their own, practicing what they learned. They became part of social groups that act alike. They get up in the morning, go to work, get together with others of similar interests for some social activity perhaps, have a few drinks, go home, watch TV for a few hours and go to bed. Whatever fits comfortably into their schedule without too much effort is what is usually done. And conforming to the activities of others for companionship and social grace seems the thing to do, not to mention the easy way out. New businesses open and try to be successful by copying similar businesses. Sure, they change their name and paint their walls a different color but very few are truly different. Then when someone does open a business with a completely new concept, it very often meets with raving success. The pattern begins of everyone copying the leader, it never occurring to them to be imaginative and different themselves. How many restaurants open every day serving the same basic items as everyone else. And only when a place that's refreshingly original opens does someone say, "Gee, I should have thought of that." And they should have. Because it usually only requires a desire to offer something different. Something that only required thought to conceive. Conformity is a major cause of failure. Non-conformity breeds imagination and creativity and keeps the mind working. Most inventors, self-made millionaires, philosophers and great people of history have been nonconformists. Their strong desire not to be like everyone else has driven them to create new ideas and better ways of doing things. You need to step out of that all-too-familiar circle of comfort to achieve greatness. Or will you be content at age 65 to look forward to living on that social security check and conforming to the surrounding groups as you have since you were young? Will you be content to look back and say, "I shoulda..." or "I coulda... ." But by then it will be too late! Key Element #3 - The Ability To Think And Reason I'm not a really religious person to tell you the truth. But I do know there are certain Universal Laws that make things work. They always apply and can never be broken. They always work under any circumstances and they are there to insure that this wonderful world operates the way it is supposed to operate, in spite of how mankind tries to change it sometimes. The law of gravity, for instance, makes certain that things stay put. The law of cause and effect states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every action you take there will be a result from it. This is where you begin your thinking and reasoning process. If you produce a quality product, people will most likely buy it. If you produce an inferior product, they will avoid it. If your service is good, you can expect a good demand for it. If your service is poor, the demand will be poor. Good action, good result. Poor action, poor result. Any attempt to try to gain money or wealth without providing an equal amount of value to the community will only result in eventual failure. It can't be any other way. It's a law. And those who have tried to break these laws have had to answer to a higher power at some point in the future. So success or failure is only a matter of following the Universal Laws. Learn to think and reason out your problems knowing that for every action you take, there will be a reaction. When you are faced with a truly difficult problem, find a quiet spot where you can think without being interrupted. Take a pad and pen and start writing down all of the aspects of the problem. Then concentrate on solutions. Write down anything that pops into your head, no matter how far fetched it may seem. Soon you'll be surprised to find that the ideas begin to come quite quickly. If they don't, try again the next day, rephrasing the problem. State the problem as a positive question, such as, "What can I do to increase my business?" Don't state it negatively, such as "How come I'm not doing well?" Ask yourself the questions with the expectation of receiving an answer. You'll be surprised how often you'll get one. Seek advice from people who are likely to be able to give you an educated answer. When faced with a difficult problem, people will go to the most unlikely sources to find an answer. They'll ask their friends, relatives and next door neighbors, many of which know less than they do, before they'll ask someone who is likely to know. If you'll only think, you'll be surprised at how far ahead of the crowd you'll be. Be as creative as your mind allows you to be. Create new ways of tackling an old problem. Create new ways of bringing value to your customers. You don't need to compete with other businesses. You only need to create a better concept. Key Element #4 - Vision Our lives are the result of the pictures in our minds. What we visualize in our minds can guide us through life to a world of happiness and success or to a life of crime, misfortune, confusion and frustration. Programming our minds for good purposes can be a powerful tool for reaching our goals in life. You can tell what a person is thinking about most of the time by observing the quality of their life. Did you ever look at it this way before? A person of modest means limits their vision to what they feel they're capable of, usually very little. And that is what they settle for most of the time. A person living a life of crime is always focused on their next victims. Whereas, a person of wealth and accomplishment has pictures of great goals, undaunted by mental restrictions. And that person usually achieves most of those dreams. They need only have vivid pictures and realistic expectations and the belief they can achieve whatever they set out to achieve. Vision is taking a thought and being able to turn it into a dream by imagining the steps in your mind. Then it's simply a matter of turning that dream into a goal. Then that goal into reality, one step at a time. It's been said "what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." What thoughts for your future can you conceive in your mind? Do you honestly believe you can reach that goal? Then there are no roadblocks to success. Only detours perhaps. But life's challenges only make you stronger. Are you at a job you hate to go to every day? Then set a dream in your mind. Create a vision. See it becoming a reality. Set about a plan, believe you can achieve, and don't stop until you're there. Opportunity is everywhere yet millions of people are leading empty, meaningless lives and struggling simply to exist. What pictures are in your mind? Are you in control of your destiny or are the circumstances of the moment controlling you? Don't look at life for short-term satisfactions. See it as a long-range project with the pot of gold at the end because that is what it really is. You will become what you consistently think about. Key Element #5 - Goals If you asked most people today if they have goals, most would probably name off a few resolutions they might still remember they set last New Years. Very few could be really specific. Some people's goals might be simply to get through the day. Hardly anyone realizes the importance of goals in achieving success on a long-term plan. And by goals I mean precise, clear-cut, well thought out, written goals for short and long-term success. Probably no more than five percent of people in this country have them. And the five percent that do are most likely the five percent that have already achieved or will achieve financial independence before age 65. Studies have proven this to be true. Probably the single most important factor in achieving success is goals. People with goals know exactly where they are going. They know how they are going to get there. Yet if this is so important, why don't more people set goals? For one thing they doubt that something so simple can work. Their only attempt at setting goals is on New Year's Day and we all know those don't work. Millions believe that what ultimately decides their destiny are external forces and circumstances surrounding them. They refuse to believe they, themselves, play a major part in controlling their lives. And they just don't care to put in the effort to plot a plan for life because they have so many more important things to do, like watching the ball game or painting the garage floor. They don't realize they could have almost anything they want if they would just decide what they want and take action to get there. Here are the steps to take to set your goals. Make a list of the things you would like to accomplish over the next five years. This could include things you want to achieve quickly. Be specific. List things you realistically want to accomplish but don't be afraid to list goals that may seem out of reach to you at this time. Six months or a year from now you'll be surprised as to how real those goals will become. After each goal, put a deadline as to how long you give yourself to reach that goal. For example, you might list goal number one as: I want to have a net worth of $250,000. I want to achieve this goal within five years from today. Read your goals over every day, once in the morning and once before you go to bed. Believe in your mind you can and will achieve these goals. Soon they will become a part of your belief system and your mind will begin working to find ways to get you there. People do this every day on a smaller scale. They set their minds on getting that new car or that new washer and dryer and they don't stop until they get them. But they don't think they're capable of getting larger goals. If it works for the small things, why won't it work for the bigger things if your plan is better? Key Element #6 - Burning Desire Having goals is an important step toward reaching your dreams but you must also have a burning desire to get there. Without it your goals will only be written words on a paper. What we can do and what we will do will make the difference between failure and success. Immigrants come into this country with nothing and realize the American Dream while many Americans are still dreaming of it. And that's because of that burning desire that brought them to this land of opportunity in the first place. They will do whatever it requires and will work as many hours as they have to in order to succeed. While many Americans are saying, "Why should I work when I can collect unemployment or welfare," these people are not content to just get by. They're building those dreams, and that burning desire is what's driving them. Get out your list of goals. After each goal, make a list of the reasons you need to reach that goal. Is it so that your kids can have an education? Is it for your secure retirement? Is it so your parents can live comfortably for the rest of their lives? Is it for your personal satisfaction? Is it so you can start to live the good life? Is it so you can further your education? What are your reasons? Make them as emotional as you can. Pour your heart out into those reasons. A true burning desire will drive you toward that future more than any amount of wishing and hoping. And the stronger that desire is, the more quickly you'll reach your destination. Key Element #7 - Plan of Action All of the best intended goals and the strongest desires are useless without a plan about how you intend to accomplish your mission. Many people have good intentions but they just get caught up in everyday living. They soon realize a year or two has passed and those goals are still sitting in the desk drawer because they failed to set up a plan of action. Often we procrastinate because we're not sure of what we should do or how we should get started. There are those of us who just waste away the hours and the days doing things just for the sake of passing the time. Isn't it interesting that the people that should be the most concerned with trying to increase their incomes are the ones that spend the most time in front of the TV? Did you know that one out of five people in this country watch Wheel of Fortune every day? Millions have their TV on all day long. Many watch 5-6 hours of non-educational TV every day. Think of what they could accomplish if only part of that time was used productively to increase their knowledge. And many others spend hours reading for entertainment, but what they read is of almost no educational value. If just a small part of that time was used for reading material of an educational nature, how much farther ahead would they be today? And this material I'm talking about doesn't have to be about how to harness nuclear energy or some technical subject like that. Just something the reader can gain a bit of knowledge from. Perhaps a business related book of some sort or something to do with a particular sport or hobby might make that reader's all-around knowledge a little more complete. But the best way to keep from wasting away time is to have a specific plan of action to accomplish those goals you've set. Get out those goals one more time. After each goal and after each reason you need to achieve those goals, make a step-by-step list of how you intend to get from where you are to where you want to be. If one of your goals, for instance, is learning to fly a plane, you might list your steps this way: 1. Check phone book for nearest
flight school. List every small step you need to take. Then take that first step immediately. Not next week. Not next month. But today or tomorrow get going. What this does is put your plan into action. Taking those first steps cements the goal in place making it more real in your mind. Five years from now you will be the sum total of your thoughts and actions up until then. Where will you be? Key Element #8 - The Ability To Act On Your Plan The one thing that keeps people with good intentions from reaching their level of success is fear. Fear can cripple you and hold you back all of your life. It can keep you from trying different things, meeting people, doing things you want to do or just getting out of bed in the morning in some extreme cases. Fear has many faces. It can surface as a fear of injury, fear of what other people might think, fear of failure, fear of the unknown. There are as many reasons to fear doing something as there are to actually do it. But there is one thing that will counteract fear every time. And that is ACTION. Action is the antidote for fear. Whenever you are afraid to do something, you must take action immediately before that fear can build. What will happen is you will meet that fear head on and discover that most fears are unwarranted. This is not to say you should jump foolishly into a situation. Of course you must use caution. But never let a fear hold you back. Most people operate on 10 percent or less of their full ability and fear is a contributing factor. Think back on your life. How much further ahead would you be today if you had acted on past situations? Did you let opportunities pass you by because of fears of acting? Remember that there is no such thing as failure. There are only results. And if the results you get from doing a particular thing aren't what you wanted, then you now know how not to do something. This should be viewed as a learning experience, not a failure. The next time you'll be that much closer to knowing the right way of doing it. Most successful people fail miserably all of their lives. They just have the ability to view it as a lesson and pick up the pieces and do it again and again until it turns out the way they want it to. They look at their mistakes simply as ways they shouldn't do something. Face your fears head on. You'll be much stronger for it. What's always been of interest to me is how so many people love the idea of a challenge. They play sports for a challenge. They buy board games so that they can challenge their neighbors and friends. They play video games and watch Wheel of Fortune for the challenge of coming out a winner. But yet in the game of life when the stakes are real, they will do almost anything to avoid life's challenges. I guess they feel safe in their unreal world, but that is where they ultimately end up living. That unreal world where only the superstars, their soap opera idols and the men and women from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous live the good life. Do you want to fantasize that good life or do you want to be a part of it? It's up to you. No one can make that decision for you. Another quick point. All of the ingredients in this success plan are useless unless you have the energy to carry out your plan. Eat right. Get rest. Cut down on alcohol. Get exercise. You don't want to run out of steam half way up the ladder of success. So there you have it. The eight key elements to working your plan. Let's go over them once more. 1. The Right Attitude - Approach life with a cheerful and optimistic attitude. Leave the negative attitudes for the losers in life. 2. Non-Conformity - Remember that conformity is a major cause of failure. Be innovative. Look for better and more interesting ways of doing things. 3. The Ability To Think And Reason - Writing down your problem and then concentrating on finding several solutions will put you miles ahead of the average person. It's surprising how many people today simply don't take the time to think. 4. Vision - Take a thought. Work it around in your head until it starts to take form as a workable idea. Then watch it grow in your mind into a plan of action. Remember that some of the world's greatest ideas started as a single vision in someone's mind. Walt Disney had a vision. Can you think of others? 5. Goals - Nothing is as important to success as the creation of goals. Let your mind dream. Then decide if you want those dreams to become a reality. Unsuccessful people make their lifestyle fit their wages. Successful people make their wages fit their lifestyles. 6. A Burning Desire - Nothing will drive a person to turn their goals into reality more than a burning desire. A burning desire is a wish so strong it dominates your thinking to a point of being almost an obsession. Simply hoping to achieve isn't enough. You need to want it so badly you can almost taste it. 7. A Plan of Action - Write down the steps you need to take to carry out your plan. Be specific. Make your steps small. It makes it easier to do if your steps are easy ones. 8. The Ability To Act On Your Plan - Take action on your plan immediately. Don't procrastinate. Face your fears head on. When thought and reason do not neutralize fear, action will. If your energy level is low, do something about it. Change your habits. See your doctor. See a nutritionist. Get exercise. Best Wishes for Success . . . Henry Kulesza Copyright 1996-2001 CRICorp and Henry
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