who would say no to success?

If you were asked, do you want to be a success, would you—any of you—say “no?”

I realize that some of you may be holding in your  head some idea that “success” means vulture capitalist-type wealth—which we’d probably all like—and vulture capitalist-type behavior—which, I assume, if you’ve stuck around this blog this long, you wouldn’t like.  In that event, you may be shaking your head and thinking, “I don’t want to be a ‘sucess’.”

Of course, one of the more useful lessons I’ve learned is that we each get to define success for ourselves.  It doesn’t have to be for you what it is for me.  It doesn’t have to be, for any of us, the generally accepted idea of success.  (I will grant you that going with the generally accepted definition makes it easier to know when you’ve achieved it, but that isn’t necessarily a good enough reason to go chasing after something that doesn’t make you happy.)

However you choose to define success, though, you might get a lot of use out of The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.

Now, let’s be clear.  This book does tend to define success in the time-honored way as succeeding at acquiring things.  And it is true, as some of the reviewers on Amazon claim, that much of this information is not new. It is also true that one of the keys to success for people like Mr. Canfield is to sell you a book that offers to give you the keys to success.

All I know is that the information is compiled here in a way that is clear and straightforward and compelling.  It’s a big book—64 principles don’t come in a pamphlet—and you can choose to read it in snippets or all at once.

I keep it handy.  Periodically, I dip into it again.  I never do that without being reminded of some helpful idea.

Some of them are inconvenient truths.  The idea that you are 100% responsible for your own life—that’s not an easy one.  But it’s useful to consider it, just as it is useful to look at the concept of the Breakthrough Goal or the Thirty Things Lists.

So, I suggest you take a look at it.  You can check it out of your local library before you buy it.  Make sure it’s going to contribute to your success and not just its author’s.  There’s a good chance you’ll want to have your own copy eventually.