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Secret to Success

Written by: Nan Russell

Article Overview: Most people are looking for the secret to success; the secret to being a millionaire; the secret to winning at working. To help them find it, Amazon inventories 1,797 books promising success secrets, everything from "Mustang Sallies: Success Secrets of Women Who Refuse to Run With the Herd" to "The 21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires."

Secret to Success

Most people are looking for the secret to success; the secret to being a millionaire; the secret to winning at working. To help them find it, Amazon inventories 1,797 books promising success secrets, everything from "Mustang Sallies: Success Secrets of Women Who Refuse to Run With the Herd" to "The 21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires."

So, if you're one of those looking, I'll save you some time. The bottom line is this - there is no secret. There's no magical formula to follow; no short-cuts to take or lottery tickets you can purchase. People who are winning at working know it takes persistence, determination, commitment, passion, practice, focus and hard work. There are no secrets to any of that. Just look around.

Take Chester Carlson. Chester became a rich man as the successful inventor of an electrostatic paper-copying process that later became the Xerox Corporation, even though twenty corporations rejected his idea. It took Chester seven years of persistence and determination before he found one tiny company willing to purchase his invention.

Or take Julia Child. After receiving a contract for a French cookbook, Julia worked five years, with two collaborators, only to produce a manuscript that was rejected by the publisher. A year of revisions produced another rejected manuscript. But Julia refused to give up. It took eight years and a second publisher for Julia's cookbook, which sold more than a million copies, to find a bookshelf.

If you want to be winning at working, stop looking for some secret "out there" to bring you success. Instead, turn your sights inward and you'll find everything you need. You see, you're the secret to your success. But if you think you don't have what it takes, think again.

Visit any craft fair, hobbyist, volunteer organization or internet blog. Note poets, musicians, artists, athletes, hackers, spammers and graffiti artists. Determination, persistence, initiative and hard work manifests itself in many ways and places, some positive endeavors and some not so positive. But it's the same ingredients. And they're inside you waiting to be tapped.

People work on novels after a full day's work. They develop products in their garages, then figure out how to manufacture and market them. They volunteer to coach their daughter's soccer team or organize food drives for their community. They put energy into their interests and passions. They persist against hardships, set-backs and disappointments, demonstrating with their actions they have what it takes.

Stop looking for success secrets and start realizing you're the best kept secret you have. Like Moliere puts it, "The heart can do anything." Find your heart in your work and you can do anything, too.

(c) 2008 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

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Article Tags: amazon, bookshelf, chester carlson, collaborators, french cookbook, graffiti artists, inventories, julia child, magical formula, mustang sallies, persistence, practice focus, promising success, rich man, self made millionaires, short cuts, success secrets, tiny company, volunteer organization, xerox corporation



Related Forum Posts
Re: Success - I study success intently, and would like to share: Here's two excellent and nearly identical success-formulas from a couple of the world's masters. FIRST FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Clear, Definite Purpose 3. Committed Decision 4. Take Action In Faith (Bonus Secret Sauce: 5. Repeat Consistently) I made a video about this, but am not allowed to link it yet. Google "Ryze Success Steps" for it. Oh, and this is Napoleon Hill's (Master Of Success Laws)'s Formula. SECOND FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Understand It Is Already Done (Faith) 3. Relax & Allow It To Unfold (Go about your life calmly) This one is courtesy of Abraham-Hicks (inspiration for the movie The Secret). Hope that helps!
Re: Web Business Podcast is LIVE! :) - Hi David - have you thought of making these into videos? Even if it doesn't have you live on screen? Remembering the Success Secret Keywords would be a lot easier if we could see them.
Victoria's Secret - Too Sexy? - This will be upsetting for some men. I just heard a report about Victoria's Secret and it was interesting. Their sales were down drastically in the 4th quarter of 2007 and the report was about how they are thinking the company has gotten too far away from the heritage that made it the blockbuster company it is. They are thinking the ads etc have become too sexy and the plan (at the moment) is to make the ads more sophisticated. That would be like the Super Bowl commercial which was very tasteful, but very different from any Victoria's Secret I've seen lately. Who do you all think the current sexy ads are targeting? I think its the men that they hope will buy these items for their female significant others. I hate to give Omarosa any kudos - but most women aren't "sold" on an item by an ad of a near naked sexy woman. Shri
The Secret - Hi Binary Guy - The Secret certainly has been getting a lot of attention and promotion by the likes of Oprah. What have your experiences been with the program?
Social media - which is more effective social media networking; Facebook or twitter? follow me at My Secret Staff cathy secretstaff05


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