I recently signed up for a free, twelve week subscription to Investor’s Business Daily. Amongst the detailed stock quote information and latest news, are sometimes thought-provoking articles about current events, politics, and successful living. I found their recent series entitled “IBD’s 10 Secrets to Success” most compelling, and thought I’d share it with you here. The secrets are in bold, IBD’s comments in italics, and my comments are in plain text.

1. How You Think is Everything. Always be positive. Think Success, not Failure. Beware of a negative environment.

A part of this is being positive in the midst of failure. If you’re reaching for more in life, you’re bound to have some failures, make some mistakes. These hard lessons learned can help you readjust your direction, bringing success in later endeavors.

2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

When was the last time you’ve actually sat down and wrote specific, targeted goals? Have you readjusted them as you’ve changed and grown? Developing a plan of action (POA) is as important as the goals themselves - smaller defined tasks are more manageable, more obtainable in the short term.

For example, say you are thirty years old, and want to start saving for retirement. Rather than just dumping money into a 401k, you could see a financial planner, determine how much money you’ll need, and start putting away the amount that will get you to that goal.

It’s also a good idea to revisit and adjust your goals on a regular basis. Life changes over time, and you want to be sure you’re heading in the right direction.

3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action.

Once you’ve determined your goals and POA for implementation, it’s time to get up off your duff and get moving! If you’re feeling overwhelmed at all you need to do, readjust your targets. Make the POA right for you. This is your plan, your life. Make your actions and goals be choices that fit your lifestyle.

4. Never Stop Learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training & acquire skills.

It’s a smart person that knows what they don’t know.

5. Be Persistent and Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

Life is sometimes two steps forward, one step back. Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. And be sure to take time to revitalize yourself. Set aside time each day for something you like to do. Take a vacation. Reward yourself for accomplishments.

6. Learn to Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

There’s a great old classic book on this called Psycho-Cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz. Written in 1960, many successful self-help experts base their programs on it. Many famous athletes utilize the visualization techniques from it. Maltz himself was a plastic surgeon, who, wondering why those he helped, such as people with cleft lips or other birth defects, could not psychologically enjoy the results of his handiwork, set out to find a way to change that. In his research, Maltz discovered the writings of Victor Frankl, an author/psychotherapist and holocaust surviver. Frankl’s writings describe visualization techniques that helped him survive his horrific time in a concentration camp. Maltz takes these powerful techniques and applies them to getting over challenges of everyday life.

7. Focus Your Time And Money: Don’t let other people or things distract you.

Follow the old adage of not spreading yourself too thin, or, at some breakpoint only you can define, you’ll become less effective in everything you do.

8. Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate: Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

As much as learning from the past and others is important, so is creativity, and the ability to identify appropriate levels of risk-taking when implementing knew ideas.

9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

Especially in the workforce, but also in every day life, people are a huge part of what the world is about. Understanding your own, as well as others’ styles of communication, will greatly enhance your life experience. Communication styles are based on personality type. There are many studies and books on the topic. One famous personality typology is the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Jungian-based personality assessments. Here are two sites which offer free tests and comprehensive tutorials of MBTI: Team Technology and Personality Pathways.

10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility, otherwise numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.

This is the most important of the list. Most of us were brought up learning the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a big chunk of what life is really all about. If your managers, employees, colleagues, and friends can trust you, know you’re loyal, and will do what you say you’re going to do, you’ll gain their respect. That’s important- both from within, and and from others.

Any thoughts of your own on this list?

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