The Winner's Guide to Success

Motivational experts reveal what drives them


HOW DO successful people think? What drives them? To find out I interviewed some of the people most successful in motivating others: top motivational speakers and best-selling authors of how-to-succeed books. Here are seven keys to success that they share:


Take full responsibility


In a society in which people blame everyone from their parents to the government for their failure to get ahead, motivational superstars refuse to buy into the victim mentality. Their credo it's to be, it's up to me."


They realise that when you say someone or something outside of yourself is preventing you from succeeding, you're giving away your power. You're saying, "You have more control over my life than I do."

Consider Les Brown. Given up by his parents at birth and labelled "educable mentally retarded" as a child, he had every reason to lose hope. But when a secondary school teacher told him "Someone else's opinion of you does not have to become your reality," Brown realised that his future lay in his own hands. He went on to become a politician and author, and today earns $20,000 per hour as one of America's top motivational speakers.


Brown understood that you can't control things in life such as nature, the past and other people. But, you can control your own thoughts and actions. Taking responsibility for your life is one of the most empowering things you can do.


Live life "on purpose"


Perhaps what most separates motivational superstars from others is that they live life "on purpose" ---they are doing what they fully believe they were put here to do. "Having a purpose in your life is the most important element of becoming of a fully functioning person," says Wayne Dyer, author of the best selling Your Erroneous Zones.


Not living life on purpose consists of expending just enough effort to get by with the least amount of problems. When you live life on purpose, your main concern is doing the job right. You love what you do --- and it shows. People want to do business with you because they sense your commitment.


How do you live your life on purpose? By finding a cause you truly believe in and creating a business around it. Mike Ferry, who was once a salesman of audiotape programmes, believed real-estate agents needed help developing sales skills. So he started the Mike Ferry Organisation, a training company for the real-estate industry. His company has generated more than $20 million a year in sales.


Write out a plan


Trying to achieve your goals without an action plan is like trying to drive through unfamiliar roads to a distant city. The wasted time, energy and money will probably cause you to give up before very long.


One of America's most successful sales trainers, speakers and authors Brian Tracy, points out, "Goals that are not in writing are not goals at all. They are merely fantasies."


With a written map in hand, however, you'll enjoy the trip and arrive at your destination in the shortest possible time.


Be willing to pay the price



Wanting a big house, a luxury car or a million dollars is nice, but the problem is that practically everyone wants these things. Successful people find out what it costs to make their dream come true -- then make it happen. They don't complain about the word it takes.


Les brown has a callus on his left ear. Why? "When I decided to get into speaking, i had no credentials, no reputation, no credibility or experience, so I had to call a lot of people," he says. "I called up over a hundred people a day to ask for an opportunity to speak to their group. This callus is worth several million dollars!"


Become an expert


One striking factor about the motivational speakers I interviewed is their phenomenal drive to be the best. They'll do almost anything to improve their skills.


Patricia Fripp, who speaks to Fortune 500 executives on how to become more succesful, took a comedy workshop and hired a private speech coach to improve her speaking ability. Fripp did this after being named one of the most electrifying speakers in North America by a trade magazine.


If someone videotaped you at your job to make a how-to tape for other people, would you be proud of the tape or embarrassed? If the latter, decide today to work towards being the best in your field. Study the experts, find out what the best are doing, then do what they do.


Never give up


It may sound obvious, but when you're trully committed to your goal, giving up isn't even an option. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.


When Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen compiled Chicken Soup for the Soul, they were turned by more than a hundred publishers. But instead of giving up, they stay focused on their goal. Eventually, a small outfit decided to publish the book. It not, do something that will.


Don't delay


In his book Live Your Dreams, Les Brown recalls talking on the phone with a friend named Marion. The next day she died. Later Brown was helping clean out her office when he came across notes for a play. Unfortunetaly, it would never be published. Marion was the only who knew the ending.


Remember, we don't have forever. Top achievers know this, but rather than seeing it as negative or depressing, the use the knowledge to spur themselves on. They go after what they want --- energetially and passionately acomplishing their dreams. You can too. 

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