How to be Successful by Adam Cuthbertson - HTML preview

 

How to be Successful

       A Guide to Achievement

            Adam Cuthbertson

 

 

How to be Successful                   

      Contents                                     

Page

     2         Chapter    1    Introduction                                                                         

     4         Chapter    2    Your Brain                                                                                          

     5         Chapter    3   Your Potential                                                                    

     6        Chapter    4   Essential Qualities                                                             

     9        Chapter    5   Other Desirable Ingredients                                        

     12     Chapter    6   The Enemies of Success                                              

     14     Chapter    7   Preparing for Success                                                   

     18     Chapter    8   Personality                                                                    

     20     Chapter    9   Your Beliefs                                                                   

     21    Chapter    10   Getting Information, Guidance and Help              

     22   Chapter     11   Action                                                                              

     23   Chapter    12   Conclusion                                                                       

 

 

Copyright Adam Cuthbertson 2015

 

 

 

 

How to be Successful

Chapter 1

Introduction

      When we see someone we consider to be successful, we tend to think he knows something that we don't.  We can see books advertised that offer to tell us the secrets of success.  On the Internet, courses are offered that will tell us what these secrets are.

      After we have read these books or taken the courses, we don't seem to be any wiser.  The fact is thst there are no secrets.  Being successful is the same procedure as doing anything else.

      Suppose someone wished to learn to drive a car.  The first step would be to acquire the necessary knowledge.  This would amount to learning the controls of the car and the rules of the road.  After this, the next stage would be to put that knowledge into effect and practice driving. Assuming these two steps were adequately covered, that person would become a driver.

      The purpose of this book is to provide the information required for success and it is then up to the reader to take the necessary action.

      You may read this book and never take any action.  That would be a pity since you have much to gain by being more successful.  Think of the times each day when you use time and energy performing mundane and meaningless tasks.  Why not use this time and energy to improve things for yourself?  Take this book seriously and make the attempt to improve your life.  You may just find that it is worth the effort to make a few minor improvements to make your life better.  Remember, you have only one life, so why not make the effort.  This book has been written to assist you, no matter what your aims are.                                                                                                                               

 

 

How to be Successful

Introduction

      The language in this book has been kept simple and there are no technical terms: therefore, there should be no problem understanding everything the book teaches.

      To be successful, we have to concentrate on three areas:

            1)   Your thoughts.

            2)   Your actions.

            3)   Your beliefs.

 

      These are of equal importance, and should be treated accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We achieve everything by our efforts alone.  Our fate is not decided by an almight God.  We decide our own fate by our actions.  You have to gain mastery over yourself ...  It is not a matter of sitting back and accepting."

Daw Aung San K

 

 

How to be Successful

Chapter 2

Your Brain

      When we are born, we are given the most powerful asset that we will ever receive in life.  That asset is our brain.  How we use it will determine the life we have.  You may find it difficult to accept, but the life you have now, is a culmination of all your thoughts and beliefs in the past.

      You will probably have no trouble in accepting that it was your good thinking that gave you your success in the past.  However, you will probably blame unfortunate circumstances or other people for your failures.  No matter how it appears, you are solely responsible for the life you have now and your future will be determined by how you think and act now and in the future.

      As we go through life, information is passed to the brain via our senses - taste, sight, touch, smell and hearing.  Unfortunatly, much of the information passed is wrong or flawed.  The result is that our conscious and subconscious minds act on the information received and if this is wrong, we suffer the wrong circumstances.We cannot filter all information passed to the brain, much of which occurs without our awareness.  However, we can monitor what we think and determine as far as we can, if what we think is correct.

      It has been proved that people use only a small percentage of their brainpower.  Thereforethere is plenty of scope for improvement for us all.

      The brain is the same as other parts of the body in one respect - it functions better with excercise.  In a later, suggestions are given regarding exercising the brain and imagination.                                      

 

How to be Successful

Chapter 3

Your Potential

      The first thing we have to decide is whether or not you are capable of being successful. Do you have the necessary qualities for greater achievements?  Unfortunately, it is the practice of most people to underrate themselves.  They achieve so much and decide, consciously or subconsciously, that they cannot go any further.

      For example, they attend school and learn to read, write, count, etc.  They may not gain any prizes, but they were successful in mastering these subjects.  They, then, obtain a job which they manage to do satisfactorily.  So once again they are successful.  However, if the job supplies them with an adequate income, this is as far as they go.  They make no further attempt to inprove themselves.

      The fact is that everyone, without exception, has had some success in life.  On that basis, this book should have had the title, "How to be More Successful".

      Hopefully, the foregoing has convinced you that you have had successes in life.  If you take a few moments to go over your past life, you will no doubt find other instances of success.  This is important, since a feeling of self-confidence is required to be successful.

      Most people have a feeling that they are capable of greater things.  This feeling is true.  We are all capable of more and greater accom -plishments.  You are no exception.  Believe this with all your heart and you have taken your first and most important step towards  improvement.

      It should be noted that you are never too old for success.  People in their70's, 80's and even 90's, have created new successes for them - selves.           

 

How to be Successful

Chapter 4

 Essential Qualities

      There are certain qualities which you must have, or be able to acquire.  They are necessary for your success.  The stronger these characteristics are, the greater and easier will be your achievements.

      These chacteristics are:

            1)  Definiteness of purpose.                                                                                                     

            2)   Enthusiasm

            3)   Willingness to learn

           4)   Adaptability

           5)   Determination to succeed

           6)   Perseverance

          7)    Ability to accept temporary failure

           8)  Efficiency          

Definiteness of purpose

      This simply means deciding exactly what you wish to achieve.  For example, there would be no point in deciding you would like to excel at some sport.You would have to be specific and decide which sport was your specialty.

      You can, of course, choose several subjects.  However, in this instance, it would probably be better to concentrate on one at a time.  Pick the easiest one first.  When you succeed at this, it will give you confidence to tackle the next one and so on.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

How to be Successful

Enthusiasm

      This is a vital requirement.  You must be enthusiastic about your subject.  The more enthusiastic you are, the easier your task will be and the greater your degree of success.  To retain a high degree of enthusiasm, keep a picture in your mind of being successful.

Willingness to learn

      If you are reluctant to learn new things, you will not make any progress.  You may argue that you already have enough knowledge. There are then two possibilities.  Either 1) you are not using the knowledge you already have or, 2) you have insufficient knowledge.  In which case, it is back to the drawing board.

Adaptability

      You must learn to become adaptable.  Life is continually changing and we must learn to change with it or we perish.

Determination

      This is an important factor.  You will find that the greater your determination, the easier your task will be.  Determination can overcome many barriers.

      If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistance.  Determination.  The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying "Here comes number seventy-one!"

      Richard M Devos

 

 

 

 

How to be Successful

Perseverance

      Allied to determination is perseverance.  When things are going well, perseverance is not an issue.  But, having the ability to stick with it when things are going wrong usually determines whether success or failure is the result.

      "Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."

      Josh Billings

      Ability to Accept Temporary Failure

      You must be willing to accept failures along the way.  This is unavoidable.  When you fail, you must determine why things went wrong.  If you can find the reason, you can consider it a success, because you don't make the same mistake twice.  Learn fron your failures and, if you have the opportunity, learn from the mistakes of others.

Common Sense

      If anything was ever misnamed, this is probably it,  Comm