Is there a formula for achieving success? Yes. Of the many books and articles I’ve read, my favourite is a tiny book, “As a Man Thinketh”, by James Allan. Here’s a summary of success-making tips you will find in the vast universe of publications on this topic.

  • Be crystal clear about your desire or need. Strategies and solutions are made do-able by first clearly defining the “question”.
  • Goals and problems are lessons from which learning BEGINS. Prepare yourself well for the journey. It may be a long journey.
  • Intention and actions should be ethical and righteous to create harmony. Else, it likely will eventually backfire and create more confusion and problems than not undertaking the change in the first place.
  • Act with compassion. You may have a decided advantage, but seek to do no harm. Show respect and regard.
  • Genuinely appreciate others so you can create the opportunity for others to genuinely appreciate you.
  • Be trustworthy, honest, reliable, and dependable. Honour every promise you make, even the small ones.
  • Avoid those who are dishonest, unethical, unreliable, or manipulative. Be wary of deception and of being deceived.
  • Become an expert or find someone who is.  Nothing replaces learning in-depth knowledge.
  • Develop a list of solutions and strategies and compare one to the other.
  • Let your subconscious mind work on each strategy by saturating your mind with the matter prior to falling asleep.
  • Be wary of the nightmare, or bad dream. After saturating your mind with the problem or goal, if you awaken from a nightmare or bad dream instead of sleeping right through and waking refreshed, regard that as your subconscious raising an early warning indicator. Review the details in search of the “unseen” weak link or hidden problem.
  • Capture spontaneous solutions in the middle of the night if you awaken with an idea. Have pen and paper handy, or electronic equivalent, so you can CAPTURE the “answer”. Trust me. If you don’t write it down you will forget it by the time you get to your breakfast.
  • Strip away complexity. Get rid of the emotional baggage. Drop your ego. Avoid all influences that can complicate, skew, or distract from factual-, and evidence-based thinking. But don’t ignore important and relevant data for the sake of achieving simplicity.
  • Be certain the opportunity is sufficiently large and sufficiently ACHIEVABLE to justify the risk. Even if the reward far exceeds the risk, don’t gamble by going “all in”, just in case your game plan goes sour. Your optimal strategy is the one that achieves the best balance between reward and risk.
  • East Indian wisdom teaches us that no matter how well planned an action is, Nature always has room for a surprise that may disrupt the planned action. Plan but prepare for the unexpected. Have a contingency plan.
  • Believe in your idea but cut your losses early enough to survive to try it a little differently or to try some other idea or goal.
  • There is no shame in abandoning a bad strategy even a bad goal or idea. The smartest leaders, the smartest thinkers, understand the art of abandonment. Losers do not.
  • If you are proceeding with your strategy, become involved with, or build your own, trusted eco-system. [Search this website for more on eco-system.]