The Success Principles Book Summary - The Success Principles Book explained in key points

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The Success Principles summary

Name: The Success Principles
Rating: 4.5 (239 reviews)
Author: Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield

How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

4.5 (239 ratings)

19 mins

Brief summary

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield is a self-help book that outlines 64 principles for achieving success in all areas of life. It offers practical strategies for overcoming obstacles, taking action, and creating a fulfilling life.

Topics

Success Career Progress

Table of Contents

The Success Principles
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Discover how to be a huge success, both personally and professionally.

Do you feel stuck? Could make more out of your life? Do you envy people who pursue their dreams while you struggle with taking the first step?

Many of us are burdened with these questions and concerns but are unsure of how or where to find answers. The Success Principles can help you push through and start making real progress toward success in your life.

The following blinks outline timeless and universal principles to help you achieve unprecedented success both personally and professionally. You’ll then discover ways to apply these principles in your own life and witness the difference they can make.

In these blinks, you’ll also learn:

how you can freeze to death through the power of your own thoughts;
why you are solely responsible for your life; and
why changing the oil in your car is one step toward realizing your dreams.

Enough complaining, no more excuses: You are responsible for the course of your life.

Are you ready to ditch your unfulfilling daily routine and start living your dream life? Then let’s get started!

The first thing you need to understand on your journey to personal and professional success is that you are the director of your own life.

When we fail, we often look for an excuse, blaming the failure on things that happen to us. But how these events affect us in the long run depends on how we respond to them.

Imagine one circumstance where you receive $400. You could buy something nice for yourself, or invest the money in a mutual fund.

If you opt for the former, you have no money left. If you choose the latter, you have made an investment on which you can later build and earn even more money – a much wiser decision.

So if you want to start seeing improvements in your life, you need to change your responses.

It’s far too easy to just complain about your circumstances. But if you pay more attention to how you’re living and the choices you’re making, you’ll soon see whether you’re on the right path to success.

For instance, you’re either fit or out of shape. Ask yourself, what are you doing – or not doing – to make your body this way?

If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll need to be aware of your daily calorie intake and your level of activity. Be honest with yourself: Do you eat well? Should you cut out chocolate or junk food?

No one says that change is easy. It requires discipline, persistence and some experimentation. In the next blink, you’ll find out how to get a good start on changing your life.

Finding your purpose in life will help you better define what success means to you.

What if you’re not sure what personal success would look like for you? Relax – you’re not alone.

Slow down and take some time to contemplate. One of the first steps toward personal success is to examine your reason for being: why are you here on earth? The life purpose exercise can help you discover this.

When you visualize your dream, you should be able to see it, smell it and feel it, as if it was real.

How do you push beyond your comfort zone toward achieving your vision? Two practices – affirmation and visualization – can help you.

Affirmation starts when you state your goal as if it has already been realized, in a complete sentence. The most effective affirmations are in the first person, are positive and to the point.

To succeed, be persistent, never give in to “no” and don’t forget to practice, practice, practice.

Now that you’re well on your way to achieving ultimate success, you’ll need to prepare yourself for potential obstacles and, if you depend on others, possible rejection.

Rejection is just a speedbump on the road to success. If someone says “no,” just keep trying until someone says “yes,” while keeping in mind your next step.

Clear your slate of unfinished business or projects: do it, delegate it, delay it or dump it.

Now that we’ve explored the fundamentals of success, let’s focus on some work you need to finish before you can really achieve your dreams.

First, you need to address unfinished business. Do you have any projects you’ve abandoned or left half-done? Do you need to clean your closet,or finish last year’s taxes? These small things can take valuable energy from achieving your larger goals.

We are our worst enemies when it comes to believing in ourselves. Think positively!

Once you’ve taken care of unfinished business, you’ll hopefully feel like you’re already making significant progress toward your goals. Now, let’s make sure that your thoughts are in order, too.

Face it: you’re often your own biggest enemy. Most of us harbor negative thoughts about ourselves, so-called limiting beliefs, where we fixate on the things we think we can’t do. This mentality can be very damaging, as this one example shows.

Building a support team chock-full of successful people can help you reach your goals.

Having personal resolve is crucial on your path to success, but you can’t walk that path on your own. Highly successful people always have others to inspire or mentor them along the way.

One thing you can do is to create a support group. You can do this by gathering a so-called mastermind group, a supportive circle of people with whom you can share ideas and challenges.

Support others, and they will support you in return. Create meaningful, honest relationships!

To get the most benefit out of your support network, you must first lay a solid foundation of honesty and appreciation to build meaningful relationships.

Telling the truth can be scary. But we must tell the truth if we are to create and foster our connections with others.

Being a “wealthy” person means so much more than just having a lot of cash in the bank.

Do you agree that “money is the root of all evil?”

If so, you need to redefine what wealth means to you. Most of us think that wealth is only about money, our assets or possessions. However, it’s much more than that: wealth also contains intellectual, human and civic facets.

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What is The Success Principles about?

The Success Principles offers practical and detailed principles to help anyone lead a more successful and fulfilling life. Author Jack Canfield draws upon stories and anecdotes from people who have achieved ambitious goals and experienced what it’s like to be highly successful.

Best quote from The Success Principles

You must take responsibility for removing I cant from your vocabulary.

—Jack Canfield

Who should read The Success Principles?

Anyone who wants to learn proven principles for success
Anyone aspiring to lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life
Anyone who’s ready to change their routine and pursue their dreams

About the Author

Jack Canfield is a best-selling author and success coach. He co-founded the inspirational book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul, 40 of which have become The New York Times best sellers. He is the author of Dare to Win and The Aladdin Factor, a keynote speaker and highly respected corporate trainer.

Categories with The Success Principles

Career & Success

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