Keys to Successful Business and Life

Note From the Authors

Over the years, we have studied successful money managers and business leaders, trying to learn their secrets. Their fields vary from engineers to clothes-washers, from investors to musicians and artists; but all showed unusual success. Whether your goal is to make millions or just to make ends meet, we can profit from their wisdom. 

As parents, we print a "key" each week and post it on our refrigerator, where our older teens read them while filling up their glasses with water. We call it our "Refrigerator University." Teachers may use them as a handout, an overhead, or Power Point.  Let us know any of your ideas, including if you wish for us to continue expanding this series. We can be contacted at smillero@mindspring.com . 

Sincerely,

Steve and Cheryl Miller

Success Key #1: Learn from Successful People

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. (Isaac Newton, hero to Einstein)

Professor Thomas J. Stanley studied over 700 multi-millionaires, super-successes at both business and accumulating wealth, asking them what factors were most important to their success. I listed only those items deemed important by over 50% of them. What a goldmine of advice! Reflecting on these helps me to see where to put my greatest efforts in getting ahead in life. Here's how they responded:

Today's Tips:

• Take the top three or top five, write them on a slip of paper, and work on improving them for the week. 
• Which traits are you strong in? Which do you lack?
• Reflect on each "success factor." Note which factors are a surprise to you. Think of why those traits may be more important than you once thought. 

End Notes

1) Survey from Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., The Millionaire Mind, p. 34.