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Harvey Mackay
Column
For the week
of June 28, 2010
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Don't Just Add
to Your Success, Multiply It!
Perhaps you're familiar with
the amazing mathematics problem that asks you to figure out whether
you'd have more money at the end of one month if you received
$3 million on the first day or got a penny on day one and the
amount doubled each day thereafter. Most folks would guess that
the $3 million would be a better deal.
But choose the penny, and on
the 31st day, you'd actually have $10,737,418.24! That's the
power of compounding.
Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS
Magazine, has just written a remarkable book, "The Compound
Effect," that shows readers how to draw on that example
in all areas of life. His premise is that everything you do in
life exists because you started by making a choice about something.
The ripple effects of those choices lead to your ultimate success
or failure. |
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What's most impressive about
Darren's formula is that he is living proof that it works. At
age 18, he was earning a six-figure salary. The business he built
was worth $50 million by the time he was 27. He hasn't celebrated
his fortieth birthday yet -- imagine what lies ahead. He has
studied success and human achievement all his adult life, and
his magazine is fertile ground for research. The man not only
talks the talk, he walks the walk.
He cautions that a few key disciplines
are necessary for major breakthroughs, and not to expect overnight
success. Instituting changes is hard work. Consistency in making
changes and choices is the ultimate key to success, yet it's
"one of the biggest pitfalls for people who are struggling
to succeed," he says.
He credits our grandparents
with having the qualities that create lasting success: grit,
hard work and fortitude. We should adopt their strong work ethic,
which "instilled discipline, chiseled their character, and
stoked the spirit to brave new frontiers."
And, he reminds us, "You
alone are responsible for what you do, don't do, or how you respond
to what's done to you. . . Luck, circumstances, or the right
situation wasn't what mattered. If it was to be, it was up to
me. . . I was still 100 percent in control of me."
Darren is a tough taskmaster,
but at the same time, your biggest fan. He offers a lot of common
sense wisdom that can translate to just about anyone's situation.
He also doesn't accept excuses.
In fact, he says, "There
is one thing that 99 percent of 'failures' and 'successful' folks
have in common -- they all hate doing the same things. The difference
is that successful people do them anyway. Change is hard. That's
why people don't change their bad habits, and why so many people
end up unhappy and unhealthy.
"What excites me about this reality, however, is that if
change were easy, and everyone were doing it, it would be much
more difficult for you and me to stand out and become an extraordinary
success. Ordinary is easy. Extra-ordinary is what separates people."
"The Compound Effect"
is a fascinating how-to book that's adaptable to many situations.
As I think about the very successful people I know, they have
put these principles into practice every day. I don't know anyone
who started at the top and worked their way up.
But I do know people who have
become very successful and then got a little lazy. They lost
some of the discipline that propelled them to the top, and then
they were surprised that things weren't going as well as they
once were. Darren addresses that issue as well, reminding us
that what got us to where we are is what will keep us there.
Finally, he encourages us to
share our success: "Whatever I want in life, I've found
that the best way to get it is to focus my energy on giving to
others. If I want to boost my confidence, I look for ways to
help someone else feel more confident. If I want to feel more
hopeful, positive, and inspired, I infuse that in someone else's
day. If I want more success for myself, the fastest way to get
it is to go about helping someone else obtain it. The ripple
effect of helping others and giving generously of your time and
energy is that you become the biggest beneficiary of your personal
philanthropy."
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Mackay's Moral: |
(borrowed from Darren Hardy) "You
make your choices, and then your choices make you. |
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The Author  |
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Harvey Mackay is a nationally
syndicated columnist for United Feature Syndicate. His weekly
articles appear in 52 newspapers around the country, including
the Chicago Sun Times, Rocky Mountain News, Orange County Register,
Minneapolis Star Tribune and Arizona Republic.
http://www.mackay.com/
Copyright, Harvey Mackay. All rights reserved. |
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