Publishers have made a mint on the self-help market. People anxious to “help themselves” spend millions annually on books covering: 1) money management, 2) dieting, 3) following your dreams, 4) “mindfulness,” 5) healing, 6) reaching goals and being organized, 7) reducing worry, 8) handling change, 9) new age/ the “law of attraction,” 10) family and relationships.
There are thousands of books promoting a million ideas. But is life that complicated? Is success so elusive that you need to study book after book to get there? Self-help books clearly work and I have read a dozen or more myself.[1]
But I believe a few principles can guide you to success in all these areas if you simply follow them.
Here’s my list, in no particular order: 1) Be honest—and be honest with yourself, 2) Work hard, 3) Never give up, 4) Be humble and teachable, 5) Treat people well, 6) Forgive—and forgive yourself, 7) Never be distracted by perfectionism, because you will not achieve it—and it was never the point, 8) Be grateful every day—look for reasons to be thankful, 9) Make choices you will be proud of, and 10) Love God by loving God’s word.
The Bible explains success the same way: obey the word.
“This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it DAY AND NIGHT, being careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success” Joshua 1:8.
“How blessed is the man … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates DAY AND NIGHT. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers” Psalm 1:1-3.
Study the word in the morning. Study the word in the evening. Do those two things, and YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.
ΑΩ
[1] Not to mention, writing one: How to Make A’s: My Journey from Flunky to College Professor and What I Learned Along the Way.
Household Words: 