Book Review #1: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be: 25 Principles of Success by Jack Canfield

             Jack Canfield laid out in order what he felt were the 25 Principles of Success. Principles varied from 'Take 100% Responsibility for Yourself' and 'Surround Yourself with Successful People.' Although it felt that the book dragged at moments, it was filled with valuable information in a concise and coherent manner. The advice and principles were rich with real life examples and experiences of well-known people and Mr. Canfield himself. 

            A personal favorite segment of mine was the “Famous Failures” that Canfield incorporated.  Canfield included examples of famous people being rejected in their own lives, only to later reach success. Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team and Oprah Winfrey being told that she wasn’t meant for television are just a few of the examples that remind you to never let rejection bring you down. His supportive anecdotes can bring out the confidence in the average reader and would convince them to attempt their dreams.

            If you haven’t read a self-help book as of yet, I would definitely recommend this one as a starter. It’s the perfect book that can get you to open up that business you’ve wanted to open, get back into the dating world, or even clean your room. I can guarantee that you will find at least 5 principles to implement into your life. 

 

Success sees No Excuses

“Just because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, doesn’t mean you’ll die in a silver coffin.” – AK

            If you blame others and the state you were born in as your defeat in life, then you don’t deserve success at all.

            Let me explain myself.

            If you want more than what you already have in life, you should avoid feeling comfort until you get to where you want to be. When you are comfortable in the state you’re in, you let yourself accept who you are that moment and deny the fact that you genuinely want to improve in life. Blaming your background and the circumstances that you grew up gives you a sense of comfort. You give yourself an excuse for the way that you are, and success doesn’t see any excuse. You don’t have the motivation to make a name for yourself and become something more.

            Being lower and middle class has its advantages. Growing up middle class, it gave me motivation to do something amazing with my life and become a professional at something just so I can give my parents the life of upperclassmen. Living the lifestyle of someone who has already reached the pinnacle of success leads you with a lack of motivation and a lack of gratification because it was your parents/guardians’ success and never yours. Building something from the ground up has its own reward that a person who was handed everything cannot ever get.