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227 of 242 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Landmark Resource!, March 21, 2005
Most peoples' bookshelves are weighed down with self-help books. Some teach you how to lose weight. Others refocus your financial development. Still others help you with relationships. Yet others look at better habits. And others propound moral principles to guide you. What most of these books have in common is that they are usually superseded by a new and better book . . . soon after being published. How can you hope to keep up? Well, you couldn't . . . until now.
Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer have created something different in the self-help literature -- a compendium of the principles that have stood the test of time. I didn't find a single source of ideas that I like (except those that are only grounded in my religious beliefs) that wasn't included here somewhere.
The book is organized in several sections to make these references easier to follow: The Fundamental of Success (which includes principles like Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life, Be Clear Why You're Here, Decide What You Want, Believe It's Possible, Believe in Yourself, Unleash the Power of Goal-Setting, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Be Willing to Pay the Price, Reject Rejection, Use Feedback to Your Advantage, Commit to Constant and Never-Ending Improvement, Practice Persistence, and Exceed Expectations); Transform Yourself for Success (which includes principles like Drop Out of the "Ain't It Awful" Club . . . and Surround Yourself with Successful People, Acknowledge Your Positive Past, Face What Isn't Working, Transform Your Inner Critic into an Inner Coach, Stay Motivated with the Masters, and Fuel Your Success with Passion and Enthusiasm); Build Your Success Team; Creative Successful Relationships; Success and Money; and Success Starts Now.
The authors also provide many free tools to help you succeed.
If the strength of this approach is that you cover the waterfront of sound principles, the weakness is that the coverage is pretty thin in places. That will be the gripe of many people against this book. But unless it was to be 2,000 pages long, that weakness is unavoidable. The suggested reading and other references in the back, however, are more than adequate to lead someone to deeper resources where they are needed.
I only noticed one unmitigated weakness in the book: a preference for evolutionary change and improvement rather than encouraging readers to develop breakthrough skills as well.
To give you a sense of how valuable I found this book, I persuaded the dean of the university where I teach to let me launch a new course for self-improvement based on The Success Principles as the text. This one book will replace what many students are now acquiring through taking as many as six other courses. I see that as an important step forward for their educations . . . and yours, too, if you read and apply this book as I have been doing since I read it. I've seen immediate results . . . and believe that you will, too!
If you are a writer, you will also enjoy the many places in the book where Mr. Canfield shares lessons from his remarkable success with developing the series, Chicken Soup for the Soul.
If you have already read much of the success literature, you probably think this book isn't for you. I beg to differ. Seeing so many good ideas in one book will help you weld together good habits and actions in even more constructive ways.
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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My new trusted guide and inspiring motivator, December 15, 2004
After getting The Success Principles home, I was totally blown away at its thorough coverage of the subject. I am so used to getting a book of 7 this or 10 that's, that now those books seem very incomplete in comparison. This book has 64 chapters each devoted to addressing success from all standpoints, and just as important, giving me the 'how' to get there from where I am. I am so inspired to try everything out! There are also personal true stories to show how these principles work in the real world. There is a chapter on "Tell the Truth Faster" and even though I feel I am a very honest person, the story about Marilyn Tam telling the truth to the CEO of Nike really impressed me. I realized that telling the truth is more than saying the truth, it is also not withholding things that might be uncomfortable, shocking, risky, or controversial. I now have a concrete example of how it worked for Marilyn and Nike and am now committed to using it more in my life.
I also liked the fact that the chapters are all self contained. I'm so busy, I seldom read novels and I prefer short stories. I can open this book to any interesting topic from "Ask! Ask! Ask!" to " Transform your inner critic into an inner coach" and in no time I have new revelations. By the way, even on the subject of asking which I thought I knew something about, the contents brought a smile to my face because I know the 5 tips described there could get me powerful results. All the chapters seem well thought out, but this one might have an especially strong punch because it says that Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen wrote a whole book just on the science of asking. This includes anything from a favor to a raise, or even a large contract. The fifth tip by the way is "Ask repeatedly." Even though 5 year-old's know this, as adults we are conditioned to forget to ask again, or we take a no as a personal rejection, or we just give up. However, conditions and people change with time and a yes on the third asking can be just as sweet. Even in relationships how often has one even failed to ask the first time and then blamed the other for now fulfilling a desire? The Success Principles has really opened my eyes in the area of asking.
The only downside to this book that I can think of is wishing it had been published about 10 years ago. However, using the title of chapter 63, "Start Now!... Just Do It!" I'm taking a chapter/concept at a time, right now, and applying it in my life. This book is now my trusted guide and inspiring motivator for success.
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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A guide to help you hit a homerun in the game of life!, January 10, 2005
As an Author, Coach, and Motivational Speaker I read a lot of books about people, their motivations, and their relationships. The Success Principles is an outstanding example of an educational, inspirational, and motivational guide to success. I love the stories of the people Jack and Janet chose to interview to model the principles. The Success Principles is an excellent book and I give it an A+.
The Success Principles is broken down into six sections that help you chart your path. Here are the sections and selected principles from each section that are making a difference for me.
The first 24 principles are labeled the Fundamentals of Success. Sample principles include:
Take 100% responsibility for your life
Decide what you want
Believe it's possible
Success leaves clues
Feel the fear and do it anyway
Ask, ask, ask
Keep score for success
Practice persistence
The next 14 principles are labeled Transform Yourself for Success and focus inward. Sample principles include:
...Surround yourself with successful people
Clean up your messes and incompletes
Change your inner critic into an inner coach
Fuel your success with passion and enthusiasm
The focus of the next nine principles is outward, Build Your Success Team. Sample principles include:
Build a powerful support team and delegate to them
Hire a personal coach
Mastermind your way to success
Section IV is Create Successful Relationships. I'm focusing on all of these eight principles since this is my core competency and I want to grow, expand, and solidify my knowledge in this area. The principles in this section are:
Be hear now
Have a heart talk
Tell the truth faster
Speak with impeccability
When in doubt, check it out
Practice uncommon appreciation
Keep your agreements
Be a class act
The next seven principles focus on Success and Money. Sample principles include:
You get what you focus on
Pay yourself first
To spend more, make more
Find a way to serve
Finally Jack and Janet wrapup with Success Starts Now.
Start Now!... Just Do It!
Empower yourself by empowering others
Jack and Janet include suggested readings and additional resources for success at the end of the book. There is a postcard inserted in each book that challenges the reader with "What could you accomplish if your were personally mentored by Jack Canfield?" It gives a number of links where you can download additional information.
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer is a homerun on the ballfield of success books. I highly recommend that you get a copy today!
Kevin Decker, Relationship Coach
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