The one tradition among people from all over the world in the New Year is the making of “New Year’s Resolutions”. While I am a tried and true resolution lover and I stand by them, my resolutions tend to be task orientated as opposed to an overall plan as to how to lead my life. This year I resolve to:
- Read the daily news each day to stay on top of current events
- Comb through our family finances
- Start Hiking
As I mentioned above, my resolutions are very task orientated. My philosophy and how I try to life however; year in and year out, day in and day out, moment by moment, is not accomplished by an annual resolution, but from the “17 Laws of Success“.
The Law of Success (originally The Law of Success in 16 Lessons) is the first book set by American author Napoleon Hill, published in 1928. The book, commissioned at the request of Andrew Carnegie, is based on interviews of over 100 American millionaires across nearly 20 years, including Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison. Napoleon Hill spent years lecturing the principles of the book all across the country. Napoleon Hill was an American author in the area of the new thought movement and one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature.
I was raised on the “17 Law’s of Success“. My father preached it and most importantly, lived it by example. The lessons or mantras, spelled out in 1928 still ring true in how to life your life. I have the 17 laws printed out and thumb-tacked to the cork board on the inside of my cubicle and I glance at them often. When I look at the successes in my life and even the failures, they derive from either using the laws of success or by not adhering to them.
17 LAWS OF SUCCESS
- The Master Mind Theory – Positive vs. Negative
- A Definite Chief Aim – Must be Written
- Self-Confidence
- The Habit of Saving
- Initiative and Leadership – Creative vs. Competitive
- Imagination
- Enthusiasm
- Self-Control
- The Habit of Doing More than Paid For
- Pleasing Personality
- Accurate Thinking
- Concentration
- Cooperation – Teamwork
- Profiting by Failure
- Tolerance vs. “Intelligent Open-Mindedness”
- Practicing the Golden Rule
- The Habit of Health
How to begin with this list? There are courses and books on each of these “lessons” where each concept can be analyzed and digested but I find that just by reading this list is enough for me. I refer to it anytime in my life where I am in the midst of turmoil, strife, happiness, decision-making, and life planning. I always find my answers on how to handle anything from this list.
To make the 17 laws more palatable, here is how translate them for easier comprehension.
- Be positive – think happy thoughts! As you think, you become
- Write down your resolutions – they become more powerful that way
- You’re OK and gosh darn it – people like you!
- A penny saved is a penny earned
- Thought is creative and comes through us; competition comes from a belief system that centers around lack
- Visualize and see your successes
- Enthusiasm generates heat
- Don’t let you emotions rule you – think before you speak
- The law of increasing returns – do more, receive more
- Play nice with the kids on the playground!
- Separate facts from information
- FOCUS on what you are doing
- Work together
- Learn from your mistakes
- Avoid the DISASTROUS effects of racial and religious prejudices, which are crippling to all human beings
- Treat others as you would want to be treated
- Put yourself in harmony with the environment and the world
Resolutions are great on a yearly basis, but try something that will hopefully become a life long resolution and philosophy. After all
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. Aristotle
Life Experiences Add Up 